Why do we fall?

A guide on how to be Batman

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Why do I love Batman?

Batman, unlike all the other superheroes, is much more practical and believable to exist, but that is not what makes him my favourite superhero.

It’s his past.

A young child, witnessing the cold-blooded murder of both his parents in a dark alleyway, is enough trauma to break anyone.

The possible outcome after this for a young child who has inherited too much wealth? - With no one to guide him, he either becomes a hedonist indulging in his most extreme desires or a man who is bitter to the core, wishing to inflict his pain and vengeance on everything he comes across.

But he becomes something else; pain transforms him like everyone, but it doesn’t corrupt him.

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As a man, I'm flesh and blood. I can be ignored, I can be destroyed. But as a symbol - as a symbol, I can be incorruptible. I can be everlasting.

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He becomes a symbol of resistance – against everything that hurt him – a dark knight, but also a ray of hope for those who believe in goodness.

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Why is he different?

Unlike other superheroes, there is still a human beneath the mask.

A human who can be broken, who can make mistakes, who can love and feel hurt - who is not at all infallible.

And Batman is crushed, physically and morally; his principles are tested over and over again, he is brutally rejected by the one he loved, and he suffers and loses many times.

But what defines him is not his failure, but his grit and resilience, his tendency to get back up, as long as he can.

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It’s not who I am underneath - but what I do is what defines me.

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Take, for example, when he loses the love of his life in “The Dark Knight”, he is utterly broken and depressed, but rather than getting bitter and vengeful about his loss, rather than wallowing in misery for what he can’t change, he picks himself up again and does what is right and needed of him.

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Rachel died believing that we would be together; that was my life beyond the cave. I can't just move on. She didn't, she couldn't…

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This is diametrically opposite of the character of his villains – Harvey Dent ( two face ) suffers the same loss as Batman, he loses the love of his life, along with his appearance, but he turns bitter and hateful, and he starts inflicting the same pain on others – He makes others suffer along with him – maybe an attempt to find companionship in shared misery and hatred for life.

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You thought we could be decent men in an indecent time. But you you were wrong. The world is cruel, and the only morality in a cruel world is chance. Unbiased, unprejudiced, fair:- ( Harvey Dent )

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This shows how a man can choose to either become everything he hates, or to stand against everything that he hates – and each choice has a consequence.

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A man of ideals.

Batman might be a human beneath the mask, but he realizes that he can make himself something greater, something bigger than a mere mortal.

And that he does when he starts living for his ideals, the values he believes in.

His actions are motivated not by what he is feeling but by what is right.

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Ra’s al-ghul - Your compassion is a weakness your enemies won’t share

Batman - And that is why its so important, it separates us from them

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He starts living for something higher than himself, something which is transcendent and good – the ultimate belief in human goodness and justice.

And that is what makes him Batman.

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What does Batman mean to me?

The ultimate highlight of Batman is not his gadgets or his cape and fighting skills.

But his resilience and commitment.

The message of Batman is that it’s not about superpowers, but how everyone can create a positive impact through their actions.

Pain transforms everyone, but it is on us how we respond to it, with bitterness and hatred, or with goodness and understanding.

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A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a little boy’s shoulders to let him know that the world hadn’t ended…

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Do we let the pain corrupt us, or do we let it build us in an enduring light, a beacon of hope that shines even in the darkest of nights?

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So, why do we fall?

So we can learn to pick ourselves up

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