Warning: Spoilers for Robins #6!
Fans have always speculated that DC Comics has officially made that sentiment canon. Being able to effectively adapt to any problem Batman faces is one thing, but never losing once he puts the time in to make a plan is something more impressive entirely.
Confirmed in the final chapter of Robins, by Tim Seeley and Baldemar Rivas, this issue sees the mystery behind the “first” Robin finally come to a head. Ruthlessly pursued by Jenny Wren — the apparent long lost bat-sidekick just now making herself known — Dick Grayson aka Nightwing, Jason Todd aka Red Hood, Stephanie Brown aka Spoiler, and the current Robin, Damian Wayne, are faced with tracking Wren down to save Tim Drake aka Red Robin from her evil clutches; something that Batman is hell-bent on accomplishing on his own before them.
Deducing far too late that an old enemy, Cormac Dodge aka the Escape Artist, has been messing with Batman’s extended Bat-Family via unleashing Jenny Wren on them as well as tricking their minds with a proprietary kind of VR tech that he invented, Batman struggles to find a way to overcome this latest problem with the ease he usually displays during times like this. Flying into Gotham to thwart the Escape Artist’s nefarious plans, Batman goes on to confirm that a popular fan theory about his preparedness is now officially DC Comics canon.
Thinking to himself about how badly he missed the clues and botched the lead-up to his showdown with Cormac, Batman laments, “I should have prepared. I can’t lose when I prepare,” point-blank telling fans that their theory about him is entirely correct. Going on to list a few ways he could have prepared for this situation if he had the mind or time to do so (getting Superman to do a quick X-ray vision flyby being one such idea), Batman its — in a pretty self-deprecating way — that he’s only failing at the current moment because he has no plan at all.
Often seen as either a fun way to riff on Gotham City’s Caped Crusader (considering all the memes and jokes that poke fun of him in regards to his preparedness), or acting as a frustrating cliche that ensures Batman can get out of near impossible situations on the regular (like beating Superman or the Flash without even breaking a sweat), fans getting recognition for a theory that's made the rounds in nerd circles for decades is a fun little ittance that has now become something so much more. And even though it’s now canon that with enough prep time, Batman can beat anyone, having a plan fail every once in a while shows that he’s still fallible to a point that making plans is an absolute necessity for a hero who can’t rely on super strength, speed, or any number of other powers to save the day.
So while fans have either championed or lambasted Batman for his “superpower” of always being prepared, DC Comics has taken this fan theory to the next level by having Batman it he’s basically unstoppable under the right conditions. Batman may be human, but his ability to come out on top regardless of the odds is something worth noting, especially when “prep time” is factored in.
