"I had been invited up to west point, so it was like," ""what am I going to say to 4,500 cadets of west point," ""who, a month from now, are all being sent to Iraq or Afghanistan?"" "And I said, "cadets of west point," ""when Bruce Wayne was a boy," ""he saw his parents murdered before his eyes" ""on a concrete altar of blood." ""In that instant," ""in the belief that one person can make a difference," ""he sacrificed his childhood and made a commitment" ""that he would get the guy who did this" ""and that he would get all the bad guys," ""even if he had to walk through hell for the rest of his life to honor that commitment."" "I said, "in doing this, Bruce Wayne became the Batman." ""He became a legend." "He became an urban warrior." "Cadets of west point, you are Batman."" "And with that, they start to scream and holler and applaud and yelp and throw in their hats and standing on their chairs and standing on the tables and pounding." "It was the most astounding, inspirational moment that I had ever had." "Figures like Batman have existed throughout history." "We've always had folktales and heroes and tales around the campfire, shared myths and legends." "And I think, in our own minds, we're kind of telling and creating Batman stories of our own." "There are many personal stories of the Batman, like a kind of folktale, like the way tales of Robin hood were told by people who went around singing ballads from place to place." "They weren't necessarily official stories." "They weren't always written down." "The stories which get passed from person to person " "They change a little bit over time, and that's when I think someone like Batman becomes more than just a superhero character." "Batman is a myth." "Batman, to me, is a folk legend." "Well, my mom always claimed that I learned to read before I was 4 from comic books." "To this day, you could blindfold me," "I could walk into wanamassa pharmacy, and I know exactly how many steps to take, then make a left, and I could walk down the aisle, in front of the cash register and counter, then make a right, two or three steps," "then make a right again, and I could feel the, "hey, kids, it's comic books."" "And that's where I actually remember seeing my first Batman comic, ever -- 1956." "I was about 5 years old." "But, you know, when they're choosing up sides " "I don't know if they still even do that -- on the playground, and you're not the last one, but you're usually, you know, third to last, second to last, being picked on whatever side," "why would you want to hang around that environment?" "Why would you want to do that to yourself?" "So I looked for refuge." "I looked for a safety net." "I looked for a safe place." "And my safe place was the world of comic books." "So I was able to find a spot on the playground or up in a tree house or in my room and delve into the world of superheroes." "When children enter into hero stories, and they play the role of heroes," "I do think that they're laying down a sort of moral foundation for their lives." "And I do think that a story like Batman or any great myth helps them do that." "They take the character, and they invent their own stories." "They use the character as a sort of tool, as a prop, almost, for them to develop their own fictional realities and to expand the Batman myth in all sorts of new directions." "As a young child, I came from, like many other families, a single-parent home." "It was my mother trying to raise me and my two sisters." "My male role models that were around me in my life at those most important, formative years, were two uncles who were police officers and the now-famous "Batman" TV show of the '60s." "I was drawn to that show like it was in my DNA." "When I was home alone, if I wasn't watching that "Batman" TV show," "I was in the middle of the comics, and it's what I dreamt of being." "Those stories made me wonder, "am I that person?" "Would I ever be able to be that person to somebody else?"" "I'm a captain with the Las Vegas metropolitan police department's gang unit, and when you think of and conjure danger and dangerous person in your imagination, a gang member would be right at the top of that list." "When I started my career as a patrol officer," "I was working some of the rougher parts of town." "And my nickname " "As they call it, my moniker, my street name " "To the gang members -- It was "the Batman."" "It just became part of the lore for me and the reputation." "You know, I tend to be more hyperattentive to the children than I am anybody else." "They're the ones that live in these neighborhoods, and there's not a lot of hope here." "You know, when you have violence and shooting like they had here the other night, that shadows their innocence, and that's unacceptable to me." "No child should have to -- To -- to hear gunshots in their neighborhood." "We need to do a better job." "For me, it's always been about understanding and reaching back to those places in your life that were painful and tragic for you and to do everything to prevent another human being from having the same experience and same tragedy and the same " "Same hurt and pain and angst that you had at some point in your life." "But if you have any idea how bad this neighborhood used to be, we lit this neighborhood up." "Two weeks ago, one of the most violent gangs in the county " "Ftc -- we decided to drop the hammer." "With phase 1 of an operation, we did multiple search warrants." "We arrested 15 people -- The leadership of the gang." "These were some bad men." "It's the first time in years that they've gone completely quiet -- nothing." "They plagued this neighborhood and this area for a long time." "Hey!" "Were you guys here last week, or a couple weeks ago, when I went to that apartment, when we were -- When we were over there?" "Remember that?" "Were you here?" " Yeah." " Has it been quiet since then?" " Yeah." " Yeah?" "Better?" " Yeah." " Right on." " No more gunshots?" " No." "You know how happy that makes me?" "That was a personal -- My personal pet project." "I wanted to see that done before I ever retired." " Are you the gang unit?" " Yes, ma'am." "Do you like being a cop?" "I've loved being a cop for 24 years." "Hey, let me see that young man right there, with that shirt." "What's going on, Batman?" "What are you gonna be when you get older?" "Hmm, Batman." "Batman?" "See you, Batman." "Wow, that is so cool." "You know, that -- that -- Maybe I'm naive, but those are faces of children who are not living in fear." "The question for a child, in hearing a story, is not," ""who's good and who's bad?"" "But, "who should I be like?"" "Stories offer us possible lives." "Just to see a man who had moral courage gives me a real-life incarnation of the possibility that I could have moral courage, that I could do the right thing." "You know, we see Batman as a dark and gritty figure, often, with serious meanings." "When kids dress up as Batman, they're not thinking about post-9/11 politics." "They're feeling the wind blow through their cloak, and they're standing there overlooking their backyard and imagining themselves as a hero, imagining themselves as someone who can do good, imagining themselves as someone who can make a positive change." "It's giving them an idea what to cherish and imagine." "And some of those kids, if they commit to that, are going to be able to grow up and become that kind of hero " "Not necessarily with a mask and a cape, 'cause a lot of the heroes in our society, of course, don't wear a mask and a cape." "I think it's given them an idea of what they could be, of the kind of bigger, better, bolder self that they can aspire to be, as adults." "Batman makes a very conscious decision to rid the world of evil, in essence." "It's a goal that is really unachievable, and I think he knows that, but it inspires people to try to do the impossible, or at least to perform at the very peak of their mental and physical ability," "to go and do things that they thought that they could never, ever do." "I was just sitting in class one day, and, you know, a friend of mine " "And this was probably when I was in, like, second grade " "I looked over to him and I said," ""hey, uh, you know, I can break-dance."" "This kid looked at me, and he says, you know, "you can't break-dance." ""You only have one leg and three fingers." "How are you gonna break-dance?"" "And I -- and I told him " "I was like, "look, I'll show you right now."" "And I, in the middle of class," "I got down on the floor and started dancing." "And then, next thing you know, I