There’s no doubt thatBatmanis a worldwide sensation, but even he’s got a few marks on his record that fans could stand to see undone. The Dark Knight has been around for nearly a century, and it’s only natural that a few less-than-stellar things stick out in all that time.
No hero is perfect, not even oneas beloved as Batman. In the last couple of decades, he’s gone through things and even made some personal choices that fans don’t exactly agree with. Read on to see a few tweaks that could be made to improve Batman’s mythos.
6The Creation of Brother Eye
Bruce’s Paranoia Was Taken Way Too Far
To be fair,Batman had a good reasonfor building the Brother Eye satellite. Bruce was still reeling from the discovery that his Justice League allies tampered with his memories (as seen in the controversial storylineIdentity Crisis). Batman created Brother Eye to keep an eye on the superhuman community, only for it to fall into Maxwell Lord’s hands, who attempted to use it to wipe out superheroes altogether. Bruce was justified for feeling betrayed by his friends, but creating a weapon with that much power only for it to be seized by a maniac is something better left forgotten.
5Batman’s Billionaire Status (And Creators Trying to Remove It)
It Doesn’t Really Do Anything for the Character
While the real world discusses the problematic nature of wealth disparity, several creators in the past have tried torework Batman so that Bruce isn’t rich(most recently during “Joker War”). The problem is that his wealth is a large part of his character and allows him to do most, if not all, of the cool things in his career. Every time a creator tries to undo Bruce’s billionaire status, it inevitably returns, so why keep trying it? Thankfully,DC Comics now has a working-class Dark Knight inAbsolute Batman, so hopefully, creators will stop going for the low-hanging fruit.
4The Creation of Zur-En-Arrh
The Mistake That Just Kept Getting Worse
While Zur-En-Arrh was a fun, innovative throwback during Grant Morrison’s Bat-Epic, Bruce’s alternate persona was a problem that just kept spiraling. It wasn’t enough that Zur-En-Arrh created Failsafe or manipulated Bruce into brainwashing Jason Todd. Zur-En-Arrh escaped Batman’s mind and attempted to take Gotham by force. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the Failsafe robot was later used by Waller as part of her plans inAbsolute Power.If there’s a mistake that absolutely needs to be scrubbed from Batman’s record, it’s the decision to fragment his mindand make his unhinged and dangerous alter ego.
3The Existence of the Batman Who Laughs and the Dark Knights
There’s Dark and Then There’s Edgy
This is going to ruffle some feathers, but the Batman Who Laughs, as well as almost everything that came out ofDark Nights: Metaland its follow-up event,Dark Nights: Death Metal, is better off forgotten. This event introduced the Dark Multiverse and was infamous for all the counterparts modeled after Batman’s biggest fears. But nothing got more attention than the Batman Who Laughs, the Joker/Batman fusion who long outstayed his welcome, yet became a dominating force in the DC Universe for nearly half a decade. Thankfully,this twisted Batman is gone, and hopefully, they’ll never come back.
2The Death of Alfred Pennyworth
Seriously, Alfred is Vital to Batman’s Operation
There’s hardly a person alive who doesn’t miss Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce’s oldest companion. Pennyworth wasn’t just a father to Batman, he was a guiding light in the entire Bat-Family. Unfortunately, that light was extinguished in “City of Bane” when the titular villain snapped Alfred’s neck after Damian crossed him. That was back in 2019 and DC Comics has yet to undo this death (beyond a temporary revival inBatman vs. Robin). Given how big of a role the faithful butler still plays in adaptedBatmanmedia, it seems pertinent to undo Aflred’s deathand bring him back to his family.
1The Catwoman Wedding That Wasn’t
Just Let Batman Be Happy!
Batman was this close to finding happiness with someone he clearly loves and fans everywhere were crushed (or rightfully infuriated) when Catwoman left the World’s Greatest Detective at the altar. Not only did this throw a wrench in Bruce and Selina’s relationship for years, it reinforced the idea that DC Comics is never going to let the Dark Knight be happy for any extended period. While some might prefer a complete retcon, all that fans really want is for the higher-ups to stop getting Bruce’s way andlet Batman and Catwoman finally tie the knot.
