In the “Endgame” storyline in Batman, Batman appeared to finally be defeating the Joker during a brutal, hand-to-hand battle. But when the underground chamber where they were fighting collapsed, Batman and Joker were assumed dead.
As most readers expected, it was soon revealed that Bruce Wayne was alive and well. However, he wasn’t Batman anymore, having been revived in a way that caused him to completely lose his memories. He was sporting a beard and cluelessly volunteering at a local rec center — because he no longer remembered he was Batman (a fact that Alfred and others didn’t have the heart to tell him).
Although he might have technically been “happy” in his ignorance, Gotham City needed him to return to his role as Batman and Alfred reluctantly helped him get his memories back. The experience left readers wondering which was worse for Batman — losing his memories, or getting them back?