So with the epic conclusion to Christopher Nolan’s the Dark
Knight trilogy last summer coupled with the rebirth of Superman this summer in
the origin story of Man of Steel, I have been thinking about superheroes a lot over
the past few months. Ever since I was a child I have been fascinated by
superheroes; maybe it appealed to my boyhood imagination or possibly it was the
testosterone fuelled action sequences or even the innate sense of justice or
morality we all have deep within our subconscious. Whatever triggered my love
of superheroes and comic books they have remained a part of me ever since.
Now I am a huge DC fan, Marvel has its moments but I find DC
characters far more compelling and the stories far more satisfying. I want to
talk about two of my favourite all time superheroes: Batman and Superman, two
characters that are the complete antithesis of one another but also epitomise
what superheroes are.
Batman is my all-time favourite superhero. Batman, otherwise
known as the Dark Knight is a complex individual but at one and the same time
accessible and relatable. As a man with no superpowers he is the antithesis of
Superman, whose very name suggests someone extraordinary and super-human.
However, Batman’s strength lies exactly in his humanity. Batman is the
archetypal human in many ways: intelligent, rational – yet with great emotional
depth – a physical specimen of a man who is strong, athletic and agile,
tenacious, successful and accomplished, stoical and yet practical; a natural
born leader. But notwithstanding all of these amazing attributes he is also
vulnerable, a man who has suffered pain and loss, an orphan whose eyes were
opened to the harsh realities and evil within society from a very young age;
his upbringing thus an oxymoron of privilege and loss. It is this juxtaposition,
the son and heir of the Wayne billion dollar empire who despite inheriting such
enormous wealth and status did so at the cost of losing his parents to a desperate
gunman, having to come to terms with a life without the love and support of his
family and effectively being adopted by the family Butler Alfred Pennyworth
that makes Batman both someone to aspire to and someone to pity.
Batman is a character with tremendous emotional depth and an
innate sense of and passion for justice. Batman is a character who can honestly
and sincerely empathise with other victims of crime and the less fortunate and
vulnerable in society. One of the most fascinating aspects of Bruce Wayne/Batman’s
character is the irony that his alter-ego of Batman is a symbol of fear and
justice born from Bruce Wayne’s very own phobia. As a child Bruce Wayne
developed a paralysing phobia of bats. Bats haunted Bruce’s dreams as his
parents’ murders were the subject of his nightmares. There was created a
connection between his fear and his tragedy; a fear that would eventually
evolve into his source of strength and become the inspiration for the very armour
he would wear to protect both his body and his identity. Batman the hero is a
symbol designed to strike fear into those who prey on the fearful. As such Batman
is also a symbol of victory over one’s fear.
Another of Batman’s myriad qualities and virtues is his
razor sharp intelligence. Batman is first and foremost a detective before he is
a warrior. Many of Batman’s villains such as the Riddler, the Joker, the Court of Owls and
Hush wage not just a physical war with the Dark Knight but a psychological one
as well. Batman stories are replete with elements of detection, the science of
deduction, the science of forensic examination and criminology thus making for
intellectual as well as visceral gratification. Batman is an analyst, a
detective and a strategist. His gadgets and technologies are always extensions
of his penetrating intellect and mind and always serve him as tools in his
investigation, unlike in James Bond where gadgetry takes on a more superficial
role of gimmickry.
Batman’s intellectual prowess is matched superbly by his
physical superiority. Batman endures much pain and suffering in his duels with
evil and his physical conditioning is a vital part to his success. Batman is a
master in the martial arts, athletic, tough and with great cardiovascular and
isometric strength. Batman’s sagas are often violent and bloody and his body is
literally scarred from his altercations and wars with evil.
Perhaps my favourite aspect of Batman is the fact that
despite his superhero allies and friends such as Commissioner Gordon and
Alfred, Batman is a lone wolf. Batman is fiercely independent and guards his
relationships very carefully, keeping practically everyone at arm’s length.
Batman isn’t afraid to dwell in the shadows and enter into the viper’s nest.
Batman’s psychological resilience to insanity and his fierce sense of morality that
protects him from the temptation of evil are the result of the personal
responsibility he feels to pursue justice and fight crime. Batman doesn’t look
to another to save the day; he doesn’t pass the buck or responsibility; he
doesn’t make excuses or shrink back because there are other superheroes more
supernatural than him. Batman shoulder’s the burden of justice on himself. He
takes every act of injustice and crime in Gotham City as a personal assault on
him, as it once was when his parents were murdered. Batman understands the
qualities he has - some very unique to him - and therefore believes it is his duty
to protect the vulnerable and the innocent. There is a profound truth to this –
we should all take responsibility for our actions and do what is in our
capability and capacity to in order to improve this world and care for our
fellow human beings.
On to Superman, Superman is a very different character to
Batman. Yet Superman also possesses the same juxtaposed qualities as Batman –
extraordinary strength and weakness. Although an alien from the planet Krypton
with super-human abilities; Superman is also an orphan who growing up did not
know his real identity or heritage. Thus Superman has very real human qualities
to him as well. He is an outsider, an intergalactic immigrant who must deal
with and comes to term with rejection, hostility, paranoia and suspicion.
Superman must also choose to do what is right in the face of xenophobic resistance and
hatred towards him. Kal-El otherwise known as Clark Kent grew up in Smallville,
a small town outside of the bustling city of Metropolis, one of the greatest
cities in the DC America. As a teenager and student Clark Kent deliberately
underachieved in order to mask his extraordinary abilities. He shunned the
spotlight and shrunk back from popularity. But in his adult life Clark also had
to learn what it means to be human – to love, to form friendships and
professional relationships and to make a career for himself. Clark Kent has
many of the same struggles as ordinary, everyday humans do. In this respect
Superman is an utterly intriguing character; orphaned, estranged from his
birth-right, outcast, conflicted, feared and hated, resented and envied.
Superman becomes super in the very act of protecting and serving the very
people that fear and hate him.
Superman’s extraordinary physical capabilities seem to defy
the laws of physics and nature. His powers come from the yellow sun at the
centre of our solar system. But though Superman’s powers have their limitations
in relation to his exposure to the sun it is his powers – super-speed,
super-strength, space flight, super-sonic flight, x-ray vision and laser sight
that make him arguably the most messianic of all superheroes. Like Jesus,
Superman has a godlike duality. On the one hand Clark Kent and even Kal-El are
very human but Superman is almost divine. Like Jesus, Superman is a product of
two worlds – Superman came from the stars as Jesus came from Heaven. Joseph was
only Jesus’ step-father as Jonathan Kent, Clark’s. Superman’s personality is
also much more similar to Jesus’ than Batman’s. Superman’s bright red and royal
blue costume with the golden \S/ emblem speaks far more of light and goodness
(on the surface) than the silhouette of Batman’s cape and cowl. Superman’s face
is exposed not masked, symbolic that Superman is at one with himself and his
duty as a man with superpowers to save the world from evil and destruction. Superman embraces his superpowers as Jesus
embraced his divine mission as the Son of God as saviour of humanity. Jesus and
Superman transcend normalcy and ordinary humanity.
Superman is an extension of the human psyche that recognises
the divine and humanity's inability to redeem itself. The world needs Superman,
even when it doesn’t want to admit to it. Superman is the personification of
moral goodness. Superman can do what humans cannot. But Superman is also
accessible – he lives on earth, he can be contacted and spoken to. Superman is
a manifestation of our need for a messiah. When earth is in jeopardy and
danger, the world turns to Superman. It is an implicit confession and
acknowledgement of our sinfulness and our
powerlessness to earn our salvation.
