The following article contains spoilers for “Tiny Hands in the Dark” by Batman: Urban Legends #19, on sale now.
Batman has some of the most sinister enemies in the DC Universe. However, “Tiny Hands in the Dark” by Batman: Urban Legends #19 (by Zac Thompson, Hayden Sherman, Dave Stewart, and Clem Robbins) gave him perhaps one of his most twisted villains yet. A series of grisly murders supposedly carried out by a deranged child lead Batman to discover the culprit was the Ventriloquist. Or so, he thought. The ending left readers with the ominous possibility that the Ventriloquist’s new puppet, Bobby, was in fact alive and ready to catch Bruce Wayne.
There were many clues the ventriloquist gave that suggested Bobby was more than an average puppet. In the past, fans and Batman alike might dismiss these claims as the rantings of a madman who can’t tell fantasy from reality. However, the Ventriloquist was cold, and Batman clearly heard Bobby’s voice calling out to him in the darkness. This implies that Bobby’s story isn’t over yet and that he will come back to haunt Bruce Wayne at some point.
The Ventriloquist crafted Bobby from a rare pine tree, most likely from the Monarch Theater, where he was hiding with his murderous new puppet. As Batman was enraged by the ventriloquist’s actions, he attempted to explain himself, claiming that Bobby was in the spirit of the theater itself, which wanted to lure Bruce Wayne in to finish what Gotham started so long ago. of years.
This is a troubling statement for several reasons. For starters, it’s implied that the monarch is somehow haunted by an entity that wants Bruce Wayne dead. On top of that, by claiming he was finishing what Gotham started, it suggests that the city itself somehow wants the Wayne family dead and that Bruce being alive isn’t meant to be. This, coupled with Bobby calling Bruce out at the end, asking him not to leave him in the theater, leads to the terrifying possibility that Bobby is in fact alive, possessed by some sort of entity that not only knows that Batman is Bruce Wayne but also wants him dead to complete some sort of supernatural hit job he has on his family.
It’s a disturbing thought because it implies there was more to the death of the Wayne family than just bad luck or even calculated political assassination. Bobby’s mere existence and the possibility that he is actually haunted suggests that something supernatural wills the Wayne family dead, perhaps explaining all the strange happenings that seem to surround them, even before Bruce was born.
The question now is the why of it all. Despite its connection to Batman and its origins, the Monarch Theater doesn’t really have its own origin story. He was always there, silent and vigilant. Still, the Ventriloquist says he has a spirit that wants the Wayne family dead. This could mean that the Waynes have an ancestral connection to the Monarch Theater. Maybe they had something to do with its construction or the people who built it. It wouldn’t be the first time an ancient blood feud has carried over to the present day in Gotham. Either way, there are enough lingering questions to make it clear that Bobby isn’t done with Bruce just yet.
