Even Batman Admits [SPOILER]’s Costume is Totally Awesome

When one thinks of the dangerous and famous rogues gallery known to Batman and his beloved Gotham City, a plethora of iconic DC criminals come to mind, many as famous as the Dark Knight himself. But Killer Moth has never been at the top of the list, despite a long history of battling Batman since the Golden Age of DC Comics. However, during their recent (and possibly last) confrontation, Batman gave high praise to the villain, especially to his unique costume.

Created by Bill Finger, Dick Sprang, and Lew Schwartz in Batman #63 (1951), Killer Moth has gone through different aliases, transformations, and storylines since then. But, the purple and green moth-themed villain has never achieved the kind of infamy that other Batman villains have found, his most notable achievement may be being the first villain that Barbara Gordon encounters as Batgirl in Detective Comics #359. Due to comics consistent ebb and flow with continuity, the man behind the moth changed repeatedly throughout the years, creating the kind of ambiguity and mystery to his identity that brings to mind the many faces of Marvel’s Hobgoblin. Avoiding any sort of confusing, convoluted story-line, the most recent appearance attempts to pay tribute to the character’s longevity while also tries to give this often-ridiculed relic from a gimmicky era something rarer than kryptonite: a happy ending.

In Batman: Gotham Knights #7 (2020) by writer Mark Russell and illustrated by Ryan Benjamin, we find Batman in pursuit of Killer Moth. The Dark Knight juxtaposes his search for the longtime villain with flashbacks cleverly showing that Killer Moth wasn’t some kind of joke villain but someone who not only helped inspire Batman in his crime-fighting crusade but also proved to be a formidable foe. However, it would appear that their enmity has finally concluded when hearing gunshots, Batman finds Killer Moth dead, shot by an elderly startled night watchmen. While he retrieves the murder weapon and questions the guard, he mentions that he didn’t imagine this was the way Killer Moth wanted to go. When the guard inquires if he meant in the costume, Batman answers that his statement was more in reference to the how of his death, and compliments Killer Moth’s costume with the kind of clenched cowl grimace we’ve seen frequently from the Dark Knight.

That’s high praise coming from a guy who is known for dressing up every night and scaring the hell out of criminals dressed like a Bat. Batman reinforces his compliment with more flashbacks to previous encounters with Killer Moth, which serve two purposes. The first continues this theme of respect that Batman had for the villain, complimenting his ability to plan ahead and not be afraid to work outside of his comfort zone. The second plays on his hunch, he is the World’s Greatest Detective y’know, that the night watchmen is indeed Killer Moth whose face he’s never completely seen. Batman’s assumption proves correct and the night watchmen admits the truth and attempts to flee, hoping in vain that Batman will let him keep his ruse and escape into retirement.

Comic book characters have long existed in a sort of limbo where they age up to a certain point and then they remain fixed at that specific point. While some comic book characters have aged normally (at some point or another), it is interesting to see a Batman villain who not only grew old but wants nothing more to retire. He’s done, he’s tired of the broken bones and the prison sentences that eat away more and more of his youth and years. He’s seen his colleagues, family and even his mentor grow old and die, penniless and alone. He wanted something better so he concocted this elaborate scenario to fake his own death so he could live out his remaining years in peace. It’s so easy for us to see comic book villains as immortal bastions of evil who never die and constantly cheat impossible circumstances to return again and again so the dose of humanity is refreshing especially in this character who would occasionally pop up now and again to menace the Dark Knight and his allies.

In the end, one of the most difficult parts about re-imagining comic book characters is their outfits. The flashy colors, outfits, and gimmicks work in television or theater but on the big screen, that’s a hard sell. Most of the characters have to go dramatic revisions when premiering on either platforms and more than often, they are usually connected by a few strands with their comic book counterparts. So for Batman to compliment another character in the costumed community about his outfit, who has a similar color scheme to Spider-Man’s Green Goblin, is pretty impressive on its own. Although Batman sympathizes with Killer Moth’s desire to retire and go straight, he can’t ignore Killer Moth’s past or current crimes. The one-page flash-forward is the closest the character could hope to a happy ending and for his sake, let us hope it sticks. We all know what happens when moths are drawn to the flame, let us hope this one is content to just keep flying and avoid the lighting of the bat signal.