Batman and Psychology (ebook)

Argumento de Batman and Psychology (ebook)

Does the Dark Knight have bats in his belfry?

Why does Batman really wear a costume to fight crime?

Why are his most intimate relationships with "bad girls" he ought to lock up?

And why won't he kill that homicidal clown?

Batman is one of the most compelling and enduring characters to come from the Golden Age of Comics, and interest in his story has only increased through countless incarnations since his first appearance in 1939's Detective Comics #27. Why does this superhero without superpowers fascinate us so much? Batman and Psychology examines the complex inner world of Batman and Bruce Wayne and the life and characters of Gotham City. What would Freud, Jung, and other professionals say about how childhood trauma spawned his life's mission? Is Batman neurotic? Psychotic? Does he have PTSD, OCD, or any other mental illness? Why the mask, the bat, and the underage partner, Robin? What psychopathologies lurk in the minds of supervillains like the Joker, the Riddler, Two-Face, and Catwoman? Are they really rogues and villains, or simply misunderstood victims of a heartless society? Do Batman and his foes depend on each other?

Combining psychological theory with the latest in psychological research, Batman and Psychology takes you on an unprecedented journey behind the mask and into the dark mind of your favorite Caped Crusader and his never-ending war on crime.0Acknowledgments: My Bat-Family vii

Foreword by Michael Uslan, Bat-Films executive producer xi

Introduction by Dennis O?Neil, comic book writer/editor 1

1 Beneath the Cowl: Who Is Batman? 5

2 Which Batman? 8

Case File 2?1: King Tut

Case File 2?2: Mr. Freeze

3 The Trauma 35

4 Why the Mask? 54

5 Why the Bat? 67

Case File 5?1: Scarecrow

Case File 5?2: Hugo Strange

6 The ?Superstitious, Cowardly Lot?: Criminal Nature 90

Case File 6?1: Bane

7 The Halloween Party: Why All the Costumed Crooks? 110

Case File 7?1: The Riddler

Case File 7?2: The Penguin

Case File 7?3: Poison Ivy

8 The Madhouse: What Insanity? 130

Case File 8?1: The Mad Hatter

Case File 8?2: Harley Quinn

Case File 8?3: The Joker

9 The Psychodynamic Duo: Freud and Jung on Batman and Robin 158

Case File 9?1: Two-Face

10 The Kids: Why Robin? 178

Case File 10?1: Red Hood

Case File 10?2: Dr. Fredric Wertham

11 The Women: Why the Cat? 211

Case File 11?1: Catwoman

12 The Fathers: Why Do We Fall? 237

Case File 12?1: Ra?s al Ghul

13 Why So Serious? 257

14 The Assessment: Bats in His Belfry? 266

Notes 272

References: Comic Books and Graphic Novels 291

References: Not Comic Books or Graphic Novels 304

Index 332