As the character will be selling, Batman will be... Sad, but...
Batman
Character » Batman appears in 23627 issues.
Bruce Wayne, who witnessed the murder of his billionaire parents as a child, swore to avenge their deaths. He trained extensively to achieve mental and physical perfection, mastering martial arts, detective skills, and criminal psychology. Costumed as a bat to prey on the fears of criminals, and utilizing a high-tech arsenal, he became the legendary Batman.
Off My Mind: What Drives Batman in His War on Crime?
The Batmobile?What Drives Batman in His War on Crime?
Well done sir , well done.
And yeah you're right he vowed to do it the rest of his life but in doing so he doesn't have a life .
He has a manic compulsion brought on by Complex post traumatic stress disorder. Which manifest itself in anger displacement due to his feelings of guilt and helplessness at both being unable to prevent his parent murder, and survivor's guilt for being alive. When he is beating the hell out of criminals he is also attacking the parts of himself he he hates. For every crime he prevents, hundreds gets carried out. When he spends an evening preventing Joker's latest scheme or stopping a diamond heist by Penguin, how many muggings take place? He has subconsciously chosen an impossible task . So the feelings of helplessness never completely go away. He also shows symptoms of dysphoria. Like he feels he does not have the right to have positive emotions because he deserves to suffer.
The thing is, the good he does accomplish means the world to the people he does save and their loved ones. Sure, he does not prevent some crimes but he prevents or solves a lot. If he would accept that just because he isn't saving every one does not negate the fact that he saved many, he would find some peace.
Is it any different than a cop who joined at 18 and remained a cop until hitting retirement age despite having to fight people trying to run from speeding tickets, getting shot at passing through a bad neighborhood, or rescuing abused children in all manner of situations?
Cops make many sacrifices in their life like Batman does, and many of them don't quit, even though they know they can't completely end crime. The point isn't to end it all, it's to make sure it doesn't get worse.
Without the Batman character Bruce Wayne has one really un-happy life. When he is Batman he is some one. And some one who makes an important job for Gotham - saving it !!!
War on crime? The punisher has a war on crime Bats just wants to play superhero and make sure his hands stay clean.co-sign
this topic is what i have told people all the time. for folks, marvel and dc have the same heroes, and in marvel, it's batman is the punisher. the punisher knows that evil will be there when he is gone, and he just lives now to kill everyone he can to make life that much easier... somewhat. batman thinks that when he dies, or as long as he is alive, he can eradicate ALL evil.
I think Bruce, in part (a big part), is responsible for said anarchic chaos. If you look at how Gotham changes between Year One, Arkham Asylum, Long Halloween, Dark Victory and Dark Knight Returns. In Year One he helps to weaken the mob families this opened the doors for a power struggle between the Families and the "Freaks". Eventually those same costumed villains he attracts became the criminal status quo for Gotham. And in my opinion the Joker's of Gotham have caused more pain and suffering to the citizens than a Maroni ever has. Sure he keeps them at bey so to speak, but he never accomplishes anything buy having them sent to the revolving door of Arkham. I know he can't control the legal system but let's not pretend he's not a "part" of that failed system. I actually agree with Frank Miller's assertion that The Joker exists because of Batman in DKR.When you ask if he's made progress, I refer you to "Battle for The Cowl". That entire series frequently highlighted the consequences of NOT having Batman. In Batman, criminals find something to fear, something to be cautious of. When he was 'dead', Gotham went to hell in a handbasket. Criminals realized they no longer had Batman stalking their every move, and began doing essentially whatever the hell they felt like doing. Open war broke out between Penguin and Two-Face. So yes, he has made progress. In the sense that without him, Gotham would return to a state of anarchic chaos. He'll continue fighting on until his body is pushed beyond its limits, and finally gives out.
This whole conversation reminds me of a humorous video on Cracked.com about whether or not Batman was good or bad For Gotham. From a purely statistical and practical sense I've gotta say that for every problem Bruce has solved in Gotham he's caused three. From a psychological stand point I feel like Bruce's War is nothing more than a scared little boy's attempt to feel brave. To deal with his survivors guilt. To never let the mean man in the alley take anything away from him again. Roadrunner's speech to Dick about
the difference between Batman's affect on Gotham as opposed to Superman's effect on Metropolis. I think Batman's the direct result of the psychosis which grips Gotham. It's taken root in him and he himself produces it in others. All that being said, Batman's my favorite character and if it weren't for these complexities that make him he'd be infinitely less interesting and dynamic.
@The Stegman:
I got a friend that says he can stop drinking whenever he wants...funny how similar he sounds to Bruce in that quote.
I think if I were batman I would instead of taking my youthful hate out on the world, just move it with my even more rich, and even more exciting aunt and uncle.
Batman is too deeply invested in fighting crime to quit now. Bruce Wayne, however, is not. When Bruce wants to give up the cowl, then he can rest. Otherwise, he'll keep fighting to the death
@dorsk188 said:
The Batmobile?What Drives Batman in His War on Crime?
Ladies and gentleman, I think we have a winner.
He's married to the job.
These kinds of guy continue to death. He's been traumatized since his childhood and has never recovered. Since he's good at what he do, nothing will say to him : "Hey ! That's good, you've done your part !".
He's faced god, superhuman, cosmic entity and alien, and always won or recovered, how do you want him to quit ? Since, he's not aging, and that nothing will bring him down permanently. He will endure forever...
Some real case of his exist : just look at some cops, soldiers, hardcore criminals. Usually, they only stop when they died, sacrificing their personnal lives and they family life at the time. They stop usually with psychological breakdown or by dying.
