Originally Posted by
godisawesome
My own POV is that it seems to vary greatly from era to era, with older works being far more likely to be purely lawful good, but the 80’s and 90’s introducing a bit of a wild card element both by embracing corrupt cops and city officials as foes and (subtly) painting the image of a younger Batman being more strict and an older one being more pragmatic.
And I love the idea of both the transition from strict to pragmatic for the family and that Bruce himself has some very hidden but sensible prioritizations that lean towards True Good rather than Lawful Good.
Like… I personally feel like a younger Batman should be more likely to oppose Catwoman as a thief in general, particularly when she herself is positioned as less choosy of her targets, but I also really like how Doug Moench’s and Loeb had there be semi-transitional tries where he reluctantly chooses to ally with her against a greater foe (and it’s not just that she’s hot), and I really like the two modern stories where they’re “established” and Bruce is willing to outright employ her professionally to steal or otherwise obtain precious information (like both Jon Ostrander and Solly Fisch had her do.)
I also feel like in modern times it’s a mild narrative necessity that if Bruce is investigating robberies committed against rich people, than those robberies should contain a violent element or be committed by another rich asshole; modern Batman is so often rightfully focused on violence and murder that him being sidetracked by something an insurance claim could pay for doesn’t really work anymore.
But I also feel like certain Bat-family members sort of require the moral code be portrayed as True Good over Lawful Good just by being present. Like, if no one in the family is trying to throw Jason in jail, and as long as Helena Bertinelli or Damian can have even a small, old kill count in their backgrounds… then no one in the family should really have a problem with Selina stealing stuff and being a part of the family as well.
Jason especially muddies the issue, since I think most of his fans prefer a more mellow portrayal of his relationship with the family even if he’s still racking up a modest body count; as someone who thinks he *does* work as a mildly estranged but still not antagonistic member of the family, I just really can’t take the idea of an older Batman or his kids going “But Catwoman’s a criminal!” anymore.