Batman’s confrontation with Constantine highlights one of Batman’s biggest personal faults that even he admits is a problem.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the story “Bound To Our Will: Part Three” from Batman: Urban Legends #13, now on sale from DC Comics
Batman is one of DC’s most impressive heroes, with his human nature making all of his accomplishments that much more impressive. But he’s also been repeatedly shown to have emotional failings, including one that’s been actively harming his bonds with other heroes.
“Bound To Our Will: Part Three” by Vita Ayala, Nikola Cizmesija, Nick Filardi, and Steve Wands from Batman: Urban Legends #13 codifies one of Batman’s most persistent personal failings and highlights the idea that even he recognizes it’s become a problem.
“Bound To Our Will” has focused heavily on Batman and Zatanna, highlighting the tense relationship the pair have developed over the years. Having been close in their youth, there’s a bittersweet air to their interactions; bonded over the decades by a failed ritual in their youth. But as they try to uncover a way to contend with the problem once and for all, the distance between them becomes all the more prevalent. Not helping matters is John Constantine, another former lover of Zatanna’s who arrived to assist the pair. Batman isn’t pleased with the situation and quickly proved short with Constantine. But while the magical conman eventually agreed with Batman’s assessment that he’s a chaotic presence who might only make things worse, Constantine forced Batman to confront something else.
As Constantine explained, Batman lashing out at him isn’t because of the inherent danger John brings to the table. It’s more because John has settled into an affectionate rapport with Zatanna, the woman they both still have lingering feelings for. Constantine and Zatanna can be open with one another and even rely on each other for emotional support. Meanwhile, Batman has proven terrible at expressing his seemingly genuine feelings for Zatanna, leaving her frustrated with how distant they’ve become. Batman admitted this is a fair assessment, and even goes as far as to apologize for projecting his problems onto Constantine. Considering Batman’s typically guarded nature, especially his vulnerabilities, it’s interesting to see how the character openly accepted the fact that his problem with Constantine stems from his own inner doubts.
Batman has been forced to confront his inability to truly connect with others multiple times over the years, but it’s become a major reoccurring element in recent years. A rift between him and Nightwing over his treatment of his sidekicks in Robins highlighted how he doesn’t know how to truly support his wards’ emotional turmoil, despite actively working with various Robins for years by this point. Bruce’s inability to escape his darker side caused Nightwing, one of Batman’s closest connections, to believe there’s no way to truly save Bruce from his self-imposed dark isolation and self-destructive tendencies. Even other heroes in the Bat-Family are calling him out for his inability to open up and just be happy with the friends and family he has for a moment.
Batman’s inability to do so has jeopardized plenty of his most important connections and is arguably the element that defines the most tragic future versions of the character like in Batman Beyond and The Dark Knight Returns, which portrayed an older Batman as having pushed away any and all of his support system. The fact that even Batman is openly accepting this is a fault is a major step forward for the hero and could lead to him becoming a more open and trusting character. That is, so long as this development remains present following the upcoming Dark Crisis storyline, which could radically alter the future of the DC Universe.
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