Should Batman Kill? Zack Snyder Thinks So.

A recent interview on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast, (which I highly recommend you watch) Zack Snyder was a guest and they talked about many things, and of course his DC movies. They ended up talking about why Zack Snyder’s and Ben Affleck’s Batman kills the bad guys. This topic (and many other topics Zack Snyder brought up) were all over social media the next day and continues to be hotly debated on social media. So many comments have been made about this and they essentially boil down to “Batman doesn’t kill”, “Not my Batman”, “Zack Snyder doesn’t understand Batman”, etc.

The problem with all of these comments is that there is no one singular representation of Batman. There have been so many interpretations over the years. From Bill Finger to Zack Snyder there have so many representations of the character. So many artists, directors, writers, etc. have put their own take on Batman. So yes, some artists have Batman killing and some don’t. Snyder did and some people can’t handle it.

Three of the most recent film directors who have made Batman movies, Christopher Nolan, Zack Snyder, and Matt Reeves have each taken a different approach to the character and chose to highlight different aspects and different eras of Batman. I love all three of these takes, and many others. Zack talked about how Frank Miller’s take on Batman really resonated with him and so he took Miller’s approach with his Batman v Superman story.

Batman v Superman on the left and Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns on the right.

When Frank Miller released The Dark Knight Returns, it was one of the hottest selling comics of its time and people loved it. DC green lit sequels to the story. When the 2 part animated movie came out a few years ago, it was highly successful.

So there is an audience for Miller/Snyder’s take on a Batman who kills bad guys. I frankly agree with Miller and Snyder in a lot of ways, it’s more unreasonable that Batman doesn’t and has never killed anyone in his history of crime fighting in Gotham.

Especially with all the firepower Gotham villains have nowadays. Are we expected to believe these villains are akin to Stormtroopers who can never hit Han, Luke, Leía, Chewie as they run through the Death Star? That was a one event thing, but with Batman it’s a daily, weekly thing. So he will be put in situations where he will have to kill the villains.

It’s unreasonable to think that Batman won’t ever kill someone intentionally or not. Are we expected to believe that out of all the villains and their lackeys Batman has fought, that by punching and kicking them, throwing them off buildings, etc., that they just go to the hospital and don’t die?

Riddler, Penguin, Joker, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze

So if you don’t like this version of Batman or Bruce Wayne, that’s totally fine. There are plenty of stories out there where he doesn’t kill bad guys. It’s not an either/or situation and hasn’t been for decades now, since 1986. That’s pre-Michael Keaton’s Batman btw.

So my advice for those that can’t stand Zack Snyder and his portrayal of DC characters, is to leave your hatred of Zack Snyder and his take on Batman behind and move on. Don’t watch his version. Don’t read Miller’s TDKR comic. Watch Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy or read whatever story you connect with. Some people are ok with both versions.

There’s plenty of room for different takes on Batman (which already exist) and they all have value and are fun to read or watch.

Which one is your favorite?