Detective Comics has just added a whole new layer to the death of Batman’s parents.

While Batman is busy hunting down leads on Gotham City’s latest serial killer in the present, Detective Comics #1090 brings readers years back to Bruce’s youth to explore the nuances of his father’s work as a renowned surgeon. As it turns out, Thomas Wayne had a long history of healing those who themselves had committed atrocious acts, always falling back on his Hippocratic Oath to guide his morals. Though that in and of itself may not be all that surprising, the fact that one of the many lives he helped put back together belonged to none other than Joe Chill certainly stands out.

• Written by TOM TAYLOR
• Art by MIKEL JANÍN
• Letters by WES ABBOTT
• Main cover art by MIKEL JANÍN
• Variant covers by BRUNO REDONDO, DAN PANOSIAN, ASHLEY WOOD, DANIEL SAMPERE & ALEJANDRO SÁNCHEZ, and TONY HARRIS & JEREMY CLARK

Joe Chill first appeared in Bill Finger, Gardner Fox, Bob Kane, and Sheldon Moldoff’s story “The Batman Wars Against the Dirigible of Doom” from 1939’s Detective Comics #33. The story, which began with a recap of Batman’s origin story, also marked the first appearances of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Joe Chill was infamously the mugger who took the lives of a young Bruce’s parents, ultimately setting him off on his personal journey to become Gotham City’s Dark Knight.

The story of Joe Chill and the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne have been reimagined numerous times over the years. Usually, all three characters are inextricably tied together by Batman’s origin story, although various takes on the Batman mythos have made major changes at different points. In the alternate timeline created during Flashpoint, it was Martha and Bruce who lost their lives at the hands of Joe Chill, whereas in Tim Burton’s Batman the unwitting killer was replaced entirely by Jack Napier, aka the Joker, as portrayed by Jack Nicholson.

The current Joe Chill of DC’s Prime Earth continuity made his comic book debut in the pages of Batman: The Dark Knight #0 by writer Gregg Hurwitz and artists Mico Suayan and Juan José Ryp. This iteration of the character’s relationship to Batman and the Waynes has been greatly altered not just compared to the original, but even to where his own story started prior to the events of DC Rebirth. Joe Chill lost his life in the third and final issue of 2020’s Batman: Three Jokers by Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok, all after expressing genuine remorse for his actions and uncovering the truth of Batman’s identity in his dying moments.

Detective Comics #1090 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.

Source: Marvel Comics

Batman

Batman is one of the oldest comic superheroes, with nearly a century of comics, TV-shows, films, and video games. The mild-mannered Bruce Wayne becomes Gotham City’s caped crusader, protecting it from villains like The Joker, Killer Croc, The Penguin, and more. Batman is also one of DC comics’ “Big Three” alongside Superman and Wonder Woman, and together the three help keep the earth safe as founding members of the Justice League.