The Hero We Create: 9/11 & The Reinvention of Batman

Truth & Mythology

Both Batman and Harvey Dent, the “good guys” of the narrative, are ultimately represented in a way that underscores their flaws and dramatizes their moral struggle. They demonstrate quite clearly the complexity of the Manichean monomyth that usually characterizes the superhero genre, the gray areas and moral ambivalence that characterize true ideological struggles. In Literature After 9/11, Anne Keniston and Jeanne Follansbee Quinn discuss how this narrative is disrupted and revised in literary interpretations of 9/11:

Batman’s engagement with this narrative represents a vacillation between myth and reality. At times he is burdened by his moral struggles, yet at others he has no qualms about reasserting this mythology and even lying to make events conform to the pure struggle between Good and Evil.

In the final moments of The Dark Knight, Batman decides that he will take the blame for Dent’s crimes. He says to Detective Gordon “Sometimes, the truth isn’t good enough. Sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded.”93 This sentiment, as powerful as it is paradoxical, strikes at the heart of the idea of cultural mythology. If the superhero genre is, as Lawrence and Jewett argue, a manifestation of a “cultural monomyth,” then The Dark Knight and Batman Begins are actively engaged in promoting a long-standing American cultural mythology. This statement thus serves as a reflexive commentary upon the function of the films themselves. In exploring American society’s own apprehensions about the morally questionable conduct that characterized the US government’s response to 9/11, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight offer a sense of qualified reassurance to their audience.

The idea that truth is sometimes insufficient and that faith can be a more effective catalyst for social change is one that encapsulates the intrinsic tension between historical reality and cultural myth making. Can faith in ideals be more valuable than a painful, introspective examination of the truth? This is the fundamental question that is asked in the final moments of the film and this is the very same question that has been posed in the aftermath of 9/11. Through Batman’s moral pliancy and Dent’s self-destruction, The Dark Knight admits the necessity of moral “shades of gray” while also worrying over their employment. Batman may lie to the people of Gotham and protect Dent’s good name, but the audience knows that this moment lacks moral clarity and subordinates the truth to an ideal. Batman, “not a hero” but a “dark knight, a watchful protector,” speeds off as the credits roll, and the audience is left to measure the weight of his moral transgressions against the power of his ideals. The mutability of his character once again allows him to be what the citizens of Gotham need, a mythic knight, embodying social realities as he fights to preserve ideals.

Epilogue: Battle Not With Monsters

You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.
- Batman and Harvey Dent, Dark Knight

As Robert Pinsky wrote in his memorial poem “9/11,”

Whence is our courage? Is what holds us together

A gluttonous dreamy thriving? Whence our being?

In the dark roots of our music, impudent and profound? –

Or in the Eighteenth Century clarities

And mystic Masonic totems of the Founders

The Eye of the Pyramid watching over us,

Hexagram of Stars protecting the Eagle's head

From terror of pox, from plague and radiation.94

Pinsky’s poem, written for the first anniversary of 9/11, suggests that more than ideology, history, culture or geography, American society is bound together by its symbols, symbols that evolve to reflect the evolution of the nation. Among these myriad symbols is the complex and mutable figure of Batman, sometimes underappreciated and cast into obscurity but consistently present over the last 70 years.

Batman, due both to an enduring character framework that resonates with modern concerns and a mutability of character that allows him to be continually redefined, has come to represent modern anxieties that remain, as yet, unresolved. Arguably, he is, at present, the personification of a collective American psyche. Yes, Batman, is a privileged individual, granted the advantages of extreme wealth, physical prowess and refined intellect. Yet he is also uniquely resonant with his audiences. He is mortal, not blessed with the fantastical powers of Superman or Spiderman, and he is flawed. Batman struggles to define his own motives, reconcile his tactics with his morals, and navigate an ambiguous and often ill-defined struggle between Good and Evil. Batman’s essential cultural role is not reductive; instead, he offers a degree of moral complexity that reflects fundamental social realities.

Batman personifies the concerns and fears of a society unsettled by shared trauma. In The Spirit of Terrorism, Jean Baudillard suggests that this anxiety stems from “an unconscious form of potential, but failed, carefully repressed criminality, which is always capable, if not of resurfacing at least of thrilling secretly at the spectacle of evil.”95 Yet through analysis of The Dark Knight (2008) and Batman Begins (2005), it can be shown that this is not the case. It is instead a fundamental anxiety about preserving cherished American ideals, an attempt both to prove American moral ascendency and analyze American society’s troubled response.

