Batman as a non-orphan

[Anita18]

A question from someone who's still overwhelmed by the number of Batman comics there are and has no idea where to start...

Are there any comics that delve into what would happen if Bruce's parents had not been killed that night? From what I've read so far (in comics and in various forums, etc), Batman is made because his parents are murdered. But, not every child of murdered parents has the will (wealth notwithstanding) to become what Bruce eventually becomes.

I've been wondering about this, and I'm sure that someone in DC's writing dept has asked this question before...

 

[kenellard]

There's a graphic novel I remember reading ages ago, I think it was called other realms, basically bruce falls into a coma after a carcrash and most of the story takes place in this dreamworld, where his parents weren't shot and he didn't become batman, that's as close DC have come to adressing that whole issue I think

 

[Joker]

in one of the Batman/Superman arcs they went to a world where his parents werent murdered, and Bruce had baisically become the act he puts in as Bruce Wayne right now...a spoiled brat playboy

 

[Anita18]

in one of the Batman/Superman arcs they went to a world where his parents werent murdered, and Bruce had baisically become the act he puts in as Bruce Wayne right now...a spoiled brat playboy

That's interesting, because it insinuates that Bruce would be absolutely nothing like Batman if his parents hadn't been murdered.

Actually, I refuse to believe that, since even though being orphaned is a traumatizing event, not every orphaned child ends up like Bruce. I'm not even referring to Bruce's wealth and all of the opportunities (training, gadgets, etc) it brings - I'm referring to his basic personality. I'm convinced that there must be something else in Bruce that channels his grief and anger into something as tangible as a Batman persona, instead of crying to a well-paid therapist that life isn't fair, or drowning his sorrows in booze and drugs. God knows he's got the means to afford the latter two options for his entire life, but he chooses not to. I'm just surprised that apparently nobody has looked into it...

 

[Rambo, John J]

There's a great story - collected in a 'Greatest Batman Stories' trade (not sure which volume) which deals with this very issue.

Batman and Robin end up in an alternate reality where they appear just in time to prevent The Wayne's being shot. Up until that point, young Bruce had been a typical spoiled little rich kid, but the appearance of his elder counterpart inspired him to better himself and he began to take an interest in his studies and more mentally challenging pursuits which he'd previously ignored.