"Yes, Batman is insane, and that's part of what makes his rivalry with The Joker so perfect. While Bats constantly tries to fight the crazy, Joker revels in it"

"Insane" is one of these. Insane, as some of you doubtless know, is not a medical term. It is a legal one. And, like so many legal terms, it really doesn't have a whole lot to do with the real world. It's there solely for the benefit of guys in suits arguing with each other in a courtroom.

When I was just getting into comics, professionally, I heard a lot of "Batman would have to be INSANE to do the things he does!" To which my response would be "No, YOU'D have to be insane to do the things Batman does, but Batman is just FINE doing them, because he's BATMAN."

Into the fantasy realms of superheroes, we drag our real world perceptions. We ask questions that should not be asked and, perhaps even worse, we try to ANSWER them! So Batman isn't just a guy who does what he does because he happens to live in a "reality" where doing what he does is PERFECTLY NORMAL. He does what he does because he's INSANE. And the Joker isn't just crafty and wily and fiendishly clever, he's INSANE. And this is played as his ADVANTAGE! "Batman is constantly frustrated by the Joker, because the Joker is not RATIONAL. Batman cannot predict what the Joker will do next, because the JOKER cannot predict what the Joker will do next!"

Sure, because THAT'S "real".

And that's what's REALLY "insane". We drag this stuff in where it has no place, and then we use it all just as "unrealistically" as batarangs and whirlybats.

The Joker is not insane. Like Hamlet, he sometimes chooses to "put an antic disposition on" -- and, like Hamlet, sometimes people forget he's only PRETENDING to be crazy.

And Batman isn't even pretending. He's probably the sanest man in Gotham.

I've noticed a few times over the years that fans (and some writers too, apparently) have a problem distinguishing between a character's true nature and how the criminals and/or the public might perceive that character. The "Batman is insane" idea is part of this, along with the way its sometimes been assumed that the other members of the Justice League should be afraid of Batman. That's absurd. In the JLA, among his own "kind," is one place where Batman should be completely accepted.    

I though the portrayal of Batman and Superman's differences in style was demonstrated perfectly in JB's Man of Steel 3 story, but that was when they met for the first time. Showing Batman as intimidating or frightening to other veteran superheroes years after they've been fighting side by side is something that bothers me. CRIMINALS are a cowardly and superstitious lot, which is why Batman's act is effective against them. But superheroes are not.

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There are White people who think it would be Way Cool to be Black. Of course, when they say this, they are really just skimming the surface. They think "Black people are COOL!" and look at styles and music and attitudes -- and sort of zip right past centuries of oppression, and the fact that even today just being Black can get you beaten and even killed. That there are many places in the "civilized" world -- and our o-so-civilized Nation -- where being Black is a constant struggle.

"Insanity" is the same. How COOL would be be to have that kind of mania at your command (skip the part about not being able to turn it off)? How COOL would it be to be able to rant and rage and have no responsibilities?

Well, 24/7, not very!

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Really? THAT'S all you took from what I wrote?

Godfrey Cambridge, as a secret service agent assigned to undergo therapy as part of checking out James Coburn's Park Avenue shrink, before the latter is confirmed for the title job, tells of a trauma that occurred when he was attending school for the first time. In the process he reveals that he has just killed a double agent, out on the streets of New York, and that when he stabbed that man to death, the victim was everyone who had ever caused Cambridge's character any grief.

Coburn's character immediately realizes THIS is why Cambridge's character is so well-adjusted. He doesn't really need therapy, because he can vent all his anger and frustration by going out and actually KILLING somebody. And his doing so is fully sanctified by the authorities.

Batman doesn't KILL people, but he does satisfy his graveside oath to his parents every night, in a variety of ways. No reason, then, for him to feel "driven" or to be "crazy". And, as Frank Miller indicated (and so many people completely missed!) he was driven crazy when he retired, and thus violated that oath.

A Batman who is out On The Job is a completely SANE Batman!