The following article contains spoilers from Justice Society of America #1, on sale now.
The future of justice is looking bleak in Justice Society of America #1 (by Geoff Johns, Mikel Janin, Jordie Bellaire, Jerry Ordway, Scott Kolins, Steve Lieber, Brandon Peterson, John Kalisz, Jordan Boyd, and Rob Leigh). However, the issue did provide readers with one bright spot, and a startling change to one of the DCU's most prominent characters. While criticizing her daughter's choice of partners, Catwoman stated that Batman was both too trusting and too forgiving.
Longtime fans of the Dark Knight will know this to be the last accusation anyone would make against Batman. This however, is not the Batman of the present day, but of the future. A lot has changed for him since then, aside from raising another of his biological children, he has also grown older, and may have gone through some emotional growth as a result. Perhaps the Batman who died in this timeline was more open with others.
The Justice Society's Batman Appears to Have Softened Up With Age
As Catwoman explained it, Batman was too trusting and too forgiving, qualities that inevitably led to his death. If this were coming from anyone else it's likely it would have been a misinterpretation of who Batman was, but this is Catwoman who is speaking. She is one of the few people on Earth who knew him best, and probably got to know him much more deeply as they had a child together. Her observations, while harsh, are likely accurate about her former lover.
There is also evidence from before Batman died to back this up. Recall that in The New Golden Age #1 (by Johns, Diego Olortegui, JP Mayer, Scott Hanna, Ordway, Lieber, Todd Nauck, Kolins, Viktor Bogdanovic, Brandon Peterson, Gary Frank, Nick Filardi, John Kalisz, Matt Herms, Boyd, Brad Anderson, and Leigh), Helena only discovered her father's secret because he stumbled into the kitchen with an injury. A younger Batman would never have made this mistake, no matter how injured, and he certainly wouldn't have told Helena everything immediately after. So, unfortunately, Catwoman's report was accurate; Batman was more prone to making mistakes as he grew older. However, her negative opinion of his more trusting attitude might hide the fact that he was happier.
Batman Appears to Have Genuinely Been Happy in Justice Society
Batman being more emotionally available may very well have been a good thing for him. The question of his happiness haunted him for many years, but perhaps by opening himself up to others, he could also afford to be more emotionally vulnerable. It would certainly explain how Helena had such a normal childhood, even if her dad was moonlighting as a bat-themed vigilante at night. A much more emotionally open and available Batman would have been a perfectly wonderful father for a child.
It's not a lot of consolation considering that he is still gone, but it's nice to imagine that in his last few years, Batman was happier than he had been for a long time. These were traits he tried to pass on to his daughter: trust and forgiveness, two skills he probably wished he had learned earlier in his career. Hopefully, Helena will be able to utilize both in her own heroic journey while avoiding the mistakes her father made.