Is batman better off knowing his parents killer?

[Kid Quick Foots]

everyone knows joe chill killed bats parents, but for a long time that wasn't the case, or was it? im a little iffy on my bat history in that regard, but anyway, i kinda like it better him NOT knowing his parents killer, it speaks to his drive to always be searching for their killer (even if subconsciously) and to never give up until Gotham is a safe place to live. but knowing his parents killer takes a little of that away imho. what are your thoughts on this issue?

[jackups]

I agree I prefered the not knowing ,I also liked it where bats would go to this day I have still not found my parents killer...
I liked that I dont see the sense in him being captured ,in begins it was ok becasue it was Falcone bruce wanted,but in the comic nah I think they shouldent of cahnged it even if they did do they could make bats a bit happier.

[DWEarhart]

I became used to him knowing. The way I saw it, he still fought because he was addicted to it. He had officially snapped.

[DonC]

Yes. He's the world's greatest detective. For him to be unable to solve the case most important to him is ludacris.

[Alan2099]

Yes, but he wasn't the world's greatest detective back when it happened. That's a long time from trails to go cold and clues to be lost.

[Kid Quick Foots]

Yes. He's the world's greatest detective. For him to be unable to solve the case most important to him is ludacris.

and thats what made it so great, the worlds GREATEST detective, can solve ANY crime BUT his own parents murder. love it. that had to drive him mad.

[the goddamn batman]

Yes. He's the world's greatest detective. For him to be unable to solve the case most important to him is ludacris.

Amen. Though, I don't really care either way, it is ridiculous for him to not be able to figure it out... isn't it?

[TheTen-EyedMan]

I've always believed he should know who killed them. Because if he found out then stopped being Batman, he'd be a obsessed psychopath. If he knows and keeps fighting, it's because he doesn't want anyone else to suffer like he did.

But beside all that, anyone who dresses up like a bat clearly has issues.

[The Joker]

I've always believed he should know who killed them. Because if he found out then stopped being Batman, he'd be a obsessed psychopath. If he knows and keeps fighting, it's because he doesn't want anyone else to suffer like he did.

But beside all that, anyone who dresses up like a bat clearly has issues.

Point taken.

There are good points of Batman not knowing. As well as points for him actually finding out who it was that murdered his parents. Can't say I am bothered either way. The fact that he knows, yet still chooses to go out and possibly prevent other tragedies similar to his own, gives more of an understanding that it isnt what Bruce Wayne is underneath, it's what he does that defines him. ;)

[the goddamn batman]

But beside all that, anyone who dresses up like a bat clearly has issues.

I do not... :o I, uh...mean... yeah they do!:cool:

[brundlefly]

I've always believed he should know who killed them. Because if he found out then stopped being Batman, he'd be a obsessed psychopath. If he knows and keeps fighting, it's because he doesn't want anyone else to suffer like he did.


The fact that he knows, yet still chooses to go out and possibly prevent other tragedies similar to his own, gives more of an understanding that it isnt what Bruce Wayne is underneath, it's what he does that defines him. ;)

I agree with both of you guys in that it says more about Bruce Wayne as a person for him to know who did it (and for said person to be dead instead of still at large) and yet still go out every night to protect other people as opposed to having him run around solving crimes with the underlying reason being that he's just looking for his parents' killer and will stop being Batman once he's found him. Plus the story of his parents' killer has already been told and, as was stated in the first post, "everyone knows it was Joe Chill." To ask readers to play dumb and pretend that they don't know that is just a ham-fisted attempt to put the genie back in the bottle and an example of character regression as opposed to character growth. Should we next retroactively decide that Spider-Man never caught the burglar who murdered Uncle Ben and today protects others not just out of a sense of responsibility, but because he's forever searching for his uncle's killer?

[Choppa]

I don't want him to know. For one thing, it opens up some nice story possibilities. Look at how well it was used in Fugitive in Batman #603 (the story where the dying detective assigned to solving the Wayne murder turns to Batman for help and causes Bruce to fight his schizo problem).

