10 Times Batman Went Too Far
Batman can be harsh sometimes but these moments have no excuse.
If you know nothing else about Batman, know this: he is the embodiment of tough love. He's stern, stoic, and not the best when it comes to displaying his emotions in the way he would otherwise like to. But none of that should mean that he's completely evil. He is harsh, but never cruel, and always keeps in mind the meaning behind his mission: so that no eight-year-old ever has to see their parents die in front of him.
But then you get some writers who forget this and think to themselves "hey, what if Batman was a jerk? That's an original thought that no one has EVER implemented in a story before!"
Whether because the writers have personal misgivings about the character that they shoehorn into the story, or because they want to come off as being higher stakes or more grown up, there are moments where Batman doesn't just step way the hell out of line, he pole-vaults it, glides and grapples to a whole other level of awful.
The Dark Knight can occasionally be grim, but the following moments go to show that no one likes Batman when he's just plain mean.
10. Killed A LOT Of People - Early Detective Comics
Batman, first and foremost, is not a killer. Bruce is fully aware of how close to the edge he is of becoming just like the criminals he fights, so he sets the hard rule for himself that he will never resort to murder to achieve his goals, no matter how noble the goal, or how justified the killing.
I imagine if you told this to Bob Kane and Bill Finger, they'd look at you like there were lobsters crawling out of your nose.
During his first years, Batman killed a LOT of criminals, even straight up carrying a gun on his person. He was a much harsher, hard boiled detective-type character you'd typically see in film noir, with all of the violent moral grey areas that implies. Only difference is that the detective in this story wears a rubber bat suit.
Subsequent Batman stories pretty much pretend that this never happened, and with all of the DC universe's reboots, it basically didn't. They DID try to reference it in Batman Odyssey. But we don't talk about Batman Odyssey.
Ever.