The Humanity of the Dark Knight
Growing up, I loved superheroes. As a preschooler I loved the Power Rangers. Advancing in years, I became a fan of Superman, Captain America, The Flash, and both the Justice League and the Avengers. They were strong, powerful, courageous, and always seemed to do the right thing at the right time. While I my favorite superhero will always be Captain America (for his unwavering commitment to 'Merica) I always felt a close connection to the man in black, the caped crusader, the Dark Knight: Batman.
Looking back at it, I always connected with Batman because I could (very unrealistically) become Batman. Superman was from another planet, Captain America was injected with a special serum, the X-Men were mutants (and Wolverine became stronger with adamantium), and the list goes on.
Side Note: A similar case can be made for Iron Man. Iron Man was gifted with incredible intuition and intelligence by his father, Howard Stark. All Batman inherited was a cool house and some neat toys)
Side Note 2: All remaining information in this article comes from Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins". The story is most likely different in the comics.
Bruce Wayne (Batman) came from a wealthy family. As such, he was taken care of financially; Wayne Enterprises supported him until college (Princeton!!). Upon arriving home, his childhood butler, Alfred welcomes him back with open arms. It is here that the duo has one of my favorite conversations.
Bruce becomes disenfranchised with life after learning how the underworld works. To better understand this world he learned the ways of the criminal. His "training" required him to leave his financial stability, childhood home, and namesake company. Passing the physical demands required by the League of Shadows, Bruce escapes and travels back to Gotham to take on the Batman persona.
The movie progresses, with Bruce becoming stronger and smarter as Batman. He received assistance from both Alfred and an employee at Wayne Enterprises: Lucius Fox. Recognizing his influence on Gotham, the League of Shadows sets to kill Batman and burn Gotham. The group succeeds in burning down Wayne Manor; Bruce is left to die until Alfred comes to save him. They have another touching conversation:
Let's summarize what happened:
Bruce Wayne leaves Gotham.
Bruce comes back to Gotham and is welcomed with open arms.
Bruce leaves Gotham again to pursue a vastly different lifestyle.
Bruce returns to Gotham, again welcomed with open arms.
Does this remind you of a Bible story? To me, it recalled "The Prodigal Son" (also called the Lost Son) found in Luke 15. In the parable, the younger son squanders his share of the estate on reckless living. Coming to his senses, he travels back to his father's house where he is met a hug, kiss, fattened calf, and party. The father rejoices in finding his lost son, the son he describes as "dead" and "lost". Just like when Wayne Enterprises declared Bruce dead, the family considered the younger son as dead. However both Bruce and the younger son return home, to much fanfare.
How awesome is that parable! We are all like the younger son and Bruce. We leave; we falter; we struggle; we fall (so we can learn to get back up). When we do get back up, our Heavenly Father will accept us with love! To close, we have this promise:
God Bless!
Jeremy
Side Note: A similar case can be made for Iron Man. Iron Man was gifted with incredible intuition and intelligence by his father, Howard Stark. All Batman inherited was a cool house and some neat toys)
Side Note 2: All remaining information in this article comes from Christopher Nolan's "Batman Begins". The story is most likely different in the comics.
Bruce Wayne (Batman) came from a wealthy family. As such, he was taken care of financially; Wayne Enterprises supported him until college (Princeton!!). Upon arriving home, his childhood butler, Alfred welcomes him back with open arms. It is here that the duo has one of my favorite conversations.
Bruce: "You haven't given up on me yet."
Alfred: "Never."
Bruce becomes disenfranchised with life after learning how the underworld works. To better understand this world he learned the ways of the criminal. His "training" required him to leave his financial stability, childhood home, and namesake company. Passing the physical demands required by the League of Shadows, Bruce escapes and travels back to Gotham to take on the Batman persona.
The movie progresses, with Bruce becoming stronger and smarter as Batman. He received assistance from both Alfred and an employee at Wayne Enterprises: Lucius Fox. Recognizing his influence on Gotham, the League of Shadows sets to kill Batman and burn Gotham. The group succeeds in burning down Wayne Manor; Bruce is left to die until Alfred comes to save him. They have another touching conversation:
Bruce: "You still haven't given up on me."
Alfred: "Never."The movie continues on to reach a thrilling ending, which I won't disclose here. (I'm always willing to watch it again, if you need a friend).
Let's summarize what happened:
Bruce Wayne leaves Gotham.
Bruce comes back to Gotham and is welcomed with open arms.
Bruce leaves Gotham again to pursue a vastly different lifestyle.
Bruce returns to Gotham, again welcomed with open arms.
Does this remind you of a Bible story? To me, it recalled "The Prodigal Son" (also called the Lost Son) found in Luke 15. In the parable, the younger son squanders his share of the estate on reckless living. Coming to his senses, he travels back to his father's house where he is met a hug, kiss, fattened calf, and party. The father rejoices in finding his lost son, the son he describes as "dead" and "lost". Just like when Wayne Enterprises declared Bruce dead, the family considered the younger son as dead. However both Bruce and the younger son return home, to much fanfare.
How awesome is that parable! We are all like the younger son and Bruce. We leave; we falter; we struggle; we fall (so we can learn to get back up). When we do get back up, our Heavenly Father will accept us with love! To close, we have this promise:
"The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing." (Zephaniah 3:17, ESV)
God Bless!
Jeremy
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