Can ends truly justify means in the quest to vanquish terrorism or is something fundamental lost or misplaced in the process? As Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, “Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”96 Just as these films struggle to incorporate the “monster” of terrorism into the superhero genre, they are also self-conscious about the problems of doing so and anxious about the process of cultural myth-making itself. Ultimately, Batman is neither “the hero we deserve” nor “the hero we need”: he is the hero we have recreated for ourselves in an attempt to palliate fear, explore anxiety and discover greater meaning in the events of September 11th, 2001.

1.) Nolan himself refers to Gotham as “New York on steroids.” Cotta Vaz, Mark. The Art of Batman Begins: Shadows of the Dark Knight. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2005, pg. 58.

2.) Dawson, Jeff. “Has the New Batman Plundered It’s Plot from 9/11?” London Times. July 20, 2008. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article4352512.ece, January 30, 2009.

3.) These include several films of the Burton/Schumacher franchise: Batman Forever (1992), Batman Returns (1995) and Batman and Robin (1997). Others prominent examples are films such as The Mask (1994), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), Spawn (1997), and Blade (1998).

4.) Internet Movie Database, www.imbd.com, January 22, 2009.

This statistic is derived from three separate searches on the Internet Movie Database. The search parameters were as follows: 1) films created and released in the US, 2) films in English, 3) keyword: superhero, 4) excluding Direct to Video, TV series, Video Games and made-for-TV movies, 5) excluding obscure films (those with < 50 votes on IMDB.com).

5.) These include films of multiple successful franchises including Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), Spiderman 2 (2004), Spiderman 3 (2007), and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). Other examples include Fantastic Four (2005), Superman Returns (2006), Iron Man (2008), The Incredible Hulk (2008) and Hancock (2008). Upcoming films of note include Watchmen (2009), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), and Ironman 2 (2010), Spiderman 4 (2011) and an Untitled Batman Project (2011).

6.) Internet Movie Database, http://www.imdb.com/boxoffice/alltimegross, January 27, 2009.

In descending order, these include: The Dark Knight (#2), Spiderman (#8), Spiderman 2 (#11), Spiderman 3 (#16), Iron Man (#21), The Incredibles (#40), X-Men: The Last Stand (#57), Hancock (#62), X2 (#76), Batman Begins (#84), and Superman Returns (#89).

7.) Coogan, Peter. Superhero: The Secret Origin of a Genre. Austin, TX: Monkey Brain Books, 2006, pg. 1.

8.) Coogan, 75.

9.) Brooker, William. Batman Unmasked: Analyzing a Cultural Icon. London: Continuum Books, 2000.

10.) Quinn, Jeanne Follansbee. “Introduction.” Literature After 9/11. Ed. Ann Kiniston and Jeanne Follansbee Quinn. New York: Routledge, 2008, pg. 2.

11.) Caruth, Cathy. Unclaimed Experience: Trauma, Narrative and History. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1996, pg. 6.

12.) Though it is unlikely that the dark Knight will surpass Titanic as the top grossing film of all time, a rerelease of the film and IMAX in time for the Oscars promises to boost total revenue well over 1 billion worldwide. Reuters.com. “Dark knight plans re-release for Oscar push.” http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN1044022120080911, January 29, 2009.

13.) Ibid.

14.) Despite this success, The Dark Knight was not nominated for the Ocscar’s highest honor, Best Picture, an honor, which, by the end of this paper, I hope you will agree it deserved.

15.) Kimmel, Daniel. “The Batman We Deserve.” Batman Unauthorized. Ed. Dennis O’Neil. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, 2008, pg. 166.

16.) Cotta Vaz, Mark. The Art of Batman Begins: Shadows of the Dark Knight. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2005, pg. 18.

17.) Anders, Lou. “Two of a Kind.” Batman Unauthorized. Ed. Dennis O’Neil. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, 2008, pg. 27.

18.) Brooker, William. Batman Unmasked: Analyzing a Cultural Icon. London: Continuum Books, 2000.

