Is it the amount of time spent in a gym... or the perfect genetic combination... or perhaps freakishly good luck? There are many measures to a person's power... by strength, wealth, fame or influence to name a few but for a man to stand before gods, that can one possibly show for? All people are mortal, they live and they die -- from dust to dust, all of them powerless in the end.

I learned what true power was when I read about the bat himself. Originally, he was just a man... a very pained and broken man, whose parents were lost when he was young -- very aware of his mortality amidst the myriad of gods he stood along and against with. Yet, Batman stood equal or even above these gods despite that and I've often wondered why... until I delved more into who was the man behind the mask.

There was one thing Batman had that nobody else had and that was answers. Batman always trusted his mind above everything else, even to the point of discarding his emotions for logic's sake -- that's what I know anyways. That's the thing I admire the most out of him. He shut off a lot of things that would make him happy for the sake of a higher power. A billionaire, he was a billionaire but instead of living a ludicrous life of luxury, he secluded himself from society to become something more than human -- as with the movie, "To become more than a man... a symbol." With these things in mind, Frank Miller made Batman immortal not for just you or me, but for everyone who will ever come across the Dark Knight himself. That is power, my friends -- true power.

But Batman is not a perfect person... far from it. He has learned the harsh lesson of loss in a very early stage in his life and he carries this burden to advocating justice throughout the rest of his years. The guilt over the loss of his parents haunts him and gives him reason to live the way he does... that is the most human side of Batman for even if he stands before you a symbol, behind it all, he's just as human as you or me... vulnerable to the pangs of reality. That's why I guess he retains his life of seclusion. This kind of life has warped him and consumed him... retribution is what drives him now -- he has made this his life and to turn to a life of luxury, of comfort, of happiness will rid him of that purpose. In the end, Batman will never let go of his burden because that burden defines and gives him meaning.

I can't help but feel a great deal of admiration for the bat. He's like the coolest hero ever and he's human! HUMAN! He goes through shit like any other person out there but with a kickass superhero twist. The truth is, I kind of understand how it feels like to carry your sins like Batman does. It keeps you grounded and focused on something... whether it be retribution or redemption. There is something in people like us that want to seclude ourselves from being human, I don't know what to call it -- I think hubris is the word or maybe it's a word that hasn't been invented yet but the point is, this thing can bring out the best from the worst of things and has the power to turn men into gods.

I can only hope that one day, I will find that in myself. That power to become someone more than a mortal... while at the same time, to always remember that I am still.... human