Unlike other superheroes, Batman didn't inherit powers like Superman or get bit by a spider like Spiderman. Batman's undercover was Bruce Wayne, and American millionaire who of course had the charm and good looks of any superhero. When Batman was young, he witnessed the murder of his parents, and from then on was going to stop any crime in Gotham City. He decides to make his disguise a bat, to make any criminals fear him. In one version of the story, Batman is accompanied by his crime fighting partner, Robin and in the Batman movie is helped by his faithful butler Alfred, who helps him build the car. With Batman, he doesn't have any supernatural powers of his own, but instead uses his training and intellect. Not having any supernatural powers, but having money he builds expensive and sophisticated fighting gadgets. To stop the evil going on in Gotham City, he has to fight off several different bad guys, such as the Joker and the Sand Man.
Do you think that money makes Batman a superhero? What other qualities does he have that make him heroic? If money makes someone heroic then is Bill Gates a hero? Are members of congress?
ReplyDeleteYou've got an interesting start here, but I'd love to see more about what really makes Batman into a hero, can you think of any examples of Batman being particularly heroic or not?
Earlier today I was listening to a podcast about writing and they dissected the most recent Batman movie. They talked about how Batman wanted Harvey Dent to be the white knight but when Harvey would make decisions that tarnished his image it added tension to the relationship between him and Batman and ultimately led to Dent/Two-Face being such an interesting enemy.
Batman is one of these interesting characters who wants to do good and be the hero, despite the fact that he really wants to quit. Batman becomes this dark character (the dark knight as it were) because he is not like the other characters in the city, he has taken on this responsibility to make the world (or at least Gotham City) better and he goes about doing this in a rather dark way.
Is there anything specific about Batman that inspired you to write about him?
I think that part of it has to do with money. The only way Bruce Wayne was able to create "Batman," was because he inherited all the money from his parents death. Other superheroes just have a costume, and that's really their only disguise. Spiderman, for example, only has his web that he uses to get around the buildings and use as his weapon. Superman has his flying abilities and his vision that he was born with. On the other hand, Batman is much different. He didn't inherit any supernatural powers, but used his intelligence and physical abilities to make his car, his costume, and his batman weapons (those things he threw at a person that would stab them).
ReplyDeleteI would still have to say that Batman is heroic, because while he didn't have supernatural powers he used his brilliance and his own "scientific knowledge" as an advantage. While Batman is heroic and does everything in his ability to save Gotham City, he doesn't cocky about it and admits that Harvey is the hero in all of this. This is a quote i found on imdb.com:
Bruce Wayne: You know that day that you once told me about, when Gotham would no longer need Batman? It's coming.
Rachel Dawes: Bruce. You can't ask me to wait for that.
Bruce Wayne: It's happening now. Harvey is that hero. He locked up half of the city's criminals, and he did it without wearing a mask. Gotham needs a hero with a face.
I think what inspired me write about Batman was really just because I liked his story. And as I have mentioned before he didnt have supernatural powers but made use of what he had to help the people of Gotham City.