Is Batman A Superhero Or Not?

[ReZourceman]

perhaps, but he is NO superhero.

 

Super

1. Informal. a. a superintendent, esp. of an apartment house.

b. supermarket.

c. supernumerary.

d. supervisor.

 

2. an article of a superior quality, grade, size, etc.

3. (in beekeeping) the portion of a hive in which honey is stored.

4. Printing. supercalendered paper.

5. Television. an additional image superimposed on the original video image: A super of the guest's name is included under the picture when the guest is introduced.

–adjective 6. of the highest degree, power, etc.

7. of an extreme or excessive degree.

8. Informal. very good; first-rate; excellent.

9. (of measurement) superficial.

10. superfine.

–adverb 11. Slang. very; extremely or excessively: super classy; a super large portion of food.

 

Hero

–noun, plural -roes; for 5 also -ros. 1. a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.

2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child.

3. the principal male character in a story, play, film, etc.

4. Classical Mythology. a. a being of godlike prowess and beneficence who often came to be honored as a divinity.

b. (in the Homeric period) a warrior-chieftain of special strength, courage, or ability.

c. (in later antiquity) an immortal being; demigod.

 

5. hero sandwich.

6. the bread or roll used in making a hero sandwich.

 

Mandatory filler.

[Happenstance]

Yes but if you get the definition of Superhero:

 

"A figure, especially in a comic strip or cartoon, endowed with superhuman powers and usually portrayed as fighting evil or crime."

 

Batman doesnt have superhuman powers

[ReZourceman]

Define "superhuman"

[Happenstance]

"Above or beyond the human; preternatural or supernatural."

[chairdriver]

Batman's mind is superhuman.

 

It's superior to that of a normal human, therefore is superhuman.

 

Also the mind is one of the most powerful weapons, which shows; Batman is almost undefeatable.

[Gaijin von Snikbah]

He has super human powers.

[ReZourceman]

Basically what Im getting at, is IMHO it is the upmost extremes of pedantic if you dont consider Batman a super hero.

[Eddage]

Batman's mind is superhuman.

 

It's superior to that of a normal human, therefore is superhuman.

 

Also the mind is one of the most powerful weapons, which shows; Batman is almost undefeatable.

 

Wait, so if Professor Steven Hawking saved a few peoples lives then he'd be a superhero?

[McPhee]

No it wasn't, Spiderman has abilites way beyond anything money could buy. Batman on the other hand, strip off his lycra suit, his fancy car and toy gadgets and your left with nothing more than a street fighter. Hardly a super hero.

 

Take away his millions and he'd still be Batman. He'd just be running around Gotham cloaked in a bin liner!

The guy is at least half crazy and almost as sadistic as the villains he hunts. Sometimes i swear the only reason he gets away with it is because everyone, including Superman, is scared shitless of him...

 

Anyway, back to the point at hand. If he isn't a Superhero then neither is Superman, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter (off the top of my head). They are Aliens with skills that are common for they're race, much like Batman

[Jon]

To Be Honest, the fact that we're here even debating whether he's a superhero or not is point enough.

[Fierce_LiNk]

To Be Honest, the fact that we're here even debating whether he's a superhero or not is point enough.

 

Don't knock the thread.

 

It's actually been pretty fun.

[Jon]

Don't knock the thread.

 

It's actually been pretty fun.

 

You what?

 

I'm not knocking the thread whatsoever. And going by what you're saying Mcphee, we're all superheroes, since we could all theroetically do what batman does (if he were real).

[Fierce_LiNk]

You what?

 

I'm not knocking the thread whatsoever. And going by what you're saying Mcphee, we're all superheroes, since we could all theroetically do what batman does (if he were real).

 

Ahh, I think I mis-interpretated.

[ReZourceman]

(if he were real)

 

Erm...what do you mean "if"?

 

[Happenstance]

I just wish the movies would be able to reflect what kind of fighting style Batman can actually use. I think every live action Batman movie to this point has potrayed him a bit "heavy". You never really see him in more fluid motion like you would in the cartoons etc.

