Batman
Batman the Money Behind the Mask
Superheroes are thought to have the best intentions, motivated to protect society from evil. Masked and unnamed, they use their super powers for the good of the people. Some comic book heroes do not fall under the stereo-type but live double lives with a dark memory. In Tim Burton’s, 1989 adaptation of Batman, Bruce Wayne attempts to balance his life. By day he plays millionaire playboy figure and by night a crime fighting vigilante. He dresses as a giant bat, out to avenge his parents’ wrongful deaths. Bruce Wayne is just a socialite that has too much money and time that fuels his need to play hero caused by the chip on his shoulder from the traumatic experiences he went through as a child. People in our society often use money and their political status in corrupt ways to get an edge on others by elevating themselves. Batman is only considered a superhero in the eyes of villains and average citizens because he can do things other people dream of accomplishing because it is not plausible or possible for humans to do. Now you ask, well that sounds like a superhero to me. But wait, is he? It is not his super strength, super speed or even his own inventions that allow him to achieve these amazing feats; it is his money in the form of gadgets and gizmos. Batman has no superpowers without his “toys” and he has no toys without money. In Bruce Wayne’s case anyone with a fortune to spend on outlandish devices can call themselves a superhero as they flaunt around with their boots and capes and a belt full of gadgets. Your normal idea of a superhero does not need money to sustain their status of being super. Superheroes are super because they have super powers that are permanently acquired during some experiment or freak accident and do great things with them. It is easy to see how money can make someone seem powerful and super in the eyes of the average person but it is also easy to see how they may be viewed as evil for it as well.
Superheroes are thought to have the best intentions, motivated to protect society from evil. Masked and unnamed, they use their super powers for the good of the people. Some comic book heroes do not fall under the stereo-type but live double lives with a dark memory. In Tim Burton’s, 1989 adaptation of Batman, Bruce Wayne attempts to balance his life. By day he plays millionaire playboy figure and by night a crime fighting vigilante. He dresses as a giant bat, out to avenge his parents’ wrongful deaths. Bruce Wayne is just a socialite that has too much money and time that fuels his need to play hero caused by the chip on his shoulder from the traumatic experiences he went through as a child. People in our society often use money and their political status in corrupt ways to get an edge on others by elevating themselves. Batman is only considered a superhero in the eyes of villains and average citizens because he can do things other people dream of accomplishing because it is not plausible or possible for humans to do. Now you ask, well that sounds like a superhero to me. But wait, is he? It is not his super strength, super speed or even his own inventions that allow him to achieve these amazing feats; it is his money in the form of gadgets and gizmos. Batman has no superpowers without his “toys” and he has no toys without money. In Bruce Wayne’s case anyone with a fortune to spend on outlandish devices can call themselves a superhero as they flaunt around with their boots and capes and a belt full of gadgets. Your normal idea of a superhero does not need money to sustain their status of being super. Superheroes are super because they have super powers that are permanently acquired during some experiment or freak accident and do great things with them. It is easy to see how money can make someone seem powerful and super in the eyes of the average person but it is also easy to see how they may be viewed as evil for it as well.
Cited: Batman. Dir. Tim Burton. Perf. Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, and Kim Basinger. Warner Brothers, 1989. VHS.