Warning! Spoilers for Detective Comics #1038 ahead!

The latest issue of Detective Comics sees DC take aim at one of Batman’s most historic character tropes. Much of the Dark Knight’s popularity stems from his identity as a grittier and darker take on the superhero archetype. But now, DC is poking fun at a key element of Batman’s inherent “cool” factor.

A long-standing trademark of comics that feature Batman as the protagonist is his distinct narration. In many of these books, Batman’s thoughts and feelings are primarily conveyed to the reader through his internal monologue. As a character who is commonly portrayed as reserved and brooding, Batman often has relatively sparse dialogue, so his narration serves as a way for readers to understand his character motivation and personality. This sort of narration is also reminiscent of classic detective and mystery stories, genres of which the Batman mythos obviously draws inspiration from with its noir-infused setting and the lead character’s status as "The World’s Greatest Detective.” In the meta context of comics needing a well-crafted world and fully-rounded characters, Batman’s constant internal monologue makes sense and lends the character another layer of coolness with his brusque and snappy narration.

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From an in-universe perspective, however, Batman’s trademark voiceover makes a lot less sense and DC seems to be aware of that idea. In Detective Comics #1038 by Mariko Tamaki and Viktor Bogdanovic, Batman and Huntress are racing against the clock to save a kidnapped Deb Donovan (Gotham City’s version of Lois Lane), when Huntress asks whether the kidnapping was a trap to lure Batman or Bruce Wayne. Batman responds to the question in his internal monologue with a typical cool, snappy answer, "Both or either. One and the same." But when Batman doesn't say anything out loud, Huntress follows up with another line: “Are you talking in your head or what?

Huntress’s line is a great bit of comedic relief, but it’s also a reminder to the reader that other characters are not privy to Batman’s constant internal monologue. It suggests that in moments when the reader is taking in Batman’s engaging narration, there’s pretty much just an awkward silence between characters in-universe. From that perspective, it’s fairly understandable why other characters would get so frustrated with Batman’s quiet tendencies. He’s too busy trying to sound cool in his head instead of actually explaining what’s going on to other heroes.

There’s no denying that Batman’s gritty narration lends itself somewhat to his character’s “cool” factor in the eyes of comic book readers. But in-universe, the Caped Crusader’s internal monologue is pretty much the opposite of cool. In fact, it’s little more than a frustrating nuisance to his fellow crime fighters.

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