Becoming the Shadows

Introduction The dark silhouette of Batman (Robert Pattinson) emerges from the shadows on a rainy night, confronting a gang at a train station. One of their members asks, “what the hell are you supposed to be?”, before moving to attack. Batman quickly disarms the gang member, but in contrast to many of the character’s incarnations – on the screen and the comic book page – who would knock the criminal out before moving on, this Batman pummels the gang member even after he’s been knocked to the ground. With a throaty growl Batman responds, “I’m vengeance”, then proceeds to violently assault the other gang members. So begins The Batman, director Matt Reeves’s 2022 adaptation of the Caped Crusader. In addition to the title character’s willingness to inflict violent punishment beyond the boundaries of how the character usually operates, the film inhabits a cinematic realm blending aspects of the noir and gothic genres similar to Tim Burton’s original Batman film (1989) and the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight trilogy (2005-2012). Where The Batman most stands apart from the other cinematic adaptations is its willingness to imbue the main character with traits that arguably deconstruct him as a psychologically damaged yet overly empathetic vigilante, at once alienated from his colleagues yet yearning for connection in a way other cinematic Batmen have not. Compounding this characterisation is the use of gothic and noir tropes which combine in intriguing subversions; Batman embodies the noir role of the dark detective with a chip on his shoulder headed for a bad end, yet is ensnared by the gothic’s connection to trauma and the uncanny as a figure of horror born of grounded, relatable injury. In a further twist of expected conventions, despite Batman’s arguably psychopathic traits and the dark, gloomy atmosphere suggesting that bad end, the film concludes with optimism, hope, and personal growth, suggesting a casting-off of the noir and gothic aspects in favour of psychological healing. In this article we discuss the intriguing dichotomy of The Batman as noir, gothic, and more besides from perspectives of media studies and psychology. We outline how both the noir and gothic genres inflect the film and the title character with expected conventions and qualities that are drawn from psychological aspects of empathy, trauma, and personal distress, and how the film presents a version of Batman working through these issues and who may end up a more stable, sane psychopath than the others who have worn the mantle on the big screen. Finally, we conclude by theorising what a gothic noir reading of Batman implies for the larger state of the character – and the uniqueness of Pattinson’s on-screen version of the character – and for understanding anti-heroism more broadly as a staple of the noir genre. Batman as Gothic Noir Character Our research locates Pattinson’s Batman at an intersection of two neighbouring genres. The first is of course film noir, concerned with the use of the “hard-boiled detective” and associated tropes – the femme fatale, focus on crime and murder, dark-hued cinematography, and so on. While previous Batman media have included noir stylings and influences, arguably The Batman is the first on-screen adaptation of the character to fully embrace and embody the genre compared to previous uses of camp (Batman: The Movie, 1966, and Batman and Robin, 1997), post-9/11 “terror tv” (The Dark Knight, 2008) and the gothic (Batman, 1989, and Batman Returns, 1992). This latter genre is the second cross-point of The Batman, with the film drawing upon gothic tropes more aligned with the abject, grounded repulsion of human- and self-based horror than with the fantastic and somewhat distanced gothic tropes inherent to the monster and vampire fiction subgenres. In essence, The Batman presents a superhero embroiled in the noir atmosphere of a crime-ridden Gotham whilst dealing with the personal horrors inflicted upon himself and those around him as a gothic protagonist. In a manner similar to Blade Runner’s (1982) combination of film noir and sci-fi, The Batman integrates its film noir tropes into the superhero genre. There is an initial thematic dissonance at work in this fusion, given the wish-fulfilment aspect of the superhero – a figure we may wish to embody or emulate as well as look up to – clashing with the distanced, emotionally isolated nature of the noir protagonist. Very few viewers could say they would want to be Pattinson’s Batman, given how alienating and emotionally bereft he is. Where emulation may be employed is in the desire for exacting justice upon the unjust through Batman’s vigilantism, offering a figure of power and agency that audiences can engage with despite him being an extrajudicial figure (Brooker; Langley; Comerford “The Hero”). In the film, Pattinson’s Batman does not yet enjoy the implicit acceptance of his vigilantism by law enforcement which characterises many of his adaptations; his relationship with