BATMAN OR BRUCE WAYNE; WHO IS THE MASK?
First off, I’d like to say that this post makes me sound like a crazy person. It’s heavy on the identity porn, and if you’re not that familiar with the issue at hand it sounds like needless blabbering or lunacy. I’d like to just say that, no matter what terms I use to describe him, I don’t think this man has a split personality or an identity disorder or anything along those lines. This is more about the appropriateness of certain labels, but they’re still referring to one man.
So one of the eternal questions that is asked is “who is the mask-” that is, am I playing Bruce Wayne or am I playing Batman?
After the initial “uh Bruce Wayne is Batman, obviously, what are you smoking” comes the theorizing. Most people conclude that “Bruce Wayne” is a mask, and there’s a lot of support for that- he’s obviously acting whenever he’s the care-free, slightly oblivious but still good-intentioned billionaire playboy. Batman is therefore the “true” persona, and the real man, and Bruce Wayne is the mask he wears.
And that all sounds well and good, but if that’s the case, what about Batman Beyond?
Sure, Batman Beyond isn’t canon (technically- Earth 12, bitch!) in the main DC Universe, but I’m playing the old man from Batman Beyond, dammit, so that leaves me with, according to the previous conclusion, just a mask. The title of Batman has been passed down- it definitely didn’t happen by the first episode, and it arguably may not have happened at all, but by the end of the series Terry has fully inherited the Batman persona. He’s not a kid playing Batman, he’s Batman, and he deserves to be.
But that leaves this man with Bruce Wayne, the mask, the person he clearly isn’t. So there has to be another persona; Batman, Bruce Wayne, and the true person who wears both the masks.
This ‘true person’ is named by a villain; a villain who knows both masks and the man underneath. The ‘real’ man is The Detective.
If Bruce Wayne is the public figure and Batman is the terror that flaps in the night, the Detective is, to paraphrase someone a lot smarter than me on scans_daily, the man sitting in the cave in front of the computer, making small talk with Alfred while he waits for the analysis on a piece of evidence. Bruce Wayne is used for certain things- keeping up appearances, donating money, funding worthwhile causes, and keeping an eye on the city in a way Batman can’t. And Batman also has certain duties- out on the streets, apprehending criminals, intimidating thugs, protecting people. These two identities work to accomplish one thing: making life safer.
Here’s the kicker, though: the man that I play thinks that he’s Batman, at least in the beginning of Batman Beyond. He understands that he can no longer dress as Batman, but he still believes that’s his true self. Both identities fail after that one night twenty years ago- we find out the Bruce Wayne persona slipped as well. Both identities still exist, however, and are still whipped out occasionally- they’ve just become more similar to the true persona with age. For instance, when he needs to intimidate, Batman is still around even without the costume; when he needs to distract, a dotting old Bruce Wayne comes out. The role of The Detective is clearer than ever in the future- Terry has his own ‘Bruce Wayne’ and his own ‘Batman,’ but he needs the problem-solving aspect on the other end of the mike.
Terry is a whole other kettle of fish that I don’t want to think about, because I don’t play him and his true persona can be a princess for all I care.
What is the point of this post? I clearly haven’t named this character journal “the detective;” things aren’t as clear as I’ve tried to make them sound. The labels are just for convenience and shouldn’t be taken too literally. It’s just a topic that comes up occasionally- go to an announcement about a Batman movie or game or something like that and you’ll see posts about how Batman is the true person while Bruce Wayne is the mask. I clearly don’t think that’s true.
Because, honestly, guys, Batman Beyond.
So one of the eternal questions that is asked is “who is the mask-” that is, am I playing Bruce Wayne or am I playing Batman?
After the initial “uh Bruce Wayne is Batman, obviously, what are you smoking” comes the theorizing. Most people conclude that “Bruce Wayne” is a mask, and there’s a lot of support for that- he’s obviously acting whenever he’s the care-free, slightly oblivious but still good-intentioned billionaire playboy. Batman is therefore the “true” persona, and the real man, and Bruce Wayne is the mask he wears.
And that all sounds well and good, but if that’s the case, what about Batman Beyond?
Sure, Batman Beyond isn’t canon (technically- Earth 12, bitch!) in the main DC Universe, but I’m playing the old man from Batman Beyond, dammit, so that leaves me with, according to the previous conclusion, just a mask. The title of Batman has been passed down- it definitely didn’t happen by the first episode, and it arguably may not have happened at all, but by the end of the series Terry has fully inherited the Batman persona. He’s not a kid playing Batman, he’s Batman, and he deserves to be.
But that leaves this man with Bruce Wayne, the mask, the person he clearly isn’t. So there has to be another persona; Batman, Bruce Wayne, and the true person who wears both the masks.
This ‘true person’ is named by a villain; a villain who knows both masks and the man underneath. The ‘real’ man is The Detective.
If Bruce Wayne is the public figure and Batman is the terror that flaps in the night, the Detective is, to paraphrase someone a lot smarter than me on scans_daily, the man sitting in the cave in front of the computer, making small talk with Alfred while he waits for the analysis on a piece of evidence. Bruce Wayne is used for certain things- keeping up appearances, donating money, funding worthwhile causes, and keeping an eye on the city in a way Batman can’t. And Batman also has certain duties- out on the streets, apprehending criminals, intimidating thugs, protecting people. These two identities work to accomplish one thing: making life safer.
Here’s the kicker, though: the man that I play thinks that he’s Batman, at least in the beginning of Batman Beyond. He understands that he can no longer dress as Batman, but he still believes that’s his true self. Both identities fail after that one night twenty years ago- we find out the Bruce Wayne persona slipped as well. Both identities still exist, however, and are still whipped out occasionally- they’ve just become more similar to the true persona with age. For instance, when he needs to intimidate, Batman is still around even without the costume; when he needs to distract, a dotting old Bruce Wayne comes out. The role of The Detective is clearer than ever in the future- Terry has his own ‘Bruce Wayne’ and his own ‘Batman,’ but he needs the problem-solving aspect on the other end of the mike.
Terry is a whole other kettle of fish that I don’t want to think about, because I don’t play him and his true persona can be a princess for all I care.
What is the point of this post? I clearly haven’t named this character journal “the detective;” things aren’t as clear as I’ve tried to make them sound. The labels are just for convenience and shouldn’t be taken too literally. It’s just a topic that comes up occasionally- go to an announcement about a Batman movie or game or something like that and you’ll see posts about how Batman is the true person while Bruce Wayne is the mask. I clearly don’t think that’s true.
Because, honestly, guys, Batman Beyond.