Superheroes, Batman

Our look at Superhero stories wrapped last night with Batman — specifically the incarnation of Batman from "The Dark Knight," the middle chapter of the Christopher Nolan trilogy on Batman.

Batman is one of the big properties for D.C. Comics. He was created by Bob Kane and first appeared in Detective Comics No. 27 in May 1939. A cultural icon, Batman has been licensed and adapted into a variety of media, from radio to television and film, and appears on a variety of merchandise sold all over the world such as toys and video games. The character has also intrigued psychiatrists with many trying to understand the character's psyche and his true ego in society. In May 2011, Batman placed second on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time, after Superman. Empire magazine also listed him second in their 50 Greatest Comic Book Characters of All Time. Over the summer, when Entertainment Weekly had a fan pole of the greatest superheroes, Batman ranked number one.

What makes for an interesting dichotomy is looking at Superman. Superman is the most deistic of all superheroes, the most God-like. The story of Superman is the story of a finding a savior. Batman is the most humanistic, the most driven by human potential. The idea is there is not savior coming, we have to save ourselves. That's what makes it more interesting.

I think Christopher Nolan really ramps up that idea. In addition, "The Dark Knight" is about the ideological battle between Batman — a vigilante — and The Joker — an anarchist. This is a serious dichotomy — not just in their view of the world, but in their view of humanity. Batman sees humanity as good, capable of choosing good on their own. The Joker does not. He notes "they're only as good as the world allows them to be. Their morality is like a bad joke, dropped at the first sign of trouble." Sadly, The Joker is closer to the Biblical worldview.

Another element of the film is the idea of hope, and where it is rooted. Batman seeks to root the hope of the people in a noble leader — choosing Harvey Dent as that figure. Though there are warning signs throughout the journey, Batman is fixated on that. The Joker brings Dent down to prove a point, but Batman chooses to take the fall to preserve that false hope.

As a society, we tend to focus our hope on temporal things, things that can never live up to the weight of expectation we give them. Consider when LeBron James, an athlete, chose to leave Cleveland for the Miami Heat. The people of Cleveland were despondent. Here are some samples of e-mails from those who were hurt that their idol was leaving the city:


“Explain to me why I should care about sports when the savior of my city turns out to be a false prophet.”

“We had a LeBronfire last night ... I burned everything I own with his name on it. My wife could sleep with my father and I wouldn't feel this betrayed. Born here. Raised here. Played here. Betrayed here.”

All this over a basketball player. But people, looking for something and someone to believe in, put all their hope and faith in LeBron. And they were let down.

I think one of the most telling lines in that last sequence is when Batman says “Sometimes the truth isn’t good enough. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded.” What do you all think of that? I think this film correctly identifies the importance of hope. Hope is something we crave desperately as humans, and something that sustains us. But the film misses the mark, as do so many in the world, regarding where that hope comes from. It comes from the Lord.

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the assurance of what is hoped for, being certain of what is unseen.” Faith is a critical element to hope, but that faith has to be in the one that truly offers us hope. 1 Timothy 6:17 says, “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” Our hope comes from God. When we hope in things of this world, we hope in that which is uncertain. It is God who sustains us and sustains our hope even in dark times. I find it incredibly encouraging, and I think that’s one of the most important things about being a Christian and spreading the Gospel. The Jesus Christ offers us the only real, tangible hope.