8 Things About Batman That DC Wants You To Forget

There's this belief amongst many comic book fans that Batman is some sort of messiah - a godlike human being that sacrifices his all for the betterment of humanity and acts as beacon of justice. He's shown as having suffered heartache and endured sadness to ensure that everyone sleeps better in the evening knowing he's out there, watching and protecting us from evil. The truth is though, he's done some pretty despicable things throughout his history. For all his heroic deeds, he's also made some questionable decisions and choices. This doesn't mean he isn't a hero; just that he can be a dingbat at the best of times, too. Naturally, we need to back up these claims; thus, we've gone through the archives and identified a couple of his biggest WTF moments. As always, you're allowed to disagree or even agree with us, so don't be shy of leaving your thoughts in the comments section down below, because we read all of them. With that out the way, let's look at the 8 things about Batman that DC would rather you forget. 8) He Starved KGBeast "I won't kill you, but I don't have to save you," said Batman. Alright, so starving someone to death is okay then, Bruce? If so, then half of Africa's dictators are all swell people since they haven't technically killed a soul. Once again, with this statement, the Bat proves he's one of the biggest hypocrites around. In Jim Starlin's "Ten Nights of the Beast" storyline, Batman came up against an unstoppable KGBeast. No matter what he did, the Beast had his number and delivered a beatdown on Gotham's premier vigilante. So, what did the Dark Knight do? He tricked KGBeast into a room with no exit and left him there - without food or water. Basically, he left the guy to starve to death. Nice, right? When the next Batman writer, Marv Wolfman, came onboard, he did try his best to change this narrative saying that Batman went back for the criminal, but the impact was lasting. Starlin was prepared to leave us with the impression that the Dark Knight did the unthinkable to KGBeast. 7) He Let Blue Beetle Die One of the things that we all know about Batman is that he isn't the friendliest of chaps. Quite often, he's just plain rude and a dick. However, there was a time when his curt behavior actually resulted in someone dying. The worst part was, it happened to a fellow superhero. In Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka, and Judd Winick's "Countdown to Infinite Crisis," Blue Beetle discovered something mysterious called the O.M.A.C. Project and tried to get the rest of his super-brethren to check it out, but they all ignored his pleas. However, it was Batman who treated Beetle as if he were some form of nuisance, dismissing him before he could even explain what he suspected. The reason for his obnoxious behavior, though, is because he never took the Beetle seriously as a hero before. Well, you know what they say about assumptions… So, as it turns out, Beetle investigated the mystery by himself, which led to him being murdered after what he'd uncovered. And Batman could've prevented it all had he only listened to him. He's an excellent fighter, detective, and tactician, but the Dark Knight is probably one of the worst friends you could ever have. 6) He Slept With An Engaged Woman As a supposed upstanding citizen, Bruce's morals are dicey when it comes to anything involving matters of the heart. In Batman: Dark Detective, he proceeded to have a full-blown affair with his ex-flame Silver St. Cloud, who was engaged to another man at the time. Oh, and in case you think you he didn't know about Silver's relationship status, he did. While many might dismiss it as "the heart wants what it wants," think about the other guy for a second. He took the time to build a relationship with Silver while Bruce played getup and beat the snot out of bad guys every night. Then, Bruce wants to play the naked tango with his lady? Hell no! We're not sure what it is about fighting crime that gets Bruce all hot under the collar, but as Gotham's most eligible bachelor, surely he could find someone who's unattached or swipe right on Tinder or something? He doesn't need to be a selfish sod all the time. 5) He's Killed Numerous Times Before The Dark Knight has killed before – numerous times – and he pretty much did it mercilessly in his formative days. Seriously, do yourself a favor and pick up Bill Finger and Bob Kane's earlier issues and check it out. Go on, we'll wait. Yes, his character changed with the times and the whole no-killing rule makes for an interesting caveat in his war on crime, but don't act like he's Mother Teresa here. Yet, DC chooses to ignore this part of his history, focusing on him being a vigilante with a strong moral code when he was actually just a masked Frank Castle when he started out. We'll be honest and say that we like the merciful Batman, since it makes for more compelling stories as he has to hold back, but we're not going to pretend like he's been a model citizen for all these years. He's filled his fair share of cemeteries, too, so he's got more in common with the Joker than, say, Superman. 