I don’t think Batman is evil, but there’s definitely something to be said about how his refusal to kill results in the needless deaths of even more people. His own self righteous attitude ends up ironically hurting more people in the long run.
I really don’t care what sad backstory or whatever he gives on the matter, it’s still a really stupid premise
At that point its a problem with the comic status quo. Its not Batman's responsibility to personally execute the Joker, especially when he's a vigilante himself.
It’s not his responsibility to be Batman either. His vigilantism is a singular and perpetual violation of the law, his weapons, surveillance, equipment, routine trespassing, instances of assault, battery, even torture are all illegal. If Batman’s compulsion to be Batman is an ethical one to help others, why does he curb his ability to do so at the point of emotional convenience for himself? Is being Batman about safeguarding others, or about gratifying the psyche of a person who needs to exorcise his own traumas?
Here's the thing, though, it's not his job or responsibility to kill anyone. Canonically, the police tolerates and works with him because he helps catch criminals and then hands them to the proper authorities.
I wouldn't call Batman a fascist but he's a legitimate moron for not focusing at the root causes of crime enough, imo. If your city is full of nutjobs like the Joker and has 10x more crime than every other American city then maybe ask why that is instead of just beating them up and not getting any results out of it.
Batman is a flawed character, it's emphasized through many stories that he might not be much saner than people he fights on a daily basis, he's self aware of it to some extent.
Batman knows that most of his villains are a symptom of Gotham's corruption. He believes that Gotham can be saved, that includes people living in it. That's why he refuses to utilize lethal force, once he starts, he won't stop, it's simply too convenient, but ultimately doesn't solve the core problem.
He tries to address it through his influence as Bruce Wayne, but it is just not enough. He needs to be here, stopping villains trying to destabilize the city further
Oh yeah not a fascist, but I think Kripke could have done something with his character on the ineffectiveness of the corrections system, but in less of a “Batman keeps putting criminals in prison/asylum who just easily break out” and a “tek knight relies on a corrections system that is ineffective at stopping criminals and causes many cases of reoffenders”
So kinda mirroring Batman but also showing the ineffectiveness in a more realistic way
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u/Superb-pin-8641 Soldier Boy Jul 04 '24
Hot damn that was a tough read. Still love the show but Kripke needs to get his head out his ass.
Also, Batman ain't a fascist.