Poll: A Dilemna for Batman

[TheRiddler]

Let's say that the Joker has walked into a heavily-crowded bank and is killing one hostage per minute, with a functionally unlimited number to kill, and Batman is the only one who can stop the Joker. Let's also say that while Batman is on his way to this bank, he spots a man strapped to a bomb, and this bomb won't kill anyone other than this man. It will, however, take three to five minutes to disarm. It will detonate as soon as Batman decides to leave it alone to stop the Joker. What would Batman do and what should he do?

 

[Queen Michael]

He'd stop the Joker, and I'd support him. One man's death is bad, but it's just not as bad as three to five men's deaths.

 

[Corax_1990]

Superman would turn up and save everybody.

 

[Heronblade]

What he SHOULD do is take the bomb off the man, don't disarm it, and stuff it up the Joker's arse.

But this is batman, with is unreasonably strict aversion to killing, even when it directly leads to the deaths of the innocent

 

[Thaluikhain]

Magically save everyone somehow, because he's Batman.

Batman's code, his morality, is based on the fact that he's the hero and more or less always wins. It doesn't work in anything like the real world.

 

[scorptatious]

Is Robin with him at this time? If so, just drop Robin off to disarm the bomb while he takes care of the hostages.

If not. Well... he'd probably have to save the hostages. Less casualties overall.

 

[TheRiddler]

I mean, my real question is "Would Batman be able to simply let an innocent man die for the greater good?", and as a corollary, "Should he?" That's all my hypothetical scenario's asking, because I don't think that that part of his character has been conclusively explored.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I mean, my real question is "Would Batman be able to simply let an innocent man die for the greater good?", and as a corollary, "Should he?" That's all my hypothetical scenario's asking, because I don't think that that part of his character has been conclusively explored.

It hasn't been explored, because the writers refuse to explore it. DC very much has a no-killing (by heroes) rule going on. There are lots of exceptions, of course, but they are exceptional, for the vast majority of times it's no killing by heroes, no matter what.

Therefore, you can't really ask what Batman would or would not do in this situation, because it doesn't crop up except under very exceptional circumstances.

 

[FalloutJack]

Easy, Batman takes the guy WITH HIM, drops him on the Joker to knock him out, then disarms the bomb.

 

[Scarim Coral]

Honestly, he is the goddam Batman! He can do both somehow like getting Robin or another superhero deal with the bomb strapped man or a batarrang that can disable it somehow!!!

 

[Sofus]

People are in my opinin free to go and kill themselves if that is what they want so long as they don't harm anyone else. I don't see why Batman would care about some guy with a bomb unless it endangers other people.

Batman would ofcourse just knock the guy out with a single hit, disarm the bomb in 20 seconds and then grapple to the bank and deal with the Joker.