19.) As a result of these abundant and varied interpretations of Batman, it is far more useful to consider a schematic outline of Batman rather than an “authentic” origin story. In Batman Unmasked, Will Brooker distills the complexities of Batman into a “basic template,” consisting of six essential characteristics. For the purposes of this thesis, I will assume the general validity of this template over time and avoid any claim of an “authentic” or “original” Batman. Though there certainly exists a specific genesis of the character, it is unproductive to claim an “authentic” Batman given the character’s numerous forms and reincarnations. For example, what many regard as Batman’s “authentic” quality of dark brooding intensity is actually an artifact of reinventions themselves including Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Forever and Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. It is my goal to discuss how the mutability of the Batman character laid the groundwork for a period of rebirth in the aftermath of 9/11. Brooker’s essential characteristics are as follows:

1)    Batman is Bruce Wayne, a millionaire who dresses in a bat-costume and fights crime.

2)    He has no special powers but is very fit and strong, and very intelligent.

3)    He lives in Gotham City.

4)    He fights villains like the Joker.

5)    He fights crime because his parents were killed when he was young.

6)    He is often (thought not always) helped by his sidekick, Robin.

For the purpose of this thesis, I will consider these attributes as the “fixed framework” around which the mythic character of Batman has varied over time.

Brooker, pg. 42-56.

20.) Ibid., pg. 33.

21.) Cotta Vaz, pg. 22.

22.) Faludi, Susan. The Terror Dream: Myth and Misogeny in an Insecure America. New York: Picador, 2007, pg. 361-2.

23.) Coogan, pg. 125.

24.) Lawrence, John Shelton and Robert Jewett. The Myth of the American Superhero. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2002, pg. 24.

25.) Ibid., pg. 22.

26.) Ibid., pg. 47.

27.) Ibid., pg. 48.

28.) Rusch, Kristine Kathryn. “Batman in the Real World.” Batman Unauthorized. Ed. Dennis O’Neil. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, 2008, pg. 200.

29.) Tate, Chuck. “An Appetite for Destruction.” The Psychology of Superheroes: An Unauthorized Exploration. Ed. Robin S. Rosenberg. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, 2008, pg. 141.

30.) Lawrence and Jewett, pg. 363.

31.) Ibid, pg. 363.

32.) Bush, George. “International Campaign Against Terror Grows.” Washington, D.C. September 25, 2001.

33.) Sontag, Susan. “Talk of the Town.” The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2001/09/24/010924ta_talk_wtc, February 12, 2009.

34.) "Refuser Le Manichéisme." Le Monde 15 septembre 2001.

35.) Faludi, pg. 60.

36.) Ibid.

37.) Siegal, Jerry and Joel Schuster. Superman Archives. Volume 1. New York: DC Comics, 1989, pg. 9, 61.

38.) It is important to note that the character Ra’s al Ghul originated well before 9/11. He first appeared in Batman issue #232 in 1971. Thus, it is not his characterization but his selection as the primary villain that indicates the character’s resonance with 9/11 themes.

39.) Kane, Bob. Batman: The Dark Knight Archives. Volume 3. New York: DC Comics, 1992. Pg. 19, 36.

40.) Coogan, pg. 77.

41.) Merriam Webster Online. “Terrorism.” http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terrorist, February 1, 2009.

42.) Ganor, Boaz. “Defining Terrorism.” Police Practice & Research. Dec 2002, 3:4, pg. 290.

43.) Ibid.

44.) Bongar, Bruce. “The Psychology of Terrorism: Defining the Need and Describing the Goals.” Ed. Bruce Bongar. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007, pg. 3.

45.) Cotta Vaz, pg. 116.

46.) Batman Begins. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Warner Brothers Entertainment, 2005.

47.) Kane, Bob. Batman: The Dark Knight Archives. Volume 1. New York: DC Comics, 1992, pg. 11.

48.) Cotta Vaz, Mark, pg. 89.

49.) It is important to note that Henri Ducard and Ra’s al Ghul are one and the same. Wayne initially trains with Ducard who reappears later and whose true identity is revealed.

50.) Batman Begins. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Warner Brothers Entertainment, 2005.

51.) As Baudrillard writes in The Spirit of Terorism, “The hysteria spreads spontaneously by instantaneous crystallization, like a chemical solution at the mere contact of a molecule.”

Baudrillard, Jean. The Spirit of Terrorism. New York: Verso, 2002, pg. 33.

52.) Kane, Bob. Batman: The Dark Knight Archives. Volumes 1, 2. New York: DC Comics, 1992.

53.) Batman #404. June 1971. New York, NY: DC Comics, 1971.

54.) Batman #232. June 1971. New York, NY: DC Comics, 1971.