For another, I like to think that Batman CAN solve the mystery, but doesn't want to out of fear of what he might find, or to avoid feeling more guilt.

[Lightbend]

I think it doesn't really matter if he does or doesn't know-he's been Batman for over ten years at this point. Knowing it was Joe or not, the point is that at this point, Joe Chill's dead. It shouldn't be about revenge, but about Bruce using the event to justify it, because no one should experience what he did-which can use the occasional scene of him preventing a similar act every now and then.

[Kara Zor El]

I'm on the he should know side. Both knowing and not knowing have their own merits when it comes to character and story telling. But I prefer Batman's vigilantism to be down to the fact that he lives in an extremely corrupt city and world and wants to make a difference to it because he is extremely gifted.

[Mister Intensity]

To ask readers to play dumb and pretend that they don't know that is just a ham-fisted attempt to put the genie back in the bottle and an example of character regression as opposed to character growth.

Which is pretty much what happened before OYL.

Mister Intensity

[JKCarrier]

He should know. The idea that the unsolved murder is the only thing that keeps him going would make Batman pathetic, not heroic. I think the original stories got it exactly right. Young Bruce vowed: "I swear by the spirits of my parents to avenge their deaths by spending the rest of my life warring on all criminals." Not, "I swear to find out who killed Mom and Dad and then call it a day." It's not a personal vendetta, it's a call to duty. And when he finally did find out who killed his parents, he marked the case file "Closed", put it away, and got right back to work.

[The Batman]

Bearing in mind that I came of age with the Batman of post 1986, I don't mind Batman knowing, or not knowing, who killed his parents so long as it's not part of some grand criminal conspiracy and that killer isn't caught by the police immediately. The idea of Batman being created by a random evil just feels right to me, I don't know that I can explain it. It feels more tragic somehow, it lets Batman be the product of crime rather than some sort of specific thing. The origin with Joe Chill being hired to kill Thomas Wayne for apprehending a mobster after being kidnapped from a costume party while dressed as a Bat-Man always felt kind of convoluted and just a little silly. I'm sorry, I know I am being very vague about all this.

As for Batman figuring it out. . . well it always seemed to me that with the police not being able to catch Joe Chill it instills in a young Bruce Wayne the idea that maybe the system doesn't work and that he'll have to take matter into his own hands and dedicate his life to fighting crime in a way that he couldn't as part of the system. It also makes Gotham look that much worse and that much more of a place that needs someone like Batman. That was one of the many problems I had with Batman Begins, evil was punished and ultimately the system worked for Bruce.

At least if it's Batman figuring it out that all still holds true sort of.

[dancj]

and thats what made it so great, the worlds GREATEST detective, can solve ANY crime BUT his own parents murder. love it. that had to drive him mad.

Exactly. It's not ludicrus anyway. He may be the world's greatest detective, but he also didn't learn the skill until a good 10 years after the event and even then it would have taken a load more years before he'd reached the level he's at now.

When the crime is just a random mugging (which I think works much better than any conspiracies) then there's really going to be no evidence left all those years later

[Lester C.]

All of you offer excellent arguments, which is why DC has left it ambiguous for so long until recently. The same can be said for ages. Batman and his crew have gotten older and yet Superman and his crew haven’t aged a day. Now Batman is older than Superman, even though that used to be reversed.

[Kid Quick Foots]

All of you offer excellent arguments, which is why DC has left it ambiguous for so long until recently. The same can be said for ages. Batman and his crew have gotten older and yet Superman and his crew haven’t aged a day. Now Batman is older than Superman, even though that used to be reversed.

yeah, but i can see why that is, doesnt superman age at a MUCH slower rate than normal humans? so, when Bruce is, say 60, supes will look like he is in his mid 30's early 40's or something, like in Kingdom Come.
as for supes pals not getting any older, ya got me=)

[curefreak]

i guess im on the side off him not knowing, because it makes more sense for him to be sullen and hermit like and possibley even give him an excuse for being bat-dick and also gives him a better reason for his obsession to fight crime.