Caped Crusader and the Bearded Dude!
Karl Marx and Batman walk into a discotheque.
From the very first moment I set my eyes on the Batman Logo, I became obsessed with the design; maybe it was the symmetry that attracted me so much that I still collect Batman merchandise! Initially, the character was envisaged more like Superman, but the resultant caped crusader turned the tables around and gave new meaning to ‘anti-hero’. A playboy billionaire by day and a dark knight by night, Bruce Wayne/Batman lead this double life appealingly.
Delving more into Batman comics, I realised how there was a close connection to Marxist ideology in this literature. Karl Marx stated that a “society does not consist of individuals but expresses the sum of interrelations, the relations within which these individuals stand”, and in Batman literature, one finds various aspects that make up a society: class, labour and people’s relationship with power. According to Marxist theory, social hierarchy and class struggle are the two important aspects in analysing any society. The characters in the Batman comics could be categorised into different social classes, and thereby notice their interactions with each other.
Bruce Wayne is introduced as the aristocrat (bourgeois) and the Joker as representing the working class (proletariat). The villains here are the proletariat (the Joker and his men) who use crime as a way to gain power, to overthrow order and hierarchy. Then, there is another sect of working class, Alfred (Batman’s butler and confidante), who is more of an assistance to the ruling class – Marx does make a mention of this sect in his theory. Finally, comes Batman, the alter ego of Bruce Wayne, who has the money and power to become a part-time crime fighter.
Marx also elaborates on the use of technology, and what better than a ‘batmobile’ could suffice as an apt illustration in Batman comics. Batman has access to the advanced technology for his wealth, power and control allows him to procure the best. This is perhaps what makes the caped crusader a successful hero. While, the proletariat had no resources or weaponry that could match Batman’s technologically advanced equipment.
Batman comics is much more than mere superhero comic books. Closely examined, the Batman comic book series reveals a class struggle and separation; the opportunities that the privileged get while the depravities that the poor incur. One can also see the role of power and wealth, and how technology becomes imperative to sustain that ‘control’ over the others. The entire literature on Batman throws new lanes of discussion viewed from a Marxist lens.