Batman's identity

My final essay is about how a superhero's identity is created, and looking at Batman has given me a lot of ideas. Especially because Batman isn't given his origin story right away, it's interesting to see how Batman's hero identity is created. Most notable is his costume: it's the first thing we see on the cover page and title page, and the fact that it looks like something familiar (a bat) also engrains it in our minds. From there, there's the element of secrecy- the mystery of who batman is. All the other characters add to this mystery and awe of the superhero. I've explored the idea how Western superheroes are often about concepts: they're about the idea of a superhero rather than an individual person. In this case, I think batman supports this theory: Batman is all about the noir, and I think Batman the superhero works towards this: although Batman and Bruce Wayne are the same person, the differences between the superhero and his alter-ego are staggering. This separates the superhero from the individual Bruce Wayne. Batman is a dark figure who shows up when the action begins and disappears when it ends: he's always on a mission. Bruce Wayne is the guy adds some motive and personality to Batman. To me, Batman is literally an action figure. The separation between superhero and alter-ego means that superheroes only deal with life-threatening important issues- they don't deal with day-to-day life. In class we talked about how Batman's entire physical looks and costume differ from Bruce Wayne: less dorky, less refined, more rough, more muscular, more emotional. Although Batman is human, he doesn't deal with normal human issues.