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All The Reasons Batman's Atheism Doesn't Make Sense – and One That Does

We've been through this with the Beast over in Marvel's comic books. And now it's time for Batman in DC's comics. In the recent Batman #53, Batman says this.

So he used to believe in God…

…but now no longer does. He does not believe in a deity of any kind — apart from Batman.

And so we get a comic looking at faith and belief and how many things can take that role, for good or for ill. And it discusses how Batman has practically become a religious figure. To be fair, there are a lot of posters, a lot of symbols on chests, a lot of graven imagery of The Bat.

Some people have pointed out how Bruce Wayne was a penitent child.

Of course, adults lapse from their childhood convictions. But… Batman? Wouldn't he hold true to those childhood beliefs? As much as he swore to avenge his parents' deaths? Possibly, possibly not.

What's more telling is that Batman served on the Justice League with an angel — an actual angel, one of God's heavenly host, Zauriel. That's harder to dismiss.

He's also come face to face with Barbatos, the god behind the Batman myth through the centuries, millennia…

He's hung out with The Spectre, Etrigan The Demon, the Phantom Stranger, and many other God-touched entities. He's also met Greek, Roman and norse deities such as Ares, Odin, Thor, and more. He's been to heaven and to hell and everywhere in between.

And all the many, many folk who have died and come back… including a Robin or two.

One may argue that not believing in God is not the same as atheism. But Bruce says he doesn't believe in any deity of any kind. Which, you know, is just rude. He may be the world's greatest detective, but he's also the world's stupidest atheist.

Or… he's lying to the jury to get them to do what he wants.

Suddenly that makes a lot more sense.

I do hope he'll seek forgiveness for such a transgression…

BATMAN #53
(W) Tom King (A/CA) Lee Weeks
"Cold Days" continues! The jury in the Mr. Freeze trial is hopelessly deadlocked because one man won't vote guilty-and that man is Bruce Wayne. Freeze's defense is that Batman used excessive force, making his arrest illegal, and Bruce is the one man who actually knows for sure what went down between Batman and his ice-cold nemesis. And if Bruce is right, that means everything he's devoted himself to as the Caped Crusader is a lie; he is hurting more than helping. With Dick Grayson putting the Batsuit back on to keep Gotham City safe while Bruce is sequestered, could this be the out Bruce needs to discard the cape and cowl forever?
The Eisner Award-nominated team of Tom King and Lee Weeks reexamine the relationship between hero and foe, as Batman relives not just that one violent night when he took down the King of Cold, but every time the two have come to blows.In Shops: Aug 15, 2018
SRP: $3.99

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