DC Admits Batman Knows His Mission Is A Lie
Warning: spoilers for Batman: The Knight #2 are ahead.
The death of Thomas and Martha Wayne is the central axis of Batman's character in DC Comics, an event that has inspired his lifelong commitment to fighting crime. The impact of his parents' deaths has been explored in numerous comics as well as films, with Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's Batman: Year One and the 1993 film, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, being prime examples of this. Bruce Wayne's devotion to upholding this promise to his parents has put immense strain on his personal life, a fact that is now explored in the new Batman: The Knight series from Chip Zdarsky and Carmine Di Giandomenico. Centered on a young Bruce Wayne, The Knight details the period leading up to his debut as Batman in Gotham City.
In issue two of the series, Bruce travels to Paris, where he intends on honing his crimefighting skills. Being a young man however, he isn't sure where to start, and ends up being mentored by a cat burglar called the Gray Shadow. As she takes him out on a rooftop excursion, Bruce has a moment of conflict where he thinks, "LEARNING from the BEST means… learning from the best CRIMINALS. How far am I willing to GO? After they died I SWORE to my PARENTS that I would spend my life STOPPING criminals. So can I BECOME one? For even a SECOND? To DO what I WANT to do, won't I–won't I HAVE to be a criminal? I'll be committing VIOLENCE. I'll be BREAKING IN. I'll be TRESPASSING. A COP without the BADGE is a CRIMINAL."
Related: Bruce Wayne Would've Been A Total Coward if His Parents Weren't Killed
Bruce's thoughts reveal a tension that often goes unacknowledged in Batman comics, one that illustrates why Batman is typically seen as a tragic character. With his life
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