Batman – Enneagram and Encaustic

BATMAN (2022), FOUR

Well, his Batman headpiece fits well and doesn’t give that horrible neck-pinch impression when he turns his head. Good costume, check. And when he takes off the cowl we still see his eye black, which feels realistic.

Now I have nothing.

He’s not a Holmesian detective, he’s not an intimidating fighter, he’s not a rich guy with toys, and he’s not a companion with Alfred. He’s a blank, mostly, with Batman-esque tropes laid lightly over his character.

Again, as I said with Catwoman, I don’t blame the actor for this portrayal. Pattinson was given a lank of hair over his face as an acting tool.

So, what do we have besides “not” qualities on the left-hand scale? He and Gordon spend a lot of time together and work as a team. To extrapolate, this Batman could be a Heart Type, someone who seeks social engagement and a sharing of duties. But then his aloofness with Alfred could negate that reading. However, considering how underused the marvelous Andy Serkis as Alfred is, the script might just have had a hole around them.

Wow, the more I think about this movie’s lack of focus, the angrier I get. Tropes and lazy archetypes are tossed around rather than character development. One of the worst was the accusation that Bruce Wayne, because he’s rich, can’t feel the sorrow and pain of being an orphan. Does Bruce let this slide because he agrees, because he’s divorced from his own feelings around the tragedy of his parents’ deaths, or because the script gave him nothing to play? I can’t tell. This movie has a lot of medium shots with no emphasis to help point the film.

Are we talking Null? His emo mood suggests a Four, as does his companionability with Gordon. If the script had pumped Alfred and his relationship with Batman more, this could’ve been a great reading of his character. I’d say that this is the only number that even suggested itself during my watch.

I’ll count it. I think this is what Pattinson was playing, even though the directing and writing didn’t back him up. It just makes me sad for the depth of a Four Batman that we’ve missed. A lot more juice went unsqueezed in this orange.

CATWOMAN (2022), SEVEN

My comments for this Catwoman and Batman will be very similar: there’s not much to work with, and it’s not the actors’ fault.

Alright. She’s athletic. We don’t see a lot of Catwoman acrobatics, but she can fight. Her undercover detective role is much more emphasized, though, than her physicality. Let’s say she’s not a Body Type.

Although she owns cats, they don’t dominate her persona. And her costume is sufficient, but nothing particularly noticeable. Her headpiece does have low, small feline ears, and her mouth is covered with a strip of cloth. Her outfit looks vaguely homemade, but mostly it’s just a black smudge with nothing to distinguish it. Her wigs and makeup for her undercover work show the most detail. Detecting carries much more interest for her than battle.

She’s a get-the-job-done Catwoman. When the mystery of how her friend died is solved, and revenge meted out, she moves on. She does ask Batman to come with her, but her heart isn’t in it. This is a very practical, no-drama Catwoman.

If I have to choose, I’ll say Seven.

CATWOMAN (2012), NINE

Anne Hathaway physically hearkens back to the TV series casting: leather, long legs, sultry. Her Catwoman is in an obvious trajectory from the Newmar typing.

This Catwoman isn’t a thief for the thrill. She’s poor and hustling. When she hits a certain level of monetary comfort, she’s done. And, if we pay attention to the ending of The Dark Knight Rises, she lives contentedly in Italy with Bruce Wayne after the ultimate villain is defeated. Both of them walk away from the costume business.

She’s built like a Four, which could be casting coincidence, and Catwoman has that emotional engagement that could indicate a Four. Is she?

No. She’s a Nine. One clue: the Batcycle. Batman rides a physically complicated bike. You don’t just get on and balance. Catwoman jumps on and is instantly competent. This is probably for story concerns; no one wants to watch Bruce tutor Selina on the motorcycle details. However, we’ll take it as an Enneagram indicator. This Catwoman is a Body Type.

Another clue: Selina begins the movie primarily concerned with herself. She’s not heartless about the downtrodden, but her own needs motivate her. This changes. She helps Batman because it’s fair. Justice, that Nine balancing of diplomacy, moves her to participate in the Eight.

