Ever since I was a kid, I have always been intrigued by Batman. I know, most geeks are, right? I always thought that it was because Batman is just Bruce Wayne. A regular guy that is highly disciplined and trained. Sure, he has lots of money to buy and create incredible gadgets, but he is a regular, mortal, human being. He is not from another planet. He has more weaknesses than kryptonite. He never received a "super-soldier serum." No gamma radiation waves, no radioactive spiders, and no mutant genes. He is Bruce Wayne. In a really cool costume with really cool toys.
Here recently I was talking to a friend, and I got to thinking more about the Batman mythos. I was thinking how Bruce is a really messed up, very tormented guy just trying to better the world around him the only way he knows how. And he knows to do so he has to represent something far greater than himself. The Batman is able to do things that Bruce Wayne could never do. So here is this guy, this regular, messed up guy, trying to make a difference and impact the society he lives in, but doing so not in his own name, but in the name of the Batman. Sound familiar?
Bruce experienced a very traumatizing event in his childhood. He watched the person that meant more to him than anyone else, his father, and his mother murdered at the hands of a common thief in an alley. His whole world was flipped upside down. Bruce was already tormented by nightmares of bats due to an incident earlier in his childhood where he fell into a cave and was surrounded by a flurry of bats. Add to those nightmares the terrible reality of having witnessed first hand the murder of his parents. Certainly, the scars run deep.
But Bruce is more than just hurt. He sees a world around him destroying itself. And he has compassion. He feels like somebody has to do something. So he undergoes the most intense training regimen ever. He hones his body and a mind to the peak of perfection. He studies and trains. Disciplining himself to accomplish the task at hand. He is a man on a mission. He has a purpose. He knows what he must do. He knows who is must become. Bruce gives himself over to something greater than himself.
After years of training, Bruce becomes the Batman. The Caped Crusader. The World's Greatest Detective... The Dark Knight. He has a code he lives by. He is not a part of society, but he makes the Batman known in society. He will not kill. He is not the judge. He just captures criminals and turns them over to those in authority. Sound familiar yet?
For me, this a powerful allegory to the Christian Soldier. I can relate to Batman because I am just a regular guy. I have my own hang ups. I am not perfect. I have experienced hurt. I am a messed up individual. But I have given myself over to something FAR GREATER than myself. I have given myself over to Christ. And I am trying to make a difference in a world that is dying all around me. I discipline myself through prayer, fasting, and study of God's Word. As a child of God, an indwelt believer of the Living God, I can accomplish more than I ever could on my own. In fact, the bible says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Batman has a cool suit, I have the armor of God. Batman has cool toys, I have the sword of the Spirit. Batman is covered by a cape and cowl. I am covered in the blood of Christ. Sure, Batman wears a mask, but it is only to protect his identity. The man on the inside is the Batman. And who I am on the inside is a soldier of God. You could say Batman is a servant of the public. I am a servant of God. The cost of Bruce becoming Batman was the murder of his parents. The cost of me becoming a Christian is the murder of my God.
After all these years, I finally understand why I am fascinated with Batman. Because like him, I am a jacked up person trying to make a difference in a messed up world. For Bruce Wayne it is in the name of justice. In the name of the Batman. For me, it is in the name of redemption. In the name of Jesus Christ.
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