The truth is, for Bruce Wayne, it's not really a war on crime, it's a lifestyle.
Batman would get a lot more done if he actually KILLED criminals. At a certain point one has to realize there is no turning back for some criminals. When Batman arrests people why do they not go to death row? Why does he go out of his way to make sure they are apprehended rather than eliminated?
Of course the simple answer is that if Batman got stuff done the comics would be hard to write (its a cyclical process of crime-capture-escape), and the Batman universe would be getting reset every 5 years or so. That is, unless DC starts inspiring more creativity out of writers.
His undying devotion is part of what makes Batman so great, and so tragic. He'll continue until he's met his parents on the other side.I totally agree with cosmo. Its so sad to imagine what his parents would think if they could see him now and how unhappy he is.
@cosmo111687 said:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDxorS3ENWMHis undying devotion is part of what makes Batman so great, and so tragic. He'll continue until he's met his parents on the other side.I totally agree with cosmo. Its so sad to imagine what his parents would think if they could see him now and how unhappy he is.
I love this short. It wouldn't be Thomas's wish to see Bruce consumed by his mission as he was. But Alfred knows that it's best to keep that fact concealed from Bruce, for the greater good. The world needs Batman.
I think this is silly question unless it is rhetorical. You are asking us to question the basis of a character that has been developed over decades. The answer should be obvious and is stated in the first panel you presented. If he would win that war then there would be no more Batman.
His undying devotion is part of what makes Batman so great, and so tragic. He'll continue until he's met his parents on the other side.Couldn't have said it better!
Imagine this:
A desperate comedian, his wife dead, in forced into wearing a red costume and leading a criminal raid into his old workplace, a chemical plant. He is startled by the extra guards, and falls into the polluted water below...
A man who, despite noble heritage, is mocked for his height and odd looks. Rejected by the high society he was born into, he takes comfort only in his birds...
An "untouchable" mob boss, sour in his capture and following persecution, throws acid into the face of the crusading district attorney with a hidden dark half...
An unsuspecting, beautiful intern is experimented upon by her superior, a highly respected botanist who share her love for plants above all else...
That's just a few. Who could stop these people? Sure, other superheroes would come in, but you're not really a part of the superhero community until you've had your butt saved by Batman at least once. Superman, the greatest hero ever, was saved the most by him. And we all saw what happened when he died. Sure he came back, but it was clear those were special circumstances, which might happen again, but certainly not that many times. Not to mention the time(s) when powerful beings such as Superman went rogue, and Batman stopped them, whether by disabling the mind control or with a well placed piece of Kryptonite. Not to mention, batman is the only one who could come close to UNDERSTANDING these people's insanity, which makes them incredibly difficult to stop.
And all the government agencies like Checkmate and individuals like Amanda Waller (when they are evil/bad/misinformed any way), theres no way someone that's not Batman could stop all, or even most of them.
Not to mention all the heroes batman trained. Many of their fighting skills would be naught if not for him.
I guess you've had enough "Not to mention..."s. The point is, Batman does make a difference. If the difference the bad guys make is just as big, that's ok. I'd rather live in a world where someones trying to stop these things from happening, even if he isn't always succeeding, than a world where no one tries at all, and I think batman knows that.
"DC" stands for "Detective Comics". And, without the World's Greatest Detective, the DC Universe would be in hot water. Have you ever read "JLA: The Nail"? It would be like that, only worse. Not to (heh) mention that Bruce wouldn't be able to suddenly gain decades of training the way Kal shrugged off his Amish beliefs.
"Detective Comics" indeed.
Batman will be around, when he sees murder and crimes against all laws being broken by Supervillans everyday, the fire in Gotham is the fuel to keep him ready to take back the city for his people
I think Bruce has plenty of good reasons for fighting crime, but I think more then anything else a lot of it is he loves being batman, like fighting crime, the glory, especially the power, like Bruce is a not a selfless man, In a lot of ways batman is extremely selfish... like yes he fights for other people, but always on his terms, his rules.. like never killing,( killing the joker could have saved hundreds of lives) never using guns.. Bruce Wayne is not the hero gotham, or the world needs, sometimes not even the one that the want, he always has and always will be the hero that HE wants to be, that kinda goes for a lot of heros though not just batman.. but its just a thought, might do a blog post about it sometime
Got a question here: How come many criticize Batman for not killing villains, yet say nothing about other super heroes?
I think it's best to look at Batman's idee fix as some kind of mania( as Dr No tells Bond in the Ian Fleming novel of the same name-"that is precisely what I am, a maniac- all the great religious leaders, thinkers, artists are maniacs....it is a rare and most valuable quality"). Crime existed long before Bruce Wayne's birth(in Gotham and other cities) and will exist long after his death. Police officers and priests face the similar reality that crime and sin seems virtually inusrmountable-but it is worth noting how many lives he has not only saved but inspired(probably hundreds if not thousands)!
Terry
Lets all face it Batman is a hell hellbent borderline sociopath with OCD and Tunnel vision, who never received the proper treatment or help after he watched his parents get killed in front of him, but with all those bad traits he has become the greatest superhero of all time. His determination and tunnel vision for justice is what we would hope a lot of our real life hero's and leaders of government would live by but none the less his tireless effort for justice almost makes him superhuman and that is something that we cannot mimic in the real world. With that being said its time for Gotham to start getting cleaned up a little, I mean come on its the home of Batman, hell its the home office of Batman Inc, that city is suppose to be darn near criminal free.
@labarith: don't forget the dark knight returns
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