look up, when I was done, and the whole classroom had been looking at me." "The moment that someone tells me, like, "I don't think you can do that,"" "that's something inside me that burns, and I get to a point where, you know, I want to show them." "You know?" "So, I was born with one leg." "I was also born with three fingers on each of my hands." "When growing up, I would look at other kids that have two legs and five fingers on their hands, and actually think that they were weird and that they were born different." "It was almost embarrassing to me." "You know, here I am, I have all my limbs, and I can't do half of the things he does." "I can't play a trumpet." "I'm not coordinated to be in marching band." "I can play in recreational basketball leagues and things like that, and so I'm putting a team together." "And my friend Thomas was like," ""hey, why don't you ask Danny if he wants to play?"" "And I'm like, "well..." "Uh, okay." "I didn't know he played basketball," you know?" "And so I said, "Dan, you want to play?"" "Dan is like, "yeah, I'll play."" "He's going out there, and he's playing with everybody else, you know, shooting 3's." "He's dribbling the ball up." "I mean, he was actually playing point guard, 'cause I had no wind." "So, you know?" "But, yeah, he went out there and he did it, and he competed." "And I just -- you know, I was just amazed." "When I was young, Batman was a symbol to me of being fearless." "So then I started wearing the symbol to define my courage and my fearlessness, whether it's the grit that Batman has to fight off his enemies -- I fight off doubt," "I fight off fear, and I'm just able to kind of live my life." "I play this game "dance, dance revolution."" "I remember doing this contest." "When I first walked up," "I don't even think they had an idea that I was even gonna play." "They probably think, you know, "is this guy in the right place?" "What -- what is -- What is he going to do?"" "When he comes out and they see it, they just want to " "It's that mysterious thing, like, "well, okay," ""why is this guy entering a 'ddr' competition?" "He obviously can't do it."" "You know, I think, a lot of times, they try to count him out, and you know, that'd be a mistake." "For me, I wanted to make the statement that I can do this, so I actually wore, you know, my Batman attire." "They made the announcement, "here's batman333."" "You know, it was the handle I used at the time." "You know, I think they looked at me and pretty much thought," ""how is he gonna play this game?" You know?" "I get on the stage and I perform and I do my thing." " Whoa!" " My God!" "And then they're like, "whoa!" "Well, what just happened?"" "Daniel, Daniel!" "Yeah!" "And I get done at the end, and I walk off." "And the last thing that they remembered was seeing a guy on crutches, wearing a Batman symbol on his shirt, and I think that really made a powerful statement to them." "It's a shield for him to say," ""hey, you know, there's more to me than just, you know, what you see on the exterior."" "And I think he wore that shirt to let people know, "look, here's the Batman," just -- Just to represent and say," ""hey, look, Batman worked hard to be where he's at," "I work hard to be where I'm at, and look at what I've done."" "I've seen people have arguments over that video and talk about," ""well, he's using crutches, so the score shouldn't count,"" "and things like that." "So -- so, they immediately start with -- with hating on it instead of realizing that this guy is doing something that people -- scoring higher than people with two legs, with just one leg." "He's that fast." "Batman was a person that, you know, grew up through adversity and challenges, and he was able to -- he was able to overcome those things." "And I think that, in the same light, you know, in the same sort of respect, I think I've been able to do that." "He doesn't need another leg." "He doesn't need all his fingers on his hands." "He can do whatever he wants." "When we look at the Batman story, it really helps, in this very, very strange sort of way, help us grapple with some of the questions that we all have." "You know, "why are we here?" "What are we meant to do with these lives that we have?"" "You have a character, in Batman, who doesn't need to really do much of anything." "He can just sort of sit back and enjoy his money and -- and play video games to his heart content if that's what he wanted to." "But, instead, he has this calling." "He feels this pull to help other people, to -- to really engage with the world around him, and he feels this need to make it better somehow." "And when we see him make a difference, even in his own unusual way, we feel like we can make a difference, too." "Oh!" "I'm gonna be 54, once I get this guy stopped." "He's got no tags, but he's got "Batman" on it, and he's dressed like Batman." "Driving to Georgetown university and lombardi cancer center on route 29," "Montgomery county, Maryland, the lights go on, and I look to safely pull over to the far right." "At the time, I was in my lamborghini and dressed in full Batman attire." "Stopped on 29 at prelude." "And, again, no tags." "It's just got the Batman seal on the vehicle." "It's a black lamborghini and a driver dressed as Batman." "How you doing?" "Hello." "We're being recorded." "Where's your tag, brother?" "I have it." "I'm on my way to Georgetown university hospital." "Okay." "Where's -- Can I see the registration?" "I like the outfit, man." "Thank you." "You're there for what?" " I do it for charity hospital." " Do you?" "Yeah, can I just see the registration, brother?" "I understand." "How long does it take to put that outfit on?" "Huh?" "How long does it take to put that outfit on?" "A while." "Can I get out?" "You sure can." "He's got to get his registration." " Okay." " And registration?" "You got a front tag, there, Batman?" "What's your name, rather than Batman?" " Lenny." " Lenny." "Okay, who -- do you have a " "Do you have a front tag with this -- on the vehicle, or no?" " No." " Or just the -- okay." "All right, buddy." "You get to the hospital, buddy." "Take care of those kids." " Take care of the kids." " I got to..." "Yeah, want to take a picture of him?" "Hey, do you mind if we take a picture of you?" " Thank you." " Bye, buddy." "You take care." "Sure." "It never hit me -- A police dashcam " "That it would go viral with what has been told to me that, worldwide, 20 million views." "It was overwhelming." "It was a godsend." "Things happen for a reason." "And all of a sudden, I realized they want me to do Batman full time..." "To carry this through..." "And to make a difference, not just in Baltimore and Washington, not just around Maryland or Southern Pennsylvania or northern Virginia, but all over." "Behind the scenes with the Batman." "Tell me when." "Does that feel good?" "You know what to do." "You say to yourself, "self, I can do it."" "Thanks for that." "Here we go." "Ho ho!" "You look cool." "Good afternoon." "I want you to do me a favor." "Give me your hand." "I want you to wear the bracelet." "It will bring you good luck." "And do Batman a favor..." "And get better." "Will you do that for me?" "Lenny wants to visit every children's hospital in the country in the next couple of years." "He was a very successful businessman." "He made a lot of money." "He supported everybody's charity for 40 years, and he still supports a lot of charities." "But it's a different type of feeling when you're actually out there and interacting with the kids." "Nothing a check " "Mailing a check or handing off a check -- does." "I believe that everybody has Batman within them." "It's that Batman -- That power " "That power to change -- That's within you, and you can help people out, especially the kids fighting, day in and day out." "And I believe I help them get better." "And I give them hope, give them words of encouragement, and let them know that someone cares." "So, did you get to see Batman?" " Yes." " What did -- what did he do?" "He lifted me up." "Yeah?" "And did he say anything to you?" " Uh, yes." " What did he say?" " I don't remember." " You don't remember?" "Did you like it?" "How did it make you feel?" "Good." "The kids think he is Batman." "I mean, he walks in there, and he looks exactly like Batman, and he's telling them that they're gonna get better and that Batman knows that everything is gonna be okay, and they believe him." "I'm sorry we met here, but I enjoyed meeting you." "You too." "I was like, "is this really happening, or am I under