Tuesday, March 27, 2007

In Defense of Batman

I was sitting here at Radina's grading homework when some guys at the table next to me started to make fun of Batman. They were basically saying that the only reason Batman is a superhero is because he bought himself fancy toys. Now, I agree with this, and I usually agree that Superman is a better superhero than Batman (with the super powers vs. super money argument), but today I thought otherwise. Here's why:
Superheroes that have super powers have somewhat of a moral obligation to do good deeds. The thought is that people that are powerful should help those in need. And really that how it should be. Now let's look at Batman. He has no super powers, he only has gadgets. We might point this out and say that he is a failure as a superhero, however he does more than his fair share of conquering evil, so we know that he is effective as a superhero. Furthermore, Batman has no moral obligation to be a superhero, he is doing it out of the kindness of his heart. He is very rich and instead of spending that money on himself he uses it to help others. Albeit he probably wanted a reason to make a Batcave, and a Batmobile, but he did not have to be a superhero, he chose to be one. And doesn't that mean that Batman is really a better superhero than Superman?
Any rebuttals?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Weak argument. He's just a thrill-seeking bored rich guy. He does it purely for himself, as a vendetta against those who killed his parents. He doesn't truly want to help people. He just wants an adrenaline rush. He should just adopt African babies and give money to PETA, then go BASE jumping.

Ookami Snow said...

Who is to say that the other superheores aren't also doing it for the thrill of it.

after watching TMNT it seems like those guys really like the fight, and helping out the good guys is just a bonus.

I also wouldn't call giving PETA money helping the good guys.

The Gare Bear said...

The real superheroes are Superman's parents. They took in an alien baby, raised it as their own, and I'd say Superman is a credit to his upbringing. He grew up to be an honest, hard-working guy who didn't even want recognition for his superheroic acts.

And, in response to one of the above comments, real superheroes just adopt kids in need and don't find the need to make it headline news.

Anonymous said...

The adopting babies and PETA part of my comment were satrical and tongue-in-cheek. In other words, I was kidding.

It's true, though, that most superheroes have a self-centered purpose. Except for Captain America. He was created to fight Nazis.