10 Reasons Why Batman Is The Most Overrated Character Of All Time

10. Bruce Wayne's Personality Is As Malleable As The Joker's

DC Comics

Drawing back to my opening remarks regarding Bruce's many interpretations, the character (at least in the various iterations of the DC Universe's main canon) has evolved sharply at different stages of his 75 year existence. This ragged and juxtaposing fluctuation that seems to occur every time a creator takes the reigns has led to Bruce becoming a complete enigma.

At one moment he's a carefree swashbuckler delighted by the company he keeps, the next, a cold-hearted man who has no qualms about brutalising criminals for his own pleasure. Whilst it's great that creative teams are able to offer their own interpretation and stamp on the character, there's no natural evolution to be seen. To draw a comparison with Daredevil, you can see a discernible progression of Matt Murdock from being a dashing adventurer to a sombre vigilante whose morals have been corrupted, which feels natural.

With Batman, you'll have a team who adores his supporting cast, then one that wishes to do away with them altogether, but in ways that don't feel progressive or indeed conducive to the character's growth. It is these constant tonal and personality shifts that make the character feel like DC's very own personification of an oxymoron. Of course it must be said that some of the best talent in the industry has gifted the character with some absolutely seminal works, but the disregard for the evolution of Bruce's personality leaves me asking just what exactly the character stands for anymore.

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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.