anesthesia?"" "And remember to do Batman a favor and get better, okay?" " Okay." " Okay?" "Their families are completely, you know, consumed with this challenge that life has presented itself " "This evil." "And for a moment, they forget about the pain that they're in." "You walk out of the room, and they're smiling and they're happy, and they love the various presents I give them." "Lenny doesn't make any money on this." "He probably lays out $30,000 or $40,000 of his own money every year to travel around the country in the Batmobile, to make sure he has the best gifts for all the kids, to just set up the hospital visits." "Don't cry." "Would -- would..." "You want this?" "No?" "Give her the whole bag." "All right?" "Stand back in case she throws it." "Okay." "Look." "Coloring book?" "Say "thank you."" "Look." "Pages and pages of cool stickers." "This is for you." "I'm gonna give you all of these." "All of these are all for you." "Wow!" "He's been wonderful with the kids." "And, you know, he's been here for almost three hours " "A little over three hours now and worked through lunch and has just been a constant source of encouragement for these patients." "But, you know, in the car, you have that temperature gauge?" "Mine's right between orange and red." "I've got to get it back to green." " Want some more water?" " Water." "Paper towels." "Paper towels?" " A couple towels, yeah." " Yeah." "Okay." "The hardest thing about being in the costume..." "Is the costume." "35 pounds of leather and rubber, neoprene, which is the formed front, the boots, the gloves, mask." "This is the best way to lose weight, if you ever need to." " Oh, I'm sure." " Not that you do." "You know, I like Lenny Robinson, but I love Batman." "I like when he puts on his cape and comes out as Batman." "He's just a better man, and I think that's why he does it, too." "Batman is flawed, but when he puts on the suit, when he's in the hospital, all those flaws seem to disappear for a moment, and he's a better man." "At the end of the day, you must ask yourself, "self, did I make a difference?"" "And that answer had better be "yes."" "There have been at least five iterations and a lot of sub-iterations of Batman, and I'm not prepared to say that any of them was wrong." "But somebody who grew up in the '50s has a different idea of the right Batman than the fan of Adam west and the fan of bill finger's." "There have been so many iterations, which is one of the reasons he's lasted for 73 years." "Nobody is attached to one Batman." "They are attached to the Batman that they loved when they first discovered Batman and maybe when that character had meaning for them." "I can't believe there is anyone more excited than I was when the word came out that Batman was coming to TV, in January 1966." "And the show came on, and it was a joke." "And I remember Michael getting really, really mad." "What was happening, through my eyes, was that the whole world -- Society " "Was laughing at Batman, and that just killed me." "So I started to feel, you know, personally disrespected, in a sense, that they were making such fun over what I took so seriously." "And that's when I had what I describe in retrospect as my young-Bruce-Wayne vow moment." "I made my vow." "I said, "someday I will show the world what the true Batman is." ""I'm gonna show them the Batman the way he was created by Bob Kane and bill finger in 1939."" "And, ultimately, I realized, what I was going to need to do was erase three little words from what had become part of the collective consciousness of the world culture, it seemed, overnight, and that was "pow," "zap," and "wham."" "The response was overwhelming." "I was in a 5th Avenue deli, and I was -- wore a little Batman thing on my collar." "And a guy said, "what, Batman?"" "I said, "yeah, I'm Batman's daddy."" ""Hey, this is the guy who killed Robin!"" "I don't think most of the people who reacted like that knew that we didn't kill dick Grayson." "Some of the comic-book press accused us of, for example, Roman circuses." "I wanted to say, "you are aware" ""that no child died in the making of this comic book?" "It is ink..." "And paper."" "But the power of that reaction taught me this " "I have been thinking of myself as a writer and editor who is working in this odd little literary backwater." "And I'm not that." "I am the custodian of modern folklore." "Even if it doesn't quite rise to the level of mythology, it is unquestionably our postindustrial folklore." "This character is in the consciousness of so many people that he comes almost as close to being universal as anything does." "Yeah, maybe certain religious figures and the Beatles " "You know, more, uh, recognizability than Batman and superman, but not much." "He really has become part of our folklore." "These superhero stories are more than just entertainment, because I think these characters connect to us at a very deep level." "And I think they represent these archetypal aspirations that we're constantly in pursuit of, and we have been throughout time." "I can think back to being 3, 4." "I was already obsessed with Batman." "On an emotional level, below the level of conscious thought and awareness, when I look at the world, I am driven by those impressions that I formed as a 3-year-old, as a 4-year-old, and that was watching "Batman"" "and reading "Batman" comic books." "And that wasn't nourishing my head, but it was nourishing my heart and my guts and my soul." "I think that, fundamental to every human soul, is a desire to be heroic." "I think everybody has it." "And the Batman captures the essence of that." "You have this character who spends so much time in the shadow world, and yet he is, in many ways, the creature of light, who's trying to bring brightness back to the city of Gotham," "to try to give people hope, to try to give people a reason to hold on and to protect their city, and to maybe, in their own way, follow suit, to look at their neighbors," "to look at their friends, to see how they can help make Gotham a better place." "So, my daughter went missing on new year's Eve in South lake Tahoe." "You know, we hadn't heard from her." "We tried getting in touch with her." "So I went racing up to South lake Tahoe, looking for her." "And then was up there for three or four days." "She finally was found on January 4th in the snow, uh..." "And that was kind of the start of everything for us." "When I got to South lake Tahoe, was probably up there for four hours by myself, dealing with the police department, searching for her, getting stuff ready." "And when I went back to the hotel later on that afternoon, there were probably 15 kids that, all of a sudden, were standing around the lobby of the hotel with fistful of flyers and stuff." "And I just looked at them and said, "what are you guys doing here?"" "And they said, "we're here to look for Alyssa."" "And I said, "how did you guys even know she was missing?"" "I mean, I hadn't talked to a soul, other than my wife." "And petaluma Batman was probably one of the first, if not the first, to really get the message out there and get flyers printed and get stuff to kids, talk to kids to say, "who's going up there?" "Who's gonna look for her?"" "I thought, at first, it was kind of a -- somebody playing a joke." "And so, when I talked to my wife, she pulled me up on Facebook and she showed it to me." "And I was just amazed at the posts that I saw, the things that I saw, the messages he was sending to my wife, to my son " "Messages of support." "And to me, it was just amazing." "It was true heroism -- you know, the way I defined it in my mind." "So, I'm just an average junior-college student." "By day, I do that, but, by night, I'm the petaluma Batman." "He's a 19-year-old kid who's really giving himself and being what a lot of these heroes in comic books are." "I would say he just inspires goodwill and he entertains, but I think he takes it a step further in that he really makes people want to be focused on each other, you know, whether it's donating a small amount of money" "that he raises to the library or putting up flyers for a girl who's missing, who he went to school with." "It's just really something unique for a 19-year-old college student to be doing." "It's amazing what he's become in this town." "I mean, every event that there is, whether it's a fundraiser " "Or we had a softball tournament " "You know, all of a sudden, there's petaluma Batman." "I've done everything from going to support a walk to school day," "I have done a bunch of things for school fundraisers," "I've