For more than six decades The Batman has reigned as one of the most popular superheroes published. His appeal survived the campy 60's TV show and a couple of poorly received films. Year after year Batman is always at the top, if not at the very top, of popularity polls. He's been reinvented numerous times, and yet his character is really virtually unchanged from its original incarnation in 1939. So why would a character in a Bat suit capture not just one generation of readers, but several? At his best, Batman can be a complex character that provides both action and an interesting study in humanity. Other superheroes really have little in common with us normal humans. When someone can bend steel or fly or melt concrete with eye beams, they simply can't share the same problems and dreams as those of us reading their adventures. So we might enjoy them. We might fantasize about being them. We might even learn something about ourselves from them. But we don't identify with them. We can't. They are too far removed from our own state of existence to be anything more than fictional characters.

Batman is different. He has no superpowers. Certainly he is not the only comic book character without any superhuman abilities, but he remains the most popular. This is because of all the comic characters out there, he is the one that is easiest to identify with. We may not identify with his wealth. we most likely cannot identify with his athletic prowess or detective ability. But we can identify with the very thing that drives his to have those abilities. If Batman could be said to have any special power it is his obsessive determination. At the core of the character, that is what makes Batman go. Without it he could not attain any of the attributes that set him apart from Joe Average. He is determined, obsessive and it has cost him dearly. To someone reading a comic, that is the anchor to reality. We know that under normal circumstances no one could or even would want to do these things. We see what Batman has lost to have these abilities and we believe. Batman is not always an easy character to like. He pushes people away with his trademark stare. He speaks in single syllables with a clenched jaw. He doesn't play well with others. But when we read his stories we believe them and we believe that if we were to sacrifice as much as him that we could do the things that he can do. More than any other superhero, Batman shows us just what it would take to live that kind of life. Batmans strength comes from his pain and that makes him someone that we can identify with

One of the most incongruous things about the Batman mythos is that he runs around with other, more superpowered heroes. What's the point in having Batman along if you're Superman? "Allright Batman," Superman would say, "You go take out those two guards while I go plug that volcano and push the Earth back into orbit." That always seemed silly to me. But he not only runs around with Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Etc., He gives them orders. They respect him. To see this rather normal human bark orders to people who could vaporize him with a casual glance shouldn't make sense, but in that weird comic book sort of way it does. In a battle of wills we know that Batman has an edge that none of the other heroes can ever have because he has sacrificed more. A character that is invulnerable is stripped of the ability to make that great a sacrifice. A hero that has a power edge over the bulk of humanity cannot develop the force of will to elevate themselves as Batman has done. They see this and that gives him an edge over them. We see it too, whether we consciously know it or not.

Through his 60 plus years The Batman has been interpreted a variety of ways. Try reconciling the campy 60's Adam West TV version with the deadly grim Frank Miller version portrayed in The Dark Knight Returns. While it shouldn't be possible, it is. They are miles apart and yet they are both valid portions of the Batman legend. It is a common misconception that a great character has layers and layers of depth and complexities. Batman has become a complex character over the years but all of this complexity stems from one very basic premise: That this man has the strength of will and determination to do anything, anything except get over his own person tragedy. He can stare down Darksied, but he can't seem to go ten minutes without flashing back to "That night! The Alley!" When we think about it, all of us have our own person demons that drive us to succeed or fail.

There is a rather large supporting cast of characters in the Batman comics. Most of these characters bear the scars of being a part of Batmans life. Barbara Gordon is wheelchair bound due to a bullet from the Joker. Both Dick Grayson and Timothy Drake spend their time trying to please a father figure who can't be satisfied. Bruce Waynes bodyguard Sasha Bordeaux was in love with him and it got her convicted as an accessory to murder and incarcerated. His butler Alfred stays torn between loyalty and the frustration of serving a difficult man intent on living a dangerous life. It often seems that Batmans most relaxed relationships are with the absurd villains that he regularly faces. The Joker, Two Face, The Penguin, Poison Ivy, Bane... perhaps these people understand Batman more than anyone else. All in all it's a very dysfunctional family and yet they persevere. It's the stuff of soap operas and high melodrama. Like a car wreck we know what we are going to see might not be pleasant, but we are compelled to watch. Because Batman has all this ability and strength of persona and yet he has still screwed up his life in ways that make our own half hearted attempts look rather feeble.

So we read Batmans adventures and marvel at his ability. We get a certain thrill when he glares at Superman and the Man Of Steel backs down. Because while Superman represents our American spirit and wholesomeness, Batman represents our work ethic. While others may have been born with their powers, Batman had to work and scrape and sacrifice to obtain his. Batmans abilities may not be as great as many heroes, but he fought harder for each of them, giving them greater value. If given the same motivational demons that he has, who's to say that we might not be able to do the same? Thankfully. most of us suffer from demons that are terribly small time compared to the ones that drive the Batman. After a grueling day that is actually a comfort. We might identify with Batman. We might think that given the same circumstances and the opportunity for the same sacrifices we might be able to do what he does. Only then can we be truly thankful that we don't have to.