Wonder Woman Just Made Batman Believe in God

Wonder Woman is in the fight of her life lately. The last issue of Wonder Woman revealed that Wonder Woman was going to die in the future, killed in a battle by the dagger she used to punish the Sovereign. Wonder Woman #20 goes in a new direction, revolving around the murder of Ares, Wonder Woman’s greatest foe, with the dagger that will one day kill her. The only suspect is Hippolyta, Wonder Woman’s mother. With the fate of her mother at stake, Wonder Woman decides to get the best help she can — Batman. Now, obviously, Batman is in way too many books, and many fans are already tired of Tom King’s Wonder Woman‘s tendency to bring members of the Trinity into the book. However, this issue does an amazing job of showing Wonder Woman and Batman’s relationship, including a moment that changed Batman forever.

Batman is injured in the investigation by a stolen Zeus thunderbolt and Wonder Woman stays with him for hours, nursing him back to health. Earlier in the issue, Wonder Woman asked Batman about being religious, and he confirmed that he was. This is extremely surprising; Batman doesn’t actually seem like he would be a believer in any kind of religion. However, his reasons for believing in religion is simple — Wonder Woman exists. This shows just how important the two characters are to each other.

Batman and Wonder Woman Have a Deeper Relationship Than Most People Realize

The most well-known Batman and Wonder Woman comes from the classic Justice League and Justice League Unlimited cartoons. These two shows took place in the animated Timmverse, where Batman was king. Wonder Woman never got her own Timmverse show, but the writers/showrunners of Justice League/Justice League Unlimited kind of did her a favor. They linked Batman and Wonder Woman together, and soon fans of the two shows were shipping the characters (we didn’t call it back then, by the way). Even the DCEU connected the two characters on a deeper level, with many assuming there might be a future for a romantic relationship. While the comics have never gone in that direction, that doesn’t change how close they are. Their relationship was close, because in some ways both of them are royalty. Wonder Woman is a princess of the island of Themyscira, actual gods-ordained royalty. Bruce Wayne was born to the greatest family in Gotham City. Modern day America usually doesn’t go for royalty (don’t think about the news right now), but if they did, the Waynes would have been royalty. They are also usually more violent than their teammates, which helps them have a understanding that Superman doesn’t really have with either of them. However, their relationship hasn’t always been great.

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Many fans will remember Wonder Woman/Batman: Hiketeia, where Batman tracked a murder suspect to Wonder Woman, who had made the heroine swear an oath to protect her. This pit the two implacable heroes against each other, both of them fighting for their beliefs. Later, after Wonder Woman murdered Maxwell Lord, Batman and her relationship cooled off. Since then, there relationship has gotten better — Wonder Woman writer Tom King wrote a short story of the two trapped in a mystical battlefield for centuries and not once touching each other romantically. They even had their own miniseries, The Brave and the Bold: Batman and Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman and Batman hold a special place in each other’s life, and it honestly makes sense that someone like Wonder Woman could make a man as hard and damaged as Batman find God.

Batman Sees Wonder Woman for Who She Really Is

Being an atheist in the DC Multiverse seems like an impossibility. The gods, in some way, shape, or form are real. Even if they’re aliens from other dimensions, they are still gods. They still can touch the material world. They have power and superheroes talk to them all the time. However, Batman is exactly the type of hero to deny the divinity of, well, anyone. Batman’s life can be looked at as proof positive there is no caring god anywhere in the Multiverse, and yet he’s also a person who can be convinced after seeing the evidence. And Wonder Woman was enough evidence to believe in the grace of divinity for Batman.

Wonder Woman is exactly the kind of character that could do this for a person. She’s perfect, yet still flawed. She’s a being of amazing power, gifted by powerful beings, and yet she cares about people. Wonder Woman is proof positive that the most positive teachings of religions can actually exist. Batman watches everyone and what Wonder Woman showed him is that gods can exist, which was enough to make him pray. There’s a beauty to that, one that is uniquely Wonder Woman.

Wonder Woman #20 is out now.