The Batman Trasformation

Last night, someone whom I have begun to speak frequently to on Face Book asked what would have happened if Bruce Wayne’s parents were never killed. Would he still have become Batman? Or would another hero have arisen in his absence? Would there have been any heroes at all, or would Gotham have continued its fall into the depths of Darkness, Sin and Chaos? Naturally, I could not help but examine what ultimately drove Bruce Wayne to becoming Batman, his psychological influences, his family, what sort of person he could have become, ext.

Let’s begin by looking at the history of Gotham City. Gotham’s origins are shrouded in mystery, and I would heavily suggest that you read the DC wikia page (Here!!!!) as I cannot begin to include all the details I desire to. So I will skip over all the good stuff and get to the point. Ultimately, Gotham was founded by two families. The Waynes and the Arkhams. These two clans, though both rich and powerful, were very different. Whereas the Waynes were known for having a desire to help others and be incredibly self-sacrificial, spending entire fortunes to help push society into the light, the Arkhams –though not obviously so- did the opposite. In the shadows, they worked to promote chaos, and worshiped insanity. Though it is debatable where and when it started, the Arkham family passes a twisted gene down generation to generation, causing the individuals to develop some sort of psychotic illness. Many Arkhams even turned into some of the lesser known –but still vital- Gotham Villains. Amadeus Arkham was able to best disguise his family’s illness by founding Arkham Asylum. By managing the insane, they were able to hide their own insanity.

We're not crazy! I promise!

So what does all that have to do with Bruce Wayne’s transformation to Batman? Well it is well known that Bruce Wayne's Father, Thomas Wayne, was a Wayne. Obviously. But in some versions –such as Earth One- his mother, Martha, was originally an Arkham. This counted for an odd balance between the genes for Bruce. One the one side, he had the Wayne genes which gave him a kinder heart and a desire to help people. While on his mother's side, the Arkham side, his psyche was twisted, and had a more dark side. Unfortunately, before he even had the chance to grow into a man and decide who he wanted to be, his parents were murdered in front of his eyes.

Although this is obviously the most attributed aspect of the Batman Transformation, I believe that it is also the most overlooked. Although it pains me to say this, there are children that have the deep and scarring misfortune of seeing their parents murdered in front of them all the time. It is sadly not as rare of a thing as most of us would so desire it to be. So what is the difference between them and Bruce Wayne? –Apart from him being a fictional character, I mean- Some would argue that it was his fortune that was able to make him carry out the Batman Transformation. But do you honestly think that if Bruce Wayne was a poor as you or I, then he would not have ever become Batman? Bruce’s most attributable characteristic is his undying stubbornness. Once he has his mind set on something, nothing will change. He is not the type of person that would let a lack of finances get in the way of his vengeance. So what is the difference? 

Even Damian admits it.

The difference –though great and numerous- would ultimately be the malevolent Arkham gene in him. He had a desire for personal gratification through vengeance, a strong Arkham attribute, while his Wayne side would never let him leave it alone. The Wayne mentality drove him to use the skills he acquired for his own vengeance for Justice. He had to help others. In some ways he did not have a choice. Torn between the two opposing ideologies and genes, he was thrown into a downward spiral of insanity. Forever cascading farther, losing himself in vengeance and justice. It has never been denied but by the most unknowledgeable
of fans that Batman was insane. Unbelievably and undeniably insane. He has Multiple Personality Disorder, suffers from severe depression, and is a sociopath. As I previously mentioned, many of the Arkhams turn out to be just as large villains than Batman was a hero. In a lot of ways, Batman was one generation away from becoming possibly the greatest villain the DC universe has ever seen. Owl Man, anyone?
 

So all of that is to ask, what would have happened if Thomas and Martha were not killed? What if they walked out of that theater, and went home, safely? This presents a plethora of other options for young Bruce. Now he has the opportunity to peacefully explore his psyche, and discover all the hidden aspects of his mind that the Arkham family is responsible for. Now it is impossible to say what sort of person he would have become; unfortunately, no amount of research and analyzing would decide that. I will say however, that he would either have become a greater man than his father, using Wayne Industries to build Gotham unlike any era before him, or he would have used his power to support the Arkham side, and pushed Gotham farther down, becoming corrupted in the underworld. I have no doubt that either way, once Ra's Al Ghul came to destroy Gotham, Bruce would be none too happy about it. No matter which path he took, the Waynes or the Arkhams, he would not have let that threat be fulfilled. He would fight with everything he had to save Gotham, no matter his personal reasons. But if this were the case, I doubt that it would be a Batman like persona that we know so well. I believe that he would fight in a far different way than we are used to seeing. Instead of himself going on a one man rampage against his enemies, I believe he would use Wayne Industries, and all the men under him. He would utilize the police force; he would use his money to bribe people. It would be more of a political war than anything else.

Behold. The face of Evil

Another aspect we would have to look at is the question of another hero rising if Bruce's parents were never killed. I have no good answer to this either. If Bruce never became Batman, there would never have been a Robin, or any generations thereof (Nightwing, Red Robin, Red Hood, Cat Girl etc.) All of Gotham's heroes stem from Bruce Wayne, and if he never became Batman, then I don't think there would have been any others at all. Of course, that is not to say that another Hero from a different town would have come to Gotham. But that is so unpredictable, that I will not touch the subject.

Lastly, I would like to mention the Flashpoint Paradox. In this timeline, Bruce is killed instead of his parents, and Thomas Wayne becomes Batman (Who uses guns and kills people) and his mother becomes the Joker. Now something that is very different here is that Thomas Wayne is more of a Murderer than a Hero. He has no issue with using guns and slaughtering his enemies. I do not know what the difference is between Thomas and Bruce, but whatever it is, it played a huge role in determining what sort of people they were, and what tactics they used.

Back away. Very slowly.

No matter how you look at it, something was bound to happen to this family eventually. But the sheer, twisted, unpredictability of their minds makes it impossible to even guess what the outcome would be to any deciding event. Bruce was destined to be incredibly powerful, no matter what happened to his family, but the line he walked on between Good and Evil was so narrow, that it was only sheer luck that he became the World’s Greatest Detective we all know and love today.