10 Comics Changed Due To Fan Backlash

3. Bruce Wayne's Early Return As Batman

Clone Saga
DC Comics

When it comes to passionate, vocal fan bases, few are quite as intense as those who love nothing more than taking a trip to the streets and rooftops of Gotham City.

Back during the Knightfall story of 1993, Bane was introduced to comics in a major way. That major way, of course, would see this masked powerhouse debut by showing both his smarts and his strength - releasing Arkham Asylum's most infamous names as a way to tire out Batman, before stepping forward himself to break the Bat's back.

The reason for this, was that a new Batman was to be introduced.

As seen, that new Batman was Jean-Paul Valley, aka Azrael. A brutal, clinical figure, the intention of those at DC Comics was to showcase how different Gotham would be with a vicious Batman overseeing proceedings.

From writer Chuck Dixon, so negative was the reaction to Azrael, the decision was made to rush Bruce Wayne back into the cape 'n' cowl way sooner than first planned.

After having his back broken by Bane, Bruce was to be out of commission for a substantial period of time. Instead, he would return to battle and defeat Azrael just a matter of months later, before then handing the Batman mantle to Dick Grayson while Wayne himself worked on completing his full rehabilitation.

In his short spell as Batman, Jean-Paul Valley managed to piss off Tim Drake, piss of Dick Grayson, and hugely piss off readers who had zero interest in seeing his garish Batsuit and murderous ways.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.