 

I know its a hard thing to show when they want to keep the realism and everything but without showing him properly i'll never like the movies as much as I could. Its the same with barely showing anything about the fact that he is also the greatest detective on the planet. My favourite example of that being in the Superman/Batman animated movie where Batman finds out Supes identity pretty quickly.

[MunKy]

I just wish the movies would be able to reflect what kind of fighting style Batman can actually use. I think every live action Batman movie to this point has potrayed him a bit "heavy". You never really see him in more fluid motion like you would in the cartoons etc.

 

I know its a hard thing to show when they want to keep the realism and everything but without showing him properly i'll never like the movies as much as I could. Its the same with barely showing anything about the fact that he is also the greatest detective on the planet. My favourite example of that being in the Superman/Batman animated movie where Batman finds out Supes identity pretty quickly.

 

What happened, did Clark Kent's glasses fall off?

[McPhee]

And going by what you're saying Mcphee, we're all superheroes, since we could all theroetically do what batman does (if he were real).

 

Well all of those examples i gave are at (or near) the peak of they're race so no.

 

Yes it is possible that someone alive could do what Batman does but you'd be looking at someone at least as smart as Stephen Hawking, with the combined matrial arts skills of Bruce Lee, Muhammad Ali and various others and the gymnastic skill of Bart Conner. Said person would also have to be a master detective, forensic scientist, ballistics expert, chemist, criminal psychologist, toxicologist and fluent in a dozen languages. Oh and lets not forget a multi-billionaire!

 

With that little list he's definately better than humanly possible and therefore Superhuman

[rokhed00]

Spiderman has abilites way beyond anything money could buy.

 

Couple of plungers and some spray string?

[Dan_Dare]

I just wish the movies would be able to reflect what kind of fighting style Batman can actually use. I think every live action Batman movie to this point has potrayed him a bit "heavy". You never really see him in more fluid motion like you would in the cartoons etc.

 

I know its a hard thing to show when they want to keep the realism and everything but without showing him properly i'll never like the movies as much as I could. Its the same with barely showing anything about the fact that he is also the greatest detective on the planet. My favourite example of that being in the Superman/Batman animated movie where Batman finds out Supes identity pretty quickly.

 

I found the fights in Batman Begins to be pretty much spot on to how I always thought of as his style: that of a stealthy , scary bastard with a really brutal, joint popping street fighting side. Rage drives Batman, so the style is appropriate.

I agree on the detective side though: Perhaps The Joker's insanity will prove the necessary dramatic drive to write that element in more in The Dark Knight.

[Jamba]

I just wish the movies would be able to reflect what kind of fighting style Batman can actually use. I think every live action Batman movie to this point has potrayed him a bit "heavy". You never really see him in more fluid motion like you would in the cartoons etc.

 

I think a lot of it is to do with the suits. Don't forget how little mobility the actors have in it ("Brocken neck Mr. Keaton?") On top of that the animation in the cartoons is very expressive so its very hard to replicate that kind of feel without "Matrix-ing" Batman. I'd personally rather they didn't.

[ReZourceman]

Well all of those examples i gave are at (or near) the peak of they're race so no.

 

Yes it is possible that someone alive could do what Batman does but you'd be looking at someone at least as smart as Stephen Hawking, with the combined matrial arts skills of Bruce Lee, Muhammad Ali and various others and the gymnastic skill of Bart Conner. Said person would also have to be a master detective, forensic scientist, ballistics expert, chemist, criminal psychologist, toxicologist and fluent in a dozen languages. Oh and lets not forget a multi-billionaire!

 

With that little list he's definately better than humanly possible and therefore Superhuman

 

YAY! People who know what they're talking about.

[Shorty]

Couple of plungers and some spray string?

Superstrength? Spider-Sense? Superhuman agility? Like to see you stop a train with spray string.

[theguyfromspark]

So does a supermarket have special powers over an ordinary market?

[The fish]

So does a supermarket have special powers over an ordinary market?

 

Don't tell me you've never seen a Sainsbury's fly!

Have you been locked in a box all your life?

[theguyfromspark]

I did once see a Tesco Extra on fire, but that may have just been arson and not Human Torch-like abilities.