There are quite some individuals whom I admire, most notably Steve Jobs who has been my life long idol. But here I would like to be a bit different and talk about someone quite different and uniique.
To start with I’ll list some of his traits:
- Trained to physical and mental peak
- Arsenal of gadgets, vehicles, and advanced technology
- Inventor, detective, genius-level intelligence
- Expert in most known forms of martial arts
- Trained in all aspects of criminology
- Mastery of the physical sciences
- Computer expert
- Master of disguise
- Photographic memory
- Trained in stealth and espionage techniques
- Expert escape artist
- World’s Greatest Detective
- Unbreakable Will
By now (especially looking at the last 2 points for sake of humanity) you must be sure about whom I’m talking about- (the goddam) Batman. You must be thinking, hey he’s not even real! But let me tell you this – Batman has been more real than any hero on earth, and let me try to tell you why and why I admire him.
Batman is a fictional character created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger who came into this world in May, 1939 making him one of the first superheroes (#2 after Superman in 1938) and after over 73 years with various iterations from a funny costume guy running with bombs to the most sophisticated/complex character ever created, is still the most, immensely popular in practically all areas ranging from comics, books, video games and movies. He is a phenomenal icon in pop-culture and needs no further explanation and this will be just another post about him among hundreds or even thousands of fan sites and others.
Now why me? I grew up reading and watching Batman, and I would safely say that must be probably one of the first things I’ve read when I became capable of reading. What I listed above are more of his skills/attributes than traits, but I would like to highlight the last one – Unbreakable Will. Although he is a fictional character and anyone can spin up a story about always trying and never giving up, that is perhaps the single most thing among the others which always gets to me.
While there are many other characters with whom we people can relate to more, and Batman being more of a god. There is in fact a famous line which goes:
“There are only two gods – Death, and Batman”
Okay honestly, I made that up and full copyright goes to me. If that goes viral by any chance, then odds are I will be able to buy a Ferrari than claim I said that, but oh well letting you know just in case. There is no doubt he has been an inspiration for me and personally and millions in the world. The very purpose of his character was perhaps give hope to people in our real world, that anyone can be a hero and stand up to make a difference, just like his fictional world (and make billions of $ for DC)
Thank you Bob Kane and Bill Finger. I can keep on quoting from hundreds of sources, but I will end this with the one which really got to me and must have had a tear in my eye:
“And as the sun, that had been too afraid to show its face in this city, started to turn the black into grey, I smiled. Not out of happiness. But because I knew… that one day, I wouldn’t have to do this anymore. One day, I could stop fighting. Because one day… I would win. One day, there will be no pain, no loss, no crime. Because of me, because I fight. For you. And one day, I will win.”
The Nameless One 