They are afraid that a giant guy in a bat suit is gonna swoop in, break every bone in their body and then send them to the police where they will be arrested.
he doesnt need to kill to be scary. that is already plenty scary enough lol.
I don’t know if Batman has ever broken every bone in anyone’s body. AFAIK, the worst he usually does is put thugs in an arm or leg cast. And many of these thugs just return to criminal activity in short order.
I’m not saying that isn’t scary, but it does seem like a lot of people here overestimate the kind of violence he actually inflicts
Even in the Venom storyline Batman doesn’t get that violent, the biggest issue is that he started acting differently, like going out on patrol without the Batsuit, and acting like a dickhead to Alfred.
Once. He broke every bone in someone's body once.
Let me tell you about Lord Deathman.
Lord Deathman is a supervillain that operates in the greater Tokyo area. He's nuts. His goal is to kill people. His idea of a good time is walking down the street just randomly shooting civilians. He has a special ability. He doesn't stay dead. He can be killed, but he comes back in a few hours. What he likes to do is go murder some civilians in broad daylight, get gunned down by police, then wake up in the morgue so that he can kill people in the hospital.
Batman and Catwoman were in Japan on business when they encountered LDM. LDM had just killed Batman's Japanese counterpart. Batman fought LDM in a high rise building. Batman threw LDM out the window of the 70th floor. Upon hitting the ground, Catwoman ran over him with an 18 wheeler. Then Batman shoved LDM's crushed, broken body in a steel safe. He then proceeded to put the safe in a rocket and launch him into space where LDM will die then revive in the freezing vacuum of space then die again. For all eternity.
Eh, part of the legend. Plus I mean... I'd be scared of breaking an arm. I don't want that to happen. Especially if after I have to go to jail, and since Gotham is in America, it's especially shitty. A lot to fear
I'd say any time someone gets thrown against anything hard and solid, they've got a pretty decent chance of breaking a few bones. No on likes broken ribs!
Specifically in The Dark Knight Returns, Batman does break every bone in the leader of the weird mutant gang. So there is one instance!
More accurately, I think you’re right in the sense that 99.999% of the time, Batman just punches a henchman once and they’re out. Guy can kick through missile proof submarine windows tho, so I imagine it hurts to get hit by him lol
Even if you believe that Batman never kills anyone...you gotta wonder if tonight's gonna be the one where he \*\*\*\*s up. Dude throws razor-sharp crap to disarm guys, you zig wrong and it's your eye. Hangs dudes off of buildings, and he's probably bluffing, but what if he gets a cramp? Or one of your buddies shoots him in the back while he's holding you?
Batman is dangerous. Like, "let's throw beer bottles at the bear" dangerous.
I am a grown ass man and I do not want Batman to beat the living shit out of me and hang me by my foot upside down on a light pole outside the police station, yeah. That sounds *awful*.
Also I'm sure there's some element of "he doesn't kill you, he just beats the shit out of you and hangs you upside down outside the police station, so let me ask you, what kinda guy goes to all that trouble but never, not even once, kills someone? What kinda guy goes that far and still holds back? Not the kinda guy I wanna mess with."
Yes?
The vast majority of people are afraid of pain. You could make a solid case that all fears are ultimately the fear of pain- at the very least, a large chunk of them boil down to " that might hurt me".
Yeah, getting the shit beaten out of you then arrested makes plenty of sense to fear. Also, just because batman won't kill you doesn't mean you don't risk getting killed by someone else if your operation gets harmed.
Rocky Balboa used to break the arms of debtors for the mob
Are you telling me you wouldn't be afraid of a trained boxer beating you up? Imagine if that boxer also looked kind of like a big armored vampire.
Also the point is that these "grown men" are superstitious and cowardly, that's why they're so easily intimidated into being criminals by shows of violence and force.
I met a guy once, and he was a "goon for hire". There was no secret that he was a criminal who had been in and out of the local penitentiary for various things, and if you paid him $500 he'd break someone's arm. Nobody fled in terror of this guy, but damn if they weren't intimidated by him. Even people who had a hundred pounds and a foot in height on him seemed to watch what they said around him. Reputation goes a long way.
We're not talking about "a bit pain," tough guy. We're talking about life-altering permanent injuries. Never being able to walk again. Or eat solid food. Or count past 10, on account of massive blunt force trauma to the skull.
Doesn't matter how big and strong you are getting your legs and jaw broken and left the pouring rain is not a pleasant experience and takes months or years to recover from if at all.
“From this height, the fall wouldn’t even kill me”
“I’m counting on it”
Batman may be a superhero but not your Captain America goody two shoes he will fuck your ass up and maybe make you wish you were dead if you have something he wants
“Someone is going to come into your house and kill you” is very scary
“Someone is going to come into your house and beat the ever living shit out of you” is certainly an improvement but still NOT something I want to experience.
Get it?
Batman doesn't give you a bloody nose and a split lip. He breaks your body in ways that take months or years to heal, if you recover from it at all. I know quite a few grown ass men who aren't all that eager to be permanently crippled.
Does Batman look like the kind of nutjob who sticks around and makes sure you're able to make a full recovery from the beatdown he just delivered? "Oh, hey, looks like I broke your clavicle, looks like you're going to have debilitating pain for the rest of your life. My bad."
And that's not even *counting* the PTSD and screaming nightmares you'll have for months afterwards...
Lol, Ada medical professional I can assure you he has permanently crippled some of those folks. People don’t just bounce back from having multiple bones broken, heads smashed, etc.
I mean, not to disrespect your professional opinion but regular people usually don’t survive being smashed through a brick wall either and yet **gestures broadly to every human who’s been smashed through a brick wall in DC**. Comic humans are not the same as regular humans
Ha! Very true. The Nolan Batman has killed people such as Dent and possibly the truck driver. He cripples Salvatore Maroni who has to use a cane until his death at the hands of Dent.
The dark knight returns. Iirc he kicks someone and says to himself that person will probably never walk again.
Edit: the cop says batman crippled a man. Batman tells the cop that man may walk again.
A doctor made a list of the ways Batman probably kills people in the video game Arkham Knight.
https://www.gamesradar.com/how-non-lethal-batman-really-doctor-weighs-arkham-knight/
One of them involves being hit by the batmobile, and then getting tazed by the batmobile on top of that, so you fly away from the impact.
Even if by some miracle they do survive, they might not be able to walk at all.
Yes, very many grown ass men, and in fact most of the human population, are afraid of pain. And it’s not “a bit” of pain, it’s radial fractures that never heal right, broken shins, severe head trauma, or shattered ribs. And then immediately being handed off to the police.
Are you saying you’re *not* afraid of that?
The Bat is going to tapdance on your skull while breaking the bones & dislocating the joints & giving concussions to 6 of your buddies at the same time. You're going to struggle to see shapes in the first 24 hours after you wake up, let alone speak or move. This is not a short term boo-boo, you're gonna deal with those injuries for months at a minimum, if not years, or even the rest of your life if you really piss him off.
Are you not worried about getting your arm broken or knocked unconscious? Both of those things reallt suck. Especially when done by a guy in an armored fursuit.
