I want to preface this by saying I have no issue with how Batman is interpreted as this grim, brooding figure; it works damn well. It’s who he is and who I think he should continue to be. Batman, at his core, is a being created by darkness.

But, to quote the legend himself, “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.”

I believe that the common iteration of the Dark Knight is flawed, not because it is too Dark, but because he is not acting like a Knight. He has one rule, but knights lived by a whole code that kept them true to their goals. In my opinion, Batman’s code should be Gotham’s law.

There is some precedent for this; Adam West was a ‘fully deputized agent of the law’, meaning that despite not being a cop, swore to uphold the same rules the police did. This has fallen away in favor of focusing on his vigilantism, which, again, I don’t have a problem with— after all, what he does is very much taking the law into his own hands... but he can’t be above the law or else he’s just Two-Face without the coin.

I’m not saying we go back to the Silver Age where a campy man-child galavants across Gotham with a grapple being too rough for a grunt or goon. What I /am/ saying is Batman, at his core, should strive to be better than the criminals he defeats.

There’s a moment from “Batman: Hush” I particularly take issue with; when referring to Superman, Batman says he’ll win against him because deep down Clark is a good person, but Bruce is not. Maybe he sees himself that way, but for him to go out to the streets and protect people at his own risk is not something a bad person does.

Batman was created by cruelty, but should not be cruel. He was born of violence, but should not be violent. In a way similar to how he refuses to carry a gun or kill people, to give into that darkness is to become what made him. In my opinion, and what I hope to discuss with you all, is how Batman could be that symbol of justice again, instead of a spotlight highlighting how the system doesn’t work and not doing anything to prove his way does.

Thank you for your time. Can’t wait for the movie, the games, etc.