Batman: 80 Greatest Ever Moments

36. The Death Of Bruce Wayne's Parents - Year One

Batman Year One Bat
DC Comics

While it’s more than a little dark to promote the deaths of Batman’s parents as one of the greatest moments of all time, it’s undeniable that it does serves as an iconic piece of the hero’s lore.

This is why the event - although possibly shown too frequently - is an almost permanent part of most iconic Batman comics. For example, in the classic Batman: Year One comic, the emphasis placed on how the pain and grief a young Bruce felt after the his parents were gunned down serves to make his transformation into the superhero all the more believable.

Seeing the way in which Batman turns the worst thing that ever happened to him into his strength is the definitive moment he becomes a hero, and as such, it’s one best not forgotten.

[ZM]

35. Mastering The Dark Multiverse - Dark Nights: Metal

Dark Nights Metal Batman Joker Dragon Wonder Woman Superman
DC Comics

Dark Nights: Metal didn't end up being Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's final Bat-tale, but it did represent a high-point of the pair's stint on Batman.

Combining their love of heavy metal with their love for Batman, Snyder and Capullo reinvented DC's multiverse and in doing so introduced one of the most terrifying, mind-bending and well, just generally metal Batman stories ever told.

If the image of an axe-wielding Batman riding a dragon Joker doesn't get you in, then what are you in comics for in the first place?

[EP]

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WhatCulture's former COO, veteran writer and editor.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.

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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.

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I like my comics like I like my coffee - in huge, unquestionably unhealthy doses.