^I'm not talking about what the fictional construct called Batman did, I'm talking about the creative choices the screenwriters, producers, and executives made. They chose to filter a superhero premise through a more conventional action-movie formula. That's my point. The very fact that they made the Joker into the Waynes' murderer makes that crystal-clear. It's not something that has ever been true in the comics. It has nothing to do with the comics. It is the stock action-movie trope of a protagonist seeking personal vengeance against the villain. Historically, up until recent years, studio executives haven't understood comics or been fans of them. They just understand the conventions of past movies, so when they acquire a superhero property, they filter it through more standard action-movie patterns, which is why we get so many stories about superheroes saving themselves (e.g. Fantastic Four) or pursuing vengeance (e.g. Batman) or saving their love interests (e.g. every single Spider-Man movie) rather than just plain fighting crime because it's the right thing to do.
This is one thing the first two Reeve Superman movies got right -- Superman wasn't just dealing with his own personal concerns, but was acting selflessly on behalf of the public. He did have some personal stakes, like Lois's demise in the first film, but it was a sideline to the more expansive clashes between the villains' destructive schemes and Superman's attempts to protect the people. Superman II even showed Superman's pursuit of his personal agendas as something that interfered with his heroics and needed to stay secondary.