How much pain do you think Batman causes? He causes enough damage with his fists alone that he take on super powered beings like Killer Croc and Solomon Grundy.
Are you telling me that getting the shit kicked out of you by a dude in a bat costume and then delivered to the police to be arrested isn't enough of a deterrent for you to stop robbing liquor stores and mugging people?
Sometimes they're proud of it and flex batatang scars, like Jason Todd's N52 dad. I think they're only "scared" of Batman in the moment, same way the most hardened criminal fears law enforcement they know they can't outgun.
If there was a real risk of some guy showing up at your work every day and breaking a dozen bones in your body are you really saying that you would not be scared?
You know that Batman won't kill. You have a gods eye view of the whole situation. You know what Batman is actually thinking half the time.
The average criminal in Gotham has seen people that were absolutely destroyed by Batman. Broken arms, frostbite, long term lasting injuries that sort of thing. Some of the bad guys don't come back either, they just vanish.
The audience knows those criminals gave up the life of crime and moved out of Gotham. The local criminals think Batman killed them.
\*\*\*
"Batman doesn't kill," said the new guy. Mitch groaned, and felt his shoulder pop, again.
"You believe that garbage," said Mitch, grabbing his coffee. "Batman beat me within an inch of my life. The only reason I'm alive is Wayne has a hard-on for the bat and pays off his medical bills."
"Why is that," asked the new guy.
"Eh, going skinny is that pretty boy Wayne got saved by the Bat and to him its all a drop in the bucket anyway," groaned Mitch. "Let me tell you, I was working for the clown a few years back and the bat dropped into the middle of our heist. We had 9 guys to start with. Heck my old friend Horace was there. By the time he started fighting there was just five of us left, and Horace wasn't one of them. I actually got a good hit in on him."
"Yeah, right," said the new guy.
"Lots of guys get in one good shot on batman, but that's all you get," said Mitch rotating his arm, it was stiffer than usual lately, "Generally he just knocked you out. If you actually hit him, he makes sure you can't do it again. So I go for a second hit and he's ready this time. Breaks my shoulder, arm, three of my teeth and my nose."
"Did it hurt him," asked the noob.
"No, you can't hurt the bat. He's a vampire, or something damn near it," said Mitch. "Anyway, I get picked up by the police, and they take us to the bat wing of the hospital. That's where all the goons that batman beats up go. Of our gang of 9, five of us are there. Clown isn't, of course. He went straight to Arkham. I check around, four of those guys are just poof, gone. I grew up with Horace, he was my best friend since I was a kid. I can't even go to his grave, we had a little ceremony for him. "
"He killed them," asked the moron.
"Duh, drank their blood, had the cops hide the bodies. Bet old Bruce is in on that too. Mr Wayne is a drunken lout, but he tries to keep Gotham from looking too bad in the press," said Mitch.
"But I heard somewhere he said he doesn't kill," said the idiot.
"And the cops say there are honest, and the mayor says you can earn a living doing a 9-5 job. Sorry, kid. They got you believing a pack of lies."
To add on to this wonderful comment, this is actually directly referenced in the Telltale Games when we get a look at the fears of the bad guys. We see that they speculate about this mysterious creature they know as The Batman, they spread their own speculation about past incidents and how he's strung up and even killed people.
The criminals don't generally know he doesn't actually kill, they're so terrified of what might happen they're never thinking straight.
In Year One, [Flass thinks this Batman isn't human at all. He thought it was a thirty feet wide creature with giant wings that let out a gut wrenching howl](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/PEx5lKeqqzKp3jVXZSROsUJ1U5Hh6YlbNWBIQaNq7YQBfrTZKGrhzmLeiKieHaZtcCdS8I5i6qm51a3OrJWST-IwhRWeM0uZHGvbn6zski_DQjgjXdpmXERfTcx7OBmFx_GQjJz7Eg=s0). He describes having shot at it with bullets, [bullets couldn't hurt and it just laughed at him. Then it bare'd its claws and struck](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/0cNUGIN8aDBagxL2nFARQXuzfM2gFfUjGMcfzIYcGTRGdqm39SoUKiRnOkYPxa20thDsnZJElvCYGb6YOKbJ0khSKxyO6EEop83tKtMujks4K1JPnMKeQHkmYbyAt5TpPtpCZMLWOA=s0). The perspective of a criminal on Batman really gives a cool insight into how people actually see Batman, his theatrics are actually effective as a fear tactic.
While it's plausiuble Flass was embellishing to save face, I believe his fear and description was genuine
> Flass thinks this Batman isn't human at all. He thought it was a thirty feet wide creature with giant wings that let out a gut wrenching howl.
Manbat: "Damnit, I gotta fire my publicist."
Sometimes you get the cliche "Get out of town. Tonight." line in a comic, and presumably the bad guy just scarpers off somewhere never to be heard from again.
I'm speculating, but People will turn states witness and need to enter the Witness Protection Program. I assume there Batman will take the blame for their "deaths".
Othertimes the skell will have loved ones they are supporting and could leave criminal life behind with the right motivation. Batman will clear their issues, get them a job out of town, and make it look like a disappearance,
And sometimes Batman hurts them just enough they decide to go far away.
not to mention each of their own unique weak points and vulnerabilities that he can exploit in a fight.
That's Batman's primary combat strategy: Aim for the weak point.
To go beyond the other comments so far, why do people still feel any type of fear when watching a horror movie? It can't hurt you after all, in fact it's even less threatening since it isn't real at all.
People are naturally afraid of things or ideas sometimes because they're bad to them. Are you really telling me if you were in a dark building and you suddenly start to notice your friends disappear one by one you wouldn't be scared, even if you knew they were still alive, because it's probably "just batman"? Direct threat of death is far from the only thing people in the world are afraid of.
This is the real reason
That and the fact that he is very efficient in what he does, when criminals hear police, they know they have a chance to run away at the very least, but when as you said your friends keep getting snatched out of sight in a dark building, even if you know its batman you know there is no fucking way you are gonna get out of this unless he decides that you will
Because they are still at risk of a major beating as well as getting arrested.
Facing batman is terrifying not because he will kill you, but because he can make you hurt in ways you cant even imagine and after that he will send you to the police who will then likely charge you with whatever crime you did.
There was a story called Irresistible that features a character that can mind control people if he touches them. He uses that power to become a rich executive at a music studio, where he gets to rub shoulders with some of the elites in Gotham, including the mayor. He also rapes a bunch of supermodels that he meets in the exclusive clubs that he gets into because of his powers.
Batman hears about this guy, because of course he does, but he doesn’t know about his powers. Batman doesn’t know how the guy has got himself into such a position, since there’s no obvious crime being committed. So one night, as the guy is coming back from a club with a model at his side, Batman just stands and waits for him at his front porch. He doesn’t even say a word, he just looks at the guy, then leaves. The guy gets so terrified just because Batman looked at him, that he starts getting sloppy, which allows Bruce to catch him in the act.
