Who Is The Movie Batman With The Highest Kill Count?
There are some pieces of pop culture knowledge that even the most casual of fans are familiar with. Darth Vader is Luke Skywalker's father; Snape kills Dumbledore; and Batman doesn't kill people. That last one reenters the discourse every time a new Dark Knight adaptation wanders into theaters, as legions of comic book readers check in to see how loyal the film is to Bruce Wayne's famous respect for life.
Of course, Hollywood often has a different sentiment about the Dark Knight's stance regarding fatal violence. As a result, more than one Batman movie has broken the golden rule, and you can probably guess which director's version racked up the biggest body count. Out of all of the Caped Crusader's theatrical incarnations, the one crafted by Zack Snyder and played by Ben Affleck is definitively the most murderous.
Again, that should come as no surprise. Snyder's "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" received more criticism than any previous adaptation for its vicious portrayal of the Dark Knight. In particular, comic book fans called out the director over Batman's use of guns — a double no-no given how Bruce Wayne's parents were killed. But while Batfleck might have the most blood on his hands, many other live-action Batmen are guilty of the same crime.
Most live-action Batmen have killed at least once
Batfleck's kill count lies somewhere between 10 and 30 people, depending on how many alternate-universe scenes you're counting and how you feel about ancillary deaths due to explosions. Even the most conservative figure, though, is substantial. At the beginning of "Batman v. Superman," Zack Snyder's Dark Knight is a vengeful, wrathful person, far from the symbol of hope he once was. Still, the level of murder in the film drove many fans to anger of their own.
If you're going to complain about Batfleck's body count, though, you should be fair and complain about the other live-action Batmen as well. Michael Keaton kills a number of baddies in his films, including a brutal kill on the Joker himself — something any good comic book fan should take major issue with. Val Kilmer, who took over for Keaton, is similarly violent and ends up murdering Two-Face at the end of "Batman Forever." Christian Bale's Batman is usually pretty non-kill-y in his melee battles against henchmen, but he still has a kill count — most notably leaving Liam Neeson's Ra's al Ghul to die on a dead-end train. Even Adam West's kooky 1960s Batman has blood on his hands.
Only Robert Pattinson and George Clooney are totally innocent when it comes to Batman's number-one rule. Neither commits a fatality on screen, though Pattinson still has room to change that with "The Batman 2" on the way.
Does it really matter if Batman kills people?
The prevalence of Batman killing people in his movies is higher than some casual fans might expect. And yet, it doesn't normally come up in conversation regarding the Christopher Nolan "Dark Knight Trilogy" or the older films. That said, Snyder and Affleck's version is certainly more brutal, which explains part of the controversy, and his use of firearms is a particularly egregious misstep for comic book loyalists.
Snyder has said that he ignored Batman's no-kill rule on purpose. He saw the issue as an interesting territory to explore with the character — a way to push Bruce Wayne and see how he might behave in different, more extreme situations. Though many disagree with that reasoning, there is something to be said for maintaining creative freedom in adaptations. There are so many different versions of Batman at this point, after all. Do each of them really need to follow the same core rules?
The importance of the no-kill rule will vary from fan to fan, and it's also worth noting that Batman wasn't always so hesitant about taking human lives in his earlier comic book outings. But right now, at least, traditionalists can rest easy knowing that Robert Pattinson's Batman hasn't yet murdered anyone. Despite honoring the character's no-kill code, "The Batman" was universally praised for its gritty and faithful portrayal of the Caped Crusader, and director Matt Reeves' sequel has the potential to be even better.