You mentioned the old Batman debate. Those who try to say Batman just does it as an excuse to vent his anger or intentionally lets the criminals run lose don't really know the character.
One of the common themes with Batman is he does what's right but not always what's popular. He fights a battle to stop criminals in his city and after apprehending them returns them to the proper authorities. This includes Arkham Asylum which many have pointed out is like a revolving door for criminals and since Batman knows this he does nothing to enable his fantasy life to continue. But Batman does not see himself as judge and jury which is why he simply apprehends criminals.
The old build a factory and give everyone a job would eliminate crime is a fallacy. First is assumes that crime and poverty are directly linking, which studies have shown they are not. Poverty doesn't cause crime, but crime can cause poverty when people lose their lively hoods due to criminal acts, like riots burning down a shop and most insurance policies don't cover riots.
Plus if it was so easy to eliminate poverty then why does it still exist? The governments of most first world countries are richer than Bruce Wayne so why don't they just build a factory and give everyone who wants a job one? Oh probably because the world is not as simple as that and trying to so say it is, even in a fictional comic book world, would break the readers suspension of disbelief.
But even though it's not possible to eliminate it you can do things to help. Bruce Wayne is very popular and well liked by the citizens of Gotham because he is major Philanthropist. He is often attending charity and human rights events when something goes wrong and he has to slip into the Batman suit. He does it because he cares about people but also knows there is only so much he can do as Bruce Wayne.
The thing I think a lot of people who try to psycho analysis Batman as being a violent thug don't understand, or choose to ignore is something I think that was best stated in the Dark Knight movie, "Alfred Pennyworth: Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn. " Some criminals just like the idea of rebelling, of causing chaos, of revenge, or any other number of issues not related to having a steady job.
Just look at Batman's history with some of his villains and you can see he's not in it for thrills. He constantly tries to get Harley to therapy and get her out of the dysfunctional relationship with the joker. He tries to talk Catwoman out of her life of crime but she steals for the thrills and not for the money. He helps fund research to cure Mr. Freeze's wife and even tries to get help for Mr. Freeze himself. He is frequently appealing to the man Two Face use to be in the hope he'll return to normal. And so on.
If Batman was a sadistic as some try to say he is then he would basically be the Punisher, which he clearly is not. And you can see him wrestle with crossing that line a lot of times when he knows it would be so easy to just kill his foes and make the world a better place. But like I said before Batman does what's right not what's popular, as I imagine it would be popular if he offed one of the big names like the Joker.
When it comes down to it the more I think about it, the more I'd say the story of Batman is one man's desperate attempt to try to make the world a safer place through shear force of will. Because ultimately he's little more than an extremely well funded one man SWAT team. He goes in when the police are out matched and apprehends the suspect. Though unlike SWAT he refuses to use deadly force.
One of the common themes with Batman is he does what's right but not always what's popular. He fights a battle to stop criminals in his city and after apprehending them returns them to the proper authorities. This includes Arkham Asylum which many have pointed out is like a revolving door for criminals and since Batman knows this he does nothing to enable his fantasy life to continue. But Batman does not see himself as judge and jury which is why he simply apprehends criminals.
The old build a factory and give everyone a job would eliminate crime is a fallacy. First is assumes that crime and poverty are directly linking, which studies have shown they are not. Poverty doesn't cause crime, but crime can cause poverty when people lose their lively hoods due to criminal acts, like riots burning down a shop and most insurance policies don't cover riots.
Plus if it was so easy to eliminate poverty then why does it still exist? The governments of most first world countries are richer than Bruce Wayne so why don't they just build a factory and give everyone who wants a job one? Oh probably because the world is not as simple as that and trying to so say it is, even in a fictional comic book world, would break the readers suspension of disbelief.
But even though it's not possible to eliminate it you can do things to help. Bruce Wayne is very popular and well liked by the citizens of Gotham because he is major Philanthropist. He is often attending charity and human rights events when something goes wrong and he has to slip into the Batman suit. He does it because he cares about people but also knows there is only so much he can do as Bruce Wayne.
The thing I think a lot of people who try to psycho analysis Batman as being a violent thug don't understand, or choose to ignore is something I think that was best stated in the Dark Knight movie, "Alfred Pennyworth: Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn. " Some criminals just like the idea of rebelling, of causing chaos, of revenge, or any other number of issues not related to having a steady job.
Just look at Batman's history with some of his villains and you can see he's not in it for thrills. He constantly tries to get Harley to therapy and get her out of the dysfunctional relationship with the joker. He tries to talk Catwoman out of her life of crime but she steals for the thrills and not for the money. He helps fund research to cure Mr. Freeze's wife and even tries to get help for Mr. Freeze himself. He is frequently appealing to the man Two Face use to be in the hope he'll return to normal. And so on.
If Batman was a sadistic as some try to say he is then he would basically be the Punisher, which he clearly is not. And you can see him wrestle with crossing that line a lot of times when he knows it would be so easy to just kill his foes and make the world a better place. But like I said before Batman does what's right not what's popular, as I imagine it would be popular if he offed one of the big names like the Joker.
When it comes down to it the more I think about it, the more I'd say the story of Batman is one man's desperate attempt to try to make the world a safer place through shear force of will. Because ultimately he's little more than an extremely well funded one man SWAT team. He goes in when the police are out matched and apprehends the suspect. Though unlike SWAT he refuses to use deadly force.