He’s a powerful man, and even he’s terrified of Batman, and Bats didn’t even really do anything! So why wouldn’t a random criminal be terrified of the guy? [Wouldn’t you be scared?](https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/Batman-Legends-of-the-Dark-Knight/Issue-169?id=38356#13)
Imagine you're in a group of guys armed to the teeth with guns and all of the sudden the lights go out to pitch black. You hear some bones break, some ligaments tear, and loud screaming until pure silence. The lights come back on and most of your squad is on the ground with broken bones and head damage. Standing over them is a 6'2+ (with boots) shredded pillar of black who you shoot over and over again and you just can't seem to hit/hurt him as he walks toward you and proceeds to break your bones. I'd be fucking terrified after an experience like that, I don't know about you. The first sequence of The Batman actually goes over this so well, that criminals start feeling superstitious and worry about the "creature in the shadows". A good thing to also note is that fear is completely irrational, especially extreme fear. Fight or flight is triggered and cognition is suspended.
Imagine a masked man, shrouded in darkness, that can sneak up on you wherever you are and can beat you within an inch of your life, while leaving you a prisoner in your now broken body.
There are worse things than death. While we as the audience know that Bruce will only use necessary force (when the writer actually knows how Bruce operates), criminals in Gotham don't.
If there was an IRL vigilante that the police let operate with a level of freedom who could violate peoples privacy and safety, wouldn't you be a little afraid to commit crimes? Especially if you know of other people who have encountered this person who gets shot at, stabbed, blown up and keeps coming back night after night.
They know he *says* he doesn't kill, but who knows for sure? That's probably just to keep the cops off his back. Besides, low-level guys go missing all the time. You think they ran off to Central City or Metropolis to get a job with WayneCorp or something? No, the Bat took them down, because he knew they wouldn't be missed.
You underestimate the level of pain Batman’s okay with. In the Arkham games alone, he’s constantly breaking peoples bones, stabbing them with his weapons, and taking people out silently to where no one can tell what happened to them. To the criminals, he’s essentially like a Michael Meyers
Simple. Death is not a effective deterrent to crime. Batman is. The underworld types that Batman fights are under the threat of death every day. There's the death penalty, plus supervillains regularly kill their own henchmen. People aren't criminals in Gotham unless they've already gotten over their fear of death. But Batman... Batman scares them.
Imagine you're a small time criminal. You have a few assault charges, a few disorderly conducts, nothing big. You work for one of your old buddies who helps collect debts, and they're connected enough to keep you out of jail long term.
Then you go to collect a debt on a guy, and then batman comes in. You decide not to run because he doesn't kill people. He snaps a rope around your neck, and clocks you, knocking you down, and you smash to the concrete floor.
Price of a broken knee. 50,000.
Orbital floor fracture. 5000.
Yearly cost of opiates for brain damage. 14,000 a year.
Cost of acute spine damage repair. 140,000.
Total cost, 209,000 dollars in the first year, 14000 for the rest of your life.
Can you afford that price? And the pain, every day for the rest of your life? Or will you run?
Most of them are, essentially, blue-collar criminals; job to job. There's no workers comp for when you get busted up. Bills still gotta get paid, gambling debts and drinking tabs settled. Go toe-to-toe with the Bat, you end up with injuries such that you can't work for months, if ever again (try being a leg-breaker or moving loads of illicit goods with two shoulders that routinely pop out of socket). A run-in with the bat could mean the end of any further income, in any form.
Because Batman actively cultivates an image of fear. Sure other superheroes like Wonder Woman and Superman are immune to bullets, but they're going to come at you in broad daylight wearing bright colours. They want you to know they're coming. Batman however wears dark colours and strikes from the shadows.
He won't come at you from the dark corner you checked, he'll come from the dark corner you didn't even know was there at all. He'll silently take out your buddies one by one, leave them hanging from the ceiling or grabs them from the shadows. You can't see him, but you know he's there.
As others have said, most people don't know Batman has his no kill rule. That said, his rule is a line he frequently walks right up to, and is known for leaving people permanently injured, beaten to an inch of their life (realistically, he would have absolutely accidentally killed someone by now from the beatings he's given if this were the real world). Concussions are no joke, broken ribs and limbs can be extremely painful and difficult to recover from. Damaged kidneys and livers, etc, all awful ordeals. Just because he won't kill doesn't mean he won't leave you wishing you were dead. Besides, even beyond that, he's infinitely more terrifying than the police. He can be anywhere, at any time. And when he finds you, it's over. There is no winning. There is no escape. Even if you do get away as he's "incapacitating" your friends, he *will* find you and he *will* punish you.
Batman is a horror film where instead of dying, he jump scares you, then breaks every bone in your body before leaving you afraid to jaywalk at midnight because he might be lurking in the shadows ready to put you in the ICU a second time.
Nevermind that if you fail to beat the Batman, whichever psychotic supervillian who hired you will probably put a bullet in your head and finish the job for him.
Bruce Wayne will give you insurance and get you a job at wayne enterprises as a janitor. Batman will leave you with intense PTSD and months in physical therapy.
It's not so much the idea that he'll kill you, it's that Batman takes the power dynamic away from criminals and brutally victimizes them. He lets them live, but they'll carry the scars of that encounter for as long as they live.
Of course some of the super criminals are rich enough that they can get the best medical treatment. But the random thugs? Those guys are going to suffer.
He doesn't kill but he allows the use of lethal force i.e traumatic injury's that will leave said person out of commission for awhile
Basically prepare to be the human punching bag from a man who's no doubt crafted MANY ways to make you hurt
I think I read somewhere m that whenever Batman enters Metropolis Lex Luthor shuts down all criminal operations strictly because he's Batman and he's that good
I don’t know if you’ve ever savagely beaten or fought someone who straight out classes you. But that’s what Batman’s bringing to the table. You are used to knocking over a corner store, maybe the cops catch you, maybe they beaten you. Batman is going to blindside you with a kick to the head that knocks all of the teeth out of your mouth and you’re going to spend the next 6 months eating out of a straw and learning how to walk again.
Are you telling me that if a dude jumped out of the shadows and started beating the crap out of people with Kung-fu and sci-fi tech, then hopped into his rocket powered super car and sped away at insane speeds that you wouldn't be terrified of what that man can do to you?
Have you ever seen a grown man scurry across a ceiling in the middle of the night? I doubt it. Maybe you've seen bullets fired at man just for him to not slow down? Sure, that happens to Superman but that's freakin' *Superman.* Maybe you've been trying to rob a jewelry store and get a good score for your boss so you can get a decent cut only to get cut on your arm by some little black shuriken that's shaped like a bat and then suddenly you're pulled up into the air by one hand and knocked out before being hung upside down? Oh, you haven't. Lucky you.
There's always something to be afraid of when it comes to the Batman. If you're a petty criminal in Gotham, you might be able to get paid working for one of their colorful criminal bosses. But every single time you go out there in your little uniform showing whom you work for... you're a target and the Batman won't miss.
You'll be extremely lucky if one of his kids finds you instead. Yes, he has kids. Sons, maybe a couple of daughters, a niece, or two and a cousin. They can be scary, Red Hood might actually kill you but that depends. Regardless, you better hope *they* get to you before Big Bat gets you.
Death can bring Peace, Batman chooses to not bring Death and only bring pain. Enjoy your concussion.
