The Comprehensive Evolution of American Comics.

Chapter 1240 Batman: You've gone and stolen my car?
Gotham City is as bustling as ever today.

There are still quite a few petty thefts happening on the streets. Although it's not nice to say that, fighting these criminals who require a lot of brainpower is indeed a form of leisure for Batman.

In recent years, various major events have occurred frequently, and alien invasions have become an annual occurrence, at least once a year.

Batman even misses the days when he first started out, outsmarting ordinary criminals in Gotham. During that time, the most difficult opponent he encountered was the Court of Owls.

The fearless and superhuman claws certainly gave him a headache at the time, but fortunately, he was ultimately more skilled and was able to gain a foothold in Gotham as Batman.

While reminiscing about his glorious past, Batman knocks down a robber with a single punch, skillfully retrieves guns and weapons from his body, ties him up with ropes, and then uses a grappling hook to carry himself away from the spot.

Today was a rare patrol day for him. Recently, due to the Justice League's busy schedule, Batman had to delegate Gotham's patrol duties to other members of the League who had more free time.

Because so much time had passed, Gordon even messaged him to ask if he had moved.

Recalling his speechless feeling at the time, Batman actually found it somewhat amusing, but all of that ended when he saw his Batmobile.

Upon landing on a nearby low building, Batman saw a small, thin figure crouching next to his Batmobile. As for what the person was doing, it wasn't hard to guess just by looking at the two front tires that had been removed from the vehicle.

This must be a thief stealing car parts, but the other party's age, skill, and audacity far exceeded Batman's expectations.

Although Batman was quite far from the child, he could still tell through his farsighted glasses that the car thief was not very old.

Batman estimated that the other person was older than Damian, but younger than Dick, probably around 12 years old.

What's unusual about the child's age is his skill level. After observing Batman for a while, no sophisticated equipment was found. In other words, this kid removed the two tires of the Batmobile using a tire remover, hammer, wrench, and other tools.

Batman glanced at the time; only about twenty minutes had passed since he left the Batmobile. That meant he could remove a Batmobile tire every ten minutes on average? Even the most skilled mechanics employed by Wayne Enterprises might not be able to do that.

Batman had been observing for three minutes, and he estimated that the other party would remove another tire in five minutes. During this time, he did not see any so-called accomplices, which meant that the whole thing was done by the child himself.

"What a talent!" was Batman's first thought; stopping the other person was his second.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when Batman nimbly jumped off the low building, using his bat-like cape to glide silently behind the car thief, landing without making a sound.

It wasn't until the car thief went to get the tools beside him that he noticed a large man standing behind him.

The car thief was startled and quickly rolled to the side while still holding a tire-removing stick in his hand. He only stopped after creating a safe distance.

Batman watched the whole thing from the sidelines; in fact, he could have easily caught the car thief while he was rolling around, or even before he noticed him.

But Batman couldn't bring himself to hurt a child; if he could, he would prefer to hand him over to the Gotham police.

However, it must be admitted that this car thief was quite agile, possessing a kind of quickness typical of children his age.

Batman anticipated that the boy would first create distance upon seeing him, then turn and run away. This wasn't just the boy's reaction; it was the first instinct of most Gotham criminals. But tonight, something unexpected happened: the boy revealed a ruthless expression and charged at him with a tire-removing stick.

Judging from the other person's movements and demeanor, it's obvious that they haven't received professional training but are the type who frequently participate in street fights.

This characteristic is usually seen in young street thugs who have not received any training and fight based solely on their passion, without ever thinking about the consequences.

However, even this self-proclaimed fearless fool will show fear when he sees himself. After all, it's not just Batman bragging, but he's already considered a legendary figure in Gotham.

They are the ghosts and monsters in the scary stories that criminal families would tell their children.

But this child in front of him was not afraid at all, and even attacked him on his own initiative. This was the first time that had happened to someone other than super criminals.

While Batman was thinking, the car thief's tire-removing stick was about to hit him on the head. Batman, who was multitasking, reacted quickly, ducked to avoid the attack, and kicked the thief in the ankle.

This momentarily disrupted the car thief's balance, causing him to fall to the side.

This was only because Batman held back and didn't use too much force. If it were an ordinary villain, this kick would have put him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Even a restrained attack would be enough to keep the car thief lying down for a while; at least for a short time, the intense pain would prevent him from getting up.

"Ugh!" The car thief tried to create some distance, but the pain in his foot prevented him from using his agility. He could only sit on the ground and threaten Batman with a tire-removing stick.

Batman didn't speak, but instead sent the car thief's photo to Batcomputer via the helmet's camera to identify him.

“Save your energy.” The car thief glared at Batman. “I’m not going to tell you anything. You can just dump me at the police station.”

Jason Todd.

Batman ignored the car thief and instead began to speak on his own.

"My father is in prison, my mother died early, I have no other relatives in Gotham, and I have a criminal record with the police as early as when I was eight years old."

Jason didn't expect Batman to open his box so quickly, but even if the other party did it, there was nothing he could do. He could only glare at the latter with a pair of harmless eyes.

Batman quickly read through all of Jason's records and soon realized that the latter was one of the countless tragic families in Gotham's Lower City.

Although the downtown area has improved considerably since he took over Wayne Enterprises, even he cannot change the fundamental problems of most families.

Jason is that kind of kid; he was largely harmed by his family of origin.

(End of this chapter)