Is Batman a Hero?

Taylor Staubach

Lockwood

Graphic Novels

26 October 2015

Is Batman a Hero?

Batman Year One is the first year of Batman’s superhero persona with his intent being to defend the law abiding townspeople. His main goal is to right the wrongs and to stop any and all criminal activity against the innocent. Because of Batman’s past and specifically what happened to his parents,this is his motivation to catch the bad guys. Some qualities I believe make a hero are courage, responsibility and good judgement. Batman is responsible by always showing up to fight crime when he is needed and being committed to protecting citizens by whatever means necessary. Batman uses good judgement by always thinking a situation through and making smart decisions. Batman is courageous by fighting dangerous criminals to protect his city from any harm. Yes, I believe that Batman and Bruce Wayne fit into enough of these seven character traits to be considered a hero.

”A hero can be anyone even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a little boy’s shoulder to let him know that the world hasn’t ended.” Batman never had the opportunity to know his parents, he grew up without their guidance because they were killed when (Bruce Wayne)was just a child. Batman’s devotion to justice overrides his devotion to the law by putting the citizens of Gotham first and pretty much ignoring the law. The extraordinary nature Batman is contrasted with the ordinariness of his surroundings by having a double life and being able to switch back and forth between the two, which he first does after a bat crashed through his window and frightened him (as seen on page 22).

Batman’s alter ego comes into play when there is crime or danger afoot and only his powers and abilities can conquer such. Even though Batman is above the law, his moral loyalty is mainly to the city of Gotham. Since Batman is considered an outsider and doesn’t necessarily have “superpowers” he still has super abilities and is nonetheless an extraordinary nature which sets him apart from the rest of society. Batman uses science and magic by vanishing into thin air or vanishing into smoke to create an act of illusion (as seen on page 38). Batman can also jump off high buildings and land without getting injured. However, Batman does not consist of scientific abilities, he does fight science fiction supervillains, and although this may slightly demote him from the superhero level, he still is pretty high up there.” We fall so that we can learn to pick ourselves up and rise”.

Bruce Wayne, which is just who Batman was before he became Batman also grew up without his parents guidance because he watched them being murdered as a child.Bruce Wayne always had the abilities of