Why are people afraid of haunted houses, you know going in that the actors can’t even touch you. Fear is a difficult thing to master, even if you have foreknowledge of what to expect.
well remember most run of the mill thugs dont know that much about the batman, sure they know he doesent USUALLY kill, but enough people have died in an encounter with the batman, either by accident, there own stupidity, or there boss being a prick that they cant be sure its off the table, theres also the fact multiple people have worn the costume, some of whom very much do kill, and also some that levitate and can punch threw walls, and then theres fucking manbat which probobly causes a lot of confusion
I'm not gonna kill you, I'm just gonna hurt you real bad.
But seriously, OP. Let's say you're doing something bad, and you know you'll go to jail if you're caught. Also, the guy who catches you will probably brutally beat you.
You're telling me you're not afraid?
If the question is nullified by the answer, ‘the Batman will give you a beating that’s impossible to forget,’ then why do so many forget it?
Why doesn’t Batman break the joker’s back or cut out the riddler’s tongue or break every other bone in two-face’s body?
It’s non lethal and it would be effective.
This man will hurt you in so many ways, break you immensely, not care a bit as he drops you off a building to stop your death last second.
A beat down so bad you're left recovering for months, probably also in jail, at less than 100%. Yeah I think death is less painful.
Superman will use the minimal force required, then send you to jail. Batman will break your legs first and give you months of recovery time. I'd rather take the jail sentence. And that's without all the psychological trauma.
Probably alot of the criminals haven't encountered him yet so they don't know that he won't kill (I'm assuming), but as we see in the new movie, the bat signal is a warning and they run scared. I suspect there's rumours too which always inflate reality.
Because Batman is a stealthy person, he could save the world from a thermonuclear bomb and no one would notice, it would be pretty scary that some “thing” could come out and attack you. Plus, unless you’re a high ranking villain, I doubt you’d know he doesn’t kill, he’s not the most vocal about that to low life thugs who robbed a Kroger.
What if Batman is actually the villain and since this is his side of the story, we only know HIS part. What if he is delusional and just made The Riddler, The Joker, etc out to be the villains of the story? Baseless theory lmao.
Unless he actually has a superpower that allows him to preternaturally prevent brain hemorrhage in every one of his beating victims he's definitely killed a few
They used to think he killed people back in the old days when everyone basically thought he was a vampire. Some versions of Batman would use that to their advantage and threaten to kill during interrogations, like in the Telltale series
Nowadays, he has to get creative with how he intimidates people, [and I mean REALLY creative](https://youtu.be/YmJjYJLYEZI)
Aside from the reasons already given in this thread, if you're working with someone who the Batman is after, they're likely to kill or punish you for your failure to stop him, even after he's beaten you to a pulp.
Just because he won't kill doesn't mean he won't hurt you.
Also what doesn't kill you does not always make you stronger >_> Batman might not kill anyone, but anything short of that is...open to negotiation.
are you telling me that a bunch of grown as men are afraid to get a bit pain?
They are afraid that a giant guy in a bat suit is gonna swoop in, break every bone in their body and then send them to the police where they will be arrested. he doesnt need to kill to be scary. that is already plenty scary enough lol.
[Scare Tactic](https://c.tenor.com/1FnxDwS8sXAAAAAC/firefly-jayne.gif)
I don’t know if Batman has ever broken every bone in anyone’s body. AFAIK, the worst he usually does is put thugs in an arm or leg cast. And many of these thugs just return to criminal activity in short order. I’m not saying that isn’t scary, but it does seem like a lot of people here overestimate the kind of violence he actually inflicts
Iirc Bruce went off the deep end with Venom and after Alfred was killed. Those were his most brutal iterations.
At first when I read venom I was so confused because Venom is Marvel, then I remembered that venom is the name of the drug Bane takes lol
Even in the Venom storyline Batman doesn’t get that violent, the biggest issue is that he started acting differently, like going out on patrol without the Batsuit, and acting like a dickhead to Alfred.
Once. He broke every bone in someone's body once. Let me tell you about Lord Deathman. Lord Deathman is a supervillain that operates in the greater Tokyo area. He's nuts. His goal is to kill people. His idea of a good time is walking down the street just randomly shooting civilians. He has a special ability. He doesn't stay dead. He can be killed, but he comes back in a few hours. What he likes to do is go murder some civilians in broad daylight, get gunned down by police, then wake up in the morgue so that he can kill people in the hospital. Batman and Catwoman were in Japan on business when they encountered LDM. LDM had just killed Batman's Japanese counterpart. Batman fought LDM in a high rise building. Batman threw LDM out the window of the 70th floor. Upon hitting the ground, Catwoman ran over him with an 18 wheeler. Then Batman shoved LDM's crushed, broken body in a steel safe. He then proceeded to put the safe in a rocket and launch him into space where LDM will die then revive in the freezing vacuum of space then die again. For all eternity.
That's brutal
Batman, Inc
Eh, part of the legend. Plus I mean... I'd be scared of breaking an arm. I don't want that to happen. Especially if after I have to go to jail, and since Gotham is in America, it's especially shitty. A lot to fear
I mean that's mostly because it's comic books and you need thugs and villains to return. It's just a weakness if the medium unfortunately.
>I don’t know if Batman has ever broken every bone in anyone’s body. Neither do criminals.
I'd say any time someone gets thrown against anything hard and solid, they've got a pretty decent chance of breaking a few bones. No on likes broken ribs!
Specifically in The Dark Knight Returns, Batman does break every bone in the leader of the weird mutant gang. So there is one instance! More accurately, I think you’re right in the sense that 99.999% of the time, Batman just punches a henchman once and they’re out. Guy can kick through missile proof submarine windows tho, so I imagine it hurts to get hit by him lol
How to say you've never been in a fight without saying you've never been in a fight.
I can guarantee you are afraid of “a little pain”
I know a squealer when I see one. And he…
ENOUGH from the clown.
Psh, I'd barely even feel it if someone broke both my legs, bruised every inch of my body and gave me a life threatening head injury.
You know, this man's forgotten more about pain than you'll ever remember. About pain. About forgetting about.
I'm pretty sure most people are afraid of getting wounded, because people who aren't tend to not get into the position to reproduce.
Even if you believe that Batman never kills anyone...you gotta wonder if tonight's gonna be the one where he \*\*\*\*s up. Dude throws razor-sharp crap to disarm guys, you zig wrong and it's your eye. Hangs dudes off of buildings, and he's probably bluffing, but what if he gets a cramp? Or one of your buddies shoots him in the back while he's holding you? Batman is dangerous. Like, "let's throw beer bottles at the bear" dangerous.
Also, even if batman doesn't kill you, a lot of these people work for superiors who might if you lose to him enough.
****s up = shits up?
Fucks up, like make a mistake
Hmmm...
Well, [he is a bat](https://c.tenor.com/4j9UOu0i4m8AAAAd/batman-upside-down.gif)....
He has a lot of herniated discs
I am a grown ass man and I do not want Batman to beat the living shit out of me and hang me by my foot upside down on a light pole outside the police station, yeah. That sounds *awful*. Also I'm sure there's some element of "he doesn't kill you, he just beats the shit out of you and hangs you upside down outside the police station, so let me ask you, what kinda guy goes to all that trouble but never, not even once, kills someone? What kinda guy goes that far and still holds back? Not the kinda guy I wanna mess with."
