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