Warning: Spoilers for Batman / Superman: World's Finest #32!Yet another Batman. At his heart, Bruce Wayne is a boy in an alleyway grieving over the death of his parents, and no matter how many times he saves the world, the death of a loved one will always break him, making Batman who he is.

Batman comes face to face with the death of another loved one in Batman / Superman: World's Finest #32 by Mark Waid, Adrián Gutiérrez, Tamra Bonvillain, and Steve Wands. After being possessed by an escaped Eclipso, Batman and Superman are fighting against the entire might of the Justice Society of America. The Spectre himself is unable to free Batman's mind from corruption, so he decides to dive beyond darkness and snap Batman out of the mind control with the death of Dick Grayson.

In a horrible illusion, the Spectre snaps Robin's neck, and this gruesome sight is the only thing to bring Batman back in control of his own mind. What God's own vengeance was not powerful enough to do, the death of a loved one does for Batman, showing just how broken the hero's mind is.

Batman Has Been Defined by Tragedy from the Beginning

Being Batman Means Being Haunted by Loved Ones Dying

Batman's life is framed by tragedy. It's a common hero's journey to have the death of a loved one usher a hero into becoming a vigilante, but Batman's tragedy is like no other. Superman may have lost his entire planet, but he was a baby when it happened; other heroes endured the tragedy as an adult. Bruce Wayne, on the other hand, was only a boy when he watched his parents be murdered. That was the day Batman was born, and his famous no-kill rule began so that no one would ever have to die again.

Batman is more than defined by tragedy - it is the only thing that gives him complete control over his mind.

The Spectre's illusion simulates the core memory of Batman, helplessly watching his parents die, and so this illusion delves into his deepest and most important aspect, which reveals just how much love for others drives the Dark Knight. Yet Batman is more than defined by tragedy - it is the only thing that gives him complete control over his mind. This is one of the darkest takes on the Dark Knight that DC has ever given fans: Batman's psyche is tragedy through and through, and the only way in is through the death of a loved one. That's why Batman exists in the first place, so it's the only way to bring him back.

Batman Has Watched Robins Die Too Often for Comfort

Jason Todd's Death Is Batman's Greatest Failure

Batman, despite his best efforts, has had to watch more than a few of his loved ones die. The Bat-Family has a big death toll, and every Robin has died and been brought back to life at one point or another. The most notable death, and one of the first canonical DC deaths, was the awful maiming of Jason Todd at the hands of the Joker with a crowbar and a bomb. Batman: A Death in the Family by Jim Starlin and Jim Aparo is one of the bleakest comics in DC history, and its effects on Batman are still felt today. The death of Jason Todd has often been called Batman's greatest failure.

Don't worry - in case you didn't know, Jason Todd returns to life as the anti-hero Red Hood. Check out Batman: Under the Red Hood by Judd Winick and Doug Mahnke for one of the greatest Batman stories of the century, available now both digitally and in collected editions from DC Comics.

Since then, Batman has had to watch almost every other Robin die, and when the time came for Damian Wayne's turn, Batman donned his hellbat armor and fought a god on another planet to bring the dead body of his son home. This version of Batman as a sci-fi hero is Batman fully evolving into a father who would go to any lengths to save his children. He becomes this precisely because of Jason Todd's death and the guilt he still holds thanks to that failure. And yet, in World's Finest #32, Jason Todd hasn't been Robin yet, and so this scene with Dick is the very first suggestion of Robin's death.

Batman Has Broken Mind Control With Robin's Help Before

Bruce Wayne's Love For Robin Always Brings Him Back

While a piece of this sudden and almost tragedy is Batman's love for Robin and his horror at seeing a boy die unduly, there is much more to Batman's psyche that goes back to the very beginning, to the death of his parents. And yet, there's more to it than that, as love is at the core of this tragedy. Previously, when under the influence of his alternate personality, Zur-En-Arrh, Batman had a battle within his mind as he struggled between being a Batman who needed Robin as soldiers and being a father who loved his son.

For more about what Zur-En-Arrh has been up to in Batman's mind - and out of it - check out the Batman run by Chip Zdarsky and Jorge Jiménez, which begins with Batman #125, and Absolute Power by Mark Waid and Dan Mora.

This very love for Robin solved Robin's controversial role in the DCU. For all time, Batman settled that he was a father first and Batman second, and even more than that, his love for Robin is the only thing that allowed him to regain control over his mind. Even with the Spectre's illusion of tragedy, the same truth is applied here. Batman may be a tragic character, but it's his love for his family that is the whole of his psyche.

Batman's Tragedy Is Framed By His Love for Others

from Batman and Robin #13 by Joshua Williamson, Juan Ferreyra, and Steve Wands

This moment is also an awful foreshadowing of what is the only crime Batman commits is bringing children into his dark world. Because, even though Batman is framed by tragedy from beginning to end, there is love running through him. There is no other superhero who has as many orphaned children as Batman. So it can't be only death that haunts him, but specifically the death of a loved one.

The truth is that Batman loves Robin. While it may be tragedy that functions as the engine for Batman, it is his undying love for those around him that serves as the fuel for that engine. There is no tragedy without love, and there is no Batman without tragic love. At least in this story, there is a happy ending, and Batman and Robin live to fight another day. Maybe soon, Batman will be able to become a symbol of love and hope more than tragedy, but until then, his love will be framed by tragedy and by Batman's fear of losing those closest to him - especially Robin.

Batman / Superman: World's Finest #32 is available now from DC Comics!