15 Most Inappropriate Batman Storylines Of All Time

Batman has had a lot of crazy adventures over the years. From the early, pulpy days to the campy Adam West-style sixties stories and back full circle to the dark and moody yarns that inspired and were inspired by Christopher Nolan's films, there's been plenty of opportunity to weirdness in all of its forms. Over his 75-year history he's had some iconic storylines, some strange turns, and some shocking twists that came out of somewhere. There are Batman graphic novels which we wouldn't mind handing over to non-comics readers, so sure are we of their literary significance and sequential storytelling aplomb. Then there are the other Batman stories.

The ones that get everything wrong which stories like Year One and The Long Halloween get right. The storylines where our masked hero acts entirely out of character and we're less likely to daydream about being him, and more likely to have nightmares where he's trying to imprison us in Arkham Asylum. The comic books which aren't filled with BIFF, ZAP, POW colourful action scenes or serious minded murder mysteries that rival the best crime fiction, instead going for totally un-PC plot points and downright offensive caricatures. Those are the Batman stories that we want to run away from, conceal the existence of, and pretend never happened. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it, however, which is why we must share these fifteen most inappropriate Batman stories of all time. May god have mercy on our souls.

15. Jealous Of A Bat-Hound

You don't hear much about old Ace nowadays, and we think that's a shame. Because as helpful as Robin, Batgirl, and the other extended members of the Bat-Family are, sometimes you really need a trained vigilante dog wearing his own pooch-sized cowl and cape to get the job done. People give Batman !*$% for recruiting orphans into his crusade against the criminal underworld of Gotham, but nobody ever questions his actions when he's dressing up dogs and throwing them at gun-toting thugs? That's quite the double standard you've got there (we're mainly looking at you, Alfred). Ace The Bat-Hound was one of those Silver Age gimmicks that you wouldn't get in today's grimdark Dark Knight stories, and more's the pity.

Or not, because the original stories Ace appeared in were a little off. Like we say, it's kinda messed up that Batman even bought a dog and got him to fight crime in the first place. Really that seems like the sort of thing he should've tried before adopting Dick Grayson and making him be his sidekick. Like looking after an egg to see if you're fit to be a parent. The cover of Batman #97 sees Ace somehow discovering the dynamic duo's secret identities - or maybe they just carelessly left a photo lying around for him to pick up - with Batman ruminating that maybe he's getting to be too good of a detective. The implications for Ace are worrying: they're kicking him off the team? They're gonna leave him tied up to a country gate outside Gotham? They're going to have him put down? Whatever it is, it's not appropriate. Not even for Batman.