A great challenge for superheroes is to remain calm while fighting villains who tirelessly come up with one dastardly plot after another. Their ability to stay cool when you or I would be sweating bullets, is an inspiration for each of us to learn how to be calmer, when a cool head is necessary to prevail. This trait comes in handy for anyone interested in spiritual development, financial growth, or relationship enrichment as well.
Sometimes, as readers of comic books and viewers of superhero movies, we wonder how and where sociopathic villains come up with such cruel ways to murder our heroes. From walls that close in to crush Batman and Robin to smithereens, to vats of boiling acid, and pools of man-eating sharks, there seems no end to their dastardly imaginations.
Batman, the world’s greatest detective, as he’s dubbed, can’t possibly expect such traps as the Joker and Riddler continue to create. He trained himself more extensively in criminology than Sherlock Holmes, yet still cannot possibly anticipate every plot thrown at him. But he doesn’t stop trying. Yoga masters taught him how to suspend his breath and heartbeat. This helps trick villains into thinking he’s dead, fooling them into errors of judgment. This worked for him more than once, and not only helped him survive what would kill almost anyone else, but also go on to solve the crime perpetrated by the criminal, and apprehend him. It’s also kept him alive to solve further crimes. These spiritual masters also taught him meditation to help him plumb the depths of being.
“Boy, boy, crazy boy, Stay loose, boy. Breeze it, buzz it, Easy does it, Turn off the juice, boy.”
– “Cool,” in “West Side Story” lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
When you’re forced to look into the jaws of death, and sometimes have just seconds to devise a miraculous lifesaving situation – as Batman has had to do on far too many occasions – it takes tremendous skill and effort to stay focused. Sometimes when the task is to stay alive, the flow of adrenaline can cloud the clearest of thinkers. Gotham City policemen, their bodies riddled with caffeine, and their arteries clogged by donuts, are unable to muster such peace and clarity under tension. If they’re what citizens of Batman’s town call Gotham City’s finest, then superheroes like Batman must be the Universe’s finest.
To remain calm under pressure, Batman suggests daily stress management to master breath and physiological functions. The life you save may be your own. The Caped Crusader debuted in “Detective Comics #27” (May 1939) from artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. After young Bruce Wayne witnessed his parents’ murder, he swore vengeance, and dedicated his life to putting scourges of society into prisons and mental asylums. The boy transformed into Batman. A mortal without superpowers, unlike Superman, Wonder Woman and the Flash, he used great wealth to create the world’s most elaborate criminal lab in his Batcave, equipped himself with super gadgets in his Utility Belt, and protected himself with state-of-the-art costumes.
The crime fighter’s popularity moved him into comic strips, books, radio dramas, feature films, TV shows (live action and animated), the stage show “Batman Live,” and the “Holy Musical B@ tman” parody.
To The Batcave
You don’t need to be a billionaire, have a cave or utility belt to clean up your city. But there are myriad things you can do to make your Gotham greener and cleaner, whether it’s planting trees or a communal garden, creating a neighborhood watch group, or campaigning for ethical politicians while opposing corrupt ones. You don’t need to be a caped crusader, just a committed one to make a difference.
