Gotham Knights: How The Bat Family Recovered After Batman's Death

Aftermath

The unfortunate realisation of all of these comics is that the Bat-Family never really learn to cope with the loss of Bruce Wayne. Constant in-fighting and doubt cloud many of the members and make them unable to deal with the loss.

Every time, those left behind often have to deal with an identity crisis of who they are and who they want to be. The aftermath of Final Crisis and Battle for the Cowl best represent how each of these young heroes would cope with Batman being gone.

Dick is always thrust into the spotlight, as being the next to inherit the mantle, despite leaving Bruce's side to discover his own identity.

Jason is often resentful that Bruce has once again abandoned him, in some cases regretting he didn't kill him himself.

Tim is reluctant to accept change, and often seeks out some way to return things back to normal.

And Barbara, who plays a bigger role in repairing Gotham and its citizens, even if she often doesn't get a personal moment in many of these storylines.

Gotham Knights has all of these characters come together to try and heal a broken Gotham, but will no doubt be in search of a way to bring the Bat back. In spite of the trailers opening words, many fans believe Bruce will emerge from the ashes to take his superhero role back once more.

Which could make things even more painful is he is truly dead, as this may be the first time both the characters and the audience have to reconcile that Batman is actually gone. Gotham Knights presents a unique opportunity for DC, in that there may genuinely be no way of bringing back the Bat.

Given the mixed reactions of sites such as Reddit with r/BatmanArkham, many gamers are going through similar motions to the Bat-Family with denial, anger, right the way through to acceptance for some.

Whichever direction the developers decide to go in, it will no doubt involve some intense character-driven moments for the young heroes, as players explore the complicated yet exciting premise of playing as either of the four Gotham Knights.