Robert Pattinson: “Batman’s Not a Hero”
JB Augustine
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Batman is one of the biggest heroes of all time by any measure. Try telling that to Robert Pattinson, though, who will don the cape and cowl in Matt Reeves’ The Batman. He differs in opinion with most on the “hero” classification, it turns out.
In an interview with The New York Times, Pattinson talked, in jest, about how you can’t trust people who play heroes, not all the time anyway.
Though that might sound inconsistent for someone playing Bruce Wayne and his mysterious alter ego, the Twilight star clarified he doesn’t think of Batman as a hero.
Pattinson calls Batman “complicated” and implies he’s not “a real hero.”
“Batman’s not a hero, though. He’s a complicated character. I don’t think I could ever play a real hero — there’s always got to be something a little bit wrong. I think it’s because one of my eyes is smaller than the other one.”
His comments are odd (especially that last sentence) but it wouldn’t be the first time Pattinson said something strange.
In a previous interview with Variety, he retracted some unknown musing about the film Joker he thought might get taken the wrong way.
Related: Batman Actor Robert Pattinson Retracts Undisclosed Comments About Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker
With the Times, Pattinson elaborated on what drew him to Bruce Wayne. It had to do with Wayne’s mentality and sense of “morality.”
“I love the director, Matt Reeves, and it’s a dope character. His morality is a little bit off. He’s not the golden boy, unlike almost every other comic-book character. There is a simplicity to his worldview, but where it sits is strange, which allows you to have more scope with the character.”
The “Hero” Gotham Needs?
He may have a point. So many writers, actors, and filmmakers have pushed that “scope” Batman has as close to the edge as possible. Frank Miller wrote and described the Caped Crusader as an agent of entropy who believes you can’t reverse course.
Miller’s Batman became the template for Zack Snyder in Batman v. Superman. And in Snyder’s mind, Batman was a utilitarian pessimist whose code allowed for killing, if need be, and justice through fear and intimidation.
Related: Zack Snyder Hints at What His Grim Plans for Batman Would Have Been!
Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale gave us a Batman who was famously an “incorruptible” symbol and the hero a city needed. The Dark Knight drove that message home but it’s also where Pattinson’s point finds new meaning when you consider a popular fan theory.
Related: Is The Joker the Hero of The Dark Knight?
In short, it goes Joker is the hero of The Dark Knight, not Batman, as he is the one who rids Gotham of the mob, corruption, and escalation in the face of the Bat’s arrival in the city. The Film Theorists on YouTube describe it very well and make a rather compelling argument. Judge for yourself.
Maybe it’s true and Batman isn’t a hero – in the traditional sense nor at all. Still, he remains one of the most enduring figures in comics because he is what readers and creatives make of him.
What do you think of Pattinson’s remarks? Are they on the nose? Leave your remarks below.
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