The whole point of Batman is that he's a dingus. He's a great character but not really a great *superhero*. He's deeply, deeply flawed. His methods and motivations are dubious. He'll always be pushing the rock up the hill, but he's the only one who doesn't realize it.
I loved & laughed at this very much, despite disagreeing in a number of places. Superman has always been super boring to me. Might as well have God be a superhero.
But he's the only superhero who actually has a plan to find crime to fight. he's a detective and shit. the other ones... what, they fly around until they get lucky and see someone getting mugged or some invading aliens?
At least he's not some billionaire who dons a fuzzy hair piece to partake in verbal karate with Mexicans and puts his giant logo on buildings everywhere.
Someone once mentioned to me that the real reason we love Batman is the Gallery of Rogues. Batman is the fantasy for young boys... If we were super rich and super dedicated, we could all be badasses. But would Batman (whose brand is pretty silly at times) have been remembered if it weren't for the Joker, Catwoman, the Riddler, Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Ra's al Ghul, Clayface, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow....?
as a kid I was very batman obsessed. I think the core of it is that he's an outsider, in the shadows, above and outside the law... plus the bat cave is like the ultimate kids fort. and revenge is the form of heroism most easy to identify with when you are young and powerless.
his bad guys never captured my imagination much. except of course for julie number's catwoman...
If you really want to get analytical about Batman, the Jeff Bezos comparison is actually the right way to think about his *redemption* as a character: all the pajama pants fisticuffs aren't the end goal, they're the *startup phase*.
Batman punching dudes in dark alleys is seeding a viral campaign.
Batman driving a sweet fuckin' car is mythmaking.
Batman branding every goddam thing he does is establishing a brand.
He's not gonna keep going out 80 hours a week doing violent midnight yakshaving for the rest of his life; he's just establishing a foundation for justice-as-a-service. He's not just interrupting crimes; he's disrupting the crime-fighting *sector*.
I cut my teeth on the Superman TV show, then geeked when Adam & Burt hit the small screen. In the Superman radio show, Superman frequently relied on the Dynamic Duo to help him bring criminals to justice. They played well with each other. Why can't we?
his bad guys never captured my imagination much. except of course for julie number's catwoman...
(Even more so since I noticed it's also a @tonx post.)
Batman punching dudes in dark alleys is seeding a viral campaign.
Batman driving a sweet fuckin' car is mythmaking.
Batman branding every goddam thing he does is establishing a brand.
He's not gonna keep going out 80 hours a week doing violent midnight yakshaving for the rest of his life; he's just establishing a foundation for justice-as-a-service. He's not just interrupting crimes; he's disrupting the crime-fighting *sector*.
On-demand drone deliveries of justice.