Batman Teams Up With An Actual Bat in The Comics (Seriously)
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Batman: Black and White #4
In the latest issue of DC Comics' Batman: Black and White anthology series, the Dark Knight surprisingly teams up with an actual living bat in one of the issue's stories. Apparently, the bats that roam and fly the skies of Gotham are frequently in danger, due to the fact that owning one is seen as a status symbol by some of Gotham's powerful and elite. As the the market is very high, there are even bat hunters in Gotham who are looking to meet the demand, despite the harm being caged causes to the creatures in the long-term. As a result, Batman uncovers the ring of criminal hunters responsible in this particular story, and he gets a some help from his own namesake to get the job done.
Entitled, "A Night In The Life Of A Bat In Gotham" From Joshua Williamson and Riley Rossmo in Batman: Black and White #4, the story focuses on one specific bat who has found itself caught by this group of criminal merchants seeking to profit off of the uniqueness of Gotham City. Not only do they sell bats, but they also sell a variety of Gotham rogue merchandise (discarded weapons and props from villains like Joker, Riddler, etc) all of which is no doubt illegal to sell, despite the apparent growing market for them.
However, Batman arrives on the scene just in time, and the Dark Knight's resulting brawl with the criminals gives the bat the chance to break free of its cage. Not only that, but it also attacks the crew's leader right before he is about to strike Batman with an electric cattle prod while his back is turned. The bat claws and scratches at the villain's face long enough for Batman to get the upper hand.
In the aftermath, Batman takes his little partner back to the Batcave to help him recover after the shock it receives before setting it free to come and go as it pleases with the rest of the cave's bats. Additionally, Batgirl notes that bats held in captivity are unable to survive for long, which makes it all the more awful that groups of Gotham's elite have been seeking to own them as some sort of status symbol. With the hunters presumably behind bars, hopefully the city's bats will be safer in the long run.
It's for that reason that Batman confirms that none of the bats in the Batcave are there against their will, and he even views them as family, not pets. After all, Bruce's childhood fear of bats serves as the symbolic motivation for his whole aesthetic and crusade in Gotham in the first place. In any case, this short story from Williamson and Rossmo is a really fun one that serves as a testament to how important bats are to Bruce Wayne even in the present, and it really is a great addition to the Batman: Black and White series from DC Comics.
from ScreenRant - Feed
Join Our Email Newsletter Now!
Join over 1,897 people who get free and fresh content delivered automatically each time we publish.
