On July 18th the new batman movie will debut, most likely to mass audience revere. I, myself, will be like a young school-girl screaming with glee at Ricky Martin concert in 2002.
what I dare to ask myself, however… is batman too serious?
in the 90s the comic book business almost died off. The people that were reading comics in the 70s and 80s got too old, and had kids and jobs, and no longer had time for comics.
The people that were being raised in the 80s and 90s, didn’t care. Why? Simply they had too much other stuff going. With all the video games, MTV, distractions, toys, etc… comic books were the last thing they cared for. So the business was dying. The DC comics universe had one decision to make, and indeed Marvel comics as well as others did this as well… however… DC was first….
They appealed to the older generation of readers. The people who were now in their 20s, and 30s. Grab a market back that was disappearing. How did they do this? Movies, clothes, fashion, and…. Comics. Bring back…. NOT the story of the comics… but the… icons. The legends. They knew a 30 year old man wasn’t about to read a comic where Batman punches a guy and a “BAM! POW!” is written on the cover. No. However… have Batman’s only woman he ever loved… dancing with the joker as he slit her throat right in front of him…. Now THAT drew a crowd. Have Robin’s spine broken, beaten, and destroyed by the joker… NOW THAT made the dark Knight cry….
All of a sudden people were interested. So… now the question is…. Has it gone too far?
Christopher Nolan’s Batman vision (batman begins and the new Dark Knight movies) bring to film what Batman : Year One did from Frank Miller… it brought a Dark Knight forth that was edgy. Gritty. He was scarred. Abused. Hurt…. Vicious… INSANE. Any moment, you could see in his eyes… a blurred vision of your own death…..
In a climactic finish during Nolan’s film the Caped Crusader states to Raj Al Ghul before his imminent destruction :
I WON’T KILL YOU…. BUT I DON’T HAVE TO SAVE YOU…..
He has a raspy voice. He’s dark… scary. The movie is following more of a SAW chill factor than the old campy comic notions of the 50s batman.
Originally batman was written as a kind of young action-oriented sherlock holmes.
Now he often comes across as a demon. All Knowing. And All knowing = all power. He is indeed feared even by the criminals around him. Even superman has stated “I really don’t like him behind me…. ”
All of the images of the current dark knight, show him preparing, planning, and expecting. He is flawed, yet ruthless and cunning. Every aspect off his actions is plausible. Every notion of what he does, points to a man that in our real society… would just be insane. Yet could exist. The dark knight of movies and comics shown now… could easily be any rich man in our world. Any man determined to train like an Olympian, with a college degree in Engineering and Business Management, and rich … could do what batman does.
But is that fair? In the comics… he is a hero… yet… not an idol. No one WANTS to be batman. He is troubled. Needs emotional help. Honestly… he just needs someone to love him….
Is this right? To make him so dark and realistic… that we watch him… and fear him? Or should he be more like the big-blue boyscout called The Man of Steel ? (superman).
As just mentioned… anyone could be batman. But that anyone, would also go to jail. The world that batman lives in… indeed he is hunted by the police.
Should our society rever such a man? Should we list him as a hero? Much less, a “superhero”?
He uses terror tactics. While he never kills… MANY MANY have died because of his actions. And many more have WISHED they were dead. Criminals who, honestly, are just normal people wishing to have money for their dying kids… just needed help. Instead, batman made sure they never walk again…
If this current trends continue… its possible that the readers of today which are older… will die off. And the younger generation will not be able to enjoy batman. He’s no longer action oriented… and his stories are selling too much of the “psychological thriller” side of things.
For me… I like the batman of today most. However… I want him to endure and last…. I want the younger generations to know about him… and going this route… may not be best for his future career.
