Superheroes for a Superpower: Batman, Spider-Man and the Quest for an American Identity

In this academic thesis, author Jessica Rohrdanz brings up a phenomenal point about Batman that occurred due to the homosexual witch hunt against the character:

DC immediately changed characters to meet all of the requirements of the code. Batman’s main enemy, the Joker, changed from being a sociopathic killer to being a trickster-thief more concerned with causing mischief than murder. One of the major changes for Batman came in the form of technology. Not only did Batman suddenly have more gadgets than he knew what to do with, he also ended up with a highly-trained, crime-fighting dog (by the name of Ace, the Bat-Hound) and the villains he fought used more technology and science than out-right violence. Instead of drawing from detective stories, writers for Batman started focusing on more science-fiction plots, with Batman facing bizarre space aliens and dealing with scientific experiments gone awry. This science-fiction focus took the blame for crime away from society and put it on technology. Gotham City became a slightly futuristic city with almost no slums and lots of well-dressed citizens. Even Batman’s trusty car, the Batmobile, got a sleek redesign. All of these “happy” changes to Batman reflect a basic American fear of corruption of youth. These changes occurred because parents and professionals wanted to protect their children from the evils of the world. They felt children should be sheltered, not exposed.

In addition, another great point about Batman was made in the context of the Great Depression:

Depression-era popular culture focused on a celebration of the common man, the man who struggled to get by.44 In the world of superheroes, Batman is the common man. Batman possesses no true superpowers. Aside from wealth, he has nothing that sets him apart from the common man. Batman relies on his own advanced knowledge, detective skills, and athletic ability to solve crimes and take down villains. In the 1930s, he made up for his wealth by not being greedy and by working to help the common man. While Batman defied the authority of local government, he did not attack the authority of the federal government. During the Great Depression, it was the federal government that offered relief to everyday Americans and was thus beyond reproach, even for caped crusaders.

URL = http://etd.ohiolink.edu/send-pdf.cgi/Rohrdanz%20Jessica%20Lynn.pdf?ysu1242442545