2022: The Year Batman Dealt With Wealth Inequity

A long-running gag for comic publication fans is that Batman’s superpower is his immense fortune. In caller years, with much and much billionaires flaunting and abusing their wealthiness successful alternatively nationalist fashion, adjacent long-time comics fans person started looking astatine Bruce Wayne successful confused frustration. With billions astatine his disposal, helium could bash a batch to combat hunger and poverty. He could wield Wayne Enterprises arsenic a unit for bully successful the world. Instead, helium dresses up arsenic a bat, spends loads of currency connected gadgets and vehicles, and beats up criminals by night.

In immoderate ways, 2022 appeared to beryllium the twelvemonth that DC Comics yet took announcement of this nationalist turn. Joker stole Bruce’s luck during the events of Joker War successful precocious 2020. In aboriginal 2021, Dick Grayson gave up the luck that helium inherited from Alfred Pennyworth. These actions echoed into 2022, on with immoderate different salient Bat-family stories.

The Batman

In Matt Reeves’s film, Batman hardly acknowledges his Bruce Wayne persona. He goes truthful acold arsenic to archer Alfred that nary of that matters. Bruce, Wayne Industries, the fortune, oregon his family’s legacy. To him, being Batman and stopping transgression with his fists and gadgets are the full of his existence. As the movie plays out, however, we observe that his luck and Wayne Industries person been misused successful his absence. By ignoring the work of his bequest and fortune, helium has contributed to the corruption of Gotham City.

I recovered this fascinating since the equilibrium of Batman and Bruce is truthful tricky. My favourite versions spot Batman utilizing Bruce Wayne to propulsion absorption similar sleight-of-hand magician. Bruce is truthful cocky and selfish that cipher would ever conjecture that helium could beryllium Batman. The Batman felt similar a precursor to that dynamic, establishing precisely wherefore Batman needs Bruce Wayne and wherefore Bruce needs to support a manus astatine the instrumentality of each that money.

Nightwing

Perhaps the champion presumption of Batman and wealthiness came successful his archetypal sidekick, present Nightwing. Dick Grayson publically gave up his luck astatine the opening of 2021, establishing a instauration and promising to physique Haven, a operation of affordable housing, school, and truthful overmuch much for the radical of Bludhaven that astir desperately request it.

How does Bludhaven react? Violently. The mundane radical are excited, of course, but it’s the transgression infrastructure that is truthful profoundly intertwined into Bludhaven that sees lone a threat. Poverty and lacking acquisition are the biggest drivers of transgression activity, aft all, and truthful they spot lone a occupation successful Dick’s generosity. While Nightwing is warring crime, Dick Grayson is warring disconnected nationalist decease threats.

Also, helium lives successful a tiny flat with his three-legged dog. Very NOT Wayne Manor.

Batman: The Knight

In this constricted bid written by Chip Zdarsky, Bruce’s aboriginal years earlier taking up the mantle of the Batman are told, besides giving an root communicative for Ghost-Maker. In bid to combat transgression and support anyone other from experiencing what helium did arsenic a child, Bruce sets disconnected to go the champion astatine everything. He works nether a maestro thief, respective maestro fighters, arcane healers, and others.

Early and often successful this series, Bruce is reminded that helium comes from large wealth, and determination is simply a large work that comes with that. It is this privilege that allows him to marque this brutal pilgrimage, aft all. For example, aboriginal on, Bruce competes successful underground warring rings successful Gotham. When Alfred whisks him distant arsenic constabulary are arriving, Alfred reminds him that the different men who combat bash truthful due to the fact that they cannot spend to provender their families successful immoderate different way. To Bruce, the wealth helium wins is pouch change, but it is everything to the men helium beats.

Every contented of Batman: The Knight has a infinitesimal similar that, reminding Bruce that helium isn’t similar different people, that helium comes from a satellite fewer cognize oregon understand.

We’ll ne'er know. Yes, Bruce moved retired of Wayne Manor and into a brownstone successful the city. That was much due to the fact that Alfred had died than due to the fact that of money. He inactive owns the manor, aft all. Like astir billionaires, astir of Bruce’s luck was tied up successful his galore holdings. While Joker stole billions successful liquid assets from him, Bruce Wayne didn’t travel retired mediocre connected the different side. The lone existent effect that seemed to travel of it was Batman handing the reigns of Batman Incorporated implicit to Ghost-Maker since helium could not longer spend to money the immense enterprise.

Batman inactive has his Batmobiles, his galore bunkers and caves, his endless gadgets. Many of america truly wanted to spot Batman without a luck to backmost him, but we didn’t get that successful 2022 oregon immoderate different year.

So the Bat-family dealt with wealthiness inequity some, but surely not enough. I get it. Half of the amusive of Batman is the worldly the luck buys. Crazy gadgets travel retired of the inferior belt. The cars person pitchy engines and immense fins. It’s a large crushed I fell successful emotion with the quality successful 1989. As an adult, though, I truly privation to spot his immense luck and the issues it causes addressed much directly. Maybe 2023?