When Superman died, it made international news. Sure, he came back, but people bought and read those issues like crazy. It was a complete shake-up to a character that hadn't had any major long-lasting effects since 'Crisis on Infinite Earths' in the 1980s. Then, in 1993, it was Batman's turn for something that would almost destroy the hero – Knightfall.
Bruce Wayne is at the end of his tether. Even with the aid of a new ally, Jean-Paul Valley, Batman has not been able to always defeat the villains that he must face. Fighting illness and exhaustion, Batman has been trying to investigate the appearance of what appears to be a new criminal mastermind in Gotham, a mysterious figure that goes by the name Bane. But Bane has his own agenda; destroying Batman utterly and ruling the entire city. Things get even worse for the Dark Knight when Bane attacks Arkham Asylum, freeing all of the worst inmates to unleash havoc upon an unprepared city. Pushed to the very edge of his endurance, Batman struggles to re-capture psychotic criminals like the Mad Hatter, Firefly and Victor Zsasz. He ignores the advice of all his allies, determined to bring order back to his city by himself if he has to. And that's when Bane makes his move.
After deducing Batman's real identity, Bane breaks into Wayne Manor. When Batman returns, Bane is waiting for him and is able to utterly dominate him. Bane finishes the battle by breaking Batman's back, before leaving him outside Gotham's town hall, crippled.
Robin (Tim Drake) and Alfred's quick actions are able to save Bruce's life, but he is still left paraplegic. In a desperate attempt to keep the criminal element of Gotham in line, Bruce passes the mantle of Batman to Jean-Paul Valley, the former religious warrior who had until recently been brainwashed into fighting as an assassin. Despite Robin's misgivings, Jean-Paul is now the protector of Gotham city, the Batman. Following the kidnapping of Tim Drake's father, Bruce and Alfred depart Gotham, leaving only the new Batman as guardian.
Things go well at first – Jean-Paul is able to defeat and recapture some of the escaped inmates, but an encounter with the Scarecrow's fear toxin makes him develop a powerful paranoia and he becomes more and more unstable. He alienates Robin and becomes a much harsher Batman, one that isn't afraid to torture or maim foes, or leave them to die if he feels it's right. Batman's former allies such as Commissioner Gordon can no longer trust him to obey the spirit of the law, and the general public begin to fear him. Jean-Paul modifies the Bat-suit, adding new, dangerous gadgets. These advantages enable Jean-Paul to defeat Bane but when he lets a kidnapper die before revealing the location of his hideout, thus condemning the kidnapped person to death, there is no going back. Batman has gone rogue.
As Jean-Paul falls deeper into insanity, Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham, having had his broken spine healed. After training with Lady Shiva, Bruce confronts Jean-Paul and defeats him with wits rather than brawn. Jean-Paul admits that Bruce is the one true Batman and the cowl returns to Bruce. However, the damage has been done. The public cannot trust Batman as they once did, and Bruce's decisions are what caused it. The things done by Jean-Paul as Batman are Bruce's responsibility and something he must now work to atone.
As you probably got from that summary, this was an epic storyline. It ran for nearly a year and a half in two different series (and more in the final stages) and for a while it seemed as though this would be the status quo going forward. Of course, things did eventually return to normal, but it was a long time coming. The series introduced some truly memorable characters, with the most obvious being Bane. It altered how Batman was seen by many and delved into his motivations just as much as shorter stories like Batman: Year One or Dark Knight Returns did.
The first act was a brutal reminder that Batman was human, with human failings such as pride and stubbornness that led to him being too exhausted to overcome Bane. The second act makes it clear that Batman walks a fine line between crime-fighter and criminal, a line that is too easy to stumble from in a moment of weakness. The last act showed just how much secrecy surrounds Batman, that it is an identity that can be worn by others just as easily by Bruce Wayne but comes with strong ideals that must be upheld or else the identity is no longer Batman. It also made clear how Batman is seen by others and the influence he has not only on individuals, but a whole city.
The series made an important statement about heroes at the time – superheroes were moving towards a more dark and gritty period, one that interestingly enough began with a Batman story. Jean-Paul Valley is a response to this style of hero, one who is incredibly violent towards his enemies and arrogant to his allies. The important message that is being conveyed is that while those heroes are fine, they are not Batman, and that Batman works better as a defender of order and justice rather than a vicious vigilante.
This was really something of a game-changer for Batman. The series was now willing to create massive sprawling storylines that would effect everyone concerned with Gotham City and the Bat-family. It served as the inspiration for The Dark Knight Rises. It paved the way for huge events like 'Cataclysm', 'No Man's Land', 'War Games', 'Death and Return of Bruce Wayne' and most recently, 'Death of the Family'. In fact, that's what we'll be looking at over the next few weeks of Bat-May – the massive events that have changed the landscape of Batman and Gotham City.
Batman: Knightfall vol. 1 – 9781401233792 – Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench, Alan Grant - $44.99 – 644 pages
Batman: Knightfall vol. 2: Knightquest – 9781401235369 - Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench, Alan Grant, Jo Duffy - $44.99 – 656 pages
Batman: Knightfall vol. 3: Knightsend – 9781401237219 - Chuck Dixon, Doug Moench, Alan Grant, Jo Duffy, Denny O'Neil - $36.99 – 652 pages
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