Top Ten moments that define Batman?

[Ruthless_Pryde]

What I would like to ask about is what do you consider the top 10 moments in Batman's life that shaped him?

This is my list:
Honorable mention: The When Dick Grayson went out on his own


10. When James Gordon got shot and retired
9. The Death of Vesper Fairchild ( led to the Murderer/ Fugutive Story)
8. Loosing Sash Bordeaux
7. Hush ( not a great story but Catwoman got brought in because of it )
6. Getting Kicked out of the Justice League- After the Tower of Babel Story line
5. Cataclysm/ No Man's Land
4. Kinghtfall/ Knights Crusade/ Kinghts End/
3. The OMAC fiasco
2. Death of Jason Todd
1. Death of his parents


I am not sure that this is the proper order or even if I missed something in there somewhere, ( I' m sure I did) let me know what your thoughts are. What events do you think in Batmans life defined him?

[DLH1970]

Taking in Dick Grayson as his ward and making him Robin. Made Batman a more compassionate person instead of a lone, dark crime fighter.

[The Zapper]

When the Red Hood got dropped into that vat chemicals.

[Choppa]

What I would like to ask about is what do you consider the top 10 moments in Batman's life that shaped him? This is my list:
Honorable mention: The When Dick Grayson went out on his own


10. When James Gordon got shot and retired
9. The Death of Vesper Fairchild ( led to the Murderer/ Fugutive Story)
8. Loosing Sash Bordeaux
7. Hush ( not a great story but Catwoman got brought in because of it )
6. Getting Kicked out of the Justice League
5. The whole Earth Quake thing
4. Kinghtfall/ Knights Crusade/ Kinghts End/
3. The OMAC fiasco
2. Death of Jason Todd
1. Death of his parents


I am not sure that this is the proper order or even if I missed something in there somewhere, ( I' m sure I did) let me know what your thoughts are. What events do you think in Batmans life defined him?


Yeah that's defenitly not in order, and you aren't being very specific. The 'whole earthquake thing'? What was it about that that makes it a defining moment? This is why they matter:

1. Parent's death- motivates him to become batman

2. Death of Jason- feels guilty for his death and has to carry it with him

3. Knightfall- learns that if he pushes himself too hard and tries to do everything himself, his enemies will be able to take advantage of that

4. James Gordon retires- loses an ally, and not because they died, but because they quit.

5. Earthquake thing- Forces Batman to rely less on gadgets and external resources and rely more on his head

6. Death of Vesper- No idea why that's important, but the murderer storyline taught him that Batman isn't a separate person from Bruce Wayne, but rather a combination of the two because there wouldn't be a batman w/o his father's influence. Also learns that if he shuts out others and tried to do everything himself, his enemies will take advantage of that (sound familliar?)

7. Losing Sasha- no clue why that's important. He's lost plenty of woman and never thought of them again

8. HUSH- Jim Lee art plus big name writer=$$$$

9. Kicked out of the JLA- no clue. A more defining moment would be the mindwipe because that's when he loses his trust in the other heroes and becomes more introverted

10. OMAC fiaso- learns to trust others and that if he tries to do everything himself, his enemies will take advantage of that (where have I heard that before?)

Also you kind of missed a lot of stuff in between what you said.

[Bat_Fan2232]

im a newbie can someone explain number 6 and three to me? id appreciate it

[Ruthless_Pryde]

This is just my take on 10 moments. Pls feel free to find your five or 10 and talk about them. I was bored at work when I came up with this list. Also, the death of Vesper was what caused Murder/Fugitive story line. the earthquake thing, refers to Cataclysm/ No Man Land.

[pringlesman]

I think barbra gordon getting shot should be on the list. Ir led to batsy really re-evaluating the worth of his crusade. The fact that though he has captured The Joker dozens of times it doesn't madder he keeps on killing. Plus Barbra Gordon is a visual reminder of what happens as a result of that.

[foxley]

I think my list would run:

1. The murder of his parents

2. The death of Jason Todd

3. Taking on Robin as a partner

4. Dick Grayson going out on his own

5. The crippling of Barbara Gordon

6. Joining of the Justice League

7. Having a child with Talia

8. The journey of rebirth undertaken in 52

9. Jim Gordon's shooting and retirement

10. Having his back broken by Bane

[Right Action]

I don't know if I'd put taking on Robin as a partner that high actually.


www.paradisecomicbooks.com

[foxley]

I don't know if I'd put taking on Robin as a partner that high actually.