Lieutenant Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) is fraught and the Gotham Police Department has a tenuous partnership with him. While he is what Jacques Derrida would consider to be a pharmakon, a figure who alternately helps and hurts Gotham’s situation through his action as both “a remedy and a poison” (Derrida and Johnson 73), he is not legitimated as a necessary tool of dispensing justice. This means Batman is not yet the figure of the state of exception (Agamben) which enables him to undertake crimefighting as an extraordinary extrajudicial practice necessitated by crisis, something which is again inherent to the Batman adaptations mentioned previously. Instead, Pattinson’s Batman hews much closer to the figure of an anti-heroic noir protagonist, “a lone hero, usually some kind of detective or investigator” operating in a city “portrayed as vile and evil … where people are sinful and untrustworthy … abounding in crime” (Flisfeder 103-4). His status as a nascent vigilante waging a one-man war on crime illustrates him as an outsider even before the film explores Bruce Wayne’s tortured psychology and emotional isolation. It is because of this isolation that Pattinson’s Batman is made more complex through the addition of the gothic to the noir. It is made clear through his actions and his narrated entries in his journals that Batman sees himself as becoming an embodiment of fear and violence necessary to secure Gotham; in effect, becoming a monster to stop the monsters. Gothic tropes of inhuman horrors and fear of the unknown marry monstrosity and abjection, a terror made of humanity yet exaggerated into almost mythic status through symbols and disbelief (see Punter; Spooner). Batman makes a conscious effort to be a monstrous symbol of violence to criminals, manifested in a scene where a criminal sees the light of the Batsignal in the sky and runs in fear of a darkened road where he believes Batman may be waiting. Aside from Gotham being a crime-riddled hellhole, Batman’s actions are driven by internal horror and an inability to emotionally process his trauma after seeing his parents murdered at a young age, a trauma which in the gothic tradition haunts him as an inescapable facet (Punter and Byron). His surrogate father figure and butler, Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis), aids Batman in fighting crime and attempts to do the same for his emotional maturation and growth, but Bruce rejects Alfred’s attempts to help as anything other than an aide to Batman’s campaign. A strand of The Batman’s narrative concerns Bruce’s eventual attempt to overcome his emotional isolation and realise his ability to do more than just break bones and scare people. In this manner the gothic as a genre of exploring trauma (Hogle) is also utilised to add to Batman’s nuances. While Pattinson’s Batman arguably improves emotionally by the end of the film, potentially breaking free from the “noir lone hero” archetype and into something still gothic yet healing, the journey to arrive at that conclusion spells out troubling facets of the character that are sharpened through the combination of the gothic and noir genres. Though many interpretations of the character strongly imply a close connection between Batman’s actions and the murderous antics of the villains he faces – arguing that he is only one bad day away from joining them in Arkham Asylum (Morrison) –, rarely has there been a version of the character that embodies so starkly many elements of outright psychopathy. Conflicted Sense of Self-Help through Hurt and the “Empathy Cost” Problem Batman, a dark and brooding figure with a dearth of emotions and penchant for violence, encapsulates the hallmarks of a psychopath. Using Hare et al.’s (394) Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R), this anti-hero would score highly on several criteria, including shallow affect, lack of remorse/guilt, criminal versatility, and the need for stimulation. However, many other criteria would not be met (e.g., pathological lying; conning/manipulative; superficial charm), meaning they would fall below the threshold of clinical psychopathy. Psychopathy is most known for its association with a lack of empathy and callous/unemotional traits (Hare et al. 392). On the surface Batman would seem to be high on these criteria; however, we argue this may not be the case. What Batman does display are characteristics of boldness (calmness under pressure or threat; high self-assurance; tolerance for danger; thrill seeking) and meanness (excitement seeking; empowerment through cruelty; Patrick et al. 926-8). These traits are synonymous with the primary psychopath: one who demonstrates low anxiety and social effectiveness (Patrick et al. 918). Batman also embodies other dark traits from the constellation of Dark Triad characteristics (Jonason et al. 194; Greenwood et al. 166). This construct represents personality traits (psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism) that are often thought of as negative and maladapt