Comics icon Frank Miller has the distinction of writing both the most influential version of Batman and the worst version of Batman. The Dark Knight Returns is one of the most popular interpretations of the character and it's easy to see why the graphic novel had such an immediate impact on pop culture in the scope of comics. However, Miller's prequel series All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder was less than favorably received, largely due to how Miller decided to portray Batman in this series, released almost 20 years following the success of The Dark Knight Returns. Surprisingly, though, it did include a very tender moment that readers might not have expected.
Published between 2005 and 2008, the limited series showcases potentially the bitterest, harshest, angriest, and most unforgiving Batman that readers have ever come to know. This is the same Batman berates with Dick Grayson after essentially kidnapping him from the police station moments after the boy's parents were murdered. Then, he almost immediately springs the future Boy Wonder into training him to be a crimefighter. The training itself borders between torture and child abuse, with Batman forcing Dick to fend for himself in the Batcave with nothing to eat, encouraging him to eat rats that he may stumble upon in the cave before he starves.
By the eighth issue, Dick Grayson is officially donning the Robin costume. He quickly acclimates to the role, and Batman winds up having something of a change of heart all of a sudden regarding the methods he took to transform the boy. After watching Robin fight off Green Lantern, nearly killing him, Batman finally understands that he never gave the child the time to grieve his own parents. So in All Star Batman #9 by Frank Miller and Jim Lee, the Dark Knight takes the Boy Wonder to the gravesite of his parents, letting the child cry in his arms as they embrace for a hug to close out the issue.
All Star Batman has such a nasty reputation that a moment like this is easy to overlook or at least let be overshadowed for the more brutal moments during the series. Still, it's a surprisingly vulnerable moment from the cruelest Batman that shouldn't go unnoticed. It exposes a universal truth about the Caped Crusader considering that even the most repugnant version of Batman is still capable of such empathy. That truth is that, regardless of how far gone Batman is or which universe he hails from, Batman's empathy is his greatest strength as a hero.
What he lacks in lacking powers, he makes up for in self awareness. His self awareness goes well beyond just being a savvy detective, but also being hyper-aware of his own humanity. As a human, even the Batman is prone to making mistakes. As such, he's capable of not only recognizing his mistakes, but going out of his way to rectify them. That prevents even Frank Miller's incredibly harsh and mean Batman from ever becoming truly the cruelest monster.