Warning! Spoilers ahead for Gotham City: Year One #4!The secret history of Crime Alley puts a darker spin on the renowned origin of Batman. Gotham City: Year One #4 reveals what gave the iconic location it's nickname and what that means for the Dark Knight.
In many ways, it's the place that Batman was truly born. On a night that was meant to be a fun outing for the Wayne family, tragedy struck when Thomas and Martha took their son Bruce cut through an alley after leaving the Monarch Theatre. There, they were confronted by the small-time hoodlum Joe Chill who killed the Waynes and left Bruce an orphan. That night would haunt Bruce for the rest of his life, inspiring him to travel the world and gain the abilities he'd need to become the ultimate protector of Gotham. Since that awful night, Crime Alley is regarded as one of the most crucial pieces of Batman's backstory.
However, a previously untold piece of Gotham history has come to light, and it adds a new spin on the Caped Crusader's origin story. Gotham City: Year One #4 by Tom King and Phil Hester, Slam Bradley is being blamed for Helen Wayne getting killed by her kidnapper, the mysterious ‘Bat-Man’. Bradley is viciously beaten by Gotham City Police Commissioner Huff for lying to the police. Slam is charged and spends several days in lock-up, though he eventually makes bail. Slam decides to get revenge on the commissioner and tracks him after Huff visits a sex worker. He follows the commissioner down a dark alley and bludgeons him with a baseball bat. Though Huff isn't killed, his injuries are severe enough for him to retire. The attack makes its way all around Gotham, and enough whispers eventually give the location a nickname: Crime Alley.
What Crime Alley's Origin Means For Batman
While it’s an important part of Batman’s history, Crime Alley isn’t often thought of as anything other than the place where Thomas and Martha Wayne died. Truth be told, with the crime element in Gotham, the Waynes could have theoretically died anywhere in the city. But the location has taken on a larger meaning as it’s where Bruce began his long journey to becoming a crime-fighter. However, with this little retcon, it seems that the Wayne’s fates in Crime Alley were sealed long ago.
More often than not, the deaths of the Martha and Thomas usually result in Gotham becoming a worse place. The same thing happens when Slam Bradley attacks Commissioner Huff. Rather than be an isolated incident, it seems that there’s a pattern of brutal attacks that inevitably lead to Gotham becoming worse than it was before, and it always takes place in Crime Alley. While Batman’s origin might seem like the result of random violence, this revelation shows that there may be something else at play. Whether it’s haunted or there’s some sort of cosmic irony, the Waynes seem to have been fated to die in Crime Alley. Fans can see this new twist on Batman’s origin in Gotham City: Year One #4, on sale now.
