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Batman: Elseworlds
Batman: The Golden Streets of Gotham
Reporter Elana Karadian interviews aging thespian Richard Grayson to hear from his perspective the legendary tale of the Batman, a worker's hero during the Industrial Revolution.
66 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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135 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 24, 2021
In no way, shape, or form is this a Batman story.
November 5, 2024
Batman: The Golden Streets of Gotham is a DC Comics prestige format one-shot written by Jen Van Meter, art by Cliff Chiang and Tommy Lee Edwards, and colors by Dave Stewart. It was originally released in 2003.
Set in the turn of the 20th century Gotham City, Bruno Vanekow returns to his home city after years of working on the railroad to learn his parents burned to death in an industrial fire. Bruno discovers that factory owner Joe Chillingham commanded the factory doors be looked and chained in order to prevent a unionized walkout before the fire started. Bruno sees Joe responsible for his parents’ deaths and is outraged that he was never held accountable and is sick to see other Gotham businessmen taking advantage of the working class.
Bruno takes up the mantle of the Batman, a burglar steeling from Gotham’s wealthiest and fleecing the items to provide to the needy. Meanwhile, a serial killer is targeting women across the city and the police are eager to pin the crime on Batman.
Golden Streets of Gotham features a Batman that isn’t the usual take on the character. He is not fighting for justice in the way he is usually depicted, prowling the streets of Gotham to take out criminals or hunting down those who have wronged others. This Batman rarely gets physical in any way. The book is also overly complicated for only coming in at 64 pages. There are side stories of police and government corruption, affairs, labor unions, news suppression, women’s rights, and more. This all takes away from the main story instead of adding to it. If you are halfway aware of Batman lore, you will also not be surprised by many of the “twists” this book tries to provide. I’m a big fan of Cliff Chiang but I don’t think this book really showcased his art. It isn’t bad by any means, but it doesn’t stand out. This is another Elseworlds book that just doesn’t work out the way the creators probably envisioned.
Set in the turn of the 20th century Gotham City, Bruno Vanekow returns to his home city after years of working on the railroad to learn his parents burned to death in an industrial fire. Bruno discovers that factory owner Joe Chillingham commanded the factory doors be looked and chained in order to prevent a unionized walkout before the fire started. Bruno sees Joe responsible for his parents’ deaths and is outraged that he was never held accountable and is sick to see other Gotham businessmen taking advantage of the working class.
Bruno takes up the mantle of the Batman, a burglar steeling from Gotham’s wealthiest and fleecing the items to provide to the needy. Meanwhile, a serial killer is targeting women across the city and the police are eager to pin the crime on Batman.
Golden Streets of Gotham features a Batman that isn’t the usual take on the character. He is not fighting for justice in the way he is usually depicted, prowling the streets of Gotham to take out criminals or hunting down those who have wronged others. This Batman rarely gets physical in any way. The book is also overly complicated for only coming in at 64 pages. There are side stories of police and government corruption, affairs, labor unions, news suppression, women’s rights, and more. This all takes away from the main story instead of adding to it. If you are halfway aware of Batman lore, you will also not be surprised by many of the “twists” this book tries to provide. I’m a big fan of Cliff Chiang but I don’t think this book really showcased his art. It isn’t bad by any means, but it doesn’t stand out. This is another Elseworlds book that just doesn’t work out the way the creators probably envisioned.
December 1, 2018
Recontar a história de Batman presta-se a inúmeras variações, mas uma destas é algo inesperada. Aqui, o cavaleiro das trevas e os restantes personagens são revistos num contexto muito específico, no final do século XIX: os das lutas laborais, do surgir dos primeiros sindicatos, dos tempos das jornadas de trabalho longas, exploração do trabalho infantil, e inexistência de direitos sociais e laborais ou segurança no trabalho. Bruce Wayne nem é milionário nem tem nome WASP, é um humilde imigrante que veste a capa de morcego para roubar aos ricos e dar aos pobres. Tudo isto numa cidade em que os milionários conspiram para esmagar o movimento laboral, não olhando a meios para manter a sua ganância. Mas terão de enfrentar uma ameaça inesperada: não o cavaleiro das trevas, mas Catwoman, aqui trasmutada em líder dos trabalhadores, em luta contra as injustiças sociais. Uma visão muito diferente do habitual registo de variações sobre as narrativas de super-heróis.
September 21, 2025
Wow, this was excellent.
