Poll: What if we had a government run Batman?

[DudeistBelieve]

Stupid flight of fancy here...

I know I'm not the only one that sometimes wishes we had a Batman. Yes we have police, we have firemen, but... ya know, those guys are human beings with family. We can only expect them to sacrifice so much. How nice would it be if a man as skilled, as equipped, as driven as bruce wayne existed PLUS he had the wiggle room to function as a vigilante?

Suppose in my made up scenario, the job is offered to the most highly skilled members of our military. The deal is this, for 5 years the military member (who would volunteer for it, obviously) would be trained in criminology and addition martial arts and equipment and then the next 5 they are given access to a cave and told to go be Batman. The only rule is they have to, ya know, be like Batman. They couldn't get the job and go all Frank Castle. They also are expected to night have a life, no dating, no frivolties.... They eat, breath, and sleep crime fighting.

Come to think of it, it would sort of being like a Spectre from Mass Effect.

After their 5 years of service, they pass on the cape and cowl to the next guy and get a really fat pension.... Or maybe they stick around for 1 year just to mentor the new Batman. This way the Batmen don't burn out.

Dunno.... I think I could get behind our tax dollars going towards that if they could be as effective as the fictional counterpart.

So the discussion question is, in this hypothetical scenario, would you support a government funded Batman?

 

[Goofguy]

Not at all. A crime fighting, highly skilled and lethal, super fit military member funded entirely by the government? There's no shortage of ways this initiative could go belly up.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

Not at all. A crime fighting, highly skilled and lethal, super fit military member funded entirely by the government? There's no shortage of ways this initiative could go belly up.

Well, obviously not lethal, Batman doesn't kill.

I'll throw this scenario out there..... what if our government Batman had went to Pakistan and kidnapped Osama Bin Laden like he did that Asian accountant in The Dark Knight?

Granted, I'd say most of us were happy with the assassination, but we could of had justice.

 

[Goofguy]

For such a cause, sure. But what happens if the government Batman becomes corrupt? Or corrupt government officials send him/her on missions that benefit only their bank accounts? There is a lot of room for error here.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

For such a cause, sure. But what happens if the government Batman becomes corrupt? Or corrupt government officials send him/her on missions that benefit only their bank accounts? There is a lot of room for error here.

Well, in terms of a story, I could totally see the government bringing back an old Batman to take down the rogue Batman if he turned against the ideals... be that turning against the United States Government or killing criminals.

Also in my hypothetical scenario the government doesn't give The Batman missions. Again these are military men that have already proven themselves in the line of duty to fullfilling a certain ideal*. The Government trusts whoever wears the cape and cowl to do the right thing with the resources until they're proven wrong.

*It's like in Men In Black where Will Smith is in the running to join the operation.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

A Government funded; secret vigilante whose selected based on his prior ability to carry out Government orders successfully.

That's a water tight plan.

Well... Sorta I mean it be an open secret. Civilians wouldn't know about it but government institutions like police forces would have orders to leave The Batman the fuck alone and not tell anyone about it. Anyone remotely involved with government would know the Batman was on the payroll, but generally the idea is to keep it hush hush because it inspired hope among the people and lets them sleep a little better at night.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

A Government funded; secret vigilante whose selected based on his prior ability to carry out Government orders successfully.

That's a water tight plan.

Well... Sorta I mean it be an open secret. Civilians wouldn't know about it but government institutions like police forces would have orders to leave The Batman the fuck alone and not tell anyone about it. Anyone remotely involved with government would know the Batman was on the payroll, but generally the idea is to keep it hush hush because it inspired hope among the people and lets them sleep a little better at night.

I wouldn't sleep better knowing there was a hardened soldier running around outside with a "Fuck Shit Up" pass; whose existence the Government denies and the Police are ordered to ignore.

Remotely involved with government? Someone working at the DMV or Work and Pensions would know?

Wheres the due process in all this BTW? Batman Court. Which sounds strangely appealing.

Well... okay yeah no one would know but the higher ups because the idea is they WANT the populace thinking it's one lone civilian taking matters into his own hands... in a semi responsible way. Sort of encouraging Neighborhood watches and plane doing the right thing.

Due process is he's capturing the bad guys and acquring the evidence for the police. He catches the bad guy and then calls them... or something... okay the idea falls apart but you get the idea. The criminals would still get their day in court, the point is that The Batman can get the evidence the police needs to prosecute the obvious bad guys.

Batman isn't going after some punk kid selling pot, understand, he's going after the drug lord that are bringing the shit into the country. The mafia, the pedophiles sharing pictures of exploited children online, real crimes.

...and maybe he roughs them up a bit, but he leaves them alive and for the police and DA.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

A Government funded; secret vigilante whose selected based on his prior ability to carry out Government orders successfully.

That's a water tight plan.

Well... Sorta I mean it be an open secret. Civilians wouldn't know about it but government institutions like police forces would have orders to leave The Batman the fuck alone and not tell anyone about it. Anyone remotely involved with government would know the Batman was on the payroll, but generally the idea is to keep it hush hush because it inspired hope among the people and lets them sleep a little better at night.

I wouldn't sleep better knowing there was a hardened soldier running around outside with a "Fuck Shit Up" pass; whose existence the Government denies and the Police are ordered to ignore.

Remotely involved with government? Someone working at the DMV or Work and Pensions would know?

Wheres the due process in all this BTW? Batman Court. Which sounds strangely appealing.

