Batman is a character with a history spanning over seventy-five years. As one of DC Comics' flagship characters, the caped crusader is known as one of the few heroes who never gives up and always has a plan. Batman has faced all types of difficult challenges across various forms of media and has extended his mythos considerably with each incarnation.
The Batman 2: 15 Possible Villains For The Sequel
As fans wait patiently for a sequel to The Batman, the desire to see these famed Batman villains in the live-action series only grows.
Facing foes like the Joker and Mr. Freeze has put him against insurmountable odds that even some of the world's strongest heroes would need help to overcome. That said, Batman has not gone undefeated since taking up the mantle of protecting Gotham City. There have been countless times that the world's greatest detective has lost his wit or come to a conclusion a step too late that has cost him, the ones he loves, and his city, considerably. These failures have shaped Batman into the vigilante he is today, for better or worse. Here are some moments where Batman failed his city.
6 The League Of Shadows Takes Over - The Dark Knight Rises
Batman Is Broken And Loses Everything
- Director: Christopher Nolan
- Runtime: 2h 45min
- Cast: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Anne Hathaway
The Nolan Batman trilogy is considered one of the greatest trilogies in cinema. It is also put on the pedestal as one of the most significant collections of superhero movies ever made. In the third and final installment, Christian Bale returns to his cowl as a broken and disheveled Batman who must rise to the occasion once more as the city comes under threat by a shadow army led by a vicious madman named Bane.
With his best years behind him, Batman cannot fight on equal terms with the brute and is bested and imprisoned thousands of miles away from his precious city. With nothing in his way, Bane lays waste to Gotham, putting the rich and powerful on the streets and putting the criminals in charge. Batman can only watch as his city burns, and the people he loves live every day in fear.
5 The Scarring Of Harvey Dent
A Good Man Gone Forever In The Wake Of The Bat
There are not many failures that shake Batman to his core. The main ones that stick out would be Jason Todd's death and basically handing over plans to defeat the Justice League to Ras Al Ghul. But there has been one solemn moment that has stuck with Batman inside and outside the cowl, and it involves one of the most tragic members of his rogues gallery. Harvey Dent was the shining light of Gotham City, its hero who could walk among them in a way Batman never could. Dent stood against some of the most dangerous criminals with a smile and a chip on his shoulder, fueled by a mix of courage and arrogance.
DC: 4 Times The Joker Saved Batman
Despite being one of Batman's most despicable villains, his obsession with the hero has led him to be an unlikely ally in these situations.
This posturing had dire consequences, as Dent became the victim of an acid attack which would change his life forever. Harvey Dent's mind was split in two by his disfigurement, and he donned the name Two-Face, adopting a life of crime. Batman did not just have hope in Harvey Dent, he found a bond of friendship with someone who shared the same drive as himself to fight crime. Not only could Batman not save Harvey, but the terror he would cause across Gotham would be a direct cause of them sticking their finger in the eye of corruption.
4 City In Ruin - Zero Year
Batman Is Helpless Against The Riddlers Plot
- Writers: Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV
- Artist: Greg Capullo, Rafael Albuquerque
- Release Date: June 2013
Gotham City has come under attack multiple times, and each time, Batman hits the streets, preparing to fight a war. Alien invasions, crime wars, and even mutants from the sewer can not break the impenetrable hold on the city that Batman has. However, one person has always been able to outsmart the world's greatest detective, if only for a moment. Edward Nigma, arguably one of the most intelligent men in the world, has bested Batman in a game of intellects on multiple occasions.
Unfortunately, due to his particular quirks, he cannot maintain his superiority for too long, but on rare occasions when Nigma plays with a full deck, he pulls stunts like turning Gotham into a desolate wasteland, costing thousands their lives. In Zero Year, Nigma, acting as the Riddler, used Poison Ivy's cells to cover the city in a vibrant eco-growth and disable the power grid. With the damage already done, Batman must clean up the mess he let happen and rebuild the city, taking a step back to evaluate how he let it happen in the first place.
3 Creating Brother Eye
Batman Plunges The World Into A Darkness Of His Own Making
The Batman is not infallible, and on more than one occasion, has been wrong, sometimes catastrophically so. The way that Batman rides against the rails, rallying against change in any form, proves to be to his detriment and the misfortune of those around him. However, Batman rarely makes a mistake that threatens an entire city, let alone the world. Unfortunately, there is one time in DC Comics history where a decision made by Batman directly put millions of lives at stake at a near extinction-level event.
Best Batman Movies, Ranked
There have been dozens of Batman films over the years. Whether animated or live-action, each of them deserves a watch, but which of them is the best?
Batman had receded into his paranoia. Seeing threats everywhere and being pushed to the edge, he needed an outlet. He decided to create something that would aid him in combating the threats he could see and those he couldn't. An ultra-intelligent AI called Brother Eye would be Batman's eye in the sky, a sentient satellite revolving around the Earth. While the idea seemed good enough in theory, it did not account for the AI becoming self-aware and unleashing a DNA-warping disease on the population to turn them into mind-controlled drones.
2 Scarecrow Covers The City In Fear Toxin - Arkham Knight
Batman Loses To Fear For The First Time
Batman: Arkham Knight
- Released
- June 23, 2015
- Developer(s)
- Rocksteady Studios
- Genre(s)
- Action
In the final installment of the Arkham saga, Rocksteady delivered a massive gaming experience where fans could explore the entirety of Gotham City for the first time. Batman is placed in the middle of another chaotic night where madness has seeped into the streets, and it is up to him to put a stop to it. Gotham's greatest hits are all on the prowl, from Two-Face to Killer Croc.
5 Marvel Villains That Would Beat Batman
Batman might have a hard time coming up with a contingency plan for these Marvel villains, proving that he's in for a hard time in the multiverse.
As Batman begins to take out the trash, Gotham comes under siege by a mysterious military movement with Scarecrow at the helm. Batman desperately rushes to put a stop to the march on his city and capture Scarecrow, but with his health failing and the numbers against him, he always finds himself one step behind. At the story's apex, Scarecrow unleashes a cloud of modified fear toxin across the city, plungin Gotham into chaos. While most citizens were evacuated, there were those who could not esccape. Batman can only look on in dismay seeing the consequences of him being too late.
1 City Of Bane
The Batman's Greatest Challenge Returns
- Writer: Tom King
- Artists: Mikel Janin, Tony S. Daniel
- Release Date: 2016
In a recent series of releases by DC Comics, Batman comes face to face with his greatest challenge, Bane. Bane is the one unstoppable force that Batman could not combat the first time around. A failure that nearly cost him his life, Bane methodically dissects Batman in both mind and body. Bane knew no equal in terms of strength, cunning, or skill, and could best Batman on his worst day.
After being left helpless by Batman, Bane once again gave in to his venomous desire and marched against Gotham, completely overwhelming Batman and the city's law enforcement. In a city controlled by Bane, villains like the Joker and the Riddler became the cops, the only Batman left standing was Thomas Wayne, and Bruce was, once again, thousands of miles away as his city suffered.
DC: 13 Strongest Versions Of Superman, Ranked
Every version of Superman is powerful, but even with that in mind, these versions of the Man of Steel are a cut above the rest.