Warning! Spoilers to Detective Comics #1027 below, in stores now!
Bruce Wayne has always held his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, in high regard. Not only were their death's the primary inspiration for him training and becoming Batman but their memory continues to inspire and give Bruce strength in his everyday life. In Detective Comics #1027, writer James Tynion IV and artist Riley Rossmo's "Ghost Story" reveals that the reason Batman isn't afraid of ghosts is due to a conversation he had with his mother many years ago.
While Batman and his sidekick Robin team up with Boston Brand aka Deadman to take on the supernatural criminal called the Specter Collector, we see flashbacks to Bruce's childhood where a scared Bruce is comforted by his mother after watching too many scary movies with his father. James and Riley pepper this conversation with flashes of Bruce's childhood room, full of images that would later inspire his feared alter-ego, before Bruce asks his mother a serious question: does Martha believes in ghosts?
As Bruce and his spiritual companion Deadman go underground to face the ghost-munching (yes, really) villain, Martha reveals that she believes ghosts are echoes of memories, events that people manifest within themselves. Bad memories transform into something scary that overpowers any of the remaining good in order to haunt others but good memories also exist. The storytellers accompany each idea with a series of images ranging from creepy to whimsical as Martha explains that good memories are either events someone cherishes or people (or entities) that loved them as well which never leave you. But then Bruce asks a question that any child would ask any parent discussing life and death, does that mean that Martha would become a ghost when she dies?
As Bruce and Boston are victorious and release the spirits the Specter Collector held captive, Batman reveals that the reason he doesn't fear ghosts is because of this exact conversation he had with his mother. Although she's been dead for what feels like a lifetime, Martha's memory and lessons live on with her only son. As the freed spirits scare the waiting Robin, Deadman offers to reward Batman for his help, offering to see if Bruce's parents are out there and watching over him. The Dark Knight declines his offer, remembering that his mother already told him that she and his father would always be watching over him, their love stronger than even death.
Although other stories have depicted his parent's memory as metaphorical tormentors due to the obligations of his iconic promise, this short story saw the vigilant Batman, content, and at peace with his parent's death. Shrugging off this surprising sentimental moment, Batman and Robin prepare to get back on patrol, with a smiling Deadman watching as they fly away. Although Batman has often shown himself to be emotionally distant, grim, or at times intolerable, Tynion and Rossmo show that despite the trauma of his parent's death and the effect it had on Bruce Wayne's life, Batman was able to find peace, even if only for a moment.