What mainstream Batman idea you personally disagree with?

[Immortal Weapon]

More like mainstream perception than idea but I never liked how Robin is perceived to be a joke character just because he's the sidekick. He adds a lot to the table. Can do a lot of things Batman can't and is usually the one who has to save Batman from himself when the situation calls for it. It grinds my gears seeing his value overlooked like that.

I never liked how the Joker is the only villain that's allowed to hurt Batman and his allies on a personal level. Batman has other villains that are perfectly capable of doing the same but never get the chance. I liked it when it was Bane who killed Alfred, Scarecrow being the one who forces Bruce to expose himself to the world in Arkham Knight, Talia being the mortal nemesis of their son.

[RobinGA]

As you might imagine by my name, I agree with this completely. Robin's influence on Batman is immense.
But the sense that Robin is a joke, is fueled partly by people who just want to see Batman as a solo character.
Ironic considering that Batman has an ever growing family, that is helping him to battle crime.

Robin was invented at first to serve as Watson to Batman's Sherlock Holmes. But also to give Batman someone
to talk to, to help move the story along. If you read the old Golden Age Batman stories, you will see Robin was
more than simply a kid sidekick. Of course, Batman is the heart of their alliance, but he needs what Robin can
contribute.

I think the element that hurts Robin's legacy is how Nightwing comes to terms with his Robin heritage. In both the
comics and the Titan show the sense that Dick Grayson has walked away from the dark Batman character, which
has warped and destroyed his soul. I think that is a poor reading of what the grownup Dick Grayson should look like.
Someone who has become his own person, grownup in all ways fully, to become a vibrant superhero, at the core of the
DC universe. Not part of the trinity, but not that far behind to be honest. But also someone deeply proud of all that
he and Batman accomplished together. Going to take the best of his Robin years, to be his own person, but really the
next Batman.

Of course, you can only really get there if you stop thinking of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson during the Batman and Robin
years as brothers, temporary allies, but father and son. I know having said that we will have people popping up to talk
about their ages. But really if you look at Robin as a young person, he is in no sense of the word a brother to Bruce Wayne.
If we think of the Bruce Wayne years as serving as an apprenticeship for Dick Grayson, he learned a lot from Bruce. How
to compartmentalize your life, detective works, interacting with the police, but also the dangers of staring into the abyss,
because eventually the abyss stares back at you. The grownup Nightwing, is his own person, but it seems a false step to
see him as an angry rebel, rejecting the Batman inheritance. You can be your own person, have your own name, carve out
your own identity, without being at war with what has come before.

Lastly, Robin serves an important role as a check on Batman's darkest impulses. Batman's conscience would be a word for it.
To ask the questions that Bruce hasn't thought of, to try and put him on a better path. Robin is a much more optimistic
kind of person, that helps in how he can relate to Bruce.

Of course, I am thinking here of how Dick Grayson has interacted with Bruce, because he has had the longest interaction. Others
who are more familiar with other Robins, will have other thoughts.

[Micael]

I never liked how the Joker is the only villain that's allowed to hurt Batman and his allies on a personal level. Batman has other villains that are perfectly capable of doing the same but never get the chance. I liked it when it was Bane who killed Alfred, Scarecrow being the one who forces Bruce to expose himself to the world in Arkham Knight, Talia being the mortal nemesis of their son.

I blame it on writers trying to escalate Batman and Joker's rivalry, the whole "we're destined to do this forever" was an interesting meta concept but in my opinion it has damaged their dynamic over the years. They want joker to be the biggest baddest threat and because of that he always ends up doing the most outlandish stuff and it has gotten tiresome.

Personally the biggest misconception surrounding their rivalry is that it's supposed to be personal. I believe it's actually the opposite, joker purposefully avoids personalizing Batman, he doesn't want to treat him as a person with feelings and a life, it's just a game to him. That's why it makes sense why he wouldn't care about Batman's secret identity and he doesn't acknowledge it even if he knows.

[RobinGA]

That is an interesting point. I hadn't considered the whole secret identity question. It raises the
question though of how many supervillains are giving a lot of thought to their opponents secret identity?

I do think that it is personal to the Joker in the sense of wanting to win a competition with Batman.
Often, some of the things that Joker does are intended to get Batman's attention. Joker especially obsessed
with taking on Batman, to achieving a final victory in this cosmic battle between good and evil.

[Immortal Weapon]

In relation to the Joker rivalry, I've not been a fan of how some writers make it borderline gay on Joker's end. Equating their rivalry to unrequited love doesn't resonate with me at all. Lego Batman lays it on thick.

[HsssH]

I'm not sure if there actually is a rivalry? Should Bruce really view Joker any differently than other villains? Sure, he is more dangerous than most of them, but he is still just another criminal.

[Micael]

Of course, you can only really get there if you stop thinking of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson during the Batman and Robin
years as brothers, temporary allies, but father and son.

