Becoming Batman: 4 Factors You Can Use That Make Batman The #1 Hero
The qualities that make Batman the best aren’t radical or even original. As maddening as it sounds, they’re available to us all.
Heroes that stand the test of time combine certain elements of the human condition in precisely the right portion.
The Flash combines optimism with arrogance. Spider-Man is kindness and comedy. And Batman, well, Batman is the perfect swirl of creativity, tragedy, and will, wrapped in the mask of humanity and covered by a cape of limitation. Batman’s particular combination of traits, restrictions, flaws, and strengths, add up to create something even more primal than the rest. Batman is ground zero for hero, the archetype, the perfect representation of what the absolute best human can become if he worked unspeakably hard to become it.
Superman, Wonder Woman, Wolverine; all insanely popular, but they’re not Batman. Not even close.
Why is that? What makes Batman so much different than the rest? Is it his origin, his lack of powers, his gadgets, the fact that he has a butler No. Those are accessories that don’t do the job describing the hero. Ultimately, Batman is the mouthpiece of human potential. He’s what we could be if we actually tried. And that’s why we can’t take our eyes off him.
Through his many successes and questionable failures, we watch and learn from a man dressed as a bat. We marvel at the things he can do, and shudder at the fact that we could be more like him, we just choose not to be. He’s human, but unique, what a human can be when they pursue their purpose at all costs. A hero we can’t stop watching, because we know that the qualities that make Batman the most heroic are all traits we possess. We just have to use them.
Batman is relentless
There’s an episode of Batman Beyond where Bruce, having retired the cape and cowl long ago, is being plagued with “voices.” Retired or not, Batman discovers that he’s not going crazy, but rather, enduring the tricks of some C-list criminal trying to manipulate his mind. When Terry — the new Batman — asks him how he knew he was still sane, Bruce replies, “In my mind, I don’t call myself Bruce.” Whereas most crime fighters create a costumed avatar to deal with The Underworld, Batman creates Bruce to deal with everything else. Batman, basically, is always Batman.
The ability to focus on one thing, to be one thing, to find the signal amidst the noise, is one of the most important qualities a human can possess. And that’s Batman. Beneath Wayne Manor, Batman eats dinner in uniform, sometimes with the mask turned down. He and Alfred chat; Batman the CEO of crime-fighting, Alfred the valued assistant doing his best to add balance to a boss he cares for. He’s Batman in the morning, at lunchtime, when the sun sets, when he’s wearing a tuxedo and rubbing elbows with Gotham’s elite. And his mind is always on the mission.
That kind of single-mindedness is hard on friends. Real relationships are almost impossible. Everyone thinks you are a heartless tyrant. And none of that matters. To Batman, unlike Spider-Man, who always whines about having responsibility, all that matters is being a hero.
Batman stands up to God
Superman is nearly all-powerful and indestructible. A savior, no doubt, but also a world ender. At once, the world’s most powerful hero and its greatest villain. It’s this ability to bless as well destroy that puts Batman in the awkward middle; trust the Kryptonian, or kill him? And since Batman doesn’t kill, and Batman doesn’t trust, he chooses another option; stand up to him.
Superman was born capable of amazing things, but that doesn’t make him a hero. God? Maybe, but no hero. At best, it makes him a rich kid whose parents bought him the biggest water gun on the block. It’s what he does with that weapon that matters. Or better yet, the kind of man he is without it. Batman understands this better than anyone. Unlike Superman, Batman has labored, earned his skill and place in the world. He didn’t show up a god, by strength of will and obsession, he made himself as near a god as a man can be. So much so, that Batman considers Superman’s powers a weakness, claiming that the man of steel relies too heavily on his abilities. It’s this rare perspective, an unwillingness to be distracted by shiny things, that gives Batman the advantage.
Batman refuses to back down. He treats the world’s biggest Boy Scout like he could snap at any time. To Batman, Superman is just one bad day away from being Joker, so he prepares like he would for any other threat. Except this threat is massive. This threat will take all of him. And that part matters most.
Batman has impossible standards, and he works towards them in every way. Most people are the opposite, full of half measures and excuses. We justify and rationalize our lack of effort in all we do. We can’t seem to understand that while God may be all-powerful, man is all potential. If man were willing to do all the things he could to unlock what lies within, maybe he could stand up to God. Maybe he could change the things he doesn’t like about the world. Perhaps that’s the point. Maybe that’s the reason for the anger we feel towards God and the dissonance we feel in life. It’s not that God is evil, aloof, or doesn’t exist, but that we’re not all we were created be.
