Batman Begins-What makes it a superhero film?

In the Batman begins film there are many codes and conventions of the superhero genre.

Firstly, in the Batman film they tell the back story of Batman became a superhero and why. This is a typical occurrence in superhero films as the audience want to know why the superhero has decided to fight crime and if they are an ordinary person or perhaps and alien. In Batman they tell us that his parents were killed and he wants to take revenge.

Also, Batman has accomplices and helpers in the film like Alfred and Lucius Fox that help him and support him throughout the film. In Propp's character types, there is a donor and a helper which would fit these two characters. Many other films also have these characters and they are frequently used in superhero films.

Another way the Batman film tells us it is a superhero film is that it is set in a big city that resembles New York. In DC there cities are usually fantasy, are this is the same in Batman as the city is Gotham, which doesn't exist but portrays New York. This shows the audience that this is a superhero film as it is a general setting for superhero films because there are a lot of good effects that you can get from this setting.

Thirdly, the villains in Batman are of similar ability and could possibly defeat Batman. In superhero films the villains have to be able to have a chance of beating the hero otherwise the film would be boring. In the film the scarecrow gases Batman and weakends him and without Lucius Fox's antidote he would of been deafted. This makes the film much more exciting. Also in the film we know that Henri Ducard is the same ability as Batman because he trained Batman and taught him how to fight.

In a lot of the superhero films there is a love interest, this is evident in the Batman film as Bruce Wayne is in love with his childhood friend Rachel Dawes. It is common in superhero films because it often intrudes with their superhero life as it does with Batman and the villain can use this to get to the hero by atacking or threatening the love interest.

A more obvious way that the audience can tell that this is a superhero film is because Batman wears a costume. This is very common in superhero films because a lot of superheroes want to hide a secret identity and don't want the villain and public to know who they are. Also the costume can represent the hero's character. For example the Batman films are quite dark and this relate to the costume he wears.