ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how the "Dark Knight" is also, importantly, associated with whiteness. It considers the diversification and the limitations for Batman stories to deal with issues of racial inequalities and injustices. The chapter focuses on Batman comics from the 2010s to illustrate how whiteness is naturalized in contemporary popular culture through an iconic hero. Batman's effort to recruit foreign operatives to work for him is a new trope that has not been explored in the past, but rather than authentically diversifying the Bat-universe, this accumulation of Other Batmen only served to further validate the superiority of the white American character. Contemporary comics are also bound up with dominant Western cultural perspectives and have portrayed Batman's dealings with foreign characters and predominantly non-white cultures according to the intertwined logics of appropriation and colonization. During both the New 52 and the Rebirth era of DC Comics, the Batman Family of heroes is making concerted efforts to diversify their ranks.
