How to Write: Batman

Batman, the main protagonist in the series, may be the moat complicated and difficult to write. You see, the development that went into Batman's character goes very deep into his ideals and character specifically, instead of things like his technology or skills which are upgraded or taken to a deeper level less often. To be perfectly honest, some parts of his character will show more when combating specific characters. Some of his traits will show up more often than that. This is mostly due to the Rogues Gallery challenging different parts of his character, often resulting in that part of Batman's psyche to be questioned. Let's call this the NOBAT rule from now on. The NOBAT rule demands a lot of character to challenge if done right, so I'm sorry but this may take a while. Let's not waste any more time and start writing Batman.
Batman is not your typical hero. While technically after the greater good, he is much darker than heroes pike Spider-Man and Superman, and he fights to strike fear in the hearts of Villains rather than inspire hope into the hearts of civilians. Batman is terrifying, and he chooses to be. Despite all his weaponry, his greatest weapon is his mind. He not only knows how to manipulate others into fearing him, he also happens to be a master detective. In fact, he is considered the World's Greatest Detective by many. He is able to deduce and plan actions to such a great extent he can out-think almost any villain that comes his way.
I did mention he was a darker kind of hero, didn't I? This includes his general disposition. Emotional heroes like Wonder Woman and Scarlet Witch are great, but Batman is anything but. He very often hides his emotions, for many reasons. For one, if he shows what he cares about often it leads to Villains finding out new ways to hurt others in order to get to him. For another, UT exposes the part of him that is still a scared, crying child on the street, hugging his dead parents hoping they would magically sputter back to life. Deep down, he is scared. However, he's buried this so far down that he hardly even knows he is anymore. Even to his own children, he treats more like soldiers than family. Now that doesn't mean to not give the beloved Batfamily any heartwarming or heart-rending moments, but when writing a Batman story moments like those would be scarce. In other words, it's important to get those few emotional moments done right, otherwise you will have missed a big chance.

These are two very important things to get right, if you plan to write the Joker into your story--Batman's worldview and his one rule. Batman sees how corrupt and dark and cruel the world is. Us humans, are a sinning species. There is so much darkness. This is probably why he decided not to be a brightly colored vigilante whl hunts in daylight and spouts lines about hope and love. He fights fire with fire. He fights with fear because secretly he is afraid. All this blackness and the almost hopeless reality he lives in--especially in Gotham--are things he regularly denies. What I mean is, Batman still tells himself that things can be salvaged, saved. Of course, us loving the heroes, we want him to be true. But the important thing is a villain like the Joker opposes this viewpoint entirely, and would consider it as Batman lying to himself. The constant denial boils up inside of him as well, leading to him being a very brutal fighter. While he has one rule--we'll get back to in a minute--he has no problem breaking bones and hurting criminals who deserve it. If you get caught by Spider-Man, he might rough you up a bit and web you to a pole. If you get caught by Batman, you will have a brutal and extremely painful beat down before being dragged to the cops. That's where the fear comes from. He won't kill you. In some cases, you may beg for death. Batman is not a hero. He's a Guardian. He protects his city, and he does so with force. The other important topic is Batman's one rule. His one rule is to not kill. This seems a simple rule, but it goes a long way and very deep. Let's begin. Batman, a I've already said, is full of rage due to his denial, his past trauma, and his situation. His one rule keeps him in check. He may break your bones, but never snap your neck. He won't kill. That is the low he will not step to. It also keeps him in check because it keeps him from going on a downward spiral. As Joker knows, Batman had a very bad day and it crushed him. All Batman needs to do to break at this point would be to kill. It would be too easy. He would snap, and possibly turn out as crazy as Joker himself. He would kill again, and again, and again, and it would never stop. Just because he can keep his one rule does not mean it is easy. Having to deal with absolutely insane people every single night running on 4 hours of sleep must be tiring. Especially Villains like Penguin, Bane, Riddler, and Joker, who all have a fun time ticking Batman off. Have you ever seen one of the well-known and dramatic beat downs Batman gives Joker all the time? That is because he gets so rageful with all the cruelty Joker had done that he wants to break him to pieces. But repeatedly, he has to mae his oath over and over. As often as Joker destroys his life, makes everything worse for him and the people he loves in secret, he still cannot kill him. For example, imagine to yourself how he felt when the Joker killed Jason Todd, aka Red Hood and the for.er second Robin. His child was dead, he couldn't save him, and it was all Joker's fault. As a father, you can bet serious money he wanted to kill Joker. Painfully. Slowly. But he can't, because if he does, he becomes a monster. If he kills, he becomes Joker. So instead, he beats the living heck out of Joker because he is so angry, but he forces himself to hold back just enough for Joker to live. This one rule always is an interesting topic to discuss in any Batman story, game, book, etc.

I'm sure there are more things to discuss about the amazing not-so-heroic Batman, but I think it's also important to discuss his family first. I will explain more as I detail the Villains he faces and the people he protects, as they have so much to do with his character.