Since 1966 when Adam West first put on the cowl, Batman has appeared in 11 live-action movies, and with Matt Reeves' The Batman scheduled to come out next year, it looks like we can expect plenty more appearances of the Dark Knight on film in the future. These movies have shown us a variety of takes on the Caped Crusader. Some are fun and light, some are serious and dark. Some are great, some are bad. No two actors or directors have treated Batman the same.
Still, there are things about Batman that the movies get wrong. Not every movie will make the same mistakes when it comes to who the Dark Knight is and how he acts, but many of them do share the same issues. Here are 10 things the movies get wrong about Batman...
10 He Doesn't Usually Use Guns
As you can imagine, every Batman rule has been broken during his 80 plus years of stories. When Bill Finger and Bob Kane first brought Batman to the world, he did carry a gun, but that decision was reversed soon afterward. And in some of the darker Batman stories, he will pull out a gun, but most of those are out of continuity or take place in alternate futures.
In general, it is accepted that Batman isn't a fan of guns and does not use them. Still, in almost every movie, Batman's vehicles have guns on them. These aren't tasers or non-lethal weapons either, he or his associates in the movies use these guns to kill people. The most obvious use is when Catwoman shoots Bane with the huge guns on Batman's motorcycle in Dark Knight Rises.
9 He Doesn't Just Bring People To The Batcave All Willy-Nilly
The Batcave is one of the coolest superhero bases of all time. It's big, it's filled with cool stuff, and it's where Batman lives. Everyone and their mother would love to get a tour of the headquarters, and if he wanted to, Batman could probably sell tickets, but that would ruin the whole point of having a secret base, especially since that secret base is directly under Wayne Manor.
But in the movies, Batman isn't afraid to just bring people to the Batcave at the drop of the hat. In Batman 1966, he brings Penguin to the Batcave, and in Batman 1989, he brings Vicki Vale over for a visit after saving her from Joker at the museum.
8 He Usually Keeps the Body Count Low
Like the guns issue, Batman has killed in the past and in alternate reality stories, but the general rule of thumb is that the Caped Crusader doesn't kill because he believes that no one person should be judge, jury, and executioner. But in the movies, Batman is a lot more lenient with the whole "no killing" rule.
While there's no definitive count of how many people Batman has killed across his live-action adventures, it is at least over 30. One of the truly great ones is when he kills everyone at the League of Assassins base after telling them that he refuses to kill people.
7 He Doesn't Reveal His Identity To Every Girl He Meets
Across the 11 live-action movies Batman has appeared in, he has had five love interests. Of those five, only one of them didn't learn that he was Batman. Now, in Batman's defense, Alfred really started this all off by telling Vicki Vale his true identity, but Bruce has no problem telling the others himself.
For a guy who worked so hard to create a suit that would hide his face and keep his civilian identity secret, Batman sure seems to tell a whole lot of people who he is. Even in movies where he doesn't have a love interest, like Justice League, he just goes around telling people he's Batman.
6 He's An Acrobat
If you watched every Batman movie and knew nothing else about the character, you could be forgiven for not knowing that the Dark Knight is actually an Olympic level acrobat. In the comics, Batman is constantly swinging from building to building or doing some crazy flips. He's no Spider-Man, but he can put on quite a show when he wants to.
In the movies, however, Batman is usually pretty statuesque when it comes to the action. The suits that are made for the movies rarely give the actor or the stuntmen the ability to show off some sweet flips to kicks, choosing instead to have the Dark Knight stand there and let villainous goons run up to him. Adam West and Ben Affleck's Batmans are the standouts when it comes to actually moving around like the comic version of Batman.
5 Robin Is A Kid
When the masses think of Robin the Boy Wonder, the word "boy" is usually a big part of what they imagine. While the Robins in the comics haven't all been male, they do tend to be teens or pre-teens. In the movies, the youngest of the three Robins we've seen was at least 17, and the oldest had his own apartment and a full-time job.
Robin was created to be a representative of the young kids that were reading Batman comics, and missing that aspect from the movies is a shame. Sure, it makes it a little harder to believe that Batman could be real if he's also running about with a 12-year-old in a costume, but these days, audiences are more prepared than ever to see that.
4 What's In The Belt?
In the comics, Batman carries an array of little devices in his utility belt. From smoke pellets to a device that can turn any car into a Batmobile, everyone's favorite masked detective always has something on hand to help him get out of a tough spot. And while the famous Batman utility belt has made it into the movies, besides Adam West in 1966, the Dark Knight never actually uses it.
All those pouches and cases are surely filled with something, but we never get to see them. We can guess that Affleck's Batman kept a lighter in his belt so he could heat up the branding iron he used on criminals, but that's about it.
3 He's A Planner
In the comics, Batman is pretty paranoid. How paranoid? He famously came up with plans on how to defeat every member of the Justice League in case they ever turned evil, and he included himself in those plans. Batman is the kind of hero who makes up for not having superpowers by planning for every event, no matter how possible or impossible it may be.
But in the movies, he is constantly unprepared to deal with the villains that show up. He constantly walks into traps, trusts murderous women, and doesn't actually have a plan to handle things. When Joker is set to blow up two boats of Gothamites in Dark Knight, Batman's plan relies on the people on the boats trusting one another. That isn't Batman's style at all.
2 He Helps In Other Ways
While it never gets a lot of attention in the comics, Batman doesn't just beat up goons and leave them for the police. Using his fame and wealth as Bruce Wayne, Batman has set up work training centers for former felons, and the companies of Bruce Wayne hire a fair amount of former criminals, helping them better reintegrate into society.
In the movies, we never see Batman doing these things. In Tim Burton's Batman, Bruce Wayne does hold a fundraiser, but it isn't to help those in need, it's to help the city put on a parade to celebrate its birthday. Batman should know that his job as a billionaire vigilante doesn't end when the cuffs go on the crooks.
1 He Has Way More Gadgets
The Batman live-action movies aren't devoid of fun gadgets, but compared to the comics, the Dark Knight uses far fewer than one may think. Batarangs are few and far between in the movies, and those are one of the basics of the Batman armory.
In the movies, Batman's gadgets are usually bigger than they are in the comics. Where an average issue of Batman or Detective Comics may have the Caped Crusader use a simple tool to listen in on a conversation, the movies he just smashes through a window and comes in fast. James Bond shouldn't use more gadgets than the Dark Knight.