DC Explains Why Batman Doesn’t Use Guns

Over years upon years of DC Comics mythos, the roots of Batman have been debated about quite a bit. The antihero has been at the center of some interesting debates, as fans have psychoanalyzed a lot of components of his characterization, with his use (or lack thereof) of guns across various interpretations being among them. A recent comic issue involving Batman, as well as the previously-unseen portions of his origin story, has subtly put that debate front and center — and offered a new look at the ordeal. Spoilers for Batman: The Knight #6 from Chip Zdarsky, Carmine Di Giandomenico, Ivan Plascencia, and Pat Brosseau below! Only look if you want to know!

The issue sees Bruce Wayne undergoing his latest bit of training as a young adult, which includes him and his friend, Anton studying under Luka Jungo, who is billed as “the world’s greatest marksman.” After Bruce showcases skills with various archery equipment, Jungo reveals his true intentions behind training the duo — he wants them to use the skills they’ve acquired to disarm their enemy, and possibly “disarm the whole damned world” if they can. Jungo then trains Bruce and Anton in shooting guns, and Bruce reveals that he did not like the ordeal because it brought back the trauma of his parents being murdered by Joe Chill. Bruce is later shown shooting targets in the woods, with the narration revealing that he’s developed a “line” — “I can’t take a life. And I can’t use guns on anyone because, God help me… I’m good at it.”

This adds a unique wrinkle to Bruce’s overall motivations when it comes to firearms, while also (in a roundabout way) justifying his skill when he has used guns in canon. It also ties the murder of Bruce’s parents to the complicated feelings he later has as an adult, something that was only inferred in previous issues.

“The chance to tell it as a multi-issue single story was the big reason,” Zdarsky recently told SYFY. “I love all the snippets of that time period over the years, but being able to lay out a full story starting with Gotham and ending with Gotham has been really satisfying. The big story reason to do this for me was being able to craft Bruce’s vision of Batman. Going from angry young man who knows nothing, to a focused young man who knows everything is a great arc to figure out.”

Batman: The Knight #6 is now available wherever comics are sold.