Bruce Wayne is a superhero. Big surprise there. He’s not your ordinary superhero, though. He’s what I call a natural superhero. Let me explain what I mean for my Wednesday Warriors series dedicated to guy fictional characters who rock the planet.
Unlike Superman who has the ability to see through things, fly like a bird and bend steel with his bare hands, Bruce Wayne doesn’t have any of that. In fact, behind Batman‘s mask, Bruce Wayne is quite normal. Spider-Man even has him beat with his acquired ability to climb walls. But Batman? Superpowers?
Born from DC Comics and part of the Justice League, Batman’s alter-ego Bruce Wayne possesses an extravagant lifestyle that is nothing more than a ruse for those curious enough to want to investigate the multi-billionaire. He can afford the toys. He can afford the equipment. No expense is too great for him. No cost is too grand. His parents were victims of a brutal mugging by a man named Jack Napier. In later years, Jack becomes the Joker, Batman’s archenemy and nemesis. It’s through Bruce’s dark past that Bruce gains his strength. Call it revenge. Call it payback. Whatever name it goes by, it’s Bruce’s impetus to fight crime on crime’s level.
Back to Bruce Wayne’s superhero status. He’s a natural. He doesn’t possess superpowers. He relies on equipment to fight the evils of this world. And he sports a wicked attitude against those who skirt justice at the hands of the law. Known also as The Dark Knight, the moniker provides an ominous message for anyone attempting to flee from their misdeeds. He will find them. And he will punish them.
Batman’s skill as a crime fighter resonates well with those weak of spirit. If an ordinary man without superpowers can overcome the demons of this world, who’s to say everyone else can’t? For in the depths of darkness lies truth awaiting discovery. That truth, no matter how simple an idea it is to swallow, sparks the fire within the souls of the just to bring the unjust to their knees.
Burdens may overtake Gotham City, but with Bruce Wayne around, archenemies bow before his presence. The idea of an ordinary man without superpowers having the ability to do this is astounding. And yet, it is so. Batman can’t see through things, can’t fly like a bird, and he can’t bend steel with his bare hands.
But what Bruce Wayne has living within his soul is what makes him a superhero. He has the willingness to sacrifice himself for those less fortunate. He has the willingness to live a selfless life as a way to bring justice where darkness lives. What’s more important?
Bruce Wayne as a natural superhero is willing to die so that others can live. That is what makes him a superhero worth admiring.
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Are you a Batman fan? What do you like most about the character Bruce Wayne?
Looking to God 
The reasons you’ve singled out here are the reasons I love Batman. He isn’t fantastical or “super” but is a man on a personal crusade. It also means he gets some amazing moments and great stories. The comics have taken his character to some brilliant places and although Nolan’s films come close, they’ll never beat the original source material for how cool he is.
Batman is definitely one of my favorite superheroes. Awesome post! 🙂
My favourite superhero definitely. Although there is nothing super in him, he’s just a hero and that’s it. What always drawn me to Batman as a character is his dark side, in some issues / movies he’s more fit for psychiatric ward then to roam the streets of Gotham. Can you imagine the mind of a person who needs to put on a costume and beat criminals into a pulp?
If your parents were killed in cold blood by a two – bit thug in a city that was becoming overriden by crime ( By Bruce Wayne’s / Batman’s adulthood it already is, rather like Detroit, MI ), I believe you’d be motivated to become a vigilante. Fortunately, Bruce Wayne has technical experts & billions of dollars to aid him.
The only graphic novels I read were the 2000AD comics, so I only came to Batman via the films. I’m not aware of any other character who has swung from one extreme to another like Batman: from Adam West’s slap-a-my-thigh nonsense to Chris Nolan’s jet black interpretation. But he is the man (after Judge Dredd, of course).
Chris
Both versions you’ve described are complete polar opposites. Thank goodness for Tim Burton’s version as the middle ground!
-I was always a big Batman fan-until they had so many comic book titles with him out that I couldn’t afford to keep up 🙂 Big fan of the TV show and the movies as well-in various degrees of course 🙂
-If you haven’t seen it already, I would highly recommend watching “Justice League:Doom.” It goes to show not only how brilliant his mind is (showing that he has contingency plans and even contingency plans if those original ones were compromised), but also ,IMO, great dialogue with Batman in regards to this story-especially at the end with his talk with Superman.
-Here’s a spoiler alert for that movie btw…:)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_League:_Doom
Supes & Batman had an early relationship as being buddy – buddy in the early comics & cartoons. The last I checked ( Like in The Dark Knight Returns ) they’re adversaries, pretty much.
Batman – Ninja training. Keenly honed reflexes. Reasoning & deductive abilities that would vie with Sherlock Holmes’. A surrogate ” father ” in Alfred, almost like Ben Kenobi.
The only thing about the original Tim Burton movie ( Which I otherwise loved & was influenced by Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns ) was having Jack Napier as the killer of Thomas & Martha Wayne. In canon, the killer was a petty crook named Joe Chill.
I, too, have always thought of him as a type of Sherlock Holmes. Great minds, Zathra. Great minds.
Being a comic guy, I grew up knowing one Batman. The dark, angry, avenging savant. He took it upon himself at a young age to change himself. He trained his body and mind to the point of peak function. Analytical, tactical, martial and absolutely unrelenting perfection. To afford his crusade, to operate in anonymity, Bruce Wayne had to be that other man. The Playboy philanthropist who nevertheless had to keep a sharp eye on the business and those he had running it. How could someone do this year after year; everyone needs someone in his corner if not just for moral grounding. Luckily, Bruce Wayne had Alfred Pennyworth. Bruce Wayne/Batman/The Dark Knight is a natural hero, though one might say his dedication to his vision borders on the supernatural.
I love Batman because of his many monikers: Bruce Wayne, Batman, The Dark Knight–but I also like him because of his natural ability to fight crime. Supernatural? Maybe…
Not really a batman fan. Remember the TV show with Adam West? “POW!” “Bang!” are the words I see when Batman is mentioned. 🙂
Batman seemed so schizophrenic to me, for all the different actors who played the character. Who was your favorite Batman? There were so many who wore that suit. 🙂
Batman uses his brain, the others use their powers. Good point..
Batman has always been my favorite superhero – for the very fact that he was a “natural”. He was a guy, who suffered tragedy and used that pain to relate the plight of those in Gotham and do GOOD. All that without being an alien, a mutant, changed by some chemical occurrence – he’s all natural 🙂
I was never that into Batman but have become hooked to the new prequel type series Gotham.
What you say is even more poignant to me as in Gotham you meet Brucy Wayne as a child at his paretbs mugging / murder.
I’ll have to check out Gotham, as I have yet to see it.
Reblogged this on Human Interest.
Thanks so much for the reblog!
You’re welcome!