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Batman has been written in so many ways that people can honestly say “He’s not my Batman.” Which makes me want to ask them, “Who is your Batman?”

Batman.  He’s one of the most well known heroes throughout the world, or universe, of comic books. His mix of intelligence, physical condition, and gadgets make him one great detective. For most, it can’t be that hard to pick up an issue and say “It’s Batman!” Yet, I guess it may hard for some readers. Everyone sees Batman differently and sometimes the Batman character that is being published isn’t the one that readers believe he should be.  For some people, from diehard Batman fans to even some new readers, some iterations of Batman just don’t hold water.  When is Batman not Batman?

This might seem like a silly question to ask, but when it comes to people who enjoy Batman, many have a favorite version of him. It’s understandable if you take a minute and consider the many representations of Batman. There is the dark brooding Batman, detective Batman, the team player Batman, and many others. With all this variety I guess people can really choose who their Batman-of-choice is going to be.

Having interest in only one version of Batman has advantages and disadvantages. For one thing, if your version of Batman is being published then you will read those published stories. The disadvantage here is that if those stories are not being published, then you give up and you are not reading Batman. What if the Batman you enjoy never gets published again or at least not any time soon? Are you missing out on Batman stories? To some extent, yes.  Batman, like many other characters, changes over time. They have to, otherwise the characters grow stale and repetitive. For some readers this change is always negative and never welcome. For them it is not Batman anymore, it is someone or something else trying to write Batman - and getting it all wrong. This reinforces the reader’s belief that their Batman is the true Batman and anything else is bad.

The issue with keeping Batman one way is that it denies other readers from having a Batman. As a reader, you decide which Batman is for you, but to keep the character that way can be selfish to other readers. If you enjoy only one version of Batman, there have to be other people who enjoy their version just as much. By keeping the character static it denies readers the opportunity to find their Batman.  It also denies the overall Batman genre a chance to grow as people test out new things.  Who knows what other awesome Batman stories there could be!?

When is Batman not Batman? When you decide that he can only exist for you and your personal tastes. I have favorite characters and, as much as I would like them to stay one way forever, I wouldn’t wish that on any character. I’d like my character to be someone else’s favorite as well. When it comes to Batman, keep him fighting crime and keep him the Dark Knight, everything else is an opportunity to impress me.