4) He Slept With Barbara Gordon (While She Was Dating Dick Grayson) Now, we're not even going to mention the controversial incident from Batman: The Killing Joke. We want to talk about the big revelation in Batman Beyond 2.0, which is a comic book series set two years after the end of the animated series. In one of the issues, Terry McGinnis finally finds out what caused the rift in the relationship between Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne: Bruce impregnated Barbara Gordon (obviously he doesn't carry protection in his utility belt). Dick did the only logical thing and knocked his mentor out, and Barbara seemingly suffered a miscarriage. But seriously, what a douche move! Bruce knew that Dick and Babs were in love - and had been since they'd first met - but he still went ahead with it and bedded her. Knowing what he does now, we wouldn't blame Terry if he kept Dana hidden away from Bruce just in case the old man got any ideas. If anything, the Bat has proven that you can't trust him when it comes to women. 3) He Peed Himself In The Batsuit Kevin Smith is one of the biggest Batman and comic book fans on the planet. Heck, he even hosts a terrific geek podcast called Fatman on Batman. While his foray into directing the Arrowverse has proved rather successful, the same can't be said about his time writing the Dark Knight for DC Comics. Unfortunately, Smith's sense of sophomoric humor is an acquired taste and his Caped Crusader run is often cited as one of the worst around. In Batman: The Widening Gyre #6, Smith took it one step too far and had Batman pee himself while in his Batsuit and then casually refer to it as a "bladder spasm." Yeah, that happened… While we're sure that everyone has wondered at some point what the Dark Knight does when he needs the bathroom while on patrol, we didn't exactly need Smith's explanation. Funny enough, this is actually one of the milder jokes in Smith's run, as he also insinuated that Victor Zsasz mutilates his own genitals and that the Joker would give up his body to be released from prison. After reading this, do you still want Smith to direct a Batman movie now? 2) He Killed A Crocodile There've been numerous times that Batman has proven to be an enemy of PETA, but the worst has to be in the sixth episode of Batman: The Animated Series, titled "The Underdwellers." In it, the Bat discovers there's a criminal named Sewer King who's using a bunch of orphans to commit crimes for him. When the Dark Knight confronts the villain in his underground lair, the Sewer King sets his crocodiles on our hero. Batman fights off the first two with ease before struggling with the third animal. As the croc opens its trap to bite down on the Caped Crusader, the Bat snaps its jaws and the crocodile goes limp in the water. You guessed it: he killed the croc. What the hell, dude?! This was some Watership Down type of trauma for kids, and you have to wonder why the creators of the series thought it was necessary. The croc looked so cute and Batman plain murdered it with his bare hands. For some reason he can't kill the stupid Joker or Two-Face, but it's okay to slay a poor, hungry crocodile? You're cruel, Batman. Very cruel. 1) The Bat-Credit Card In many ways, the Bat-credit card has become legendary because of the sheer insanity of such a concept. Proving that everyone was on drugs when Batman & Robin was made, George Clooney's Batman whips out his Bat-credit card, with a date of "forever" (an on-the-nose tribute to Batman Forever), to offer $7 million to Poison Ivy for who-cares-what reason. While this might've been fine in Adam West's version of the Dark Knight, it pushed Joel Schumacher's film over the edge completely. Seriously, who sat there and thought this was a good idea? Sure, this movie was completely nuts, but someone should've put a stop to this new level of dumb. We presume the Bat-credit card must've been handed over to Alfred so that he can do the grocery shopping and pay for those nice massages that he enjoys every three months, since we can't recall ever seeing it again. Still, we do wonder what the interest rate is like for such a card. Tell us, what are some of things that Batman has done that you'd rather forget? Let us know in the comments section below!