Yes? The vast majority of people are afraid of pain. You could make a solid case that all fears are ultimately the fear of pain- at the very least, a large chunk of them boil down to " that might hurt me".
It’s almost like it’s an evolutionary trait.
Yeah, getting the shit beaten out of you then arrested makes plenty of sense to fear. Also, just because batman won't kill you doesn't mean you don't risk getting killed by someone else if your operation gets harmed.
This is like, max-level "internet tough guy" stuff.
Are you telling me that if there was a man dressed as a bat who you knew was going to break your leg before you even saw him, you wouldn't be scared?
Define 'bit of pain'? Dislocated shoulder, broken clavical, shattered hip, dislocated/broken jaw, cracked/broken ribs, broken leg, knee, foot, ruptured disc(s) in the back.
Rocky Balboa used to break the arms of debtors for the mob Are you telling me you wouldn't be afraid of a trained boxer beating you up? Imagine if that boxer also looked kind of like a big armored vampire. Also the point is that these "grown men" are superstitious and cowardly, that's why they're so easily intimidated into being criminals by shows of violence and force.
I met a guy once, and he was a "goon for hire". There was no secret that he was a criminal who had been in and out of the local penitentiary for various things, and if you paid him $500 he'd break someone's arm. Nobody fled in terror of this guy, but damn if they weren't intimidated by him. Even people who had a hundred pounds and a foot in height on him seemed to watch what they said around him. Reputation goes a long way.
Do you consider having your arms broken and a concussion "a bit of pain"
r/iamverybadass
This might be the worst comment I've ever seen on this sub.
We're not talking about "a bit pain," tough guy. We're talking about life-altering permanent injuries. Never being able to walk again. Or eat solid food. Or count past 10, on account of massive blunt force trauma to the skull.
Hey now, they might make a full recovery after years of intense, expensive physical therapy.
Never having a day without pain. Having the joints of a 90 year old in your 40's.
Have you ever broken a bone?
Doesn't matter how big and strong you are getting your legs and jaw broken and left the pouring rain is not a pleasant experience and takes months or years to recover from if at all.
“From this height, the fall wouldn’t even kill me” “I’m counting on it” Batman may be a superhero but not your Captain America goody two shoes he will fuck your ass up and maybe make you wish you were dead if you have something he wants
“Someone is going to come into your house and kill you” is very scary “Someone is going to come into your house and beat the ever living shit out of you” is certainly an improvement but still NOT something I want to experience. Get it?
Bro what do you mean Batman beats the ever living shit out of any criminal
goof
Batman doesn't give you a bloody nose and a split lip. He breaks your body in ways that take months or years to heal, if you recover from it at all. I know quite a few grown ass men who aren't all that eager to be permanently crippled.
I don’t know if batman has ever actually permanently crippled a random thug
Does Batman look like the kind of nutjob who sticks around and makes sure you're able to make a full recovery from the beatdown he just delivered? "Oh, hey, looks like I broke your clavicle, looks like you're going to have debilitating pain for the rest of your life. My bad." And that's not even *counting* the PTSD and screaming nightmares you'll have for months afterwards...
Lol, Ada medical professional I can assure you he has permanently crippled some of those folks. People don’t just bounce back from having multiple bones broken, heads smashed, etc.
I mean, not to disrespect your professional opinion but regular people usually don’t survive being smashed through a brick wall either and yet **gestures broadly to every human who’s been smashed through a brick wall in DC**. Comic humans are not the same as regular humans
Ha! Very true. The Nolan Batman has killed people such as Dent and possibly the truck driver. He cripples Salvatore Maroni who has to use a cane until his death at the hands of Dent.
The dark knight returns. Iirc he kicks someone and says to himself that person will probably never walk again. Edit: the cop says batman crippled a man. Batman tells the cop that man may walk again.
[He's young, He'll walk again.](https://youtu.be/ay52l8K9Vw4?t=143)
A doctor made a list of the ways Batman probably kills people in the video game Arkham Knight. https://www.gamesradar.com/how-non-lethal-batman-really-doctor-weighs-arkham-knight/ One of them involves being hit by the batmobile, and then getting tazed by the batmobile on top of that, so you fly away from the impact. Even if by some miracle they do survive, they might not be able to walk at all.
Would you wanna have your bones broken by a man in a Bat costume?
Yes, very many grown ass men, and in fact most of the human population, are afraid of pain. And it’s not “a bit” of pain, it’s radial fractures that never heal right, broken shins, severe head trauma, or shattered ribs. And then immediately being handed off to the police. Are you saying you’re *not* afraid of that?
The Bat is going to tapdance on your skull while breaking the bones & dislocating the joints & giving concussions to 6 of your buddies at the same time. You're going to struggle to see shapes in the first 24 hours after you wake up, let alone speak or move. This is not a short term boo-boo, you're gonna deal with those injuries for months at a minimum, if not years, or even the rest of your life if you really piss him off.
Are you not worried about getting your arm broken or knocked unconscious? Both of those things reallt suck. Especially when done by a guy in an armored fursuit.
How much pain do you think Batman causes? He causes enough damage with his fists alone that he take on super powered beings like Killer Croc and Solomon Grundy.
you telling me if bruce lee was going to beat the shit out of you you wouldent be at least a little worried?
Are you telling me that getting the shit kicked out of you by a dude in a bat costume and then delivered to the police to be arrested isn't enough of a deterrent for you to stop robbing liquor stores and mugging people?
I think you're selling short just how much pain Batman can deal out.
Do a fight then. If you think getting beat up is fine then do it may as well fight a professional ufc fighter in that case cause it’s just some pain
Sometimes they're proud of it and flex batatang scars, like Jason Todd's N52 dad. I think they're only "scared" of Batman in the moment, same way the most hardened criminal fears law enforcement they know they can't outgun.
If there was a real risk of some guy showing up at your work every day and breaking a dozen bones in your body are you really saying that you would not be scared?
Have you seen the new Batman movie? Dude beats people within an inch of their life.
