Batman's 9 Greatest Failures
6. David Cain's Manipulations And Batman's Own Grief
Bruce Wayne may be able to deal with almost anything the DC universe has to throw at him. He is as confident taking bank robbers as he is alien gods. Where Batman usually crumbles is matters of the heart. He may understand grief on an abstract level, but when it comes to emotionally processing it, Batman either buries it deep or uses it as fuel for his great crusade.
When his on-again/off-again love interest, Vesper Fairchild, is murdered by David Cain, and Bruce Wayne framed, the Bat-Family rally to clear his name. Only the loss of Vesper, along with the recent shooting and retirement of long-time friend Jim Gordon has left Batman struggling to come to terms with the pain and heartache he is suffering. Instead of dealing with it, he stops being Bruce Wayne, believing that he can leave the trauma behind with the mansion and his millions; choosing to spend his entire time as Batman.
His allies, especially his recently adopted son Nightwing, are left stunned and heartbroken. Cain's devious twist of making it appear to those in the know that Bruce has killed Vesper to protect his secret does not help matters. To the world at large, Bruce Wayne is a wanted fugitive, and worst of all, the actual murderer of Vesper Fairchild would remain at large for months.