Batman: An Overdose of Pop Culture

The Dark Knight. The Caped Crusader. The World's Greatest Detective.

He is Batman.

Created in 1939 by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, he debuted in Detective Comics #27.
75 years later, he would become one of the biggest icons of DC Comics alongside Superman and Wonder Woman.
He has appeared in his own tv shows, movies and video games about his adventures in the fictional city of Gotham.
His allies and enemies are recognizable and remembered, adding to the mythos of the Man who became the Bat.
In 2016, he would be alongside Superman for 'Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice', which would be Warner Bros and DC's launch pad for the DC Cinematic Universe.

And honestly...I'm tired of it.

Don't get me wrong, Batman has become an amazing hero and character. He's been a part of my life ever since I was a kid. I've seen the cartoon, read the comics, watched the movies and played the video games. I've enjoyed Batman.

That enjoyment has been left at the waysides.

There's a saying that having 'too much of a good thing'? That's was it feels like for me (and maybe a few others). I keep seeing the character popping up everywhere, hardly staying down as something to have money made off of. I know there are a lot who enjoy it and don't mind, but that's just the majority. I want to talk about the minority of people who are tired with the Batman mythos.

Its not the fact that he is popular. Hating something just cause of its popularity is a bit inane and stupid. However, the way his popularity has been used is certainly justifiable for dislike and boredom.

A lot of people realize that a the mythos of the character (supporting cast, geography, rogues gallery) has become something so ingrained into the DC universe that it isn't hard to pic out connections to that same mythos. There is so much attention to it by both artists and writers that different comics have spun out from it. Not just on adventures of Batman (which can be different series in of themselves), but also of his wards like Nightwing, Robin and Batgirl (each having at least a few comics of their own) and even some of his villains like The Joker and Harley Quinn (seriously).

With so much of the spotlight on Batman, the other major characters of the DC universe don't get even half that kind of attention. I'm not referring to B- to D-list superheroes and villains, that's pretty understandable. But what about some of the bigger names? 'Green Lantern', maybe. What about the other parts of the Trinity? I don't recall either 'Superman' or 'Wonder Woman' getting as many spinoffs like the Dark Knight with their own mythos.

I know some are saying, "But Superman and Wonder Woman are so much more powerful than Batman! He's more relatable than either of them since he is human! He's so dark and grim and it makes him awesome!"

A couple of things to that:
1. He's got a silly concept (being a guy who dresses up as a bat to fight crime). Throw in how much 'dark and grim' you want with the guy, it is still a silly superhero character.
2. Both Superman and Wonder Woman are capable of dark stories too, despite being rather primary colored with fantastical elements.
3. When a common way to end an argument of how Batman can win fights 'with enough prep time', it is a bit to try and relate to that character.

A lot of people say he's one of the only DC heroes people could relate to. Sort of, at least discounting his excessive wealth. There is a reason one of the jokes surrounding him is that he has the power of 'money'. Its amazing the kind of insane feats he has had to deal with over his career,despite being considered by many to be 'only human'.

In no specific order, Batman has:

• Had his back broken after several days of prolonged fighting,
• Suffered from the poisoned blood of the Joker  (see 'Batman: Arkham' series)
• Complete disintegration
• Out-paced the Omega-Beams by the god Darkseid (which have never missed before, even against Superman)
• Ended up time traveling through several past incarnations of himself (long story)

Apparently, 'only human' allows you to survive some crazy stuff. Superhero stories, people. Its amazing the kind of stuff Batman can pull off without people calling 'bull' on, but when it happens to others, the tune seems to change.

At this point, I'm dragging on. The big point is this: the longevity, along with the stellar talent that has pilled onto the stories over the years, of Batman helped expand its mythos incredibly far. He manages to fit in different styles so well, he might as well be known as the 'ChameleonMan'. Campy or brooding, joking or terrifying: the character has become so multifaceted, I doubt it would be years for the character to ever become stale.

Anyway, that's it for me. Hopefully, I can get out of this funk by next week.