10 Worst Things That Ever Happened To Batman

10. His Parents' Murder - Numerous

Batman Parents
DC Comics

An event so permanently etched into the corneas of every Bat-fan, they bemoan its inclusion on the big screen, the death of Bruce Wayne's parents is still no less tragic.

At the age of just eight years old, Bruce's parents - Thomas and Martha Wayne - took him to the cinemas to watch a proper classic, The Mark of Zorro (or a different film, depending on the interpretation). As they leave the cinema and cut through what would later be known as Crime Alley, they're ambushed by Joe Chill, who robs them at gunpoint.

Although the Waynes are compliant, Chill shoots Thomas dead. He then reaches for Martha's pearl necklace, killing her as she resists and sending them cascading down the alley in a now iconic (albeit well-worn) comic book moment.

It sort of goes without saying, but seeing his parents murdered before his eyes traumatised young Bruce, and robbed him of the chance of a normal life. It was what effectively started him down the path to being the Batman, with the Caped Crusader making a solemn oath that no one should have to face the horror he did when he was just a boy.

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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.