If you follow me on any social media or know me personally, you know that I’m a big comics geek. I read them for years (still do on occasion, actually), love the movies, and I watch/geek out on the cartoons with my kids. Actually, my first blog ever (the one I used to learn HTML) was an old site called The Comic Book/Movie Connection (it’s not out there anymore), and it was successful enough that it even got me interviewed by USA Today years ago (late 90s) to talk about them. And as a long-time DC Comics fan, it’s safe to say that I am excited as heck to see Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
But there’s a reason for it, beyond the hype of seeing my childhood heroes up on the big screen and being able to share that with my kids (who are also both superhero fans, probably understandably). Everything I’ve been reading about this movie is indicating to me that this is a movie that might be absolutely the epitome of what I talk about here on Mudlife Crisis.
The Batman, who is being played by Ben Affleck, is an older guy in this movie – like… in his forties. The idea of this particular incarnation of Batman, as I understand it, is that he’s done his time as the Batman, and retired several years ago to run Wayne Enterprises and be a regular guy (as much as a probably sociopathic billionaire orphan can do). He only returns because he sees the potential threat that Superman could be in this particular world as a nearly unstoppable force of unknown intention, and particularly one that attracted dangerous alien threats to the Earth (the storyline from the precursor to this movie, Man of Steel, if you haven’t seen it). And being the slightly(?) paranoid individual he is, he decides to take on this threat as only the Batman can.
Is #BatmanvsSuperman the perfect #MudlifeCrisis movie? Click To TweetI don’t know if you’ve seen any of the trailers for the movie, but the scene that stands out most to me is the one where we see Bruce Wayne watching the fight between Superman and Zod in Man of Steel and watching them destroy one of his buildings, and him running into it to try to help his employees – his family, so to speak. It’s at 1:03 of this sneak peak video:
There’s not a hell of a lot else that could make a man feel helpless than watching something like that, yet Batman is ready to take it on – because of who he made himself.
Let’s face it – of all the superheroes, Batman was always my favorite. I’ve always loved the idea of the non-powered superhero who, despite being surrounded by beings who can fly, throw buses, run faster than the speed of light, etc. is the most respected, and possibly feared, hero of all. He’s totally a self-made man (not talking about the Batmobile and such right now, just him as a person) – he’s learned everything he does and if a challenge is there, he researches it, figures out the weakness, and takes it on with a passion that is unstoppable. And he’s honed his body and skills to be always on point, always able to do what he needs to do physically. To me, that’s more impressive than a power ring, alien strength, mutant healing powers, or being able to walk up walls.
Why the Batman from Batman vs. Superman has me geeking out more than any incarnation so far
But this particular incarnation of Batman has got me really excited, because he’s almost exactly the story that I’m trying to tell with Mudlife Crisis. He’s that older guy who’s coming back to do what he… well, not necessarily what he loves, but truly lives for. He’s proving that you can take hold of your life and make yourself into exactly what you want to be. He was a big deal back in the day, but unlike most he hasn’t lost a step, and is about to go toe-to-toe with the biggest challenge of his life.
And while our challenges might not be of the world-changing variety like Bruce Wayne is facing in the movie, our challenges are no less daunting and important. We have families to support. We have jobs to do. We have responsibilities. And we have a society that tells us that we only get weaker and more decrepit as we get older.
But we can learn how to overcome those things. We can learn the best ways to get in shape and keep ourselves not just mobile, but strong and capable well into our later years. We can research what’s best for us and implement those things into our lives. And we can take on any challenge that we set for ourselves. Our challenge may not be a nearly unstoppable alien of unknown motivation, but it can be an obstacle course race, something that we’ve never tried before or haven’t tried since our twenties. It can be running a marathon. It can be losing weight and getting off the medications we’ve been prescribed.
Yes, there will be setbacks and tough times in pursuit of those challenges. If there weren’t, they wouldn’t be challenges. The important thing is that we never lose sight of the goal, and we keep persevering through them to get the job done and complete the challenge. And we keep trying to improve ourselves, never losing that drive to do so.
I do what I do, not just for myself and my own personal satisfaction, but to show my family what a person can do when they put their minds to it. To create great habits and lifestyle choices that my whole family can adopt and live by. I did a Periscope yesterday where I talked about a little bit of this and how I feel I’m achieving some of that for my kids:
And that’s what Batman is all about. He makes himself into what he needs to be to get the job done and make the lives of everyone around him better. The fact that he’s an older Batman in this new movie just makes it all the more exciting for me.
What fictional heroes do you identify with – which ones make you want to take on the world? Share below in the comments or on our new message boards!
