Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight (Wiley Psychology & Pop Culture)

by Langley, Travis

  Grant Morrison (comic book writer): By psychoanalyzing his enemies with his fists, Batman may have hoped to escape the probing gaze of the analyst himself, but it was not to be. There was, after all, something deeply mad about Batman.2

  Steven Englehart (comic book writer who majored in psychology): That has come up a lot over the years, whether Batman’s insane, but in my opinion he is not. He stands right out as having pushed himself as far as he can go because that’s how he becomes the hero that he is, and he knows that if he took one more step, he’d fall into the abyss. And so he stands at the edge of that abyss.3

  Norm Breyfogle (comic book artist): In the fictional world in which Batman lives, no, he’s not crazy at all. If Batman were to exist in the real world, however, yes, he’d be crazy—and very soon he’d be either institutionalized or dead.4

  Dennis O’Neil (comic book writer): There is a big difference between obsession and psychosis. Batman knows who he is and knows what drives him and he chooses not to fight it. He permits his obsession to be the meaning of his life because he cannot think of anything better. He is also rife with natural gifts. He is possibly the only person in the world who could do what he is doing. But he is not for one second ignorant of why he is doing it and even what is unhealthy about it, nor is he ever out of control.5

  This book, which could have covered many more topics, must come to a close somewhere. Batman’s allies could fill their own books. Much as I’d love to discuss those allies in greater depth, like Barbara Gordon with her new forensic psychology degree,6 her eidetic memory7 (so-called photographic memory), her decades as a paraplegic, and her value as a role model both in and away from her wheelchair, this book’s about Batman. Despite her Bat-identity, that independent redhead hasn’t been his sidekick, has no interest in dating him (a friend of her dad’s—ew), and doesn’t reflect pieces of his personality the way his enemies do, so she doesn’t fit any chapter’s topic. Good for her. Understanding Batman requires us to look hardest at him and his foes. The villains mirror and warp his darkness, his fears, his needs for puzzles to solve and criminals to hurt, and his hopes too. Having a dark side does not make him mentally ill as long as he manages it, as long as he walks that edge Englehart talked about without falling into the abyss. Where his enemies reflect Batman as he is, his sidekicks hearken back to young Bruce as he was and paths adult Bruce wishes that boy could have taken. Enemies fit his fears and nightmares; the sidekicks, his hopes and better dreams.

  Why doesn’t this book analyze Man-Bat? Where’s Amygdala? Where’s Ventriloquist Albert Wesker or that gal who took his place? Not only are they less famous than most of the Case Files’ featured foes, they gave me nothing new I wanted to say that I hadn’t covered elsewhere. The Scarecrow Case File explained the amygdala, the part of the brain that links our fears and other emotions to the stimuli that set them off—so cross off the villain called Amygdala. King Tut took care of dissociative identity disorder, multiple personality—a topic worth contemplating (despite its inaccuracy) for Man-Bat and Ventriloquist. The Mad Hatter, on the other hand, may be a mere D-list villain, but his history raises issues no other enemy’s could. How about Talia? By featuring Catwoman in a Case File but not Talia, am I playing favorites with the women in Batman’s life? Maybe. During one of our convention panels before a packed house, Dr. Robin Rosenberg asked the audience for a show of hands to pick which woman is Batman’s true love.8 Nearly every hand in the crowd went up for Selina. Talia got three. Talia’s relationship with Batman stays so intertwined with his relations and interactions with other people—the League of Assassins, the Society, her father, their son—that readers have trouble getting inside her head, as does Bruce. Although, her creator Denny O’Neil envisioned that by age 43, Batman would either die in the line of duty or settle down with Talia and have three kids.9

  The easy answer is to say he’s crazy when the writers make him crazy and he’s not when they make him not. True enough, but when we step back to gaze long upon the great Batman tapestry, when we look for the common thread woven through it by Kane, Finger, Fox, O’Neil, Englehart, and that endless line of creators, those who have come and gone as well as those who are still weaving, what do we see? We see a hero. We see someone we’d want on our side, a figure we’d love to call forth from our shadows and hurl at those who would do us wrong. We see that part of ourselves that wants to scare all of life’s bullies away, and we like it.

