Too funny - we were just talking about this the other night and I asked him which superhero he would be … his answer: “Batman”.
My response - “Why Batman?”
His answer - “'Cos he’s rich!”
Sigh … men!!!
I think this is a signifcant part of it. He’s mysterious and tough.
He has a lot of tendencies guys think they should have (albeit in massive doses): he’s had bad things happen to him, but keeps it all under wraps, like a man should. Sure, he dresses like a bat and beats people up, but violence is an exceptable way to act out your inner pain. And he could kill you. He won’t. Today. He might tomorrow. You don’t know. You just don’t know.
And he’s rich.
Iron Man’s rich too, plus he gets a helluva lot more play than Bats. Also, he can fly and he has cooler gadgets than Batman. But he’s also an alkie and has a bad ticker . . .
Ah, hellwit’it, I wanna be Iron Man!
I always wanted to be Green Lantern. Superhero-themed wish-fulfillment doesn’t come any better than this:
Hal Jordan, regular guy (except that his job is cooler than most), is minding his own business. Suddenly, an alien grabs him and says “Okay, man, here’s a ring that gives you god-like power, but with just enough limits to keep things interesting. Go kick some bad-guy tail! Oh, you get to fly around in space a lot, too!”
Unfortunately, both Hal Jordan and Alan Scott suffered from RLWS, an affliction that struck many of the more powerful Golden and Silver Age heroes.
It’s pretty sad when the ultimate weapon for taking out two of the most powerful heroes in the universe is a yellow stick.
True, but GL’s real problem was simple stupidity. There was always a simple and obvious solution to the “yellow” problem, which Hal generally failed to find.
Example: the end of “Reign of the Supermen”, with Hal fighting Mongol in the alien structure that replaced Coast City. Hal is obsessing about how he can’t do anything to Mongol, because Mongol is yellow.
I instantly had a list of Things You Can Do With a Power Ring to a Yellow Guy with Red Eyes, a Purple Shirt, and Green Pants:
Hit him in his purple chest with the force of a speeding train.
Pick him up by his green legs and fling him into space.
Stab out his red eyes.
Superheat the air around him until his yellow skin turns black.
Move the air away from him and let him choke.
You get the idea… I had a dozen or so before I reached the next panel!
I think the appeal of Batman over other super heros is that Bruce Wayne earned the title of superhero.
He wasn’t born a freak of nature like Superman. He wasn’t granted poweres like Green Lantern. He was in some sort of accident which gave him powers like The Flash.
Bruce Wayne trained to become a superhero it wasn’t handed to him by fate.
Yeah… but it’d be a great fight!
I’d want to be Batman…
…If I were prepared.
Knowing more different ways to kick people in the nuts than anybody else in the whole world would be really cool.
Ahh…James Bond kicks Batman’s ass.
Cool job.
Cool gadgets.
Cool car.
And most important, an apparent natural immunity to sexually transmitted diseases.
Ok here’s one explaination. Now I’m reading way too much but bear with me and tell me what you think.
Here is a Kid who is severly traumatized, he should be psychologically crippled or worse. He has lost his Father and mother. Instead of retreating into himself or greiving openly he turns it to rage and actually does something about it. He dresses up and becomes someone else. Someone who is frightening intimidating and unbeatable.
He is somoeone who doesn’t have to answer to anyone even the law.
He is every boy’s fantasy hero in that he is able to rise above what scares him and becomes the boogey man. .
I think the frightened boy in every man still looks up to him. He has no fear and is grim. He doesn’t weep or express any inapropriate emotions. He is self assured. He is not weak or restrained but can act out to give justice.
The weird thing is that Batman is the most impotent (sexually) Character in comicdom. He can never relate to women, sure they trot out the catwoman thing and other interests but when it comes down to it he’d rather fight rather than f*ck. In many ways I’d think he was still emotionally a little boy who vents his rage.
Plus he has all that cool shit.
What do you mean ‘want’?
I’m Batman.
It’s alsmost feasible that Batman would be real…or do-able. Superman - he ain’t real. No one’s buying that whole Krypton shit. Pshaw, Superman. Who else? What? Yeah, Aquaman…sign me up…not!
Spiderman? Radioacticve Spider? C’mon! Can’t happen.
Batman is possible.
The other superheros are just products of your super lame-o ability to be gullible.
Agreed. I’d rather be James Bond than Batman.
But I’d still like to do Batgirl.
Batman doesn’t rely on superpowers - he’s just a highly-trained, highly driven (ok, obsessed) guy.
Batman has cool gadgets like batarangs and nightvision goggles and small explosives.
Even without the superpowers or flight or invulnerablility, Batman can intimidate the other superheroes. Even Superman’s a little afraid of him.
That Batman’s one baaaaaad mother…
Why is water wet?
It’s the car…chicks dig the car.
I never wanted to be Batman, but after that fateful night in Crime Alley, well…
Batman also has the best costume and best movie adaptation (Tim Burton’s first one) of any comic book superhero!