Off THEIR Minds: Can Batman Ever Truly Be Happy?

We ask Scott Snyder, Rick Remender, Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, Jeff Lemire, Scott Lobdell, Sam Humphries, Robert Venditti, Joshua Dysart, Bryan Q. Miller, Josh Fialkov, John Layman, Brian Buccellato, Art Baltazar and Franco the question.

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47 Comments

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Pokeysteve

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I always get the vibe that Batman won't let himself be happy. Until he deals with his $h!t the short answer is no.

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PeppeyHare

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Art and Franco always make me smile.

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batmannflash

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He'll never be happy for the sake of stories

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RedheadedAtrocitus

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Nah, he can't be emotionally content. It would make him useless as a character in comics if he was content and happy.

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Wolverine008

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As long as Bruce sacrifices his life for the sake of his mission, I don't think he'll ever be happy.

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ForeverMan

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I like these videos. They are entertaining.

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Trevel8182

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Edited By Trevel8182

Earth 2 Batman is very happy, well adjusted, has a family and is still interesting character so I say yes.

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gmanfromheck

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Edited By gmanfromheck

@trevel8182: Not really considering what happened in EARTH 2 #1

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girlinfourcolors

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I think Batman is one of the happiest, most well adjusted guys in comics.

Think about how much trauma this guy's been through. Parents, dead. Adopted son, dead, then came back and tried to murder him. Biological son, dead, might yet come back and try to murder him (Batman #666, anyone?). Fiancee, dead, then came back and murdered his baby mama. (And while we're at it: Baby mama, dead, might yet come back and try to murder him.)

Hell, if Dr. Hurt was telling the truth (he wasn't, but if) then he himself was Batman's dad come back to try to murder him. There's kinda a theme to this post. Everyone he loves dies and comes back to murder him. Lots of people he doesn't love are also always trying to murder him. Not to mention all the Fear Gas and Joker Toxin and Venom and stuff he's been dosed with.

If even one of those things happened to you or I, we'd be suffering from serious PTSD, most likely. But not Batman. He just grins and punches evil in the face. He has found the perfect coping mechanism for himself, and he's showing no signs of letting anything slow him down.

Trust me, Batman's fine. If he were really as tortured and depressed as so many people think he is, he'd never get anything done.

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Trevel8182

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Edited By Trevel8182

@g_man: Why must you be the screen door on my submarine, Yes he is dead but that was because of the story James Robinson wanted to tell with a world without a trinity but before that he was all those things.

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Outside_85

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Edited By Outside_85

He could become happy, if the writers really wanted him to be. Get a steady girlfriend (that doesn't get sliced up), have protege's that's capable enough to handle Gotham in his absence. Just make his job a bit easier, and less horrid, for a while.

But we aren't going to see that since he would stop being angry at the world and at crime, which is the major drive for him to do what he does.

While it was Diana's perception, JLA 90 did give us a few possibilities:

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Trevel8182

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@outside_85: As much as I don't care for the Wonder Woman and Batman romance to put mildly

I thought that was a great story.

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shatterstar

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shatterstar  Moderator

Disarmed by an ice cream cone cracked me up.

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kfhrfdu_89_76k

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Joker venom on small, daily doses.

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Crimsonlord53

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Maybe just maybe one day.

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Amaryllis

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Edited By Amaryllis
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arkay74

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Where's the fun in that?

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lorex

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Edited By lorex

I would say if Batman ever became happy and content it would only be a sign that something really bad was about to happen to him. Batman has become pretty dark in the last 10 years and I do not see the story mellowing to the point where he can be happy.

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Kneepawn

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I can only see Batman being happy and coming to terms with things in the Nolan-verse. Aside from that... no.

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dernman

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No

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cdahan

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Edited By cdahan

I remember the arc in JLA where the Arkham criminals all suddenly experience remorse and were suddenly human in being distraught for what they've done. It was through that twisted Martian Manhunter thing.

I think it was Wonder Woman who asked him "Did you learn anything?" and he replied "Yes, I can still experience joy."

It'd take a lot, but yea he could get there.

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hart7668

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@girlinfourcolors: How can anything break a spirit that has already been broken? I'd say Batman already suffers from severe psychological breakdown - he isn't Bruce Wayne anymore, he's Batman (developing a second personality).

The kinds of physical things Batman puts himself through in order to fight crime in Gotham would make a U.S. Marine or a Navy SEAL feel bad about themselves. Who's to say that fighting crime isn't Batman's own form of self-torture?

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johnny_blaze

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Batman needs to grow a pair and realize that his parents are gone and will never return ever again. Green Arrow's parents were attacked and killed by lions, Spidey's uncle & girlfriend died. You don't really see them moping around. He just accept it and move on. I thought Batman was a badass lol.

