Dark Knight of the Soul

By Ken Canedo

I was helping out at a youth retreat the weekend The Dark Knight was released and one of the adult leaders asked me at dinner, "What's wrong with Hollywood? Why do they keep making these dark and somber Batman movies? That's not the Batman I remember from my childhood. Where's the POW and the BAM? Where's the campy acting and the funny jokes?"

I had to explain to my friend that she was referring to an interpretation of the character that came out of the old Batman TV show from the 1960s, starring Adam West and Burt Ward. That show was a HUGE hit when I was in junior high, with it's colorful villains, over-enthusiastic Robin, and deadpan Batman. Holy That's the Way It Was!

The Batman TV show was a fairly accurate depiction of comic books in the 1960s: campy, silly, and fun. But when Batman first appeared in 1939 in Detective Comics he was a grim and dark vigilante. When the Joker entered the scene one year later, he was a murderer and terrorist. The new movie is simply going back to the original premise.

Batman has always changed with the times. From vigilante in the 1940s, to campy crime-fighter in the 1950s and 60s, to serious detective in the 1970s, and back to being a dark knight from the 1980s to this decade — Batman has changed to reflect current society. The Dark Knight movie tells the Batman story in light of our post-9/11 fears and sensibilities. This ability to change with the times is what has made the Batman one of the most enduring characters in American fiction. Still, he has remained the same selfless superhero who is trying to make his world right.

We all have to change and grow. Our childish behavior in grade school becomes uncool when we're teenagers. And if we're still acting like teenagers when we're in our 30s, there's something wrong. We grow up and mature, sometimes in spite of our desire to remain the way we are. But with each new birthday comes a new opportunity, a new adventure, a new challenge to fully become the person that God is calling us to be. God, Change Me!

Hopefully, as we grow older, we won't end up as dark brooding vigilantes — or terrorist clowns!

That's my nephew, Matt, playing Robin.
And Batman is being played by some immature kid
who really needs to grow up!