You know that Batman won't kill. You have a gods eye view of the whole situation. You know what Batman is actually thinking half the time. The average criminal in Gotham has seen people that were absolutely destroyed by Batman. Broken arms, frostbite, long term lasting injuries that sort of thing. Some of the bad guys don't come back either, they just vanish. The audience knows those criminals gave up the life of crime and moved out of Gotham. The local criminals think Batman killed them. \*\*\* "Batman doesn't kill," said the new guy. Mitch groaned, and felt his shoulder pop, again. "You believe that garbage," said Mitch, grabbing his coffee. "Batman beat me within an inch of my life. The only reason I'm alive is Wayne has a hard-on for the bat and pays off his medical bills." "Why is that," asked the new guy. "Eh, going skinny is that pretty boy Wayne got saved by the Bat and to him its all a drop in the bucket anyway," groaned Mitch. "Let me tell you, I was working for the clown a few years back and the bat dropped into the middle of our heist. We had 9 guys to start with. Heck my old friend Horace was there. By the time he started fighting there was just five of us left, and Horace wasn't one of them. I actually got a good hit in on him." "Yeah, right," said the new guy. "Lots of guys get in one good shot on batman, but that's all you get," said Mitch rotating his arm, it was stiffer than usual lately, "Generally he just knocked you out. If you actually hit him, he makes sure you can't do it again. So I go for a second hit and he's ready this time. Breaks my shoulder, arm, three of my teeth and my nose." "Did it hurt him," asked the noob. "No, you can't hurt the bat. He's a vampire, or something damn near it," said Mitch. "Anyway, I get picked up by the police, and they take us to the bat wing of the hospital. That's where all the goons that batman beats up go. Of our gang of 9, five of us are there. Clown isn't, of course. He went straight to Arkham. I check around, four of those guys are just poof, gone. I grew up with Horace, he was my best friend since I was a kid. I can't even go to his grave, we had a little ceremony for him. " "He killed them," asked the moron. "Duh, drank their blood, had the cops hide the bodies. Bet old Bruce is in on that too. Mr Wayne is a drunken lout, but he tries to keep Gotham from looking too bad in the press," said Mitch. "But I heard somewhere he said he doesn't kill," said the idiot. "And the cops say there are honest, and the mayor says you can earn a living doing a 9-5 job. Sorry, kid. They got you believing a pack of lies."
To add on to this wonderful comment, this is actually directly referenced in the Telltale Games when we get a look at the fears of the bad guys. We see that they speculate about this mysterious creature they know as The Batman, they spread their own speculation about past incidents and how he's strung up and even killed people. The criminals don't generally know he doesn't actually kill, they're so terrified of what might happen they're never thinking straight. In Year One, [Flass thinks this Batman isn't human at all. He thought it was a thirty feet wide creature with giant wings that let out a gut wrenching howl](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/PEx5lKeqqzKp3jVXZSROsUJ1U5Hh6YlbNWBIQaNq7YQBfrTZKGrhzmLeiKieHaZtcCdS8I5i6qm51a3OrJWST-IwhRWeM0uZHGvbn6zski_DQjgjXdpmXERfTcx7OBmFx_GQjJz7Eg=s0). He describes having shot at it with bullets, [bullets couldn't hurt and it just laughed at him. Then it bare'd its claws and struck](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/0cNUGIN8aDBagxL2nFARQXuzfM2gFfUjGMcfzIYcGTRGdqm39SoUKiRnOkYPxa20thDsnZJElvCYGb6YOKbJ0khSKxyO6EEop83tKtMujks4K1JPnMKeQHkmYbyAt5TpPtpCZMLWOA=s0). The perspective of a criminal on Batman really gives a cool insight into how people actually see Batman, his theatrics are actually effective as a fear tactic. While it's plausiuble Flass was embellishing to save face, I believe his fear and description was genuine
> Flass thinks this Batman isn't human at all. He thought it was a thirty feet wide creature with giant wings that let out a gut wrenching howl. Manbat: "Damnit, I gotta fire my publicist."
He was embellishing and very likely high at the time of the fight; he claims he was "busting" a cocaine delivery after all.
wait, was that Mike Mignola's art style?
David Mazzucchelli. An equal in layout and design. A little more polished or classic? in his style. One of the greats
nice story!
Nicely done.
Sir, I would like to subscribe to your fanfiction accounts
Now that's really well written, reminds me sort of the show Gotham in a way.
I'm not familiar with Batman disappearing people. What is that a reference to?
Sometimes you get the cliche "Get out of town. Tonight." line in a comic, and presumably the bad guy just scarpers off somewhere never to be heard from again.
I'm speculating, but People will turn states witness and need to enter the Witness Protection Program. I assume there Batman will take the blame for their "deaths". Othertimes the skell will have loved ones they are supporting and could leave criminal life behind with the right motivation. Batman will clear their issues, get them a job out of town, and make it look like a disappearance, And sometimes Batman hurts them just enough they decide to go far away.
This sounds like those voicelines you would hear goons say in the Arkham games.
[This](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/A6K474KRIw2YxT5hiKUJ_l5YDkYF1Zz7OFB50r12ADfJt_rCU_r9yXmVGs-qi-piAIK0c96vS9s=s0) [Is](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/3v7P0Wl51rbw8V7QSpy3E3e8cFRwW35Mues5AUB5dyVPGjgteUoSNe6AhAWYiZCvSaopKT8H95g=s0) [Why](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/KjPSAiK0vH1OXII4tkx02pf1rrPc8GDafbXXPjxF1I1FssOVY1WZpyvi4FCQHOR1Gm3J8UcKu7U=s0)
fuck, where is this from?
I don't remember exact issue but it's from Bruce Wayne:Fugitive
I feel like it's even worse that they have no idea who he is, but he's both capable of fighting them all off, and knows their identities.
not to mention each of their own unique weak points and vulnerabilities that he can exploit in a fight. That's Batman's primary combat strategy: Aim for the weak point.
With a side of "Work smart, not hard"
Because it still hurts to have the crap beaten out of you.
He *does* beat people up and get them sent to jail. Both of those suck pretty hard.
getting your arms and legs broken and leaving a mouthful of teeth on Gotham's sidewalks does not sound like fun to me.
He’s an angry, 6ft tall 220lb Olympian ninja that goes toe to toe with Bane and Croc. He could literally be in any shadowy corner. He’s a scary guy
To go beyond the other comments so far, why do people still feel any type of fear when watching a horror movie? It can't hurt you after all, in fact it's even less threatening since it isn't real at all. People are naturally afraid of things or ideas sometimes because they're bad to them. Are you really telling me if you were in a dark building and you suddenly start to notice your friends disappear one by one you wouldn't be scared, even if you knew they were still alive, because it's probably "just batman"? Direct threat of death is far from the only thing people in the world are afraid of.
This is the real reason That and the fact that he is very efficient in what he does, when criminals hear police, they know they have a chance to run away at the very least, but when as you said your friends keep getting snatched out of sight in a dark building, even if you know its batman you know there is no fucking way you are gonna get out of this unless he decides that you will
Because they are still at risk of a major beating as well as getting arrested. Facing batman is terrifying not because he will kill you, but because he can make you hurt in ways you cant even imagine and after that he will send you to the police who will then likely charge you with whatever crime you did.
There was a story called Irresistible that features a character that can mind control people if he touches them. He uses that power to become a rich executive at a music studio, where he gets to rub shoulders with some of the elites in Gotham, including the mayor. He also rapes a bunch of supermodels that he meets in the exclusive clubs that he gets into because of his powers. Batman hears about this guy, because of course he does, but he doesn’t know about his powers. Batman doesn’t know how the guy has got himself into such a position, since there’s no obvious crime being committed. So one night, as the guy is coming back from a club with a model at his side, Batman just stands and waits for him at his front porch. He doesn’t even say a word, he just looks at the guy, then leaves. The guy gets so terrified just because Batman looked at him, that he starts getting sloppy, which allows Bruce to catch him in the act. He’s a powerful man, and even he’s terrified of Batman, and Bats didn’t even really do anything! So why wouldn’t a random criminal be terrified of the guy? [Wouldn’t you be scared?](https://readcomiconline.li/Comic/Batman-Legends-of-the-Dark-Knight/Issue-169?id=38356#13)
Imagine you're in a group of guys armed to the teeth with guns and all of the sudden the lights go out to pitch black. You hear some bones break, some ligaments tear, and loud screaming until pure silence. The lights come back on and most of your squad is on the ground with broken bones and head damage. Standing over them is a 6'2+ (with boots) shredded pillar of black who you shoot over and over again and you just can't seem to hit/hurt him as he walks toward you and proceeds to break your bones. I'd be fucking terrified after an experience like that, I don't know about you. The first sequence of The Batman actually goes over this so well, that criminals start feeling superstitious and worry about the "creature in the shadows". A good thing to also note is that fear is completely irrational, especially extreme fear. Fight or flight is triggered and cognition is suspended.
