Summary
Since his creation in the Golden Age of Comics, Batman has steadily risen to the status of arguably the most iconic and successful hero in the medium. The orphan heir to the Wayne family and its fortune, Bruce Wayne became Gotham City’s Caped Crusader, taking to the streets at night to protect the helpless from crime. However, despite his reputation as DC’s premier crime-fighter, The Dark Knight has been known to break the law – starting with his vigilante status.
While some of Batman’s crimes may seem obvious, other infractions are just plain strange, and were the result of unique circumstances. From sedition to piracy, The Dark Knight has a long history of committing the strangest of crimes, some of which would otherwise seem out of character. Many of the hero’s crimes are mere technicalities, while others provoke genuine ethical questions surrounding the crime-fighter’s tactics.
11Batman Tampers With Evidence All The Time
It’s not uncommon for Batman to be the first person at the scene of a crime in Gotham, often beating even police and paramedics. As a result of his prompt response time, he’s often in a position to remove or alter evidence before the forensics team can assess the situation. An example of this can be found in Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness’Superman/Batman#1, where Batman’s inner monologue reveals he actually prefers beating the cops to the scene of a crime. Alone, he can investigate in silence.
One of the bigger questions in the world of DC is just how necessary Batman is when it comes to the average murder case, or if he makes the job of the police even harder. In real life, the hero’s interference in a crime scene would almost certainly make it difficult to land a conviction in a courtroom. Considering the fact the Caped Crusader doesn’t kill, a prosecution is the only meaningful source of accountability.
10
9Batman Violated The Diplomatic Immunity Of Iran’s UN Ambassador
In the story “Death in the Family,” Joker murders Jason Todd and flees the country. In one of the most bizarre twists in comic book history, he resurfaces as an Iranian diplomat of all things. Still grieving over his young ward, it was heavily implied in the story that Batman was considering killing Joker, which escalates when the villain attacks the United Nations.
While Joker’s promotion to Iranian diplomat isn’t the strangest thing he’s ever done, it did land Batman in one of the most precarious situations of his career. After being warned by both Superman and the State Department that the villain had diplomatic immunity, the Caped Crusader made his play for justice – but was left without closure.
Batman’s Greatest Battle Already Had Its Ending Spoiled By DC (Theory Explained)
Batman might be in the fight of his life against his doppelganger Zur-En-Arrh, but has a look at Absolute Power revealed the evil Dark Knight’s fate?
8None Of Batman’s Tech Is Insured
Batman uses an array of heavy-duty, armored tech to take on the villains of Gotham, from his mechanized Bat-suit to whimsical vehicles like his boat. When it comes to the Batmobile, he has a car that is certainly uninsured, causing a liability nightmare, especially considering the city’s working relationship with him.
Batman’s vehicular recklessness doesn’t stop with his uninsured Batmobile, but extends even more egregiously to the Bat-plane. Famously, The Dark Knight hasn’t just flown his plane close to the city’s skyline (itself a violation of law) but has actually flown it below, weaving between the city’s skyscrapers. When all is said and done, the hero is a menace when it comes to his callous flying and driving.
7Bruce Wayne Engaged In Jury Tampering For Mr Freeze
After the Batman/Catwoman wedding arc, Bruce Wayne was summoned to jury duty for a case worked by the Batman, with Mr Freeze on trial. Fearing he had made a mistake in his capacity as The Dark Knight, Wayne stood alone against the jury, imploring them to accept the fallibility of Batman and accept the possibility of Fries' innocence. This formed the basis of the “Cold Days” arc (Tom King and Lee Weeks).
After the deliberation, Bruce revealed through his narration that his placement on the jury was due to having bribed a Gotham City official. Fearing – rightly – that the jury would be too deferential to the Batman and be too biased against Freeze, he knew he had to be the lone voice of dissent for the sake of true justice.
6Batman Violated The Outer Space Treaty
DuringJustice League#1 (Scott Snyder, Jim Cheung & Mark Morales), newly-appointed JLA chair Martian Manhunter led the team in a bid to prevent the destruction of the Earth itself. In a desperate attempt to prevent the planet’s surface from being torn apart, the Martian asked Batman to activate the mines he had previously planted on the Moon. This weaponization of space, let alone the Moon, violated The Outer Space Treaty, which regulates the militarization of space.
If mining the Moon doesn’t qualify sufficiently for the militarization of space, the hero’s construction of the Watchtower (likely courtesy of some embezzlement from Wayne Enterprizes) does. In fact, throughout DC Comics continuity, nobody has been as much of a space menace as Batman – at least, no one human.
DC’s SUPER POWERS Toys Are Reimagined in New Covers for Nightwing, Power Girl, & More
DC toy collectors will love these variant covers honoring the beloved SUPER POWERS line, with “new” toy designs for Nightwing, Power Girl, and more.
5Illegal Possession Of Exotic Animals
Batman has a history of keeping secrets, both from the world and his Justice League peers, including his imprisonment of Joker beneath Wayne Manor. However, one of his stranger acts came when he took in Jarro, a heroic clone of Starro, andturned him into his then-latest sidekick.
Batman holding onto Jarro breaks every rule in the book as far as possession of exotic animals goes. As an unregistered, hostile species, not to mention a dangerous one, the Dark Knight would never be allowed to keep the alien starfish. It becomes all the more peculiar when the question of immigration, customs and documentation come into play.
4The Hero Has Engaged In Illegal Cloning Experiments
During Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’sBatmanrun, they penned a short story that revealed that Bruce Wayne engaged in human cloning. The general idea behind his experiments was to ensure the world would always have a true Batman, even if the original died or was otherwise unable to fulfill his duties.
As noble as Batman’s intentions may have been, it should go without saying that human cloning is illegal for a variety of reasons. The fact that Bruce created an entire fail safe system built on his cloning capabilities – developed in secret – makes him one of Gotham’s most ethically-challenged men of science.
3The Dark Knight Has A History Of Piracy
The modern incarnation of Batman may be devoted to maintaining peace,but his Elseworlds counterpart, Leatherwing, sails the high seas as a pirate vigilante. As captain of the Flying Fox, the swashbuckling Dark Knight targets ships on behalf of the British crown, hoping to earn enough loot to buy back his familial land. Naturally, he encounters a buccaneering Joker, becoming his rival.
Batman’s Elseworlds piracy career should be taken in good fun, showing that even a morally grey Caped Crusader still has a moral compass. However, of all the crimes, it’s the last one most people would associate with the vigilante, especially considering his usual steadfast defense of private property.
Batman’s Replacement for Alfred Is the Perfect Nod to Comics History
Batman’s new replacement for Alfred Pennyworth is the perfect tribute to the core of superhero comics—Jewish creators like Bob Kane and Bill Finger.
2President Luthor Turned Batman Into A Seditious Outlaw
During Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness' “Public Enemies” arc inSuperman/Batman, Lex Luthor uses political strife and economic woes to run a successful third party presidential campaign. After sailing to victory, he works to bring America’s superheroes to heel, with characters like Captain Atom, Hawkman and Powergirl working for him. Batman and Superman, however, recognize the duplicity of the president and remain anonymous. When Lex hatches a plan to try and frame them, he forces them to become enemies of the state.
With a Kryptonite meteor hurtling towards Earth and Luthor becoming more unstable, Batman and Superman fight their way through a team of government superheroes. When they break into the White House to confront the villainous president, The Dark Knight even implies he’d be ok with killing him.
