androbeaurepaire:

Hey, remember that guy who once stood in the middle of his family’s devastated manor, looking at their ruined crest, at his burnt past, at everything his name once meant but is now nothing but ashes and said : “this is about the future of the world” ?

Remember that guy who was once standing here, with nothing but the gigantic hole in his soul where used to be dreams of better times ? Where used to be an ideal of justice and goodness, the belief that things could change, that children could be safe, that families could remain together, that people could get better ? Remember that guy who once decided to train himself to become the greatest fighter, the most brilliant strategist and investigator, the guy who decided to become the most fearsome creature of the night so he could scare the hell out of every single other monster out there so they would never hurt anybody else anymore ? The guy who gave everything to become a protector, because he believed there was still things worth protecting, things worth fighting for ? Remember that guy who was once all of that, that guy who had so much faith that he could save people, but ended up there, planning cold blooded murder and saying : “This may be the only thing I do that matters.” ?

Remember that guy who once tried to kill Superman, because he thought light and hope were nothing anymore but a beautiful lie, and said : “This is my legacy.” ?

That guy Alfred, the family guardian, watched as he walked away from his family’s resting place to throw himself to another kind of death, the death of everything good he once was, saying : “So falls the house of Wayne”.

That guy who fought Superman with everything he had, that guy who almost succeeded in destroying the very embodiement of hope, and was only stopped by his own heart metaphorically coming back to life, realizing what he was about to do ?

What he was about to become ? To himself, to his lost family, to Clark and to the world ?

That guy who fell into pieces just like his destroyed mask and armor, and picked himself up to join the fight again, on the right side this time.

That guy who watched Superman sacrifice himself to save a world who always hated him, who never accepted him, but that he loved enough to die for anyway.

That guy who let himself breathe in hope and faith again, as he watched Clark being buried and swore to his tombstone that he wouldn’t fail him in death. That he would pick up the fight where he left off and bring that hope and faith to the rest of the world again. That he would do better, that he would be better, because that’s how you save people, by showing them the path. Because he has to. Because humanity has to.

That guy, who almost lost everything good he had to pass and give, but found it again. That guy who walked away from Luthor trying to remind him of that long lost legacy, trying to remind him that there was nothing left worth passing, mocking it : “Civilization on the Wayne, manors out the window!”

But this time it’s not true anymore.

Because that guy ? Well, look at him now.

Bringing people together so they can fight. Building a team of justice, a team of hope for the world.

Looking a young man who tells him that he doesn’t know how to fight in the eye, and telling him “you fight by getting in there and saving one people. No matter who. You fight by saving them, one person at a time.”

Teaching him how to become a hero himself.

And this.

This is his legacy.

This is the thing Batman does that will matter the most.

Teaching the new generation how to fight. How to save people. Teaching them what it means to be a hero.

That was always Batman’s legacy. And even more than that. It was always Bruce Wayne’s legacy.

Rebuilding a lineage, rebuilding a family, not of blood and wealth, but of hope.

And that. That whole fucking journey, from light to darkness to light again. That study in legacies. That’s what makes him that guy.

That guy worth being remembered.

When people ask me why I like Batman, my short (convenient) answer is that he’s “cool”; my sincere one, that he’s a flawed hero with a heart of gold and conviction unlike any other (… then I start to blabber about “Did you know that he has children?”).

But what I really want to say this writer has already said (and quite eloquently, too). Batman’s just Batman until you get to know the many Bruce Waynes (and Batmans) in the comics (and other media).

As “cool” as he is, I didn’t understand his longevity as a character. Perhaps he was overrated? Then I became curious enough to read, watch, and get into the fandom. I see it so clearly now. His skillset and tech make him a legend, but his mind and heart make him a superhero for these are what truly save Gotham City, the Multiverse.

Which is why it’s so hard to answer that question.

Why do you like Batman? I don’t. I love him. Okay, why? (I internally sigh knowing that this person asking probably won’t grasp the depth of my reasons and the complexity of the fictional man beneath the ridiculous cowl.) He’s cool.