What if- an idea of Batman light to dark

[MarkRodriguez09]

Has there even been a story that explained how Batman went from campy to dark? I wouldn't mind some story in an annual or something where some villain or event turned Batman from camp to dark to the point that the first page of has him calling Robin 'old chum' as they stop some 60s badguy from hitting people with hardboiled eggs or whatever, to ending the final pages with a brooding Batman going after cold blooded murderers.

Like maybe a story where the bad guys stopped being colorful and use crazy schemes and props to actual murder with normal guns and knives. Where he realized if the bad guys were gonna stop clowning around, so should he.

[batnbreakfast]

Probably Morrison.

[bat39]

Well...there have been a few stories that have touched upon how Batman's world gradually got darker. Morrison's 'Last Rites' two-parter is a brilliant recap of Batman's entire history, and its one of the best examples I can think of, off the top of my head.

Basically, Bruce and Dick parting ways was the beginning of Batman's slide towards darkness, as was the Joker becoming a homicidal maniac again and other foes taking a darker turn as well. And then, with stuff like Barbara getting shot and Jason getting killed, Batman's world was officially engulfed by darkness.

Interestingly, I recently read the Batman '66/Wonder Woman '77 team-up miniseries. The final chapters, set in 1977, actually show us what became of Adam West's Batman. Without giving too many spoilers, let's just say that his world too takes a turn towards the dark. So it does kinda seem like Batman's destiny, across all continuities, to eventually dispense with the campiness and face the harsh realities of a perpetual war against crime.

[Buried Alien]

In my personal head canon, Batman started out dark and grim during his first year of action...as portrayed in the early Golden Age between DETECTIVE COMICS # 27-38. After Dick shows up and becomes Robin, and after Batman joins the Justice League, he has a number of years when he's lighter and happier...and being Batman feels more like an adventure than a grim burden. That changes around the time when Dick leaves to become Nightwing and Batman quits the Justice League and forms the Outsiders, and especially after the Crisis claims a number of longtime allies, Barbara Gordon is crippled, and Jason Todd is killed.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[bat39]

In my personal head canon, Batman started out dark and grim during his first year of action...as portrayed in the early Golden Age between DETECTIVE COMICS # 27-38. After Dick shows up and becomes Robin, and after Batman joins the Justice League, he has a number of years when he's lighter and happier...and being Batman feels more like an adventure than a grim burden. That changes around the time when Dick leaves to become Nightwing and Batman quits the Justice League and forms the Outsiders, and especially after the Crisis claims a number of longtime allies, Barbara Gordon is crippled, and Jason Todd is killed.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Yup, that pretty much was the canonical explanation under Morrison, and some other writers as well I guess.

I think another factor that contributed to Batman's initial turn towards the 'light' was becoming part of a community of superheroes. He no longer had to be some scary vigilante hiding in the shadows, or even the grim mentor to a Boy Wonder. He was now a hero himself, holding his own alongside Gods.

This was actually the arc Ben Affleck's Batman went through at the end of BvS and in the JL movie. We also see this in 'New Frontier', where Batman starts out as the early grim creature of the night, but eventually, once he gets Robin by his side, and becomes involved in the fledging Justice League, becomes a more overt superhero.

[Buried Alien]

Yup, that pretty much was the canonical explanation under Morrison, and some other writers as well I guess.

I think another factor that contributed to Batman's initial turn towards the 'light' was becoming part of a community of superheroes. He no longer had to be some scary vigilante hiding in the shadows, or even the grim mentor to a Boy Wonder. He was now a hero himself, holding his own alongside Gods.

This was actually the arc Ben Affleck's Batman went through at the end of BvS and in the JL movie. We also see this in 'New Frontier', where Batman starts out as the early grim creature of the night, but eventually, once he gets Robin by his side, and becomes involved in the fledging Justice League, becomes a more overt superhero.

One thing I dislike is when modern Batman writers feel obligated to portray Batman as if he were just the grim dark knight from before Day One straight through the present day (and far into the future)...as if he were a static character who can only wallow in overwrought solemnity. If writers want to portray him as grim in the story that they're writing, that's fine, but I hate it when in flashbacks to earlier times, he was the same way. NIGHTWING: YEAR ONE and IDENTITY CRISIS are examples of this.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

[bat39]

One thing I dislike is when modern Batman writers feel obligated to portray Batman as if he were just the grim dark knight from before Day One straight through the present day (and far into the future)...as if he were a static character who can only wallow in overwrought solemnity. If writers want to portray him as grim in the story that they're writing, that's fine, but I hate it when in flashbacks to earlier times, he was the same way. NIGHTWING: YEAR ONE and IDENTITY CRISIS are examples of this.

Buried Alien (The Fastest Post Alive!)

Well, before Morrison's run, the old Silver Age and Bronze Age stuff, while not exactly out-of-canon, was largely ignored. You had the contemporary Batman, and then you had the ever-expanding number of 'Year One' era stories - both of which featured the 'dark' Batman. The period of time in between the Year One era and the present-day was seldom alluded to.

Morrison is the one who first made the effort to put all that stuff back into continuity and weave it into the larger character arc Batman went through over the course of his career. Also, in the last decade, there has been a growing acceptance of the Silver Age Batman - the Adam West TV show is back in vogue through Batman '66 and the animated movies, and we've had the 'Brave and the Bold' cartoon. People are willing to move beyond the 'Dark Knight' interpretation of Batman, so we can finally see a wider appreciation of Batman's entire history.