Wednesday, July 26, 2017

My Problem With Batman

DISCLAIMER

The following thoughts are my own. Generally speaking, I don't believe in right or wrong when it comes to someone's taste or creativity. I, in no way, mean to offend anyone with my opinion of the subject matter, or on anyone else's thoughts on the topic.




I get why people like Batman, I really do. What is there not to like? He is the pinnacle of human achievement in nearly every way. He is in peak physical fitness. He is perhaps the world's most skilled fighter, with nearly every weapon. He has one of the sharpest intellects in the whole DC Universe. He has a vast, seemingly limitless fortune. He has gadgets for every situation that one could ever conceive of. His will is perhaps stronger than any creature alive, possibly surpassing the whole Lantern Corps put together. And, perhaps most importantly, he looks SO DAMN COOL!

He is also incredibly boring.

Shots fired, I know, but hear me out. Whenever I hear people complain about how boring Superman is, I almost always hear the same arguments, stating that he's "too powerful" and how "he can't lose". People love to rail against the godlike Kryptonian for all his powers, his squeaky clean morality, and his tired trope of being the last member of his race (kinda). But nearly every one of those arguments can be readily turned on the Batman himself, often to an even greater degree, yet any attempt to do so is met with immediate dismissal as a hater. Still, whether you don't want to hear it or not, each and every one of those points is doubly applicable to the Bat.

I'd argue that Batman is perhaps the most powerful character in the whole of the DC Universe, and is certainly godlike in his abilities. Batman NEVER loses, at least not in any meaningful way. People are always so quick to point out the various times he has been defeated, immediately bringing up times when his back was broken, when he lost his fortune, lost his entire home city, or even his life. The problem with that, in my opinion, is none of those consequences ever last, and more often than not, are quickly forgotten. Batman has been physically beaten so many times, and recovered, that the very concept of injury no longer applies to him. In a sense, he is every bit as invulnerable as Superman, and perhaps more so, simply because the process of being wounded has no real effect. If injuries have no meaning, how is it functionally different from invincibility? It certainly isn't any different in a narrative sense.

Also, it is interesting to note how, while Batman is very quick to beat and brutalize his opponents, he (in his modern form) has the same aversion to killing that Superman does. There are plenty of arguments that while Superman refuses to break society's laws, leaving punishment up to the systems in place, so too does Batman. Yes, he does, without a doubt, take the law into his own hands. But, he always turns people over to the police, so they can be tried and ultimately thrown into the revolving door Arkham. I'm not sure that Batman has broken any less laws than the Man of Steel, especially if you take into effect property damage or trespassing. In fact, I generally argue that superheroes as a whole don't really pay attention to the law, rather focusing on the areas where such rules fail to protect, but that topic is for a different time.

Superman is the last of his race, basically. Batman is certainly not. Not going to refute that. But, the impact of this "Last Son of Krypton" title I feel is nearly identical to Batman's murdered parents. Both characters feel that they are alone in the world, only letting a very small number of people in beyond their emotional walls. Both feel isolated in the world, and are often convinced that no one on the planet could truly understand them. That perceived isolation influences everything they do, and forms a large portion of the core of their characters. And, for those who like to point out that Superman was raised by the Kents, which balanced him out and made him part of the world community as a whole, didn't Batman have Alfred to perform the same function? While their methods and imagery might be different, I think, ultimately, a large portion of their psychology is the same.

One last thing to consider, back to the issue of Batman's inherent power, is he basically supernatural ability to prepared for every eventuality. So many story lines with Batman involve him breaking out some plan at the end, which surprise, he had sitting around for just this eventuality. Characters with the ability to see the future don't have as much foresight as the Bat, who is almost never caught completely unprepared. Often the worst it gets being that he doesn't have said contingency plan ready AT THAT MOMENT, requiring just a bit of time for him to tweak and roll out. Other times, it's simply a matter of getting to one of his omnipresent caches, or the Batcave itself, to get the gadget, to beat the villain, and save the day. If you take a step back from many of his story arcs, you can see a large portion of it is simply a delaying tactic before his secret plan works.

To be fair to old Batsy, I personally think the problem lies in the character's popularity rather than flaws in his design. He originally started out as just a rich vigilante, trying to stop petty crooks while he dealt with the trauma of losing his parents. It was only with the steady increase in his fandom that his strength continued to be amplified to a stunning degree. Arguably, Batman shouldn't be able to stand up to Superman in a fight, but he always does. Hell, most the time he comes out on top in his bouts with The Man of Steel, due to all the attributes already mentioned. The problem is that, if they want him to interact with all these other superheroes, many of whom are godlike in power, they need him to bring more to the table. Which is why they ultimately gave him the power of "always prepared", simply so that he can have just the right thing, at just the right moment, to save the day. That's what he does in any sort of Justice League scenario. He stands around, trying to "survive" the fight of gods around him, until that perfect moment for him to pull the ace from his sleeve.

I'm not saying I know a way to fix this issue. I would say they should kill him off, or give him some sort of serious change, but the fandom doesn't want that. They didn't take to Azrael, they didn't take to Robo Gordon, and they didn't take to any of Bat family assuming the mantle. They want their Bat just the way he is, supposedly mortal, but better than any of the gods he encounters.

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