Tom King Asks If Batman Believes In God. Again. (Spoilers)

Posted in: Batman, Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, DC Comics | Tagged: Tom King, wonder woman

Tom King asks if Batman believes in God, one more time (Wonder Woman #20 Spoilers)

Once upon a time, when Tom King was writing Batman, he had Bruce Wayne declare himself to be an atheist. Kinda. In Batman #53, Bruce Wayne was asked the question while he was on jury duty, and he was willing to answer.

So he used to believe in God…

…but now no longer does. Thomas Wayne, his father, was a Christian, and his mother, Martha, was Jewish, but at the moment of his parent’s death, he put that aside. And took a different attitude to the world, which he still maintains..

And so we got a comic looking at faith and belief and how many things can take that role, for good or for ill. It also discusses how Batman has practically become a religious figure. To be fair, there are a lot of posters, a lot of symbols on chests, and a lot of graven imagery of The Bat. In response to that issue, some folk pointed out how Bruce Wayne was a penitent child. What’s more telling is that Batman served on the Justice League with an angel — an actual angel, one of God’s heavenly host, Zauriel.  He’s also come face to face with Barbatos, the god behind the Batman myth through the centuries, millennia. He’s hung out with The Spectre, Etrigan The Demon, the Phantom Stranger, and many other God-touched entities. He’s also met Greek, Roman and Norse deities such as Ares, Odin, Thor, and more. He’s been to heaven and to hell and everywhere in between. And all the many, many folks who have died and come back… including a Robin or two. And himself.

In response, Tom King posted on Twitter, “Lot of people saying Batman 53 (which I wrote) shows Batman is an atheist. That’s not how I read that comic. But I don’t think my reading of it is the most important one. Anyway, I hope you read the whole thing for yourself and decide for yourself.” Could it have been Bruce Wayne, who just wanted to sway the jury one way or another? Or maybe he was still religious but had pressed the pause button while he was Batman? Well, in today’s Wonder Woman #20, Tom King has returned to the topic, with Batman driving with Wonder Woman.

Batman does at least state that he has a God… or gods.

That would be the alley that saw his parents shot by Joe Chill. And then he is Olympus, on the case, trying to prove the innocence of Wonder Woman’s mother in a deity-full murder case. If this even counts…

But it seems that Batman’s reputation reaches into the highest of places. Maybe Batman doesn’t believe in gods. But the gods believe in Batman.

It turns out that knowing a demi-goddess might have just changed his mind about certain things—not so much about what the gods are as about what they do.

It looks like Wonder Woman’s example saves Batman from reciting John Lennon lyrics. Wonder Woman #20 by Tom King and Guillem March is published today by DC Comics.

WONDER WOMAN #20 
(W) Tom King (A) Guillem March (CA) Daniel Sampere
GUEST-STARRING BATMAN IN AN ALL-STAR TEAM-UP! Dark Knight of the soul! After the harrowing defeat of the Sovereign, Diana turns to Batman for help solving a murder on Mount Olympus. It’s the team-up you’ve been waiting for…the Caped Crusader and the Amazon Princess! Retail: $4.99 In-Store Date: 4/16/2025

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