In the world of superheroes, few are as well regarded as Batman. The Guardian of Gotham, Batman has stood out as one of the most recognizable and beloved heroes in the genre for over 80 years now, and it doesn't look like that will be changing anytime soon. What has made the Dark Knight Detective so popular is not only his heroic actions but his humanity. Unlike his close ally Superman, Batman is prone to making bad choices or letting his emotions get to him.

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These moments, rare as they may be, have left marks on Batman's record that show how he can be cruel. Sometimes, Batman is purposely cruel to his friends or foes, while other times his past trauma leads to poorly thought out decisions that endanger others. Whatever the case, these are just some of the moments where the World's Greatest Detective was also a world-class jerk.

10 He Put Children In Harm's Way

a photo collage of three different robins

The first and most obvious bit of cruelty that Batman often commits is the endangerment of children. It started with the young Dick Grayson, the first child to become Robin the Boy Wonder. Dick was followed by Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, and Batman's own son Damian Wayne.

But the Robins aren't the only children Batman has put in harm's way for his own wants. There's Duke Thomas, Barbara Gordon, and Cassandra Cain as well. In his search to recreate the family that was taken from him, Batman has not only put these teens in danger, but has set up the direct path of their deaths.

9 He Plotted Against His Teammates

DC Comics' JLA Tower of Babel Batman stands over the fallen Justice League

Batman isn't the easiest hero to work with. He is egotistical, judgmental, and usually really grumpy. Still, his skills as a fighter, strategist, and detective make Batman a hero that the other heroes respect. As part of that respect, Batman has been a member of almost every version of the Justice League, even after it was revealed that he had worked out ways to destroy his teammates.

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In the now-classic story Tower of Babel, the heroes of the DCU learned that Batman had come up with intricate ways to defeat each one of his allies if the need should ever come up. The Dark Knight even wrote down the best way to beat himself, which really isn't a smart thing for a smart guy to do.

8 He Left A Foe To Slowly Die

Batman Leaves KGBeast to Die in the Sewer

One well-known trait of Batman is that he doesn't kill. He may have been less stringent on this rule in his early Golden Age adventures, but by the late 1980s, this piece of Batman's methods was heavily established. That made the Dark Knight's battle against a new foe named KGBeast all the more shocking.

In the four-issue story "10 Nights of the Beast" Batman faced off against his new adversary and quickly learned just how dedicated to being evil KGBeast was when the villain cut off his own hand. To finally defeat KGBeast once and for all, Batman tricked his foe into a room and locked him in, trapping the villain inside where he would eventually starve to death.

7 He Left The Same Foe To Slowly Die Again

KGBeast - DC Comics Batman

Somehow, KGBeast got out of the deathtrap that Batman set for him and would return time and again to annoy the hero. In his most recent appearance, KGBeast went a step too far and tried to kill Nightwing, shooting the former sidekick in the head. Nightwing survived, but the shooting sent Batman over the edge.

The Dark Knight tracked KGBeast to Siberia where the two fought in the freezing cold. The epic battle came to an end when Batman broke KGBeast's neck, paralyzing him. Batman left KGBeast lying alone in the snow, unable to move and once again facing a slow death.

6 He Created Brother Eye

5. Brother Eye Apokolips

In theory, seeing your parents gunned down before your eyes when you are ten will make just about anyone fearful of what they don't know or can't see, which is probably why Batman, looking for a way to protect everyone and everything, created Brother Eye.

Not having learned from the whole Tower of Babel incident where Ra's al Ghul used Batman's plans to decimate the JLA, Batman built Brother Eye to spy on the heroes of the DCU, and sure enough, it all went badly, leading to the creation of OMAC and the Infinite Crisis.

5 He Abused His Fiancée

Batman Beats Silver St Cloud in Batman: The Widening Gyre

Batman has had a number of lovers over the years, but only a few have really left a mark on the heart of the Gotham Guardian. Silver St. Cloud is one of those women. At one point, Bruce Wayne and Silver St. Cloud were engaged, but as it usually happens for the hero, his life as Batman got in the way.

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In Batman: The Widening Gyre, Batman and Silver reconnected and once again began to talk marriage. At that point, the Dark Knight's paranoia set in and he became convinced that Silver wasn't actually Silver, but a robot or clone or some other trap set for him. To prove just how right he was, Batman attacked Silver St. Cloud. Not his best moment.

4 He Shot A Man Into Space

Lord Death Man

Facing off against Lord Death Man, Batman found himself in a real conundrum. He could lock the killer up in Arkham or Blackgate, but sooner or later Lord Death Man would just escape or be freed; he is, after all, immortal. So how did Batman deal with a killer who can't die? He locked the villain up in a rocket ship and blasted him off into space. Now, unless he gets found by the Dominators or one of DC's other alien races, Lord Death Man will spend eternity floating alone through space, which really feels like cruel and unusual punishment.

3 He Ignored Blue Beetle

Max Lord Kills Ted Kord Blue Beetle in Countdown to Infinite Crisis

Between the whole Tower of Babel deal and Brother Eye, it should be clear that Batman doesn't have much respect for his fellow heroes, but what the Dark Knight did to Blue Beetle is beyond the pale. Ted Kord, the second Blue Beetle, and Batman were teammates during the Justice League International years, and while Ted was never the greatest hero, he still did his part to keep the world safe.

But when Ted went to Batman looking for help on a case, the World's Greatest Detective shooed him away, ignoring his former teammate's request for assistance. Perhaps if Batman had been more open to helping others, Ted Kord wouldn't have gotten his brains blown out by Maxwell Lord.

2 He Chose The Wrong Successor

Azrael as Batman, or "Azbats"

One of the main points of having a sidekick is that the hero is training someone to pick up their mantle should they ever die or be horribly injured. This is exactly what happened when Barry Allen, the second Flash, died and his sidekick Wally West took over. By the time Batman had his back broken by Bane during Knightfall, the Dark Knight had a former sidekick and a current sidekick to choose between. But who did Batman select to put on the cowl? Azrael.

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Not only did Batman push aside two people he specifically trained to take his place, he actually chose a man who was clearly mentally unstable and under the control of a religious cult. To no one's surprise, this ended up being a terrible choice.

1 He Pushes His Family Away (A Lot)

Artwork for the Batfamily during the Rebirth era of DC Comics

For a loner, Batman has surrounded himself with quite the list of sidekicks and allies. The Bat-Family is Bruce Wayne's way of creating the family he was robbed of when he was a child, but because of the trauma he experienced then, he can never truly let these people into his heart.

That is why, whenever things get really rough for him, Batman pushes his family away. He wants them to be there for him and has no issue putting them in harm's way, but Batman never wants them to see him when he is vulnerable, and his answer to that is to yell at them and possibly beat them up.

NEXT: DC: 10 Cruelest Things The Flash Has Done In The Comics