Though Batman is typically thought of as a hero, he also occasionally commits acts that seem decidedly villainous. Since the character’s creation in 1939, Batman has grown to become one of the most popular and iconic heroes in pop culture. Over the decades, many actors have played Batman in live-action, giving voice to a range of differing interpretations of the character. That said, one thing that rarely changes is the overall perception that Batman is primarily a force for good.
However, unlike many other heroes, Batman often finds himself in situations where he makes controversial or morally questionable choices. In almost every Batman movie, there is at least one moment where Batman chooses to do something dark or otherwise unheroic, creating many examples of times when he seemed to be more a villain than a hero. With that in mind, here are the 10 most villainous things Batman has ever done in DC movies.
8
Leaving Ra’s Al Ghul To Die
Batman Begins (2005)
The first movie in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, 2005’s Batman Begins, might not be recognized as the best of the three-film arc, but it did set an exciting foundation for the movies to follow. As an origin story, it saw a young Bruce Wayne develop the Batman persona as a means of fighting crime, learning what it meant to be Gotham’s hero along the way. However, Batman Begins also saw its hero make some morally questionable choices.
The end of the movie sees Batman and his former mentor, Ra’s al Ghul, battling on a train armed with a microwave emitter set to disperse Scarecrow’s fear toxin over the entire city. In a defining moment for the budding vigilante, Batman gains the upper hand over the villain, and instead of rescuing him as he did once before, he simply leaves him to die. Batman choosing to shirk his no-kill rule through inaction so early in his story seemed a somewhat villainous thing to do, even if it was for good reasons.
7
Allowing Alfred To Believe He Was ᴅᴇᴀᴅ
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
The Dark Knight trilogy features many memorable moments, with the best of them powerfully emotional in a way that taps into the thematic core of Nolan’s three-film franchise. The Dark Knight Rises is no exception, serving as an epic conclusion to the trilogy’s story and following Batman facing off against Bane and the League of Shadows ahead of his eventual retirement from heroism. The means of his retirement, however, proved to be cruel to the point of villainy.
Batman seemingly sacrificing himself to save Gotham served a clear purpose: it inspired other citizens to continue his work in the city. However, he also neglected to alert Alfred – a man who had served as his father figure for most of his life – to his true plan to fake his death, prompting an understandably devastated reaction from his former butler. Allowing Alfred to believe he was ᴅᴇᴀᴅ served no real purpose, as it was a secret that he could have been trusted to keep, and instead comes off as a needlessly cruel thing to have done.
6
Trying To Kill Joe Chill
Batman Begins (2005)
Many movies have adapted Batman’s origin story, and the major points are always the same: a young Bruce Wayne witnessed his parents’ murder, and it inspired him to become a hero. Batman Begins did it too, but it also explored the aftermath of the Waynes’ death in some depth. It also showed their murderer, Joe Chill, being released from prison shortly before Bruce Wayne’s final decision to become Batman, and it almost pushed him down a different path.
Upon learning of Chill’s freedom, Batman Begins sees Bruce Wayne head to the courthouse with a gun, intending to shoot and kill the man who sH๏τ his parents. Though he is beaten to it by one of Falcone’s thugs, there is every indication that Bruce Wayne would have followed through with his plan. It may not be entirely evil to want retribution, but Bruce Wayne’s willingness to murder is certainly far from his most heroic moment.
5
Branded Criminals With Bat Symbols
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Batman’s first appearance in the DCEU’s movie timeline introduced him as a very different take on the iconic hero. Instead of being a vigilante with a strict code of ethics, the DCEU’s version of Batman was an older, more cynical crimefighter who had abandoned his characteristic no-kill rule after several dark turns in his journey. His introductory scene swiftly sets his dark capabilities out for the audience to see, and it makes him seem somewhat villainous.
The scene in question shows Batman infiltrating and thwarting a human trafficking operation. However, the manner in which he does so is incredibly brutal, killing many criminals and branding others with Bat symbols. It may not be the worst thing Batman has ever done in movies, but deliberately branding his victims is certainly one of the most extreme, and it served as a startling introduction to the DCEU’s version of the character.
4
Hacking All Of Gotham’s Phones
The Dark Knight (2008)
Bruce Wayne’s status as part of Gotham’s wealthy elite has always facilitated his heroic alter-ego, as his access to cutting-edge gadgets has long played a crucial part in his vigilantism. However, Bruce Wayne’s background often comes up in discussions about whether Batman can truly be considered a hero, and his misuse of his power is regularly cited as more villainous than heroic. Perhaps the worst example occurs in The Dark Knight, when Batman briefly insists that the ends justify the means before invading Gotham’s privacy.
Using experimental technology developed by Lucius Fox, Batman insists upon turning all of Gotham’s phones into surveillance devices, allowing him to quickly locate the Joker. Though the choice was made for the right reasons, it invaded the civil liberties of countless innocent citizens, and was a clear example of Batman abusing his power. It’s a moment that saw Batman stray briefly into tyrannical territory, making it an especially villainous chapter in his story.
3
Made Two-Face Fall To His Death
Batman Forever (1995)
Although Joel Schumacher’s Batman movies are widely considered some of the worst movies in the superhero genre, they did contain a few moments of note. The first, 1995’s Batman Forever, saw Val Kilmer’s version of the Dark Knight make some morally questionable decisions, especially when it came to the villain Two-Face. The movie’s climactic scenes see Two-Face fall to his death, although it’s Batman’s role in his demise that makes him seem extra villainous.
After encountering Two-Face and learning of his obsession with flipping his lucky coin to dictate his decisions, Batman sets about creating a contingency plan. In their final encounter, he waits for Two-Face to flip his coin and then throws countless identical replicas into the air over a dangerous fall, sending the villain plummeting to his death. Preying on Two-Face’s compulsion in such a way was relatively underhanded, and also required a considerable amount of premeditation, making it seem as calculated as it does villainous.
2
Strapping A Live Bomb To A Henchman
Batman Returns (1992)
Tim Burton’s two-film Batman arc remains wildly popular even decades after release thanks to the director’s unique vision for the character in live-action. Its unique blend of gothic visuals with dark themes was offset by moments of levity, with both 1989’s Batman and 1992’s Batman Returns not taking the character and his mythos too seriously. One moment in Batman Returns makes Michael Keaton’s Batman seem incredibly villainous, and it stands out as especially brutal in hindsight.
Considering Batman’s well-known no-kill rule has long been a part of his stories, Batman Returns broke it in an unexpectedly vicious manner. The movie sees Batman encounter a large thug, and being unable to physically overpower him, he simply sticks him with a large explosive device and throws him into a hole. The smile on Batman’s face when he sees the man’s final expression of horror is incredibly twisted, and makes the deed seem even more villainous than it already would have been.
1
Deciding To Kill Superman
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
From the very beginning of the franchise, the movies of the DCEU promised to deliver something that had not been achieved before: to bring Batman and Superman together in live-action on the big screen. Its means of achieving that feat was Batman v Superman, pitting the two heroes against one another in a cinematic showdown for the ages. In adapting the story, the movie also saw Batman take what may well be the most villainous stance in his entire movie history as he explains why he intends to kill Superman.
The scene in question sees Batman quote Dick Cheney, insisting that “if there’s even a 1% chance he could be our enemy, we have to take it as an absolute certainty”. Batman says this having already decided to kill the alien hero, despite having seen him battling to save the Earth from destruction at Zod’s hands. It’s undeniably the closest Batman has ever come in his movie history to being an outright villain in live-action, and is potentially his darkest moment in the DC Universe.
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