Batman was a young rich boy with a loving family who had everything ripped away from him due to one brutal and random act of crime. Captain America was a young boy who dreamed of serving his country and eventually joined the army to help fight the Nazis in World War II. On paper, these characters have absolutely nothing in common, but one surprising trauma brought them together as allies.
During the events of the JLA/Avengers miniseries by Kurt Busiek, George Perez, Tom Smith, and Comicraft, the walls between the DC and Marvel Universes break down, and several characters cross over into the opposite publisher’s universe. Batman and Captain America meet one another during a major battle between the Justice League and the Avengers, which leads to a major revelation on Cap’s part.
While Batman and Captain America test one another’s skills, they eventually recognize each other as allies. Wanting to solve exactly who is messing with their universes, Batman takes Captain America to the Batcave, where Captain America realizes the one major failure that bonds the two heroes together: the loss of a sidekick.
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Batman and Captain America Both Lost Their Beloved Sidekicks
One of the greatest failures in Batman’s career as a hero is losing Jason Todd. Jason was a young boy who was struggling on the streets of Gotham, and Batman adopted him and offered him the role of Robin. Jason happily accepted, and the two fought crime together for a while. Eventually, the Joker kills Jason Todd — a devastating loss for Batman and a failure that haunts him for nearly twenty years. Jason eventually returns, but his relationship with Batman is never the same as it used to be. This is a deep trauma that not many other heroes in DC understand — but Captain America does.
Captain America was one of the first superheroes in the Marvel Universe, and his best friend, James “Bucky” Barnes, was one of the first sidekicks. Barnes joined the military at a young age and received training from all over the world. A skilled military operative, he was eventually paired up with Steve Rogers. Upon finding out that Steve was secretly Captain America, the two began working together more seriously, and Barnes was given his own superheroic role. Bucky was meant to be a counter to the Hitler Youth, and while more cynical than Steve, he did everything he could to live up to Captain America’s ideals. This eventually culminated in Bucky seemingly dying in a plane explosion after an encounter with the Nazi scientist Zemo.
Captain America Understands Batman’s Trauma More Than Most
While both Jason Todd and Bucky Barnes eventually return to life, for a while both of them were considered completely and utterly dead. Jason and Bucky didn’t return for decades after they were killed off, and both Batman and Captain America carried the trauma of their deaths for that entire time. Batman rarely talks about his failures, and he uses his trauma to motivate him, but losing Jason Todd was the worst experience he went through since the death of his parents. Likewise, Captain America was in the worst war that humanity has ever seen, and losing Bucky Barnes was a weight that Captain America carried for years.
JLA/Avengers is available now from DC and Marvel Comics!
