10 Times Batman Got It Wrong

The idea of a ‘superhero’ is one that many of us have grown up around. With the biggest publishers in the industry having been around for over 80 years, the notion that we could discover a special power and use it to walkout onto the mean streets and put a stop to crime with our fists, is a fantasy in the backs of a lot of our minds.

Granted, many of our heroes possess super powers that none of us could realistically hope to get. Some are born to their power and some are made - unexpectedly surviving horrific accidents or experiments. But others in the ranks of the hero are only slightly more remarkable than your average human being. It could even be argued that their superpowers consist of little more than straight As, a gym membership, and a lot of free-time. So then, in this the age of the internet, why are more of us not following the likes of Kick Ass and ordering Lycra body suits from eBay in hopes of putting together a real-life Justice League?

Consequences, that’s why. Real life is full of them, lurking around every corner, rippling out from small decisions like ‘Which bin do I throw my sandwich wrapper in?’ To potentially bigger ones like ‘Do I tell my neighbour to turn their music down?’.

However, it is true to say that not even our superheroes are safe from the snaking tendrils of the unintended outcome. And with some of the most memorable moments in comics being born out of bad split-second decisions, to see a perfect example of how easy it is to mess up we can concentrate on the actions of just one of the most legendary and long-standing heroes of the comic book world: Batman.

Coming to us from the 2016 DC Rebirth line, issue #24 saw our Caped Crusader get down on one knee. Bathed in the light of the Bat-signal on a Gotham rooftop, Bats pops the question to Catwoman, who proceeds to make us wait until Issue #32 for her answer. All seems to make sense; their constant flirting over the decades and Kyle’s acceptance of Bruce’s dark side make us wonder if perhaps the duo might heal each-other's emotional wounds.

After seventeen more issues of butt-kicking and wedding planning, Bruce and Selina decide to elope to the glamorous locale of the rooftop on which Batman first proposed. But in a twist much used in many a romantic story, the Cat breaks the Bat’s heart, never turning up to say ‘I do.’

She states that her love for him is the only reason she can’t go through with the wedding - that she loved him so much, she didn’t want to make him happy enough to quit the cape. I think anyone who’s ever lived with a cat can attest to their unpredictable affections. Why Bats? You were doing so well staying out of the range of her claws