» Thu May 03, 2012 12:01 pm Batman has always been popular, from his early days as a comic hero to his recent celebrity status as a star of the blockbuster films by Christopher Nolan. What really makes Batman what it is? Some would say its the setting, the Art Deco, dark and seedy Gotham City. Others would say it is his split identity as playboy Bruce Wayne or heroic Batman. Even more would say that it is the unique and devilish villians that truly make Batman what it is. This combination provides us with many views of the Dark Knight and the world that he protects. However for me it is a different opinion that makes Batman far superior to any other fictional character.
My first opinion is that of what has made Batman what he is and that is of course the many different authors,artists and directors who have given their own personal flavor to the character. Over the years Batman has come to represent many different personalities and artistic visions. This makes him an abstract vision of what makes an ideal hero for many different walks of life. Just think of the many time periods that Batman has gone through. He is everchanging and evolutionary but always remains a beacon of hope no matter the time or place in which he appears.
He is a thankless hero, a defender of a city that often does not deserve such a figure. He resides in a world of greed, a world of of prosperity, where the rich and the impoverished are clearly seperated by the areas they inhabit. It is an environment that breeds the criminals and supervillians that oppose the righteous and peaceful world which Batman upholds. Some would say that Gotham does not deserve saving, that they do not deserve a defender and it is this that I feel makes Batman such an enigmatic hero. You see Gotham is a world much like our own, filled with people who are ignorant of the troubles that effect the less fortunate. Going on with their daily lives is not a priveledge to them as it is to those constantly effected by crime, drugs, poverty and manipulation by forces of power. The citizens of Gotham are much like the middle and upper class,classes whose problems are first world like and dissimilar from those who live their lives and fear of death and destruction. And yet Batman defends them. Not only does he defend them, but he does so without superpowers. He uses his wealth and training, like a modern day Robinhood, to protect them. They do not recognize or appreciate him and yet he protects them. But Batman does not kill or hate the people he attacks, he incapacitates them, gives them a second, third or fourth chance. For he also understands that it is the people he protects that have allowed these criminals to come to fruition. He understands that the wealth and greed of those more fortunate that breeds the chaous and disillusionment of the lower class. Whose only option is to turn to a life of crime or find themselves a victim of the streets. Batman sees this because he is a member of both classes, priveledged since birth but taking to the streets in order to survive. He embodies the spirit of all of them but was strong in mind and body to fight for the forces of good. It is this that makes Batman a hero.
Read or not, I want this to be a discussion of Batman. Pretty much anything, from favorite villians, to movies, to comics. This thread can be as diverse as the Batman universe itself.,
