Batman’s Hatred of 1 Justice League Base Shows Why He Needs to Be a Street-Level Hero

The Justice League has all manner of iconic bases in the DC Universe, but Batman admits that he absolutely can’t stand one of them. Batman is a character who often does his best work on the ground, fighting criminals on the streets of Gotham, which is why he absolutely hates the JLA Moonbase — since it takes Batman so far from the crime he wants to stop.

Batman’s true feelings about the iconic JLA Moonbase are revealed in Superman/Batman #18 by Jeph Loeb and Carlos Pacheco. After a hard battle against Ra’s al Ghul and a group of time-traveling villains, Batman and Superman return to the JLA Moonbase, where Batman admits that he really doesn’t care for it and is outright uncomfortable in it.

As Batman explains, he belongs on the ground, in Gotham City, not up in outer space on the moon. Batman has been in space a few times, but it’s rarely a good experience for the Dark Knight. Many stories revolve around Batman being out of his element in space, which is why it makes sense he’s so uncomfortable in this classic JLA base.

Batman Will Never Belong in Outer Space

Superman/Batman #18 by Jeph Loeb, Carlos Pacheco, Ivan Reis, Jesus Merino, Laura Martin, and Richard Starkings

Batman’s character has always been designed to be on the ground. His original villains were gangsters and evil scientists, people whose goals never extended beyond robbing banks. Over time, his villains became more ridiculous and more dangerous, going from generic bank robbers to world-ending monsters. Now, it’s not unusual to see Batman going out into space and fighting dark gods or multiverse-level threats, but these cosmic threats were never the point of Batman’s character, and those origins are why he’s so uncomfortable in one of the Justice League’s best bases.

The Justice League fights to protect Earth and the universe against massive threats. To best protect Earth, the League often hangs out in space, overlooking Earth. Given that many of the Justice League characters are larger-than-life figures, such as Wonder Woman and Superman, the idea of literally looking over all of humanity makes sense for them, but not for Batman. Batman lost his parents due to street crime, which is a very personal tragedy. He fights every day to prevent anyone else from suffering that same tragedy, which is hard to do when he’s literally looking down on all of humanity from above.

Batman Belongs on Earth, Not Above Everyone He Protects

Batman Falls from the Moon in Batman #130 by Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jiménez, Tomeu Morey, and Clayton Cowles

Batman is an unbelievably popular character, which has led DC to put him in as many things, teams, and places as possible. But the heart of Batman’s character will always be street-level. While he certainly can face dark gods and interdimensional tyrants, his main goal has always been to simply rid Gotham City of crime and prevent anyone from suffering as he did. While DC Comics will always put Batman on the moon or in other such absurd places — especially alongside the Justice League — he’ll never be as comfortable as he is in Gotham.

Superman/Batman #18 is available now from DC Comics!