Quotes

We need those villains for us to understand our heroes, what they are and what they aren't.

Batman's the part of us that wants to scare all of life's bullies away.

He's the superhero with no superpowers. His origin taps into a primal fear that we all understand, but even before that origin, his creators Bob Kane and Bill Finger invested our primal fears in his very look. They created a hero we could all imagine might exist in real life - no secret formula, magic ring or rocket to Earth required.

He's the hero that's defined by his psychology more than any of the others. The other superheroes, they're all heroes because of something that goes on with their character, but the super part comes from powers, generally things they did not choose themselves. Batman chose to be some fantastic creature that looks like a bat. The closest thing he has to a superpower is his sheer will and self-control to make himself into the person who could go wage a war on all criminals.

We want cause to transcend effect. A simple truth can leave us feeling cheated. We need to believe in the existence of answers and purpose more powerful than our pain, in reasons and meaning bigger than the results.

I tell stories. We all do. I tell stories about stories in order to tell the human story. (from American Psychological Association keynote address)