Why I love Batman?
Now first of all when I say "I love Batman", I just mean that I love him as a superhero or as a character. I am not gay for him. I am not homophobic or anything. I just am not gay. But all jokes aside, Batman's freaking awesome and anyone who dares to say otherwise in front of me best be stronger than me. Batman's awesome. Ok. Batman is fucking awesome. And, in the following lines, let me tell you why if you don't already know that.
Every kid loves superheroes. That's a fact. No one can deny that. Every kid has a favorite superhero. That's also a fact. When I was a kid there were three major superheroes for me. Batman, Superman and Spiderman. And I think this is the case for most of us - the 90s kids. I knew many superheroes - Ironman, Fantastic 4, X-Men, Captain Planet, even the Indian superheroes like Nagraj, Doga, etc. But whenever the word superhero fell on my small ears, the first three names that I immediately recalled were Batman, Superman and Spiderman. I think these are the most identifiable superheroes all over the world. We all knew what Superman looked like and as kids we wanted to be him. Superman can be taken as the synonym for the word superhero. The cape and the underwear and the hands on the waist pose was, is and always will be so identifiable and that made Superman the definition of superhero. What made Batman and Spiderman so famous was I think the Batman Animated Series and the Spiderman Animated Series. As a kid I was a fan of Batman Animated Series. It was a cartoon series which even adults could enjoy. It has such intelligent writing and a very dark tone. All of its episodes are gems. And the theme music and the opening sequence with the bomb going off in the bank, the goons running and then we see the Batmobile chasing after them and Batman facing the goons on the roof of a tall building. And then Batman looking over Gotham as lightening strikes. That opening sequence was enough to get anyone excited and made very clear what the whole show was about. The show not only focused on Batman but also on the various aspects of being Batman. It was a great character study of Batman and Bruce Wayne. All the characters were so nicely fleshed out. And also there was such a great voice talent involved with the show with Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as Joker. The show also introduced one of the best comic character of all time - Harley Quinn. I still remember some of the episodes because of how brilliant they were. Some of the episodes were not just action superhero stuff but awesome mysteries. It was a great and a very intelligent show for intelligent audiences. Although as a kid I was not so intelligent but I just loved watching Batman do all the detective work and the superhero stuff. But when I grew up I rewatched the entire show and was awed at how I still enjoyed each and every episode.
Now when I was growing up, some of my interest in Batman died down because the animated series stopped airing and that was the time when new superheroes and shows were emerging. Like Power Rangers, Pokemon, Beyblade, Dragon Ball Z. But the major reason is that more than Batman I started liking Spiderman because that was the time when Batman had movies like Batman Forever and Batman and Robin which are total fucking nonsense, I don't know why they exist, Fuck You Joel Schumacher, and Spiderman had the Sam Raimi Spiderman Trilogy which is fucking awesome(yes..Spiderman 3 is not so great but I love it). So for many years I had no fucking interest in Batman. And then came along an English filmmaker of the name Christopher Nolan.
When Batman Begins came out in 2005, I hate to admit it but I ignored it completely. I had lost interest in Batman altogether because of the last two movies. It wasn't until The Dark Knight was released and Heath Ledger posthumously won an Oscar for his performance that I got to know about it. I thought - "Well if a comic book movie performance has won an Oscar then that means the movie must be worth checking out." So first of all I watched The Dark Knight and I fucking loved it. Batman was back being awesome for me. I went back and watched Batman Begins then and then I watched them both back to back, maybe like 10 times. I loved both of them so much. For me, Batman Begins is the best Batman movie. Oh, wait. What does that mean? Do I love Batman Begins more than The Dark Knight? No guys, relax. The Dark Knight for me is the best movie ever. There can be movies that may have better story than The Dark Knight or may be better than it technically but I don't give a fuck. Right now until this moment The Dark Knight is my all time favorite movie. Now the reason why I don't call it the best Batman movie is that I consider it as the best Joker movie, Batman Begins is the best Batman movie. The Dark Knight is much more of a crime drama and doesn't delve much into the Batman character. So basically what the Nolan movies did was reignite the flame of Batman love inside of me. Love for Batman increased day by day as I dug deeper in the Batman and DC mythos. I started reading Batman comics - The Killing Joke, The Dark Knight Returns, Hush, The Long Halloween, etc and found that Batman comics were not just comics for kids. They were dark, had layers of storytelling and such rich characters. They are the kind of stories that win Booker prize or something. I also watched the Batman Animated Series and Justice League again and they too made my love for Batman stronger.
