Batman Begins
Out of context: Reply #75
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“It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.”
— Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins
With those words, Bruce Wayne defines just what makes Batman different from Spider-Man, Superman — and from you and me.
Most of us would like to think that what we do is less important than who we believe we are. Life often makes us compromise our ideals and do things we would rather not have. We tell ourselves we’re good people, but do things in our personal or professional lives that hurt others, even when we’re trying not to.
That very contradiction is what makes a character like Spider-Man so relatable. He tries hard, but messes up. Peter Parker’s whole Spider-Man career is based on him believing he messed up. He didn’t stop the burglar who went on to murder his beloved uncle when he could have.
But Batman, as incarnated by Christian Bale in director and co-writer Christopher Nolan’s epic Batman Begins (opening June 15 from Warner Bros.), does not believe that who he is “underneath” is important. For this driven character, Bruce Wayne is the disguise, Batman — the man of action — is the real person. His campaign against crime is the thing he lives for — and that motivates his actions. And actions are, to him, all that counts.