As one of DC Comic’s finest superheroes, the Batman has also proven to be one of the most controversial. Throughout his run in comics, the Dark Knight has been surrounded with controversy during key moments. Fortunately most – if not all – of those cursed moments from the comics have made it onto the big screen, as Hollywood still knows when to draw the line, though some of the Batman films are guilty of their own controversies (who can forget the Bat credit card, for one?).
But for the sake of imagination, let’s explore ten moments from the Batman comics that may be deemed too controversial for films.
10. Swastikas In A Batman Film
Tackling racism in comics has always been a challenge for DC, especially when it’s thrown at the Batman for shock value, but the most controversial take is found in Frank Miller’s All-Star Batman & Robin, where the dynamic duo’s arch nemesis The Joker enlists a new female henchman who took a rather sexy style to it. Bruno was a half naked Neo-Nazi villain who wore only red Swastikas to obscure her exposed, giant boobs. For capitalizing on prejudice, it doesn’t get more shocking than that.
Fortunately, Neo-Nazism or any other racial supremacy materials haven’t made it into a Batman flick. Hollywood just wouldn’t do that for some reason, and given all the time they’ve had to, it’s pretty obvious they’re never going to. Thankfully.
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6 Comments
Batman has hit Robin on more than the one occasion you mentioned, like at the end of Court of Owls when he punches Robin in the mouth.
He has also fired guns on numerous occasions like Neal Adams’ Odyssey a couple years ago, in Brian Azzarello’s First Wave, and maybe most notoriously in Frank Miller’s Dark Knight Returns.
There’s no such thing as ‘reverse rape’, unconsensual sex is always rape, no matter the gender. And I’m pretty sure that in ‘All Star Batman’ the Dark Knight gives a good slap to Robin in his batmobile. Otherwise, a great article with great content!
Incorrect. Rape is a legal construct and can only be committed by a) someone with a penis, and, on occasion, b) a woman assisting someone with a penis.
True, Batman never used a gun (other than his speargun or grapnel gun) on the big screen, but Batman has taken lives in the live-action films from the ’80s and beyond, some directly and others indirectly.
I’m pretty sure Bruno was in the animated film, the dark knight returns part 2 and spoilers, but alfred does die in that.
And this is probably being very picky but i believe that when Batman saved John Blake in The Dark Knight Rises, he uses someones gun to shoot some baddie in the foot, so there’s that
It’s League of Assassins in the comics. Not League of Shadows.