Batman: Idol To Internet Trolls Everywhere

You know how Batman went through an extended period of being a massive jerk to everyone, almost non-stop? Heck he might still be in it now, I haven't read any of his new52 appearances, but for the moment let's stick to pre-relaunch.

Giving Ted Kord the brush-off in Countdown to Infinite Crisis. Jerking Stephanie Brown around. trying to interfere in Cassandra's brief relationship with Superboy, without having the nerve to do so openly (he told Superman to call of his boy, like Conner was a dog or something). Brother Eye, the "how to kill rogue Justice Leaguers" plans, and most critically, his unwillingness to admit he was wrong, or recognize others' objections as legitimate. This isn't meant to be a listing of his numerous failures as a (fictional) human being, just trying to make sure we're clear on what I'm talking about here.

At times I've wondered why writers portrayed him that way so consistently, besides the fact Frank Miller sort of did it, and they all wanted to ape (or out-do) him. I understand the writers for Robin or Batgirl can leverage some dramatic tension from disagreements between the title characters and their scowly authority figure, but in a lot of cases they seemed to be taking their cues from his portrayal elsewhere.

Here's what I'm thinking. Part of Spider-Man's appeal was supposed to be how the reader could identify with him. Outwardly, he's the shy bookworm the popular kids make fun of, but really he's an awesome super-hero who uses the smarts they make fun of to be an even better crimefighter. I think - really I know, because I make the mistake of reading comment sections on major websites - there are people who love to be jerks, but hate being called on it. It's half the appeal of commenting anonymously, say anything but take no flack for it because no one knows who they are.

There's Batman. He shows up, behaves like a complete ass to people. Not only do those people not beat his ass for it, or even shun him and avoid his company, they may not even point out to him that what he said or did was wrong. If they did, he just blows off their criticisms and ultimately, events conspire to redeem his actions. He never has to apologize, never admits wrongdoing, and continues in the same patterns of terrible behavior as before. He's living the dream of every person who wants to behave as poorly as they please, but hate how people get on their case for it. Batman doesn't care if someone calls him a hateful jerk, he just keeps truckin' on, and some people very much want to be just like that.