Give Batman A Hug, It's Bat Appreciation Day!

The Batman, Image: Nicole Wakelin

There are lots of special days honoring one thing or another and some of them are a bit odd. That's exactly what I thought when I saw "Bat Appreciation Day!" pop up in my sidebar today when I checked my e-mail. I wondered what the heck I had done to make some algorithm think that I had an interest in bats. I haven't e-mailed an exterminator recently. I haven't accused anyone of having bats in their belfry. I haven't even used the Bat Signal in recent memory. And that's when it hit me. The Batman.


You've got to figure that being Bruce Wayne by day and Batman by night is a tough gig. You've got to deal with crazy, evil, oddly themed supervillains on a regular basis and do it all in a costume that makes you look like a bat. There's no one to blame for that last bit but yourself, but still, it can't be easy. And when you're not busy saving the city, you've got to deal with boardroom bickering and handshakes and all the blah, blah, blah of business. It's tough being Batman.

So what's an under appreciated superhero to do? I think, if you're bazillionaire Bruce Wayne, you lobby to get yourself a holiday. Only problem there is that superheros are too selfless to say that want a holiday of their own and would likely discourage any citizens from creating one. Smart money says Mr. Wayne got around that problem by honoring the bats and hoping people would think, "Hey, wonder how Batman is today? He's cool. I should send him a card." or something close to that at the very least.

This year there's the added pressure of The Avengers movie that comes out in just a few more weeks. Everyone is talking about Thor and Iron Man, who will live and who will die, but no one is talking about Batman. He has a movie, too. It's just not out until July so Batman is being overlooked right now. Poor Bruce Wayne. Poor Batman.

Don't worry, caped crusader with cool gadgets and pointy bat ears, you have not been forgotten! Just give us all a little time to get past the whole Avengers thing and we promise, we'll talk about how much we can't wait to see you on the big screen next. Happy Bat Appreciation Day, Batman!