Then after I finished school I got into hardcore gaming and I discovered a video game gem - the Batman Arkham Series. I remember that when I was first installing Arkham Asylum, I was thinking that the game would be OKish and I was just gonna play it because it was a Batman game. But when I actually played it, I realised what an awesome video game it was. Now I couldn't just love Batman, I could be Batman. The game made me feel like I was Batman while detecting the clues and fighting the bosses (the Scarecrow boss battle was excellent). The story was also just like a Batman comicbook. Then I played Arkham City which was even better and bigger than Arkham Asylum in every sense. Up until that point I used to play video games just for fun but while playing Arkham City I actually was emotionally involved in the game.
I should thank all the master people who have worked on the Batman comicbooks, games, movies and series. I think the main reason why anyone loves Batman is because of them. Batman is a great character but even a great character can be wasted if justice is not done with it. What makes Batman work is that more than being a superhero, he is a great character who seems to be someone who can be there in reality. He has a tragic story and his motivations are pretty clear. I think his is the best backstory and the best motivations to be a superhero. If you ignore the fact that he is a genius millionaire with tons of gadgets and technology and skills for a minute then he is just a guy who wants to stop bad things from happening because something bad happened with him. That can be any one in reality. Any simple guy who has suffered and doesn't want others to suffer. This is what makes Batman great. Also many people may not like him because he doesn't have any powers. He also doesn't have any cool suit like Ironman. But I actually like him because he doesn't have any powers and still is one of the best superheroes ever, That makes the little kid inside me believe that I too can be great (no there is not a little kid inside me literally.i meant myself). What Batman has achieved is because of years of training and practice and that serves as a huge inspiration for everyone. It's easy being a hero when you have powers. Even if you remove the suit, the gadgets and take away the money, Batman will still remain Batman. Batman is a symbol of hope for the good and fear for the bad. Batman is an example that shows that, super or not, we all can be a hero.
And that's why my friends, I love Batman. Now I haven't still talked about Batman Rogues Gallery because that is something I am gonna have to talk about in a separate post because of that being a huge topic in itself. So this was "Why I love Batman?" Next we are gonna have "Why I love Batman Villains?"
Every kid loves superheroes. That's a fact. No one can deny that. Every kid has a favorite superhero. That's also a fact. When I was a kid there were three major superheroes for me. Batman, Superman and Spiderman. And I think this is the case for most of us - the 90s kids. I knew many superheroes - Ironman, Fantastic 4, X-Men, Captain Planet, even the Indian superheroes like Nagraj, Doga, etc. But whenever the word superhero fell on my small ears, the first three names that I immediately recalled were Batman, Superman and Spiderman. I think these are the most identifiable superheroes all over the world. We all knew what Superman looked like and as kids we wanted to be him. Superman can be taken as the synonym for the word superhero. The cape and the underwear and the hands on the waist pose was, is and always will be so identifiable and that made Superman the definition of superhero. What made Batman and Spiderman so famous was I think the Batman Animated Series and the Spiderman Animated Series. As a kid I was a fan of Batman Animated Series. It was a cartoon series which even adults could enjoy. It has such intelligent writing and a very dark tone. All of its episodes are gems. And the theme music and the opening sequence with the bomb going off in the bank, the goons running and then we see the Batmobile chasing after them and Batman facing the goons on the roof of a tall building. And then Batman looking over Gotham as lightening strikes. That opening sequence was enough to get anyone excited and made very clear what the whole show was about. The show not only focused on Batman but also on the various aspects of being Batman. It was a great character study of Batman and Bruce Wayne. All the characters were so nicely fleshed out. And also there was such a great voice talent involved with the show with Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as Joker. The show also introduced one of the best comic character of all time - Harley Quinn. I still remember some of the episodes because of how brilliant they were. Some of the episodes were not just action superhero stuff but awesome mysteries. It was a great and a very intelligent show for intelligent audiences. Although as a kid I was not so intelligent but I just loved watching Batman do all the detective work and the superhero stuff. But when I grew up I rewatched the entire show and was awed at how I still enjoyed each and every episode.