done boys  girls club." "And I like the fact that his costume is handmade." "I like the fact that he roams the city in, you know, a t-shirt and this spray-painted belt." "So, I have nike running shoes," "I have, you know, standard black khakis, some thermal gloves, and then I have this -- Actually, the oldest piece of it is kind of where it covers my head " "And it's from my cape, too " "That's from my costume from when I was like 5 or 7." "And then I have just, you know, standard kmart Batman kind of mask thing, and then I just have, you know, a Batman t-shirt." "I think that it really shows that you don't have to have a lot of money, you don't have to have a lot of influence, and you don't have to have a lot of power to really make a difference for a community." "I've really chosen to be anonymous, and I'd probably say probably maybe five or six people outside my whole family, really, kind of know who I am." "If I was, you know, an average person and saw some guy dressed up in a Batman uniform," "I'd be kind of skeptical, too." "Mostly, for me, is, I try to, you know, maybe put that out of my mind and focus on, you know, what I need to do for the community, and that's how I kind of block all the hecklers out" "and the naysayers." "Ever since I was, I can remember, 4 or 5," "I remember watching The animated series"" "on cartoon network in the mornings on Saturdays." "And I kind of really fell in love with the character and everything." "You know, maybe he does have, you know, a lot of wealth and everything and great intellect, but in kind of, you know, at the core of it, anybody could be Batman, and that's why I kind of really decided to do this," "is to use my love for Batman, from when I was a kid, to show that anybody can do good and be a hero and to kind of pay back the community that raised me." "Every kid who loved Batman " "They'll tell you the same thing " "It was that he was human, that he had no superpowers." "Every kid identified with him." "This is a guy who, you know, on the one hand, he represents everything I aspire to, but on the other hand, I connect with him because, despite all of that, you know, there's something inside of him." "There's this emotional struggle that, you know, I understand," "I connect with, I feel." "Then there's this " " I think, what's the greatest thing about Batman is, you know, he's able to take this tragedy that, you know, is, like, the worst thing that could ever happen to anybody," "but, you know, make it the source of his great power." "Kye was 5." "It was in November of 2010." "And he had a runny nose, and it was a little bit of blood " "Um, a little bit of blood trickling down his nose." "As soon as the pediatrician saw him, she wanted to do a blood test." "About three hours later, my pediatrician was calling me, and she told me, "immediately," ""you need to take kye to the doctor." "He's got leukemia."" "And I just started, um -- Started to cry, but..." "Kye had to have two blood transfusions and two platelet transfusions before they could do the surgery to put his port in." "And so they put his port in, and he began chemotherapy immediately." "I'd say, for the next six months, we were in the hospital probably five months out of it." "I was finding myself thinking," ""is this really what I want to do?" ""Do I want to go through this treatment?" "Do I want to put him through all of these -- this medicine?"" "One of the ladies from my church came up, and I hadn't known her." "She didn't know me, but she -- She told me -- she said," ""this isn't -- this isn't God's plan for him." "This is, um..."" ""This is the enemy coming against him, and he's not going to win."" "And so..." "At that point, my courage -- My courage was increased, and I was like, "you're right." "This isn't gonna happen." ""The enemy's not gonna take my son." ""He's going to -- He's going to live." "He has -- he has a mission, and it's not to die."" "What do you think Batman would do if he got cancer?" "Um..." "He would try to stand back up..." "And fight it..." "Like I did." "He doesn't have a father figure in his life, so Batman is kind of like his father in that he would identify himself to the nurses as Batman." "So -- so he took that strength, that courage that Batman has, and he just related it to himself." "And he would get sick." "There were days that he wouldn't eat or drink for -- at all." "And I, for three or four days " "For three days, it was the most " "And it scared me more than anything else." "I tried not to show him." "No matter how hard it was and how bad he felt, he could just say, "you know what?" "I'm Batman." "I can do this." ""I'm going to defeat this," ""and -- and nothing's keeping me down." "The pain has to just go away."" "And he was able to do that with Batman as his guide, you know?" "Stories with heroes, they all are about helping us find our true potential." "When a child starts to pretend and starts to emulate heroes, they're creating new neural pathways, even, so that they're rehearsing not just a behavior externally but behavior internally, and their brain starts to change." "Hearing the story may wake something up inside of you, and where you might not have been conscious of it before, it just might click." "When it comes to being able to reach your potential, you have to break out of that mold sometimes and allow yourself to see that there's another possibility." "And if you see it through a story, it's so tangible because you're seeing that symbolic representation," ""that could be me."" "So, what happens when it comes into your mind, like, "maybe I should give up"?" "Like, what do you say?" "Um..." "I " " I just..." "I don't know." "It never came into my mind." "What fascinates me about story is that we do it at all." "It's spectacularly improbable that humans would be this sort of species that spends most of our existence on planet earth inside fabricated realities." "When I ask my students, uh, "why do people like fiction?" ""Why do we do this?" ""You know, why do we spend so much of our lives absorbed in fake stories about fake people?"" "They say, "we go into stories to escape." ""Our lives are hard, but wonderland is easy," ""and we go into a story to take this short vacation" ""from the problems of our lives, and then we walk away from it unscathed and unchanged."" "But this is exactly what the research is not showing." "The research is showing that our time in wonderland, immersing ourselves in these really vivid virtual-reality simulations of human life, powerfully affect us." "They change us at an emotional level." "They change us at a behavioral level." "They change us at a psychological level." "And you can measure these changes in a lab." "They started an experimental curricular department in the college of arts and sciences, so that if you had an idea for a course that had never been taught before, you would have the right to appear before a panel of deans and professors" "and pitch your idea for the course." "So he let me speak for two or three minutes, and then cut me off and said," ""Michael," he goes, "please, come on."" "He goes, "I reject your theory." "Comic books as an art form?" ""Comics as mythology and folklore?" ""They're just cheap entertainment for children, and I reject your theory."" "So I said, "Dean, can I ask you two questions?"" "He said, "go ahead, ask me anything you want."" "I said, "are you familiar with the story of Moses?"" "And he goes, "yeah." "Why?"" "I go, "very briefly, could you just recite for me the story of Moses?"" "He said, "the Hebrew people were being persecuted." ""Their firstborn were being slain." ""So a Hebrew couple placed their infant son" ""in a little wicker basket and sent him down the river nile." ""And there, he was discovered by an Egyptian family," ""who raised him as their own son." ""When he grew up and learned of his true heritage, he became a great hero to his people by --"" "I said, "stop, Dean." "That was great." ""That's as much as I need." "By any chance, do you remember the origin of superman?"" "He said, "well, sure." ""The planet Krypton was about to blow up." ""A scientist and his wife placed their infant son" ""in a little rocket ship and sent him to earth." ""There, he's discovered by the kents," ""who raised him as their own son." "When he grows up..."" "And then he stopped, and he stared at me for what I still, to this day, swear was an eternity, and says, "your course is accredited."" "I am now the world's first college Professor of comic books." "Okay, ready for quiz questions?" "And then, when