Batman tries to save the Devil
The Devil has been here since the beginning, harassing, influencing, and corrupting.
Some fight him, or at least everything they think looks like him. But this spins out of control, eventually devolving into confronting one atrocity with another. War is war; the Devil wins either way.
Others deny he’s even there, insisting that man is to blame for the evil in the world. Either they can’t believe God would create a being of pure malevolence, or they’re terrified of the fact that if the Devil is real, then Hell is real too, and they might actually have to be a good person to avoid it. Whatever the case, acting as if a problem doesn’t exist, isn’t the way to fix it. When it comes to the Devil, I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what he wants.
Batman chooses neither of these options, refusing to duplicate the Devil’s deeds to beat him at his own game, or to act like he doesn’t exist. Instead, Batman tries to save the Devil. And nowhere is this more evident than his relationship with Joker.
“I’m not talking about killing Penguin, or Scarecrow, or Dent,” Jason Todd says in ‘Under The Red Hood.’ “I’m talking about him. Just him.”
Even the Bat-family doesn’t understand Batman’s reasoning for letting the clown live. Is it his famous code staying his hand, or something greater?
There’s this line Batman uses when describing the differences between him and Superman, and it goes something like this; deep down, Clark is a good person. And deep down, I’m not. A man who wears a Bat-suit and fights crime for a living has done some serious self-reflection. And Batman has judged himself wanting. A sinner amongst sinners. And if that’s the case, then how is one sin greater than another? More importantly, why is one sin forgivable, but not another? To Batman, if he’s a sinner who is unworthy of God’s love, but can be redeemed, then can’t the same be said for the Devil?
For Batman, looking at Joker is like looking at a mirror. Joker just happens to be a little farther along the evil curve than the rest of us. But killing him won’t change that. The opposite, in fact. Killing the Devil will just take you one step closer to being him. But giving up on him isn’t acceptable either.
That’s why Batman never gives up. Not on Dent, not on Ivy, and certainly not on the Devil himself. Because to Batman, everyone is worthy of salvation. Even the Devil.
Batman is mean to children
Fundamentally, Batman is structure. And kids crave structure. They also want, maybe need is a better word, constant challenges. Not comfort and coddling; adventure. Something that tests them and lets them discover who they really are in this world. And who better to reinforce the importance of structure by way of adventure than Batman?
Batman takes each potential disciple, with all their brokenness, vengefulness, and contempt, and provides a uniquely stable foundation governed by a rigid code. Part of him hopes they won’t grow up to be like him. The other part knows that the line between villain and hero is so bloody thin that if he doesn’t help them now, he’ll be fighting them later.
There are no half measures with children. When a kid unconsciously recognizes the value of a particular system, he goes all in, making fierce loyalty all but guaranteed. This, besides the reason for becoming a hero in the first place, is the most critical characteristic of a hero.
The hero gig is thankless, arduous, there’s a good chance you won’t make it out alive, and you’ll be disappointed and disappointing. No one knows this like Batman, and arguably, no one teaches how to deal with it better, either. It’s in his attention to detail, his adherence to a specific code, and most important of all, his unique brand of cruelty that keeps the Robins, and the rest of the Bat-family, alive.
Batman is a taskmaster that cannot be pleased. There are no safety measures, and he doesn’t care about your feelings. His way is perfection without the benefit of a net because perfection is what keeps heroes one step ahead of villains. Batman is the opposite of safe space, he’s danger and adventure, and everything a young person needs to grow up ready for life. He puts the mission above all else, and that includes being kind to children. And his results are undeniable.
Batman’s protégées have a life of fighting monsters ahead of them. Some look like clowns, others are made of clay, one has crocodile teeth and can chew through bone. And the way Batman prepares them for a life of battling monsters is to become a monster himself. One just scary and mean enough that they know how to handle the world when they finally leave the cave.
What would happen if we gave everything we had to the mission? How different would life be if we believed that redemption wasn’t just possible, but deserved? What if when we face life’s Jokers, Riddlers, and Killer Crocs, we’re ready? What if we actually believed we could change the world? And if we can change the world, then aren’t we more like God than we think? It certainly seems so. And if we genuinely have a spark of the divine within, then what could we possibly have to fear?
