Are Thomas and Martha Wayne the real villains of the Batman story?

[Chazmatazz269]

For teaching Bruce a faith in and love for an irredeemably corrupt city that would eventually destroy their only son.

[NamerOfStars]

Not in the least. Yeah, it ended very badly for them, but they were at least TRYING to make the city a better place, rather than just running away, like their wealth would've let them. Ensuring their son held a loyalty to the city was their best chance of seeing their efforts to fix things outlast their own lives- which they did.

[OddBeMe]

In that sense, every parent is wrong for teaching children faith and love. Which is true. Why should we teach them to love something absolutely like a god? Thats ridiculous.

[Chazmatazz269]

I disagree. I don’t see harm in teaching children faith and love in GOOD things and GOOD people. If you believe in God, that’s as “good” as it gets. But Gotham is a cesspool, and they knew it. I wonder if they could have known what it would end up doing to him, if they’d taught him the same lessons.

[OddBeMe]

Define good. And how did bruce’s parents get gotham wrong? Thats the point that there was more “good gothamites” than bad.

[OddBeMe]

My point is its wrong to be absolutist about anything.

[Chazmatazz269]

The number of good people is meaningless though, if they’re doing nothing. Throughout the history of the comics, Batman battled villains, corrupt cops and corrupt politicians with very little help. The number of good people trying to make things right were greatly outnumbered by bad people and people doing nothing. It may not be an absolute, but no military strategist in the world over the last 1400 years would have waged that war with those resources.

[OddBeMe]

Sure, but I guess thats moral dilemma. But what would you do? Destroy all the inhabitants of a city? Good and bad?