Batman May Be DC Royalty, But the Dark Knight's Dirtiest Retcon Still Makes Me Mad
Batman has one of the most iconic backstories ever created for a superhero due to how simple it is. Bruce Wayne was the Prince of Gotham. He had everything a young boy could want. He had two loving parents and all the wealth to afford anything he could ever want - until all that love was taken away in a senseless attack. It's the perfect origin, and DC's continual attempts to change it have been misguided.
Bruce Wayne had a nearly perfect childhood, and it was all ripped away from him one cold night in a dark alleyway. After seeing The Mask of Zorro movie, the Waynes take an alleyway to return to the street, which is where they're ambushed by an ordinary mugger.
Despite trying to comply with the mugger, later named Joe Chill, and hand over their valuables, both Martha and Thomas Wayne end up being shot and killed right in front of Bruce, who is left to sit in their blood before the police arrive. It is a tragic moment that perfectly explains why Bruce decided to become Batman and wage his war on crime.
Batman's War on Crime Is Deeply Personal
And DC Keeps Trying to Make It Even More Personal
Batman's war on crime has always been because of crime itself, not because of any specific target of vengeance. It's not like if Batman found Joe Chill he would give up being Batman. That's why having the mugger be someone generic and unrelated to Bruce Wayne's life was always so important. Because who Joe Chill is doesn't matter. The event is supposed to show that crime can affect anyone, at any moment. It doesn't matter if someone is wealthy or poor; anyone can be a victim, and Batman is supposed to stand up against that injustice.
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For some reason, it seems that DC isn't satisfied with this amazing origin and has tried several times over the years to shift it by making the Wayne murders more and more connected to who the Waynes were as characters. This was the case in Tim Burton's Batman movie where it was revealed that the mugger who killed the Waynes was none other than Jack Napier, who later went on to become the Joker. While this twist worked for a movie narrative, it really wouldn't work for Batman in the comics, but that hasn't stopped DC from trying.
The Court of Owls Once Claimed Responsibility for the Wayne Murders
Batman / Spawn by Todd McFarlane, Greg Capullo, Dave McCaig, and Tom Napolitano.
In the questionably-canon Batman / Spawn by Todd McFarlane and Greg Capullo, it was revealed that the Court of Owls were the ones who murdered the Waynes, due to their desire for something Thomas had hidden in Martha's iconic pearl necklace. Bruce had already suspected that the Court of Owls was behind his parents' death when he was a child, but all his investigations led to nothing, and it was never a major plot point in the actual Court of Owls storyline. In the end, making the Wayne murders part of a conspiracy is a major misstep for DC.
The entire reason that the death of the Waynes works as a tragic backstory is the fact that it could happen to anyone.
The entire reason that the death of the Waynes works as a tragic backstory is the fact that it could happen to anyone. If the Waynes were murdered specifically because they were the powerful and connected Waynes, then this story is entirely unique to Bruce Wayne. The general Batman reader's parents aren't going to be murdered in an alleyway because they have a secret pearl necklace or some shady dealings with the city. That's something that could only happen to Bruce Wayne. It completely takes away his status as a symbol of hope for people, because the tragedy that made him is uniquely his.
That's why the murder has to be unmotivated, and honestly, it's better if it's entirely anonymous too. Creators love to bring back Joe Chill: Batman: Three Jokers by Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok featured Joe Chill. In Justice League: Darkseid War: Batman by Peter J. Tomasi and Fernando Pasarin, Batman confronts Joe Chill. There was also Batman: Year Two by Mike W. Barr and Alfredo Alcala, which saw Batman teaming up with Joe Chill to defeat the Reaper.
Batman Doesn't Need Joe Chill to Be a Major Character
The Origin Works Better Without Joe Chill
If Joe Chill was the person who murdered the Waynes, and he did it for political reasons or for any other motivation beyond a desperate mugging, then that gives Batman a mission he doesn't need. Batman is the world's greatest detective. He would easily track down Joe Chill, and he would go after whoever hired him. That would become his mission over saving Gotham City, because that would ultimately feed into Batman's idea of being vengeance, a desire role he eventually grew out of. By having Joe Chill be an anonymous unmotivated mugger, then every criminal becomes Joe Chill.
That selfless motivation works significantly better for Batman's character. Every single night he goes out into Gotham City and stops criminals, he's stopping someone else's Joe Chill. Every night he's saving the people whom he couldn't save as a child, over and over again. That's why Batman doesn't need Joe Chill as a major character. Joe Chill should only serve as a nameless, faceless thug to give Bruce the motivation he needs to become Batman. After that, Joe Chill has served his purpose and doesn't need to be brought up again in Batman stories.
Batman Protects Gotham Because He Couldn't Protect His Family
Giving Batman A Specific Criminal To Blame Diminishes That
Batman fights crime to protect people from going through the same tragedy that he did. But no one else would really go through that same tragedy if it was motivated specifically by who his parents were. While people get shot every day in Gotham City, that's still not the same as it being uniquely motivated by who Bruce's parents were. Having the Waynes remain the victims of an anonymous mugging is necessary for Batman's origin. That anonymity puts him on the same level as every other citizen in Gotham. It's what makes him empathize so much more with random victims.
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Having Joe Chill be the criminal behind it and having it be part of a conspiracy has no benefit to Batman's story. Honestly, few Batman readers care about Joe Chill, and Batman shouldn't either. The thing that took Batman's parents from him was crime. That thematic truth is completely lost if Joe Chill was just some hitman acting on orders as part of a conspiracy. It completely ruins Batman's war on crime. That's why, as much as DC might disagree, Batman doesn't need Joe Chill as a character, and DC should stop retconning the Wayne murders.
Batman / Spawn and the other mentioned comics are available now from DC Comics!
- Created By
- Bob Kane, Bill Finger
- First Appearance
- Detective Comics
- Alias
- Bruce Wayne
- Alliance
- Justice League, Outsiders, Batman Family
One of DC's most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world's leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.
- Race
- Human
- Franchise
- D.C.
- FIRST APP
- Detective Comics #27 (1939)
