So as Promised here is another revision of my work. Feel free to view at your leisure.
-cheers
Craig Knight
Submission 1
March 10, 2012
Over the past 70
years, comic books and superheroes have been an enduring tribute to the ever-changing
heroic ideal. These characters that boldly defended truth, justice and the
equally evolving American way, have attempted to follow the same script handed
down since the their inception. This ideal that was spawned in the early days
of good vs. evil has grown more and more nebulous with each coming age. In the early days of the medium known as the
Golden Age[1],
the superhero’s goal was strait forward because it was aligned with the
nation’s aim of defeating fascism.
Hero’s like Captain America, Superman and Wonder Woman donned the colors
of the flag as they pummeled German soldiers and other villains who threatened
the security of American citizens.
During this stage in the development of comics, evil was simple, neatly
packaged and ideal propaganda against real life enemies abroad. In the 1950’s however, the end of World War
II and the allies’ victory left a void where the need for such heroes once
thrived. Few titles survived this
dilemma except Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. Ironically, their most epic battles have been
with aging fans that push them to continually prove their relevance[2]. Current
writers in this genre such as Frank Miller, Brian Azzarello and Ed Brubaker are
attempting to yet again redefine the superhero in response to this aging group
of comic book readers [quant data will verify this] that have over the years
become more mature and more skeptical. In the Golden Age, comic book writers strived
to pinpoint the vivid contrast between the hero and his nemesis. For example, heroes like Superman were always
given socially redeeming characteristics such as unblemished integrity and a
pleasant disposition separating him from his counterpart Lex Luthor who often
showed disdain for the weak and less fortunate. But recent trends in the genre
have highlighted super heroes’ personality flaws. Today’s artists and writers
have risen to the challenge of capturing these nuances making them more
appealing mature fans who are now between 30 to 50 and aware of their own
mortality. Historically, Homer’s
depiction of Odysseus as an adulterer and Jesus’s temptations have revealed
that fallibility has always been a vital part of the male hero archetype. And virtue
and evil have always been choices. But
do these choices always serve the greatest good? In the modern age of comics attempts at
answering this question abound. In recent years, Batman comics, films and video
games have been among them.
My interest and
the topic of this thesis are in Batman’s current relevance as an American icon.
I believe that much of his significance is in his imperfections and
contradictions as a character. I will admit that much of the appeal for me is
that he is a hero without superpowers. This
flaw is in many ways his greatest advantage.
In many of the Batman stories both old and new, his lack of special
abilities has caused many to underestimate him.
His ability to both accept and transcend this flaw unleashes a larger
theme of human potential and its enduring appeal. His lack of superhuman strength, speed or
flight is merely a vehicle for him to explore the greatest superpower of all, human
achievement, but not just on a physical level. The intrigue of Batman as a hero lies in the
part of him that may be over looked, his alter ego Bruce Wayne. Wayne’s life is often shown as a mere
distraction to the real story that is Batman.
But the most fascinating thing about him is that the things that make
him a hero are steeped in his own humanity. There are four major components
that are in my opinion vital to the Batman mythos. His heroic status is contingent upon wealth,
regret, intelligence and will. Although
these qualities leave much to be desired when considering the merits of a hero,
they are instrumental in his sustainability as a bona fide crusader for his own
dark version of justice, which is separated by a thin line that borders revenge. Over the years, these qualities have become
the Batman character’s own brand of heroic virtues which set him apart from the
likes of other heroes such as Superman who has traditionally depicted the
consummate boy scout of the comic book world.
Also, these are the key components that contribute his dark appeal,
which was later explored by Frank Miller and others. These qualities could be
viewed as firebrands or instruments of torture that have seared their mark on
his soul driving his motivations nearly into the darker realm of anti-hero. But with all of the darkness he presents, his
own brand of morality has also kept him from going completely to that place. In
essence, Batman has all of the qualities of a boogey man for justice who
inspires fear in his enemies without inflicting the ultimate sentence of death.
This is because Wayne the real hero keeps him grounded as he presumably enjoys
all of the frivolities of his wealth by day and fights the forces that resent
him by night. However, he does not fight
anyone’s legal pursuit of these very same frivolities, proving the point that
his job as a hero is both difficult and complex.
