The Dark Knight

For this week’s review, I want to delve into analyzing my favorite superhero of all time. Batman, The Dark Knight, is one of the most unique and popular superhero characters of all time. In this review, I will split Batman’s analysis into 3 parts: Origin, uniqueness, and symbolism.

ORIGIN

A family outing to the cinema ended in tragedy for young Bruce Wayne. Walking home, Bruce, his father, Thomas, and mother, Martha, accidentally ventured into Gotham City's notorious "Crime Alley" and were accosted by a mugger. Not content merely to rob the wealthy family, the hoodlum shot Dr. Thomas and Martha Wayne dead before fleeing into the darkness. As he knelt beside his parent's bodies, Bruce swore to avenge them.

At this point, Bruce Wayne has his innocence taken away from him and is forced to grow up too fast. Instead of crumbling under the burden; however, he embraces it, using it to become more powerful than ever before. “He makes meaning from trauma in a few days where it takes us several years”- Robin S. Rosenberg. Likewise, Bruce takes his greatest fear, bats, and makes it his greatest strength.

Uniqueness

The Great Detective is a hero with his own unique charm that makes him stand out from other superheroes. For instance, let us compare him to 2 protagonists: Spider-Man (The most popular Marvel superhero), and Superman (the Bats’ rival/best friend)

Peter Ben. Parker is given powers, chooses not to use that power to stop a criminal, and then that criminal kills his uncle. Through this, he learns that he MUST, with his great power, accept great responsibility.

Bruce; however, is completely powerless when his parents are murdered. He had no power to save them. So, he CHOOSES to achieve great power and take on great responsibility.

Superman represents determinism, He is a superhero because of his natural abilities. Batman; however, represents free will, He is a superhero because he overcomes his natural limitations

Stephen King in “Why I Chose Batman”, says “Superman seemed too preordained.” “The concept of Invulnerability made him seem to be a hero who had an unfair advantage (being good should always be harder than being bad).”

Let us compare their mindsets.

Superman’s mentality:

-The world already makes sense

-The world is just

-He does not impose his duties on others

Batman’s mentality:

-The world isn't sensible and he must create his sense of it

-The world is unjust and must be remade into his image of justice

- He imposes his morals onto others

Symbolism

To truly understand Bruce Wayne’s symbolism, I must explain absurdism. Absurdism is the philosophy behind absurdity. Absurdity is the “confrontation between the human need [for meaning] and the unreasonable silence of the world.” Absurdisms offers 3 choices when facing this confrontation.

1. Suicide- a “confession” that life isn’t worth living

2. A “Leap of faith”- a declaration that there is meaning beyond the subjective self.

3. Embracing the Absurd- a choice to “live without appeal” and create your own meaning.

Batman confronts the absurd when he loses his parents, he then chooses to embrace the absurd and forces the world to make sense. We can see Bruce’s symbolism truly shine when confronting his enemies.

For example, The Crown Prince of Crime. Joker is one of the main antagonists of Bats, and he has an interesting philosophy that collides with Batmans several times throughout their battles. The Joker believes that “all it takes is one bad day” to drive a person insane.

The Joker’s “one bad day” is his confrontation with the absurd. He is an “Agent of Chaos” that’s sole goal is to prove how fragile stability is. Not only does he confront the absurd (by embracing it), but he attempts to force others to. If Joker is the “Agent of Chaos”, Batman is the “Agent of Order.”

Bruce’s sole goal is to stop everyone from confronting the absurd; to save them from the same pain and agony he experienced. He allows Gotham to take a leap of faith because he is there to catch their fall and stop their philosophical suicide.

This is the reason Bruce Wayne has a no-kill rule. For batman, killing someone would be declaring a life worthless, and allowing the world to stop making sense.

Conclusion

Bruce is a hero who embraces and pushes trauma to stand on top. He experiences great pain and sorrow but marches forward against the odds in order to do what's right. As seen with the vow he made after his parents’ death. Batman is a hero that chooses to achieve greatness and take on responsibility. He experienced the injustices of the world and its insensibility, embraced the absurd, and chose to impose his own sense of justice on others. Indeed, Batman sacrifices himself for others to take a leap of faith and never experience the same traumas he embraced as a child.