Batman is one of the greatest heroes in the DC Universe, but he’s not perfect. While the hero fights every night to protect Gotham City (and sometime even the world) from a multitude of threats and is usually successful, there have been more than a few times where he’s failed. And we’re not talking small failures, such as not identifying a criminal early on or letting the Joker go free. These are larger missteps and mistakes, situations where the Dark Knight finds himself unable to stop tragedy from unfolding or, in some cases, being a part of how things go from bad to worse to begin with.
While, in the end, things almost always work out for Batman and some sort of order is restored, when Batman fails to save the day, it’s a big deal. here are five times Batman failed — including one where it’s less Batman at fault and more Bruce Wayne.
Batman doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to keeping Robins alive, but while the death of Jason Todd is the one that most fans think of when they think of times Batman failed in some capacity, it’s the death of his son Damian that is a more direct personal failure. In Batman Incorporated #8, Talia al Ghul has Batman imprisoned in an underwater safe while she uses her resources in Leviathan — specifically a clone of Damian known as the Heretic) to have Damian killed because she saw him as a failed experiment. By the time Batman is able to get himself free, it’s too late. Damian is dead.
While one could argue that this isn’t a failure on Batman’s part because he wasn’t even there, in a sense that is actually the point. Batman was in a situation where he was powerless to save his son and while that would be enough to destroy any parent, it’s especially difficult for Batman who not only has the previous trauma of losing a Robin before this, but the burden of protecting Gotham as well. For Batman, this is a massive failure and it’s one that takes a toll on him.
All of the “City of Bane” story arc in Tom King’s Batman can be considered a failure for the Dark Knight, largely because it comes about due to the hero having been defeated by Bane in the storyline immediately prior. That defeat led to the banishment of all heroes in Gotham and with Batman away and the heroes out, the villains are in charge. Things already are on a bad foot.
However, the biggest failure for Batman even within “City of Bane” is largely a result of Batman’s previous defeat and the situation with Gotham no longer being protected. Damian (he’s alive again, by the way) enters Gotham despite the dire warnings not to. Bane has made it clear that Alfred Pennyworth, who is being held hostage, will die if any hero returns. And that is exactly what happens. Damian enters Gotham and Alfred is killed when Bane breaks his neck. So, while technically Batman isn’t directly responsible for Alfred’s death, it was his defeat that led to Bane being in a position for all of this to happen — and with Batman away healing in Paris, he ended up failing both Gotham City and his own family.
While Gotham City is regularly attacked by various threats, Batman usually stands between the city and destruction. The key word there is usually. in Batman: Zero Year, the Dark Knight fails. In Batman: Zero Year, the Riddler actually gets the best of Batman. He shuts off Gotham’s power and challenges Batman to get it back on. At the same time, a body is found with bones growing out of it and Batman has to investigate that as well, which leads him to Doctor Death. As things unfold, it’s determined that Doctor Death and the Riddler have been working together and that the Riddler has an airship and a bomb. Even with Batman destroying the airship, Gotham is not saved. He fails to stop the Riddler, who blows up the reservoir and floods Gotham City.
Things go from bad to worse after that with the military sending jets to Gotham with the intent to level the city, but ultimately things do get resolved. The jets are stopped thanks to Jim Gordon, Batman defeats the Riddler and gets the power back on in Gotham using his own pulse and then sets to getting Gotham back to right. As is the case with most Batman stories, everything sorts itself out in the end, but Batman fails pretty hard and Gotham pays the price in a big way in this one, serving as a reminder that Batman is not infallible and that he can’t really do this alone.
Perhaps a controversial choice, but The Long Halloween is a significant example of a time when Batman fails. The Long Halloween is one of the greatest stories in modern Batman history, digging into Batman’s earlier years as he partners with District Attorney Harvey Dent and Captain Jim Gordon to figure out the identity of the Holiday killer. The story is a classic for a reason and features a lot of character development. But Batman isn’t successful in it.
What happens in The Long Halloween? A lot, but some notable things are that Harvey Dent ends up becoming Two-Face, Harvey’s wife Gilda ends up a murderer, and Carmine Falcone also dies. Topping the whole thing off, however, is that Batman doesn’t solve anything. The identity of the Holiday killer is never really solved and throughout the story, Batman never really actually accomplishes much. The lack of resolution is part of what makes The Long Halloween a great story, but it can’t be denied that this is a case of Batman generally failing to save the day.
While there are a lot of ways that Batman can fail and fail to save the day, the biggest ones always involve Gotham City and there is perhaps no larger failure than Batman: No Man’s Land because it constitutes a failure not just on the part of Batman, but on Bruce Wayne as well. In the story, Gotham City is ravaged by a massive earthquake. Bruce Wayne goes to seek help from congress for Gotham but ends up getting the opposite thanks to a corrupt senator. The government evacuates the population and then declares the city a “no man’s land” and destroys bridges and other access points to Gotham and sets up a blockade to keep people out — and in. Cut off from the world, the criminals that remain start to divide up the city leaving the heroes that remain to try to protect the innocent. And, with Bruce gone, Batman is also gone which leaves those left behind to believe they have been totally abandoned.
While Batman can’t stop nature and thus his failure wasn’t the actual damage to Gotham City, it’s leaving Gotham at its time of greatest need that ended up doing the most harm. It’s a rare case of Bruce Wayne stepping up and trying to be the hero outside of the cape and cowl, but it still didn’t go well. Things go from bad to worse with Gotham cut off from the rest of the world and while Batman does successfully get eyes on the city that, in turn, leads to the reversal of the No Man’s Land order, things remain bleak with the Joker killing Gordon’s wife and Lex Luthor even trying to buy up property in Gotham. In the end, Gotham finds itself on the road to recovery but they went through hell getting there.
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