I Like Monday 10
This Monday, I like... Batman.
Image taken from Ask Logo.com. The Batman logo is copyright of DC Comics.
I like other superheroes too (who will probably feature on other Mondays) but let's start with the Big One: the ordinary human being. Ok, yes, he's a multi-billionaire with limitless resources and a genius-level intellect, who has miraculously remained somewhere in his mid-thirties since 1939. But in a world of demi-gods, aliens and people altered by magic or science, Bruce Wayne is a basic Homo sapiens with no inherent fantastical powers. His genius and physical prowess are as much a result of rigorous training as natural ability. Superman is a great hero but all he needs to do is stand around in the sun for a while; Batman has to work for his place in the pantheon. He's competing against super-speed, alien weaponry, magic spells, cybernetic and chemical enhancements - and he beats ALL of them to be, at the very very least, second-in-command. Even then, he usually acts as if he's the guy in charge anyway. XD And while the DC superhero community has had numerous disagreements with him, they still accept this grim, curt and often outright rude little up-start as one of their greats.
Also Batman is (whisper it) a bit of a geek. A geek who can kick your head in, sure, but Bruce prefers to avoid or at least minimise his fighting by nigh-obsessive planning, and using all of the wild science and technology at his disposal. This guy loooves his tech toys, and spends as much time pouring over the computers in the Batcave and examining evidence in his lab as he does punching bad guys. Comics take their heroes' sub-titles seriously, and as the World's Greatest Detective, Bruce wins his fights by being smarter, not stronger, than the bad guy.
With the geekdom comes a certain... social awkwardness. This is the man who systematically planned how to take out his super-powered allies in case they ever went rogue - and didn't tell them about it. More recently, he pissed off his own family, the various Robins and Batgirl, by not warning them that the Joker may have known their "secret" identities all along. He makes mistakes, and watching him struggle to connect and communicate with the people he loves is as fascinating as watching him solve the mystery or open up a can of whup-ass.
He's tough, dedicated, thorough and smart. He's a shadow-draped loner and the head of a whole family of vigilante-heroes at the same time. He's a strategic genius and an emotional idiot (dude, seriously, learn to trust somebody for a change!). He has one of the most distinctive silhouettes ever; sometimes he doesn't need to hit the bad guys at all, he just needs to loom over them and they crack. He treads a thin line between sanity and madness; there's always the niggling worry that this will be the case to tip Bruce over the edge (he has in fact gone over a number of times but keeps clawing his way back).
Batman is awesome.
Image taken from Ask Logo.com. The Batman logo is copyright of DC Comics.
I like other superheroes too (who will probably feature on other Mondays) but let's start with the Big One: the ordinary human being. Ok, yes, he's a multi-billionaire with limitless resources and a genius-level intellect, who has miraculously remained somewhere in his mid-thirties since 1939. But in a world of demi-gods, aliens and people altered by magic or science, Bruce Wayne is a basic Homo sapiens with no inherent fantastical powers. His genius and physical prowess are as much a result of rigorous training as natural ability. Superman is a great hero but all he needs to do is stand around in the sun for a while; Batman has to work for his place in the pantheon. He's competing against super-speed, alien weaponry, magic spells, cybernetic and chemical enhancements - and he beats ALL of them to be, at the very very least, second-in-command. Even then, he usually acts as if he's the guy in charge anyway. XD And while the DC superhero community has had numerous disagreements with him, they still accept this grim, curt and often outright rude little up-start as one of their greats.
Also Batman is (whisper it) a bit of a geek. A geek who can kick your head in, sure, but Bruce prefers to avoid or at least minimise his fighting by nigh-obsessive planning, and using all of the wild science and technology at his disposal. This guy loooves his tech toys, and spends as much time pouring over the computers in the Batcave and examining evidence in his lab as he does punching bad guys. Comics take their heroes' sub-titles seriously, and as the World's Greatest Detective, Bruce wins his fights by being smarter, not stronger, than the bad guy.
With the geekdom comes a certain... social awkwardness. This is the man who systematically planned how to take out his super-powered allies in case they ever went rogue - and didn't tell them about it. More recently, he pissed off his own family, the various Robins and Batgirl, by not warning them that the Joker may have known their "secret" identities all along. He makes mistakes, and watching him struggle to connect and communicate with the people he loves is as fascinating as watching him solve the mystery or open up a can of whup-ass.
He's tough, dedicated, thorough and smart. He's a shadow-draped loner and the head of a whole family of vigilante-heroes at the same time. He's a strategic genius and an emotional idiot (dude, seriously, learn to trust somebody for a change!). He has one of the most distinctive silhouettes ever; sometimes he doesn't need to hit the bad guys at all, he just needs to loom over them and they crack. He treads a thin line between sanity and madness; there's always the niggling worry that this will be the case to tip Bruce over the edge (he has in fact gone over a number of times but keeps clawing his way back).
Batman is awesome.