Conflicting
Symbols: Bruce Wayne Vs. The Bat
Many
fans would agree that the origin of Batman is one of the most interesting of
all superheroes. Other comics like
Marvel Comics’ Daredevil, and Spiderman to name a few have all followed the
formula of tragic deaths forging their characters in to avengers for justice. But none of these heroes wear their angst
quite like Batman. The impact on Bruce Wayne’s psyche and its most pronounced
symptom, brooding seriousness is vividly contrasted to Spiderman’s wit after
the loss of his uncle Ben and Daredevil’s dashing demeanor in spite of the loss
of his father. Even Batman’s sidekick
Robin insists on seeing the lighter side of things especially while on the job
of crime fighting. Batman on the other
hand takes on a different persona.
Because he blames his self for not being able to save his parents, he is
in constant battle with his conscience. In his book Super Heroes: A Modern
Mythology, Richard Reynolds illustrates Bruce Wayne’s decision to become a
symbol of fear to battle both his demons and the crime element in Gotham City.
He decides to don the symbol of a bat, a creature of the night, when a bat
flies through his window while he sits brooding in his father’s study. He views this as a definitive omen and says
the famous words from Batman 47[3];
‘Criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot, so I must wear a costume that
will strike terror into their hearts! I must be creature of the night, like a…a
…A Bat! (Reynolds 67) Although this decision by modern standards might seem a
bit corny, it is clear that Bruce Wayne’s decision to become a bat was a direct
cause of profound angst that could only be alleviated by taking action. So another major appeal of his character is
that although he is just a mortal man, he is more capable than anyone in Gotham
City to make such an absurd idea a reality.
Tony Spanakos in the book Batman
and Philosophy: The Dark Knight of the Soul
offers the view that:
Gotham [City], particularly its
government, is the source of Batman’s angst. Thomas and Martha Wayne [his
parents] were murdered because the state was incapable of maintaining law and
order, and Bruce Wayne’s response was to become the crime-fighting Batman,
trying to correct the lack of order in his city. Though extreme, this reaction is not
unique. Nearly all of the major
characters in the Batman pantheon are reacting against a state that is
perceived as either too weak or too restrictive. Batman…has a more nuanced vision of public
safety in that he supports the state but rejects its exclusive authority in the
area of security. This highlights the
precarious nature of political rule, and it also explains why the Batman has
such a problematic relationship with the state. (Spanakos 2008)
Spanakos’s point
sheds light on a vital element in Batman’s motivation to become a hero. His distrust of the system forces him to
react with vigor to the injustices in Gotham City. Again, the major appeal here
is that he has both the resources and desire to affect change when most face
the common dilemma of having one or the other but never both. This of course gives the reader the best of
both worlds. He is both rich and
righteous in an era where the two clash. The reader shares his distrust of the
system and also aspires to his wealthy lifestyle. A major issue is that Batman
being a symbol of the elite is a hero of contradictions. His alter ego Bruce Wayne is depicted as a
benevolent billionaire whose moral character would not allow him to the kinds
of activities that would be necessary to maintain his fortune in an arena where
morals don’t account for much. In fact
writers of the comic have even emphasized his image as a playboy who is to busy
having parties and fraternizing with women to involve his self in business
matters. There are no hostile take-overs or government bailouts in his stories.
One may assume that he dons the cape and cowl at night as a means to repent for
the sins he commits by day.
Although
Spanakos’s analysis places Batman comfortably in the category of hero, skeptics
might still question his conviction to serving the greater good even if he
attempts to do it through physical acts of heroism night after night. In Batman and Philosophy, Mahesh Ananth
and Ben Dixon argue that Bruce Wayne’s decision to become Batman was morally questionable. They argue that Batman on his best night
could not do nearly as much good as his alter ego, billionaire Bruce Wayne. They cite Peter Singer, a utilitarian
philosopher to galvanize their claims. Singer’s song is in praise of the
utilitarian doctrine that encourages us to perform acts that create the
greatest good or the least amount of evil for the greatest number of people. (Ananth
& Dixon 103) An interesting caveat to this doctrine hidden in the fine
print is that such acts be committed ‘without sacrificing anything of comparable
moral importance’. (103) Singer also focuses on the minimum amount of ‘moral
cost’ an individual would expend if they happened upon a small child drowning
in a shallow pond stressing that the greatest cost would be wet or muddy
clothes. According to Singer, saving a
child under such circumstances is something everyone ought to do. In his view, this principle could also be
applied to the ‘affluent members of the Western world with all of our
frivolities’. Singer questions our willingness
to give up our CD’s DVD’s, name brand clothing if it meant that we might in
return save human lives. (104) Singer also makes clear two forms of giving,
strong and moderate.
