A TRIBUTE TO BATMAN - Video
It’s a dark fall night. A family walks down an almost empty street towards their parked car just to be confronted by a set of thugs. One of the burly men yells,”Gimme your wallets…NOW!” The family is frozen in fear and are unable to respond to the lead thug’s demands so he hollers again,”Your wallets now…or else!” The small time street gang of five all know the rumors but they’ve already made their choice. The city’s crime wave was at an all time high so what was the chance that their little robbery would be thwarted by the city vigilante? As the father finally reaches in his jacket pocket for his wallet, one of the robbers nervously shouts,” he’s packing!” The robber then pulls out his gun, aims at the family and BANG! But the thug misses his intended target due to the action of goodwill by a bystander whose aim was dead on. The shocked criminal pans the surrounding sidewalk for his gun just to see its smoking barrel laying beside a steel object…. the same steel object that had hit his hand right before he fired the gun. He also noticed that the projectile was in the shape of a bat. The family watched as a blur of black gloves and boots furiously attacked the criminals and in a matter of seconds it was all over, he was gone, and the gang was left bleeding on the cold pavement. Some of the thugs were even knocked out cold. The young child knelt down to grab the bat shaped weapon and looked up to the night sky in search of their hero but he was nowhere to be found, they were safe and that was all the mattered to the one they call Batman.
Let me cut to the chase and just go ahead and state the obvious: Batman is the greatest comic book hero ever. He’s the hardest working hero in the business. He’s a spy, a ninja, a detective, a strategist, a visionary, a pilot and much more. Basically he’s Sherlock Holmes, James Bond and Bruce Lee all wrapped into one. With no super powers to aid him in his crime fighting, he’s the hero whose sheer determination and drive pushes him to perform these amazing feats in order to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Batman is the relatable hero who we think of when we see fire fighters battling a blaze, or police officers and army soldiers protecting and saving civilians. His essence is also present when an average stand up citizen intervenes during a crime or disturbance. Batman encompasses the penicle of the strength of the human spirit and although he’s at the peak of physical fitness and human intelligence, a battle still rages inside. A battle that is suppressed and coped with by donning the cowl and prowling the night streets of Gotham. Fighting crime is Bruce Wayne’s way of releasing his angst and filling the void left in his life since his parents’ murder. The abrupt childhood loss and his obsession with justice has now caused him to totally embody the persona of his once alter ego to the point where Bruce Wayne is now the alter ego and Batman is at the forefront.
Ever since his creation in 1939 as a main protagonist for DC Comics, Batman has become one of the most popular comic book heroes of all time. Although various aspects of Bob Kane’s iconic creation has changed over the years, the overall vigilante hero concept has remained intact. His countless crime fighting gadgets and vehicles as well as the ever-growing Batman villain rogue gallery has just added to our fascination with this character and his world. Batman’s main antagonist, The Joker, has been argued to be the greatest villain in comics, beating out the likes of Lex Luther and Magneto. Batman has also worked alongside and mentored a vast amount of apprentices, most notably Robin…all four of them. Other crime fighting colleagues and apprentices of the Knight include: Catwoman, all five Bat girls, former Robin Nightwing, Azaezel, Huntress, Oracle and many others. Batman is also one of the founding members of the Justice League alongside comic juggernauts Superman and Wonder Woman. The character’s growing popularity not only resulted in Batman’s chokehold over the comic book world but also the gradual transition into other media realms, which continued to add to his already extensive fan base. Television shows, movies and merchandise has flooded the mainstream media so much that the bat symbol is probably forever embedded in our subconscious. Although campy, the 80’s television show starring Adam West remains a cult classic along with it’s more recent animated counterparts, Batman Beyond and Batman: The Animated Series. Batman’s Animated Series darker portrayal of the hero was actually created after and based on the very successful Tim Burton Batman movies of the late 80′s early and 90′s. Although the franchise came to an abrupt halt thanks to the devastation that was Joel Schumacher, our love and admiration of the character has caused him to bounce back with the new successful Dark Knight films as well as brand new animated shows, ongoing comic book success and the popular Arkham Asylum and Arkham City video games. He is the most realistic and relatable comic hero and this is probably the main reason we’re all intrigued and fascinated by him. And this is why I’ve dedicated this entry to showing my appreciation for the Dark Knight. Thank you all for joining me in celebrating one of the most conflicted and courageous comic book characters ever: Batman.
