WARNING: Contains Potential Spoilers for WONDER WOMAN #20!
Batman’s relationship with God and religion has shifted over the years, evolving alongside his character. Typically, modern canon portrays the Dark Knight as someone who once believed but ultimately lost his faith. Now, DC has flipped the script, revealing that Bruce Wayne not only still believes in God, but has for quite some time. And surprisingly, it’s all thanks to Wonder Woman.
Wonder Woman#20, by Tom King and Guillem March, takes a step back from the series’ main narrative involving the Sovereign and revisits one of Diana and Bruce’s past team-ups. In this flashback, Diana calls upon the World’s Greatest Detective to help her solve the mystery of Ares’ murder, with her mother, Queen Hippolyta, as the prime suspect.
Throughout their investigation, the topic of God and Batman’s faith surfaces multiple times, culminating in Bruce’s confession that he lost his faith when his parents were murdered, but thatmeeting Diana ultimately restored his belief in God. It’s a major revelation, especially given how deeply the Dark Knight’s character and his views on religion have been intertwined over the years.
…Batman’s only logical conclusion was that there must be a God to create a being so perfect.
A Brief Overview of Batman’s Stance on Religion & God Over the Years
Comic Panel Comes From Roy Thomas’Secret Origins#6 (1986) - Art by Marshall Rogers & Terry Austin
Despite Batman’s origins being deeply rooted in the Jewish faith, as his creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger were both Jewish,the Dark Knight has typically been portrayed as Christianwhen religion factors into his narrative. Like many aspects of his character, this religious association traces back to his parents, Martha and Thomas Wayne. Bruce’s mother was Catholic, and his father was Episcopalian, both of which are denominations within Christianity. As a result, Bruce was raised in a Christian household, a fact confirmed inSecret Origins#6 (1986) by Roy Thomas, where a young Bruce is shown saying his nightly prayers.
Notable DC creators such as Frank Miller, Tom King, and Chuck Dixon have also portrayed Bruce as Christian or having strong ties to the Christian faith. However, over time, Bruce’s beliefs have evolved. In more recent stories, such as Tom King’sBatman#53 (2018), Bruce openly admits that while he once believed in God, he no longer does. As such,modern canon has generally leaned into the idea that the Dark Knight no longer believes in God. Now, however, King has reintroduced faith into Batman’s story, flipping the script with the revelation that Bruce does, in fact, still believe.
Wonder Woman Restored Batman’s Belief in God (Seriously)
Comic Panel Comes from Tom King’sWonder Woman#20 (2025) - Art by Guillem March
Bruce and Diana’s first discussion of faith and God inWonder Woman#20 occurs when Diana responds to a skeptical Bruce, saying,“You have faith, or you don’t.”Batman quickly points out that they don’t share the same gods, to which Wonder Woman asks,“Yes? And what church does the Batman attend?”Bruce gives the most edgelord response possible, replying,“God isn’t in church. He’s in the alley.”From there, the conversation shifts, but the topic of God resurfaces after Batman is struck and nearly killed by one of Zeus’s lightning bolts, even though the god claims he wasn’t the one who threw it.
Though Bruce survives the lightning strike, he ends up bedridden for the rest of the issue, with Diana by his side nursing him back to health. It’s during this time that, in a rare moment of vulnerability, Bruce asks if he can tell Diana a secret. He then brings up their previous conversation about God,admitting that he lied when he said that God was in the alley.He reveals that, while he wasn’t raised with much religion, he still believed there was something good above, essentially admitting he did believe in God. But when his parents were killed, Bruce couldn’t reconcile how God could allow such good, kind people to die, and in that moment, he knew God wasn’t real, marking the loss of his faith.
What follows is particularly noteworthy: Bruce tells Diana,“Then I met you. And you were… kind. Like mother and father come again. Diana… after knowing you… I went home… and looked up… and I prayed.”In other words,Bruce is saying that Diana’s goodness and kindness were so profound it was enough to make him believe in God again.This is a powerful revelation, not only evolving Batman’s lore by officially making his character believe in God once more but also emphasizing just how incredibly impactful Diana truly is.
Batman’s Relationship With God Is More Important Than Fans Realize
Panel Comes From Tom King’sBatman#53 (2018) - Art by Lee Weeks
While the reveal thatWonder Woman helped Batman believe in Godagain is undoubtedly impactful,it also adds depth to the concept of"Catholic guilt"that has long plagued Batman’s character.Catholic guilt refers to the feelings of shame, remorse, regret, or personal responsibility stemming from the teachings of the Catholic Church. In its most extreme form, Catholic guilt can manifest as scrupulosity, a psychological condition marked by excessive concern or obsession with one’s moral or religious behavior. And if there’s one thing that fans can agree on, it’s that Batman is a tortured soul, driven by his mission to a compulsive and unrelenting degree.
Given Batman’s Christian upbringing and the fact that his core character traits are his overwhelming guilt complex and tendency toward self-flagellation, there’s a strong argument thatCatholic guilt fuels the Dark Knight. Additionally, given that narratives such as Tom King’sBatman(2018) andWonder Woman(2025) portray Batman’s ongoing struggle with his faith and belief in God, where Catholic guilt finds its roots, it is undeniable thatBatman’s relationship and struggle with God has played a major role in shaping his character, even if the topic of God isn’t frequently explored in his narratives.
Batman’s Faith Was Restored: But What It Says About Wonder Woman Is Even Bigger
Cover B David Nakayama Variant forWonder Woman#20 (2025)
Batman’s admission that Wonder Woman made him believe in God reveals a lot about his character and personal struggles. But it also says just as much about Wonder Woman’s character. The fact that Diana’s mere presence and goodness were enough to bring a skeptical man, who had lost his faith in God decades ago, back to belief is one of her character’s most incredible feats, especially considering it wasn’t even intentional on her part. This moment highlights thatWonder Womanembodies purity, goodness, and kindness to such a degree thatBatman’sonly logical conclusion was that there must be a God to create a being so perfect.