you're done, this is the day you're folding them into a bat." ""What did you do in class today?"" ""I made an origami bat."" "Okay, the hierarchy of needs in Abraham maslow..." "If you don't feel love, you don't feel you belong, it's harder to feel, you know, complete as a person." "Riddler really -- he's motivated to have self-esteem." "Now, riddler, being so narcissistic, tends to fall short on having some of the healthier aspects of self-esteem." "He wants to have self-esteem." "He wants to feel this strong and secure about himself." "Things in particularly superhero comics are so exaggerated that it's so easy to see the psychological types." "What might be more subtle or muddied in real life is stark in the comic books." "And so particularly Batman's rogues' gallery of villains make a great vehicle for talking about different mental disorders." "I guess, when he approached me about teaching a class on Batman, I was very open to it." "I knew it's -- It was his passion." "It was something he wanted to do." "I make out the schedules and, you know, name the classes and things, and so I originally thought he wanted it to be" ""psychology of Batman."" "He said, "no, no, no." "Let's just call it 'Batman.'" "I just want it to be 'Batman.'"" "and I said, "okay, Travis."" "I'm using the filter of fiction to teach some of the worst things in the world." "I can talk about how you losing your family, having them murdered in front of you, which really does happen to some people " "You know, how that impacts an individual in a way that, if I were talking about a real family and real killers that in depth, it could repulse." "The joker is emphasizing, you know, a dangerous degree of freedom..." "As opposed to some who would emphasize a dangerous degree of security." "Yeah, which side would ra's Al ghul fall on " "Emphasizing security or freedom?" "My mom had read comic books in her younger days, and she read me comics when I was younger." "Asking me, like, "what's your earliest memory of Batman?"" "Is like, "what's your earliest memory of the sky?"" "I mean, it was just there." "When I was younger, the model for cool was fonzie " "Fonzie, who taught everybody that just the worst thing to be was a nerd." "The '70s -- that was an odd and uncomfortable time for somebody to be a nerd." "I was a very lonely kid." "You know, I was a kid who wasn't interested in the same things that some of the others seemed to be interested in." "This Batman class I taught -- That one in particular, you have a roomful of students who have this particular interest." "There's nothing too nerdy to say in a class on Batman." "It meant a lot to them." "They got to open up." "You could see, especially over the course of the semester, where they would open up more and bond with each other." "When I was younger," "I used to get bullied and beat up and stuff." "And I think, kind of as a defense mechanism, you know, people that look at me just on the outside, you know, they see these tattoos and, like, these big holes in my ears" "and piercing and stuff " "Batman, you know, he uses that suit to " "To make people fear him." "And you know, I guess, in reality, if, you know, I'm being honest with myself, that's kind of what I do." "Going through this class, you know, I've had a lot of self-reflection -- you know, like, "is that what I do?"" "Just like the superhero is, you know, like," ""I want to use my superpowers for good and not evil."" "So, you know, it's given me a big point of self-reflection, you know, on who I am and who I'm going to be." "People who read comics know that the themes in comics run very deep." "And so, they are themes of family and there are themes of betrayal and all kinds of deep things related to the human experience." "And so, for someone to read those themes and to be able to discuss them opens up opportunities for discussion that might not be there ordinarily." "Particularly with young men who might not be that emotionally expressive or might have a hard time really accessing what they're feeling, the ability to read a theme with a character that they connect with can open up something that might not have been opened up before." "I just started buying "Batman and Robin" comic books, and I tried bringing that into therapy and seeing what my kids thought of it." "You know, the kids that I worked with seemed to respond really positively to it." "They thought it was really cool, really fun, and that they were able to relate to the stories." "It helps people who aren't comfortable with therapy become comfortable with therapy." "It gives them things to talk about so that they can begin to open up and talk about what really matters to them." "A lot of people need an Avenue, or they need a way, to not just express themselves but even to become more self-aware and introspective." "And for a lot of people, especially with kids, it's much easier to focus on other people than it is to focus directly on yourself." "I just began cataloguing." "Next thing I know, in about a year -- the first year," "I had about 60 comics that were summarized and tagged with one or several of 16 themes." "If you have somebody you're working with who's struggling with feelings of being different, you click on "being different,"" "and you just go straight to finding a Batman comic." "Click that, and you've got all the summaries right in front of you that address feelings of being different." "You can introduce parents to comic books, and in bridging sometimes, like, a father-son or a parent-child gap, by bringing in those comic books to help bridge the relationship." "We can do more than just talk about problems, talk about feelings." "And there's certainly a place for that, but if we do it in a fun way, it certainly makes it much more approachable for the client." "And it's so cool to see people read that comic, talk about it, get to the end, and say," ""I can't wait to read more about it."" "I think the great good news about seeing a life through the lens of story is that," ""I have the freedom to make real choices." ""I'm not determined by my biology, by my gender," ""by history, by my genes, or anything else." ""Those are all part of the story, but at the end of the day, I have a choice to make."" "And this is the most encouraging possibility of all." "You can be other than you are." "If you wish to be, you can be a better version of what you are." "You can be healthier." "Your life can be richer." "And that can be shared with a wider community." "My mother is a holocaust survivor." "The war came to vilna when she was about 8 1/2." "And she spent 5 1/2 years hiding in a potato cellar." "And she lost most of her family." "She saw some of her family members killed." "The survivors kind of cobbled together." "They simulated a family, and people would get together." "And I was used to listening to stories." "People would describe the closest they came to being discovered, the kind of incredible, unendurable difficulties they experienced in trying to just simply survive and to stay one step ahead of their pursuers." "And they would describe the losses that they had suffered, the sadnesses they had known, the incredible loneliness that they felt." "And for me, as a kid -- I was 6, 7, 8 " "It was almost overwhelming " "The enormity of these impressions, these psychic experiences." "I realize now, when I look back, what the Batman character gave me was a framework within which to process these kinds of experiences." "It sounds somewhat disrespectful, but it's not." "It was the mechanism that I needed." "For me, the Batman story is " "In microcosm, it's a smaller scale, it's a parallel of what my mother went through." "For him, as a little boy, to see his family killed in front of his eyes and to have something in the world that he knew " "The comfortable, happy, familiar world -- to be ripped away and to be suddenly plunged into this sadness, to be orphaned, to be alone, what do you do with that?" "At that point, there's a profound choice that he has to make." "It's to succumb to the despair, to the darkness, to the sadness, to the horror, or to do something different " "To choose to affirm life, to say," ""how do I triumph over adversity?" ""How do I beat this?" ""Here, this criminal, this monster," ""has done this unspeakable act of horror," ""has perpetrated this evil against me, against my family." "How do I respond?"" "You can't bring back those people, but if you use the experience and you transform it into," ""well, I'll use it as the springboard," ""the motivation to ensure that I do