They call him the Dark Knight for a reason. You could safely say that Bruce Wayne and Co. have endured some hard times throughout the Batman Family's several decades of publication, but then "hard times" would probably be an understatement. The nightmarish statistics on murder, torture, drug addiction and other Gotham City unpleasantries are enough to put even the grimmest HBO series to shame. Despite this impressive surplus of dark and twisted moments, though, the general rules of memorable and worthy fiction still apply - namely, that huge amounts of gore and sudden spurts of violence don't automatically make for compelling stories. The calm-before-the-storm moments leading up to a tragic event and the implications that follow are as important as the event itself. Though dozens of shockingly grim developments present themselves in the pages of these comics, a handful cement themselves as truly evocative and legendary sequences. A list of dark, haunting moments in Batman comics could easily be filled using only Alan Moore and the Joker (for my money, the former has a more terrifying visage), and admittedly both found their way onto more than one entry. Continue on to see Batman in his most helpless, vulnerable moments - and hopefully, in turn, to gain some insight into why he keeps donning that cape and cowl. Sweet dreams!