Before we even begin let me just say, I love Batman—I mean how could I possibly not? He is literally everything I have wanted to be since I first ran around my childhood home with a towel around my neck. Batman rules. That said, Batman is in no way shape or form fit to dispense justice in Gotham city; in fact, he is a plague whose bloated sense of self-importance demands that he rule Gotham as if in a military state. The truth is Batman could do much more long term good for Gotham if he dropped the crusading anti-hero act and used his billion dollar fortune to fund something other than excessive amounts of “Bat Shark Repellent”.
“But Jarrett!” you protest, “Batman was born out of a justice system so corrupt no amount of money could possibly fix it!” I am so glad you mention this.
First and foremost money, despite its root in evil, is an impossibly effective tool in advancing justice. He can afford to create social economic programs that would more quickly benefit mass amounts of Gothamites rather than staking out rooftops looking for criminals.
Consider Bruce’s parents Thomas and Martha Wayne, they believed in giving back to their community; moreover, in Christopher Nolan’s “Batman Begins” Thomas and Martha funded a railway system that would enable citizens to commute about the city at an affordable price. They stressed the importance of this train to Bruce as a child by using the train themselves instead of being driven via limo everywhere. So of course it is only rational that Batman blow up the transit system along with an entire city block causing millions of dollars of damages. He leveled a huge portion of the city just to kill one single bad guy.
If Batman wasn’t around then who would protect the streets from the violent crimes Gotham is home to?! Well how about the police? Now I know one would immediately argue that the police are just as corrupt and money hungry as the mobsters who run the city; however, this is only true if Gotham remains in the terrible economic condition it is currently in.
If Bruce took it upon himself to better fund the police department there would be no need for corruption. Just take a look at Superman’s hometown Metropolis, there is little to no police corruption present. The reason that Metropolis needs Superman is because no matter how honest or well funded the Metropolis police department is they are no way equipped to fight off alien invasions.
Consider before Batman started fighting crime, there were no “super villains” running around in spandex with ultra-powerful super weapons just good old fashioned gangsters. Gotham needs Batman now because he inspired these super criminal antics, if he had just been an adult and used his money for the betterment of Gotham they could have shut down the original gangster’s operations slowly but completely.
The truth is Batman is maladjusted sociopath who believes his parent’s death justifies his violent behavior. In the words of Mark Hamill’s animated series Joker, “..behind all the stern and batarangs, you’re just a little boy in a play suit crying for mommy and daddy. It’d be funny if it weren’t so pathetic.”
Thomas and Martha Wayne fought for economic reform for the city every day— all while trying to instill a sense of moral rightness in young Bruce; however, the tragedy of their death twisted his sense of justice crippling his ability to develop passed an emotionally frustrated child. This does not give him the right to break the law, along with several thousand bones.