something good in the world," ""I'll memorialize my parents." ""Their lives -- They weren't in vain." "They taught me something."" "And I worked through a lot of the trauma of the holocaust experience, like this kind of vicarious " "The traumatic hand-me-downs that I had gotten from the previous generation " "I worked through them using the Batman character, and it was very safe." "It was a bunch of ink dots on the page." "These weren't real people." "As the power of this story and the ability to use the Batman character from a safe kind of emotional distance, saved my life." "I've been a prison chaplain, and I've been a hospital chaplain and a police chaplain." "The victory -- the real victory is to say, "you know what?" ""That destroyed all those people, destroyed all of that." ""It set us back tremendously, but I can somehow or other" ""contribute towards re-creating that energy to re-create what was before."" "So, tonight, at my store, petaluma Batman came in." "He was taking pictures and signing autographs for the community for $2." "All of the money he raised tonight went to the casa Grande high school golf team." " How you doing?" " I'm good." "How are you?" "Do you want -- do you want an autographed picture?" " Wow." "He has a suit on." " He does." " Here we go." " Do you want give a high five?" "Mommy, mommy, that's the real Batman." "Well, guess what?" "He's right in front of you." " There you go." " Yeah, in front of me." "Awesome." "Nice costume." "Are you excited?" "You want to show him your cape?" "For most college students, this would be a lot of pressure, having to make appearances." "The average 19-year-old doesn't think about managing their appearances." "Or their schedule and getting their homework done and having a job." "Going out doing my "rounds" over the weekend " "Those are about two-hour segments where I go downtown." "And, you know, whether I'm riding on my electric scooter or kind of trying to, what I feel like, look cool on big, higher structures, you know, for " "Like 10 feet off the ground, for me, is, you know, pretty high " "That's a pretty deep fall " "It's to show that, you know, that also there's kind of a fun side, that petaluma does have its own kind of Batman watching over and protecting, so to speak." "You know, I'm not trying to get in front of the police or do anything like that." "I completely respect what they do." "And then actually what's funny is, they kind of respect me and what I do, 'cause I've been on some pretty high structures, where I probably shouldn't have been, but they've been totally supportive" "and they'll wave when they're driving by and everything." "So, like I said, it's kind of neat to see." "And I kind of feel like Batman when I'm out there, too, so that's kind of fun for me." "And the community is like, "what was that over there?"" "And then, all of a sudden, I'm over there, so..." "I'm not a huge Facebook person, but I always look for his posts to see, you know, what he's out doing tonight and where he is." "The stuff that they've got with the joker and all the stuff that's going on " "It just brings so much excitement to the downtown area." "The kids are out there." "And usually, on Saturday nights, people will see me, and they're like, "something's about to go down." ""He's gonna have to stop petaluma joker or petaluma penguin tonight."" "Hello, kind friends." "Have you seen petaluma Batman around?" "No, I haven't." "It's the joker." "Oh, yes." "A pleasure to meet you." "I am the petaluma joker." "This is so cool." "And this is my friend the petaluma penguin." " Hello." " Come here." "Waddle over to this kind lady." "Hi." "Nice to meet you." "It's a pleasure to meet you, too." "Now, we invite you to the most stupendous of fights " "A fight between me and penguin over here..." " Yes." " ..." "Fighting Batman." "Allow me to introduce myself." "I am the petaluma joker." "I cause mayhem and mischief in this town." "It's a pleasure to meet you." "And what a fine job you did on this kind woman's hair." " Yes, looks beautiful." " Beautiful." "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, witness the defeat of the caped crusader of petaluma." " Batman!" " Joker!" "It's pretty fun." "Well, it's like he'll take care of them, and then joker will make a comeback, and then Batman will be like, "no!"" "Oh!" "Aah!" "Very bad, Batman!" "Get out of here, get out of here." "We'll be back, petaluma!" "Petaluma can sleep safe again tonight." "They love to actually get involved and kind of watch the show." "I don't know if it's following Batman himself or just the excitement, the play, but I enjoy it because he's doing such a wonderful job of encouraging the kids to be heroes." "He's already done an entire community-service project based on petaluma Batman's kind of charge to go out and do something good." "He did it all by himself." "He did a great thing." "And I appreciate that somebody in our community is trying to get the kids to do things that are good and not just screw around." "The teenagers were all obsessed with having their picture taken with him downtown." "That started to become a statusy thing." " Awesome." "Thanks, guys." " All right!" "Yeah, have a good night." "Keep an eye out for me, all right?" "Don't forget your stuff." "And then my friends are saying," ""we need to go downtown and find Batman."" "The big picture is, I believe, community." "I think he is bringing people together." "And I think that people get that, and they love the fact that he's young and engaged in his community." "Anybody can be a hero and, you know, do good." "And especially for the young generation, the young kids, it's important for them to be brought up right and, hopefully, inspire them to, you know, do good, maybe help out with their school fundraisers." "Even if it's just helping, you know, a friend with homework or something, to show little things like that, there's a hero kind of in all of us, and Batman really embodies the spirit," "and that's what I want them to get from it." "Our town has had a lot of heartbreak in the last year and a half or so, and Batman symbolizes the good that is in the world and the good that is in our town." "I have no idea who petaluma Batman is, but, to me, the ideals that he portrays and that he puts out there is exactly what I would want for my kids." "In popular culture, there are times when antiheroes or kind of morally ambiguous heroes seem to be popular." "Sometimes Batman has gone through that kind of grayer shade, as well, where it seems, "is he really on the right side or not?"" "But I think the pure essence of superheroes, including Batman, and the reason we come back to them is about becoming someone better." "The strength and the heart of Batman is about making a decision to make a positive change in the world." "That's a kind of heroism we can all live up to and aspire to without costumes and masks." "Kids will have the whole rest of their lives to realize that there are nuances in life, that life very often presents us with subtleties, and there are difficult choices and sometimes things are gray -- They're not black-and-white " "But let those choices be made against a backup, or on a foundation, of a clear sense that we're in this world and there's a struggle going on." "There are the forces of good and the forces of evil." "And a person has to make a decision " "A conscious, active decision " ""I choose to associate myself -- I'm on the side of good."" "At the end of law school," "I managed to get a job with the united artists, which, at that time, was one of the major studios, and that's where I learned how you produce and finance movies." "I went to sol Harrison, who now is president at D.C. comics, and I said, "sol, I want to buy the rights to Batman."" "And he was beside himself." "He says, "Michael, don't do this." ""It's a dead brand." ""Since Batman went off the air on TV, he's as dead as a dodo." "Nobody's interested in Batman anymore."" "And he said to me," ""is there any way I can talk you out of this?"" "I said, "no."" "He said, "all right, come on in."" "And on October 3, 1979, we signed the deal." "We acquired the rights to Batman, and I put it in my back pocket." "I thought it was gonna be a slam dunk." "I thought I would now go out to Hollywood, knock on every studio's door, they would line up at my door." ""Everybody's gonna want this." "How could they not?" ""They'll be able to see the potential for sequels" ""and animation and toys and games and everything that goes along with it."" "And then I found, everybody thought it was