Batman as Psychotic
25 Jul
A few thoughts on a new-ish theme for an old, worked-over hero:
origin mythos partially intact:
Frank Miller’s Bruce Wayne as a boy falls down the well; something dark and sinister there imprints certain psycho-spiritual template, brings about changes in character and the eventual downfall of the system of securities around him–> leading to the death of his parents (seen much much later to be the work of the psychospiritual agent within him), alienation of his world, and his journeys to Africa, the Middle East, Russia, Central Asia, China, then over to California, evenually back to Gotham City..
(each of these journeys a sub-story, possibly through flashbacks or inter-episode events… e.g. confronting night-demons in the Middle East, psychotropic gladiatorial combat in African jungle (** where the combatants drink some hallucinogenic root/tea and have a dream-scape combat in the ether between consciousnesses) etc. –> all the while pursued, haunted, and driven by the psychospiritual agent within him… accruing knowledge about life, magic, fighting styles, “controlling his madness”, and more and more it dawns on him that he has another soul living within him)
Bruce Wayne, after a period of trying to subvert the internal-agent, begins to believe he must fight fire with fire. He embraces many of the dark arts he has learned, taking for his familiar a largish bat… consecrating the moment with vows for blood… he decides to use the blood of criminals to pay his end of the power-bargain. Becomes a semblence of Batman… but Batman as wizard. His fighting technique is a blend of martial arts and magic, sometimes simple spells to bolster a jump or apply mind-coercion… in the heat of battle it is hard to cast large spells so he uses simpler augmentations… but has several vials, potions, prepared items– changing the infamous “tool-belt” to a “reagent belt” or something.
Using spells and future-scrying, Bruce Wayne rebuilds his old fortune, finds and re-hires Alfred (family butler), and has several run-ins with criminals– however, oddly enough, many of the criminals start saying things, as if they were possessed, momentary-“puppets” of what Bruce/Batman believes is the force/creature within him, and he believes his strange war with his origins has been elevated to a new surreal level.
As in the first Bob Kane series, the initial classic enemy is Clayface.
ROBIN: As the fighting escalates, and the enemies become more surreal, powerful, and powered by extra-human gifts (a thing not lost on Bruce Wayne), Batman is approached by a strange humanoid, offering partnership: the Robin, who has a human-type side (Dick Grayson), but is really some hybrid like Bruce himself– seems to be overrun by a psychotic, avian-like soul given to hysterical laughter at times and a vicious cruelty that belies his short wiry stature… outfit more like a kingfisher, spiky hair, jewel-like body armor, features angular, mischevious evil faerie (Robin Goodfellow, kind of Gaiman’s interpretation of the Shakespeare creature). It is an odd trust at first, but Robin proves himself over and over again in helping and defending Batman, though Batman is often forced to hold Robin back from utter cruelties and tortures.
Later it becomes known that Batman’s arts have placed him firmly in the wizard category, and he has entered into a new and dangerous variation on the “familiar”-realm by adding Robin (with an animal nature) to his existing bat-familiar. Other wizards arise to put down the upstart and his violation-of-magical-nature, adding a new level of conflict to the rising tide of supervillians.
A bit after some great adventure and action, the idea begins to occur to Batman/Bruce Wayne that he actually is insane, and much of what he experiences on a daily basis is a psychotic episode. Robin delights in this idea when Batman confesses it to him, and there is no end to the lengths Robin goes to performing practical jokes or making up nicknames for the Batman. “Batty” “the Dark Plight” etc
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