Summary
- Batman's no-killing rule is broken by Christian Bale's version, leading to 17 onscreen murders in the Dark Knight trilogy.
- Keaton and Affleck's Batman are also not afraid to use lethal force, with Keaton killing around 20 and Affleck over 30.
- While Bale's Batman breaks his rule in extreme situations, his actions show a more flexible approach to vigilante justice.
Despite his famous no-killing rule, Christian Bale's Batman kills many people throughout Christopher Nolan's live-action versions of Batman are peace-seeking vigilantes who use brutal methods to fight crime. Every criminal who comes across a Caped Crusader is likely to receive life-changing injuries, but Batman usually ensures that his attacks aren't directly lethal on any opponent, including the most dangerous Gotham supervillains.
Batman's live-action movies. He doesn't set out to murder them directly, but he doesn't lose sleep over their eventual deaths, either. Looking back at Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy, the deaths caused by Christian Bale's Batman are no exception.
Christian Bale's Batman Killed 17 People In The Dark Knight Trilogy
Christian Bale's rather realistic Batman isn't too concerned with letting his enemies live, as he starts out his crime-fighting career by blowing up several of the League of Shadows in Batman Begins. While he doesn't attack them directly, the explosion he uses as a distraction to escape the temple likely kills many of them.
Later, Batman faces Ra's al Ghul on a train. With James Gordon's help, Batman destroys the railway, and when Ra's reminds him that sometimes it's necessary to kill, Batman reveals a loophole by telling him "I won't kill you, but I don't have to save you" before leaving and letting him fall to his death.
Something similar happens in The Dark Knight with Harvey Dent after his "Two-Face" transformation. Here, Batman pushes Dent off a building to save Gordon's son, leading to Dent's death, which Batman hadn't contemplated but still came as a result of the circumstances.
Likewise, Batman shoots Talia Al Ghul's truck in The Dark Knight Rises as a last resort, and she doesn't survive the subsequent crash. Besides the main antagonist's deaths, Christian Bale's Batman also kills two of Joker's henchmen with the Batmobile and one of Talia's goons in the crash that kills her. This all amounts to a grand total of 17 murders, give or take.
How Bale's Batman Kill Count Compares To Keaton & Affleck
Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck's Batmen aren't more peaceful by any means. Keaton's Batman brutally takes out several Joker goons with his Batmobile, throws others from great heights, and explodes a chemical factory with no regard for any possible survivors.
In keeping with Batman's favorite killing method, Keaton's Batman kills the Joker by dropping him from a great height. In Batman Returns, Keaton's Batman kills two of the Penguin's henchmen with the Batmobile's exhaust and a bomb, and he kills the Penguin when he causes the villain to fall to his death. Ultimately, Michael Keaton's Batman murders around 20 people in Tim Burton's duology.
Ben Affleck's Batman is much more brutal than any previous Dark Knight, and less careful about hiding it. Despite not having his own solo movie in the DCEU, Affleck's Batman kills more than 10 criminals with the Batmobile, the Batwing, a grenade, a wooden crate, an exploding flamethrower, and his bare hands in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. He also kills several enemies with a machine gun in the Knightmare sequence and multiple Parademons in both Justice League's theatrical cut and Zack Snyder's Justice League, all for a total of over 30 onscreen kills.
Version Of Batman |
Number Of Kills |
|---|---|
Michael Keaton's Batman |
Around 20 |
Christian Bale's Batman |
Around 17 |
Ben Affleck's Batman |
30+ |
Does Bale Break Batman's Biggest Rule?
Christian Bale's Batman isn't as shameless with his murders as Michael Keaton and Ben Affleck's Batmen, but he still breaks his famous no-killing rule pretty openly. He could have found other ways to escape the League of Shadow's temple, apprehend Ra's al Ghul, and stop various henchmen without resorting to lethal force.
Harvey Dent and Talia al Ghul's deaths were more difficult to avoid, though, as every instant was crucial to save many innocent victims. However, sparing the Joker in The Dark Knight seems arbitrary, as all the chaos and death the Joker caused in Gotham warranted a more definitive intervention. After all, Christian Bale's Batman is no stranger to killing in the Dark Knight trilogy.
The Dark Knight
- Release Date
- July 16, 2008
- Runtime
- 152 minutes
- Director
- Christopher Nolan
Cast
Bruce Wayne
Joker
WHERE TO WATCH
The Dark Knight, directed by Christopher Nolan, is the second installment in the Batman trilogy starring Christian Bale as Batman. Released in 2008, the film follows Batman’s alliance with Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent as they combat the organized crime that threatens Gotham, facing the menacing Joker.
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