The Batman Files reading spurred me on to read this interesting journey of Batman's supposed death and trip through time, and I'm left wondering what exactly these new writers have done to our beloved Batman. I'm pretty okay with multiple Robins and Batgirls and Batwomen and every other superhero that he seems to involve and invent, but Grant Morrison basically turned Batman's story into a science fiction that not only doesn't make sense, but doesn't make sense in terms of what and who Batman is. There was a thread in this collection about how Batman can and will survive anything, even a trip through time, and I could definitely appreciate that. I also liked seeing him in different incarnations. Cowboy Batman and 1950s gangster Batman were particularly fun. But the conclusion and even the original "death" of Bruce Wayne, an event that the entire DC Universe seemed to have been involved with, all felt very ridiculous.

I suppose the truth is that I like my Batman set apart from that universe. I like a Batman who sticks to Gotham City, who fights the Riddle and the Joker and Two-Face and doesn't join any Justice Leagues and doesn't have to deal with gods and super-superheroes. Batman is a man, and while even these deities seem to respect him and all he's accomplished (and he beats Superman's ass every time they clash), I still prefer him as a mortal being dressed in a costume dealing with psychopaths and criminals. The best Batman stories have been just that.

If we're going to throw Batman into space and make him a sci-fi channel mockery, we might as well just kill him off and be done with it. Let him die a hero and not live long enough to be his own villain.