Batman loses his powers
The Frankfurt police take away a protester dressed as Batman during the Gen Z Regelt movement protests that have affected the entire country. The photo could perfectly well be a comic strip panel. Photographer Kai Pfaffenbach took several portraits of this character during the night that coincided with the Halloween celebration. Some of the scenes he captured were full of epic, with a triumphant Batman emerging from the flames of the dumpsters making the victory sign with his fingers. Images that exuded a poetic drama. Traditionally, Batman has defended order in the face of chaos, but that night he was participating in the agitation and lack of control. The superhero who wants to do justice outside the law was demanding on the street improvements in education, healthcare, and social services, and protesting against the rising cost of living. But this time he didn't have the Batmobile to escape.
The photo closes the story with a more realistic and somewhat contradictory ending: the paradox of the arrested vigilante. Theoretically, the superhero and the police should be on the same side, but here the roles have been reversed, and he is the villain of the movie. The agents even express a certain indifference in their gaze despite having arrested one of the most imposing characters in popular culture. This indifference towards a superhero adds a touch of comedy to the photo. Batman seems stripped of his strength, as if he had resigned himself to the circumstances. It is the demystification of the hero. The parallels in their attire are amusing: all three in black, with body armor and their faces partially covered. But together they lose all their intimidating potential. The photograph makes us crack a smile both for the vulnerability of the superhero and for the parody of police authority. Batman becomes more human when the police acquire a comical dimension by behaving with routine diligence in the face of a myth.
During the weeks of youth revolts on the streets of many European cities, we have observed an incipient carnivalization of protest. We have seen somewhat pot-bellied Batmans and Spidermans, Darth Vaders with cardboard capes, Ninja Turtles, inflatable dinosaurs, clowns, ghosts, and a decapitated Marie Antoinette circulating through the streets of Paris. The essence of Carnival is to transgress social hierarchies, and the costume acts as a form of defiance against power. In the photo, however, we also read the defeat of fantasy, of great ideals, in the face of reality.
