Batman was my favorite DC hero as a child. A hero that, as children, we fantasized being and roll played with friends and siblings. Superman didn’t do much for me. Speed racer was the guy I loved as a kid, but Batman hit something deeper, at the core.
My brother and I had a very thick encyclopedia of DC super heroes that sketched, in cartoon, how and why they become who they are: heroes. I don’t know if that book is around, but as a kid it allowed us to understand a hero and to identify with one or more. Batman was my guy in this book.
The new release of the “Dark Knight” was a solid philosophical return to why Batman is who he is: a dark hero. It was no surprise, but it was great to see it played out for people to meditate on. I didn’t quite pay attention to the chronology of these movies and or whether this was an early story of his cape career. However, I believe he made the underlining philosophical choice earlier then this movie cut.
The decision was made at the point of his tragedy. He later came to a realization who he really is, what he must do, how and the balance he maintains within himself.
In the movie, Bruce Wayne says: People are dying, Alfred. What would you have me do?
Alfred Pennyworth replied: Endure, Master Wayne. Take it. He'll hate you for it. But that's the point of Batman, he can be the outcast. He can make the choice that no one else can make, the right choice.
I believe that there is more here. Batman realizes who he is and what he can’t be (especially to others). The realization that he is both Dark and light. In this realization, he knows that he must be, at time and in perception, Dark and only he and a few know the intensity of his light. Esoteric Budo, Taoist at heart.
Batman is forged fudoshin.
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