The strong version claims that
we’re morally obligated to give until we reach the point where we could cause
as much suffering to ourselves as is present in those we are helping, unless in
doing so we had to sacrifice something of comparable moral significance. The moderate version, in contrast, claims
that we’re morally obligated to give until we reach the point at which we
sacrifice something morally significant as a result of our degree of giving.
(105)
According to
Mehesh and Ananth, Bruce Wayne’s contribution to the less fortunate in Gotham
doesn’t quite fit what I will call the Singarian framework of giving. He would in fact be more effective if he just
became the ultimate humanitarian and give up more than half of his
fortune. Unfortunately, this method does
not sell comic books, movie tickets or video games. Singer’s philosophy would in fact eliminate
the need for a Batman and more importantly obliterate the Batman myth. This would make one wonder if we were a
society that is addicted to symbols and how much we prefer symbols to actual
solutions to the problems that plague Western society. For example, when a real life bat signal was
projected across the Verizon building back in November donning the the
numbers 99% and other powerful messages it was another alert to the country’s
wealthy that change is imminent. For
Batman, his signal was a call for his help. In his stories many criticized his
form of help.[4] What kinds “help” will result from these real
life bat signals? Opinions are of course varied.
Works Cited
Baron-Carvais,
Isabelle. “Superheroes to Americas Rescue”. Raison Presente 64 (1982):
49-59. Sociological Abstracts. 30 Jan. 2012.
Creekmur,
Corey K. "Superheroes And Science Fiction: Who Watches Comic Books?"
Science Fiction Studies 31.2 (2004): 283-290. Humanities International
Complete. Web. 31 Jan. 2012.
Fouillet,
Aurelien. "From Daedalus to Batman: Study on a Contemporary Imaginary:
Superheroes." Societes.4 (2009): 25-32. Sociological Abstracts.
30 Jan. 2012 .
Knilli,
Friedrich, et al. "Aspects of the Development of a Visual Culture as
Exemplified by the Comics: The State of Comics Research in the Federal Republic
of Germany." Communications 9.- (1983): 149-89. Sociological
Abstracts. 30 Jan. 2012 .
Larson,
Mark. "Lawsuit Seeks Back Rent from Moribund e-Retailer." Sacramento
Business Journal 17.44 (2001): 11-. ABI/INFORM Complete; ProQuest
Central; ProQuest Education Journals; ProQuest Newsstand; ProQuest Psychology
Journals; ProQuest Research Library; ProQuest Social Science Journals. 30
Jan. 2012.
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Partible,
Leo. "Superheroes in Film and Pop Culture: Silhouettes of Redemption on
the Screen."
Ed. B. J. Oropeza and Stan
Lee.Peter Lang, 2005. 229-254. MLA International Bibliography.
31 Jan. 2012 .
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White,
Mark D, and Robert Arp. Batman and
Philosophy: The Dark Knight of the Soul. Hoboken, N.J:
John Wiley & Sons, 2008.
Print.
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[1] The Golden Age of comics
was from 1938 to 1949.
[2] This information comes
mostly from personal observations and discussions with comic book owners and
employees in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Being a comic nerd myself I rarely see people under the age of 20
shopping for traditional super hero comic books. Classic heroes like Batman and
Superman have been left to the older generation. And that generation expects
these heroes to grow and evolve.
[3] This issue first appeared
in June 1948. Bill Finger and Bob Kane wrote it.
[4] Some good examples of
public criticism of Batman are in Frank Miller’s classic, The Dark Knight Returns.
