Comic Book Musings I

Batman is the superhero I look up to most, and I can tell you why.

The Joker.

The fact the Joker has not been beaten to death by Batman makes him the superhero I admire most.
It means that no matter what, Batman still believes in justice, and that no matter how many times the Joker will get off or escape, Batman will be there to catch him if he messes up and toss him back into jail. Now with the Joker it is only a matter of time until he does commit a crime and Batman has to stop him, but it isn’t that way with all his villains.
Even though Batman operates outside of the establish law, he is only enhancing the enforcement of law, not replacing it. He could easily operate completely outside of law and order. I don’t think many members of the Gotham PD would mind if he began offing some of his rogue’s gallery, but he doesn’t do it, because he knows it is wrong. And because Bruce made a promise to himself that he would never cross that line.
Unless he is being written at his most paranoid, Batman is at his core an optimist. Even though battle may be a never ending one, he is hoping one day to achieve a world where a nine year old doesn’t have to lose their parents to violence.
And that just resonates with me. He is trying to make the world a better place, working with in the current system. That reason is why I’d loved to see another Last Batman Story, but this one from the opposite end of the spectrum from The Dark Knight Returns. Telling the Story of the day Bruce was able to take off the mask for a final time, knowing that he made a difference to the world, and that it isn’t a bad place to live.