5 Batman Problems DC Has Never Addressed, But the DCU Could Finally Solve

Batman is DC’s most popular character; an argument can be made that he’s the most popular superhero ever. With the DCU heating up, fans have wondered when we’d get a new big screen Batman. While Batman: The Brave and the Bold has been announced, nothing is known about it yet and that’s a very tantalizing situation. Batman has starred in some amazing comics over the years, so there’s load of great opportunities for adaptations. One of the most interesting things about about adapting a major superhero is seeing just what the filmmakers are going to do with them. The Dark Knight is one of the richest characters in comics, so there are numerous fun little wrinkles that could be added to the DCU version of the hero.

Looking at the history of the Caped Crusader, there are lots of things that would be great in a movie. Conversely, there’s a lot of things from the comics that have never made any sense and that DC never even tried to address. The DCU could take them and finally make sense of them, fixing problems that fans have been talking about for years. DC never addresses these Batman problems, but maybe the movies can make them better.

5) Batman’s Use of the Bat-Family

The Bat-Family are the most formidable vigilantes out there, picked by the Dark Knight and trained by him. The group is a veritable who’s who of heroes – Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Batwoman, Cassandra Cain, Stephanie Brown, the Huntress, Duke Thomas, and Damian Wayne. Catwoman and Harley Quinn are sometimes members, as well, and various members have left and returned. They are the toughest crimefighting force around and yet Gotham is still a hellhole. One would figure that someone as well-known for tactics as Batman would use them more intelligently, but he usually just lets them do their own thing instead of using them like a team. While it might take time for the Bat-Family to come to the DCU, they can easily come up with smarter ways to use them. Gotham could be a lot safer if Batman used them more smartly, and the DCU could fix that, using the group to its utmost extent.

4) All the Crimes of Bruce Wayne

Bruce Wayne lost his parents and swore to make sure that no one would have to go through what he did. He trained his body to the height of physical perfection, mastering numerous disciplines and becoming the perfect crimefighter. Wayne is one of the wealthiest people in the world, owing a massive corporation that does everything you can think of. This company has allowed him to create all kinds of amazing weapons and pieces of technology, but that’s sort of the problem. Bruce Wayne is constantly embezzling from his companies, taking resources to give to himself. DC sort of dealt with this in “Joker War”, when Joker was able to release information on the financial crimes of Wayne, causing his fortune to be frozen. However, Wayne commits numerous crimes as Batman in general. Most of these have been ignored over the years, but look at it like this – the Dark Knight uses technology that would be illegal for anyone else. He’s constantly committing massive financial crimes. The DCU could easily bring this sort of thing up, giving fans more of an outlaw Batman.

3) Nothing Batman Does Is Admissible in Court

One of Batman’s most well-known allies was Commissioner Jim Gordon. Gordon and Batman worked closely together, with the Dark Knight basically being a part of the police force in his own way. He’s helped put away costumed villains, street thugs, and major gang leaders. However, none of this ever should have happened. The Caped Crusader isn’t a policeman; as far as I know, he doesn’t have a private investigator’s license. He’s basically just a guy who goes out every night and uses military-grade hardware to beat up crooks. There’s nothing remotely legal about that and any good lawyer could get anyone off who was apprehended or investigated by the hero off on a technicality. The comics never really address this in any of their books, so it would be very cool if the DCU took this and ran with it. It could be an interesting subplot in a Batman movie or show, adding drama to the mix that would pay dividends.

2) Arkham Asylum Doesn’t Work

Arkham Asylum is the most well-known asylum in comics. While today it’s looked at as an integral part of the Bat-mythos, there was a time when there was no Arkham. It first appeared in 1974 and became the place where all the Dark Knight’s many mentally ill villains were treated. Over the last 52 years, it has been established as a haunted place that makes madness even worse, and is one of the dark hearts of Gotham City, a cursed property still used years later. Let’s not mince words here – Arkham Asylum doesn’t work and it might as well have a revolving door. It’s a waste of time to send anyone there because they aren’t going to get any help that actually makes a difference and they’re going to escape. Sometimes, they’ll pretend to be better, use that to get out, and then cause mayhem. There’s no reason at all to keep sending people there and it would be a lot of fun if the DCU talked about the failures of it and found a way to either make it better or replace it. It’s an important part of DC history, but that doesn’t mean that it makes any sense.

1) The Joker Should Have Gotten the Death Penalty

The Joker is Batman’s greatest villain, a man who was twisted into a monster and decided to let the world in on the joke. Since then, he and the Dark Knight have been locked in an endless war, one that has seen the Clown Prince of Crime do some terrible things to the people of Gotham City and the world. However, every time he’s caught, he’s found insane, sent to Arkham, and then escapes to do it all over again. At this point, him pleading insanity shouldn’t work. He’s more than proved that this is who he is and he should get the death penalty. Now, obviously, Joker wouldn’t stay dead if he somehow didn’t escape before the sentence is carried out, but it would still make for an interesting story. It would be awesome if the DCU used this idea. It’s about time that Joker faced some real penalties for his actions and the movies could do something that the comic haven’t yet – give Gotham’s greatest villain the penalty he’s deserved for years.

What Batman problems annoy you? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!

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