A hero to define a generation
Batman is without a doubt my favorite fictional character of all time. Not many characters in the history of Literature have a resume quite like The Dark Knight. Batman is a character that intrigues all who come in contact with him, and he is one that I would like to discuss further. In this article I'm going to explore the history and impact of the greatest literary character of our time.
Batman was created by Bob Kane and was said to be influenced by by the 1926 film "The Bat". Immediately after his creation, he became a powerhouse in the comic industry. While most people at the time believed superheros to be fighters for America and justice due to the impeding second world war, as it gave people confidence. Batman came along and completely changed the way people saw the average superhero. Thus Batman entered decades of financial success, and even garnered his own Television show starring Adam West in the 1960's. After this comics fell into a bad place, and while Batman was still able to hold his own, he had not had the success that he had once had in the previous decades. This all changed in the 1986 when Frank Miller released his famous "The Dark Knight Returns" and completely changed the way we saw Batman by reinventing the character. Come the 90's Batman was experiencing so much success, that he garnered another Television show, this time animated, and was received as one of the greatest shows of all time. We also at this time were rewarded with a live action Batman movie by Tim Burton that really showed casual fans just how dark and emotional this character can be. Once the 2000's rolled around Batman was still finding success, but had a huge blunder in the film department due to failures by film maker Joel Schumacher. With his comic books and Television shows he was able to get a reboot, and thus Christopher Nolan created his masterful Dark Knight trilogy.
The question is, is why Batman has been able to have so much success in these years. This has to do with many thing but I'm going to be focusing on his realism, rogues gallery, and his immense symbols and themes.
Batman first and foremost is a man. Nothing more. Bruce Wayne is fully mortal, and with this, this creates one of the most interesting parts of the character. How can a mortal stand tall in the Justice League and even be feared by every member of it? This is what makes Batman such an interesting character. From the point where young Bruce Wayne saw his parents get gunned down by the scum of Gotham he devoted his life to justice. Making the pact to never kill, and training himself to physical perfection, he becomes symbol of determination to the world. Batman also uses his insane intellect to defeat his foes, including the one and only Superman. This adds realism to his character and of course makes him a badass as well. Like Superman himself said "Bruce Wayne is the most dangerous being on this planet."
To me the biggest reason for Batman's success is his unrivaled rogue gallery. The villain makes the hero, and dear lord does The Caped Crusader have some villains. Ranging from the intelligent brute Bane, to the mischievous Riddler, to international terrorist Ras Al Ghul, to the fear inducing Scarecrow, Batman is stocked with villains. And of course I didn't forget about the Joker. This villain truly defines Batman as a character, and has created some of the greatest story lines not just in comics but all of literature. I will hopefully be writing a piece on Joker in the near future, because of how much I truly love him.
Finally Batman offers some wonderful symbols and themes. The biggest theme of Batman is justice. Batman believes in justice more than any other DC comics character, and proves this through his actions. He also acts a symbol toward the average man, showing that anyone can be a hero with the right determination.
Batman transcends the average Superhero, to become a step above the rest. Through realism, story lines, themes and all the rest Batman is molded to become not just one of the greatest comic book characters of all time, but one of the biggest characters in all of literature.
P.S- I enjoy doing opinion pieces, but they are a big work in progress. I appreciate feedback, as it helps me to improve my writing.
Batman is without a doubt my favorite fictional character of all time. Not many characters in the history of Literature have a resume quite like The Dark Knight. Batman is a character that intrigues all who come in contact with him, and he is one that I would like to discuss further. In this article I'm going to explore the history and impact of the greatest literary character of our time.
Batman was created by Bob Kane and was said to be influenced by by the 1926 film "The Bat". Immediately after his creation, he became a powerhouse in the comic industry. While most people at the time believed superheros to be fighters for America and justice due to the impeding second world war, as it gave people confidence. Batman came along and completely changed the way people saw the average superhero. Thus Batman entered decades of financial success, and even garnered his own Television show starring Adam West in the 1960's. After this comics fell into a bad place, and while Batman was still able to hold his own, he had not had the success that he had once had in the previous decades. This all changed in the 1986 when Frank Miller released his famous "The Dark Knight Returns" and completely changed the way we saw Batman by reinventing the character. Come the 90's Batman was experiencing so much success, that he garnered another Television show, this time animated, and was received as one of the greatest shows of all time. We also at this time were rewarded with a live action Batman movie by Tim Burton that really showed casual fans just how dark and emotional this character can be. Once the 2000's rolled around Batman was still finding success, but had a huge blunder in the film department due to failures by film maker Joel Schumacher. With his comic books and Television shows he was able to get a reboot, and thus Christopher Nolan created his masterful Dark Knight trilogy.
The question is, is why Batman has been able to have so much success in these years. This has to do with many thing but I'm going to be focusing on his realism, rogues gallery, and his immense symbols and themes.
Batman first and foremost is a man. Nothing more. Bruce Wayne is fully mortal, and with this, this creates one of the most interesting parts of the character. How can a mortal stand tall in the Justice League and even be feared by every member of it? This is what makes Batman such an interesting character. From the point where young Bruce Wayne saw his parents get gunned down by the scum of Gotham he devoted his life to justice. Making the pact to never kill, and training himself to physical perfection, he becomes symbol of determination to the world. Batman also uses his insane intellect to defeat his foes, including the one and only Superman. This adds realism to his character and of course makes him a badass as well. Like Superman himself said "Bruce Wayne is the most dangerous being on this planet."
To me the biggest reason for Batman's success is his unrivaled rogue gallery. The villain makes the hero, and dear lord does The Caped Crusader have some villains. Ranging from the intelligent brute Bane, to the mischievous Riddler, to international terrorist Ras Al Ghul, to the fear inducing Scarecrow, Batman is stocked with villains. And of course I didn't forget about the Joker. This villain truly defines Batman as a character, and has created some of the greatest story lines not just in comics but all of literature. I will hopefully be writing a piece on Joker in the near future, because of how much I truly love him.
Finally Batman offers some wonderful symbols and themes. The biggest theme of Batman is justice. Batman believes in justice more than any other DC comics character, and proves this through his actions. He also acts a symbol toward the average man, showing that anyone can be a hero with the right determination.
Batman transcends the average Superhero, to become a step above the rest. Through realism, story lines, themes and all the rest Batman is molded to become not just one of the greatest comic book characters of all time, but one of the biggest characters in all of literature.
P.S- I enjoy doing opinion pieces, but they are a big work in progress. I appreciate feedback, as it helps me to improve my writing.