Batman's first objective is always the protection of Gotham City. It's his home, where he was born, and his first love. This is more central to Bruce Wayne's character than being a member of the Justice League and a defender of the planet. Gotham comes first in his heart, and Batman takes the status of Gotham into account before every decision he makes.
However, Batman's judgment isn't infallible. Batman has saved Gotham City countless times, but there are a handful of times that he definitely failed the city that he loves so much.
10 GOTHAM NEEDED HIM: The First Time He Put On The Suit In Zero Year
The retelling of Batman's origin in Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Zero Year found the first adventures of Batman bringing him into collision with a reimagined Red Hood Gang and Edward Nygma pre-Riddler days.
The Red Hood Gang was wreaking havoc across Gotham, and its leader, Red Hood-1, was pressing-ganging members into joining. Edward Nygma shut down all technology in Gotham, sealed it off by rigging the bridges, and ruled the resulting dystopia with an iron fist. Batman, with some help, put a stop to both.
9 HE MADE THINGS WORSE: Targeting Bob Cratchit In Batman: Noel
Batman: Noel is a graphic novel by Lee Bermejo about Batman which takes heavy inspiration from A Christmas Carol. The story focuses on Batman's investigation into a man named Bob Cratchit, a former small-time henchman of the Joker. Batman takes the role of Ebeneezer Scrooge in this story, as he proves to be the unforgiving overlord that is actively hurting Cratchet and his family.
The likes of Superman and Catwoman show up to try and convince Batman to take it easy and reintroduce a more optimistic view into his superhero crusade. Ultimately, Batman does decide to help Cratchet and even protects him from the Joker when he inevitably arrives.
8 GOTHAM NEEDED HIM: The Ongoing Fight Against The Magistrate
The current Batman comic by James Tynion IV and Jorge Jimenez finds the Dark Knight at odds with a new authoritarian regime called the Magistrate. The Magistrate is looking to take over Gotham and purge it of all masked vigilantes. The Magistrate is very much looking to oppress the people of Gotham in the name of security for the city and its wealthier factions.
The Future State stories set in Gotham showed how far the Magistrate will go in controlling Gotham; it very much becomes a cyberpunk dystopia. They even seemingly kill Batman, which causes the Dark Knight to rebrand as the Dark Detective.
7 HE MADE THINGS WORSE: Not Trusting The Red Hood When He Returned
After the fall of the second Outlaws team, the Red Hood was looking to return to Gotham City for a new start. This involved staging an assassination of the Penguin and taking over the Iceberg Lounge. Unfortunately, Batman wasn't clued in on the Red Hood's plan, and he brutally attacked Jason, declaring that he should never have taken Jason in.
Of course, the Red Hood didn't actually kill the Penguin--he just took him as a prisoner inside the Lounge. This confrontation once again drove a wedge between Bruce and Jason--depriving Batman of another potentially valuable ally.
6 GOTHAM NEEDED HIM: Fighting Back Against The Court Of Owls
The Court of Owls is a clandestine organization of Gotham's wealthiest citizens who have been controlling the destiny of the city since its founding. Batman managed to discover the Court in more recent years, and this prompted the Court to initiate a full-scale takeover of the city.
Thankfully for Gotham, Batman and his allies fought back hard against the Court of Owls and their Talon assassins. Batman was able to purge the city of the Owls, though their remnants still exist in dark corners of the world.
5 HE MADE THINGS WORSE: Everything He Did In All-Star Batman And Robin
All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder by Frank Miller is very much a low point in the history of Batman. This reimagining of Batman made him into a violent sadist who didn't shy away from unnecessarily brutal and lethal methods to contend with his foes.
Here, Batman is undeniably a negative force of Gotham, even if he learns a few lessons along the way. His treatment of Dick Grayson as Robin is abhorrent as well, making the young man stay in his blood-soaked clothes after his parents' deaths, making him eat rats, and yelling abuse at him on the regular.
4 GOTHAM NEEDED HIM: Putting On The Costume Again In Dark Knight Returns
The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller finds Batman in retirement after years of putting on the cape and cowl after vigilantes were outlawed in the United States. In the time since then, Gotham has plunged into chaos and disorder.
It takes a plucky young girl named Carrie Kelley to push Batman back into action. Batman beats the leader of the self-proclaimed mutants and turns the group into a force for good in the city. He stops the return of the Joker, finally ending the clown's rampage for good. This does lead to the infamous brutal fight between Superman and Batman, but the Caped Crusader even turns this into an opportunity to change his tactics in protecting Gotham.
3 HE MADE THINGS WORSE: Not Trusting The Joker In The White Knight
Batman: The White Knight by Sean Murphy is a story that finds the Joker cured of his mental afflictions and working to become a force for good in the city. In this tale, the Joker was never the rampaging killer that he is in the regular DC continuity. He was more of an anarchist looking to overthrow the unjust regime of Gotham City.
Batman, who used his crusade to also further his business ventures, fought harshly against the Joker's attempts at redemption. This led to a few battles between Batman and the Joker, but Bruce eventually came over to Joker's side--just in time to stop a false Harley Quinn from destroying the city.
2 GOTHAM NEEDED HIM: Coming To The Rescue In No Man's Land
No Man's Land by Greg Rucka is the tale of Gotham's devastation in the wake of a titanic earthquake. The United States government gives up on Gotham, declaring it a lawless no man's land, and this left the heroes and police of Gotham to try to restore order on their own.
This was one of the greatest challenges of Batman's life, but he was ultimately able to save Gotham from its villains with the help of Azrael, Huntress, Nightwing, Oracle, Batgirl, Commissioner Gordon, and others.
1 HE MADE THINGS WORSE: Disbanding The Gotham Knights
With DC Rebirth, Batman tried a new tactic to protect Gotham: he put together a team. This team was called the Gotham Knights, and they were led by Batwoman. The other members included Red Robin, Spoiler, Orphan, Azrael, Batwing, and a reformed Clayface.
They did good for a time, but trouble arose when Clayface was driven into a frenzy by Hugo Strange. Batwoman made a weapon designed to stop Clayface, but it would be lethal. Batman wanted her not to do it, but Batwoman pulled the trigger and seemingly killed Clayface. This, along with other factors, pushed Batman to disband the team and put him at odds with Batwoman. It does seem like Batman could have tried to retool and improve the team, but he opted to shut it all down in a rage.