Batman & Commissioner Gordon in Batman—Ethics in Local, State, and Federal Regulations for Business.
Superheroes add another dimension to the discussion of ethics. The story of Batman and Robin has withstood the test of time, moving from a comic book to a television series and through a series of motion picture movies. Batman, first introduced in 1939, has a 70-year old venue. The basic storyline revolves around a masked superhero named Batman, his young assistant Robin, and Commissioner Gordon. The trio set out to rid the world of numerous unscrupulous characters, such as the Joker, Catwoman, Bane, Harley Quinn, and the like. Each villain has their own creative path of destruction that Batman and Robin attempt to fend off with the ultimate goal of saving the world.
As Batman and Robin attempt to stop Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy from freezing Gotham City, the audience is always prepared for non-stop action and special effects. Ethically speaking, Batman and Robin look to maintain justice for the community and world. Mr. Freeze will freeze anything that gets in his way—no matter the cost to humanity.
Joker, on the other hand, attempts a social experiment where he hands two detonators over—one to each ferry driver. Joker tells each ferry driver that he or she has the power to blow up the other ferry. If the ferry drivers do not blow up the other ferry in a prescribed amount of time, the Joker states that he will blow both of them up.
Batman always seemed above the law when contemplating appropriate solutions to these dilemmas. Batman had an uncanny ability to maintain an aura as a detective in the space of “for the better of all.” Applying this thinking to modern-day ethics, if an individual puts on a mask and promises to better the interests of society, is this behavior ethically correct?
Batman used techniques such as kidnapping, extortion, blackmail, and assault, to name a few. One might suggest that lying to the public, while officials (Commissioner Gordon) secretly supported a law-breaking, crime-fighting activity, would be justifiable, which is a slippery slope to approach when the justification is “for its own good.” One of the more recent movies using technology showed Batman tapping into every cell phone in Gotham City in hopes of locating the Joker. With the ongoing discussion of behavioral tracking, identity theft, and privacy, Batman again approached an ethical wall.
Recognizing ethical issues within business seems to be at the forefront of ethical decision making. Commissioner Gordon seemingly did not recognize the ethical issues or possibly chose to ignore them. Business people constantly face ethical decisions in which they are asked to make the most ethically sound decision while also making the decision that is in the “best interests of the company.” The easier decisions are those where these two coincide, but more times than not, they do not line up, which causes disparity and potentially unethical business decisions, as demonstrated in the Batman shows. In today’s business world, lying to supervisors, falsifying records, alcohol/drug abuse, conflict of interest, and stealing or receiving unauthorized gifts are unfortunately common practice.
