A Month of... Batman's Got a Gun, Day 31: Bang Bang, My Batman Shot Me Down

Let's wrap up A Month of...Batman's Got a Gun with Batman and the ultimate gun...a KirbyGun. Darkseid used it to shoot Orion, and Batman's gonna use it right back. I don't know what kind of Apokoliptan bullet that super-science pistol packs, but I betcha anything firing it is going to be accompanied by Kirby Krackle. Heck, even if it was a bubble gun it'd shoot Kirby Krackle. Shoot 'im, Batman! shoot 'im! This one we don't object to!


Panels from Batman #702 (October 2010), script by Grant Morrison, pencils and inks by Tony Daniel, colors by Ian Hannin, letters by Travis Lanham
So, we've seen Batman with a gun thirty-one times this month, and what have we learned, Charlie Brown gentle reader? The truth is, no matter how many handguns Batman's hoisting, more often than not he doesn't have a gun. Like 7Up and caffeine, he's never had 'em, never will. Why, he'll even use janitorial equipment before he picks up a Smith & Wesson!



Panels from Batman: Shadow of the Bat #60 (March 1997), script by Alan Grant, pencils by Dave Taylor, inks by Stan Woch, colors by Pam Rambo, color separations by Android Images, letters by Bill Oakley
If I take anything from this sampling of the hundreds of armed Batmen in my "Batman's Got a Gun" folder (seriously, there's enough for at least a couple more months), it's that sometimes Batman has a gun. Sometimes it's a fake-out, sometimes it's a ruse, sometimes it's a mistake, sometimes it's a hoax, a dream, or an imaginary story. But if we can say one thing, we can all agree on this: Batman's Got a Gun.

As I did yesterday, i'm going to point you to Further Reading by the guy who has influenced my own critical thinking on Batman (and the goofy riffing on him that I do in my blog), America's Foremost Batmanologist, Chris Sims! Check these out, and you'll have a fuller and more thorough understanding of the Batman's rocky relationship with revolvers.

• Guns and the Batman: Why The Dark Knight Doesn’t Use Firearms
• Ask Chris (About Batman) #54: Why Doesn’t Batman Kill?
• This Issue, Batman Kills: The Dark Knight’s Most Murderous Moments

But enough about Batman Oughta Have Guns, what about Comics Oughta Be Fun, you ask? What's on the agenda for June? Well, here's a little preview. Next month, all month: Mary Jane's Got a Gun!


Panels from Spider-Man Unlimited (1993 series) #9 (May 1995); script by Tom Lyle; pencils by Ron Lim, Ron Garney, and Ron Tod Smith; inks by (inhale) Tom Palmer, Randy Emberlin, Tim Tuohy, Al Milgrom, Jimmy Palmiotti, Klaus Janson, Sam de la Rosa, and Don Hudson; colors by John Kalisz; letters by Joe Rosen
Oh...maybe not.