Who is it that people fear at
night, the one that vanishes even in the middle of a conversation, and has even
lived through hundreds of years(something that can be argued)? A hunter in the
night, and millionaire in the day, Bruce Wayne, otherwise known as Batman, is
today’s common adaption of Dracula. I’m not really saying that they are the
same person, but more the fact that the inspiration and creation of Batman
probably came from the idea of Dracula. Many people probably wouldn’t think
about this comparison, but under further examination many similarities can be
found between the millionaire playboy, Bruce Wayne, and wealthy Count of
Transylvania, Dracula.
This large symbolism behind both
Batman and Dracula is the fear they strike into their enemies during the night.
When comparing Dracula to Batman, I’m specifically talking about Bram Stoker’s
adaption of Dracula. Knowing that, both men are in search of something
throughout the night, that one thing they desire the most. For Batman, it’s
justice on another side of the law, and for Dracula it’s a search for something
deeper than just feeding to live, both men’s fixations can be related back to
one phrase, “a search for blood”. When Batman fights his opponents, he usually
beats them so that they are unconscious or conscious but in ropes although
never killing someone. In relation, Dracula tends to incapacitate his victims
or weaken them by draining their blood.
Relating back to the earlier
mention of living through hundreds of years, we all know that Dracula is
basically immortal, but at first people will bring up the argument of how can
Batman live for hundreds of years if he is just human? In one of his comics
Batman states, “I wear a mask. And that mask, it's not to hide who I am, but to
create what I am” (Batman) showing a figurative interpretation that Batman is
not a person, but an idea, a symbol and those are eternal. In addition, a
literal interpretation would be in the current comics by the author Grant
Morrison during the arc of the “Return of Bruce Wayne”, Batman is traveling
through time after a battle with Darkseid that resulted in him being tossed
towards the beginning of time around the cavemen era. It is here where although
he has no memory; he acts on instinct dawning the pelt of a giant bat. In a
summary of the story, he is blasted through different parts of time all leading
up to the current time arc so basically you could say that he has lived
hundreds of years.
Returning back to the comparison of
Dracula and Batman, both men are wealthy and also live in large mansions that
include a cave either nearby or under the mansion. It is here in the cave that
you can see both men’s fixations on bats and that both would take up a name or
form encompassing these creatures. The graphic novel trilogy of Batman Blood
Rain also pits Batman against the legendary Dracula, however, it’s not the
fact that they have a showdown going on that’s important, but the drawing of
the characters makes them look almost like twins showing they can in fact be
the same person. Something that is important to note is they each have some
form of help, Batman has Alfred the Butler who is more family then just a
servant, whereas Dracula has his vampiress’ whom he also calls family. Lastly,
it is important to note how both men’s behavior change with day and night.
During the day, it can be argued that Batman is powerless as Bruce Wayne since
he keeps this certain image that Bruce is not a fighter, and in order to mask
his identity as Batman he doesn’t show his true fighting skills and athleticism
in public during the day. In relation, Bram Stoker’s Dracula is known as the
wealthy and nicely dressed Prince Vlad III of Wallachia during the day and is
largely weakened at this time compared to his strength during the night. In
conclusion, both Batman and Dracula roam the night out of emotional loss and
even though they are from two different time periods and literature universes,
they are the same upon careful speculation.
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