First off, I should note that I reject one of the original premises of this review, namely, that Leslie and Alfred are Bruce's "parents," or parent figures.
Bruce's parents are Thomas and Martha Wayne. Their death created Batman. It was the loss of even parent substitutes that, to a large extent, allowed Bruce to engage in his obsessive quest to become Batman.
Had Leslie and Alfred acted as actual parents to Bruce he would have probably been able to adjust to the loss of the Wayne's and grown up well adjusted.
Also, as an aside, I really, really, hate this whole Byrne-like "Retcon" that says Leslie was anything other than a social worker who happened to show kindness to Bruce for a brief period in his life. But that's another review.
In regard to your argument that
Quote:
After a short discussion, where she admitted her wrong, and voiced her own disgust with herself, Batman told her to never return to Gotham, and to never practice medicine again.
Batman's response was cold, and in a way, very evil. Instructing a doctor to never practice her trade because she chose to withhold medical care from a patient seems just, and yet, it denies the world of a great doctor who would be looking to atone for her sin for the rest of her life. Batman took away her ability to atone.
If anything, Bruce's reaction was too kind. Leslie admitted to being a murderer. The Batman brings murderers to justice. He could have, and should have, had her arrested the same as the Penguin, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze or any other killer he confronts, and let the criminal justice system decide what to do with her, a system which would have, most likely, both prevented her from practicing medicine AND locked her up in prison.
Using your logic, Bruce should have let Mr. Freeze go, to give the world a brillian scientist who might have atoned. He should let Harvey Dent go, to give the world a brilliant attorney. But he doesn't, and not just because those people are crazy. But because he's not the one to judge that.
You're right that the ending did harm to Bruce's character, but for the oppopsite reasons you state.
