The Darkness of the Dark Knight & the Devil in Daredevil
"Hello, Darkness, my old friend..."
-Simon & Garfunkel
Two of the more critically acclaimed recent super hero franchises, Batman (with Christian Bale) and Daredevil (with Charlie Cox) have uniquely owned the inherit darkness within their protagonists. By the way, I am just pretending that Ben Affleck never tried to be a super hero. It’s for the best.
The reason I like these recent series is that they are strikingly honest and surprisingly self-aware. The heroes are just as guilty as the villains of violence. Each series question what gives these vigilantes the right to take justice into their own hands, or more accurately, with their fists. Although these heroes famously refuse to take another’s life—no matter how wicked—they are more than willing to send their foes to the ER. The saddest aspect of these two heroes’ stories is that they never truly “win,” their job is never finished, there are always new dastardly plots to foil.
But, I believe all of us share the same darkness afflicting these heroes. Whether we attempt to fundamentally change a person through force or friendship, it is folly unless the Spirit is leading this transformation. As a pastor, I have felt keenly the temptation to have a “savior complex.” I foolishly believe that I can fix people, cure what truly ails them, become as Shakespeare says, a spiritual cobbler, “a mender of souls.”
There is a unique arrogance that we all possess when we believe we can reshape the contours of another person’s heart. Yet, scripture reminds us that God alone knows and understands the heart, therefore God can rightly claim vengeance is mine (alone).
I will never forget when a church counselor asked me the painful question: “did you die on the cross for my sins?” We must all accept the reality that we are not God, we are not Jesus. As humans, we cannot foster the sort of change we often hope for in others. Instead, we must patiently trust our God will bring about the lasting, eternal, and beautiful transformation that we seek.