Well... okay yeah no one would know but the higher ups because the idea is they WANT the populace thinking it's one lone civilian taking matters into his own hands... in a semi responsible way. Sort of encouraging Neighborhood watches and plane doing the right thing.

Due process is he's capturing the bad guys and acquring the evidence for the police. He catches the bad guy and then calls them... or something... okay the idea falls apart but you get the idea. The criminals would still get their day in court, the point is that The Batman can get the evidence the police needs to prosecute the obvious bad guys.

Batman isn't going after some punk kid selling pot, understand, he's going after the drug lord that are bringing the shit into the country. The mafia, the pedophiles sharing pictures of exploited children online, real crimes.

...and maybe he roughs them up a bit, but he leaves them alive and for the police and DA.

 

[Twilight_guy]

No. Bruce Wayne is driven to a degree that no real person could ever achieve. Batman isn't an identity he puts on as he likes, its an identity that replaced his soul and became his being. Not to mention all the superpowers that batman usually shows that nobody notes. Such as his incredible luck, which saves him all the time, and his ability to always be in the right place at the right time. Also, his ability to change outfits in about 2 seconds.

 

[Erttheking]

Nah. People would ***** about it 24/7. Besides, the whole point of Batman is that he walks a very narrow line between hero and killer, we don't need someone like that sanctioned by the government.

 

[senordesol]

Chain of custody anyone? He could 'get' evidence to police? Gee, hope he doesn't manufacture any. So when the criminal gets his day in court and his lawyer asks "Where did you get this evidence?" Are they going to tell him Batman gave it to them?

Look, Batman is a nice cathartic IDEA, but the fact is: Crime and criminology isn't nearly as interesting in the comics as it is in real life.

Given that police and prosecutors with the whole of the crime fighting resources their city has to offer make mistakes, what's to say that your 'Batman' won't? What if he menaces an innocent -albeit shady- person regarding criminal activities they have no involvement with?

This unhinged, unregulated thug is going to become a source of fear for EVERYONE, not just the criminal element.

 

[EdwardOrchard]

Suppose in my made up scenario, the job is offered to the most highly skilled members of our military.

I wonder, why do you suggest giving this to a member of the military? I honestly cannot see any good reason to give that kind of position/power to a soldier... It doesn't make any sense, IMO.
I would sooner choose a police officer or even a firefighter. As a former soldier, I feel completely within my rights to say that there isn't a chance in hell I'd ever trust a member of the military with something like this.

 

[Lord Beautiful]

There's no chance in Hell I'm trusting the government to both use a Batman properly and keep proper control of it.

 

[WaysideMaze]

How about a government sponsored Judge Dredd instead?

 

[Thaluikhain]

Er...someone legally appointed to ignore incovenient laws?

You mean like an obsessive compulsive NSA? Yeah, people aren't complaining about homeland security overstepping its bounds enough.

 

[higgs20]

wouldn't make fiscal sense, for the money you'd have to spend on all the equipment v.s the amount of crime one man can stop per night you'd be better off with a larger number of worse trained , more poorly equipped crime fighters...like the police.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

Suppose in my made up scenario, the job is offered to the most highly skilled members of our military.

I wonder, why do you suggest giving this to a member of the military? I honestly cannot see any good reason to give that kind of position/power to a soldier... It doesn't make any sense, IMO.
I would sooner choose a police officer or even a firefighter. As a former soldier, I feel completely within my rights to say that there isn't a chance in hell I'd ever trust a member of the military with something like this.

Well mind you this is coming from me as a civilian, I imagine soldiers (marines, ectera) as would be least likely to go rogue and disobey direct orders from the government. Mind you this isn't a job they would offer to just anyone... plus in terms of training, a soldier would have more combat knowledge than a cop.

Now, you would obviously know better than me, why wouldn't I want a soldier in this role? ...Do I want to know? I've seen enough Zombie movies to know not to trust the armed forces completely, but I've always looked upon members of the armed forces in a rather favorably view. My sister is married to an Army guy, guys so docile and friendly I can't imagine him even taking a life.

Chain of custody anyone? He could 'get' evidence to police? Gee, hope he doesn't manufacture any. So when the criminal gets his day in court and his lawyer asks "Where did you get this evidence?" Are they going to tell him Batman gave it to them?

Look, Batman is a nice cathartic IDEA, but the fact is: Crime and criminology isn't nearly as interesting in the comics as it is in real life.

Given that police and prosecutors with the whole of the crime fighting resources their city has to offer make mistakes, what's to say that your 'Batman' won't? What if he menaces an innocent -albeit shady- person regarding criminal activities they have no involvement with?

This unhinged, unregulated thug is going to become a source of fear for EVERYONE, not just the criminal element.

Well.... again, Batman has a very fucking large degree of wiggle room, but he's only going after the big fishes. Even in the scenario he goes after an innocent that has absolutley NOTHING to do with the big fishes he's going to leave that innocent alive.

ideally though, if he's aiming high on the FBI's most wanted list he's not going to be going after people like me or you. And he's not unhinged and unregulated. The selective process to becoming Batman in this scenario is strict, and they have to answer for everything they do to the United States Government. This is an INCREDIBLY job with and INCREDIBLY degree of power it is not with out some sort of balance, ya know?

The idea is trying to have a government funded Batman that matches the ideal of the fictional character... we don't want some nut in a cape and cowl going around killing people.