The Appeal of Batman

*Originally published on 3/5/10



I've written articles discussing the appeal of both Wonder Woman and Superman, so it only makes sense to round out DC's big three and talk about what it is that makes Batman the iconic hero that he is. Batman's interesting in the fact that even people who don't usually like superheroes, or comics in general, will make a point to say that they are fans of the dark knight.

Batman's been around almost as long as Superman, and his debut comic recently bid at a higher price than even Action Comics 1, which has been the holy grail of comic collectors for decades. His latest venture on to the big screen resulted in the biggest superhero film, arguably, of all time. There are quite a few reasons that people give when explaining their love for the caped crusader and they have their merits as well as elements that don't make a whole lot of sense.

He's realistic

Probably one of the biggest reasons people can relate to Batman is the fact that he has no powers. He's just a man equipped with gadgets who is able to hang with the big dogs. This gives readers the sense that they too could do this if they tried hard enough.

While it is technically true, I don't know if that's enough to say he's a realistic character. Here we have a multibillionaire who is a master of martial arts, has the physique of an olympic athlete and a genius level intellect. Depending on who's writing him, Batman can defeat all of his Justice League contemporaries. If you give him time to prepare, some will argue that he can take on any threat, no matter how ridiculous. Let's not forget the infamous "I'm Batman, and I can breathe in space" gag. Depending on who's writing him, Batman can very much become DC's Marty Stu.

Also worth considering is the fact that there are quite a few superheroes who don't have superpowers, Batman's the longest running one to be sure, but it's not like he's the only one out there.

He has cool gadgets

I don't know what it is, but people love gadgets. Sharper Image was, for a long time, one of the coolest catalogs you could pick up. It is also one of the reasons that James Bond is so popular.

As if his utility belt wasn't cool enough, he has the freakin' Batmobile, which is arguably the coolest car ever made. He also has his own boat, cave, and plane.

He's dark

A lot of fans prefer Batman's grim and gritty approach to Superman's idealism. Some readers are fans of both and acknowledge that the two heroes compliment each other and fight for the same goal via different methods, acting as two different sides of the same coin.

I find it odd that people are so quick to deem him an anti-hero. Yes, he works in the shadows and uses fear to fight those who use it on others, but Batman has a very clear moral line. As Superman said it in Kingdom Come, at the end of the day, Batman's a guy who doesn't want to see anyone else get hurt.

When I think of anti-heroes, I think of people like Constantine or Frank Castle, heck even Two-Face can function as an anti-hero in some stories. While he's closer to an anti-hero than most of DC's roster, I don't think he really meets the criteria.

Tragedy equals empathy

Everyone knows Batman's tragic back story so I won't go into that. I will say that this gives readers a sense of empathy. You can kind of feel for the guy who basically had his childhood taken from him in one of the worst ways you can imagine. Much in the same way that people feel for (and relate to) Spider-Man because life just keeps crapping on him every way it can, people can relate to Batman because of what he lost.

His villains

Batman has the best rogues gallery in all of comics, some of them can even rank in an all time greatest villains list. If a hero is truly defined by his villains, it's no surprise that Batman remains as popular as he is.

Not only does Batman have his fair share of pathos, but his villains have also gotten enough psychological depth to make them fully fleshed out and interesting characters. A few of them, such as Two-Face and the Joker, serve as foils that help Batman define who he is as a hero.

Variety in story telling

Over the years, Batman has gone through a number of iterations. The character has ranged from silly and campy to psychotically dark. As such, fans have a variety to choose from both in characterization and story tone. Fans of the wacky silver age or fans of the grim and gritty can find stories that suit their own tastes.

This also gives writers quite a bit of freedom in regards to which direction they want to take the character.

Whatever the reasons, you'd be hard pressed to find a person who doesn't think that Batman's cool. Yes, some iterations are less impressive than others, but the good presentations of the character have been great enough that seeing him done poorly is sad, but not so much that it ruins the character for you forever.