8 Things The Batman Sequels Need To Succeed
3. To Be Conscious That Batman Is Always Fighting The Mentally Ill
Matt Reeves’ The Batman has been committed than ever in lampshading the problematic areas of the concept of Batman. It has already spotlighted that the billionaire vigilante is not improving Gotham by simply beating up the underprivileged - though it's not really touched upon that Batman regularly beats up the mentally ill. This is a problem because most of Batman’s rogues’ gallery are regulars in Arkham Asylum.
The Dark Knight Trilogy, a Batman franchise that also puts a realistic spin, avoids this implication by never making the villains have mental disorders. The Joker was never implied to have a disorder, just that he was a nihilist with a very destructive point of view. Harvey Dent did not have dissociative identity disorder, he was just someone who adopted a new ideology when his world got demolished. Much care was given to let the audience know that Victor Zsasz did not have mental problems too. It would be wise for Matt Reeves’ franchise to adopt a similar tactic.