While I was growing up, I was introduced to the Caped Crusader by the fantastic 'Batman: The Animated Series' as well as his appearances in the animated series based on Justice League. To me, Batman is unique because he is a darker hero. He stands out from the brighter heroes, like Superman, and shows us a world that feels slightly more realistic than any other hero. Where our hero is just a normal man with fighting skills, gadgets, and a massive bank account. Where the villains aren't trying to take over the world, but are just bank robbers, tragic anti-heroes, narcissists, or just murderous psychopaths. While these are some of the reasons why Batman, his villains, and his world are so fascinating; recently I have begun to wonder if these aspects have been taken a little too far in modern Batman.

I really started to notice this after watching two films "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" and "The LEGO Batman Movie". The former featured a dark Batman that was taken to the extreme. In the film we witness Batman violently beat and shoot criminals to death, blow them up with bombs, run them down in the Batmobile, and brand one with the bat symbol which leads to the criminal being shanked in prison. Setting aside the fact that I have a problem with Batman killing in the first place, Batman should not be killing people with guns; the very weapon that killed his parents which lead to Batman, in many comics and movies ("Batman Begins"), swearing to never use them. Batman branding people so they are killed in prison seems way too sadistic for him.

After watching the film, I finally realized why Batman killing, especially with guns, bothered me so much; it just turns Batman into a carbon copy of The Punisher. The Punisher stood out in superhero comics as an anti-hero who violently kills criminals and murderers. Giving Batman a gun and having him kill people takes away what made him unique among other dark and violent comics. Batman may be more extreme in his methods than Superman, but he never crossed the line into becoming a murdering anti-hero. Usually the most effective dark Batman stories are the ones that are filled with psychological depth and dealt with some form of tragedy. The Batman featured in "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" is being violent and brooding because many Hollywood writers mistakenly think that that, on its own, makes something deep and intelligent.

I also noticed another key aspect about Batman and his overly dark tone while watching "The LEGO Batman Movie". The film is a fun animated film that pokes fun at how overly dark and serious Batman has become in recent years; to the point that it causes him to alienate anyone whore cares for him, causes him to use an orphan boy for a dangerous mission before he plans to dump him, and causes him to steal from Superman. Throughout the film, Batman acts like a moody teenager who thinks that this behavior makes him cool. This hit me hard because that surface level darkness is the shallow reason why many think he's cool and why DC has been overemphasizing it in recent years, to the point where we are taking a man fighting crime in a bat suit way too serious.

I'm not asking that we go back to the full blown camp of the Adam West television show (although I, personally would love to see that and it would feel like a breath of fresh air after decades of darkness), I'm just asking that we loosen up just a little bit and have some fun with Batman. Even "Batman: The Animated Series", which was praised for how deep and tragic it was, knew that it had to have some form of fun and levity for the dramatic moments to mean anything. When it comes to Batman, I'm over the "super dark" tone and it would be exciting and a nice change of pace to see some fun and joy in his life; or at the very least you could let him smile, at least once.