THE SILENT GUARDIAN
With all the chaos around us, my first blog could very well have been on any general topic ranging from NRC to coronavirus or at least inclined towards alluding to these.
Why Batman? The year was 2005 and Christopher Nolan decided to re-explore Batman with Batman Begins. The period when Marvel still hadn’t started its colorful regime of Superhero movies and Spiderman onscreen was still portrayed by Toby Maguire.
Batman begins starts off with a young Bruce Wayne falling into a dry well on being attacked by a swarm of bats hence developing Chiroptophobia (well bats have been the cause of a lot of trouble both within and outside the fictional realm). After being orphaned and raised by a butler, Alfred, he is struck by grief and guilt. As years pass by, he learns that real power comes from being in a state of fear and over time, overcoming it. Bruce travels around the world studying, living and training alongside criminals (as per the movie — ‘The League of Shadows’). He dedicated the following 14 years in learning various forms of Martial Arts and developing his IQ after which he returns back to Gotham only to realize that the city is packed with criminals. With the intent of fighting crime, Wayne takes the identity of his alter ego, Batman, in order to fight crime in the night with darkness as his ally whilst being like any other billionaire playboy in the day. He epitomizes the symbol of a bat, the one which he feared the most to strike fear in the minds of those who preyed on the fear of the innocent. As a symbol and an ordinary vigilante with advanced technology, he fights to stop local thugs like Scarecrow and Ra’s al Ghul from destroying his beloved city.
“It’s Not Who I Am Underneath, But What I Do That Defines Me.” — Batman begins
Three years later, the fan favorite Dark Knight arrives. The movie was the first superhero movie to make a billion dollars at the box office. No doubt that it was, still is and will continue to be loved both by fans and critics. It was an epic show down between the Dark Knight and the Clown Prince of Crime. This movie has tons of iconic scenes like the opening bank robbery, the tense interrogation scene, Batman kidnapping Lau, a Chinese businessman from Hong kong, Joker persuading Harvey Dent to go on a killing spree and/or eventually making Batman let go his integrity, his symbol and the solace in being Batman for protecting Gotham by taking responsibility for all of Dent’s crimes to preserve the latter’s heroic image.
Christopher Nolan showcases the grim reality and darkness behind the Batman universe. There was lot of hype when Bale was casted and yes he didn’t fail us. Heath Ledger — my words won’t do justice to his performance and he remains eternal in our hearts as the joker. Bale and Nolan treat Batman as a man who can and will lose but still be ready to carry the welfare of Gotham on his shoulders. The pain and physical toll of being a Batman can be seen through the eyes of bale.
The Dark Knight Trilogy was my first exposure to the world of Batman. There was no stopping me from there as I laid hands on every animated movie, series and blog that portrayed Batman. I adored a fictional character because he was different from other comic Super heroes.
Batman belongs to a fairly small group of heroes with a feel of “possibility” around him. He is the most relatable, engaging and grounded character that I have come across. When Batman first faces Bane (both in comics and the movie, The Dark Knight Rises), he is badly beaten and gets his rib broken. The point is that every villain he faces in Gotham tests his skills and abilities to the max like The Joker who has beliefs that are contradictory to his, tests the moral code of Batman while Bane tests his physical strength and Riddler tests his IQ. He starts as an underdog in every battle that he faces and there is a serious chance that he could lose. The very chance of uncertainty makes us root and cheer Batman.
“Gordon — I Never Said, ‘Thank You.’
Batman- And You’ll Never Have To.” — Batman begins.
The above quote pretty much sums batman. The Dark knight doesn’t require Gordon or the people of Gotham to sing his praises or shower him with awards and medals. He merely wants Gordon to cooperate with him in cleaning up the crime ridden Gotham.
Bruce Wayne’s relationship with women and robin has been toxic and complicated, similar to any ordinary person. We all do stupid things and regret committing it. At times we have all become our worst enemies. So is Batman who still blames himself for the death of his parents (Batman begins) and also of Jason Todd (Batman: Under the Red Hood). The Caped Crusader without super powers ends more hours preparing and training to have an edge over his villains and his fellow Justice League members. He is more of a human then a hero.
Gotham as a socially disturbed chaotic city, very much resembles today’s environment that is disease-ridden and witnesses aspects like terrorism, adultery, religion and caste seeding venom in the minds of people to such an extent that we lack empathy for our fellow beings. We don’t need a Superman to fight these but a Batman in each of us. As I had mentioned earlier Batman is a symbol, a symbol of determination and power to overcome fear that many should mimic on a regular basis.
“A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a little boy’s shoulders to let him know that the world hadn’t ended.”
-Batman in The Dark Knight Rises
