Batman’s 4 Most Humiliating Moments, Ranked (And One is Just Disgusting)

When it comes to Batman, there are a lot of things you can say about Gotham’s hero. Over his 86 years in comics, the Dark Knight has been a terrifying force for justice, a resourceful genius with all of his gadgets, and even an intimidating intellect as the so-called world’s greatest detective. He’s a dynamic character with countless adventures that have thrilled readers and chilled bad guys, making him one of the most iconic pop culture icons ever. But just because Batman gets the job done and is the center of some of the best stories in comics, that doesn’t mean he’s always at his best. In fact, there are times when Batman is pretty embarrassing.

That’s right, even the Dark Knight has had some embarrassing moments over the years. From surprising defeats that were really just well-earned payback to awkwardly framed stories to an admission of a pretty gross moment, these are the four most humiliating Batman moments. It’s probably good he wears a mask; otherwise, he might not be able to live some of these down.

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4) Whatever Batman: Odyssey Was

This one is a case of not only is aspects of the story embarrassing, but the whole thing is just weird, too. Written and illustrated by the legendary Neal Adams, Batman: Odyssey was a limited series — technically two limited series, as the entire 13-issue story was split between two runs between 2010 and 2011. The series saw each issue open up with Batman directly addressing the reader as though he was telling a story.

The story itself is weird — we’re talking crazy adventures with a lot of side tangents and things that don’t make sense, including Batman exploding Robin’s costume at some point — but what is particularly weird and what makes the whole thing embarrassing is the visuals. Each issue starts with a shirtless Bruce Wayne in the Batcave talking and each issue, he gets closer and closer to the reader in what can only be described as some sort of strange attempt at reader seduction. He’s also inexplicably very, very hairy. Oh, and Batman’s weirdly obsessed with his coffeemaker in this. The whole thing is just very strange and we have secondhand embarrassment for Batman from it.

3) Hal Jordan Knocks Out Batman (Green Lantern: Rebirth #6)

They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but in this case, it’s actually just a good old-fashioned knuckle sandwich. You see, in Justice League #5, Guy Gardner ends up in a conflict with Batman, and the result of said conflict is Batman knocks Guy out in just one punch. It’s a pretty humiliating defeat for the Green Lantern, but the Lanterns do end up getting the last laugh. Flash forward to Green Lantern: Rebirth #6. Hal Jordan had previously become the villain Parallax after his home, Coast City, was destroyed. He goes on to save the Earth in The Final Night and redeems himself, but Batman isn’t exactly buying it. Once the reality of why Hal went bad is revealed, we end up getting a truly great moment in which Hal punches out Batman, dropping the Dark Knight like he’s nothing. Not only is this a great reversal of what happened in Justice League #5, but Guy happens to be right there, getting to watch with glee as Batman is taken down.

2) A Very Weird Romance Thanks to Corporal Punishment (Brave and the Bold #64)

You can chalk this one up to the ‘60s. Brave and the Bold #64 sees Batman in a romantic relationship with a socialite named Marcia Monroe. In fact, the relationship is so serious there’s even a moment where it looks like Batman wants to marry Marcia. But this isn’t a happily ever after situation by any means. We find out that Batman’s relationship with Marcia started in the weirdest way possible: he spanked her. Yes, you read that correctly. A flashback explains that Marcia was a bit of a wild party girl who did some irresponsible things and it resulted in Batman spanking her as a punishment.

Turns out, that spanking made her interested in him so they ended up in a romantic relationship as well as started working as a team. But while Batman spanking a woman is embarrassing, the humiliation doesn’t actually end there. It turns out that Marcia was playing Batman the entire time. She ended up using her relationship with Batman to get him to steal a gem for her which landed him in jail. It was eventually revealed that Marcia was the villain Queen Bee and she was working with Eclipso. She claims she was doing it all for him, but we never really get a true resolution of that. Marcia escapes and is never seen or heard from again. It’s a pretty wild story, as many from the ‘60s were, but the idea of Batman being outsmarted by a romantic relationship that started via spanking is just embarrassing.

1) Batman’s “Bladder Spasm” (Batman: The Widening Gyre)

There was really only one Batman moment that could take the top spot here and it’s this one. Batman The Widening Gyre is a six-issue limited series that debuted in 2009 from writer Kevin Smith. The story, a sequel to Smith’s Batman: Cacophony which introduced the villain Onomatopoeia, sees Batman befriend the costumed hero Baphomet and take him on as something of an apprentice.

At one point in the story, Batman shares a story from his early days as a vigilante with Baphomet and recounts a time when he delivered a major speech and used explosives to make a major impression — he’s specifically referencing a moment in Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One. But while Batman certainly left a mark on the corrupt gathering, Smith’s comic left a mark as well. Batman reveals to Baphomet that the heat and blast intensity caused him to have a “bladder spasm”. Yes, Batman admits that he peed his pants. Baphomet cracks jokes about the situation and the whole thing is awkwardly just played for laughs, but it definitely goes down as the most humiliating moment for Batman — both in terms of something that happened in comics and to the character across his storied history.

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