Warning! Contains spoilers for Batman #150!
Summary
Batmanwas born when a gun was fired in a dark alley decades ago. Now, despite his continued war on crime and his refusal to use guns, Batman has admitted that his true title has always been “the Gunmaker.” Despite Batman’s best attempts to make the world a better place, he has a long history of creating truly destructive weapons.
Batman’s heartbreaking admission takes place in theBatman#150 backup story “Brick by Brick"by Chip Zdarsky and Mike Hawthorne. In this story, Batman admits that one of the first things he did when he became a billionaire was buy the company that created the gun that killed his parents. He immediately shuts the company down, giving the employees new jobs at Wayne Enterprises. But he knows that he’s created plenty of gun-like weapons in the years since then, including his most dangerous creation: Failsafe. No wonderBatman calls himself the DCU’s “gunmaker.”
Batman thinks over these facts throughout the story. While he destroyed the place that made Joe Chill’s weapon, the actual people responsible for manufacturing the gun were never punished. The actual gunmakers continued in life as though nothing were wrong. Batman considers his own role as a gunmaker, as he’s created plenty of weapons that hurt people, even before Failsafe’s debut.
Batman Breaks His ‘No Guns’ Rule in a BIG Way in 100 Bullets Crossover Art
Legendary artist Eduardo Risso recently shared off a piece of Batman/100 Bullets crossover artwork that features Batman breaking his “no guns” rule.
Batman Admits He Created a Gun and Now Has to Destroy It
Failsafe Debuted inBatman#125 by Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jiménez, Tomeu Morey, and Clayton Cowles
One of Batman’s darkest creations is the alternate personalityZur-En-Arrh, who went on to create Failsafe.Failsafe eventually went out of controland nearly destroyed both the Bat-Family and the Justice League. While it was Zur-En-Arrh who created the destructive robot, Zur came from Batman, and Batman therefore takes full responsibility. Now that Failsafe isworking with Amanda Waller, he’s helping destroy superheroes all over the world, and Batman rightfully feels this is his fault. He created a gun and put it out into the world, and now it’s ruining the lives of innocent people. Even worse, this isn’t the first time Batman has created such a weapon.
“Brick by Brick” by Zdarsky and Hawthorne fromBatman#150 is a tie-in story to DC’s massiveAbsolute Powerevent. Readers should check outAbsolute Power#1 by Mark Waid and Dan Mora before readingBatman#150.
After the events ofIdentity Crisisby Brad Meltzer and Rags Morales, Batman’s trust in the Justice League was at an all-time low. To combat this,Batman created Brother Eye. Brother Eye was a highly advanced AI and was created to spy on the entire superhuman community, just in case they ever went too far. While Batman created Brother Eye with noble intentions, simply to keep an eye on the most powerful people on Earth, Brother Eye eventually went rogue. During the sprawlingInfinite Crisisevent, Brother Eye very nearly destroyed every superhero on Earth, which brings into question the legacy Batman has of creating weapons.
Batman Muses Over His Own Identity as a “Gunmaker”
Batman’s New Title Is a Dark Twist on His Legacy
There’s no denying that Batman is an amazing hero who has saved the world time and time again. But Batman also has a concerning legacy of creating wildly dangerous weapons that ultimately go out of control. Batman’s contingency plans were nearly used to defeat the Justice League. Failsafe went rogue and nearly killed the Bat-Family and the Justice League. Brother Eye nearly wiped out every superhuman on Earth. All of these were Batman’s creations that ultimately did more harm than good, which begs the question of whetherBatmanis just another “gunmaker” — like the people who supplied the weapon that killed his parents.
BATMAN #150 (2024)
Batman
One of DC’s most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world’s leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.
