Warning: contains spoilers for Batman '89 #2!
Gotham City now officially hates both Batman and Bruce Wayne - and the reason is shockingly understandable by many readers. Billionaire by daylight, Bruce Wayne's vast fortune is not a secret and is in fact a core aspect of the character. But Batman '89 #2, written by Sam Hamm with art by Joe Quinones and colors by Leonardo Ito, shows the darker aspect of being born into money in Gotham City.
Batman '89 is a continuation of Tim Burton's series of Batman films that takes ideas from the never-produced third film (Burton would later leave the franchise and Joel Schumacher would be brought on to direct the third movie). Harvey Dent (modeled after his actor Billy Dee Williams) is firmly against vigilantism in his city and is adamant on bringing Batman to justice - partly to support the poor community where he grew up, Burnside. Upon hearing Dent's speech to the community, in which he says "We all know there are two Gothams...and I can tell you it's true, because I've lived in both", Bruce Wayne meets with Dent to discuss a proposition.
Bruce proposes to support every child in the Burnside district and pay their way through four years at Gotham State University - or a school of their choice. He plans to continue the program "...until I run out of money. Which won't happen for a while yet." But as soon as he leaves, the people living in Burnside immediately voice their concerns - and suspicions. They wonder if he owns the schools, and perhaps the entire endeavor is a ploy for publicity. In short, they trust Bruce Wayne as much as Harvey Dent trusts Batman.
Gotham's income inequality has created a large socioeconomic divide, and in an environment where the poor feel forgotten by the wealthy, it's understandable they would be suspicious of Bruce's true intentions. Dent muses after the conversation that Bruce has a terribly guilty conscience, but that doesn't endear him to the people of Burnside in the slightest. Bruce may be a philanthropist in current comics continuity (until he lost all his money), but he still lives in a very visible mansion with a loyal butler by his side. He might not even be aware that his very status as a billionaire is inherently part of a system that Burnside residents decry.
When it comes to pursuing and catching criminals, Batman is second to none (not everyone can be the World's Greatest Detective, after all), but his skills as the Caped Crusader don't translate to his alter ego when it comes to navigating social issues. Bruce is used to a standard of living that is simply unattainable to most Gotham residents, let alone the people of Burnside. In short, Batman's wealth allows him to fight crime and could well be considered his greatest asset - but as Bruce Wayne, it's his greatest weakness.
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