August 27, 2021
Picked this up because I liked ‘Gotham by Gaslight’. Simply, This one wasn’t as good, but they did use the traditional Batman characters in unique ways. Not really a Batman story and has little to none of the Batman action you expect. Not really any twists or anything you couldn’t figure out in the first few pages. They tried with this elseworlds one, but the story was kind of bland and didn’t hit the mark.
September 13, 2025
This is a truly unexpected place in time to see an Elseworlds story set, but I do have to admit that I applaud the choice, and it's execution. The Triangle Factory Fire has always been of interest to me for some reason and this story, while it changes the name, still does the incident the honor it deserves by not dehumanizing it or taking away from the awful story what it has clearly given in lives to make things better for those that came after. It works as a great backdrop here for a story that still deals with the plight of the working class and how they were taken advantage of and of the terrible things done to them in the name of profit.
I could probably go off on a huge tangent about knowing your rights as a worker and all sorts of other stuff of that nature, but I won't for once and simply leave this as a fine, somewhat forgotten tale that probably deserves to be looked at again. It's a good read with some pretty great, moody art. The framing story is nice too, hearing the tale through an interview well after the fact, kinda like that movie, Amadeus. So yeah, I'd recommend this if you ever come across it somewhere.
I could probably go off on a huge tangent about knowing your rights as a worker and all sorts of other stuff of that nature, but I won't for once and simply leave this as a fine, somewhat forgotten tale that probably deserves to be looked at again. It's a good read with some pretty great, moody art. The framing story is nice too, hearing the tale through an interview well after the fact, kinda like that movie, Amadeus. So yeah, I'd recommend this if you ever come across it somewhere.
October 26, 2020
This is one of the less action packed Elseworld stories I’ve read that said it’s also one of my favorites. Bruce Wayne goes by a slightly different variant a son of poor immigrants. His parents die in a sweatshop fire and he hunts down the people responsible. Selina Kyle is the daughter of the corrupt Mayor and organizes strikes. It’s a unique version of the Batman mythos and I found it very inventive and original.
May 14, 2018
The story moved way, way too fast. I was excited to read a Batman story where he is a working class man fighting for labor rights. The story it has is great but it moves so fast I was afraid I had an edition that was missing some panels. Unfortunately due to this pacing issue I can’t really recommend it.
August 4, 2019
I should love this, it being the most anti-Batman Batman story I've read that isn't Year 100, but the writing's too flat and clunky for the whole thing to really rise above.
November 4, 2019
really a 3 star, but giving it a 4 for the pro-union stance. also, baby dick grayson is ADORABLE.
February 9, 2020
Only criticism is I wanted more!
April 5, 2022
We don't talk about Bruno...
Batman but what if work rights and he was a thief.
Batman but what if work rights and he was a thief.
December 28, 2025
3,5
El Batman sindicalista defendiendo a los obreros. Lo nunca visto.
El Batman sindicalista defendiendo a los obreros. Lo nunca visto.
August 24, 2022
A companion piece to Gotham by Gaslight. I appreciated the world's fair steampunk vibe and I enjoyed it about the same as GbG. It's super slim and mostly a Bruce Wayne story but it feels better thought out and more maturely written than GbG.
May 19, 2013
Bruce Wayne character is not rich neither he has Alfred to take care of him. Robin is a storyteller and the representation of innocence and hope, Joker is a scarred tormented guy and a pawn of the iron fist of his capitalist boss. The times are industrial revolution and for cities created for workmen, for the absence of civil and work rights. I recall Chaplin's Modern Times. Batman is the human fight for good and we can feel the razor´s edge between hero and foe, Joker and him, in a glimpse, very humanistic. Great story, great literature. Too short perhaps and what an excellent movie it would made.
February 14, 2011
Nice story. Batman is a polish immigrant who becomes a thief to fight for better working conditions. The style is similiar to the Houdini Elseworlds. The reader actually wants to know what happens next.
April 21, 2013
A very beautiful elseworlds tale. Both in terms of art and story.
Van Meter should write more Batman. I think she humanizes both him and Gotham City wonderfully.
Van Meter should write more Batman. I think she humanizes both him and Gotham City wonderfully.
June 10, 2013
Inessential, but a fun read and a well-told story.
November 1, 2014
Well, at least the revolution isn't portrayed to be extremely ideological.
May 29, 2015
Take the injustices of inner city industrial revolution, add a dash of Copper sensibilities, and then a wonderful story about correcting injustices. I love these elseworld stories.
January 3, 2017
Lots of potential, and great art by Cliff Chiang. But it just didn't have enough space to develop, so it felt rushed.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews