Recently Batman made PETA’s “Top 10 Animal-Friendly Superheroes” list — and let’s just stop and think for a second about anyone seeing the need for a “Top 10 Animal-Friendly Superheroes” list — presumably because his costume is not made from actual bats. But now the Caped Crusader is on their guano list! They’ve decided he’s not so animal-friendly after all. Why? Well, it’s all very logical:
Batman is an icon, a superhero genius that beats up gun-toting thugs using only his iron fist of justice-—KA-POW! He looks damn good in pleather while owning the streets, yet in The Dark Knight, he was punching out dogs left and right. Sure, it was self-defense, but doesn’t the man with the James Bond gadgets know anything about peanut butter treats and deflecting devices?
I had my problems with the wildly overrated Batman sequel, but I wasn’t bored enough to think the franchise should have ended with Bruce Wayne being eaten alive by attack dogs.
And hey, it’s not like he abducted them under the pretense of finding them good homes, killed them, and left their corpses to rot in a dumpster behind a Piggly Wiggly. Don’t worry, PETA: the Dark Knight ain’t bitin’ your style.
(Hat tip: Deceiver reader Ben Kalish)
P.S. Besides which, they don’t say a word about all the people, actual human beings, the Joker killed in the movie. Presumably PETA is all in favor of that. Fewer people means fewer threats to all the poor precious animals, right?
P.P.S. Bloggasm talked to Christine Doré, the PETA employee who wrote that blog post, and asked her to explain. She was somewhat less than illuminating.
OMFG… they’ve got to be kidding, right? I’m sure that the dogs in the movie were acting, for one. It’s not going to exactly inspire little junior to go home and punch Fido. I suppose Ol’ Yeller should have infected everyone with rabies and been a true super hero for killing half the community too. What a bunch of whack jobs these people are. And this with their record on killing adoptable, and presumably tame dogs that wouldn’t try to kill you.
Yeah, human life means nothing to PETA. They would join forces with the Joker in a heartbeat.
overrated? you bite your tongue.
You mean Bruce Wayne being eaten by wild dogs might have saved us from a third Batman movie? I thought Batman Begins was amazingly dull, and way to long. Besides, as a Caucasian-American I’m offended at the Joker running around in whiteface.
I was gonna ask for protection because I might have offended Batman fans but, well, you know…. They’re Batman fans.
There was a disclaimer at the end of the credits stating, “No animals were harmed in the making of this movie…….” Didn’t PETA sit there till the end of the credits like I did? :o)
Well, if the dogs had it coming…
PETA really hates my favorite super hero…Johny Knoxville in his meat suit. Sing it with me, “Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da - medium well!!”
Here we go; PETA is, once again, latching on the newest “Hot Thing” to preach. As if we need their moral compass for EVERYTHING in our life…
The only thing that will save us from a third Batman movie is if Christian Bale gets a realllly long sentence for bashing his Mum. In that case, they would have to find someone who hasn’t played Batman yet to replace him! (Waiting for the DVD rental)
I think their point would be that the mere depiction of harming animals is wrong. The depiction of harming people… ehhhhh, not so much.
I love the fact that PETA folks are honestly saying that in a dark, gritty, adult themed action movie, the hero should be toting around a little gun that shoots doggie treats. Realism and mood and plot be damned.
So PETA wants Adam West, basically. Holy Bat Shark Repellent! Holy Bat Biscuit Gun! Thank god I knew there would be attack dogs today.
Then again, Adam West let dolphins sacrifice themselves to save him…
Also love the big beef with some folks because of the *choice* of dog. Basically the whole “we’re stereotyping Rots as killers” again. I know, how DARE a movie suggest that those dogs can be trained to attack on command? I wonder if that camp of folks would have been happier if they’d trained not-stereotypical dogs to attack. Like, Batman gets swarmed by Dalmatians.
Well, maybe Batman can get back in PETA’s good graces if, in the next sequel, Batman breaks up a cockfight.
omg zorg.. i love johnny knoxville too! and by law i don’t think you can harm animals in movies.. if PETA doesn’t know that, then wow. no animals were harmed in the movie and it’s time to move on.. i’m sure PETA has better things to worry about!
You know, I am very active in working against breed bans. Not an issue I am willing to discuss here, but for the record, let’s just say that I don’t believe in vicious dogs, just vicious owners. If I felt like being offended by attack dogs in movies, I could be. But you know… it’s a movie! Make believe! And reality is that people do not train Pomeranians to kill…though that would be interesting to see.
katie, they really don’t!
No body but a moron would actually believe that animals were harmed in making this movie. Obviously, PETA people are less intelligent than morons. If PETA believes that someone is going to hurt an animal because of the movie, then PETA is dumber than dogsh*t. People will hurt animals regardless of a movie, TV show, radio program, or book. PETA needs to wise up and get off its sanctimonious high horse … before it breaks the horse’s back.
Phoenix–how about pit beagles?
