10 Perplexing Comic Book Questions Solved By The Internet
1. How Quickly Would Batman's Identity Be Revealed?
So we had a fair few questions about Spider-Man, but Reddit has way more about Batman. Way, way more. The Ask Science Fiction forum even got to the point of calling for a moratorium on queries pertaining to the Dark Knight, because it was getting a bit out of hand. It speaks the truth to how fascinating, smart, complex and malleable a character Batman is that it's possible to dream up so many hypothetical scenarios for him, 75 years after his introduction, including - but by no means limited to - discussion of what would happen if his parents' killer had been caught and swiftly punished (Bruce Wayne becomes a humanitarian, Joker gets fixated on Superman instead), why nobody calls Batman out on his obvious mental illness (they're okay with it/scared of what he'd do), and so on.
One of the more morbidly fascinating questions pertained to what would happen if the Caped Crusader died whilst out on patrol, and he was unmasked by someone who's not part of the extended Bat-Family who already know his secret identity - would the entire world discover he was Bruce Wayne? The general consensus is that Batman, who plans for all situations (better to be safe than sorry isn't a badass thing to shout in a comic book fight but you know he's always thinking it) would have a bunch of contingencies in place to prevent such a thing from happening. But what if somebody tried to figure out his identity whilst he was alive...?
Honestly, this is one of the most delightfully in-depth and geeky things you'll read on the internet. Taking the starting point of what if Batman operated in real life, Reddit clubbed their heads together and provided a detailed, chronological timeline of how long it'd take to find out who the man behind the mask was. The full answer involves CCTV, drones, and a federal investigation that inevitably leads them to Wayne Industries and a big old court case. Not the best ending for the Dark Knight - it's no cocktails in Italy with Selina Kyle - but man, if it's not a fun read.