Batman’s origin story was first told in 1939’s Detective Comics #33. The tale, which has been repeated countless times across many media, is almost always the same: Young Bruce Wayne is out with his parents Thomas and Martha, usually leaving a movie theater in Crime Alley, when they’re attached by a mugger. In the ensuing scuffle, Thomas and Martha are murdered, Bruce witnesses everything but survives, and then grows up to avenge his parents’ deaths as the Dark Knight.
In almost all versions of the origin the man who kills the Waynes is named Joe Chill. Typically, he’s just a common crook (although some versions have elaborated on his backstory). And in almost every iteration, the Waynes are random victims; they’re in the wrong place at the wrong time. But not anymore.
As part of a new wave of relaunched titles called “All In,” DC Comics has made a small but hugely impactful change to the classic Batman origin story. As revealed in Detective Comics #1090, written by Tom Taylor and illustrated by Mikel Janin, Chill killing the Waynes was not random. In fact, the two men knew each other prior to that fateful night in Crime Alley.
Prior to the murder, Gotham City doctor Thomas Wayne saves the life of a man who abuses his girlfriend and child. Thomas chooses to help the man, despite the evidence that he is domestic abuser, then helps his girlfriend and her daughter break free of the man before he is released from the hospital.
You see where this is going: The man Thomas saved was Joe Chill.
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The full implications of this tweak won’t be known until the entire storyline plays out, but it changes the Waynes’ deaths from a random act of violence. Now it seems more like a calculated act of revenge.
And this is not the only alternate Batman origin DC has told in the last few weeks. As part of “All In,” DC has created a new alternate reality within their comic-book multiverse called the “Absolute Universe,” which features modern versions of classic DC heroes like Batman. In Absolute Batman, the Caped Crusader is still genius and martial arts expert Bruce Wayne — but in a twist, he’s not a billionaire playboy. And in a further surprise, he’s not even an orphan. His mother Martha is still alive. In this Batman’s origin, only Thomas Wayne was killed all those years ago.
Comics are both flexible and inflexible. There have been changes to Batman’s past before and sometimes those changes stick and sometimes they are erased and the original story is restored. And through it all, Batman comics have followed a dude named Bruce Wayne who dresses like a bat and fights crime — except during the period where Bane broke his back, or during the period where he died, etc. etc. etc.
How long either of these latest changes stick remains to be seen. Still, it feels pretty notable that DC is making not one but two big changes to two versions of this character at basically the exact same time. Both Detective Comics #1090 and Absolute Batman #1 are on sale now.
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