The Psychology Behind Christian Bale's Batman

As the young boy kneels over his mother and father's fallen bodies, he listens intently to the patriarch's final words, "Bruce, itʼs okay. Donʼt be afraid." We know in this instance that the young Bruce Wayne would never be the same. In 2005, Christopher Nolan released the first of what would become The Dark Knight Trilogy - Batman Begins. The feature was groundbreaking in its portrayal of the comic book super hero, as Nolan had subverted the image of Batman as a camp, pantomime-type protagonist that had featured in the previous two films, Joel Schumacherʼs 1995 film Batman Forever and the disastrous 1997 film Batman & Robin. The image of Batman had been one of variety in the near-seventy years since the character first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939; at the time, he was born out of the popularity of fellow DC superhero Superman. Different interpretations on screen had suited a changing society; from the melodramatic, comedy-heavy, dancing Adam West Batman of the "swinging sixties" television series to Michael Keatonʼs incarnation of a gothicstyle antihero in Tim Burtonʼs 1989 film and then George Clooneyʼs depiction of the "world's greatest detective" as a camp, family friendly Batman in Batman & Robin. The exaggerated and theatrical approach to the cinematic display of Batman taken by director Joel Schumacher proved to put the further creation of Batman films on hiatus after such a poor critical and financial performance, allowing for Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer to start working upon a new project of their own a few years later. Nolan and Goyerʼs project would focus on a darker tone, a bleaker, more realistic world for Batman to reside in, returning to the style revered in the early comics and drawing inspiration from the trend of dark comics and graphic novels of the 1980ʼs by Frank Miller (The Dark Knight Returns, Batman: Year One) and Alan Moore (Batman: The Killing Joke). Whereas previous Batman films had focused on outlandish, overplayed enemies, futuristic gadgets and theatrical fight sequences, Batman Begins was to concentrate upon the humanity of Bruce Wayne and how he would come to be the iconic figure in black. Christopher Nolan is known to build his movies around perplexing, psychologically complex characters who commonly have been subject to a mental and/or physical trauma that has affected their development. This is evident through the characters of Leonard Shelby (Memento), who is trying to solve the labyrinth-like puzzle of avenging his murdered wife, while also trying to overcome his anterograde amnesia (the inability to retain short term memories), and Inceptionʼs Dom Cobb, who seeks a way to enable himself to return home to his children whilst suffering with the grief and guilt of his wifeʼs suicide.

Likewise, Nolanʼs vision of Batman was to be a complex, layered depiction of emotion, anguish and obsession. Casting Christian Bale as the re-envisioned Bruce Wayne proved to be the perfect fit for the character, as the skilled actor could portray all the aspects of Bruce Wayneʼs psyche. The psychological reasons behind his need to become a crime fighter, an avenger, are fascinating. Batmanʼs origin story is well known; a combination of his fear of bats and the death of his parents act as the precursors for the creation of Bruceʼs crime-fighting alter ego. Firstly, the grief caused by the loss of his only true family led Bruce to isolating himself away from those around him, shown by his inability to remain friends with Rachel when he is young, and his introverted nature as an adult, not allowing close bonds (apart from with his butler and caregiver Alfred (Michael Caine)), hesitant to allow himself the agony of losing someone again. His attachment disorder also explains his duel identities as the self centered, playboy-millionaire Bruce Wayne and the saviour of Gotham City, Batman. He adopts another voice, attitude and persona, with Bruce Wayne being the false identity, in order to protect those around him from the repercussions of his dangerous actions. In one way, adopting a hidden identity and isolated nature is to protect Bruceʼs loved ones, and in another it is to save him from emotional suffering and further regret. The trauma of Bruce losing his parents to the crimes of a thief had caused the boy to grow up longing for revenge upon Joe Chill (Richard Blake), his parents' murderer. His pursuit of vengeance comes to the boil when Chill is released from prison as part of a deal to testify against Carmine Falcone. Bruce approaches with a weapon, only for one of Falconeʼs men to shoot and kill Chill before Bruce can, depriving him of revenge. This is a major turning point for Bruce; if he had killed Chill, he would have simply become just like Chill - a murderer. Rachel explains to Bruce the differences between justice and revenge: "Justice is about harmony. Revenge is about making yourself feel better, which is why we have an impartial system." This thus begins Bruceʼs quest for justice rather than revenge, his grief too assisting in his quest to protect the weak and vulnerable from those wishing to exploit them. The death of Bruceʼs parents does not only fill him with grief and anger, Nolanʼs film had slightly altered the Batman origin story, so while it still maintained the constant of Bruce Wayneʼs parents being murdered in front of him, Bruce is shown to feel a degree of responsibility.

In one of the initial scenes with the young Bruce Wayne, we see him playing hide and seek with the young Rachel Dawes, only for him to fall into the estate's well and be immersed in a swarm of bats. Here is where Bruceʼs phobia of bats triggers.

This phobia reappears when Bruce and his parents are at the opera; he becomes scared of some of the bat-like monsters on stage and asks his father if they could leave. Once outside, Thomas Wayne takes responsibility for the family's abrupt exit, saving Bruce from embarrassment. It is then when the Waynes come across Joe Chill, who ends up shooting both of Bruceʼs parents. Bruce believes that if it was not for his phobia of bats, if he was brave, his parents would still be alive.

He places the weight of guilt upon his shoulders, even though Alfred explains the only guilty man was Joe Chill. Because of this guilt, Bruce develops a need to protect himself, the ones he loves and those who cannot protect themselves. This idea also adheres to Thomas Wayneʼs philanthropist nature; Thomas felt those less fortune need help, and in his case he had the cheap monorail built to allow those less fortunate to travel easily. For Bruce, he helps the less fortunate by defending them and thus honouring his father's memory.

Bruceʼs guilt in the role he believes he played in his parents' death is situated in the fear he felt upon seeing the bat-like creature at the opera. Fear is the major theme in Batman Begins; it also acts as an intricate emotion, leading to Bruce Wayne becoming a hero. Bruce is on a journey to confront his innermost fear, and he eventually overcomes it. Bruce Wayne goes as far to transcend his own phobia and embody his own fear, becoming Batman in an attempt to "turn fear against those who prey on the fearful." Batman becomes an icon for the innocent and demon for the guilty, attributing a symbol's power to scare to Thomas Wayneʼs statement that, "All creatures feel fear...especially the scary ones," and Carmine Falconeʼs allusion to fear being power, allowing him to gain an advantage over even the most powerful of foes.

Bruce Wayne suffered from serious mentally distress in his youth that has led to his creation of Batman. The guilt and grief he would have suffered from during the tragedy has attributed to his desire to protect the innocent and those who cannot protect themselves from the evil that lurks in the narrows of Gotham. He was left a fragmented human being, shown by his two separate identities; a man of gentry and riches by day, contrasted by his form as the crime fighting, caped crusader by night.