Warning: Spoilers for Batman and Robin #17!There's a familiar debate among Robin's efforts to clean up Gotham make the city a better place, or whether the presence of the Dynamic Duo compels the most gruesome criminals to rise to their level. As tensions rise between the pair, Damian Wayne calls out Batman's efforts as fundamentally flawed, questioning why Batman can never cure Gotham of its sickness.

Batman and Robin #17 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Javier Fernández finds Robin still haunted by the injuries inflicted upon civilians during Memento's attack, particularly due to having behaved coldly toward one of the victims just moments before the attack took place. Inspired by the writings of Dr. Thomas Wayne, Robin lashes out at Batman in frustration.

"You win. That's your superpower. You dominate," Robin accuses. "But we can't...heal anything." It's a damning indictment of how Batman's need for control doesn't necessarily fix the problems in Gotham.

Batman's Need For Control Is Crushing Gotham

Batman and Robin #17 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Javier Fernández, Marcelo Maiolo, and Steve Wands

At some point in Batman's history, the character's penchant for having a specific, problem-solving gadget on hand or miraculously deducing the answer to a thorny situation morphed into the contemporary Batman's hallmark of absolute control, as demonstrated by his plans for contingency after contingency. When left unchecked, this need for control spirals into disaster.

A short list of notable incidents includes Batman's Anti-Batman Failsafe robot. By now, Batman's need for control has arguably overshadowed every other aspect of the character.

Robin argues that Gotham never improves because Batman's very roots are flawed.

But as Robin points out in Batman and Robin #17, having control is not the same thing as having a cure. Batman has proved adept at controlling Gotham from virtually every level, funding various causes and initiatives as Bruce Wayne and policing the violence-prone streets as his vigilante alter-ego. Robin argues that Gotham never improves because Batman's very roots are flawed: that all Bruce ultimately knows how to do is dominate and control, not heal. Robin embraces Thomas Wayne's perspective as a doctor, citing that Bruce's war on crime is a method of controlling, not curing, Gotham's sickness.

Batman Wants to Change - But Can He?

Batman and Robin #17 Main Cover by Javier Fernández and Dave McCaig

As previously stated, this argument is not new. Batman seems to have learned his lesson from Failsafe and is ittedly more self-aware of his tendencies: his new base at Pennyworth Manor embodies his attempt to pivot from viewing Gotham as a battleground to be won to seeing the city as a family to . The question at hand is whether Batman will be able to overcome his "superpower" of being able to dominate any situation, relinquishing enough control over Gotham to avoid suffocating the city in his attempts to save it.

Gotham City is one of DC's most difficult locations to analyze, let alone protect, with numerous arguments about whether Batman's presence is Gotham's salvation or damnation. What is fair to say is that Batman's desire for control historically leads to more harm than good, with Gotham often bearing the brunt of his domineering tendencies. Batman is undeniably a force for good, but Robin makes a fair point when he says that Gotham may benefit more under a healer's touch.

Batman and Robin #17 is available now from DC Comics.