Batman has been full of tragedy lately (well, always), yet we still ask ourselves, “Why so serious?” That this question was portrayed so brilliantly by the late Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight gives even more meaning to the question. Here was an actor who seemed to have his own personal demons to fight, though he had a life that looked amazing from the outside.
Nothing is as it seems. No matter what you have, it can be taken away. Especially things that you cherish. Nothing is safe, and the Batman story showed how that single question shaped every character in it, without exception. Bad and good are hard to distinguish when situations flip so easily to change their meanings. Life is just like that – never straightforward.
While the movies may be calling an end to the tale of the Dark Knight, his mission is far from over. As is ours. Because life goes on, and we constantly have to answer that question, “Why so serious?”
Looking around, the answer’s pretty easy to come by. Not everyone’s recognizing the symptoms that are making this question quite serious in today’s world. And yet the comic world is attacking that question endlessly, in many creative ways. And within all of that inspiration, there has to be an answer that we can use. Rose-tint is not something that the comics world pays attention to very often. It’s good that we have people who refuse to ignore the darkness, and even acknowledge that not everything dark is bad.
It’s always been about what we do with the darkness – use it or learn from it. That’s what defines us.
p.s. Sorry this post was heavy, but it was necessary given the question.
