Lets say the other night you were sitting in your fancy leather chair, swilling brandy from your crystal snifter, and pondering the state of the planet and its many peculiarities. The bad stuff, the good stuff, the really really bad stuff, the inexcusably awful, terribly terrible bad stuff. We're talking things that don't even make it to the news, so that the general public (who - in public deem these things to be not very good at all) doesn't puke in their TV dinners.
You're thinking about this, because, well, the brandy's taking hold. In your mildly tipsy state, you RISE UP! You lift your snifter to the sky and scream to the new gods; 'WE NEED BATMAN!
In Gotham, that really bad awful stuff that happens all over the world, can all come to pass in one street, on one night, all at the same time. The threat is there, and it's real nasty stuff man! Enter Mr. Freeze, with his 'Freeze Gun', he's gonna turn Crime Alley into a iceberg. Oh look, there's Bane! He's distributing a deadly poison known as 'Venom' directly into his veins, turning him into a roid-raging maniac with a taste for breaking backs. Watch out, he has a bazooka, he's going to destroy the local loony bin, and let loose even more psychotic criminals! Criminals like Poison Ivy, The Mad Hatter, Mr. Zsasz and The Film Freak, oh and the Joker, can't forget The Joker now can we?
Why the heck would anyone live in Gotham City? You have these outrageous super villains, you've got the Gotham Underground crime syndicate, you've got a totally corrupt police force who turn a blind eye to petty crimes, and can't seem to do jack about the high profile ones. Outside of the main superheroes, there is absolutely NO hope for Gotham. Except for Commissioner Jim Gordon. Now he's a star, willing to go to great lengths to enforce the law and keep criminals at bay. Stay with me here. In a real life situation (are you listening Nolan?) the order would have given to nuke Gotham City off the face of the planet already. No more fancy refrigeration suits, no more venom, no more Chemo, no more nothing. The Suicide Squad had the right idea in Salvation Run, to round up the criminals, and send them to a whacked out planet, and let them fend for themselves. But that backfired big time.
So are The Batman and company getting it done? Are they setting things right in good ol' Gotham City?The answer is: not yet. But I'll keep reading, knowing that one day he will, because he believes he will, and he wont stop until he finishes the job he originally set out to do. That's good enough for me. Should be good enough for you too.
So lower your snifter old chap. Take a seat, calm down, and stop pondering so hard. Go on and dust off issue 586 of Detective comics, you know, the one with Ratcatcher in it? Let Alan Grant, John Wagner and Norm Breyfogle take you for a night out on the town with The Batman. You know you'll love it.
It's way better than spending it alone.