  He is driven—haunted—but we can no more label that drive a mental illness for him than we can for the revolutionaries who stand up to tyrants or the activists who fight against great odds to make this world a better place. Out of tragedy, great good can arise. Horrible events have spurred individuals like the founder of MADD on to great, albeit unusual, achievements. They discovered their lives’ missions. A person can have an obsession without qualifying for a mental illness. Is that preoccupation productive? Without intrusive passions, where would we find the world’s greatest art, music, and so many inventions? These obsessions each carry a price, a massive tradeoff somewhere in that person’s life, a great deal of sacrifice, and sometimes, yes, mental illness. Taking 10,000 hours to master a skill10 cuts out time for so many other things. Everyone has problems. Batman’s differ from yours and some of them are huge—but in a crisis, who’s going to fall apart first, him or you? Could anyone else face the horrors he encounters and manage the complexities of his life any better than he? No.

  Aside from the fact that he lives in a reality periodically twisted by magic, psionics, temporal anomalies, and other Multiversal crises, where mad scientists, monsters, extraterrestrials, and immortals walk the earth, Batman at his most realistic deals with one complicated city. Widespread corruption does not exorcise easily. Where does one man who wants to make a difference start? Does he become a police officer with hands tied by superiors and a court system that won’t convict the wicked, and why would corrupt officers all around him let him shake things up when, with impunity, they can beat him to a pulp the way some attack Gordon in Batman: Year One? Does he follow a career in law and then spin his wheels while bogged down in paperwork and regulations, subject to judges the criminals have bought—like the one who releases Joe Chill in Batman Begins? Maybe he becomes an activist or a social crusader, but if the rest of the community is too afraid to back him up, he’ll have trouble getting far. The community needs help overcoming their fears. They need to see the crooks cower. Bruce Wayne sees that the system itself must change. He has the resources to attack that system, to show the good citizens that the bad ones will run scared when push comes to shove. In the real world, many people die for trying to expose criminals in their neighborhoods or for voicing dissent against corrupt authorities. Entire families get wiped out over one person’s objection. When people make waves in such a setting, they and their loved ones can wind up dead, maimed, or framed, so the situation calls for anonymity—and yet the people could use a face to inspire the masses. They need a sense of somebody specific who’s out there rattling the cages, even somebody wearing a mask.

  Having defeated the Joker yet again, the Batman departs with the vanishing night.11 © DC Comics.

  So when the actor who wore that mask during my childhood asked if I, as a professional in the field of psychology, would consider Batman crazy in terms of more formal psychological principles, what did I reply?

  My answer then and now: “Not for the world in which he lives.”

  He lives in one deeply crazed world. We love what he does to the place.

  Notes

  1. Langley & Rosenberg (2011), 672–673.

  2. Morrison (2011), 25.

  3. Quoted in Langley & Rosenberg (2011), 669.

  4. Breyfogle (2008).

  5. Quoted by Pearson & Uricchio (1991), 19.

  6. Batgirl #3 (2012).

  7. Batman #197 (1967).

  8. Langley et al. (2011).

  9. O’Neil et al. (2011).

  10. Ericsson, Krampe, & Tesch-Römer (1993).
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  11. Detective Comics #476 (1978).

  References

  Comic Books and Graphic Novels

  Puzzled by the lack of volume numbers on these titles? DC doesn’t number their series’ volumes when they revive a canceled series or relaunch an existing title by starting over with a new #1 issue. Fans impose those volume numbers—sometimes that helps, but sometimes it only creates further confusion. Comics listed here appear in alphabetical order by title, but within in each title they’re in chronological order arranged by cover dates instead of issue numbers because issue numbers create confusion. For example, all DC Universe titles started over at #1 in the fall of 2011, so Detective Comics #881 (the last issue of the original run that began with a pre-Batman Detective Comics #1 back in 1937) came out weeks before 2011’s new Detective Comics #1. Issue numbers for a title like Catwoman , which has had at least four or five #1 issues (depending on whether you’d include a mini-series like Catwoman: When in Rome in the count) can prove particularly perplexing if you overlook the dates. Because of subtitles, title changes, numbering changes, resumption of old numbering, and other factors, only a comic book’s cover date places it in historical context.

  52 #11 (2006, July). “Batwoman Begins!” Script: Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, & Mark Waid. Art: Keith Giffen, Joe Bennett, Todd Nauck, Marlo Alquiza, & Jack Jadson.

  Action Comics #1 (1938, June). “Superman, Champion of the Oppressed.” Script: Jerry Siegel. Art: Joe Shuster.

