Batman took on the role of the Caped Crusader due to the fact a man killed his parents in Crime Alley in Gotham City.
His goal was to bring fear to the criminal underworld to make Gotham City a better place. Some might argue he failed.
In the years since Bruce Wayne took on the role of Batman, the city grew even more deadly, with the list of villains arriving in the city growing and Batman never completely stopping the crime levels of the dark city.
Now, his closest ally has spoken out and said that Batman’s methods failed Gotham City.
Nightwing says Batman failed Gotham City
Dick Grayson was the first Robin.
Batman took him in after mobsters killed his parents and raised him to be a good and reliable hero. Some might say that Dick is an even better hero than Batman.
Since he grew up, Dick traded in his Robin tights for the Nightwing costume and eventually left Gotham City for Bludhaven. The new city Dick protects might be worse than Gotham when it comes to corruption allowing criminals to operate freely.
In Nightwing #79, Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon talked about the state of crime in Bludhaven and how Dick hadn’t been able to get it under control any better than Batman in Gotham City.
He then looked out at his city and said that Batman failed Gotham City.
He said Batman has been fighting his battle for years and nothing ever got batter. According to Dick, Bruce Wayne could have done more with his money to help make Gotham City a better place and could have had more success than all his work as a vigilante.
Nightwing learned from Batman’s failure
In DC Comics, things have changed drastically.
In the recent Joker’s War, Bruce Wayne lost almost all his fortune and has had to make do with his wits to fight crime as Batman without his resources.
If Bruce Wayne had a chance to help Gotham City better before with his money, he has not chance to do it now.
However, before Bruce lost his money, Alfred Pennyworth died. It turned out that Alfred was a billionaire, just like Bruce was. When Alfred died, he left his entire fortune to Dick Grayson.
Now, Grayson is a billionaire, and he has made a decision. He wants to use his money to create a safety net for the kids in Bludhaven to save them from falling through the cracks.
Dick Grayson feels Batman failed Gotham City, but he wants to pick up the pace to save the kids in his city.