Why Batman Shouldn't Be In A JLA Movie

Jay from The Sexy Armpit and I were discussing the new Avengers trailer the other day, wondering why DC and Warner Brothers didn't take the same route as Marvel, using individual character movies to introduce a full-fledged JLA movie. Jay stated that DC was always weird when it came to Batman, not wanting to pair him with another hero and having him share the spotlight. Thinking about this for a moment, I feel DC and Warner are right to not include Batman in a JLA film.

Art by Brad Green

Batman is the kind of character that needs to be in control. The loss of his parents at a young age would have caused such a deep seated psychological trauma, proving to himself that he has no control over life. The young, scarred Bruce Wayne would go out of his way to prove this belief incorrect by immersing himself into as many different things as possible and pushing his body and his mind to their limits. Most of his career was spent as a solitary soldier against evil, with only some behind-the-curtain assistance from Alfred, his family's oldest and most trusted employee. He didn't enter into a more public partnership until he met Dick Grayson, whom he molded into his partner, Robin.

That's the main point here. Batman did not form a partnership until he was able to control their learning.

Every sidekick Batman has ever had has been taught closely by Batman himself. He knows how they think, showing them how to react to situations. In a battle, Batman is confident that they have the skills necessary to provide support. But, in a team setting like the JLA, Batman doesn't have those guarantees.

Granted, the JLA is comprised of DC's most powerful and talented heroes. They have so many different skills and knowledge-bases to take on whatever they need to. I'm sure Batman trusts their abilities, but does he trust them to make the right decisions?

For someone like Batman, I wouldn't think so. Batman would know the way his teammates thinking, putting in the time to study their past actions. But his teammates wouldn't be so studious and wary of the other JLA members. Batman would understand their psyches, but they wouldn't understand him. This would prevent him from joining a team like the JLA.



I'm well aware that Batman has been a member of almost every JLA team in the DC Universe. However, this is mostly a ploy to sell the series. Would the JLA be interesting without Batman? Absolutely. Would it sell as well? Probably not. Despite the fact that Batman is a full-fledged member of the JLA, judging by his psychosis and trust issues, were he real, his being a member of a team is completely unbelievable. Sure, Batman can be a team player, when he's in control. With the JLA, Batman needs to relinquish much of that control, which I doubt he would be comfortable with.