10 Problems With Batman Nobody Wants To Admit
6. He's The Superstitious, Cowardly One
Batman's origins have been riffed on endlessly, but there's one particular line of dialogue that has remained in tact throughout every reading, sacrosanct. Whilst sitting in the shadow cast by the large gothic windows in Wayne Manor, mulling over what symbolic creature he will adopt the image of in order to strike fear into the hearts of evil doers across Gotham, a bat crashes through the glass and then Bruce knows. Yes father, he thinks, I will become the bat.
Why does he need such an image for his quest? Because criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot, that's why. Sort of the pot calling the kettle crazy there, Caped Crusader. Really, he's supposed to be super rational and intelligent and even he doesn't notice the irony in calling criminals a superstitious lot, before immediately taking a bat flying through his window as a sign not only that he should dress up as a flying rodent to fight crime, but that the message came direct from his long-deceased pappy? That doesn't really bode well for a man who is supposedly very clear-headed in his mission and pursuit of justice.
Criminals may be cowardly, but don't think you're any less superstitious than them, Batman. What else does he rely on the fates to sort? Does he avoid cracks in the pavement? Does he just think it's bad luck when his sidekicks get knocked off?