When the villians are more sympathetic than the hero, you've failed. They should be at least equally sympathetic. For example: let's look at Spiderman. Despite me not liking Steve Ditko's Spiderman, I've seen Spiderman tv shows and movies and games. And you know what? I like the villians (I like Doctor Octopus, Mysterio and the rest), but Spiderman is a sympathetic character. His school life, his family life, he's relatable. So you can root for both him and enjoy the villians.
Not the case with batman. With possibly two main exceptions (Adam West's Batman and Batman: The Brave and The Bold), Batman puts me to sleep. His villians are compelling. Batman beats up the mentally ill for a living, and we call him a hero. What have Scarecrow, Riddler, Joker, Mr. Freeze, Two-Face and The Mad Hatter all have in common? Oh, yeah. Clear signs of mental illness!
And don't tell me batman can't fix this! Arkham could be replaced with a functional care facility, but batman doesn't want to fix it. I honestly think he gets some sick pleasure from beating up the mentally ill. I really do think that. And that's why I want batman dead. I would not trust him if he were a real person and I don't trust him as a fictional character.
PS: Also, Stan Lee gave marvel a better "voice" than DC. DC is boring and hard to want to read. Marvel feels fun, bombastic and exciting! DC just shot themselves in the foot repeatedly. Their characters back in the 50s and 60s mostly feel like cardboard cutouts to me. Not the case at marvel.
I have a toxic relationship with riddler from the arkham games, one second I’m like “I love him hes so silly!” and then the next I’m scream crying at the TV because I have 114 more riddles to solve