Here at TBU, we create Batman related content. Okay, that might be a tad obvious. But, the focus of this site is on Batman and the Bat-Family. There are many writers for the site. Each week, we are a nameless crew that cranks out new content, and the only record of who we are is in the byline. I currently review Detective Comics and The Batman Who Laughs, but you probably had no clue of that.
To understand why I write about Batman and the Bat-Family, I felt it wise to share a little bit about myself and why I like Batman.
So, hello! My name is Tony Hammack. I am an INTJ who loves coffee, computers, and superheroes.
I did not have a great childhood. By the abuse and neglect that my siblings and I experienced, my biological parents wanted nothing to do with us. Not to get too morbid, but I needed to say that to set the scene.
My older sister, my younger brother, and I eventually moved in with my grandmother. Now she was old (You know, since she is a grandmother!), so I did not grow up watching the late 1990s and early 2000s iconic Disney animated films. I watched the news, John Wayne movies, Indiana Jones, some other older movies that obviously I forgot, and Star Wars. And, I really loved superheroes, especially Batman.
I desperately wanted to feel special, to feel like being abandoned all happened for a reason. I was looking for an escape from reality. I was looking for hope.
Indiana Jones taught me one man can figure out anything if he puts his mind to the task. Star Wars taught me one orphan on a backwoods planet can save a galaxy. But out of all my childhood idols, Batman taught me one can overcome his past and forge a new future for himself; he taught me I could overcome my fears and forge a new identity.
My favorite DC animated movie is “Crisis on Two Earths.” In it, Batman says one of my favorite Batman quotes of all time. He tells Owlman, “There is a difference between you and me. We both looked into the abyss, but when it looked back at us, you blinked.”
Batman could have stayed frozen in his identity as a hurt little boy. But, he chose a different path. Through resiliency and grit, he did not let his pain define him.
Psychologist Angela Duckworth coined the term “grit” as we know it. She found grit — a combination of passion and perseverance for an important goal — is the hallmark of high achievers in every domain. The difference between Batman and the other superheroes is the grit and resiliency that he has to forge a new path for himself.
Batman will always have a special place in my heart for how he saved me as a child. He gave me a reason to have hope; I could not let what happened to me define me. I can become something more.
I often let my mind drift back to my childhood. This can lead me to very dark places if I am not careful. Being apart of TBU is a constant reminder of Batman’s resilience. I can become more than my past. I am more than my past.
No matter what trials I face, I just need to be like Batman and be resilient.
-Tony Hammack
