10 Worst Things That Ever Happened To Batman

5. Falling Victim To The Black Mercy - For The Man Who Has Everything

One of the worst things about Alan Moore's estrangement from DC post-Watchmen is that we never got to see him write more Superman stories. As things stand, Moore scripted two tales featuring the Man of Steel - Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow? and For The Man Who Has Everything - and they're both sublime.

Moore's second Superman story, constructed alongside Watchmen collaborator David Gibbons and later adapted into an episode of Justice League Unlimited, sees Wonder Woman, Batman and Robin (pre-crowbar-ing) heading to the Fortress of Solitude to celebrate the Last Son of Krypton's birthday. Little do they know, however, that Supes is actually in the thrall of a parasitic alien plant known as the Black Mercy, which causes its victim to hallucinate and dream of their ideal life.

For Superman, this entails a fantasy where Krypton was never destroyed, and he lived a happy life along with his wife and child. As Supes fights through the vision - causing great emotional distress - he's forced to see Krypton crumble around him, at which point the Black Mercy is yanked off his chest by Batman. (All the while, Wonder Woman is engaged in a duel with Mongul, who brought the plant to Superman in the first place.)

Unfortunately for Batman, the alien plant then attaches itself to him, at which point it delivers sweet, sweet images depicting his father overpowering Joe Chill and beating him silly, thus preventing his parents' deaths.

The plant is eventually wrested from Batman and placed on Mongul, but teasing the Dark Knight with a reality where he didn't suffer his most traumatic day is extremely cold, just as it was in the BTAS episode Perchance to Dream, where Mad Hatter also deluded Bruce into thinking he led a happy, ordinary life.