The Importance Of Trauma In Batman Beuma

The topic and discussion of trauma have been scrutinized for years. As it upheaves daily life and all it’s familiarities, trauma can be both distressing and shocking for those who encounter it. Despite not having the right to do so, most people are heavily opinionated when it comes to how trauma should be dealt with by the individual who experiences it. Some presume that a traumatic experience should prompt people to improve themselves and become stronger versions of their past self, but some believe victims of trauma have the right to act out in violence or hate as a result. This debate is brought to life in the film Batman Begins (Batman Begins). In the film, Bruce Wayne deals with the pain caused by the traumatic loss of his parents by isolating …show more content…
In an attempt to put an end to Wayne isolating himself, those surrounding him attempt to persuade him to claim his position at the head of his father’s company, as they feel it is his duty to maintain it. He, however feels he needs more time to heal from his loss, which prompts him to begin traveling all over the world in search of answers. As he begins his journey of healing, the film showcases his transformation from traumatized child to superhero. This transformation from one state of mind and being to another, caused by traumatic experiences, is also illustrated in other forms of media, such as books. Throughout the graphic novel Nimona by Noelle Stevenson, both the characters Nimona and Ballister become villains and act as such by causing mayhem throughout the kingdom, as a result of their individual responses to traumatic …show more content…
His trauma originates in his past at an institution for heros. It was there where he trained with his best friend Ambrosius Goldenloin. However, this soon changed as a result of a simple joust between the pair. Ballister won the match, but his opponent and friend Goldenloin felt he had deserved to win instead. In a seemingly jealous fit of rage, Goldenloin shot Ballister’s arm off after losing the joust to him, thus ending Ballister’s career as a hero. It appears Goldenloin is a sore loser and a cheat, both of which are not qualities of a hero. Ballister claims, “...but Ambrosius hates to lose” (Stevenson 5). Ballister believed Goldenloin had injured him because he was jealous of his promising future and felt he had deserved to win the joust as well as the praise of the institution. Ballister dealt with the pain of betrayal and deception he felt after the joust by becoming the only thing he felt useful as. The results of the joust force Ballister turn to a life of villainy as a last resort. During a heart to heart with Nimona he confesses, “Turns out the institution had no use for a one-armed hero. I took the only other viable option”(Stevenson 6). The joust created a rift between two once promising heros and led to them forming the relationship of villain and hero. With this quote it is clear that Ballister originally had no intention of becoming a villain, however it appeared to him as his last