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Batman is a superhero that operates in darkness and has black clothing, yet people don't think of Batman as the BBEG of their comics, no? There is an entire TV

by zaarn 6y ago

Batman is a superhero that operates in darkness and has black clothing, yet people don't think of Batman as the BBEG of their comics, no? There is an entire TVTropes page dedicated to "Dark Is Not Evil" and it's not a purely subversive trope either, quite popular in media as well. There is also plenty of media (and culture) where darkness is sacred and pure, not evil or cold. Consider the dwarves in the discworld series that hold this belief. For more real-life examples, the hebrew bible generally refers to shadows and darkness as good since when you live in a desert, those things will bring you some fresh air and protection from the sun.

AnthonyMouse 6y ago
> Batman is a superhero that operates in darkness and has black clothing, yet people don't think of Batman as the BBEG of their comics, no? Superman: Literally powered by the light of the sun, boy scout who never breaks the rules, hard-working member of the proletariat. Batman: Tortured soul with tragic backstory, lawless vigilante, billionaire (regarded as evil in popular media, cf. Lex Luthor). The darkness in Batman is the adversity the hero has to overcome. It's integral to the story but it isn't pleasant. You can't imagine the young Bruce Wayne wishing for somebody to murder his parents so he can grow up to don a bat suit and punch criminals in dark of night. And so it is with the other common depictions of darkness in hero types -- an internal struggle, not a desired characteristic in itself. You can find the odd situation where darkness actually is positively desirable in itself, but not enough to overshadow all of the more common ones where it isn't.
- zaarn 6y ago
  I don't believe darkness being positive is the odd one out. Even major media has "darkness = good" not as a subverise but integral trope (see, for example, darkness). I don't agree with your assessment of Batman and I would point out that Batman isn't regarded as evil in popular media (and even if he was, Superman was evil plenty of times, see Superman Red Son) Lastly, I would mention that in hero types, a internal struggle is usually desired to counterbalance or embolden external conflict. Even superman has internal conflicts.

by zaarn 6y ago

AnthonyMouse 6y ago

> Batman is a superhero that operates in darkness and has black clothing, yet people don't think of Batman as the BBEG of their comics, no? Superman: Literally powered by the light of the sun, boy scout who never breaks the rules, hard-working member of the proletariat. Batman: Tortured soul with tragic backstory, lawless vigilante, billionaire (regarded as evil in popular media, cf. Lex Luthor). The darkness in Batman is the adversity the hero has to overcome. It's integral to the story but it isn't pleasant. You can't imagine the young Bruce Wayne wishing for somebody to murder his parents so he can grow up to don a bat suit and punch criminals in dark of night. And so it is with the other common depictions of darkness in hero types -- an internal struggle, not a desired characteristic in itself. You can find the odd situation where darkness actually is positively desirable in itself, but not enough to overshadow all of the more common ones where it isn't.

zaarn 6y ago
I don't believe darkness being positive is the odd one out. Even major media has "darkness = good" not as a subverise but integral trope (see, for example, darkness). I don't agree with your assessment of Batman and I would point out that Batman isn't regarded as evil in popular media (and even if he was, Superman was evil plenty of times, see Superman Red Son) Lastly, I would mention that in hero types, a internal struggle is usually desired to counterbalance or embolden external conflict. Even superman has internal conflicts.