In his new book, Becoming Batman, and an article in Scientific American called Dark Knight Shift: Why Batman Could Exist–But Not for Long, E. Paul Zehr discusses how someone might become a costumed detective like the Caped Crusader.
For many comic book fans, Batman is a reasonable model for wish fulfillment because the character has no superhuman abilities. He’s a smart rich guy with lots of wonderful toys.
I hope Zehr has addressed the psychological issues because no one in their right mind would want to become Batman:
- Bruce Wayne saw his parents gunned down in cold blood during a robbery. (Come to think of it Superman was an orphan, too… but he didn’t see his parents die when his planet explode.)
- Wayne lives alone, with a trained paramedic for a butler.
- He’s obsessed with fighting crime.
- Caves are drafty and cold.
- The trunks hide nothing.
Frederic Wertham didn’t have a clue about Batman in his book, The Seduction of the Innocent, but I’ve included the obligatory reference anyway. And we’ll throw in this link to Newsarama’s discussion of the 1960s TV show, too.
Because Bruce Wayne isn’t gay — he’s had more girlfriends than Tek Jansen.
(Link via BoingBoing)
Image courtesy of Mirka through a Creative Commons license.
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