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darknightspideyfanboy

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@johnny_blaze:if uncle ben didn't die i dont we would of gotten a hero spiderman

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Shallbecomeabattoo

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No, he can't in the comics, at least not for long.

Thats why I love the Dark Knight Rises so much. There he gets to ride off into the sunset and can live a life after Batman. For a movie series, thats a great ending, even if I wouldn't want it in the comics.

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SlickyMike88

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He can , if he want's to , he just denies it as usual :P

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pretur22

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I hope layman write's that story

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fil123

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he was happy, earth 2 batman! but he was killed off....

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Mega_spidey01

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As long as Bruce sacrifices his life for the sake of his mission, I don't think he'll ever be happy.

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SmoothJammin

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Edited By SmoothJammin

Josh Fialkov's 'Off Their Mind' responses always crack me up

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iceslick

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Edited By iceslick

@g_manHas any of these writers seen Batman The Brave and The Bold? Batman was happy man on earth in that series. lol That's why I loved that series.

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DonFelipe

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Yes, at the end of HISHE's Super Cafe episodes... bec... cause he's Bat-Man!

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Tradewind

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I swear, Sam Humphries is totally like Dr. Bartholomew Wolper from The Dark Knight Returns both in look and what they say.

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Dead_raccoon

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Nachos are enough to make anybody happy, but Batman isn't ever allowed to be happy if his facial expression is like that......

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lightsout

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Edited By lightsout

In short: No

Anytime there is a happy moment (involving his boys, or Alfred, etc), it seems more like a "throw the readers a bone" moment (b/c we'd like Batman to be rewarded) more than a moment of honest characterization. Even if it is honest, they're few & far-between. I don't believe Batman can ever have a "true" happy life (where he is "relaxed" and able to let people very close to him (a family, however you want to define that)) -- if only because of his own personal psychological issues. (Even if there could be enough therapy to help him make a lot of progress with them, he'd never put in legitimate effort).

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NightFang3

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I don't want a happy Batman!

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LyraFay

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Edited By LyraFay

Yes, he can be happy if he surrounds himself right with the people like Harry Potter. His parents died but he had all of the goodwill around him to move on. Yes, Batman does surround himself with good people (Alfred, Dick, Tim and I guess we could stretch Catwoman (she does make this random mention in Arkham Unhinged, that he fights better around her or impresses her) but he also caught up with the bad people (Joker, Ra's, Riddler etc). Unfortunately, his balance is never right. The bad always consumes the good (Death in the family, Long Halloween).

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utkanflash

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I think Batman is one of the happiest, most well adjusted guys in comics.

Think about how much trauma this guy's been through. Parents, dead. Adopted son, dead, then came back and tried to murder him. Biological son, dead, might yet come back and try to murder him (Batman #666, anyone?). Fiancee, dead, then came back and murdered his baby mama. (And while we're at it: Baby mama, dead, might yet come back and try to murder him.)

Hell, if Dr. Hurt was telling the truth (he wasn't, but if) then he himself was Batman's dad come back to try to murder him. There's kinda a theme to this post. Everyone he loves dies and comes back to murder him. Lots of people he doesn't love are also always trying to murder him. Not to mention all the Fear Gas and Joker Toxin and Venom and stuff he's been dosed with.

If even one of those things happened to you or I, we'd be suffering from serious PTSD, most likely. But not Batman. He just grins and punches evil in the face. He has found the perfect coping mechanism for himself, and he's showing no signs of letting anything slow him down.

Trust me, Batman's fine. If he were really as tortured and depressed as so many people think he is, he'd never get anything done.


This is

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deactivated-60ae841330527

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Don't Alt futures indicate no? ...The dude got to look over Metropolis for a day and was still miserable!

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deactivated-59dbfb60c4f7c

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I feel like if he would just in his is house (or office or any really) and in full costume for maybe an hour and just have Alfred bring him some very expensive alcohol and just relish that he is Bruce Wayne, millionaire playboy philanthropist, who can dress as batman in broad daylight and the most people would think is that "Oh yeah that guy basically owns all of batman's gadgets." Then he would be happy for at least five minutes (and then the years to come when he looks back on the biggest waste of time in his entire life).

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rugrat

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he moves on where do you think his pain goes

in the jokers face, by the way he was pretty okay in batman beyond

"why do we fall down bruce"

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bellaardila92

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In Tje Dark Knight Rises Batman was happy he finally save Gotham but in the comics I am pretty sure Batman was depressed

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Neogamebuddy

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I want a happy batman at least ONCE, you know just a cute little story where he takes all his children to the park for a picnic or something, CAN I JUST DREAM OF THAT

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Mellow_Hype

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Batman is Happy. He feels great joy in protecting gotham city/earth.

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deadpooluk

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Batman happy

http://m.youtube.com/index?&desktop_uri=%2F#/watch?v=vW9hGF981mo