Skip to main content

dc - Why was Bruce Wayne spared by the mugger?


One of the fundamental aspects of Batman's origins is that one night, a mugger, usually Joe Chill, shot his parents in an alley. Barring the occasional "What If?" story, Bruce is always spared by the shooter. This criminal is obviously OK with killing, but Bruce is never shot, only his parents.


In the versions where the encounter was truly random and not pre-planned, why is Bruce always spared?



I'd rather have answers from the comics, but any version of Batman is OK.



Answer



It depends on the continuity


According to the Batman wiki:



The murderer is consistently identified as Joe Chill, though the mythos alternates between versions where Batman finds out and where Batman never finds out. Chill has also alternated between being a mere mugger who randomly selected the wealthy Waynes, and a hitman who murdered them intentionally (the former is the most common interpretation).


The reason given for Chill leaving Bruce alive has varied. Sometimes it was because Chill couldn't kill a child, sometimes because Chill heard a policeman's whistle, police siren, or a rapidly approaching policeman. Often, it is because of the cold, frightening look the young Wayne boy gave Chill after the crime; Chill hesitated and ran away.



Joe Chill couldn't hurt a child


enter image description here



According to the 2004 comic "Fear Itself," Joe Chill simply didn't "have the guts" to kill Bruce. In this story, Chill is portrayed as properly paranoid, worried that millionaire Bruce Wayne will recognize him and have him sent to prison, there to await his execution.


The police scared him off


In Arkham Asylum (2009), I can seem to make out the faint sound of sirens after Joe Chill kills Bruce's parents in the voiceover. The wiki is probably referring to something else, though.


Bruce Wayne scared him off


enter image description here


As this early comic would have it, Batman had a stare so intense that the hardened killer turned and fled.


What happened in the Dark Knight movies?


As far as I can tell, there's no obvious reason. No police siren or whistle, as has apparently been the case in other continuities. Kevin's answer covers Chill's possible motivations fairly well, and to my knowledge there has been no definitive answer from Nolan or others involved.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

What is Tolkien trying to say in this letter?

In a draft of a letter, later recorded as #246, Tolkien makes a strange statement. I am interested in the first few sentences of the letter, but I will include the remainder for the sake of context. In the 'Mirror of Galadriel', 1381, it appears that Galadriel conceived of herself as capable of wielding the Ring and supplanting the Dark Lord. If so, so also were the other guardians of the Three, especially Elrond . But this is another matter. It was part of the essential deceit of the Ring to fill minds with imaginations of supreme power . But this the Great had well considered and had rejected, as is seen in Elrond's words at the Council. Galadriel's rejection of the temptation was founded upon previous thought and resolve. In any case Elrond or Galadriel would have proceeded in the policy now adopted by Sauron: they would have built up an empire with great and absolutely subservient generals and armies and engines of war, until they could challenge Sauron and destroy ...
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Was Galadriel's temptation of Boromir instrumental to his fall?

We know Galadriel tempted the members of the Fellowship, did she tempt Boromir with visions of taking the Ring and saving Gondor? In the books, Boromir willingly accepts the judgement of the council that the Ring should be destroyed, but after the meeting with Celeborn and Galadriel his personality seems to change. Was the temptation offered by Galadriel in some way responsible for Boromir's fall? Answer It's likely, but not certain I believe it is likely Galadriel tempted him with the ring, and in doing so re-ignited a pre-existing idea to take the ring, but to be clear lets break this down into three parts. Boromir at the Council of Elrond Boromir after setting off Boromir after being tempted Boromir at the Council of Elrond Boromir pleas for the ring to go to Minas Tirith, to help Gondor in its defense against Mordor. “ Why should we not think that the Great Ring has come into our hands to serve us in the very hour of need? Wielding it the Free Lords of the Free may surely...
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - What is the difference between Diffindo and Sectumsempra?

In the Harry Potter books, Diffindo is called the 'Severing Charm' and it’s most commonly used to cut ropes and the like. However, in the last book Hermione uses it on Ron but misses, creating a 'slash in his jeans' and his knee gets cut, causing him to 'roar in pain'. We've only seen Sectumsempra used once on screen when Harry directly uses it on Malfoy in the sixth book, but there it's mentioned that he is 'waving his wand wildly'. Wouldn't Diffindo, if used in such a fashion also cause a similar effect? Similarly, if it was able to cut Ron, it would also be able to, say, chop off an ear (George's)? In that case, how are these two spells different, except for Sectumsempra seemingly used exclusively to hurt humans? Answer While Diffindo and Sectumsempra both can be countered by other spells, Diffindo is far more easily countered. Reparo, a relatively common spell, can completely reverse its effect when used once. “He pulled the old cop...
Post a Comment
Read more