a bad idea." "They thought it was the worst idea they ever heard." "Every single studio in Hollywood turned me down and said it was awful and said I was crazy." "They said, "Michael, you can't make serious comic-book movies." ""It's not done." ""Michael, you can't do dark superheroes." ""That's never been done." ""Michael, you can't take an old TV series" ""and turn it into a movie." "That's never been done."" "And then I was turned down everywhere." "To take that kind of rejection when you're creating something " "You're putting your heart and soul into it " "And then to go to somebody and they look at it and go, "aw, this is garbage,"" "you know, that's -- That would be hard to take." "What I thought was gonna be this quick little journey to dark and serious Batman movies was about to take me 10 y-y-y-years-s-s-s." "10 years to get the first Batman movie made." "10 years of my back against the wall, of everyone telling me my idea stinks and that it's the worst idea they ever heard and that I'm crazy." "And it was my passion for comics that kept me going for that 10-year period, in order to get to where I wanted to go." "It was brutal." "It was literally a human endurance contest." "Um, but somehow I got through it." "For me, nothing ever has, or probably ever will, come easy." "The easy way, the quick way, does not work for me." "That is just not my life." "So everything I do, I develop a siege mentality." "And it pays off because I know that while it won't be easy and it won't be quick," "I can do anything I set my mind to do, but I better be prepared to suffer and I better be prepared for long periods of frustration and anxiety to get to where I want to go." "When some people go through adversity, it gets the better of them." "But there are other people that have hard times and difficulties, and when those things come, they're resilient in the face of it." "And the embodiment of that, in a way, is a superhero, particularly Batman, because he's a real guy." "And they try to break his spirit, but he just keeps coming back." "And so, there's the sense of a guy who can bleed and can be hurt and can be very human and yet is incredibly strong and incredibly resilient." "I was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy " "Particularly, s.M.A. -- When I was 2 1/2." "So it was something that was with me my entire life." "Never, you know, knew anything different." "We noticed that she had trouble going up stairs and getting up from a position " "Like, on the floor, getting up." " Falling down on her knees." " Falling, yes." "You know, like, being clumsy for no reason." "So, at 21/2, we took her to a couple doctors and had her diagnosed, and it was muscular dystrophy." "Growing up with muscular dystrophy, you know," "I would dream that I would wake up with superpowers one day." "And if that happened to me, then I would be able to overcome this disability in another way." "And, yes, I probably thought about that for way too long in my life " "Probably until I was a teenager, holding out hope." "As a child, you want a magic fix." "And when you realize that's not gonna happen, you say, "well, wait a second." ""Batman doesn't have any magic." "Batman doesn't have any powers." "He does it just fine."" "She always loved to read." "She was a great, avid reader." "Came into the comic books, and it was a -- a world " "Another world opened to her, I think." "I can't imagine living the life she lives and dealing with some of the issues she deals with, with her health and just with the simplest things that all of us take for granted, that we don't really understand," "that are a struggle for her daily life." "Her reading Batman and loving Batman, she sees in him that he doesn't give up." "And he can't bring back his parents, he can't change the past, but he can change the future." "Get up early in the morning, make my coffee, have a bagel, maybe, and drive myself to work like everybody else does." "Of course, I use a lift in the car, and that gets my scooter in there for me." "Drive in to Manhattan, which is something I've always dreamed of doing, to work, and go in to the office." "It's pretty much, you know, a normal 9:00-to-5:00 kind of thing like everybody else does, except I get to write about awesome movies and comics and pop culture." "I would never drive a car in New York City." "But I don't " " I don't have to." "From a certain perspective, you could say," ""well, you know, Jill doesn't have to drive around."" "You know, she doesn't -- But that's " "That's what needs to get done." "She's out there." "She has to do it." "She's gonna do it." "She's very strong." "She's a good driver." "She parks in New York." "She's gotten a few tickets, and she's challenged them and made sure that she has them cleared when they're unjustified." "This is a tough city to live in for anyone." "So, for her to be able to do what she does on a pretty much everyday basis is incredible." "There have been a lot of times in my life where I've been down about my situation " "You know, very depressed that this is, you know, my life and this is what I have to deal with every day, and everybody else has it so easy, you know." "I still walk, and every once in a while, I'll take a fall." "Now, if I fall, I can't get up without a chair or something else to assist me." "It's incredibly frustrating to, you know," ""okay, I'm down to the ground." "Now I have to figure out how I'm gonna get back up," you know?" "And you sit there for a minute and you think about it, and it's really, really tough, you know?" "But the other -- The other aspect, when you're sitting there on the ground, is, "well, what else am I gonna do?" ""I'm not gonna sit there on the floor the rest of my life," ""you know, or waiting for someone to come and pick me up." "I have to figure out how to do it myself."" "Batman doesn't give up, and that's something that " "That I really attached myself to." "We don't choose the stories we're born into, but as we get older and as we mature, we increasingly have the choice of which stories we live in." "Batman is wounded psychically, spiritually." "Even when he wins, doesn't make the pain go away." "And so, when we see a character confronted with something, it might not be exactly like what we're confronted with " "Certainly, not for a superhero, perhaps -- but it has parallels." "We see that character make those choices, and we realize that we have choices." "And our choices tell us who we are and what our values are, what our character is." "It had been a dream of mine." "Since I was a little kid, I wanted to run a marathon." "Seeing people do something that extraordinary, like, I didn't think it was humanly possible." "And I want to do something fun." "And then I remembered, the Halloween before," "I had a friend that had worn this Batman outfit." "And I'm just running, and the crowd just got so excited." "Like, the whole way, they were just cheering." "They'd go, "Batman!" "Yeah, Batman!"" "It just made me happy, and it made me run faster." "Every marathon after that, I just " " I wore the same thing." "If I'm arriving to a spot and I'm looking for him," "I just say, "hey, have y'all seen Batman yet?"" "And if there's, like, kids around, they get really excited just hearing that Batman is coming." "You know, and if he has already passed, they're like," ""yeah, he gave me a high five!"" "At first, it was just an outfit, but then I realized it was more than that." "It was a persona." "When I'm running as Batman, these kids that see me " "They think I'm Batman, and so I need to be Batman to them." "And it's like, "well, I can do this," ""but I want to do it with a purpose -- to serve people," ""to help people, and to raise money" ""to benefit some kind of organization " "Humanitarian group."" "So often, we get overwhelmed, like, "what can I do -- What can I, as one person?"" "But that's not Brian." "Brian is going to say, "what can't I do?"" "And so he's gonna take that and run with it." "And if that's a superhero or Brian -- regular guy " "In a superhero costume, like, he doesn't view it the same way that so many people do." "I went on a two-week mission trip to Thailand." "I felt that I was just -- God was leading me over there to serve full time and live over there, just love on these people." "So I did." "I quit my job, and I " " I moved over there." "The work that he's doing with the kids -- it's just natural." "I cannot see him doing anything else." "I think everything that he's done in the past has been leading up to and preparing him for Thailand." "So much