This article contains spoilers for Detective Comics #1028.
Batman is officially becoming Gotham’s public enemy number one. For decades now Gotham City has suffered, caught in the crossfire between Batman and his rogues’ gallery. Making matters worse, Batman and his enemies appear caught in a deadly cycle of escalation, and it’s no longer unusual to see the entire city crippled. On those dark nights, Batman imagines the Bat-Signal as the only symbol of hope.
But the Bat-Signal did not shine during “Joker War.” The Joker brought chaos to Gotham City, and he used Batman’s toys to do it. Worse still, the Joker launched systematic strikes on the Bat-family, crippling them from the outset. For days Gotham went without any hope of relief, as the Joker’s Clown Gang wreaked havoc unchecked, and the GCPD found themselves entangled in legal tape courtesy of lawyers paid for by the stolen Wayne fortune. A disillusioned Gotham embraced Clownhunter, a new type of vigilante who was willing to do what Batman will not – to kill the clowns. The Joker, delighted, knew this meant Batman had failed Gotham City.
The scale of Batman’s failure is made even more clear in Detective Comics #1028, a creepy Halloween-style issue that is set in the shadow of the Joker War. The city is turning on Batman, and the police force is under pressure to deny him access to any crime scene. As Commissioner Bullock observes, “People don’t have faith in a police force that relies on vigilantes to keep them safe.” Making matters worse, a mayoral candidate named Christopher Nakano is making an explicit stand as an anti-vigilante figure. “My main platform will be ridding the city of the masked and dangerous once and for all,” Nakano insists in a televised speech, “And saving the city we love even if I have to wear the mask of a mayor to do it!“
Batman may consider Gotham “his” city, but it looks as though the city has had enough of the Bat. Frankly, it makes sense; it has endured so much insanity over the years, and the Joker’s takeover was the second in swift succession. A justice system entirely dependent on a caped crusader is one that is extremely vulnerable, especially when – as “Joker War” demonstrated – that handful of vigilantes can be swiftly taken down. Bruce Wayne has sworn he wants to become a better Batman, but right now it looks as though Gotham doesn’t want Batman at all.
The problem, of course, is that it’s one thing to legislate against Batman; it’s another to deal with the countless criminals only he knows how to beat. All those threats are still out there, simply waiting for their moment to strike, and Batman’s unpopularity may well mean they have the perfect chance. Batman had better get a move on reinventing himself – and part of his task will be to win back Gotham’s hearts and minds..