  Adventure Comics #462 (1979, March). “Only Legends Live Forever!” Script: Paul Levitz. Art: Jim Aparo & Dick Giordano.

  The Adventures of Superman #424 (1987, January). “Man O’ War!” Script: Marv Wolfman. Art: Jerry Ordway & Mike Machlan.

  All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder #2 (2005, October). “Episode Two.” Script: Frank Miller. Art: Jim Lee & Scott Williams.

  Amazing Fantasy #15 (1962, August). “Spider-Man!” Script: Stan Lee. Art: Steve Ditko.

  The Amazing Spider-Man #97 (1971, June). “In the Grip of the Goblin!” Script: Stan Lee. Art: Gil Kane, Frank Giacoia, & John Romita.

  The Amazing Spider-Man #121 (1973, June). “The Night Gwen Stacy Died.” Script: Gerry Conway. Art: Gil Kane, John Romita, & Tony Mortellaro.

  Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth (1989). Script: Grant Morrison. Art: Dave McKean.

  Arkham Asylum: Living Hell #1 (2003, July). “Whole in the Head.” Script: Dan Slott. Art: Ryan Sook.

  Arkham Asylum: Living Hell #4 (2003, October). “Tic Toc.” Script: Dan Slott. Art: Ryan Sook & Wade Von Grawbadger.

  The Avengers #4 (1964, March). “Captain America Lives Again!” Script: Stan Lee. Art: Jack Kirby & George Roussos.

  Azrael #6 (1995, July). “The Temptation.” Script: Dennis O’Neil. Art: Barry Kitson & James Pascoe.

  Batgirl #7 (2010, April). “Batgirl Rising: Core Requirements.” Script: Bryan Q. Miller. Art: Lee Garbett & Trevor Scott.

  Batgirl #17 (2011, March). “Batgirl: The Lesson—Frogs, Snails, & Puppy-Dog Tails …” Script: Bryan Q. Miller. Art: Pere Pérez.

  Batgirl #24 (2011, October). “Unsinkable.” Script: Bryan Q. Miller. Art: Pere Pérez.

  Batgirl #1 (2011, November). “Shattered.” Script: Gail Simone. Art: Ardian Syaf & Vicente Cifuentes.

  Batgirl #3 (2012, January). “A Breath of Broken Glass.” Script: Gail Simone. Art: Ardian Syaf & Vicente Cifuentes.

  Batman #1 (1940, Spring). [The Joker and the Cat’s untitled debut stories.] Scripts: Bill Finger. Art: Bob Kane & Jerry Robinson.

  Batman #15 (1943, February–March). “Your Face Is Your Fortune.” Script: Jack Schiff. Art: Bob Kane & Jerry Robinson.

  Batman #47 (1948, June–July). “The Origin of Batman.” Script: Bill Finger. Art: Bob Kane & Charles Paris.

  Batman #49 (1948, October–November). “Fashions in Crime!” Script: Bill Finger. Art: Bob Kane & Charles Paris.

  Batman #49 (1948, October–November). “The Scoop of the Century!” Script: Bill Finger. Art: Bob Kane & Charles Paris.

  Batman #59 (1950, June–July). “The Man Who Replaced Batman!” Script: David Vern. Art: Bob Kane & Lew Schwartz.

  Batman #74 (1952, December–1953, January). “The Crazy Crime Clown.” Script: Alvin Schwartz. Art: Dick Sprang & Charles Paris.

  Batman #84 (1954, June). “The Sleeping Beauties of Gotham City!” Script: David Vern. Art: Sheldon Moldoff & Stan Kaye.

  Batman #119 (1958, October). “The Arch-Rivals of Gotham City.” Script: unknown. Art: Sheldon Moldoff & Stan Kaye.

  Batman #121 (1959, February). “The Ice Crimes of Mr. Zero.” Script: Dave Wood. Art: Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris.

  Batman #128 (1959, December). “The Interplanetary Batman.” Script: Bill Finger. Art: Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris.

  Batman #144 (1961, December). “Bat-Mite Meets Bat-Girl.” Script: Bill Finger. Art: Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris.

  Batman #147 (1962, May). “Batman Becomes Bat-Baby!” Script: Bill Finger. Art: Sheldon Moldoff & Charles Paris.

  Batman #179 (1966, March). “The Riddle-less Robberies of the Riddler.” Script: Gardner Fox. Art: Sheldon Moldoff.

