What does your favorite Batman say about you?
Zany. Childish. Family man. Detective. Batman has played all of these roles, at one time or another. It looks like in Matt Reeve’s upcoming film The Batman, coming out this week (it’s almost here!), we’ll be getting a dark and gritty Batman. Which, may or may not be the version of Bruce Wayne’s alter ego you like best. Over the years Batman’s been all sorts of things. Today, since The Batman is coming out later this week, I thought I’d map out all of Batman’s different personBATities (I went for it, you told me not to but I did).
Fun and Fancy Free
“Fun and fancy free” may be a weird way to describe Batman, but an argument can be made for the Batman of the swinging 60’s. There’s no armor on those gray tights because no one actually lands a punch. One swing and a giant POW pops up on screen, that’s all the evidence you need. Batman and his trusty sidekick Robin don’t take themselves too seriously here. They fight crime in broad daylight. They have bat-gadgets galore. Adam West, who played batman said this of the caped crusader in his memoir, “His serious delusions made him funny in a goofy way…” and yet this may be the batman for you. As Darren Franich writes in an Entertainment Weekly article, it’s the best Batman “for a 30-year-old bored after decades of grimacing.” Will Batman ever be this breezy and fun again? We may never know.
Family Man
Batman likes to act like he’s a loner. A dark and disturbed man, bent on ridding Gotham city of its awful crime…so, um…who’s going to watch the kids while you’re out? Maybe, Alfred? This is a good question if this is your Batman. The father figure, adopting kids left and right, seems to have room for everyone at Wayne Manor. Let’s tick them off right quick: Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain, Barbara Gordon, and Tim Drake. Not to mention the kids he actually fathered, Helena Wayne and Damian Wayne. Is he a good father? That’s an argument for another time, but for a man who claims to like his “me time” he sure is always willing to open his doors to a wayward kid who needs mentoring.
The Old Curmudgeon
Talk about grumpy. Frank Miller introduced us to an old and tired Bruce Wayne in his Dark Knight Series. Set years into the future, Dark Knight finds Batman old and retired. He’s not as fit and trim as he used to be. You slow down in retirement. Maybe he’s become a beer man after all those dry martini’s he had to sip on during those socialite balls he went to when he was young and spry. Maybe those restrictive tights had finally worn a rash Alfred couldn’t mend. Maybe the guy’s just jaded after fighting crime for so many years and realizing it sorta didn’t do much good as far as making Gotham a better place to live. Whatever the reason, he’s reached that age where you just stop giving a flip. You say what you mean. You mean what you say. And you make no apologies. It also makes for a pretty great Batman.
The Detective
He stays in the shadows. You look away and he’s gone. He collects clues and takes them back to his secret underground lair and ponders over them. He not only has to try and connect the dots between events and crime scenes, but has to get inside the mind of the criminal. He asks himself things like, “What’s their motivation? What is their endgame?” A great detective collects a grain of sand and, by simple study and deductive reasoning and a bit of ingenuity knows which beach it originated at…on the planet. This Batman is Sherlock Holmes, but with a vendetta.
Richie Rich
I have to admit, I do love this version of Batman. Voiced by the great Will Arnett, this iteration of Batman is very much the spoiled brat. He’s immature, cocky, and loves to brood. He really leans into how dark and obsessed he is with been dark and obsessed. He’s an emo rich kid who always has to win.
Critic’s Choice
Last but not least, there’s Batman of The Animated Series. Quite possibly the fan favorite–definitely a critic fave. The Animated Series blends all the aspects that make Batman who he is into a perfectly crafted cocktail of a hero who’s big hearted but tough, gritty, intelligent, confident, caring, and even a bit sentimental. Heck, he may even crack a smile once or twice. Even though this may be the best version of Batman in existence, by no means does that make him your favorite.
So, which Batman is your favorite? For me, it’s the detective. But they have never made the Batman movie that’s quite right for me. My detective Batman is very noir, and uses brains over brawn as much as possible. Even though I like a good ol’ action scene as much as the next person-I would really like to see Batman unpacking a mystery little by little. With The Batman coming out this week I may get my wish, but trust me I’m not holding my breath.