The Dark Knight Retires: Gotham Knights and 12 Times Batman Called It Quits
As long as Gotham City is still standing, Batman will always be there keeping the forces of darkness at bay. Or will he? Gotham Knights introduces a version of the DC Universe where Batman has apparently been killed, leaving his former sidekicks to carry on his war on crime.
As it turns out, this is hardly the first DC story to show us a world without Batman. There have been many comics, shows and movies over the years to explore what happens when Bruce Wayne is either killed in action or simply gives up being Batman. Here are the important ones every Bat-fan should know - and who knows, maybe some elements here will wind up playing into the events of Gotham Knights as well!
In the classic DC multiverse, Earth-2 is home to the original Golden Age versions of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman, as well as their children. In this world, Batman gets married to Catwoman and ages out of the superhero business, leaving an adult Dick Grayson to carry on the fight. Bruce and Selina’s daughter Helena eventually becomes the Huntress, and Bruce eventually meets his end in a battle to the death against a magically empowered criminal named Bill Jensen.
DC later introduced a new version of Earth-2 as part of the New 52 relaunch. In this world Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman sacrifice their lives to protect the planet from Darkseid’s forces. The Batman mantle passes first to Bruce’s estranged father, Thomas, and then to Dick Grayson.
There’s probably no more iconic take on the “retired Batman” trope than Frank Miller’s 1986 graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns. In this universe, the heroes of the Justice League are middle-aged and mostly forced into retirement by the US government. But even pushing 60, Bruce can only spend so much time
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