Summary
There are few superhero symbols as recognizable asBatman’s black bat silhouette. However, while it is commonly believed thatBruce Wayne’s choice of the Bat symbolfor the caped crusader arises from his fall into a cave filled with bats as a child, the true reason has much more complicated roots in his earliest days as a budding crime fighter.
In the “Super Powers” story arc fromBatman Confidential#50-54, Marc Guggenheim and Jerry Bingham delve into Batman’s first encounter with the Justice League. The story reveals thatBatman’s aggressive approach to the Justice Leaguestems from aprior experience he had with a super-powered team during his travels and training in China.
His experience in China not only influenced his preference for solo, and later duo, crime-fighting operations but alsoopened his mind to the idea of crafting a symbol and incorporating it into a superhero persona. The team from China calls these symbols “totems.”
This five-issue story arc is collected into a single trade paperback:Batman Confidential vol. 10: Super Powers, available now from DC Comics.
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Batman is infamous for his absurd number of gadgets and tricks, and now his iconic cape is being upgraded like never before in DC’s “Absolute” series.
Batman’s Encounter With a Chinese Crime Boss Reveals the Power of Symbols
Batman Confidential#50-54 by Marc Guggenheim, Jerry Bingham, David Baron, and Ken Lopez
The idea of using a symbol was introduced to Bruce Wayne after he joined a local Chinese superhero team known as Zhuguan. He came across the team after attempting to take down a crime boss terrorizing the village he was passing through. With the Zhuguan, Bruce learned how they were able to maximize their powers through symbols which — they pointed out to Bruce – is a common tradition within all cultures. In preparation for battle, the team members paint or otherwise attach a specific symbol on their chests. Thepurpose of the symbol is to channel their energiesto improve their abilities.
Bruce quickly established his own symbolic system.
Bruce initially thought of the symbols and uniforms as costumes. But he eventually came to understand that they are totems: sacred symbols that serve as spiritual emblems. Having seen the group perform superhuman feats of strength, speed, and healing,it didn’t take long for Bruce to buy into the idea of costumes and totems. The only questions that remained were which totem Bruce would choose as his spiritual emblem and what symbol would best represent the anti-crime crusader he hoped to be.
Batman’s Suits Have Changed Over the Years
But Not the Classic Symbology
After embracing the concept of utilizing symbols for power, Bruce quickly established his own symbolic system. For the final battle against the crime boss, Bruce chose a slate gray bodysuit with a blue-black cape and acowl that integrated with the bodysuit at the chest in a bat-like pattern. For the symbol he wore on his chest, Bruce chose the Chinese character 夜 or “ye”, which means night. And for his name, Bruce chose “hei an wushuh,” or dark night, because as he reveals, “in the night he can disappear.”
Batman refined his symbologyin the years since that day. He, of course, swapped out the Chinese character for the iconic black Bat-symbol. He kept the cowl and cape but incorporated a more bat-like look into the top of his headpiece. But the importance of costumes, totems, and codenames never changed for Bruce. Indeed, over the years, Bruce has continued to use the lessons about the power of symbolism he learned from the Zhuguan. A criminal might not be afraid of running into Bruce Wayne in a dark alley, but they certainly would if Bruce was wearing hisBatmancostume.
Batman Confidential#50-54is available now from DC Comics.
Batman
One of DC’s most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world’s leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.
