How a Broken Batman beat a Perfect Superman

I am a big fan of superheroes. After Tigers, I’ve learned the best of things from them. But I am a fan of old cartoons and animation. I believe it was raw and unfiltered. Everything we see today is more or less catered to not offend someone.

I want to narrate a particular story that really is close to my heart and also something I believe everyone will have fun reading.

There is this animated movie ‘The dark night returns’. It starts with batman being almost 55 and retired. Old and rusty. Whereas all members of the justice league have left and Superman remains. He’s now an ally of the government and serves for the president. Gotham city is in total shambles because of gang members taking over the city and the mutant leaders taking charge. Gordon is about to retire.

Anyways, long story short. Batman comes back, takes out the mutant leader to win over the gang members and turns them into noble souls and they work against the crime. Obviously the government is pissed off and sends superman to give a warning. Parallelly superman fights a nuclear attack and takes a missile blast. The country is under clouds because of weather changes. Cities are being looted and only Gotham remains sane. Because Batman and his gang take control and sorts out everything.

The actual story starts now and also the message that I want to share with you. Superman comes to Batman to decide where to fight.

And fight they do. Anyways, the fights end up with Batman taking control and saying these two things:

1. You are feeling it right now, aren’t you? But the rest of us fight with it every day, our own mortality.
2. In the private moments of your life‘, I want you to remember the one man who beat you’

These two things have carried on with me ever since I’ve heard them.

• When the Batman says ‘I want you to remember the one man who beat you’ I think he isn’t just talking about this physical battle. Bruce sure knew what Clark could do if he wasn’t holding back. Bruce knew he was going to die anyway. I think Bruce also referred to life in general. Superman was powerful yet he was a puppet of the government. Batman on the other hand although old and mortal, behaved like a free man. He fought against crime, created his own small army and Gotham was the only sane city during the whole post-nuclear blast scene. Batman didn’t just beat supes in that battle he also beat him in terms of how to live life. Superman was busy being a hero while the groundwork was done by the other person. I am not saying Superman wasn’t doing good work. It’s just that he was a puppet. He lost the real him. He lost the battle before it started. He held back yes. But so did Bruce.

This battle and movie perfectly represent us and our choices. We can be superman (All-powerful, rich, etc and yet loose. Yet be unhappy, yet feel that something is missing) or we can be bruce (No parents, no love, people hating you for choices) and yet dying doing what you wanted to.

A broken Batman beat a perfect Superman. I think life is pretty much like that. I always try to make my choices thinking about this.