I don't like super heroes but I love the Batman because he has no super powers, he is human, wounded and vulnerable. He resembles Jesus in many ways.
Lacking unnatural powers, he has nevertheless enhanced his human capabilities...intelligence, fighting skills, technological prowess, courage...to the maximum. But there is about him a tender sadness and grief (about the murder of his father and mother) and a fierce if restrained rage at the evil powers threatening Gotham, which he loves. He is formidable and confident with a tender side: that is Jesus; that is virility at its best.
Gotham, in the comic books but even more in the recent movie versions, is a dark, rainy, desolate city being overtaken by dark powers of greed, crime and corruption. Is that not a realistic image of our current world: Russia, China and Iran are on a rampage; crime in cities out of control; southern border insecure; fears around the virus and inflation pervasive; trust in ALL institutions at an all time low. We are living in Gotham.
Batman is almost, but happily not quite, a lone protagonist. He is not the "Protestant Loner" like Gary Cooper in High Noon, abandoned by everyone. He is not humming "Though none go with me, still I will follow." No! He has community. There is Alfred, his butler, but competent, intelligent and protective. He comes across as even more paternal than usual in the latest Batman movie which has Bruce Wayne (Robert Patinson) as surprisingly young, morose and discouraged, notwithstanding the powerful portrayal of him as Batman. Next of course is his friend/collaborator Police Commissioner Gordon: a decent, conscientious officer who is overwhelmed by the web of corruption and violence around him. The two are fiercely loyal to each other and trust each other implicitly. He stands in as well for all the good people of Gotham whom they are defending. Batman is clearly the hero, but he has a good team around him.
Strikingly in the new version, Batman is a man of few, almost no words. He is tall, dark, handsome and quiet. He is a refreshing icon of virility as attentive, restrained, intelligent, vigilant QUIET. He reminds us of St. Joseph, John Wayne, Gary Cooper and a litany of masculine icons.
Romantically he is passionate in his affection and desire, but flawlessly chaste and restrained. He is frustrated; he is celibate. This dimension is handled extremely well in the new (2022) version. Zoe Kravitz, playing Cat Woman, excels outstanding predecessors (Halle Berry, Michele Pfeiffer, Anne Hathway!!) in her flaming attractiveness. She is more natural as her feline nature is muted and limited. She is wild, brilliant, fierce in battle, eccentric, angry and wounded (like the Batman), eccentric, transgressive and anarchistic. Her fight scenes with Batman were striking: she (or her stunt double?) is quick, flexible, mobile ...amazingly so...but Batman easily, calmly overwhelms her with his superior strength and then holds her with a confident tenderness that is paternal rather than erotic. Her bisexuality is handled in a subtle, effective manner. Early in the movie she is talking on the phone with "baby" who is clearly hysterical and frightened. Is it her child? Boyfriend? Girlfriend? It turns out to be the last. She is protective and tender with her. We see here, in a discrete fashion, only what is best in such a relationship. But the chemistry between the cat and the bat is fierce, but understated and restrained. There is one, maybe two, kisses.
We know this romance can go nowhere. She is way too wild to settle into a marriage. Batman is absolutely committed to his crusade against evil; he is not ready for family time. The mild transgressive aspect gives her a certain forbidden appeal but also relieves us of any disappointment as we all know they will not live happily ever after. She is seductive, but Batman is unflappable except for reception of that tender kiss. The fire between them is that much more fierce because it cannot be consummated. In the finale they ride together on their motorcycles, suggesting a union, but then separate in their opposite directions. Each has a mission, an identity, a destiny that will not allow for more than a passing, however inflamed, romance.
Theirs is reminiscent of other cinematic romances which are all the more passionate because they are tender, chaste, restrained and sometimes agonizingly frustrated: Ingrid Bergman and Bing Crosby in Bells of St. Mary's, Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck in Roman Holiday, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson in Lost in Translation, Alan Ladd and Jean Arthur in Shane. Such icons encourage us in chastity, whatever our state or mission in life.
There is nothing about God in Batman, it is not explicitly Christian. Bruce Wayne is however, absolutely dedicated to justice and good, ready to die fighting evil. The psychic root of this passion is his memory of his father and his legacy. This theme is strong in the new version in which he has to face hard facts about this legacy. Nevertheless, his wealth, status, memory and family history all add up to a tradition of goodness to which he pledges his life. He is an inspiring figure!
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