Batman is referred to as a vigilante. Vigilantism can be defined as enforcing the law through investigation and/or punishment without legal authority to do so.
Bruce Wayne lives alone (almost), shut off from society with his money. His attitude alone paints him in enough light to be considered as antihero as his behaviour does. There's a reason they call him The Dark Knight. He's not their knight in shining armour, he's their flawed, reluctant antihero.
Bruce Wayne's entire reason for becoming a vigilante is to strike fear into the hearts of criminals and bring them to justice. Yet, he can't go out fighting crime as he is.
An anti-hero is a central character of a story who lacks traditional characteristics that are associated with a conventional hero. While typically guided by the best of intentions, the anti-hero is a classically flawed character with a history of bad decisions and a questionable moral code.
Steig's Shrek has been described as an antihero who represents someone who is different and is happy with it. When his parents kick Shrek out of his swamp, he is forced to embark on a trip to resolve issues over his subjectivity.
Joker's Turn to Anti-Hero Has Been a Long Time Coming
Way back in 1975 Joker even acted as Batman to defend Gotham from Two-Face, while it may have been for selfish reasons, the end result was he stopped a crime while Batman wasn't available to do so.
He never trusted the law because of it's corruption. Batman is also known for brutalizing the criminals and even crippling some but refuses to kill them. Basically all superheroes are vigilantes because they take the law into their own hands. Doesn't matter if they have powers or not.
The Joker is a clown-themed criminal/vigilante operating in Gotham. Initially a patient at Arkham Asylum known as "John Doe", Joker became an ally to Bruce Wayne while he was incarcerated at the asylum.
Just about every criminal in Gotham City knows to fear Batman. He has spent years cultivating his symbol into something that strikes fear into the hearts of criminals. This not only makes them easier to fight, but it also discourages them from even breaking the law.
Deadpool (real name is Wade Wilson), is a comic book character in the Marvel Universe published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Rob Leifeld in 1991. Deadpool began as a villain but is currently being used as an anti-hero and in his own comic book series he ended as a good guy.
Ultimately, the anti-hero does the right thing, but not necessarily for the right reasons. Whereas the anti-villain does the wrong thing, but their reasons are often understandable. And the villain is there to make life hard for your protagonist every step of the way.
In the DC Universe, there are many anti-heroes who oscillate between villainy and heroism. They rely on brutal techniques to take down their enemies, and they don't mind collateral damage. After years of switching back and forth, however, some of these anti-heroes need to pick a side and stick with it.
Batman's lack of superhuman abilities makes him especially vulnerable to physical trauma, as his body cannot withstand continuous beatings without severe consequences. Batman's past trauma and lack of emotional healing make him easily manipulated by his enemies, who use his fears and personal losses against him.
Despite his status as a hero, in some adaptations Batman has been depicted as an anti-hero or even as a villain in question, specifically taking into account the vast DC Multiverse, where there are multiple Earths with different versions of Batman who have different origins and characterizations.
Bane has a great deal of respect for Batman; this isn't a secret, the two have fought many times and even become allies at one point. Bane would even take up the mantle of Batman at a later date, when Bruce is once again not around.
Though originally a villain and enemy of the Batman, she has ended her relationship with the Joker and continued a career as an anti-heroic vigilante, and even teams up with the Dark Knight and the Bat Family on several occasions.
Batman was originally introduced as a ruthless vigilante who frequently killed or maimed criminals, but evolved into a character with a stringent moral code and strong sense of justice. Unlike most superheroes, Batman does not possess any superpowers, instead relying on his intellect, fighting skills, and wealth.
No other superhero exemplifies this characteristic quite like Batman. Fear is a key component of Bruce Wayne's transformation into Batman, giving audiences a deeper sense of connectivity and empathy for him, placing him in the role of the antihero.
His adoptive parents advised him to use his powers for the benefit of humanity, and he decided to fight crime as a vigilante. To protect his personal life, he changes into a colorful costume and uses the alias "Superman" when fighting crime.
While Batman's intentions are always good, the way he goes about it is often brought into question. By definition, Batman is not a “hero” as the majority of his actions are done outside the law, but that doesn't mean that some don't see him as a hero.
An antihero does terrible things or things that put them at odds with society, and so they are painted by the majority as a villain. But they aren't! Make sure you know their more noble qualities too. Are they doing terrible things for a good reason?
He seems to slowly regress back to his "good" side in season 4, however is once again overtaken by his Riddler persona and continues operating as a criminal. In season 5, he appears as an antihero, and later teams up with the hero characters to fight against Bane's forces taking over Gotham.