I'd argue the concept of batman and robin as father and son has been responsible for making their dynamic less of partnership and more of mentorship. Batman used to treat robin as partner he could count on to have his back and help him with solving mysteries, the modern revision as Batman being this cold authority figure who had robin on a "short leash". The brother dynamic is not only more suitable for their age difference but also it acknowledges that Bruce Wayne was a very young man at the time and was pretty much developing his own maturity. Batman needed robin just as much as robin needed Batman their dynamic was more balanced specially since back then Alfred came later on. Robin holds more respect when he stops being his "son" and is actually treated like a partner.

[TheRay]

That he should be with Catwoman or Wonder Woman.

[marhawkman]

Honestly I don't mind Batman being a chick magnet but they should create original characters to showcase that not use already existing ones to push him. Same with Wonder Woman.

The funny thing... is they did that repeatedly TOO! They had a different love interest in practically every Batman movie! Except for Chase Meridian they all showed up in comics first.

It's not a superpower ^^ just a blessing, like Sleeping Beauty fairy's gift. She's guaranteed to grow up to be the most beautiful woman, but it's not a siren power or anything.

Well... the blessings aren't things that stopped being there. Like the Sleeping Beauty example. That was a spell that got broken. This... not so much.

[Restingvoice]

The funny thing... is they did that repeatedly TOO! They had a different love interest in practically every Batman movie! Except for Chase Meridian they all showed up in comics first.
Well... the blessings aren't things that stopped being there. Like the Sleeping Beauty example. That was a spell that got broken. This... not so much.

No, the good fairy's gift is beauty. That stays.

[TheRay]

I disagree with mantles entirely.

[Jman27]

that he always beat superman

[Jely4me]

Turning Tim Drake gay. Soooooooo tired of this out of nowhere PC, diverse garbage..

[Kaitou D. Kid]

I disagree with the idea that Batman is insane or mentally unstable in any way. This idea doesn't make sense for a number of reasons.

First, as Morrison pointed out, it takes a certain amount of resilience to function as Batman and to have the background that Bruce Wayne has. You don't go through courses in Zen Buddhist meditation and come out an ***hole. It's just not realistic.

Second, Batman being insane or mentally unstable would undermine his role as a detective. Being a detective is all about objectivity and being good at reasoning. If Sherlock Holmes or L from Death Note were mentally unstable in any way, they would function differently and wouldn't be able to perform as efficiently (those characters might have a quirky side or show signs of a disorder like Asperger's at times, but that doesn't make them insane or mentally unstable).

Lastly, if Batman is insane or mentally unstable in any way, his dynamic with the Joker doesn't work. The Batman/Joker dynamic is based on the idea of one representing logic and order, and the other representing unpredictability and chaos. In order for Batman to be a good representation of those things, he would have to be as sane as it gets, otherwise their stories are not a good thematic battle between those different ideas and ways of thinking (it's fine if the Joker thinks Batman is insane because the Joker is insane and would think that for obvious reasons, but it's foolish for a real-life writer to make the same assertion).

[bat39]

Turning Tim Drake gay. Soooooooo tired of this out of nowhere PC, diverse garbage..

Wait, what? That happened?!

I disagree with the idea that Batman is insane or mentally unstable in any way. This idea doesn't make sense for a number of reasons.

First, as Morrison pointed out, it takes a certain amount of resilience to function as Batman and to have the background that Bruce Wayne has. You don't go through courses in Zen Buddhist meditation and come out an ***hole. It's just not realistic.

Second, Batman being insane or mentally unstable would undermine his role as a detective. Being a detective is all about objectivity and being good at reasoning. If Sherlock Holmes or L from Death Note were mentally unstable in any way, they would function differently and wouldn't be able to perform as efficiently (those characters might have a quirky side or show signs of a disorder like Asperger's at times, but that doesn't make them insane or mentally unstable).

Lastly, if Batman is insane or mentally unstable in any way, his dynamic with the Joker doesn't work. The Batman/Joker dynamic is based on the idea of one representing logic and order, and the other representing unpredictability and chaos. In order for Batman to be a good representation of those things, he would have to be as sane as it gets, otherwise their stories are not a good thematic battle between those different ideas and ways of thinking (it's fine if the Joker thinks Batman is insane because the Joker is insane and would think that for obvious reasons, but it's foolish for a real-life writer to make the same assertion).

Well, in Sherlock's own words, "I'm not a psychopath, I'm a high-functioning sociopath!"

Jokes apart, I agree with you that I'm not a fan of the idea of Batman being 'mentally unstable' or 'as insane as his villains'. I think it makes sense that the long years of his crusade have taken a toll on his psyche. And while I don't agree with this interpretation, the idea that his childhood trauma has continued to have a lasting impact on him is one that I guess does make sense.

There is a difference between someone who's 'insane' and someone who may suffer from mental health issues but is otherwise a normal functioning (or even high-functioning) individual. Not that I want Batman to be defined by 'mental health issues' but it is a valid interpretation.