Behind the Mask: Bruce Wayne or Batman?

   Why do we all love superheroes? What makes them so appealing that we spend hours reading graphic novels about them or spend money to go to the theatres to watch movies about them? My answer to this is that superheroes relate to us on a personal level: they are human, but they do what we as humans cannot do. Behind the mask of Batman, Bruce Wayne is just a man who can transform into this incredible character that rids society of evil. Even when he is Batman, Bruce Wayne is still Bruce Wayne. With or without the mask, he still has this desire to help people and fight crime. This desire stems from his experience as a child watching his parents get murdered right in front of him. I believe that Batman is an amazing character, but that at the end of the day it is just a mask worn by Bruce Wayne.

  


The last panel of the volume that we read for class really stayed in my mind. The picture shows Bruce Wayne surrounded by Robin and his followers. They are making plans to band together and grow stronger as a group. I like this panel because Bruce Wayne is not depicted as Batman at the very end, he is depicted as who he really is: a man growing in age and wisdom.

 

 

   The debate will probably continue forever about whether Bruce Wayne is the mask for Batman or if Batman is the mask for Bruce Wayne. I think that each one of us has the right to interpret that for our own satisfaction. I have my answer. What is yours?