Is batman a superhero?

[iff]

Based on an excerpt from the novel Jasper Jones by Craig Silvery, is batman a superhero?

[scarletlatitude]

I'd say no, because "superhero" usually means someone who has supernatural or superhuman abilities and Batman is just a rich guy with nice tech and some martial arts training. 

[Ortac]

It has to be the 1960s TV series. The fact that it was so utterly crap is what made it so utterly brilliant! I remember an episode where the Joker escaped from a prison by jumping over the wall using a giant coiled spring. And I think there was also an episode with something like a secret tunnel to a laboratory which had a sign saying "Secret tunnel to laboratory" on the entrance!

[Lilsi]

I guess that depends on how you are judging a super hero.

I say yes because he is using what he has at his disposal (wealth - to make gadgets to assist him) to better the area he lives.

I voted for 60's Batman because i love it, it is cheesy and terrible but i grew up watching it and i love it to this day because it was in a time where everything was just a little bit more polite and nicer and it has that good vibe to it. 

I do however love all the other Batman's since, i love the Burton films and i didn't mind the Nolan ones although i disliked the third instalment of them. The Snyder film showed a much darker side, kind of Watchmen-esk where it blurs the lines. He's become more of a vigilante rather than superhero by that point. But i still enjoyed it.
I love the Lego movie Batman, so funny. But i didn't get on with some of the animations, i didn't like The Killing Joke and I've not really read any of the GN's or Comics. 
 

[Nima]

as much as Iron Man

 

[blunose2772]

I'd say yes. He has worked hard to train his body to do things an avergage person can't. Plus he has the intelligence (and money) to build all those gadgets. Makes him more of a superhero than I'll ever be.

[firewallflower]

I suppose I'd say he is a super hero, but not a superhero in the sense of possessing supernatural abilities.

 

My familarity with Batman is largely limited to decades-old comic books, so by default graphic novels get my vote here.

[Duke Memphis]

Adam West was the best Batman. Also, he possesses no powers or devices that unlock his powers. The Green Lantern has a ring that harnesses willpower as a superpower, and I heard that Iron Man has a power device in his chest that connects to his suit. Batman has technology, physical prowess, and Robin.

[Grumpy Alien]

I hate Batman so much

[daveb]

Adam West for the win. The 60s show was so campy and didn't take itself too seriously. Just plain fun.

 

As for whether Batman is a superhero, I agree that it depends on what one's definition of superhero is. My own opinion is that he is a superhero because I don't think superherodom requires one to have some innate powers beyond those of other mortal beings. Other than that he has all of the trappings of a superhero - secret identity, costume, actions, media presence, etc.  

[fuzzipueo]

Though I do consider Batman a superhero, his origins are pure vigilantism - a common, if rich, citizen driven to extraordinary means by an awful event he had no control over. In a some ways, he's better than some superheros because he uses his head and tech to outwit the villains (and at times other heroes) who came into their powers by extraordinary means.

 

His inspiration is one of my personal favorite vigilantes in literature: The Shadow, who had the first true character pulp magazine.

[Bruce Wayne]

I consider Batman to be a superhero. It's the same as with Marvel's Black Widow - technically, she is "just" a human but she's far beyond an average human, if you know what I mean. Yes, Batman is a vigilante, he's a normal human, not a metahuman like some, you might say "true" DC superheroes. But then again, he does something normal average humans don't... And I think that makes him a superhero. I hope this makes sense.  

 

By the way, Kevin Conroy is the true Batman. His voice is unforgettable. It's so symbolic.  

[GlamRocker]

Batman is a superhero because he has super-willpower. Sure, he didn't have to be bitten by a radioactive spider or have some glowing green goo drip onto him in a sewer for this, but his willpower really is inhumanly off the charts.

 

By the way, I OBJECT to the Schumacher movies being lumped in with the Burton movies. The Burton movies are my favorite portrayal of Batman, whereas Batman and Robin is one of the worst movies ever made.

[Guest]

Batman Begins is genius.

[andreas1033]

Personally although i have no interest in comic book heros, as such, and never watch these marvel super hero films.

 

I have always seen batman as a superhero.

 

If you see police forces, some of the best cops, will be like super heros, as they have grown to have abilities, that just makes them stand out above the other cops. Although batman was a vigilante, i always see him like a policeman.

 

To be a good policeman, in some ways you need to have abilities that make you stand out.

 

So this is the way i have always seen batman. Just a good cop, and to be good at being a police person, you either learn skills, or naturally have innate skills, that help you, that most will never have or learn.

 

So for me, batman is a super hero. Like i said, some police must be good at there jobs, to an extent, they are above most others, and they either innately know things naturally, or in the job, they learned things, that make them seem as super human.

 

There must be police like that, and i always saw batman, as being symbolic of that.

 

The reason its a batman, as bats probably have skills lots of other animals do not have. Who ever made the idea of batman, must of labelled him batman, as they probably saw things in bats, ie skills, that some humans can have, or learn.

 

So i do think batman for me is a super hero. But like i said, i probably have never been exposed to all the films, or tv alot of you lot have on super heros, as i have no interest in the genre really.

 

I have no personal experience of police, but some police all across the world, must be very good at there jobs, so in effect they may be seen as people with supernatural powers.

[HonoraryJedi]

IMO, Batman is a superhero because that is the role he has and it is the universe he inhabits. That is the genre he is a part of. A more meta way to looking at it I suppose.

[kenny.]

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[iff]

@iff

 

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