55.) Batman Begins. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Warner Brothers Entertainment, 2005.

56.) The 9/11 Commission Report. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2004, pg. 76-77.

57.) Ironically, Osama bin Laden has urged his followers to take on “the head of the snake” by attacking America rather than Israel, local leaders, or other supposedly secondary targets.

The 9/11 Commission Report, pg. 84.

58.) Ra’s al Ghul first appearance is in 1971 in issue #232 of the Batman series. Though Ra’s has reappeared in other issues and other comic series, he has never had a substantial recurring role in Batman comics.

59.) Marano, Michael. “Ra’s al Ghul: Terrorist as Father Figure.” Batman Unauthorized. Ed. Dennis O’Neil. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, 2008, pg. 80-81.

60.) The Dark Knight. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Warner Brothers Entertainment, 2008.

61.) Kane, Bob. Batman: The Dark Knight Archives. Volumes 1, 2, 3, 4. New York: DC Comics, 1992.

62.) Batman. Dir. Tim Burton. Warner Brothers Entertainment, 1989.

63.) The Dark Knight. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Warner Brothers Entertainment, 2008.

64.) The Dark Knight. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Warner Brothers Entertainment, 2008.

65.) Ibid.

66.) Ibid.

67.) Bin Laden, Osama. Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama Bin Laden. Ed. Bruce Lawrence. New York: Verso, 2005.

68.) Dark Knight. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Warner Brothers Entertainment, 2008.

69.) Perez-Rivas, Manuel. “Bush vows to rid the world of ‘evil-doers.’” CNN.com. http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/16/gen.bush.terrorism/, February 7, 2009.

70.) Baudrillard, pg. 4.

71.) Baudrillard, pg. 10.

72.) Baudrillard, pg. 19.

73.) Faludi, pg. 277.

74.) Schumacher’s Batman films, Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997) are widely regarded as detrimental to the character. Anders calls these films “universally loathed” and describes them as “decadent, incoherent, and overblown.”

Anders, pg 22.

75.) Batman Forever. Dir. Joel Schumacher. Warner Bros. Pictures, 1995.

76.) Dark Knight. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Warner Brothers Entertainment, 2008.

77.) Anders, pg. 24.

78.) Tate, Chuck. “An Appetite for Destruction.” The Psychology of Superheroes: An Unauthorized Exploration. Ed. Robin S. Rosenberg. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, 2008.

79.) Rusch, Kristine Kathryn. “Batman in the Real World.” Batman Unauthorized. Ed. Dennis O’Neil. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, 2008, pg. 206.

80.) Although comparisons between George W Bush and Batman are certainly compelling and further indicate the validity of the relationship between 9/11 and Batman, it is not my goal to dwell on the parallels between them. Explicit comparison between these two figures, though entertaining and somewhat difficult to resist, does little to explore the broader cultural rational for the incorporation of 9/11 into the Batman films. For further discussion of this topic, see Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s “Batman in the Real World.”

81.) Dark Knight. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Warner Brothers Entertainment, 2008.

82.) White, Mark. “Why Doesn’t Batman Kill the Joker?” Batman and Philosophy. Ed. Mark White and Robert Arp. Hoboken, NJ: John Riley & Sons, 2008, pg. 5.

83.) Rusch, Kristine Kathryn. “Batman in the Real World.” Batman Unauthorized. Ed. Dennis O’Neil. Dallas, TX: BenBella Books, 2008, pg. 200.

84.) Tate, pg. 144.

85.) Dark Knight. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Warner Brothers Entertainment, 2008.

86.) Ibid.

87.) It should be noted, for clarity, that Detective Gordon fakes his own death and later reappears for save Batman. This serves as yet another example of the lengths he will go to in order to catch the Joker, even allowing his family to believe that he is dead.

88.) Dark Knight. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Warner Brothers Entertainment, 2008.

89.) Ibid.

90.) Ibid.

91.) Dark Knight. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Warner Brothers Entertainment, 2008.

92.) Quinn and Keniston, pg. 2.

93.) The Dark Knight. Dir. Christopher Nolan. Warner Brothers Entertainment, 2008.

94.) Pinsky, Robert. “9/11.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A37772-2002Sep4?language=printer, January 28, 2009.

95.) Baudrillard, pg. 20.

96.) Nietzsche, Friedrich. “Aphorism 146.” Beyond Good and Evil. Translated by Marianne Cowen. Plain Label Books, 1966, pg. 128.