BATMAN #484: Bruce's exhaustion

[starwolf_oakley]

BATMAN #484 may have been the earliest example of how Bruce was suffering exhaustion even before Bane came to Gotham.







Doug Moench and Chuck Dixon did a lot about how Bruce was getting more and more beat down leading up to KNIGHTFALL. The big Arkham breakout exacerbated things, but it stands to reason Bruce was already on a downward spiral. A spiral they never really explained, IMHO.

Comments

[jaybee3]

A lot of big Batman crossovers of the 90s into the 00s' - Knightfall, Murder/Fugitive, WarGames, even No Man's Land to a certain extent in some sequences seem to involve Bruce reaching a bottom peak, being a tool to everyone, losing his "Bruce Wayne" side, etc. and the resolution of these stories always has been him getting his mojo book - until the next crossover. So far in the post-Morrison era we've lost that (Dr. Hurt tried to break Bruce but couldn't and Bruce's "family" never abandoned him even when he was dead).

[darkknightjrk]

Yeah, that's one thing that kinda sucks about the Crossover Era during that time--sure, most of those stories were good (War Games aside), but it's hard to not notice that in terms of Bruce's story it's kind of the same thing every time.

[sir_razorback]

When was this printed, in relation to the first Batman movie?

[icon_uk]

What, the 1966 one?

WELL after that!

[lorriek]

A quick Google search finds that Batman #484 was from September 1992. So, around the time of Batman Returns.

Sleep deprivation and stress

[blue_bolt]

"A spiral they never really explained, IMHO."

My cousin gave me this issue as part of his collection. I remember that the Batman losing his edge part stood out.

As far as why he would lose his edge, I thought that they were hinting pretty heavily at it. Batman has been Batman for years. Regardless of comic book time, the events of his career particularly the physical ones; 1 hour of sleep per day, lack of proper nourishment and the BROKEN BONES, CONCUSSIONS and BULLET WOUNDS would eventually make it impossible for Bruce Wayne to be Batman. Realistically he could be Batman for 5-8 years and then he'd be done. That means that if you start being Batman at 25, you're done by 33.

I took the downward spiral to mean that Bruce had finally started to go downhill from his peak physical condition.

Re: Sleep deprivation and stress

[starwolf_oakley]

There was some implication it wasn't really a physical ailment... at first. For some reason he just couldn't meditate properly. He even says that was the reason he was nearly helpless against Bane.

Re: Sleep deprivation and stress

[mrstatham]

This. O'Neill's novelisation of Knightfall condenses it down - and in some instance makes it more readable - but it's pretty much stated that it's more mental and physical exhaustion that Bane is using against him rather than any form of physical injuries.

[jlroberson]

Vicki walking away: jackets don't work that way with breasts.

[ap0cryphal]

"sideboobs."

*facepalm* at first I thought maybe those were some weird folds, but nope.

[icon_uk]

It was the 90's, Armani was doing some wild and crazy stuff with lapels! :)

[junipepper]

Right -- maybe it's an experiment in shoulder pad placement... :-)