Batman and Bruce Wayne

If you look at Nietzsche's theory of art, he indicates that art is made up of both the rational (Apollonian) and irrational (Dionysian). Greek Tragedy, for him, is the perfect balance of both. And for Nietzsche, the irrational element of art is contained and directed by the actors on stage. They focus it for the audience, give it direction, and make it meaningful. In many ways, that is what the costume of The Batman is in The Batman comic books. When Bruce Wayne dons that costume, we know what's coming -- the rage, anger, physical damage, revenge, fear and pain. And when Wayne removes the costume, it's over. The Batman, in that sense IS the costume. The costume IS the container and focus of those irrational elements not just for Wayne, but also for the audience.

We might wonder, then, what would happen if Wayne were The Batman regardless of the costume. It would not be the costume that contains that irrationality, but something more essential to the character -- Wayne's wealth, his rationality, and his life's purpose.

It would be a directed nuclear meltdown totalized in his character.