of our world is not based on the positive, so when you have someone who's willing to give up all the things that, you know, the American dream tells you, that doesn't have to be everyone's destiny." "What your destiny is, is what's inside of you and what you want to go for." "And if there's something in your heart, you need to live it out, and you need to do it full-force." "Today is September 22, 2012, and I am running a marathon this morning in flagstaff." "And then I'm gonna go get married!" " What is that?" " Ugh." " Pickles?" " Pickle juice." " It's got electrolytes." " 30 seconds!" "Whoo!" "Yeah!" "Seven Miles." "Yay!" "Whoo!" "It was the hardest marathon I ran." "It was -- it was at very high elevation, and it was all trail." "And it was very hilly, mountainous." "And..." "I thought I might have to crawl to the finish, 'cause at about 5 Miles left -- 5 1/2 Miles " "My legs started cramping really bad." "And I was just afraid they were just gonna seize up and I would collapse." "But I just kept running so that they wouldn't -- They wouldn't seize up." "And I had a good run, and I made it." "And I'm so excited I'm done, and now I'm here and so excited to get married." "There is something very powerful within the human soul." "There's a need to be heroic." "It doesn't have to be on a grand scale." "You don't have to save the world " "That'd be great if you had those kind of powers " "But to be able to save the world, where that world is defined as to make a difference in one person's life, to help them out, the ability to say," ""I'm living for something which is significant, something that's larger than me and my personal comfort."" "A wish with wings foundation -- I got in contact with because one of the other mothers had told me about them." "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for kye." ""And if it's gonna be his wish, it needs to be something" ""that's who he is -- Reflect who he is as kye." ""The Walt Disney trip would be fun" ""and the shopping spree would be good," ""but what do you think about having, like, a Batman adventure for kye?"" "And we were just thrilled because it was really putting this whole adventure together." "We went right into meeting with the police and fire department." "So, we determined we wanted to do some scenarios for kye." "We figured that'd be the best way to really put him in the mood of doing some real crime-fighting in the city." "And so the first scenario that we came up with was going to be a bank robbery." "He had a slight problem on his way." "The joker got lost, trying to find the bank that he was going to rob." "But he amazingly was able to show up shortly before Batman and his entourage came into the bank." "Okay, the joker's inside." "He's stealing all the money from the citizens of Arlington." " Can y'all help?" " Yes!" "I hid behind a corner, and when kye walked in." "They gave me the cue, and so I started running very overdramatic." "And I stopped and looked, with two bags of money in my hand." "Ew!" "No!" "He did not know what to expect." "He just saw me." "But it didn't take but literally five seconds for him to pull back and then switch on to, like, Batman mode and was like, "oh, okay, okay."" "Oh, no!" "Aah!" "You robbed me!" "You robbed me!" "Thank you, Batman!" "Thank you for saving the bank today." "Very good, very good." "So, did you know we were gonna have a bank robbery today?" " No." " Oh, my goodness!" "Man, I got up this morning, I didn't know either." "I'm so glad that the police found you." "Thank you for saving us, Batman." " You're welcome." " Thank you!" " So, it was easy?" " Mm-hmm." " Well, for Batman, maybe." " Yeah." "Yeah, you made it look -- yeah, whenever he fell down, he was saying, "I'll get you next time."" "And so the fire department was able to bring out all their cool equipment, including their bomb robot, and we were able to set up a staging area where the suspicious device was under the car, also bring another villain in." "And then they were able to go in and save the day." "Curse you, Batman!" "You haven't seen the last of me!" "Oh!" "I think he was feeling empowered." "As the day went on, the more empowered he felt and the more he really felt the sense that, "you know, this Batman thing -- there's really something to this."" "It's all about doing good, and I think there was no doubt in his mind that he was solving crime, that he was helping people, that he was putting the bad guys away, that he was making a difference." "To see the whole community getting together and helping this little boy have a dream come true " "I was just amazed at the things that he was able to accomplish that day." "You know, I know that it just filled his entire being with more confidence, more courage to defeat anything that comes in his way." "We do have to fight every day." "Whether you're sick, whether you're not, every day is a battle." "And it's that simple, "will I give up or will I keep going?"" "And to see him already know, you know, that failure is not an option and to give up is not an option, and that he clings to that right now at such a young age, is so powerful." "I really, really hope that, you know, he never forgets that." "Michael uslan, from "the boy who loved Batman"" "to the man who is dedicated to encouraging others to pursue their goals and their dreams with tenacity, we recognize you in setting forth the motion, the groundbreaking reimagining of a superhero whose only real superpower is humanity." "By cinematically defining Batman in this way, you've established that all of us have the capability and the capacity to be superheroes, and we thank you for this thoughtful illumination." "You are distinguished as the executive producer of eight Batman films " "An accomplishment that belies the years of rejection you experienced as you attempted to restore the dignity of the character who so inspired you." "For teaching others how to put imagination into action, for sending forth the message that rejection can and should be a source of great inspiration, we are proud, as the monmouth community, to present you with this honorary degree " "Doctor of fine arts honoris causa " " Michael uslan." "Michael?" "There you go, Michael." "Michael uslan, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the board of trustees in the state of New Jersey," "I now confer upon you the degree doctor of fine arts, with special emphasis on the comic-book genre, honoris causa." "When I took the mail up to my desk in my office, and I sat down and opened up a letter, and it went something like this " ""dear Mr. uslan, you don't know me." ""I'm the mother of one of the cadets at west point" ""whom you spoke to last week." ""They are walking around campus high-fiving each other," ""bouncing off each other's chest, going," "'I am Batman." "You are Batman.'"" "she said, "in the years to come," ""wherever they may run into each other," ""on whatever foreign battlefield," ""this will be their unifying clarion call, and I can't thank you enough for what you've given them."" "That's what makes it all worthwhile." "That's what validates everything I've done." "That's what says, "I went through hell." "I'll do it again."" "I think it's pretty universal that we look outside of ourselves for encouragement, for hope, really, that, "I can be a better person than I am." "This world can be a better world than it is."" "Superheroes represent the highest aspirations that a lot of us have as human beings." "These characters represent longings that we have to connect with something greater." "The same way that Batman stands on the rooftops and he declares himself, "I'm Batman,"" "he's telling the world he's not gonna be a victim, he's gonna be a force for good." "We can make a conscious decision in our lives and declare who we are and what we want to be and move towards that goal." "Stories can guide us in that direction to be the people that we want to be." "The last option that we have, the last of the human freedoms " "You just can't take that away from us " "Is the ability to choose how you're going to respond." "A person very often will get to the point where they'll say," ""I've exhausted my potential." "I can't do anymore." "There's nothing more I can do."" "But the lesson of the Batman, to me as a kid, was," ""you know what?" "You haven't even begun."" "So, if Batman was real," "I think he would tell kye that what he's gone through " "All of the turmoil and the pain and the hurt and the trials that he's endured " "What's going to come out of it is going to bless the world."