All memes aside, THIS is Batman. The classic, most ideal, most altruistic version of the character. He struggles with darkness within the world and himself, but he cares. His actions are driven by his heart. He’s a hero.
HE CARES. He’s not the Punisher. He doesn’t fight crime because he loves violence or because he’s Mr. Law & Order. He understands that crime hurts people, and that’s why he fights it. Not just because it’s The Right Thing, but because he cares about improving people’s lives. He’s not driven by vengeance. He’s driven by compassion.
This is the man who invests in new jobs and better infrastructure, because he understands that rebuilding communities is crucial to helping the people of Gotham. He understands that the poor aren’t lazy or criminal but instead being taken advantage of by a system that doesn’t care about them, so he uses his wealth and resources to help his city, not caring what profit he makes, because it’s about helping people. It’s always about how much he cares for humanity. He sees light in people, even misguided ones. He believes no one is ever past redemption. Batman doesn’t exist to punish, enforce, or frighten — he exists to help and redeem and persevere in his quest to find goodness in the world and other people.
"Kate Kane's costume exists because Paul Dini wanted to dunk Barbara Gordon in a Lazarus Pit in the 90s but shelved it because Denny O'Neil told him to knock it off and leave her alone" is the kind of story you hear three shots in and think is a joke, but no. it actually happened
When I was 7, maybe 8, I remember seeing Harley Quinn for the first time on TV. I was so in love with her design that I spent hours with scissors and tape trying to make her jester hat, pom-poms and all. It looked terrible, admittedly, but that was kind of my first foray into cosplay and fandom, and that’s really special to me.
So thank you to the wacky woman out of Washington who brought one of the best parts of our childhoods to life. She will be deeply missed.
Sometimes, perfection is achieved in media. And BtaS was one such show. For decades now people have tried to reach this level of perfection in Batman, and fallen short. No one could touch this man. There will never be another Kevin Conroy.