On an almost weekly basis we hear about another instance of police brutality involving African American teenagers and young men.  Starting with the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri more than a year ago up to the more recent events involving Freddie Gray in Baltimore and the shooting of Laquan McDonald in Chicago and the apparent cover-up that followed the shooting.

The same week that Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was charged with murdering Laquan McDonald, DC Comics released the much-anticipated first issue of its latest Batman installment, “Dark Knight III: The Master Race.” In the issue Batman defends an unarmed African American teenager from a pair of police officers with their weapons raised. During the altercation, Batman attacks the officers while the teenager escapes unharmed. Later in the issue Batman himself is brutally beaten by a small army of policemen, out to get revenge for the wounded officers.

The character of Batman has been a cultural icon for decades. There are very few people in the U.S. who do not know who Batman is. There have been movies, TV shows, and comic books that have depicted him since his first publication in 1940. Batman is character who has reached millions of people and is a symbol of justice, so depicting him in a position where he is challenging the police and their authority appears to run counter to his traditional character.  However, having Batman take on the issue of police brutality and protecting against real life injustice is entirely consistent with the Batman character.

Critics of the issue were “hard pressed” to remember a Batman comic tackling the issue of racism in America this directly in the 75 year history of Batman comics.  Although crime and police corruption have been previously featured in the Batman stories and media, the impact of police brutality has never been the focus of a Batman comic.

Having Batman, a well-known cultural icon parallel to real life victims of police brutality is an important step in recognizing that justice is not simply a matter of the police protecting us against criminals. The comic depicts the importance of the need for communities to step in to prevent injustice from not only crimes, but also from those who protect us as well.