Batman's Journey

The Hero Gotham Deserves “Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we'll hunt him because he can take it. Because he's not our hero. He's a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight.” (Christopher Nolan) In The Dark Knight, Batman is the hero of Gotham. Batman is Bruce Wayne’s identity as he fights crime to protect Gotham in Nolan’s trilogy. Bruce Wayne was born a hero, he was raised the way a hero is and lived the life of a hero. There is no doubt in my mind my argument will be convincing in this case. When one searches for the definition of “hero” in the dictionary, one finds definitions of the term such as: “a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble
qualities.”, “the principal male character in a story, play, film, etc.”, and “a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal”. If you are familiar with Batman, you would already be nodding your head in approval of my premise, but as a sign of respect to Christopher Nolan’s trilogy and for points in the AP English Language class this essay will be more thorough in its analysis. It will be deeper, in a literary way. You haven’t read everything. Not everything, not yet. The story of a hero must be one of rebirth and the overcoming of obstacles. All the major pop-culture heroes we know and love have been through it. Neo was awoken from his matrix-induced slumber to face the real world. He had to embrace the fact he was the One, and that he had the power to free mankind from the machines. Atticus Finch fought racism while fighting for his client in the times of blatant discrimination. In Batman’s case, his whole life was filled with tragic obstacles. His parents were murdered when he was barely a child in front of him, which left him without any technical family to nurture him. But in light of his father’s words after he witnessed great fear in a well: “Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves back up.”, he did, in fact, pick himself up. Bruce Wayne was convinced Gotham was full of corruption, crime and evil, but that the problem had a solution. The well Bruce fell in as a child worked perfectly as a metaphor for the trilogy throughout. In that well he faced what would first become his biggest fear, to then become his symbol and tool to becoming powerful. In his quest for becoming a new version of himself that could effectively fight crime he met Ra’s Al Ghul, who taught him the ways of physical combat and most importantly how to strike fear in the mind of his enemies by first embracing his own darkness and fear. As a result the symbol of the bat becomes a prominent motif or identity in the story. We can see it in his nightmares, his cave and, of course, his suit. Later in the series we witness another rebirth of the main character. This time it’s less Bruce Wayne who is being reborn, and more Batman. After taking the blame for Harvey Dent’s wrongdoings, the injured and exhausted Batman disappears from Gotham. And so does Bruce Wayne from his company and from the eye of the media. Once the new, unstoppable Bane becomes terrorizing Gotham Batman tries once more to restore the order in his city but fails. Bane beats him half to death and leaves him in his former prison to rot and watch Gotham burn to ashes. This is the lowest point in Bruce’s life, but he is not afraid of death, he is afraid of losing Gotham. In this situation he has to find strength in himself in order to live, escape the depths of the prison and ultimately save his city from Bane’s nuclear bomb. In his escape, a clear reference to the well of his childhood is made. A well that signifies both the embrace of one’s fears and rebirth. During his ascension to freedom Bruce recollects the words formerly mentioned by his dead father. Mentors are crucial in a heroic journey.They shape the character of the hero and teach him the ways of heroism.
They usually deliver words of wisdom that can be become anyone’s motto. Among them we can find Dumbledore, Yoda, Miyagi and Haymitch. Bruce Wayne’s journey is positively endowed with mentors. The most obvious option would be his father, commonly any boy’s role model. His life was short, and his company to Bruce even more, but his presence endured the test of time. His strong words clearly rang in his son’s mind for the rest of his life. Thomas Wayne was a rich man, who loved his family. He was a philanthropist who believed in peace. His last words to Bruce were “Bruce, don’t be afraid.”, and in retrospect these are words he strongly lived by. Another mentor of Wayne is Henri Ducard, Ra’s Al Ghul. It was this man who drove Bruce to becoming Batman, he challenged him to embrace his fears. Ducard trained him to become the machine of crime-fighting he later becomes when he faces the Joker. Ducard’s presence in the story is brief, but without him Bruce Wayne wouldn't have found Batman in himself. Bruce Wayne encounters this darkness and embraces it, but he struggles to find his balance. This brings up the final, and most important mentor in his life, Alfred Pennyworth. Alfred’s job is to butler for Bruce, but he represents much more than any of that. Alfred was there for Bruce after his parents were murdered and took care of him. Alfred provides wisdom to Bruce when he
needs it, he is a fountain of life lessons because of his travels and age. Alfred holds the memories of what the Wayne family was before Bruce’s parents died. He speaks in the way Bruce’s father did to him as a child, reminding him of what his father taught him to stand up for. When Batman is pushed up against the ropes when trying to figure out what the Joker wants, Alfred helps out with a memorable quote. “Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.”, with these words, Wayne gains insight on who he is facing. After this, he understands The Joker just wants to bend Batman’s rules. Finally, the most notorious asset of a hero is his sacrifice for others.
This can be presented as material or emotional. Heroic sacrifices are classical. Like Gandalf the Grey’s first death as he fights the fierce Balrog to let the rest of the Fellowship flee or when the T-800 had himself lowered into the pit of molten metal to save humanity from future terminators in the end of Terminator 2. Bruce Wayne makes numerous amounts of sacrifices to become Batman. As a fighter of crime, he constantly puts his body on the line every time he goes out to the streets of Gotham to deal with the its scum. He gets beaten with steel pipes, poisoned, shot and even mauled by large dogs. Bruce also invests millions of dollars into his crime-fighting to design and build extremely effective tools and weapons for his purpose. Emotionally, the sacrifices he made were important. As long as he was Batman, the woman he loved truly could never be a part of his life. Bruce traded the man he used to be to become a man who can make a change Gotham. ”No, this is your mask. Your real face is the one that criminals now fear. The man I loved - the man who vanished - he never came back at all. But maybe he's still out there, somewhere. Maybe some day, when Gotham no longer needs Batman, I'll see him again.” (Rachel Dawes). Rachel loved the man Bruce used to be, and even so, they could never be together because Bruce could never see her get hurt because of him. Regardless, this happens eventually. The
Joker kills her to break Harvey Dent’s spirit. In the end of the trilogy, after it is made to believe that Batman died, it is implied that Batman gives up his life in Gotham, his identity as Batman and his riches. If whoever makes dictionaries was to chose a contemporary picture for the word “hero” they would certainly put Batman there for everyone to see. Bruce Wayne is the model millionaire philanthropist. Wouldn't Oprah be far more interesting if she dressed up as a nocturnal flying rodent to fight organized crime at night?