10 Different Ways Batman Has Been Defeated

1. Or Killing His Parents

Which is why Joe Chill €“ or whoever they're saying did the deed these days, the continuity is kinda screwy thanks to all the retellings €“ is Batman's ultimate enemy, because he's the architect of his first, most tragic defeat. You reign victory over the Dark Knight by going after his loved ones, so it stands to reason the greatest victory involves those closest to him. Batman's greatest defeat, greatest failure, is when Bruce Wayne was a child, leaving the theatre with his parents Thomas and Martha, and they were gunned down in an alleyway during a botched mugging.

But here's the thing: Bruce turned that defeat into his driving force. His inspiration. His reason for being. Which is the important thing to take away from this, about the Caped Crusader as a character. He's had his ass handed to him countless times, sure. The whole narrative of Batman is that he's somebody who doesn't give up. He's never down for long. He always gets back up. Whatever doesn't kill him makes him stronger.

Although the broken spine thing he could probably have done without. Alfred's not that good of a doctor, surely?