These lists are always a matter of personal interpretation, but the taking on of a partner was a huge step for the character and altered the concept of who the Batman was.

[OPTIMUS_PRIMEversionKT]

im a newbie can someone explain number 6 and three to me? id appreciate it

Hey BAT_FAN,no 3 is MOST brilliant series of stories written for BATS according to me.In this story a new villain BANE broke batman's back after putting him against his entire ROUGE GALLERY.Since then after all these years BANE is still my most favorite villain of BATS.
About this one I dont have a clue but it started a massive crossover of BATS called MURDERER/FUGITIVE.look up at WIKIPEDIA for this.
byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee :D

[dancj]

In this story a new villain BANE broke batman's back after putting him against his entire ROUGE GALLERY.
Now I've got an image of Batman fighting loads of villains all dressed in red

[Legionair]

Also if you watched Batman Beyond, you would notice that Barbra Gordon turned into the next Commishner. The thing is she was shot in the leg years before when she was with Batman. In this she still walks. I wish I could tell Bruce Timm.

[Choppa]

^The animated series doesn't follow the same continuity as the comic, hence all of the differences

[bdk91939]

The whole Batman TAS series defined the true Batman. Paul Dini and Bruce Timm captured the essence of Batman on that series. And Kevin Conroy's voice is just how Batman should sound like in any medium.

[the goddamn batman]

I'd argue Gordons retirement... I mean, isn't he back now?

[Mia]

In no apparent order.....


1. Death of his Parents
2. Taking Dick in as his ward
3. Dick leaving and going out on his own, and Bruce operating on his own again.
4. Meeting Ra's & Talia
5. Death of Jason Todd
6. Having his back broken
7. No Man's Land
8. Tower of Bable
9. Omac
10. Identity Crisis and the subsequent adopting Tim Drake etc.



I'm tempted to say 'Damian' but that story is so absurd it's not funny, it needs to retconned out and that's says a lot comming from me as a Talia fan.

[Captain Jim]

I'm tempted to say 'Damian' but that story is so absurd it's not funny, it needs to retconned out...

I'll sure second that motion. But I thought you were liking Morrison's Batman?

[Mia]

I'll sure second that motion. But I thought you were liking Morrison's Batman?

Yes I like Morrison's Batman. But I don't like his Batman. Get it?

I like his characterisation of Batman/Bruce Wayne and I like the fact that he has tried to flesh out and develop Bruce Wayne. But I am sorely disapointed in the overall execution of the BAS son. Never mind the fact that it has virtually no bearing on the original story he is claiming to reference. Too much of it makes no sense. That being said I still find Batman the most readable and enjoyable Batman book I have read I have since Rucka left 'Tec. And that could be attributed to Morrison's own style. He has a dry wit that I can appreciate (as long as it's restrained.)

[stelok]

10. Dr. Thomas Elliot's betrayal
9. Loss of Sash Bordeaux
8. Cripple of Batman by Bane
7. JLA's betrayal of him through mindwipe
6. the Federal government's isolation of Gotham City from the outside world after the earthquake
5. His membership entry into the JLA
4. Batman's betrayal of the JLA during Tower Babel
3. the adoption of Dick Grayson
2. Jason Todd's death
1. His parents' deaths

[David Walton]

I see that DC marketing has done its job. Almost everything on the list is related to a major Bats crossover in the last ten years.

I'm not criticizing, I'm just wondering. Are there any significant events in recent Batman history that have grown organically from his regular series (no crossover/major event)?

[Mutate]

What about the Bat flying into his window?

[Mia]

I also forgot to add the whole 'Murder Fugitive' thing.

I see that DC marketing has done its job. Almost everything on the list is related to a major Bats crossover in the last ten years.

I'm not criticizing, I'm just wondering. Are there any significant events in recent Batman history that have grown organically from his regular series (no crossover/major event)?

Nothing I can think of. But you do make an excellent point. There hasn't been much organic growth in the Batman books period. I find that the character is underdeveloped and for the most part has been written as being one dimensional. It's probably the main and only reason I like Morisson's run.