Now when I was growing up, some of my interest in Batman died down because the animated series stopped airing and that was the time when new superheroes and shows were emerging. Like Power Rangers, Pokemon, Beyblade, Dragon Ball Z. But the major reason is that more than Batman I started liking Spiderman because that was the time when Batman had movies like Batman Forever and Batman and Robin which are total fucking nonsense, I don't know why they exist, Fuck You Joel Schumacher, and Spiderman had the Sam Raimi Spiderman Trilogy which is fucking awesome(yes..Spiderman 3 is not so great but I love it). So for many years I had no fucking interest in Batman. And then came along an English filmmaker of the name Christopher Nolan.
When Batman Begins came out in 2005, I hate to admit it but I ignored it completely. I had lost interest in Batman altogether because of the last two movies. It wasn't until The Dark Knight was released and Heath Ledger posthumously won an Oscar for his performance that I got to know about it. I thought - "Well if a comic book movie performance has won an Oscar then that means the movie must be worth checking out." So first of all I watched The Dark Knight and I fucking loved it. Batman was back being awesome for me. I went back and watched Batman Begins then and then I watched them both back to back, maybe like 10 times. I loved both of them so much. For me, Batman Begins is the best Batman movie. Oh, wait. What does that mean? Do I love Batman Begins more than The Dark Knight? No guys, relax. The Dark Knight for me is the best movie ever. There can be movies that may have better story than The Dark Knight or may be better than it technically but I don't give a fuck. Right now until this moment The Dark Knight is my all time favorite movie. Now the reason why I don't call it the best Batman movie is that I consider it as the best Joker movie, Batman Begins is the best Batman movie. The Dark Knight is much more of a crime drama and doesn't delve much into the Batman character. So basically what the Nolan movies did was reignite the flame of Batman love inside of me. Love for Batman increased day by day as I dug deeper in the Batman and DC mythos. I started reading Batman comics - The Killing Joke, The Dark Knight Returns, Hush, The Long Halloween, etc and found that Batman comics were not just comics for kids. They were dark, had layers of storytelling and such rich characters. They are the kind of stories that win Booker prize or something. I also watched the Batman Animated Series and Justice League again and they too made my love for Batman stronger.
Then after I finished school I got into hardcore gaming and I discovered a video game gem - the Batman Arkham Series. I remember that when I was first installing Arkham Asylum, I was thinking that the game would be OKish and I was just gonna play it because it was a Batman game. But when I actually played it, I realised what an awesome video game it was. Now I couldn't just love Batman, I could be Batman. The game made me feel like I was Batman while detecting the clues and fighting the bosses (the Scarecrow boss battle was excellent). The story was also just like a Batman comicbook. Then I played Arkham City which was even better and bigger than Arkham Asylum in every sense. Up until that point I used to play video games just for fun but while playing Arkham City I actually was emotionally involved in the game.
I should thank all the master people who have worked on the Batman comicbooks, games, movies and series. I think the main reason why anyone loves Batman is because of them. Batman is a great character but even a great character can be wasted if justice is not done with it. What makes Batman work is that more than being a superhero, he is a great character who seems to be someone who can be there in reality. He has a tragic story and his motivations are pretty clear. I think his is the best backstory and the best motivations to be a superhero. If you ignore the fact that he is a genius millionaire with tons of gadgets and technology and skills for a minute then he is just a guy who wants to stop bad things from happening because something bad happened with him. That can be any one in reality. Any simple guy who has suffered and doesn't want others to suffer. This is what makes Batman great. Also many people may not like him because he doesn't have any powers. He also doesn't have any cool suit like Ironman. But I actually like him because he doesn't have any powers and still is one of the best superheroes ever, That makes the little kid inside me believe that I too can be great (no there is not a little kid inside me literally.i meant myself). What Batman has achieved is because of years of training and practice and that serves as a huge inspiration for everyone. It's easy being a hero when you have powers. Even if you remove the suit, the gadgets and take away the money, Batman will still remain Batman. Batman is a symbol of hope for the good and fear for the bad. Batman is an example that shows that, super or not, we all can be a hero.
And that's why my friends, I love Batman. Now I haven't still talked about Batman Rogues Gallery because that is something I am gonna have to talk about in a separate post because of that being a huge topic in itself. So this was "Why I love Batman?" Next we are gonna have "Why I love Batman Villains?"
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