Why Robert Pattinson’s Batman Doesn’t Use Guns (But Affleck’s Did)

Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Batman.

Unlike Ben Affleck’s Batman, Robert Pattinson’s Batman has a no-gun rule that plays out in The Batman. With the addition of an all-new Batman to the hall of portrayals of the hero, comparisons between Robert Pattinson’s Batman and other versions of the caped crusader are inevitable. For nearly three hours, Matt Reeves has crafted what has the potential to become the definitive version of Batman for the next decade or so.

While The Batman’s ending sees the birth of a true superhero, the remainder of the film focused on a more inexperienced Batman who relied heavily on violence as a way to accomplish his mission. Robert Pattinson’s younger Batman took the use of fear as a weapon to the extreme and delivered one of the scariest versions of the character. Even so, Pattinson’s Batman did not use guns nor kill anyone throughout the film.

Batman using guns is one of the most controversial themes surrounding the character. Batman’s no-kill rule is often remembered in several stories, but has also been forgotten in some adaptations. Ben Affleck’s Batman, who came to use machine guns and equipped his Batmobile with firearms, is an example of that.

Why Robert Pattinson’s Batman Doesn’t Use Guns

Although Robert Pattinson’s Batman is one of the most violent takes on the character for much of the film, he has no fondness for guns. In fact, the character was adamant from the start in not solving his problems by simply killing his enemies. This is evidenced in The Batman when Catwoman tries to kill the policeman involved in her friend’s death and is stopped by Batman. Robert Pattinson’s character claims that Selina doesn’t need to become someone like that man and that committing murder would only bring more pain into her already troubled life.

Given all the emotional charge and violence surrounding Robert Pattinson’s Batman, it’s possible to infer that the character quickly concluded that using guns and killing someone would make him no different from the criminals he swore to fight. Instead of using guns, all the anger and violence that this Batman carries is translated into ferocious blows against his enemies, but in a way that always keeps Bruce’s code intact. According to Robert Pattinson, going out every night to find some criminal to beat up is what makes this Bruce able to ease the pain of his parents’ deaths, at least for a few seconds. Using guns would not only make what was left of Bruce’s morals go away, but it would also put Batman on the other side of the tragic night he is always reliving.

Why Ben Affleck’s Batman Did Use Guns

Ben Affleck’s controversial take on Batman was supposed to be a more disillusioned and reckless version of the character that would have already moved past his initial oath. While it hasn’t been explored much in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice or the rest of the DCEU, the Robin in Ben Affleck’s DCEU story had been killed by the Joker somewhere before the events of the Zack Snyder film. Although it is unclear whether that dead Robin was Jason Todd or Dick Grayson, the fact is that his partner’s death placed Ben Affleck’s Batman in a very dark place.

The way how Batman operated in Gotham City would change even more after the events of Black Zero in Man of Steel. The arrival of aliens on Earth and the destruction of Metropolis by the Kryptonians caused Bruce to feel that the old rules were no longer valid. The character entered a spiral of violence, branding criminals with the mark of the bat and having no restrictions on using guns. The way Ben Affleck’s Batman Batmobile and Bat-wing were designed also evidence that the character no longer had any restrictions on casualties caused by his incursions, as both were equipped with firearms.

Why Batman Using Guns Is So Controversial

While Batman is one of the darkest characters in superhero comics, there is still an important degree of altruism and kindness associated with the caped crusader that sets him apart from other vigilantes like The Punisher. Not using weapons and not killing his villains is what made it possible for Batman to remain one of the most recognizable and inspiring superheroes in history while also being part of really dark stories such as Year One or recently adapted The Long Halloween. Batman works as both a dark vigilante and a Justice League hero precisely because he never crosses that line, which is why Batman using guns is so controversial.

There’s also the element of the character’s origin. If Batman’s very mission is to prevent what happened to his parents from happening to other people, then using guns would be extremely hypocritical. Killing other people would make Batman no different from Joe Chill, and he could become the ghost haunting another child’s memories, just as the killer of his parents became to him. No matter how good the story’s justifications are, Batman using guns very rarely doesn’t hurt the essence of the character.

Should Batman Ever Use A Gun?

The way Batman is established as a character makes using guns something too far from what he should be. Whether in his early years or towards the end of his career, Batman has to maintain some sort of code of conduct in order not to lose the essence of his original mission. While it’s interesting to address how all of Bruce Wayne’s anger and trauma runs the risk of turning into pure violence, writers and filmmakers must draw a line as to where how far they want their hero to go. For versions of Batman that intend to go on for several years and be somewhat definitive takes on the character, having Batman wield guns should be out of the question. Even Elseworld stories such as Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns avoided using weapons, no matter how violent the rest of the story was. This is evidence that even the writers behind some of Batman’s darkest stories have concluded that Batman should never use a gun.

Unlike Ben Affleck’s version, The Batman gets it right by preventing Robert Pattinson’s Batman from using guns. As violent as Pattinson’s take was until the end of the movie, using guns and killing people was a line this Batman never crossed. Now aware of his role as a beacon of hope and not just a vigilante, it’s even more unlikely that Robert Pattinson’s Batman will ever use a gun.