A friend mentioned something about the Dark Knight movie that got me thinking. She said why she could appreciate the artistry, she couldn't really enjoy the movie because of the hopelessness of it. I really could see what she meant. She didn't go into all the hopelessness she saw, and I'm not inclined to put words into her mouth, but it did get me thinking. She did say how much it made her think about the building chaos in Mexico (huge uptick in violence the last few years).
There are many ways to compare Superman and Batman. Powers, outlook, even the standard color palatte.
Yet, this does tend to point to one of the more fundamental ones. Batman as a character is born out of the failure to society. Superman is born, yes of another planet, but also of the strength of society.
What I mean is this. The entire mythos of Batman is based on the fact that society has failed. Not only in the act of the murder of Bruce's parents, but also in Batman's self-conception and way of acting. Bruce's goal is to be the one who fills the gaps when the system fails. When the Gotham Police is unable to do the job, because of corruption, ineptitude, or the rules that society has placed them under, Batman takes over. Because of those limitations, the Police (in the person of the Commissioner) is complicit in his work. Society has failed, and it is Bruce's self appointed mission to rectify that failure.
Where Bruce is born of the worst, of a random act of violence, Clark comes from the best. He comes from a happy home, a place where he was nurtured, and was taught to look out for others. As his powers developed, he stepped onto his path as a hero out of responsibility, knowing that his powers meant he could help people on a larger stage. He rarely works against the system, and when he does, it's out of the highest of principals.
They are the yin and the yang in comics. Here, as in so many other things.
