(and I’M just restating what you said!) but! I actually DO catch ‘em, just maybe not in exactly the way you would have caught them! I’m guessing you mean more like ‘others’ wouldn’t think he was “good” enough to own the toys that rich men have, unless they know the ‘heroic’ way he would use them. He wouldn't have a batcave with all that nifty stuff if he were poor! All this talk lately about perspective and interpretation, I guess I shouldn’t really be asking if I’m “right”, as much as asking whether I found out (with my own interpretation) something real and important for me to wanna pass on that “good word of mouth”. If we talk about superheroes having a significant impact on the good of mankind, then shouldn’t we be learning from the ‘moral’ they exaggerate for us, so we can perpetuate that word of ‘love’? They are the prototypes of the superhumans that we could be if we all acted like heroes in comics, I think they are based on the memory of actual people in history who would do heroic things, just added a bit o magic. I was wondering about the origins of some of Batman’s methods. I think I might be straying a bit, but this IS kinda like a message board! This website explains the way Batman was when he first became known in comic strips… The First Batman Story. The writer of this first comic strip, Bill Finger, said, ” Batman was originally written in the style of the pulps and this influence was evident with Batman showing little remorse over killing or maiming criminals and was not above using firearms.” This changed with the release of the first comic book, by editor Whitney Ellsworth, “The first issue of Batman was notable not only for introducing two of Batman's most persistent antagonists, the Joker and Catwoman, but for one of the stories in the issue where Batman shoots some monstrous giants to death, which prompted editor Ellsworth’s decree that the character could no longer kill or use a gun.” So it was really the editor’s emotional/?intuitive interpretation that led to the creation of this conscience, about the horrors of killing, being compassionate and not taking it upon yourself to be the judge of others' action for condemning them to their punishment. Of course, that would only be ideal if you had such faith in your institutions that you would trust them to do what’s really right, to deal justice where it was due. Btw,”verbalizing” is… Hot

... but which extra surprise do you mean? This Batman lesson? Did I even understand it correctly?

Then the ‘you’ in your mindspace has no utility to the world, unless it somehow motivates you to take actions that leave permanent marks tangible enough to be perpetuated, to leave a 'good' effect on the world, leaving evidence of it's existence. Is it about the ends justifying the means, no matter how ‘harsh or audacious’ they appear? It’s funny you say that. Was it just about being rich that made it possible for him to utilize that benefit to help him become more useful in being 'good' for others? I mean, he didn't have any magical powers. Hmm But then you mentioned that the movie was too focused on his rich lifestyle and rich boy toys, but I think that might be a big part of his public image, his popularity in real life as Bruce. It might make one 'appear' audacious, harsh (maybe more in a snooty way?), or arrogant. The hero idea is really excellent and beautiful, of the utmost importance in my opinion. It exaggerates how each of us should act in real life, most have forgotten about being altruistic and sacrificing your own tiny earthly 'good' for the greater good, much in a wwjd kinda way, but just as a good example to follow. The sacrifice that Batman makes must be the earthly 'good' of personal mortality? Btw, this alter ego stuff... I hope you can see level of excitement that idea arouses me to...

I apologize; I should've included the point in the script where that quote comes back in: Bruce/Batman has discovered that Crane/Scarecrow (serving Ra's [pron. 'Raysh'] Al Ghul) is planning to poison the city's water-supply with his fear-toxin ... EXT. ROOFTOP -- CONTINUOUS Batman stands at the edge- looks at the IMPOSSIBLE DROP to the moving monorail train... RACHEL Wait! Batman TURNS. Rachel stares at his eyes in the black cowl, reaches up to his face. RACHEL (CONT'D) You could die. At least tell me your name. Batman turns. Looks back at her. BATMAN It's not who I am underneath... (touches his chest) But what I do that defines me. Rachel steps forward, recognizing her own words, REALIZING- RACHEL Bruce- But he is already FALLING... That was what showed me the 'deep' meaning there: that "you" the only one who is original in "your" mindspace--who is defined differently from moment-to-moment--and that everyone around 'you' is merely a pile of echoes of their actions in your mindspace---sure, they can 'redefine' themselves at any moment; but their actions are still stacked upon their past actions. The reason I was talking about was given to me by a moderator as reason for closing comments on a recent article. I realize that "remind" was probably the wrong word and that I should've used "tell," but moderators typically judge entire articles by their title (coz the title's what brings people in ... in fact, I'll probably change this article's title sometime soon). - Write with L