Batman is well-known for falling into the category of heroes who don't kill... but the truth of the matter is that he's bent this rule several times over the years. This is true in the comics, but also true in big-screen versions of the Caped Crusader, as you can see in the video below:
This supercut was put together by the YouTube channel Mr. Sunday Movies, and as you can see from the tally at the end, a total of 45 people have been killed at Batman's hand in the various live-action incarnations. Obviously the guy isn't exactly putting up Punisher numbers, but he basically still ranks as a serial killer.
Watching the various clips featured in this video, you'll probably notice that the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher era of movies was pretty loose on the whole "not killing idea," and that it was really Christopher Nolan who really enforced that aspect of the Dark Knight's character. Of course, this has led to a handful of controversies. First of all, in Batman Begins, Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne basically refuses to execute a criminal, and instead decides to kill a bunch of other people instead. There is also the rather bogus "I won't kill you, but I don't have to save you" line from the end of that same film, which gets a fantastic Michael Keaton Bruce Wayne reaction shot in the video:
Even after that point in the continuity, however, Batman still went on to kill a few truck drivers, Aaron Eckhart's Harvey Dent, and Marion Cotillard's Talia al Ghul. So was he really not that big on killing? The jury is out. At the very least fans can take solace in the fact that most versions of the Caped Crusader stick to the hero's famous "no guns" rule... well, except for the Nintendo game based on Tim Burton's 1989 Batman movie.
This is an interesting time to reflect on the Batmen of before, if not just because we are so close to seeing Ben Affleck's version of the great comic book hero in action. Will he be a killer, or will he not take that route? We'll just have to wait and see.
