10 Worst Things That Ever Happened To Batman

4. Getting His Back Broken - Knightfall

The most frustrating thing about Knightfall is that it always tends to be reduced to just one moment - the act of Bane breaking Batman's back. It makes sense given that it was a momentous event, but there is so much going on in that three-part journey that it seems almost like a disservice to distil it entirely into that one exchange (however good it may actually be).

Technically, Knightfall actually only denotes the beginning of the three part arc. Knightsquest and KnightsEnd come after, which depict Gotham under the 'protection' of Jean Paul Valley's Batman, and Bruce Wayne's slow and arduous recovery to reclaiming his mantle. The story takes place over the course of about six months, which should go some way in illustrating how long it took Bruce to recover from Bane's onslaught.

One element that also gets overlooked as a part of Batman's suffering in this comic is Bane's mental attacks on the Dark Knight. This was the villain's debut arc, and he leapt onto the scene by breaking Batman not just physically, but mentally. He broke everyone out of Blackgate and Arkham in a bid to essentially make the Dark Knight work himself into the ground, sensing that the opportune moment to strike would present itself when Bats had a lapse in concentration.

As far as cautionary tales go about knowing when to accept help and not overworking yourself into the ground, Knightfall is up there with the very best.