“I know, how DARE a movie suggest that those dogs can be trained to attack on command? I wonder if that camp of folks would have been happier if they’d trained not-stereotypical dogs to attack. Like, Batman gets swarmed by Dalmatians.”
I love it - Batman meets 101 Dalmatians.
Jenn- that makes me wonder if PETA protested 101 Dalmatians because it gave people the idea to turn dogs into coats. I mean, I know I wouldn’t have thought of it otherwise.
Llamasrule- pit beagles. Totally! I can’t come up with a better one, sadly.
Seriously, I know that Rots get stereotyped, but that’s kinda the point here. These rots were being trained by Gotham MAFIA, for lack-of-god’s sake. Did PETA ever think that the movie was saying that only sick mafia types would have attack dogs?
My thought for the day- if PETA hates that Bats was beating up doggies, but not that the Joker was killing people left and right, they should lobby for the next movie to feature brainwashed attack toddlers instead of dogs. I’d just like to see that campaign.
“Wildly overrated”? Are you kidding me? This was one of the most amazing movies I have seen. You’re definitely in the minority w/ your opinion. I smell a posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger. It is certainly warranted.
Not really a problem.
Simon Scowl: I’m in your minority. I, too, believe that “The Dark Knight” is wildly over-rated. Please, don’t get me wrong; it’s a good film — possibly a great film — but it’s no “Citizen Kane” or “Casablanca”. At the risk of getting flamed to a crackly crisp, I’m not overly impressed Heath Ledger. Yeah, it’s too bad that he died so young but that is no reason to go nuts over his rendition of The Joker.
It wasn’t awful or anything, but I kind of wanted to hit the pause button about halfway through and come back to it later.
Pit-beagles!!! That’s awesome, llamasrule, especially having known a mix of exactly that kind once, long ago when I worked with animals. And trust me, whatever you think it would look like, it’s even funnier looking than that!
We bred beagles for a short time, and once 2 of the pups got into it. They were about 6 weeks old and they growled and slobbered and barked and actually had each other by the scruff of the neck, the throat, everything. It went on for about 10 or 15 minutes (NO blood drawn) and then we had to separate them. They were full-blood beagles, but the term pit beagle was born then. We thought there might have been money to make on the idea, but never pursued it, LOL.
Awwww, llamasrule! There is a special place in my heart for that breed. One of my dogs is half Beagle, half mystery woman (no Pit, though - darn!). That’s funny, though, that they were doing that at six weeks old!
We had Lab-Beagle mixes at one time, too. They looked like little black beagles. Awwww!
I think mine might have some Lab or Jack Russell in her, though her legs are Staffy like. It’s hard to say. We’ve never been able to figure out anything but the Beagle part. She has a Beagle voice too. You know what that’s like! Your Lab-Beagle mixes sound adorable, though!
Love that beagle voice!
Wait, this just got more confusing- so PETA goons think Batman should have distracted the doggies with biscuits, right? But at no point do they protest that the bad guys had trained attack dogs in the first place, when one of PETA’s things is that animals are not for us to train and use for our own ends. Including guide dogs, service dogs, zoo animals, and pets. Funny how they don’t actively protest movies showing THAT as acceptable…maybe because they don’t want all their animal loving/pet owning monetary contributers to remember that they’re supporting a group that would take their pets away?
I mean, if PETA was consistent (ha! just shot milk out my nose) wouldn’t they protest every adorable kids movie featuring pets or zoo animals?
Wouldn’t you punch something that bit you? Peta needs to worry about real problems. Great movie or not, the fake hero from the fake place doesn’t attack real dogs. idiots, suffer your own brains.
The more and more that PETA puts anything in the media, the less creditable they become. I mean seriously who the cares what they think about fictitious characters.
The hypocrisies they spew undoes any potential they could do.
This is exactly why I don’t like Peta anymore!
So they’re telling us that if an angry Rottweiler was coming at you, that a PEANUT BUTTER TREAT would sway them from attacking you? Ya f*ing right.
They don’t want kids to think kicking dogs is cool…but perhaps they want kids to pack Milkbones incase an angry Pitbull comes charging at them??!
I hope Peta gives it a rest!
Of course Wonder Man gets #1 because he was pimping for PETA. Meanwhile, Animal Man is over there to the side helping animals from all over the dang place. Not only on Earth, but from other galaxies. I’d say that Buddy Baker deserves to be #1, personally.
Also, I just had another thought: What about Krypto? He’s a dog. Hey, he’s got a whole legion of super-critters he hangs out with.
I find it mostly hilarious that WOLVERINE is number 2 on the list. You can tell these people don’t really have any knowledge of these comics, it’s just things they hear about specials or whatever that feature them saving kittens or some such nonsense. Wolverine as a character is a hunter who regularly goes out to hunt deer with nothing but his bare hands (clawing them to death that is), and has absolutely no scruples about killing animals when attacked (the same reason they took batman off that list), there’s been plenty of scenes of him ripping apart dogs, bears, elk, and all assortment of animals in comics.
I also think if Wolverine was asked about his opinion on Peta, he’d call them pussies.