Who Won’t Batman Kill?

[Chukchi Husky]

The Adam West Batman once fought against a personification of women's rights.

The best part is that as a billionaire, he could easily "fix" Gotham if he really wanted to. How much does the ba mobile cost ? What's the upkeep on his bat cave ? He could found a private university and hand out scholarships, found businesses that employ people, and simply pay off some of the mob bosses to leave town.

In the Adam West Batman, Bruce Wayne is the head of the Wayne Foundation, which is a charity that helps to rehabilitate criminals, helps in education and gives money to the poor of Gotham.

 

[Traitorfish]

The real fantasy in Batman is that a one-man corporation on the scale of Wayne Enterprises could actually exist. It's something you get a lot in comics: huge, multinational conglomerates that are somehow owned and controlled by a single Captain of Industry. It's capitalism as understood by a nine-year-old.

 

[Broken_Erika]

The real fantasy in Batman is that a one-man corporation on the scale of Wayne Enterprises could actually exist. It's something you get a lot in comics: huge, multinational conglomerates that are somehow owned and controlled by a single Captain of Industry. It's capitalism as understood by a nine-year-old.

Well, these characters were originally created for comics aimed for kids around that age.....

 

[Traitorfish]

Well, these characters were originally created for comics aimed for kids around that age.....

And in 1939, when industrial barons were endangered but not quite extinct. It's just, when we're trying to pitch these things as grown-up modern cinema, it begins to stick out a bit.

 

[Cutlass]

The real fantasy in Batman is that a one-man corporation on the scale of Wayne Enterprises could actually exist. It's something you get a lot in comics: huge, multinational conglomerates that are somehow owned and controlled by a single Captain of Industry. It's capitalism as understood by a nine-year-old.

In none of the versions of Batman I've seen is Wayne Enterprises a one man operation. And neither is Bruce Wayne actually running the corporation. He's the primary owner, and as such has a lot of access to the company's resources. But he's not actually running the company. In a few cases the stories introduce the CEO/board of directors. Who are the people actually running the company. And they introduce the wayne Enterprises chief science boffin, who helps equip Batman. But I've never seen a version which gets anywhere into how the company is run even as deeply as the Iron Man movies did for Stark Enterprises.

As for one man ownership of a corporation with that level of resources, I give you the example of Koch Enterprises. In which 2 men own 84% of a company with $115+billion in annual revenue. Either of the Koch's have more than enough money, and access to company resources, to be a batman. If, that is, they weren't busy being Ernst Blofeld instead.

 

[Commodore]

I really couldn't understand how anyone would think that Tony Stark wasn't the villain here.

Agreed. When I saw Iron Man 2, I was thinking "how is the government the bad guy here?" When a corporate entity designs and manufactures a weapon system that is more advanced than anything the government currently has, the government certainly has the right to requisition that weapon system from that corporate entity.

 

[FriendlyFire]

Agreed. When I saw Iron Man 2, I was thinking "how is the government the bad guy here?" When a corporate entity designs and manufactures a weapon system that is more advanced than anything the government currently has, the government certainly has the right to requisition that weapon system from that corporate entity.

Iam pretty sure Warmachine, is the US government militarized version of the Iron man suit

 

[Cutlass]

Iam pretty sure Warmachine, is the US government militarized version of the Iron man suit

Yeah, but War Machine ends up freelancing too. So the government doesn't have full control of it.

 

[Gori the Grey]

The real fantasy in Batman is that a one-man corporation on the scale of Wayne Enterprises could actually exist. It's something you get a lot in comics: huge, multinational conglomerates that are somehow owned and controlled by a single Captain of Industry.

The Trump Organization is evidently essentially a mom and pop operation.

By which I do not mean to contest your claim that

It's capitalism as understood by a nine-year-old.

 

[BvBPL]

But I've never seen a version which gets anywhere into how the company is run even as deeply as the Iron Man movies did for Stark Enterprises.

I would point you to the excellent "Batman, Incorporated" run.

Agreed. When I saw Iron Man 2, I was thinking "how is the government the bad guy here?" When a corporate entity designs and manufactures a weapon system that is more advanced than anything the government currently has, the government certainly has the right to requisition that weapon system from that corporate entity.

I think the Bill of Rights might disagree.

 

[Commodore]

I think the Bill of Rights might disagree.

It actually doesn't. As long as the government pays the corporate entity a fair price for whatever it is they are trying to requisition, then everything is nice and legal. It would fall under Eminent Domain which, as I'm sure you are aware, is the compulsory sale of private property (not just land) to the government for public use.