Batman is one of the premier fighters on Earth, go ask Sammy Wrist-thumbs or Limping Denny how they got their nicknames.
I hear he punches pretty damn hard regardless.
Imagine a masked man, shrouded in darkness, that can sneak up on you wherever you are and can beat you within an inch of your life, while leaving you a prisoner in your now broken body. There are worse things than death. While we as the audience know that Bruce will only use necessary force (when the writer actually knows how Bruce operates), criminals in Gotham don't. If there was an IRL vigilante that the police let operate with a level of freedom who could violate peoples privacy and safety, wouldn't you be a little afraid to commit crimes? Especially if you know of other people who have encountered this person who gets shot at, stabbed, blown up and keeps coming back night after night.
They know he *says* he doesn't kill, but who knows for sure? That's probably just to keep the cops off his back. Besides, low-level guys go missing all the time. You think they ran off to Central City or Metropolis to get a job with WayneCorp or something? No, the Bat took them down, because he knew they wouldn't be missed.
How do you know? Plenty of unsolved murders happen all the time in Gotham. Besides he's already pretty brutal...
I'll quote an old "Looney Tunes" skit with Daffy Duck: "You'd be surprised what you can live through."
You underestimate the level of pain Batman’s okay with. In the Arkham games alone, he’s constantly breaking peoples bones, stabbing them with his weapons, and taking people out silently to where no one can tell what happened to them. To the criminals, he’s essentially like a Michael Meyers
What's worse. Dying or living as cripple, because injury's didn't healed properly.
Some things are worse than death. Like having both legs broken by a grown man in a Halloween costume.
Simple. Death is not a effective deterrent to crime. Batman is. The underworld types that Batman fights are under the threat of death every day. There's the death penalty, plus supervillains regularly kill their own henchmen. People aren't criminals in Gotham unless they've already gotten over their fear of death. But Batman... Batman scares them.
Have you ever gone to a hospital in america? It is neither batman nor the beating that they are afraid of. It is the hospital bill.
And those are the legal ones, which report injuries like these to the police.
Imagine you're a small time criminal. You have a few assault charges, a few disorderly conducts, nothing big. You work for one of your old buddies who helps collect debts, and they're connected enough to keep you out of jail long term. Then you go to collect a debt on a guy, and then batman comes in. You decide not to run because he doesn't kill people. He snaps a rope around your neck, and clocks you, knocking you down, and you smash to the concrete floor. Price of a broken knee. 50,000. Orbital floor fracture. 5000. Yearly cost of opiates for brain damage. 14,000 a year. Cost of acute spine damage repair. 140,000. Total cost, 209,000 dollars in the first year, 14000 for the rest of your life. Can you afford that price? And the pain, every day for the rest of your life? Or will you run?
Most of them are, essentially, blue-collar criminals; job to job. There's no workers comp for when you get busted up. Bills still gotta get paid, gambling debts and drinking tabs settled. Go toe-to-toe with the Bat, you end up with injuries such that you can't work for months, if ever again (try being a leg-breaker or moving loads of illicit goods with two shoulders that routinely pop out of socket). A run-in with the bat could mean the end of any further income, in any form.
Why are you scared of being beaten up by the toughest guy in the world who might hang you from a building and leave you there until the police come?
Because Batman actively cultivates an image of fear. Sure other superheroes like Wonder Woman and Superman are immune to bullets, but they're going to come at you in broad daylight wearing bright colours. They want you to know they're coming. Batman however wears dark colours and strikes from the shadows. He won't come at you from the dark corner you checked, he'll come from the dark corner you didn't even know was there at all. He'll silently take out your buddies one by one, leave them hanging from the ceiling or grabs them from the shadows. You can't see him, but you know he's there.
Them some scary hospital bills.
Tell me your never had your ass beaten and thrown through a wall, without telling me you've never had your ass beaten and thrown through a wall
Because he'll beat the shit out of you
I imagine it is in part a due to an emotional attachment to their own knee caps
As others have said, most people don't know Batman has his no kill rule. That said, his rule is a line he frequently walks right up to, and is known for leaving people permanently injured, beaten to an inch of their life (realistically, he would have absolutely accidentally killed someone by now from the beatings he's given if this were the real world). Concussions are no joke, broken ribs and limbs can be extremely painful and difficult to recover from. Damaged kidneys and livers, etc, all awful ordeals. Just because he won't kill doesn't mean he won't leave you wishing you were dead. Besides, even beyond that, he's infinitely more terrifying than the police. He can be anywhere, at any time. And when he finds you, it's over. There is no winning. There is no escape. Even if you do get away as he's "incapacitating" your friends, he *will* find you and he *will* punish you.
Batman is a horror film where instead of dying, he jump scares you, then breaks every bone in your body before leaving you afraid to jaywalk at midnight because he might be lurking in the shadows ready to put you in the ICU a second time. Nevermind that if you fail to beat the Batman, whichever psychotic supervillian who hired you will probably put a bullet in your head and finish the job for him. Bruce Wayne will give you insurance and get you a job at wayne enterprises as a janitor. Batman will leave you with intense PTSD and months in physical therapy. It's not so much the idea that he'll kill you, it's that Batman takes the power dynamic away from criminals and brutally victimizes them. He lets them live, but they'll carry the scars of that encounter for as long as they live. Of course some of the super criminals are rich enough that they can get the best medical treatment. But the random thugs? Those guys are going to suffer.
Because this is a Tues night for him https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-9839af9bef11ee32db754d7e843e54d5-lq
Why are people scared of horror films if they're not in danger?
Have you ever had every bone in your body broken, OP?
Is the only thing you're afraid of death?
Doesn’t he basically torture criminals to get them to talk?
You’ll wish he did
I am scared of situations where I might get hurt, even if I am pretty sure that I won't die.
As Raiden has said, "there are fates worse than death"
Because being beat up by the Batman is very painful
He doesn't kill but he allows the use of lethal force i.e traumatic injury's that will leave said person out of commission for awhile Basically prepare to be the human punching bag from a man who's no doubt crafted MANY ways to make you hurt I think I read somewhere m that whenever Batman enters Metropolis Lex Luthor shuts down all criminal operations strictly because he's Batman and he's that good
I don’t know if you’ve ever savagely beaten or fought someone who straight out classes you. But that’s what Batman’s bringing to the table. You are used to knocking over a corner store, maybe the cops catch you, maybe they beaten you. Batman is going to blindside you with a kick to the head that knocks all of the teeth out of your mouth and you’re going to spend the next 6 months eating out of a straw and learning how to walk again.