And then we have the finale. The piazza trattoria with Bruce. They’re almost companions, war survivors. Although romance is implied, it’s not the driving motivation. They’re just comfortable together. That lack of drama says Nine.

The long legs? The sultry? Nines don’t usually deploy those tools, but they can if they want, and when they do it’s a knockout.

CATWOMAN (1992), SEVEN

Michelle Pfeiffer’s Selina in Batman Returns is one of the great moments in the Burton years of directing the Bat. Is she quintessential Catwoman? I don’t think so. My impressions are colored by the years of Eartha Kitt and Julie Newmar, when Catwoman was uber-sexy. Why did I think Diana Rigg was also Catwoman? Emma Peel, I guess. The leather, the long legs, the sultry tone.

Anyway, Pfeiffer is something else. Her Selina is scattered and marginal, book smart but not street smart. Miss Kitty is on the edge of sanity. She ends up with the leather and the sultry, but she barely holds it all together. Like her home sewn costume, the stitching shows.

Someone mauled by cats in a near-death experience should be walking a thin line.

Pfeiffer herself may not have the Enneagram body for it, but her Catwoman is a Seven. The competency in every day life, the mousy exterior that hides so much passion, and the weird breakout she goes through, are the indicators. She doesn’t have highs and lows as a Four would; everything is a low for her. Even the rush of being a superhero/villain is painful. This is a Seven sliding down into the weakness number, One. Wit is dark, physicality is driven, and pleasure is ascetic. It’s a beautiful portrayal.

CATWOMAN (1992-1995), FOUR

As I mentioned in my Batman study, the Catwoman from Batman: the Animated Series is a Four. It’s the interaction between the two characters, how they’re drawn to each other in spite of the potential for a toxic relationship, that defines their Enneagram numbers.

Selina Kyle reacts so vehemently to the news that her plans for a large cat refuge are in danger. Another developer has beat her to the land. In front of Bruce she has a loud meltdown. Her willingness to expose so much emotion, and Bruce’s reaction (her passion entices him), show who they are.

She’s at peace with pretty much everything about herself. Vitality, sensuality, greed, comfort (this Catwoman is wealthy) — dark and light — are all welcome traits to her. Her only surprise is when Batman puts police cuffs on her. His sense of justice outweighs his feelings, something a Four doesn’t expect.

BATMAN (1992-1995), NINE

Don’t underestimate this Batman just because he’s a cartoon. Batman: The Animated Series is arguably the best version made of the character.

The credits intro, with Shirley Walker’s powerful orchestrations and the Film Noir shading, is very binge-worthy.

When I complained that the Bale Batman had no humor, I was thinking of this series. Our Batman here is no camp comedy, like the old TV show was, but he has a subtle tongue-in-cheek humor. He’s not as stoic, either. He’s moved by more than his own sense of mission.

But is he an Eight?

He’s a tougher nut to crack because we’re looking at a series. A movie with a two hour arc must give us its Batman right away. Something that rolls out over weeks, even years, can be more coy.

This Bruce Wayne is very much an inhabitant of his city. We see him with friends and at charitable events. His Batman is more compassionate, more involved with citizens, than any other iteration.

It’s the episode with Catwoman that shows us who this Batman is. He’s a Nine. Her volatility is irresistible to him. That dynamic, the Four/Nine attraction, is the key. Of course he’s a Body Type still. This Batman, though, is more about judgment than anger. And his community interactions are also the social diplomacy of a Nine.

A Nine superhero fits more smoothly into our expectations for the genre. It makes sense that this iteration is so beloved. He has all the troubled heartbreak we expect from Batman with none of the explosive surprise an Eight brings.

BATMAN (2012), EIGHT

The Dark Knight Rises is the third part of the Nolan trilogy. This Batman character has an arc, so we will find an Enneagram here (as opposed to part two).

