The Grown Man's Hero

Batman has been a hero of mine for pretty much the entirety of my memory bank. When I was just a little guy it was because he drove a crazy cool car and had a belt that could do more than a million Swiss army knives. Now, as a completely grounded and mature adult...okay, I still haven’t ruled out a Batmobile retirement project. Anyways, a few things have changed.

The idea of Batman is intriguing and even inspiring. He is the closest thing to a real life superhero anyone can bring to the big screen (and then eventually our living rooms). He has no special powers beyond what human beings are capable of, and is therefore looked upon as an attainable sort of realistic hero. People can relate to his desire to help others and to fight injustice, they just don’t have the resources. Bruce Wayne (spoiler alert: Batman’s actual identity) has a fortune at his disposal and in the most recent film interpretation, an entire department of a billion dollar corporation dedicated to creating advanced military technology.

But he is still just a man. Very mortal, with red blood in his veins and real emotional issues in his brain. In fact, we see Bruce Wayne as a broken down man in “The Dark Knight Rises.” He limps around with a cane, his body deteriorating from years of crime fighting. He is struggling with the loss of his love interest and his perceived failure in saving those he set out to.

Batman is an actual hero of mine, and yes that may be juvenile and sound ridiculous coming from a grown man. But it isn’t, and here’s why.

Bruce Wayne has struggled with some very real psychological issues since he was a young boy. He lost his parents and seemingly blamed himself, at least in part. That’s heavy stuff. That single instance shaped the way he viewed people and society as a whole. Before his death, Bruce’s father was able to instill some very important and righteous values. While Bruce is tormented, struggling with self doubt and the evils of society, he still has an unflagging desire to make a change. He is determined to stand for justice, to protect those who can’t protect themselves from the oppression of the powerful.

I personally share that desire with Bruce, to stand for justice and protect those who need it. Batman is a symbol of strength for the weak and the meek, someone who has the ability to make known their needs. He is powerful and feared by those in power. In addition, Bruce Wayne is the wealthiest man in Gotham. He could charter a sailboat to the Caribbean every week and enjoy a life of leisure, or even worse dedicate his time and energy to becoming as wealthy and respected (feared) as possible.

This seems to be the mentality a lot of the powerful and wealthy in America possess. Money equates success and the ultimate goal is to be successful, so money is sought after with sometimes ruthless abandon. As a result, there is a huge gap between the rich and everyone else (mainly those who don’t necessarily associate wealth with success). Sure there is money given to charity and time spent reading to sick kids, but most of that is for self esteem and image.

What we need is someone with resources who will stand up for those who need it. Someone with a large inheritance they have been blessed with who chooses to use it to fight injustice. America needs a Batman. What we have is a bunch of Donald Trumps and politicians out for their own agendas. It seems that a majority of the men and women in power have become more concerned with their own success than that of our nation. We need someone who’s going to make the concerns and needs of everyday Americans their own. He or she doesn’t have to fight crime in a bat suit, but tackle injustice with the power that has been given.

Batman is my hero. And one that America needs right now.