Zack Snyder’s Controversial Batman Continues A 58-Year-Old Dark Knight Trend

Zack Snyder’s Batman is considered controversial, but his Bruce Wayne only continued a trend with the character that has existed since the 1960s. Most audiences have positive feelings toward Ben Affleck’s portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman. However, one aspect of the DCEU’s Batman that divided viewers is that he showed little regard for the lives of criminals, often killing them in explosions or smashing them against walls. This was a decision made by Snyder that he has defended many times, most recently on the Joe Rogan podcast.

While Batman hasn’t always had a rule against killing people, his rule has become a crucial part of the character that many audiences expect to see when he’s in a movie. For example, Robert Pattinson’s Batman refuses to kill people, and Christian Bale’s version also had a rule against taking a life. Affleck’s version has taken plenty of heat for his more violent methods, but the movies have always played fast and loose with Batman’s no-killing rule, and Snyder’s Batman didn’t do anything new.

Batman Kills In Almost Every Theatrical Movie

Affleck’s Batman has the highest kill count of any on-screen Batman, but he isn’t the first to kill people. Starting in 1966’s Batman: The Movie, Adam West’s Batman killed many of Penguin’s henchmen by punching them and disintegrating them into anti-matter after Penguin dehydrated them. Michael Keaton’s Batman killed the Joker in 1989’s Batman after causing him to fall from a helicopter, and he killed Penguin in 1992’s Batman Returns.

Keaton also killed many henchmen, including one who he lit on fire with the Batmobile. Val Kilmer’s Batman killed Two-Face in Batman Forever after throwing silver coins at him, causing him to fall. Clooney’s Batman doesn’t kill in Batman & Robin, but he’s canonically the same character as Keaton and Kilmer. While Bale had a strict no-killing rule, he let Ra’s al Ghul die in a train crash in Batman Begins, which is essentially the same, even if it’s a technicality. Bale also pushed Two-Face to his death in The Dark Knight, even though he saved Jim Gordon’s son.

Why The DCU’s Batman Should Follow The No-Killing Rule

Even though Batman has killed people many times in the past, the DCEU’s version was egregious about it, leading to public backlash. The DCU needs to make Batman’s no-killing rule an essential part of his character and stand by it. If he kills people in the DCU, then it will bring controversy to James Gunn and Peter Safran’s universe and invite comparisons between this universe and the DCEU.

It will also lead to poor optics since Pattinson’s Batman didn’t kill people in The Batman and most likely won’t in future films. With Pattinson’s Batman existing at the same time as the DCU’s, Gunn doesn’t want to have a lesser version of the character in his universe. The DCU’s Batman does need to differentiate himself, but he doesn’t need to be controversial to do it.