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Throughout the Batman's 85 years in existence, the morality of the character's crimefighting mission has been questioned. Somewhere on social media right now, in fact, is someone sharing a meme about the Caped Crusader "beating up the mentally ill." Which is mostly snark, to be fair, but Bruce Wayne's tactics in changing Gotham have been scrutinized quite seriously too. Writers such as Grant Morrison, who has perhaps the most storied Batman run of all time, questioned if he was "not well" in the pages of the lauded Batman RIP arc. Recently, one thoughtful fan brought up Batman's use of violence to DC creators Tom King and Dan Jurgens, and Popverse was there to catch their respective responses.

That fan was speaking to King and Jurgens during Baltimore Comic Con 2024, at the Batman at 85 panel presented by DC Comics. The questioner asked if the creators could speak on Batman's treatment of some unlucky thugs "sometimes to the point of hospitalization." Writer King, who helmed the main Batman title for just under 100 issues, answered first.

"Comics are a visual medium," said the Mr. Miracle and Vision scribe, "and what you're reading isn't actually true, it's a metaphor for how we think and feel about society. So when we write Batman beating up a villain, it's a metaphor to the reality of achieving justice. Most of our audience understands when you read a comic where Batman is beating up the Joker, they're not supposed to think ‘Oh, I'm going to go out and beat up a Joker,’ But they do think, ‘In my life, I want to go out and find a fair and just way to achieve something transcendent and fair.’ So that's the way I always look at it - you're not literally writing a person beating up someone, you're writing someone achieving justice and just using a visual medium to express that."

Dan Jurgens, who recently finished up the Black Label title The Bat-Man: First Knight, answered next.

"It's really what superhero comics are across the board," said the writer and artist, "all these stories somehow boil down to that epic battle, whether it's a punch-Out or whatever it might be. Batman fights tend to be a little bit more brutal because he doesn't actually have powers, which is weird because you think it would be the other way around. I mean, think about it - Superman could blink his eye and obliterate a city, but with Batman it's a bit more visceral because there are not powers involved and that’s a little bit closer to home."

To their credit, both Jurgens and King have contributed to stories that challenge the notion of excusing violence in the comic medium. Dan Jurgens was responsible for the heart-wrenching aftermath of the famous battle between Superman and Doomsday, while Tom King wrote the Cold Days arc, that saw Batman seeking penance after beating Mr. Freeze "to a pulp," as King said it.

Still, as Batman himself would likely agree, violence is a serious topic, worthy of a serious conversation beyond memes on Twitter. And that's what comic cons, when they're at their very best, are for.

He is vengeance, he is the night, he is... one of Popverse's favorite subjects. Learn how to do a Dark Knight movie marathon right with our Batman movie guide, and for the true World's Greatest Detectives out there, dive deep into the heart of Gotham City by getting to know Batman with Popverse.