December 10th, 2019
With the exception of Commissioner Gordon, the Police Officers in Gotham have a largely negative view of Batman. For the crooked cops, he’s seen as someone who just gets in their way and ruins their side hustle. For those on the right side of the law, Batman can make their job more difficult. His actions can cause criminals, particularly the dangerous criminals of Gotham, to cause even more erratically. Batman #423: You Should Have Seen Him shows us a side of the police and Batman’s relationship we rarely see but is none the less heart-warming in it’s execution.
The issue deals with three stories each told by three different police officers while on patrol. All three of them state that there is an expectation they had for when they finally met Batman, but were proven wrong in very different ways.
The first officer talks about how he was trying to save the life of a suicidal heroin addict who was about to jump off of a bridge. When Batman arrives, he expects him to just let the man die when it’s very clear that he will jump. Instead, as the man jumps, Batman dives after him and uses his equipment to save his life. While the officer couldn’t hear the conversation, when asked later, the man told him that Batman talked to him about the nature of pain, life and loss.
The second officer tells a very different tale of Batman, that he expected Batman to be a more controlled person. However, when dealing with a robbery and hostage situation, the officer is horrified to see Batman beat the thugs to within an inch of their lives, before throwing the last one back through the window.
The final officer wasn’t originally part of the conversation, but joins in after hearing their stories. He tells them about how he found two young children roaming the streets. He goes to see what is happening when Batman suddenly appears. They both chase after the kids, and when they do eventually wear them down, the officer is surprised to see an incredibly kind side of Batman. He and the officer sit down with the kids and listen to their story. How their parents passed away and they were sent to an orphanage that wanted to split the siblings up. They ran away and have been living on the streets. The officer expected Batman to take the children back to the orphanage and just let things run their course. Instead, he picks the children up, smiles wide, and promises they will never be split up again.
The first two officers completely disregard the third officers story and start to make fun of him as he leaves. The issue wraps up revealing that Bruce Wayne had taken the children in and was in the process of finding them an appropriate foster home. None of those officers may know what happened to those children, but regardless Bruce Wayne and Batman did the right thing and kept his promise.
Seeing these different sides of Batman in different situations fleshes him out in a way that a real person would act. People see different parts of people in different situations. It also speaks to the notion of expectation and reality. While it is a one off issue, and written just before the infamous Death in the Family story-arc, it’s an issue that deserves attention and praise.