WARNING: The following article contains spoilers from "House of Gotham: Chapter Seven" from Detective Comics #1053, on sale now from DC Comics.

Although Batman has often referred to Gotham as "his" city, the Dark Knight's rogues gallery has always been its true defining element. Despite the massive amount of effort he's put into improving Gotham as both Bruce Wayne and the Cowled Crusader, the unhinged actions of his various foes have arguably had a much greater impact on the city and the lives of its citizens. Due to the sheer scope of the crimes that villains such as the Joker have committed over the years, almost everyone living in Gotham City has been influenced by Gotham City's villains in one way or another.

Nowhere has the villains of Gotham City's ability to change the course of someone's life been more apparent than in the case of "the boy" believed to be Roy Dowd, a young man whose formative years were defined by his interactions with Batman's worst enemies. The boy's traumatic childhood has been the central focus of the ongoing "House of Gotham" storyline, with each issue demonstrating how one of Batman's villains intervened at a key moment in his life, collectively influencing him to take the dark path leading to his possible transformation into Nero XIX.

RELATED: Why Gotham's Newest Villain Is an 'Anti-Batman' - Sort Of

Ironically, the boy's descent into villainy runs parallel with Batman's ascension into the role of Gotham City's protector. Fittingly enough, the villain who initiated his downfall was the Joker, the Dark Knight's archnemesis. After the boy's father inadvertently "bothered" Joker while working as a member of his gang, the Clown Prince of Crime followed him back to his apartment and literally gave him and his wife the axe while the boy hid in a cabinet. Although the boy attempted to kill the Joker and avenge his parents, the arrival of a younger and less-experienced Batman allowed the Joker to escape, causing the traumatized child to form a grudge against the Caped Crusader for denying him his revenge.

Following this, the boy was sent to Arkham Asylum, where he formed a friendship with Clayface before being transferred to an orphanage, where he fell under the influence of Scarecrow. Seeing the boy as a kindred spirit due to their shared fear of Batman, the self-proclaimed "Master of Fear" encouraged him to embrace his fears and use them to become stronger. Soon afterward, the boy was adopted by the Penguin, who introduced him to the world of organized crime and developed a genuine parental bond with him. Unfortunately, the boy was separated from his villainous guardian after Batman and a young Jason Todd shut down Penguin's operations at the Iceberg Lounge, causing him to be re-admitted to Arkham Asylum.

Most recently, in Detective Comics #1053 (by Matthew Rosenberg, Fernando Blanco, Jordie Bellaire, and Rob Leigh), the boy found yet another villainous mentor in the form of Bane, who met him while he was freeing the inmates of Arkham in preparation for one of the most vital moments in Batman's life, as chronicled in the classic "Knightfall" storyline. Recognizing the similarities between the boy's current circumstances and his own upbringing, Bane forced him to fight an unarmed Zsasz, encouraging him to embrace his hatred towards those who imprisoned him while also instilling in him the importance of perseverance. After he proves to Bane that he has the will to survive, the villain allows the boy to escape alongside the other criminal patients into Gotham City.

RELATED: Batman’s Most Dangerous Villain Returns to Help Commissioner Gordon Kill the Joker

Each of the villains that the boy encounters throughout his childhood plays a key role in influencing him to ultimately follow in their footsteps. Not only did each of these rogues teach him a life lesson, but his forceful separation from each of them deepened his animosity towards Batman, who is inadvertently responsible for taking away anyone the boy considers to be family. Much like how the Dark Knight has trained his many sidekicks, Scarecrow, Penguin, Bane, and even the Joker have each imparted the boy with skills and knowledge that he is sure to one day use to become a Gotham city villain, formidable in his own right.

Despite giving everything he has to make Gotham City a better place, recent issues of Detective Comics have depicted how miserably Batman has failed the boy. As a once innocent child faces a descent down a dark and dangerous path, the Dark Knight's rogues gallery has proven that they also have a large degree of control over the fate of the people of Gotham.

KEEP READING: Batman's Callous Disregard for Family Has Ruined Gotham City