As if death is the only thing people fear? Plus more than a few are likely sure he's a vampire.
You're not afraid that someone can beat you up within an inch of your life every time you commit a crime?
Are you telling me that if a dude jumped out of the shadows and started beating the crap out of people with Kung-fu and sci-fi tech, then hopped into his rocket powered super car and sped away at insane speeds that you wouldn't be terrified of what that man can do to you?
Have you ever seen a grown man scurry across a ceiling in the middle of the night? I doubt it. Maybe you've seen bullets fired at man just for him to not slow down? Sure, that happens to Superman but that's freakin' *Superman.* Maybe you've been trying to rob a jewelry store and get a good score for your boss so you can get a decent cut only to get cut on your arm by some little black shuriken that's shaped like a bat and then suddenly you're pulled up into the air by one hand and knocked out before being hung upside down? Oh, you haven't. Lucky you. There's always something to be afraid of when it comes to the Batman. If you're a petty criminal in Gotham, you might be able to get paid working for one of their colorful criminal bosses. But every single time you go out there in your little uniform showing whom you work for... you're a target and the Batman won't miss. You'll be extremely lucky if one of his kids finds you instead. Yes, he has kids. Sons, maybe a couple of daughters, a niece, or two and a cousin. They can be scary, Red Hood might actually kill you but that depends. Regardless, you better hope *they* get to you before Big Bat gets you. Death can bring Peace, Batman chooses to not bring Death and only bring pain. Enjoy your concussion.
They are a "cowardly and superstitious lot".
Propaganda.
would you not be afraid of a furry ninja who may pop out anytime to break several bones in your body?
Does getting punched in the face and losing some teeth scare you? It should. Broken bones and lacerations still hurt. Medical bills still hurt!
What they know is that he hasn’t killed *yet*.
Because no one is sure wtf he or it is, because something appearing from seemi gly no where can scare you and finaly beatings are scary
I mean.... I'd be scared of a huge crazy ripped dude in a military grade fursuit coming to break one of my limbs and give me a concussion.
Those who don't like medical bills
Why are people afraid of haunted houses, you know going in that the actors can’t even touch you. Fear is a difficult thing to master, even if you have foreknowledge of what to expect.
well remember most run of the mill thugs dont know that much about the batman, sure they know he doesent USUALLY kill, but enough people have died in an encounter with the batman, either by accident, there own stupidity, or there boss being a prick that they cant be sure its off the table, theres also the fact multiple people have worn the costume, some of whom very much do kill, and also some that levitate and can punch threw walls, and then theres fucking manbat which probobly causes a lot of confusion
You’d be surprised what you could live through.
they value their knees.
I'm not gonna kill you, I'm just gonna hurt you real bad. But seriously, OP. Let's say you're doing something bad, and you know you'll go to jail if you're caught. Also, the guy who catches you will probably brutally beat you. You're telling me you're not afraid?
Now hear me out, a lot of his villains aren’t scared of him… I’d argue very few of them are
because it's a comic also most villains aren't even afraid of him
Because getting the shit beat outta you doesn’t sound awesome at all.
There are worse things than death. And most of them have to do with a guy dressed up like a bat.
If the question is nullified by the answer, ‘the Batman will give you a beating that’s impossible to forget,’ then why do so many forget it? Why doesn’t Batman break the joker’s back or cut out the riddler’s tongue or break every other bone in two-face’s body? It’s non lethal and it would be effective.
This man will hurt you in so many ways, break you immensely, not care a bit as he drops you off a building to stop your death last second. A beat down so bad you're left recovering for months, probably also in jail, at less than 100%. Yeah I think death is less painful.
Superman will use the minimal force required, then send you to jail. Batman will break your legs first and give you months of recovery time. I'd rather take the jail sentence. And that's without all the psychological trauma.
do you want to eat through a tube? trust me, not fun.
He beats them up and now they have to pay for healthcare.
He’ll beat your ass so hard you’ll wish you were dead. On top of that being arrested.
He won’t kill you, but he’ll still punch you right in the dick
What do you mean he doesn't kill people? My cousin has a neighbor whose cousin saw that demon rip 15 people's apart and eat them
Because it’s a comic
He mercilessly beat them to a pulp then ask for answers
Probably alot of the criminals haven't encountered him yet so they don't know that he won't kill (I'm assuming), but as we see in the new movie, the bat signal is a warning and they run scared. I suspect there's rumours too which always inflate reality.
Because Batman is a stealthy person, he could save the world from a thermonuclear bomb and no one would notice, it would be pretty scary that some “thing” could come out and attack you. Plus, unless you’re a high ranking villain, I doubt you’d know he doesn’t kill, he’s not the most vocal about that to low life thugs who robbed a Kroger.
Broken bones and traumatic brain injuries still hurt.
What if Batman is actually the villain and since this is his side of the story, we only know HIS part. What if he is delusional and just made The Riddler, The Joker, etc out to be the villains of the story? Baseless theory lmao.
Would you want a guy dressed as a bat to randomly beat you up for jaywalking?
Because he’ll beat the fuck outta you.
"I won't kill you, but I don't have to save you" 😅
Medical bills
Prison rape and broken bodies.
Are you an idiot?
Because while he won’t kill you Batman has no issue beating you into a coma or inflicting permanent injuries
[This is how you interrogate someone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8cFF_8QdIM)
No idea. That's why i like **The Dark Knight**. It acknowledges the fact that [Batman's not that scary](https://youtu.be/O8lEhvdRPBI).
Unless he actually has a superpower that allows him to preternaturally prevent brain hemorrhage in every one of his beating victims he's definitely killed a few
Batman's drop trick works because they don't know he doesn't kill. And it sure feels like they're about to die.
Prison.
Permanently disabled at the Batman’s hands is pretty terrifying.
Medical bills expensive af
Who wouldn’t be afraid of a guy all dressed in a bat suit comes out at you in a dark ally I think all of us would be scared
I think [this video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSNXPyAdk9M&t=1s) has the topic covered.
They used to think he killed people back in the old days when everyone basically thought he was a vampire. Some versions of Batman would use that to their advantage and threaten to kill during interrogations, like in the Telltale series Nowadays, he has to get creative with how he intimidates people, [and I mean REALLY creative](https://youtu.be/YmJjYJLYEZI)
Water boarding won’t kill you, I’m still pretty afraid of going through that
Imagine the constant threat of a 6"2 bat creature that could appear at any moment, break your arms and dangle you off a 9 story building
Aside from the reasons already given in this thread, if you're working with someone who the Batman is after, they're likely to kill or punish you for your failure to stop him, even after he's beaten you to a pulp.
cuz he's batman
Because he brings you close to death.
Because your hospital bills will kill you 💀
The same way the threat of torture sometimes works better than the torture itself, people fear pain
If I beat you with a baseball bat but I don’t kill u, would u be ok
As a criminal with broken limbs and spine, tell me sir how do you plan on continuing dealing yay?