10 Worst Things That Ever Happened To Batman

2. When He Broke His Own Vow - Batman Beyond

Warner Bros.

Batman Beyond shouldn't have worked. The idea of transplanting Batman to the future with a teenager in the suit sounds like the exact kind of nonsense cooked up by Lindsey Naegle if she were given the keys to make the Dark Knight "biz-zay". Thankfully, Batman Beyond ended up proving everyone wrong, providing fans with one of the most exciting and indeed compelling takes on the character ever committed to print.

Once again assembling the dynamic minds behind Batman: The Animated Series, Bruce Timm and co. ensured Batman Beyond pushed boundaries, and made sure that was clear from the off, even from the intro.

In a series about a Batman who isn't Bruce Wayne, one question must be answered - why did he stop being Batman? Beyond's answer is soaked in tragedy, showing a 50-60-year-old Wayne as he suffers a heart attack in the line of duty, leading to the heartbreaking moment where he's forced to pull a gun to defend himself from a would-be attacker.

The moment is rendered in heartbreaking detail, as Bruce immediately rips off his mask and stares in horror at the weapon he just brandished, one he'd vowed never to wield after his parents' deaths. It was at that point he knew he could no longer be Batman - a moment that would kickstart decades of isolation, the loss of his company and, although unknowingly, the chain of events that would lead to Terry McGinnis' assumption of the Batman identity. They don't make 'em like they used to.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.