This blog post is a bit of a continuation from my last one where I look at the relationship between the costume and the superhero, and how Batman is more of a concept of a noir vigilante and doesn't have much individual character, and we see very little of Bruce Wayne.
This was all in the first Batman comics we read. In Batman: The Dark Night Returns, I think Frank Miller does a good job of playing with the idea of costume and character, and really starts to explore exactly what makes Batman who he is. I will say, however, that I'm not sure he breaks the concept of the angry vigilante. There are often times where Batman just seemed like a mass of muscles and an angry face to me.
By putting Batman up against Superman, I believe Miller made Batman seem more human- he is of this world, he has faults, he faces challenges. Superman, on the other hand, doesn't wear a mask, but Batman suggests he is more false than Batman is.
What Rachael said in class about the degradation of the Batman symbol holds true: although Batman still often is in his costume, and he is still dark, with a bat-like cape, there are subtle changes where we concentrate not on the costume, but the face: the angry eyes and the gritted teeth. And then, of course, are the moments when Batman isn't wearing his mask at all: and we see the grey-haired Bruce Wayne. In the end when Superman rips of Batman's face, I think Frank Miller is suggesting that it is Bruce Wayne who inspires Batman, that they are one and the same. Putting a human face to Batman is what really makes him human, and angry. In comparison to Superman, Superman even at the end of the fight keeps his costume. Yet I think at the funeral, when Superman shows up in black without his costume, we might see a little bit of his personality. "Can't believe he had the nerve to come here..." someone says when they see him, but Superman shows up to pay his respects. I think Superman's wink comes from Superman's individual personality rather than the concept of a justice seeking superhero.
This was all in the first Batman comics we read. In Batman: The Dark Night Returns, I think Frank Miller does a good job of playing with the idea of costume and character, and really starts to explore exactly what makes Batman who he is. I will say, however, that I'm not sure he breaks the concept of the angry vigilante. There are often times where Batman just seemed like a mass of muscles and an angry face to me.
By putting Batman up against Superman, I believe Miller made Batman seem more human- he is of this world, he has faults, he faces challenges. Superman, on the other hand, doesn't wear a mask, but Batman suggests he is more false than Batman is.
What Rachael said in class about the degradation of the Batman symbol holds true: although Batman still often is in his costume, and he is still dark, with a bat-like cape, there are subtle changes where we concentrate not on the costume, but the face: the angry eyes and the gritted teeth. And then, of course, are the moments when Batman isn't wearing his mask at all: and we see the grey-haired Bruce Wayne. In the end when Superman rips of Batman's face, I think Frank Miller is suggesting that it is Bruce Wayne who inspires Batman, that they are one and the same. Putting a human face to Batman is what really makes him human, and angry. In comparison to Superman, Superman even at the end of the fight keeps his costume. Yet I think at the funeral, when Superman shows up in black without his costume, we might see a little bit of his personality. "Can't believe he had the nerve to come here..." someone says when they see him, but Superman shows up to pay his respects. I think Superman's wink comes from Superman's individual personality rather than the concept of a justice seeking superhero.
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