Gotham City is a busy place, with a lot going down each and every week. In this monthly column, Joshua Lapin-Bertone helps you stay on top of it all by letting you know what you should be paying attention to within the Bat-Family…and why.
 

As 2025 comes to a close, it’s natural to sit back and reflect on the year. Whether it’s been with career advancements, a thrilling relationship, or just quiet moments with friends and family, I hope the year has treated you well. Of course, as someone who has Batman on the brain, I can’t help but wonder what the Caped Crusader is reflecting on as the year ends. When Batman thinks about 2025, what comes to mind?

Unfortunately, the Dark Knight wasn’t lucky in love this year. Batman began the year by entering into a romance with Scarlett Scott, a geneticist whom he’s known since childhood. However, that romance turned sour when he learned Scarlett was the unwitting accomplice of a criminal named Asema, who was using young inmates as unwilling guinea pigs for her supposed “miracle drug.” It didn’t help that Asema was Scarlett’s mother, or that her father was Joe Chill, the man who had murdered Bruce Wayne’s parents.

Despite all this drama, Bruce ended things with Scarlett on good terms. And he doesn’t appear to be too soured on love, because if you read the recent Batman #4, then you know that Bruce is going on a date with Annika Zeller, a doctor who works at Arkham Tower. Of course, Batman is also investigating her to see if she’s experimenting on Arkham patients, so it’s possible this one may not end all that differently.

Hm. Come to think of it, both of the women Bruce Wayne dated in 2025 may have been involved in experimenting on inmates. I guess he has a type.  

It’s true that Bruce has had some difficulty relating to his family this year, but to be fair, who hasn’t? The events of Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s H2SH have put Bruce at odds with much of the Bat-Family, even causing him to trade blows with Red Hood and Batgirl. This is all over Bruce saving the Joker’s life, and it’s all being orchestrated by Tommy Elliot.

Still, I think Bruce is closing out the year feeling proud of his family. His relationship with his son Damian has continued to evolve in the pages of Batman and Robin. There was a period where Damian questioned if he wanted to continue being Robin, which made Bruce fearful that his son would leave. Fortunately, they were able to work through it, and now their relationship is stronger than ever, which isn’t easy when you’re raising a teenager.

Bruce has plenty of reasons to be proud of Damian, as he began volunteering at a local hospital. Also, in Batman #3, we learn he finished high school a few years early and has already been accepted at Gotham University. Bruce is still getting the hang of parenting without Alfred, but he’s doing a good job (even Superman agrees).

By the way, if you missed it, read April’s Batman and Robin #20. It features an autobiographical comic book from Damian about his life in Gotham and it had me grinning from ear to ear.

The year hasn’t been without its fair share of setbacks. Many of the DCU’s heroes and villains are currently in the midst of a massive tournament for the fate of all reality. In a shocking twist, Batman was eliminated in the first round. It’s not easy for the Caped Crusader to relinquish control when the stakes are so high, but luckily, he’s gotten better at trusting his allies.

And this is just what the main continuity version of Batman was up to in 2025. If we journey through the multiverse, you’ll see that Batman spent his 2025 being a wacky sitcom dad in Bat-Fam, protecting South America in the stunningly powerful Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires and being a brutal powerhouse over in the pages of Absolute Batman.

Speaking of which, if you haven’t already, you should check out Absolute Batman #15, which features the debut of that universe’s Joker. If you thought Joker was scary before, wait until you get a load of his Absolute counterpart.

When all is said and done, there are plenty of big moments from 2025 for Batman to reflect on, but a year is more than the big moments. A year is more than the milestones, the major victories and the demoralizing losses. A year is about all the little moments. Detective Comics #1100 is a great example. The oversized anniversary issue doesn’t focus on an epic showdown between Batman and a major villain, or a major milestone like a death or a wedding. Instead, it’s about the day-to-day interactions Batman has with the people of Gotham.

One of its stories is about Batman finding a deaf boy’s missing dog. It’s a small moment, and maybe it’s one Batman won’t find himself thinking about often, but to the boy and the dog, it was everything. It was a sweet and touching episode—exactly the type of moment that makes a year special.

We may not be Batman, but I hope all of you can look back on 2025 and find your own sweet and touching moments. Happy New Year, Gotham Gazette readers! See you in 2026.
 

Joshua Lapin-Bertone writes about TV, movies and comics for DC.com, is a regular contributor to the Couch Club and writes our monthly Batman column, "Gotham Gazette." Follow him on Bluesky at @joshualapinbertone and on X at @TBUJosh.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Joshua Lapin-Bertone and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.