At the beginning of the movie Batman is retired, hobbled, and reclusive. He’s just Bruce Wayne. The plot draws him out. He seeks prosthetic support for his knee and returns to training. He is initially defeated by Bane and must triumphantly overcome.

It’s fairly cliche.

Is Batman still an Eight?

Physically, he’s dogged. He takes a beating and comes back for more. His sense of justice is also unflagging. Batman’s one consistency in the Nolan years is his insistence on saving Gotham. The city is his child and he is its protector.

His anger and how it fuels him is Eight-ish. I’m concerned, though, that he never shows that irreverent humor an Eight has. He never shows any humor. Eights have a sardonic wit and a brutal honesty that I’m just not seeing.

I think they’ve kept Batman an Eight, but only half an Eight. He’s physical and indestructible, a gamer’s tank. However, Batman’s cynicism, melancholy, and loneliness, and how they manifest in his dark humor, are also canon. The Nolan years have lost this side of him. My rewatch of these three movies has surprised me. I’m not a fan anymore. Half a Batman makes for a stodgy, ponderous slog.

BATMAN (2008), NULL

The second movie in Nolan’s trilogy is The Dark Knight, again with Bale. In the first story Batman is very traditional, very canon. Any changes here?

Well, for the first half of the movie Batman is nothing. He either only reacts or is characterless, just a warm body in the story. We have Heath Ledger’s performance as Joker, which steals all the oxygen, and we have Eckhart’s Harvey Dent/Two Face, which is quite good. Even Rachel, now played by Gyllenhaal, is mesmerizing. The limelight has no room for our titular hero. At this point I give him a Null Enneagram.

He has a bit of a run-in with Fox, who’s offended by Wayne’s use of the R&D department to develop an invasive sonic-based spyware. Batman flirts with a moral line in this movie, eventually landing on the side of honor. That’s his quandary, his conflict. Does the Joker — his nihilism and his malevolent genius — warrant breaking the code, taking human life, in order to defeat him? The answer is eventually no.

Any number can confront this problem. We’ve learned nothing new about Batman’s Enneagram here.

Ultimately, the story settles on sacrifice as its moral answer. Batman will take the blame, become the city’s scapegoat, in order to keep the memory of Dent clean and inspiring. It’s a very classical solution, and it’s Batman’s idea. Batman will assume the role of villain so that Dent can be a martyr.

Nope, I can’t get there. I can’t find a character in this version of the Bat. It’s hinted that he wants to be free of his alter ego, free of the responsibility of saving the city, and that he wants a chance with Rachel, but I don’t see him pursuing that desire. He’s not even really thwarted. Rachel is fridged.

The movie is a mish-mosh and the hero is bland. The supporting work is outstanding and worth the time. And that’s that.

BATMAN (2005), EIGHT

Batman Begins is an origin story that I remember really liking when it was released. Christian Bale brings a great physical presence to the character. Director Nolan treats the comic-book world with gritty realism.

What does this interpretation bring to a Batman Enneagram, and what are the constant characteristics for Batman across all iterations?

Here are the basic facts: a rich man devotes his time and resources on training as an uber-martial artist. This speaks to a level of obsession. He’s loyal to his family, including the butler. He’s not particularly romantic or social. No dogs! He’s mostly honest, and he’s not a killer.

So, our generic Batman is no Heart Type. He’s charitable, but he doesn’t really need people in an emotional sense. The odds are he’s a Body Type. Anyone can combat train, but his dedication speaks of a larger connection to the physical. He seeks conflict and doesn’t shy from aggression. I think we’re looking at an Eight.

Does Bale’s Batman deviate from that pattern?

Wayne’s anger leads him to the edge of society. At the start of the movie he’s in prison somewhere in the cold parts of Asia. He has no interest in or connection to socializing. Alfred has to drag him to a party. He has his loyal core team — Fox, Rachel, Gordon — and that’s it. The job of being Batman is everything.

He really sticks to the traditional Batman build.

He likes living in the middle of the heat. No flinching from the dirty work. Eight.