10 Worst Things Batman Has Ever Done
The Dark Knight can be pretty flexible about how he delivers justice.
Batman has never been the most stable of superheroes. His entire crime-fighting career is based around a deep childhood trauma and an obsessive need to punish the guilty. He's a man who will happily give up sleep, social interaction and even happiness to make sure that not a single criminal's jaw in Gotham goes unpunched.
A lot of the time, we see this behaviour as an example of what a shining paragon of justice the Dark Knight is. However, other times, Batman acts a lot more like you'd expect from a man who's hobby involves dressing up like a flying rodent and violently beating the mentally ill.
The Caped Crusader has always had a pretty dark streak (well except for that time he dressed up in a rainbow costume) and occasionally he'll indulge it, committing some pretty questionable acts in the pursuit of justice. And that's without getting in to the debate about whether or not he should be allowing young boys to fight crime with him.
From dealing with criminals in pretty horrific ways, to abusing and turning on his friends, sometimes Batman is almost as bad as his villains.
10. Got It On In Front Of A Pile Of Burning Bodies
Whenever you're talking about Batman, it's always good to take a minute to reflect on the utter madness that is All Star Batman and Robin.
Frank Miller's ludicrously over-the-top take on Batman's early years has a considerable amount of questionable content, from its gratuitous violence to the infamous "I'm the !*$% Batman" line. The "highlight" though has to be the seventh issue.
In it, Batman tracks down a group of criminals who have stolen some bleach (Joker, Two-Face and the other good villains must have been taking a spa day). Batman doles out his disproportionate brand of justice by turning the bleach containers into makeshift bombs and uses them to set the crooks on fire. Then he beats them all up as well for good measure.
Clearly, this is a Batman who fights crime for pleasure rather than any sense of justice and he's not alone in that.
The whole thing is watched by fellow vigilante Black Canary, who is so turned on that she decides to jump the Dark Knight's bones there and then. We then cut to the two knocking spandex boots in full costume, in the rain, on a wooden pier. Oh and there's also a pile of burning bodies behind them, that's probably the most important part.
And they say romance is dead.