Warning: SPOILERS for Detective Comics #1017
Batman has just been reminded that Bruce Wayne should be a hero too. Everyone knows the story of Batman; billionaire Bruce Wayne, the man who inherited his wealth and runs Wayne Enterprises, using his phenomenal wealth to equip himself with a variety of branded weaponry and vehicles. In Justice League, the Flash asked Batman what his superpower was again, and he gave a pretty on-the-nose answer; “I’m rich.”
Of course, that raises the tantalizing question of whether or not Batman could do more good with his money if he used it philanthropically rather than paying for everything from Batarangs to shark repellent bat-spray. The comics have generally tended to avoid this question, for fear they make DC’s top vigilante look a whole lot less heroic. But in this week’s Detective Comics #1017, writer Tom Taylor decides to tackle the problem head-on, in what can only be considered one of the best Batman comics of the decade.
Detective Comics #1017 is a character-focused issue, and it centers upon Batman’s experience as an orphan. Along with his wealth, he inherited responsibility for a chain of orphanages founded by his mother. The sad truth is, however, that Bruce has traditionally distanced himself from the orphanages, allowing them to run themselves. This issue reveals that he’s been blissfully unaware of a spate of teenage runaways from one of these orphanages, and it takes Lucius Fox’s prompting to lead him to begin looking into them. Tragically, Batman and Robin find the latest runaway too late, and he dies of hypothermia while they’re rushing him to hospital.
It turns out that the owner of this orphanage has been working with a criminal carter, quietly selling orphans into the slave trade and erasing all record of their existence. Needless to say, that’s not something Batman is willing to turn a blind eye to.
Detective Comics #1017 is a fascinating issue. At the beginning of the story, Bruce Wayne is dismissive, figuring that orphans sometimes run away - as he knows all too well from first-hand experience. When he first heads to the orphanage, he takes an expensive gift of equipment, only to realize there isn’t the room for it all. By the end of the issue, Batman is forced to accept that he has failed to protect these children who were supposed to be kept safe in his mother’s name. He’s forced to swear a new vow; from this point on he will more involved in these orphans’ lives, in order to ensure history doesn’t repeat itself. The tragedy has taught Batman a hard lesson; that with wealth comes responsibility, and that Bruce Wayne can be just as much a hero as Batman himself.
Detective Comics #1017 is on sale now in comic book shops.
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