13 Biggest Mistakes The Batman Movies Ever Made

Okay, up to this point we've entirely sidestepped DC's animated Batman movies; by and large, they're a whole separate series all of their own. However, 2016's Batman: The Killing Joke was kind of a big deal. Adapted from one of the most controversial Batman graphic novels, it was the first DC animation to get an R-rating; and unlike most of their animated output, it was granted a brief theatrical release.

However, as The Killing Joke doesn't have quite enough story to comfortably stretch to full feature-length, it was decided that some new plot elements needed to be added. Apparently screenwriter Brian Azzarello didn't think the material was provocative enough as it stood, as the film takes a very unexpected, and entirely inappropriate new direction with the relationship between Batman and Batgirl.

Historically, there's has always been a student-teacher relationship, and this is very much how the early scenes of Batman: The Killing Joke play out. However, this particular student and teacher wind up having sex, whilst in their Bat-suits.

Never before had there been any hint of romance between Batman and Batgirl (although between her and Robin, sure), so adding it here just feels very creepy and wrong, particularly given that Barbara Gordon - daughter of Batman's buddy the Commissioner, remember - is, in The Killing Joke's most notorious moment, shot and crippled by The Joker, with an implication (denied by producer Bruce Timm) that she has also been raped.

There's long been a lot of back-and-forth over whether or not The Killing Joke should be treated as canon in Batman, with many (including the book's writer, Alan Moore) feeling it's better forgotten. There are those who might say much the same of its film adaptation.