Fact: Batman & Sherlock Holmes are my two favorite fictional characters, & have been for a long time now.
It's currently the week of my birthday. I've already received just a few presents, & Batman was represented in that small sampling. Somehow, my love of Batman is something that stands out to people. Something they remember about me. Batman is a very common theme among gifts I receive, & I always like those gifts.
But this year, it did occur to me to reflect: why does Batman mean so much to me? Enough that year after year, I cling to him as a favorite, in such a way that is evident to so many?
Rather than press my brain for an answer right away, I let it simmer for a while, until the most concise reason that felt the most true rose to the surface: I look up to Batman.
My introduction to Batman happened when I was 11 years old. & I do very much remember looking up to Batman. He was a hero. He did what was right, even when it wasn't easy. He had been through some rough stuff, & it had an impact on him, but he made his life a good one anyway.
I think that is for me what Batman is all about, or at least what keeps him near to my heart. The tales of Batman have their very wild unrealistic aspects, but at the core stays an ideal to which we can all relate & aspire-- life is messed up sometimes, but we can react by making things better.
I didn't have The Worst Possible Childhood Ever, but I did have things that weren't great (we all did, to our own extent, I think that's just life). I had a particular circumstance that had me living in fear, & feeling very isolated within that situation. I talked to no one about it. I think maybe the hurt of that experience is part of why I so desperately wanted a hero. Batman was someone who had had things bad & still turned into someone who was always helping others. Batman gave me hope, like someday I too could turn into a functional adult, & even a good person. (He didn't talk to many people about his struggle, either, come to think of it. He had a secret pain, like I did.) In Batman, I see what is right. Batman stories were always admitting that life is hard, but worth fighting for.
So, that got me thinking... I had to wonder why no other character I had in my childhood had come close to that for me. My brain wandered into the territory of considering female characters in particular, & why I didn't see them as an inspiration, a hero, a hope. & you know what?
I can't think of a female character from my youth that had anything super serious happen in their past, or actually seemed to deal with it if they did. From what I can currently recall, the girls mostly just worry about things. Or it is mentioned that something bad happened in their past, but they do little more than acknowledge it, & maybe feel a little wistful or something (their past has more to do with how others treat them than with how they feel/act). So, as far as the painful sides of my life, it's impossible to relate to those characters. Sure, I can feel for them when they're insecure or whatever, & I could find things to appreciate in their stories. But as far as forming a meaningful bond with a character, not likely. They &/or their worlds were a bit too idealized. They don't represent something I can take to heart & live out. Things in my life had more pervasive consequences than the characters in my books seemed to face. Their trials, & their virtues, felt more like plot devices than anything that could be real. Some tales were too fantastical, some too mundane. Problems are either "everything that has ever been good in existence is in danger" or "someone teased me at school". There's a balance somewhere in there that I wish could be found more often-- struggles that could be real, could play a part in who you are, could always still hurt & yet also be healing. Male & female characters alike, I feel there's generally a lack of emotional struggle, long-lasting impact from hardships, & exploring motives beyond plain Good & Evil. I got to see Batman do a range of things, from saving the world to saving one child. I got to see Batman dwell on the hardship of his past sometimes, but also have days where he mostly just deals with what's in front of him. I got to see him make difficult choices, & they didn't always pan out in the best possible way, but he dealt with it.
Here's something I just thought of: most of the other characters I grew up with had A Best Friend or Two. Batman knows a lot of people, whom he trusts with different things & to different degrees & in different roles. Oh man, I do wish friendship wasn't always presented in such an idealized fashion in kids' media. Some of us get to have that Best Friends Forever experience... many of us don't. In that facet, Batman is so much more like what my actual life has been than any of the other stories from my youth. He has people around him that are older & younger, people from all sorts of backgrounds & people varied in their skill sets. Sometimes he agrees with them, sometimes he doesn't, sometimes he isn't sure what to think. I still need to see that in fiction.
There's definitely something to be said for letting kids be kids... but I don't think we need to (or should?) keep all kids' characters safe from actual struggles. Being a kid doesn't keep you "safe". Kids are going to face things that will feel like A Big Deal to them. Some stories need to just be a simple entertaining escape, but maybe some could mean more than that? Do you think one should have to wait until one gets into "adult" material before one finds stories one can really invest in?
Disclaimer: my childhood book selection was not your childhood book selection. I will readily declare that my experience is quite limited. I am very interested in hearing about how your experience was different than mine. Just don't try to tell me that anything I'm saying is "wrong"-- it is all absolutely right, just from within my perspective, not yours. My history is this, good books with characters that didn't really mean a lot to me.
