“He died saving the city… No, that is not true. He died saving me. I said I am not worth it. He said everyone’s worth it.” - Clayface, Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?
Time magazine’s top 100 books of all time included only one comic book. It was Watchmen. Placed on a receptacle 18 along with some respectable books you read in high school, books beloved by your favorite stuffy academic. Watchmen was included because it is considered one of the greatest comic books of all time. Watchmen is great, but I can't help but feel like it was included not because it is the greatest comic of all time but because it is on the cool kids’ list of comic books. It deconstructs the tropes and cliches of comic books and just says, “If superheroes were real, they would sssuucck.”
It's not like other comics. It's mature and dark.
But Watchmen is a bad representation of the medium. Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader is a better deconstruction of comics than Watchmen. The book centers around the funeral of Batman. The story takes an anthology perspective as we read each character's account of how Batman died. Their stories vary widely, showing how Batman has many different aspects. You ask some people who Batman is, and you will get answers varying from an anti-hero, a detective, or a sad man in a bat costume.
This story represents the many generations of characters. Batman has outlived generations of people. He was around pre-World War II. His comics have been broken down by eras that correspond with big changes in the comic industry. Although everyone's stories vary wildly, there are some common aspects. They are all about Batman dying because he is unable to let go of his crusade against crime. Batman’s war is against crime when you get down to it. Batman’s goal of cleaning up Gotham will never really work. With each criminal he locks up, there will always be more tomorrow. It is a war of attrition and he is losing. But all of these stories all show the good side of Batman. Robin tells the story of the man he looked up to, showing Batman as a symbol of hope and good. He died fighting a T-Rex or something. That part represents the golden-age Batman, who was absurd.
Clayface's story and my favorite story is about a page long and is made up entirely of the quote in the beginning of the article. This shows Batman’s inner humanity. The reason he never kills is because he holds human life very dear. Human life is inherently good and worth protecting at all costs. He will lay down his life if it means saving one person. Even if it is a clay monster. WHTTCC is the greatest comic book of all time not because it deconstructs the medium. It does that. But it shows why this medium is so long-lasting. Watchmen tells us why superheroes are bad. WHTTCC shows us why superheroes are worth aspiring to.
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