Zack Snyder hopped on the Joe Rogan Experience and said a couple of things that the masses took notice of. One of those subjects was Batman, with Snyder bringing in his version of the Dark Knight in Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Audiences were first surprised (and unhappy) when they saw Snyder’s Batman kill several criminals. However, Ben Affleck’s version of the character has plenty of fans in his own right. However, Snyder went into the subject of Batman and he feels that the character is irrelevant if he can’t kill:
“Batman can’t kill is canon. And I’m like, ‘okay, the first thing I wanna do when you say that is I wanna see what happens’. And they go, ‘well don’t put him in a situation where he has to kill someone’.
“You’re protecting your god in a weird way, right? You’re making your god irrelevant if he can’t be in that situation. He has to now deal with that. If he does do that what does that mean? What does it tell you, does he stand up to it? Does he survive that as a god? As your god, can Batman survive that?”
When you put Snyder’s words into context then you start to understand his mindset surrounding Batman and murder. The iconic character has a valuable no-kill code, but times and the world of superheroes have changed. Is Batman truly irrelevant if he doesn’t kill?
Why Batman’s No Kill Code Is A Great Thing
Anyone who has read a DC comic or watched an animated cartoon knows that Batman doesn’t simply have low-level criminals. Batman deals with sociopaths and psychopaths who want to try and “fix” Gotham daily. Though the easy solution would be to get rid of them permanently, Batman’s moral code offers hope and opportunities.
Some people in this world are simply misguided and lost, and Bruce Wayne giving criminals a chance to redeem themselves is what a hero is all about. Batman sees the good in a darkened world, and though he often has to deal with the same low lives time and time again, resorting to murder then asks the question: what makes Batman different from the criminals?
Why is Batman “God” per se? I understand what Snyder is trying to say. There will be points when Batman has to make a difficult decision when it comes to the value of life. But Batman is the light of a dark tunnel. How can a man call himself a hero if he’s going around and taking lives as well? It’s certainly a complex subject.
On one hand, you’re taking dangerous criminals off the streets. On the other, criminals will always exist. It doesn’t matter how many you kill, there’s always going to be someone who breaks the law. Violence tends to lead to more violence. It continues to spread hate and tends to make the situation worse. Killing may be the quicker solution, but the long-term effects can be harmful to society overall.
Should Batman’s Morals Be Challenged?
That’s the most compelling aspect of Bruce Wayne. Zack Snyder has a great point, how can you truly bring out the best in Batman if the creators are too afraid to challenge his morals? The problem is, that Zack Snyder didn’t ask that question himself. Batman in Dawn of Justice was already murdering bad guys left and right. How did Batman get to the point where murder was an option? As sound as Snyder’s comment is, he never dared to answer that question.
One of the reasons that DC has some of the best villains in the superhero landscape is their complexity. Even if a good portion of them are killers and psychos, most of them have an intriguing backstory that highlights the good in said character. In Joker, Arthur wasn’t particularly a bad guy himself. He was a mentally ill man, who lived in a society that was consistently beating him down.
The plight of Batman killing a man is a great topic to explore; it can open layers to something deeper and profound. Even if the option does have Batman kill, focusing on Bruce Wayne’s descent to madness can make for a compelling watch. That’s why The Killing Joke is so highly regarded.
Is Batman Irrelevant If He Can’t Kill?
There’s nothing wrong with Batman killing. However, Snyder never explored the WHY when it came to the Dark Knight resorting to such low levels. That’s the key factor in effectively taking Bruce Wayne down a darker path. However, if Batman never killed again in his films (or comics) then there’s nothing wrong with that either. Batman’s no-kill code is one of the reasons why the character is so special in the first place. Zack Snyder is right about his morals needing to be challenged, but murder doesn’t have to be the result.
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