Batman: Why New 52 is a great starting point for new readers

Image Source: DC Digital Comics

Making Batman Work

The phrase, “He wins because he’s Batman” has gotten overused over the years. It could be due to the fact that he never really seems to lose to his villains often because he’s always prepared. He goes through the stories seemingly without effort. The only memorable defeats the public know about are to Bane and when he’s disappointed his teammates on several occasions (Batman is kind of a jerk).

In New 52, Batman had to earn his victories. Even when he won, there were major consequences to his personal life and to his body.

In Endgame, Joker set in motion a plan that took Batman to the point of almost breaking him. The Justice League attack him with the will to kill him, Joker released a virus that made the people of Gotham Joker-like and murderous, and also made Bruce doubt that even he could win. In the end, he ended up sacrificing his morals by getting help from villains, swallow his pride by calling Nightwing, Batgirl, Red Hood, and other members of the Bat-Family to help, and was willing to give up his life to make certain Joker didn’t escape.

Then, there’s Death of the Family. may have beaten the Joker, but he almost lost his family. Not just physically, they almost never spoke to him again. They were hurt that he didn’t trust him and that almost got them killed. This is a more stubborn Bruce Wayne than we are used to seeing.

For me, this was the epitome of Batman stories. Beyond the fighting, he had to work and struggle for this win. In the end, he may have saved Gotham, but he almost lost his life. He even had to give up the mantle and sacrifice a normal life to put on the costume again. It’s stories like this that made the New 52 run so amazing. All of these new twists to Batman made him look like a hero that people could relate to. Sure, he still had the gadgets and the money, but he relied on more than that. It was more about his wits and skill and less about his money and tools.