10 Comic Happy Endings That Were Secretly Terrible

As the lone sequel of Gotham By Gaslight, it's hard to say that Batman: Master of the Future is anything but a lovable and cheerful romp through Victorian England, complete with badass fencing scenes and a giant steam-powered robot. However, despite its charming ending - where love interest Julie Madison tells Bruce she knows is secret identity, and loves him all the more for it - it's not entirely the superhero equivalent of Pride and Prejudice.

Because, importantly, this version of Batman is pretty much fated to die horribly. The time of shark repellant and elaborate but useful gadgets are far, far in the future, and although the steampunk-esque gizmos he uses are inventive, they won't allow him the same upper hand against villains who are clearly using the cutting edge of technology.

Perhaps more importantly, when you remember that some pretty awful diseases were still around in Victorian England and the slums Batman patrols, there's a pretty good chance the Dark Knight dies tragically of scarlet fever or whooping cough not long after his 'happy ending'.