“I’m the only one who knows what you lost and found in that dark alley,” psychiatrist Hugo Strange told Batman, during a chase through a booby-trapped mansion. “You lost two lives and you found double-hell… lost your old innocence and found new obsession… lost security and stability and found chaos and insanity.”

At base, our reasons for liking Batman are simple: He’s not superpowered, but is at his peak physically and mentally. He has a gadget or toy for every occasion, and as Bruce Wayne, anything he wants is within reach. Most of us would like at least one of those attributes.

But all of that came at a price made of much pain for Batman-slash-Bruce Wayne. He transformed into something new; rather, he split himself like an amoeba. Think of all the people who have been through tragedies. How many of them, even given the means, would do what Bruce grew to do?

Psychologists or psychiatrists use a label which might fit Bruce: Psychopatic narcissist.

“It is largely considered to be a myriad of areas working together involving early childhood trauma,” claims the WiseGeek website. “Psychologists have theorized that severe traumas during the early years can prompt children to create a way of coping, devoloping another reality in which they maintain control.” Sounds familiar, eh, master Bruce?

There is something about the make-up of a person who would do what the Batman character does. Over the years, we’ve seen him remove evidence from crime scenes, usually with Commissioner Gordon and other police approval. Because he is a genius detective, and almost always gets his man, the tampering is accepted in the name of justice (and entertainment). Popular culture is so saturated with superheroes crossing lines because they can, that it’s not easy to see the big picture.

What’s the big picture with Batman? An Olympic-level athlete and world-class fighter who maims and, yes, murders guys worse than him, is one of Earth’s most celebrated fictional concoctions.

Almost all of us think of ourselves as “good.” The movie villain has his backstory that, in his mind, justifies his actions. The line You’re not that different from me has been uttered many times from bad guy to supposed hero. The next dialogue is usually I’m nothing like you…

Unfortunately for Batman and all the other vigilantes we enjoy so, this common line contains some truth. Even Bruce’s most infamous adversary the Joker often mocks Batman’s emotional demons. If that isn’t a sobering bit, nothing is.

*Quoted from Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #141