Audiences are torn on whether or not Batman was a good detective. Sure, he caught the bad guys, but did he really do more good than harm? Below are several arguments for and against The Dark Knight’s detective skills.

What IS a “Good” Detective?

While we explore Batman, it’s important to take inventory of what makes any detective “good.” Being a good detective goes beyond the ability to solve a crime, so to ensure we’re giving ol’ Brucey a fighting chance, we’ve decided to develop a rubric to help us. We will be looking for someone who has a keen eye and a sharp mind, is emotionally intelligent with top-of-the-line communication skills, is patient and persistent, and acts with a high level of integrity.

Pro Detective Batman Arguments

Batman is the favorite hero of many comic book fans, and there are many reasons for that, but just because he’s a hero doesn’t necessarily mean he’s a good detective. Here are what arguments we have for Batman being a good detective.

Batman fights for justice

Batman is a hero, and, according to him, he fights solely for justice. If you’re a true DC hero fan, you’ll know that Batman’s roots of heroism stem from a story of trauma and revenge-seeking after the brutal murder of his parents. But Bruce Wayne’s story only started there. In Batman Begins, he states, “Justice is about more than revenge,” which recognizes that he’d made mistakes in the past, but now he fights for a better world. Because he overcame his trauma while being aware of his mistakes, we believe that Batman is emotionally intelligent and has integrity.

Batman has had a hand in capturing hundreds of criminals

Bruce Wayne has prevented criminals from committing more crimes after he gets on the case. His persistent capture of these criminals is part of what makes him so valuable to Gotham City (so much so that the use of the Bat Signal is paramount to maintaining Gotham’s peace), and it’s thanks to the Dark Knight that citizens can live with limited run-ins with villains. It’s unlikely that he would be able to capture so many criminals without being capable of persistence and skillful interrogation.

Batman is resourceful

Every good detective utilizes their investigative tool belt to the best of their capabilities. Batman doesn’t stop at typical patrols throughout Gotham. The Bat Cave allows Bruce Wayne to monitor his city closely and acts as a stronghold for everything he needs to protect Gotham’s citizens. Batman is highly intelligent, but he also uses the tools at his disposal, leading to a higher success rate than many other detectives.

Anti-Detective Batman Arguments

Upon first glance, Batman is a hero of justice who fights crime in a city teeming with seedy activity, but on further inspection, it is Batman who is the true criminal. Now, don’t go getting your handcuffs in a twist! We only work here, and we want to give you both sides of the argument. Here are some examples of what makes Batman a bad detective.

Batman endangers children

Batman and Robin, right? Batman and Robin II; Batgirl I; Batgirl II (Oracle); Robin III, Robin IV; Robin V; Robin 10000000…. The list literally goes on. Here’s my question: Why does Batman keep recruiting acrobatic children to fight his battles? Granted, there are other sidekicks that Batman had who are adults, but far and away, CHILDREN help Batman fight his battles. Some of them died. Some of them, like Oracle, ended up disabled, disrespected, and tortured. Sure, at that time, she wasn’t a child anymore, but she was essentially groomed into vigilantism by Batman. Even though she didn’t know Batman personally when she first became Batgirl 2, it was he who “inspired” her to get into crime-stopping.

All of this is to say: what kind of “good” detective endangers children? No matter how acrobatic they are, they still deserve to have a childhood free of violence and cruelty.

Batman could single-handedly solve Gotham City’s problems with his billions of dollars

It’s no secret that Batman is a billionaire. He is able to own a sick car, countless custom items, and even a cave. Do you know anyone who owns a cave??? Probably not, because the only people who own caves are either crazy or have so much money they don’t know what to do with it. You know what Batman could have bought instead of a freaking cave? I don’t know– maybe a HOMELESS SHELTER. Maybe invest in Gotham’s public school system instead of using them to obtain acrobatic children. Heck, he could have even bought affordable housing for the needy.

Instead of beating the poor for making money any way they can (even if it isn’t the most legal way), maybe he could have actually helped them by providing them with financial assistance? Besides, technically, vigilantism is illegal, so who’s to say that Batman isn’t also a criminal? The only thing that makes him “better” is his boundless amounts of wealth. Wealth, mind you, that he did not earn. Hot take, but I don’t think we need to go around calling nepobabies heroes. Any good detective would take reasonable actions to solve the root of the issue instead of playing wack-a-mole with countless criminals.

Batman has main character syndrome BIG TIME.

Oh. My. Goodness. Imagine how egotistical you’d have to be to call yourself THE Batman. Does he really care about Gotham, or does he just care about himself? Why is he really fighting this fight? Because I would argue that he just does it to see that stupid symbol in the sky and feel needed. Good detectives don’t fight for justice for themselves, but it appears that Batman does.

Conclusion

Whether or not you think Batman is a good or bad detective, we hope you enjoyed reading this post. If you like this content and want to see more about us, follow us on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook. Sometimes we post fun stuff like this, and other times we post about events we have across the nation! We hope to see you soon, detective.