Batman Criminal Justice

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>Issue One When we become part of the fictional world of comics, either through the mediums of comic books/graphic novels, movies or television, our first thoughts do not go to the injustices we see before us. Instead of “Hm, that criminal is not being given his proper rights due to him”, we think, “Holy shit, Superman just punched that guy through a building” and enjoy the thrill of the story. We don’t pay attention to the forms and importance of justice, or better yet the lack of traditional justice we have come to know and respect in our world. We see flashy heroes in colorful spandex race through the sky or on the land to the next big criminal act to halt it in its tracks and deliver them to law enforcement, wrapped in a bow. However,
These concepts also include dealing with the criminal justice system, ranging from criminals actually facing jail-time or heroes being viewed as dangerous vigilantes. For example, DC Comics’ Batman, the comics have him as a feared Boogeyman of the night respected by the police and given free reign in their city to fight crime and hand over the criminals after. In the Dark Knight Trilogy, where Batman is played by actor Christian Bale, he is a violent vigilante at odds with the law, fully understood by the police to be both a hindrance and help when catching criminals. Which version is more relatable to the real world, our world? The answer would be the movies, as in the real world vigilantism is against the law, no matter how helpful they are. Another example, also from DC, is Superman. In the comics, he is nicknamed the “Big Blue Boy Scout”, and is well-known for having incredible, godlike powers and only using them for good, following the laws and rules of the world and never taking it into his own hands (or at least never killing anyone). In the film Man of Steel, Superman is forced to break an almost cardinal character rule and kill General Zod, a fellow Kryptonian who was threatening the lives of innocents and had to be stopped. In the real world it would have been viewed as acceptable for the death of people viewed too dangerous to be allowed alive, and thus Zod’s death was allowed (even if it did break Superman’s traditional

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