  Batman #181 (1966, June). “Beware of—Poison Ivy!” Script: Robert Kanigher. Art: Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella.

  Batman #189 (1967, February). “Fright of the Scarecrow!” Story: Gardner Fox. Art: Sheldon Moldoff & Joe Giella.

  Batman #197 (1967, December). “Catwoman Sets Her Claws for Batman.” Script: Gardner Fox. Art: Frank Springer & Sid Greene.

  Batman #217 (1969, December). “One Bullet Too Many!” Script: Frank Robbins. Art: Irv Novick & Dick Giordano.

  Batman #232 (1971, June). “Daughter of the Demon!” Script: Dennis O’Neil. Art: Neal Adams & Dick Giordano.

  Batman #244 (1972, September). “The Demon Lives Again!” Script: Dennis O’Neil. Art: Neal Adams & Dick Giordano.

  Batman #251 (1973, September). “The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge!” Script: Denny O’Neil. Art: Neal Adams.

  Batman #258 (1974, October). “Threat of the Two-Headed Coin!” Script: Denny O’Neil. Art: Irv Novick & Dick Giordano.

  Batman #262 (1975, April). “The Scarecrow’s Trail of Fear!” Script: Denny O’Neil. Art: Ernie Chan & Dick Giordano.

  Batman #300 (1978, June). “The Last Batman Story –?” Script: David V. Reed. Art: Walt Simonson & Dick Giordano.

  Batman #307 (1979, January). “Dark Messenger of Mercy.” Script: Len Wein. Art: John Calnan & Dick Giordano.

  Batman #356 (1983, February). “The Double Life of Hugo Strange.” Script: Gerry Conway. Art: Don Newton & Dick Giordano.

  Batman #357 (1983, March). “Squid.” Script: Gerry Conway. Art: Don Newton & Alfredo Alcala.

  Batman #368 (1984, February). “A Revenge of Rainbows.” Script: Doug Moench. Art: Don Newton & Alfredo Alcala.

  Batman #404–407 (1987, February–May). “Batman: Year One.” Script: Frank Miller. Art: Dave Mazzuchelli.

  Batman #408 (1987, June). “Did Robin Die Tonight?” Script: Max Allan Collins. Art: Chris Warner & Mike DeCarlo.

  Batman #424 (1988, October). “The Diplomat’s Son.” Script: Jim Starlin. Art: Doc Bright & Steve Mitchell.

  Batman #426–429 (1988, December–January). “A Death in the Family.” Script: Jim Starlin. Art: Jim Aparo & Mike DeCarlo.

  Batman #436–439 (1989, August–September). “Batman: Year Three.” Script: Marv Wolfman. Art: Pat Broderick & John Beatty.

  Batman #440 (1989, October). Letter by Malcolm Bourne.

  Batman #452–554 (1990, August–September). “Dark Knight, Dark City.” Script: Peter Milligan. Art: Kieron Dwyer & Dennis Janke.

  Batman #457 (1990, December). “Master of Fear.” Story: Alan Grant. Art: Norm Breyfogle & Steve Mitchell.

  Batman #496 (1993, late July). “Knightfall (Part IX)—Die Laughing.” Script: Doug Moench. Art: Jim Aparo & Dick Giordano.

  Batman #600 (2002, April). “Bruce Wayne: Fugitive—The Scene of the Crime.” Script: Ed Brubaker. Art: S
cott McDaniel & Andy Owens.

  Batman #603 (2002, July). “Bruce Wayne: Fugitive—The Turning Point.” Script: Ed Brubaker. Art: Sean Phillips.

  Batman #605 (2002, September). “Bruce Wayne: Fugitive—Not Guilty!” Script: Ed Brubaker. Art: Scott McDaniel & Andy Owens.

  Batman #608 (2002, December). “Hush (Part I): The Ransom.” Script: Jeph Loeb. Art: Jim Lee & Scott Williams.

  Batman #612 (2003, April). “Hush (Part V): The Battle.” Script: Jeph Loeb. Art: Jim Lee & Scott Williams.

  Batman #615 (2003, July). “Hush (Part VIII): The Dead.” Script: Jeph Loeb. Art: Jim Lee & Scott Williams.

  Batman #618 (2003, October). “Hush (Part XI): The Game.” Script: Jeph Loeb. Art: Jim Lee & Scott Williams.