The Batman role in the universe he exists in is largely centered on his biggest deficiency. As a ‘superhero’, he possesses a grand total of zero powers and simply relies on his human capabilities.

The stakes are always maintained within human limits and the things humans
can do to each other,

rather than the more extravagant scale of world-saving that Superman might get up to. Of all the superheroes,many of Batman’s foes are some of the most disturbed and most twisted.

The Joker or the Riddler, for example, are driven purely by desires for chaos brought on by the abuses they’ve suffered or awful events that befell them. Because Batman is only human,

ideas like absolute power or ‘saving the universe’ simply aren’t in the ballpark he plays in.

The character is perhaps best known for his wealth and high-tech arsenal, as well as his uncanny ability to plan ahead.

Often, Batman is expected to have some trick or tool up his sleeve to save his life or the day itself.

It’s often a close-call sort of thing. In the dark world of Gotham, a city that seems to capture and amplify all the grit and depravity of the human realm in a crime noir shell, Batman’s wits are

often his greatest, if only, asset against the many horrors of the city. Sadly, they haven’t always been enough, either.

Here are some of the most horrific occasions, failures, and frankly messed-up storylines that Batman’s had to deal with in the reams of content created around his character.

When The Batman Couldn’t Save Robin
The Batman sending Robin after the Joker alone is often seen as one of his greatest failings, and a particularly dark moment in Batman lore.

After seeing that Jason Todd, aka Robin, was too volatile, Batman fires him initially. Following several unforeseen events, they work

together one last time. Of all Batman’s foes, in their various disguises, he knew Joker’s perhaps the best. An incredibly dangerous villain,

The Batman makes the odd decision to send Robin after the Joker alone, despite knowing his lack of patience could hurt him.

In the end, the Joker murders Robin, which would have been entirely avoidable if Batman was thinking more carefully.

The Batman Can’t Finish The Job
The Batman is often known for his refusal to go to the same extremes as his enemies and vows never to kill anyone. This is the reason the Joker actually exists in the first place,

due to Batman refusing to let him perish in the famous vat of acid.However, in the comic Arkham
Asylum: A Serious House On Serious Earth, we’re taken on a mind-bending and genuinely disturbing tour of some of the people who

know live in torment within the iconic Arkham Asylum as Batman insists on sparing everyone he captures. It dives deep into some of the most notorious and mentally-unstable characters like Two-face and Joker and offers glimpses into their dark psyches.

The comic leaves us wondering whether the continued existences of characters like these are even worth it to them at all and whether Gotham is a city of heroes and villains, or perpetrators and victims.