Batman, for years, has been looked after by fans as sort of a purist/moral vigilante who cannot kill. Despite being the protector of one of the most deadly and brutal urban cities housing some of the most formidable criminals, Batman has remained steadfast in his vow almost the majority of the time.
However, it has been a different scenario when it comes to live action. After Zack Snyder recently went viral for his comments on the character not being able to kill due to fans’ dislike of crime, netizens unearthed shocking details about which live-action version of The Dark Knight killed the most people and George Clooney’s version has scored a rare win.
Zack Snyder On Batman And His Vow To Not Kill
In the ever-expanding universe of superhero films, our beloved superheroes are often scrutinized and judged as if they were real human beings and not fictional ones. From the way they talk to their actions, everything is subject to fans’ scrutinization. And Batman has been no different.
Over the years, the character’s actions and development have often been subjected to brutal trolling, with fans finding issues with his lethality. One instance of this was when Zack Snyder revealed his version of Batman in his Snyderverse.
Featuring Ben Affleck as the Dark Knight, the character was depicted as brutal and even killed people, directly going against the fan’s beliefs regarding the character. While over the years he has given his justification, Snyder recently in a new interview on the Joe Rogan Experience, stated,
“People are always like, ‘Batman can’t kill.’ So Batman can’t kill is canon. And I’m like, ‘Okay, well, the first thing I want to do when you say that is I want to see what happens’. And they go, ‘Well, don’t put him in a situation where he has to kill someone.’ I’m like, ‘Well, that’s just like you’re protecting your God in a weird way, right? You’re making your God irrelevant.'”
While most fans and critics were divided over his decision, at the end of the day, it was the filmmaker’s adaptation and his movies still ended up doing well enough on the big screen.
George Clooney Scores A Rare Win Against Other Batmans
“Batman Can’t Kill” has been an ongoing debate among fans, critics, and even creators of the character. A vigilante, fans have wanted Batman to not only have a moral compass but also maintain a high moral ground since he served as a symbol of hope and righteousness for the people of Gotham City.
Although, seeing the environment and the city he protects, Batman not killing seems more of an impractical choice. Yet fans have upheld this belief and often want it to be followed religiously when it comes to live-action interpretations.
After Zack Snyder’s comments went viral, fans on X calculated the total number of kills each iteration of the live-action Dark Knight has had. While Christian Bale‘s caped crusader had the most with 37 kills, George Clooney‘s had the lowest score at zero!
This data not only seems ironic but also remarks on the hypocrisy of fans since Bale’s version and movies have been widely hailed for their realism and complexity while Clooney’s Batman, with zero kills, has turned out to be one of the worst DC movies of all time (see Rotten Tomatoes).
While Bale’s The Dark Knight movies can be streamed on Max, Clooney’s Batman & Robin can be streamed on Prime.
