The following article contains spoilers from Batman #131, on sale now from DC Comics.
With Batman trapped in another universe, the rumors of his apparent “death” have spread all over Gotham. However, the reaction of the city’s criminal population is heavily varied. In “The Toy Box Part 1” from Batman #131 (by Chip Zdarsky, Miguel Mendonca, Roman Stevens, and Clayton Cowles), Robin reveals exactly how Gotham’s villains are handling the rumors about Batman’s demise.
The more dangerous villains such as Bane and the Riddler never believe rumors about Batman being killed. In contrast, the less intelligent criminals believe it instantly and take it as a sign that it is their time to make a name for themselves, resulting in a number of supervillain wannabes popping up, only to be promptly shut down by the Bat-Family. Still, it is fascinating that even Gotham’s villains have a certain level of faith in Batman’s ability to survive.
How Gotham City Reacts to Batman’s Apparent Death
For the most part, it only seems to be the heroic and criminal communities that are affected by Batman vanishing. His allies either assume he is dead because there is sufficient evidence to support such a notion, or they refuse to believe it and go looking for him. The criminals’ varying reactions, on the other hand, are truly fascinating. Robin likened it to a hierarchy. Those at the bottom of the criminal food chain believe such notions instantly because they’re looking for any excuse to climb the ladder. In reality, though, it is their lack of talent or intelligence that holds them back, as shown by how Nightwing and Robin easily dismantled one of these “up and coming” gangs.
However, the more prominent villains of the city never believe rumors of Batman’s death. They’ve gone up against the Dark Knight enough times to know that they’d need to see a body first before they even contemplate the notion that Batman is gone. After all, it’s impossible to count how many death traps and near-death scenarios Batman has been in at this point, and most of the time he was put into them by those villains. One can’t really blame them for shrugging off whispers that he is gone for good.
The DC Universe Doesn’t Take Batman’s Death Seriously
It might also have something to do with simple exasperation. Batman has been presumed dead so many times already. This is just the latest instance within the last few months. The world already thought he was dead during the Dark Crisis, and now an android apparently killed him. At a certain point, they must have become numb to the cycle of Batman dying and then miraculously returning.
Even the Bat-Family seems to share this attitude. Nightwing’s conversation with Robin in the story shows that most of the Bat-Family is waiting for Batman to return on his own, citing all the times that he had done so before. If even the Dark Knight’s own family has just accepted that he’ll return one day, then one can only imagine what his enemies must feel when they hear that he has died — again.
