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Hawkins lived in what he
calls a "very broken home" as a child in Las Vegas. His parents got
divorced when he was 8, and he described the atmosphere in the house as
filled with "anger and sadness." However, he knew there was one thing he
could count on: Batman.
He felt a bit like a
loner, just like the character of Bruce Wayne, whose alter ego Batman
first appeared on newsstands in "Detective Comics" #27 on March 30,
1939, and would be reinvented through countless movies, TV shows and
books for the next 75 years.
(Time Warner is the parent company of DC Comics, the same as CNN.)
Readers were captivated
by the story of how Bruce, heir to a vast fortune, witnessed his
parents' murder at the hands of a mugger. As he grew older, Bruce was
driven by vengeance and decided one night to take on the form of a bat
to "strike terror" in the hearts of criminals.
"Being a child that young
and watching your parents split up is a very harrowing experience,"
said Hawkins, now 26 and living in Seattle. "And in my head, the only
way I could make any sense of it was likening it to being like Bruce
Wayne when he lost his parents to something senseless and tried to find
something good to bring out of it."
Despite the chaos at
home, he could always rely on the 1989 "Batman" film making it all
better. And after the 1992 animated series premiered, he came home every
day, eagerly awaiting the show.
"It was a pure joy with
me after every episode feeling inspired to keep going on the path I was
going even if those around me didn't understand my way of doing things."
An inspiration to generations of people
In the 75 years since it
began, the character of Batman has inspired many fans, young and old,
in some cases because of a strong identification with the character.
Hawkins says he would
have been a very different person if not for Batman, and that those
emotions could have manifested themselves another way. He is a writer,
creating stories that he hopes will inspire others just as Batman's did.
"Had Batman not given me
the compass of justice, I may have been nothing more than a punk kid
who bullied kids for how they looked or what they did or for whatever I
fancied at the time," he said. "I wouldn't have gotten such good grades
because I wouldn't have cared about school. And I may have even fallen
into that dark place of feeling so angry and taking an unsavory means of
trying to end what plagued me."
There is truly something
universal to how people identify with Batman, said producer Michael
Uslan, who has been involved in every "Batman" movie since 1989.
Uslan describes Batman's
superpower as "his humanity": "When you see a young boy whose parents
are murdered before his eyes ... he sacrifices his childhood in the
belief that one person can make a difference, that he will get all the
bad guys even if he has to walk through hell for the rest of his life,"
he explained. "That is an origin story that not only transcends borders
but transcends cultures."
"Batman" comic book
writer Scott Snyder put it this way: "He suffers a tragedy as a boy, and
uses that tragedy as motivation to become a hero capable of preventing
the same thing from happening to another child in Gotham City. There's
something deeply inspiring in that."
Young people identify with the Caped Crusader
Andrea Letamendi, Ph.D.,
a clinical psychologist and scientist, has studied Batman for years and
notes that many young people can identify with his problems.
"Nearly three-quarters
of youths have been exposed to at least one trauma by the time they hit
adolescence," she said. "Childhood resiliency is also quite impressive
-- only a fraction of youths who experience traumatic stress actually
develop long-lasting mental health problems. We don't all put on a cape
and cowl, but we are amazingly strong in the face of adversity."
Feelings of isolation and intense loneliness have plagued retail worker Dusty Lane for his whole life.
The Nashville resident
said he often keeps people at a distance and has problems letting them
get close. He finds himself deep in thought on many occasions, much like
Bruce Wayne, but he also channels it into something positive.
"He's encouraged me to become a deep thinker, sharpen my wits, and truly believe in strong moral principles," Lane said.
He remembers a dramatic
scene from the 1990s "Batman" animated series in which Robin confronts
his parents' killer and attempts to kill him. Batman tells him not to
let his emotions get the best of him.
"Before I ever make a
decision out of anger that I would come to regret, I always hear that
voice in the back of my head saying 'You can't let your emotions get the
best of you.' "
Lane firmly believes
that role models can have a major influence over how one lives their
life, and he says he picked the right one in Batman.
'Batman helped me find my voice'
Actors who have played Batman
Eli Vizcaino's problems growing up were quite different, but Batman helped him as well.
He grew up with a speech
impediment. As a child, he had to practice with a speech therapist in
the mornings, then practiced reading in the afternoons after school.
Once he opened up a Batman comic book, he immediately became a fan and
became more interested in reading out loud.
"Batman helped me find my voice," he said.
The character continued
to be a big part of Vizcaino's life when he would move to different
parts of the United States and switch schools.
"During these periods of
transition, I would always have a period of intense loneliness before I
would make friends and during this time, Batman would be there to help
through that time," said the Austin, Texas, resident.
It's no wonder that
children battling adversity -- such as cancer survivor Miles Scott, who
got to be "Batkid" in San Francisco in November as part of his
Make-a-wish project -- see the brave and fearless Batman as their
favorite hero.
"Batman turns weakness
into strength," said Travis Langley, a professor of psychology at
Henderson State University in Arkansas and a fellow Bat-fan. "Bruce
Wayne took his own childhood fears and made something better out of
them."
Hawkins could not agree more.
"Batman really touched me. He inspired me. He helped me. And to this day I have a sense of justice and decency."
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