Batman is a guardian of the good, championing the causes of justice over corruption, order over chaos and stability over deviance. Yet, he is also menace that breaks the law in order to catch criminals. This is largely how Batman has gained the flawed title of “the dark knight” but, as we will see later, this isn’t a bad thing. Rule-breaking is a vital force that upholds Gotham’s social order.
Whilst we as the audience tend to root for superheroes and oppose their enemies, this Batman film muddies the line between “the good guys” and “the bad guys”. Indeed, the Riddler is set up as Batman’s nemesis, and yet the two are strikingly similar. They both combat deviance, with deviancy.
In sociology, we define deviance as behaviours that circumvent, flaunt, or challenge the social norms of a given culture, in this case those of Gotham City. Of course, the Batman is more moderate in his deviance than the Riddler, preferring to use non-lethal weapons against his criminal targets instead of brutally murdering them. Yet the key similarity remains. They both feel the need subvert the law in order to uphold it.
At the start of the film, Batman has a very simplistic view of fighting crime. He wants physically stop as many street criminals as he can whilst injecting fear into those he can’t. But what does this fear achieve? Does he have any impact on the city’s crime rate? Is he actually making a difference?
It is no surprise, that Batman with his masked vigilantism is not the solution to Gotham’s skyrocketing crime rate. He is fighting just the tip of the iceberg. The crime that we can see. It is a rule as old as Greek Mythology; if you cut off the head of Hydra, two more will grow in its place.
Once more, it is a regular theme with Batman that his crime-fighting is inspired by a desire to avenge his parents’ murder. This is hinted at in the film when he is referred to as The Vengeance, yet we see it more explicitly in Batman Begins. When Joe Chill, his parents’ murderer, is killed prematurely, Bruce Wayne becomes frustrated that he has lost his opportunity for vengeance and falsely equates revenge with justice.
Rachel retorts that taking out individual criminals in the name of vengeance does nothing to restore a state of social harmony, it only escalates the city’s problems. In targeting individuals, we lose site of the bigger picture.
This is where the Riddler’s approach to fighting crime comes in. He understands that to truly solve city’s problems, he needs to go deeper. He must show the world that the root cause of Gotham’s lawlessness is not low-level street criminals, but the corrupt officials that run the city. Again, he doesn’t shy away from using his own brutal methods to expose this truth.
This deviant approach to exposing corruption helps us to understand the practical nature of crime as understood by Émile Durkheim, a French sociologist who saw deviance as an integral part of how society functions. He argued that we, as a society, can respond to crime in three ways. Firstly, we can reaffirm social boundaries by punishing unacceptable behaviour. Secondly, we can use it as a source of cohesion, drawing on shared outrage against criminal behaviour to create stronger bonds within our social group. Thirdly, we can use crime as a source of social change, helping to open our eyes and understand when society needs to be reformed.
It is this third response to crime, social change, that The Riddler hopes to achieve through his attacks on corrupt officials. His gruesome murders of his targets, in all their brutality and symbolism, serve as shocking catalysts for political reform.
It’s important to note that these assassinations, whilst brutal, do not threaten the social order of Gotham City. The city can continue to function despite his breaking the law. This can be seen in his decision not to target detective Gordon, thus ensuring that the city’s key institutions; like law enforcement remain operational.
Therefore, just like Batman, The Riddler’s deviance is initially measured. His crimes seem to be committed in the spirit of upholding and reforming Gotham’s social order. This is why the Riddler takes inspiration from the Batman and seeks a partnership with him, they are both using deviant means to achieve the same goal.
However, it soon becomes clear that the Riddler is not actually interested in restoring social harmony. Just like Bruce Wayne from Batman Begins, he is motivated not by justice, but a desire for revenge. He wants to get back at the society that locked him up in an overcrowded orphanage. In this quest, he finds a band of like-minded outcasts, each of them invisible before they found each other.
On his so-called “day of judgement” the Riddler escalates his attacks from targeting individuals, to targeting the entire city. Focussed violence quickly turns to vengeful mayhem.
His destructive actions therefore threaten the functional interdependence between deviance and order, tipping the scales in favour of anarchy. Yet, the criminal subculture that attempt destroy the city are still following the example set by Batman, otherwise known as Vengeance.
When he sees himself mirrored in this anarchic movement, Batman can finally see the consequences of pursuing vengeance instead of justice. He has not reduced crime but increased it by inspiring others like the Riddler and his crew to seek revenge against the society that abandoned them.
This is where the line between “The Good Guys” and “The Bad Guys” finally becomes clear, and Batman shows himself to be a superhero. “The Good Guys” can see beyond the wrongs of the past to build a better world, one where justice prevails.
Despite the destructive force of the Riddler and his ideology, he has actually taught the Batman two key things about fighting crime. Firstly, when committing his own acts of deviance, he should not focus on intercepting low-level criminals, but try to create spectacles that inspire positive social change, such as exposing corrupt politicians. Secondly, his vigilantism should not be motivated by personal revenge but a desire for the collective good, for social justice.
In this way, we see the functional nature of deviance as outlined by Emile Durkheim. We need criminals to expose the faults in society so that heroes can patch them up.
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