Few characters in popular culture have had a journey quite like Batman. Across decades of campy and gritty and Nirvana-filled stories, the Dark Knight has captured the attention of practically everyone, both on the screen and in the pages of DC’s comics.
Despite that lengthy tenure, the main Batman title has only been relaunched a handful of times, for DC’s line-wide New 52 reboot in 2011, and again for the DC Rebirth initiative in 2016. This week, a brand-new Batman #1 hit the stands, and it made a splash not just with its high-octane action or gorgeous art, but with a very quiet and heartfelt moment.
**Spoilers for Batman #1 from Matt Fraction, Jorge Jimenez, Tomeu Morey, and Clayton Cowles below!**
The issue follows Batman on the trail of Killer Croc, who has escaped captivity in Gotham’s Lower West Side and is in danger of rampaging across the city. Scientists tell Batman that Croc is changing — literally, because the shedding of his reptilian skin appears to also be affecting his mental state — and might no longer be a villain, but the caped crusader is adamant that people “never change” in a meaningful way.
The hunt for Croc eventually leads to the Gotham Natural History Museum, where the villain (having already made a literal meal of some of the animals at the nearby zoo) seems in danger of hurting civilians. But that soon proves to not be the case, as Croc shifts his focus to sitting and staring at the museum’s giant model of a dinosaur. As Batman arrives, a vision of the long-dead Alfred Pennyworth (who has been accompanying him throughout the mission in a sort of Jiminy Cricket-esque role), starts to question his mindset.
Alfred suggests that Croc’s mental evolution might make him feel like “a child alone… in a violent, terrible world he cannot understand… drowning in fear,” a feeling that Batman might be able to recognize, given the enduring trauma he feels about his parents’ death.
A Misunderstood Monster
Batman then disables his gadgets, takes off his mask, and sits on the ground next to Croc. He pivots the conversation to the giant dinosaur in front of them, remarking that he used to have one just like it in the Bat-Cave. Talking to Croc on this level leads him to open up more, even as he can only speak in broken sentences like “Big house.” or “Me head new.”
Croc worries about his brain and whether or not it is “bad”, just as a team of scientists arrive to peacefully escort him back home. Before he leaves, Croc turns back to Batman and asks who will help him, with Batman insisting that his own “head is okay.” Croc does not believe Batman, handing him a toy dinosaur that he ultimately places on a shelf in the Bat-Cave.
In one fell swoop, Batman saves the day… not by throwing a punch or deploying a bat-themed gadget, but by connecting with a member of his rogues gallery on a human level. Whether or not Batman’s mental state really is “okay” will surely be explored in future issues, but the moment still solidified the mission statement of the new relaunch.
“It felt like the right character, the right way to do it, [to] put him in a place of both wild violence and innocence and unpredictability,” Fraction explained in a recent interview with my Go Read Some Comics YouTube channel. “And really giving him that kind of misunderstood monster moment. There was just something in my head about he scene in the museum that reminded me of… there was something in it about James Whale’s Frankenstein, and Frankenstein and the little girl at the river. There’s something about that. He’s a character who evolves by the nature of who he is? Okay, we’re talking about change and evolution. Let’s start here.”
Batman #1 is now available wherever comics are sold.
(featured image: DC Comics)
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