The Triumph of Joe Chill:

Inspired by Ragnell's post on the Wonder Woman un-retcon, I thought I'd post about *my* favorite un-retcon, which is the re-establishment of Joe Chill as Batman's parents' murderer.

Why Joe Chill Works For Me
Ever since the Crisis, Batman's been considerably darker than his past incarnations. Some of this is because of DKR, some because of the Tim Burton movie, some of it's just because it's more fun that way. Superman and Wonder Woman are good for the standard heroics so it's fun to have a dark mirror of this.

And I can't deny that there is something fun about the scariest man in the DC Universe being the one with no powers what so ever.

But then, somewhere in the 90s, I think the writing staff forgot their direction with him. Batman was on a scary downward slope of borderline psychopathy. And it just kept getting worse. By the 2000s, he'd pretty much ruined his relationship with his surviving adopted son, gone to even brutal lengths to build his current Robin as his successor, made himself the boogeyman of the Justice League (even retconned back, so that it was somehow plausible that his *friends* would unanimously vote to wipe his mind). Even the relationship with Cassandra, which was the closest thing he had to anything humanizing was disturbingly written, as he ignored everything about her that didn't fit his ideal, and ignored Barbara's wise maternal advice and concern for the girl's development by making her a living symbol of the mission.

There was an important symbolism in the last batgirl issue, when Shiva was pulling out the devices from the bat belt remarking about how little they were used and asking ironically how many *she* invented. She had a serious point, Bruce might have been her father figure, but it was just like Cain. He'd been pushing her into a role that she might have wanted, but was ill suited to. A fact that Barbara *tried* to bring to his attention, but he ignored. (The Batgirl book had some very disturbing themes, IMO.)

Countdown to Infinite Crisis almost made Bruce completely irredeemable. His disregard for a former colleague (one that hadn't been around for the mindwipe, I must add) was a direct contributer to his death. His paranoia, used against the JLA before, was used again in the form of Brother Eye. Not only is Bruce a paranoid psycho, but one who didn't even learn.

Infinite Crisis was a start, Kal-L's telling Bruce that a version of him was happy with Selina was a part of it. The realization that Bruce was the archetect of his own unhappiness, *not* the phantom murderer of his parents. He even reconciled with Dick and sought to bridge things with Tim...

OYL, Batman is a new man. He's still driven and dark, with scary, scary presence. But he's not as unbalanced. He's making an effort with Tim and Selina, even making peace with Bullock, and there's a genuinely new maturity about him. Post Crisis Batman seemed like some part of him never made it past the age of his parents' murder, everything was black and white to him like a child's view, and he couldn't ever quite get past that. Now, he seems older. *At least* an adolescent.

And I think Joe Chill's restoration is an important part of this. Necessary as the means to drag Bruce out of his downward spiral.

See, as long as Bruce's parents' murderer was unknown, Bruce was *losing* his battle on the streets. It was clear that he looked at each would be mugger, robber and murderer as though he or she were the one who killed his mom and dad. And each one he put away, another one would turn up. Each capture was a failure because his own phantom was still out there.

As long as this was the case, he was doomed to the downward spiral. *No one* can take that much futile defeat and stay sane or whole.

But Joe Chill means that Bruce has a face to put to the name, so each criminal he catches *isn't* his parents' murderer. And this has a very distinct and important difference in Batman's world view.

I think the major difference between the more adult pre-crisis Batman and the angry, crusading psycho of the post-crisis years isn't the amount of humor or darkness in the story, it was in the scope of the character. Pre-Crisis Batman was about the victims, about making sure no one else suffered the way he had. Each time he caught someone was a triumph. It meant fewer victims, fewer crying orphans. Sure there are more out there, but that's a small triumph that's going to be the part of something big.

Post-Crisis Batman was about the criminals. The victims were almost afterthoughts, really. He wanted to find *his* looming phantom in that mess. He was the spirit of vengeance and had nearly become as inhuman as the people he fought. Being so focused on the capture of criminals meant, again, that he was forever going to be defeated. It creates a depressing pessimism, no matter what he does, more criminals will come. What's the *point*? The mission was swallowing him alive.

But OYL Batman seems to be more like Pre-Crisis than his Post-Crisis version. He's still dark and driven, the tragedy in his past has still shaped him to be the man he is today, but there's a subtle shift in his tone. There's an optimism there again, like each capture of a criminal is important again. It's a triumph again. Less victims, less suffering. It *means* something. And it's not about him anymore, except that these are his enemies and his people who need help.

And Bruce seems to be once more the man behind the mask, rather than Batman's facade for interacting with ordinary people. *Bruce* is the one talking to his friend Jim. Bruce is the one trying very hard to make peace with Selina, to show Tim the support he needs without being smothering, the one who gives Bullock another chance (while acknowledging Bullock's own verbal counteroffensive), expresses concern for Cassandra, and at least tried to reconcile with Dick.

I'm liking this man now. For the first time ever. And I attribute that to Joe Chill.

Joe Chill paints Batman's not killing in a new, more mature light. The choice of whether to kill or not is a personal one for heroes and is a turning point in the character. Whether they do or not, it's a growth moment. Batman didn't have this because with him, the not-killing was portrayed as more of an attempt to hold on to himself and not fall completely into the darkness surrounding him.

It was a drowning man clinging to one last rope rather than a growth moment.

But now, it's an expression of personal growth. He knows who Joe Chill is. And he knows that the death of the criminal means nothing in the long run. Martha and Thomas Wayne are still dead. Bruce has still grown up alone but for Alfred. Bruce has still become Batman. Where before his refusal to kill seemed almost more out of desperation than anything else, *now* it's a fully informed choice. He understands the futility of vengeance. He wants something beyond that.

I'm also hoping the whole Joe Chill dying to save Bruce Wayne ends up in continuity too, because then that is a real beam of light in the darkness. That is living proof to Bruce that the worst person still has something of humanity inside of him. That redemption, if only a little, is possible. It's *hope*, and Gotham has needed hope for a very long time.

Gotham's still dark. Batman's still a brooding creepy shadow dwellling guy. But I think this Joe Chill stuff made a subtle but important change in the DCU

The Bat-signal is supposed to only scare the criminals of Gotham, to the rest of the city, it should be a symbol of hope.

And I think it might be that way again. *Finally*.