So what makes him a Super-Hero?

[smygba]

Is Batman a Superhero?

Is he even a hero?

Batman has no super powers. He's nothing more than a guy that dresses up in a silly outfit and goes onto the streets of Gotham each week to fight crime. Crime Fighter would be a more appropriate title, except Batman operates outside of the law. He doesn’t have an official mandate. So he’s a vigilante at best.

Let’s be fair, the guy realistically stands no chance in a fight against super-beings. That’s why he should be a detective. Battling intergalactic beings would really just get him killed. He should leave that job to the big boys. Like Superman. Or Wonder Woman.

Then there’s the fact Bruce Wayne is a father figure. For someone who’s supposedly imposing as his Batman character, the guy seems to have such a big bat-family. Amiable Superman in comparison is a real loner.

Is he responsible though?

How responsible is it to be a playboy when you’re taking care of a kid? You might even argue there’s a lack of a motherly figure for these kids. Maybe Dr. Wortham is right and they really are living in a homosexual fantasy wishdream.

Worse, how responsible is it to indoctrinate a child into becoming a crime fighter? Perhaps more surprising is why do other members of the super-community allow this to happen? Or even just the local authorities? It’s not as if Batman does a good job at protecting their lives. Letting them get caught, beaten up and killed in some cases.

At best, Batman can claim to operate with the aims of a classic hero of justice. He does not kill his opponents. So he is not an anti-hero like the Punisher or Wolverine. Even golden boy Superman has a worse track record of killing than Batman.

Isn’t Batman closer to the Joker if anything? Both are just smart men. Like Batman, the Joker dresses up in a stupid outfit. Just one is a force for evil and the other believing they are a force for good. Let’s be fair, a true hero wouldn’t be operating outside the law after all.

Does Batman even make a difference? He just seems to target the petty criminals on the street. He’s hardly taking down the kingpins of crime. If he worked within the system, wouldn’t he have a better chance of making a real difference? Yet he chooses to operate against the state he wishes to protect. You might argue the system is too corrupt. Does that might make Batman an anarchist?

I understand his aims of symbolic vengeance for his parent’s death. But he could’ve just become a cop or a lawyer. Maybe even an investigative journalist. He could have been a politician, a force of social reform. Or even just a simple teacher enlightening the masses. Isn’t Batman an incredible perverse character that’s constantly glorified?

Isn’t Batman just really insane like the Joker?

If anything, more so?

[Solace]

He's all of those things, because he's the goddamn Batman.

Seriously though, the guy's supposed to be a psychopath. He just happens to be a very, very effective one, so the good guys stay out of his way.

[jdmakescomics]

Welcome to deconstructive comic writing 30 years ago.

[richster99]

He's all of those things, because he's the goddamn Batman.

and he can breathe in outer space....

[WillTurner]

"A guy could go insane thinking about this" The Terminator
"I don't know why I'm telling you this, there's no profit in it for me" Casablanca

In most great stories, there are a few gaps in the logic, things that don't quite make sense. This is why Batman Begins and Dark Knight are so great- they try to plug that gap in a reasonably realistic fashion.

However yes, in modern cynical times, it's hard to suspend disbelief with the whole "Taking care of orphaned children" angle, which is why the sensible film directors don't put Robin or Batgirl in the film.

Batman should ultimately be a complex, unapproachable character, the idea of an embodiment of fear. Hard to do that if you've got one eye on your brightly coloured cohort.

In response to your question- in basic terms yes, Batman is not a superhero. He doesn't have superpowers and ultimately relies on gadgets and wealth.

However, for me, he is a superhero in the sense that he is a character of many facets- while Superman stands for the American Dream, Batman is the unfortunate reality.
In my opinion, the "super" part comes from a more Nietzchean definition- a man overcoming his limitations to become a symbol for others.

[weirdozhead]

it's a comic book..

[Knigge]

It's an IP. There's a difference.

[WolfSpiritZero]

Batman is a superhero because he does thing people in the real world can't. Just like there being no man who can jump into the sky and fly the there is no one who can go around kicking the sh*t out of criminals every night and not get his ass shot. I like your observation though that batman is a complete nutjob. I've been writing a comic strip parodying how messed up in the head Batman really is. Grant Morrison had a funny thought in a resent issue of Wizard Magazine.

"There's a lot of class stuff involved in comics, which yields interesting takes on characters. Batman is a billionaire, and he beats the hell out of junkies. Batman mission becomes different when you think, "Why is the billionaire going around beating the crap out of poor people who can't afford to pay the rent or can't afford their next fix?" [Laughs]

Geoff Johns: He;s kind of a dick. [Laughs]

[F!]

He's super angsty.

[theycallmemisterbob]

sighhh.. again with the anti-Batism.