The relationship between Batman and his allies is often one fraught with tension. The Batman is not a trusting creature, and has an extremely harsh outlook on his way on crime. If you aren't following his orders, you don't get to help police his city. There have been a number of stories that deal with this element of Batman, and one of the most tragic is the War Games arc.
Tim Drake, the third Robin, has retired, after his father discovered the double life Tim had been leading. Batman puts into motion a new method of stopping crime in Gotham, filling a street gang's power vacuum with his own man, named Orpheus. But resources are still stretched thin, and Batman turns to Tim Drake's girlfriend, Stephanie Brown, who is also the masked vigilante known as Spoiler. She steps into the role of Robin on a trial basis, despite a number of Batman's allies' concerns over yet another young person entering the crusade against crime. However, things do not go as Batman hoped and he is forced to fire her.
Soon after, a mysterious message is sent to all the major figures of the Gotham underworld, arranging a meeting. Tensions are high and one wrong move creates a massacre. The ensuing violence spreads as different crime families take the opportunity to settle scores and make their own plays for power. Batman frantically tries to restore some sort of order as his city is gripped by a vicious gang war. But the cause of the war is much closer to home than he would have thought, and there are others who plan to take advantage of the chaos to carve out their own criminal empire.
The War Games arc crossed over many of the Bat-family titles of the time, from the regular Detective Comics to Nightwing and Catwoman. It ran for four months, but given the number of titles involved, it was able to pack a lot of action in. The build up and initial stages of the gang war are told superbly across all the titles, as the sense of dread and anxiety grows. The pieces all start falling into place and the fuse to the powder keg is lit. There's a real sense of urgency to the story as Batman tries to first discover what has happened and then frantically try to stop the events from escalating. Like many of the best tragedies, the reader gets to see all the pieces and know how things could have worked out if it wasn't for one key element.
Throughout the story, there's a strong portrayal of Batman as an overbearing figure – someone who puts his beliefs before those of anyone else. He's dealing with a new police commissioner, one who hasn't had years of cooperation and trust to rely on that Batman is doing things for the good of the city. A lot of Batman's interactions with his allies, such as Oracle and the free clinic doctor Leslie Thompkins, show just how harsh he can be. Batman is unforgiving and the person he will never forgive is himself. Part of his own arc in this series is learning to put what someone else needs ahead of what he feels should be done. It's a lesson that he takes a long time to learn, but a vital one for him.
While not as altering to the cast as The Killing Joke or Death in the Family, War Games is a strong story that really shows the way each of the characters operates. It's been nearly ten years since it was originally released, so there's a lot that has happened since then, but it remains on of the best examples of the shift in Batman's attitude towards his allies, as well as the constant tragedies that drive him.
Batman: War Games Act One – Outbreak – 9781401204297 – 208 pages
Batman: War Games Act Two – Tides – 9781401204303 - $21.99 – 192 pages
Batman: War Games Act Three – Endgame – 9781401204310 – 200 pages
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