It's Not A Name: It's A Title

I saw a post the other day and it inspired me to write this. Obviously.

A little while back, I once questioned whether or not I could be the Batman anymore. Whether I get to call myself Batman and be the hero that he is. And at times it felt wrong; that I didn't get to use the name as my own because I had fallen from my higher standards that I held for myself when I was actively running my Liberty Batman account.

Then a short bit after that, I had decided for myself that while the Batpham is no more and that I cannot be Liberty's Batman any longer, that I would still be the Batman. Because my fun and my entertainment shouldn't be ended over different circumstances that either out of my control or as a result of something I did or didn't do. That even while I took a hit to my entire life, self-esteem, sense of direction, etc., that that didn't have to be the end of Batman.

When I saw the post it was a picture of a comic page where Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn are asking Catwoman who's the man underneath the big bad bat's mask. I couldn't find the post again, but in it, Catwoman decides to cover up for Bruce and says that it's not just one man underneath. Because of all the beatings, bullets, knives, etc., there's no way one man could take it all. That "Batman" was a title for the next person in line of a list of people trained in the Bat's ways (strength, intellect, modus operandi, etc).

So it got me thinking.

There's a scene in The Dark Knight Rises (2012) that Detective John Blake asks Bruce about the Batman (earlier he had explained to Bruce he pieced together that Wayne was the Batman because of the mask he puts on and as an orphan who "puts on a mask" to hide his pain and anger of being orphaned). Bruce explains that the mask and idea of the Batman wasn't to be known as a hero or hailed as one either. It was to make it so that anyone could be the Batman. That "Batman" was just a symbol and a legend (as also explained in Batman Begins (2005) with the following quote: "As a man, I am flesh and blood, I can be ignored, I can be destroyed. But as a symbol... as a symbol I can be incorruptible. I can be everlasting.")

So with that what I want to take away from it all is that I will never be the only Batman, but that can't stop me from being Batman. That I can restart working on myself to get back to my higher standards. To uphold morals and values, to be an example and lead by example rather than rely on critiquing others. To be a servant leader and be ready to put others before myself; to be selfless and find contentment and satisfaction from being a help rather than tearing others down.

I may have been knocked down, but I'm not out. I can and will get back up. I can be a hero still. I can be a silent guardian. I can be a watchful protector. I can be a dark knight.

I am vengeance.

I am the night.

I am Batman.