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Who benefits?

That always seems to be the question, doesn't it?  The Batman has made a career of investigating the world's most outlandish criminals.  He understands them as few others ever could.  And yet...he exists in a world where the outlandish can't hope to compete with the impossible.  Yet the impossible seems to happen every day.  How does a mere man keep up with the developments of such a world?  Well, for starters, with a little help.  With allies.  The Batman has many allies.  And he keeps tabs on them all...

The Justice League in all its glory reunites to battle the Crime Syndicate, comprised of evil counterparts to each of its members.

Orion of the New Gods questions his origins as he defines the last great era of the Fourth World.

Batman's greatest foe becomes Superman's worst nightmare: the Joker takes control of the whole world...

As if that's not bad enough, Lex Luthor is elected president of the United States!

Hal Jordan begins his work as the Spectre.  One of his first acts is resurrecting his best friend, Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow.

Imperiax declares war on Earth, and it's once again Superman who leads the way against the apocalypse.

The Joker prepares his final punchline when he discovers he has a terminal brain tumor.

Batman dreams of the future, and envisions a world in the grip of Lex Luthor and Brainiac.

In the real world, he finds his alter ego, Bruce Wayne, framed for murder.

Can it get worse?  He becomes hounded by the mysterious Hush.  Is Tommy Elliott somehow responsible for all his troubles this decade?

He dreams of a Superman raised in the Soviet Union.

The Batman's partner, Tim Drake, Robin, leads a team of new Teen Titans.

He dreams of the Justice League's encounters with a team called the Avengers, a kind of memory he doesn't remember having.

He begins working alongside Superman on a regular basis.

And again...who benefits?  He finds himself devastated by the consequences of Sue Dibney's murder.  Dibney was the wife of Ralph Dibney, the Elongated Man, Batman's only investigative rival.  Her death exploded the superhero community, revealing a time when the Justice League...Did it really happen?  Did they dare alter the Batman's memories?  How would that even be possible?  The most disciplined mind...He realizes for the first time, the world really is bigger than the Batman...

He never trusted Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern.  He seemed vindicated when Jordan went rogue and tried to remake the universe in his image.  Unlike the others, he never forgave him, even when Jordan sacrificed himself to save the planet, even when he assumed the awful mantle of the Spectre.  So what, then, when Jordan reclaims the power ring of Green Lantern?

And can he ever forgive himself for Ted Kord, the Blue Beetle's murder?

Seven heroes converge in an intricate tapestry against the Sheeda horde.  Batman is one of the few to comprehend what happens.

He remembers what it was like to accept his first partner, Dick Grayson, Robin, into his life.

Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman realize how far they've let things spiral out of control, but not before chaos truly erupts at the behest of Superboy-Prime, who has been driven mad observing a world he believes has corrupted the very idea of the superhero.

Superman discovers a terminal illness, and unleashes his full potential for what he believes to be his final days.

In the aftermath of crisis, a world without its biggest heroes struggles onward.  Ralph Dibney wrestles his demons.  John Henry Irons, Steel, realizes Lex Luthor has tricked John's niece into believing his lies.  Animal Man, Adam Strange, and Starfire make a heroic trek back from the edge of the galaxy.  Black Adam attempts to fill the power void.  Booster Gold loses it.  And Renee Montoya makes a curious new friend, a man who calls himself Charlie.  Who asks her the most important question she'll ever have: How will she ever live with herself again after the brutal murder of her partner, Crispus Allen?  It's a whirlwind, epic year, and where is Batman during all of it?  Convincing himself that he's freed himself of his crusade.

And yet...then he meets his son, Damian Wayne.  And everything changes.

At least his allies in the Justice League bring themselves back together.

Freddy Freeman attempts to prove he has what it takes to claim the mantle of Captain Marvel.

The Justice Society takes it upon itself to train the next generation of heroes.

The Amazons are tricked into declaring war on America.

Regardless of the Batman's feelings toward Hal Jordan, he must feel the urgency of Sinestro's renewed war against the Green Lantern Corps, this time leading an army of yellow ring bearers.

And lo!  There came a time when the New Gods died...

Hush?  Or is it Dr. Hurt?  Hurt didn't just torment the Batman, he destroyed the Dark Knight's mind...leaving him ripe for the terror of Darkseid's Omega Beam...

Superman's world comes crashing down in the wake of Brainiac's latest defeat.  There's a new world of Kryptonians suddenly just around the corner, and Jonathan Kent is dead.

But Barry Allen, the Flash, is finally back!

Lost in time, Bruce Wayne's once and future successor, Dick Grayson, accepts the mantle of Batman, with Damian Wayne at his side as a volatile new Robin.

The dead rise, but then hope returns in the form long lost heroes returning.  But at what price?

And who benefits?

Adapted from DC YEAR BY YEAR: A VISUAL CHRONICLE, based on entries from
JLA: EARTH 2
ORION #1
SUPERMAN #160, 171
SUPERMAN: LEX 2000 #1
THE SPECTRE #1
GREEN ARROW #1
JOKER: LAST LAUGH #1
THE DARK KNIGHT STRIKES AGAIN #1
BATMAN: THE 10 CENT ADVENTURE
BATMAN #608, 655, 676
SUPERMAN: RED SON #1
TEEN TITANS #1
JLA/AVENGERS #1
SUPERMAN/BATMAN #1
IDENTITY CRISIS #1
GREEN LANTERN: REBIRTH #1
COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS
SEVEN SOLDIERS OF VICTORY #0
ALL STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER #1
INFINITE CRISIS #1
ALL STAR SUPERMAN #1
52 #1
JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #1
THE TRIALS OF SHAZAM! #1
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #1
AMAZONS ATTACK! #1
GREEN LANTERN: SINESTRO CORPS SPECIAL #1
THE DEATH OF THE NEW GODS #1
FINAL CRISIS #1
ACTION COMICS #870
THE FLASH: REBIRTH #1
BATMAN AND ROBIN #1
BLACKEST NIGHT #1
BRIGHTEST DAY #1
(2000-2010)