(TW: mental illness) Character Count: 2425 Word Count: 442 (Old, it was updated and longer now) Batman is a lot of things: a billionaire, a hero, a father, a lover. But one thing that is ignored about him is his empathetic nature. Bruce Wayne had a hard life. His parents were killed them he was young, and he struggled for a healthy mind. But he was able to heal. He became successful, and eventually fought for the safety of others. The people he fight are usually, if not always, mentally ill and tortured by some large event in their life. And Batman recognizes this, and helps them. He gets them the help they need after their battles. A great example of this was a comic that came out around Christmas. Mr. Freeze, a villain Batman often fought, froze over Gotham in a snowstorm. He didn’t do this just to be irksome, though. Mr. Freeze wasn’t always a villain, of course. His villain ark started when his wife, who he was married to for 10 years, died. She loved the snow (the reason for Mr. Freeze’s gimmick), especially on Christmas. In the comic, when Bruce tracked Mr. Freeze down, he was kneeled in front of his wife’s grave, sobbing. He told the story to Batman, who stood there and let him mourn, and took him to prison only after. Batman gave him time. He helped them, but he isn’t a complete bleeding heart. He still fights them if they threaten people, and still brings them to justice, but he makes sure they get the help they need. Another example is the infamous Harlequin. She was a very psychotic person, who had a difficult childhood and life that brought her to the point of murder. But Batman got her the help she needed, and she was even able to rebuild the relationships she had before she became a villain, something real people struggle with. Hell, her and Batman became friends afterwards, and Bruce bought her the dress she wanted. Batman is also great with children, something not a lot of people realize. He not only had 6 children, but 4 of them were adopted from the orphanages he lived in. There have been many times in the older, original material where Batman sat with and comforted children he rescued and brought the people who hurt them to justice. And this is why I don’t like modern day Batman. He isn’t Batman. A famous quote by Batmans creator is “If you can imagine your Batman comforting a traumatized child, congratulations, you’ve written Batman.” New Batman is a violent hero who doesn’t care about the wellbeing of others. And I think its because of what people think about mentally hurt individuals. People can’t imagine they can heal, and that they will always be murderers. So they don’t try to. Yes, people can make their own hero. But to remove such a vital part of character is so wrong. That is why I don’t like modern versions of many superheroes. This happens way too often. Its not the real hero if they aren’t a reflection or don’t hold any similarities to the original.
