Warning! Spoilers ahead for Batman: Detective Comics #1036
In the latest issue of Batman: Detective Comics, things are only getting harder for the Dark Knight to protect his city, and he now has the same publicity problem as Marvel's Spider-Man. While Peter Parker has had years to endure the mountains of baseless accusations thrown his way by the Daily Bugle's J. Jonah Jameson, Batman is now dealing with a similar dilemma and Gotham City is continuing to turn against him. In spite of this, he's still doing all he can to solve a new string of murders plaguing the city, all while Gotham's fear and hate rises to new and dangerous heights.
In the previous issue of Detective Comics from writer Mariko Tamaki and artist Dan Mora, Batman's attempts to gain evidence on the latest murder was ruined by Gotham's own cops, who were intent to bring the Dark Knight in on the orders of Mayor Christopher Nakano (who ran on an anti-Batman/vigilante platform). Not only that, but there was an added pressure to get to the bottom of the murder, seeing as how the victim was the daughter of one of the city's most wealthy. However, a ricocheting bullet fired from a cop ended up hitting another officer, though the Dark Knight was blamed in the official reports.
Now, Batman: Detective Comics #1036 makes it even worse, as Batman has been implicated in the murder itself as the investigation's number one suspect, despite the lack of evidence and facts to back it up. The news headlines featured in the issue might as well say "Batman: Threat or Menace?", mirroring the classic headline Spider-Man received from JJJ in the Marvel Universe.
It's not just Batman who's noticed that something big is going on in the city's criminal underworld. These murders are only a part of something much more sinister at work, and even the Penguin is trying to figure out what's going on. However, it seems as though the city is more than happy to direct all of their fear, hate, and blame on Batman himself, though it's hard not to blame them. Events like the City of Bane or the Joker War keep happening, and the threat of a new Scarecrow attack has put the entire city on edge. Gotham had risen to the point where they just want to accuse their greatest protector because they're tired of being afraid and very angry at the same time that these new threats never cease.
In any case, it looks as though Batman is determined to press on and keep being the hero he's always been, just like Spider-Man does all the time. Bad press or no, it's not going to stop the Dark Knight from getting to the bottom of this new murder spree, and he did get a new lead to work off of in future issues of Batman: Detective Comics. Hopefully, he'll be able to evade the GCPD while he works this time.