I watched 'The Dark Knight' today.  It's a fantastic film.  I recommend it.

Batman has always been my favorite superhero.  Even the travesty of 'Batman and Robin' gets a pass from me.  Put Batman in the title of a film and I'll watch it, no questions asked.

I've had the Batman vs. Superman argument a time or two.  Superman would win the battle, of course.  But he's not that compelling.  Superman can only be killed by some chemical, the likes of which doesn't occur on Earth.  There's no suspense or question of his success.  Superman is effectively a god among insects.

Batman is a human.  Bullets and knives are deadly to him.  He gets hurt and knows that a bus could run him over at any moment.  His utility belt doesn't protect him from RPGs.

The big point people like to make is that Superman wears Clark Kent as a costume.  He's actually Superman.  Clark Kent is the alter ego.  Superman's mythology makes him a secret hero among men as we all wish we were.

I think it's fair to argue that Batman does the same.  Only he's actually human.  Batman rides the wave of depravity and insanity.  Bruce Wayne is a facade.  Bruce only exists for Batman's sake.  More importantly, Bruce exists for the trust fund's sake.

I think of Batman as the John Wayne of the modern age.  He's a slave to the human condition as we all are.  The purely altruistic hero doesn't exist.  The guy that does the right thing in spite of his desire to drink and smash and shoot is extremely human.  Batman would load up his M16 and blast dirty fuckers into oblivion if he thought it would be right, but he doesn't.  Batman knows restraint.  Batman does separate himself from the beasts.

I guess, the short version of this post is that Batman understands that people need a rough man to do violence on their behalf so they can sleep easy in their beds.  (Yeah, I'm paraphrasing.)  He's just the man to do it.

Posted by: roggowj at 09:31 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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