Monday, April 23, 2012

Batman in 140 Characters or Less?


So I signed up for Twitter today and, as a consequence, am now following a motley assortment of Tweeters: Friends, celebrities, friends of celebrities, and … Batman.

It was a natural choice, really. Since I’ve written a book on the guy, I thought it’d make sense to follow him—see what he’s thinking as he careens through the Gotham City night, chasing all manner of bad guys. His latest tweet: “Who harm yet claim virtue, oppress yet claim to be oppressed, decry defenders as aggressors yet claim your aggression as defense: I see you.”

Brooding, honorable, very Batman-esque. Made me feel rather shallow in comparison. My first tweet was about the dandelions in my back yard. But the more I thought about it, the more I wondered, is Batman really the sort of guy to be on Twitter?

Oh, I’m sure he’d have a smartphone stashed in his utility belt. And perhaps if he followed Joker or Riddler, he might have the opportunity to get some insight into Gotham’s next big crime spree. (“Van Gogh exhibit @GothamArt. Anyone up for a visit?”) You know they’d have Twitter accounts. Joker’s the type of (ahem) clown who’d hold a packed subway train for ransom just to get a few more followers.

But Batman? I kinda doubt it. For better or worse, it seems as though he’d keep his thoughts to himself, not telegraph them across the world in 140-character blasts. That’s part of his mystique, is it not? That his actions speak louder than tweets?

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