10 Most Disturbing Comic Book Panels Of All Time
3. Batman's Broken Back
Comic: Batman #497
Batman was first introduced back in 1939's Detective Comics #27, and for a good 54 years, the man seemed like an unstoppable beast. After all, he's only human and has no metahuman abilities... other than his bank account. Traditionally, Batman has relied on his detective skills and fighting ability to take down his foes, but that all changed when Bane came calling.
Bane came onto the scene, and did something nobody had ever done before: he broke Batman. That's not to say he hurt him in a way that caused him physical pain... well, he did, but in a manner that should have been entirely more permanent than it actually was.
In a story aptly titled "The Broken Bat," Bane picked Batman up, and slammed him down on his knee, breaking his back. He did this with the words, "I am Bane -- and I could kill you... but death would only end your agony -- and silence your shame. Instead, I will simply... BREAK YOU!"
Seeing a superhero like Batman have his back broken was unnerving, and it suggested, there might be a world where there wasn't a Batman in it. Eventually, he got over the injury, as comic book characters tend to do, but for a moment, every fan of the Dark Knight feared his run as the world's greatest detective was brought to a sudden end.