10 Batman Questions That Always Confused You

8. Why Doesn't Bruce Wayne Fight Crime In A Different Way?

Batman Bruce Wayne Philanthropy
DC Comics/Greg Capullo

Batman isn't a perfect creation. Bruce Wayne himself is a billionaire who considers himself above the rules, and his predilection to beating the snot out of villains at the first opportunity rather than pre-empt crime at the source could be considered flawed, to say the least.

Only, the conception of Batman as a selfish vigilante who only goes out and attacks criminals and just... stops, is actually incorrect. The problem is that it's not nearly communicated frequently enough in different media.

Bruce Wayne's mantra is plain and simple: he suits up as Batman to ensure what happened to him at a young age shouldn't happen to anyone else. He engages in philanthropy, and has even been known to volunteer to help Gotham's poor while in various disguises. Far be it from Bruce to have nothing but contempt for the inmates of Arkham Asylum, he's also overseen the rehabilitation of several of his adversaries personally, contributing vast sums of money to prevent crime, rather than stopping it as a Bat-themed judge and jury.

Ultimately, it's down to writers as to what kind of Batman readers get. He could be brutal, dogmatic and ruthless, or conflicted and multifaceted.

Either way, Gotham needs Batman. It's possible his presence has inspired the nightmares that plague the city, but who else has the resources to protect Gothamites?

Advertisement
Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.