On his Sirius/XM radio show, Howard Stern recently commented that Dexter Morgan is basically the same person as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Wait, what?
Batman is a hero, Dexter is a serial killer. How could anyone think they’re alike? Sure, Dexter’s keen analytical mind, martial arts skills, and severe post-traumatic stress disorder combine to form one heck of an effective vigilante….huh. Seems they have more in common than we thought.
So why is Batman usually lauded as a hero, while Dexter toils away in secret, cleaning up Miami Beach one scumbag at a time?
1. Both men’s psychoses were forged by witnessing their parent(s) die in horrifying, soul-searing ways.
Dexter: Three-year-old Dexter was forced to watch his mother killed by drug dealers. He spent the next three days plopped down in a pool of her blood until being discovered by the cops. Unsurprisingly, this kinda messed the little guy up. He became an utter blood-o-phile, with an obsession that would impress a vampire. Promising medical career? No thanks! Blood spatter analysis and the far less glamorous world of crime scene investigation? (Sorry, Horatio Caine!) Yes, please!
Batman: As a young boy, Bruce helplessly watched as a mugger shot both of his parents to death in Crime Alley over some jewelry. Not the first time someone died because of a pearl necklace. He vowed to never use a gun (razor-sharp boomerangs are cool, though), and uses the same fear he felt to combat the “cowardly and superstitious” underworld. That, plus all bat-themed goodies a bazillion-dollar inheritance can buy.
2. Both men were raised by surrogate fathers who tried to curb their craziness and point them in more positive directions, to varying success.
Dexter: Harry Morgan, a veteran detective, adopted young Dex, and after realizing his sociopathic tendencies, taught him a moral code to only kill those who deserved it. You know, as opposed to hardcore therapy to deal with his trauma.
Batman: Alfred Pennyworth, a former stage actor, medic and Cold War-era spy, becomes Bruce’s legal guardian and mentor. Coincidentally, he has all the skills necessary to be the butler of a crime-fighting vigilante. For most folks, it’s hard enough to find someone who won’t mix the whites with the colors!
3. Both men have adopted the methods of those who traumatized them, using terror to both do good, and fill the empty voids inside them. Vicious cycle, much?
Dexter: He’s a killer, killing other killers. They may be bad guys, but does that make him different or better than a serial killer who isn’t so picky? He’s not doing his slaughtering out of altruism, he still has that pesky need to kill. In his spare time, he also worked with a young serial killer-in-training, Lumen.
Batman: Dressing up like a giant bat and beating up criminals doesn’t exactly scream of mental health. Though he doesn’t kill, he does take the law into his own hands. If he were charged with the laundry list of crimes he’s committed (assault, breaking and entering, illegal wiretapping, kidnapping, the non-street legal Batmobile, lack of code compliance with the Batcave, etc.), he’d never see the inside of his cowl again. In his spare time, he’s fond of finding traumatized young kids, suiting them up in bat-kevlar, and tossing them into battle against crazed super-villains.
4. Both men love their gadgets, though Batman’s wealth gives him access to way cooler toys.
Dexter: Forensic toolkit, knives, access to Miami Metro PD resources, his boat the Slice of Life, extremely tight shirts.
Batman: Utility belt, Batarangs, Batcomputer, Batmobile, Batwing, Bat-Sub, Batcycle, Bat-Shark Repellant Bat-Spray, high-tech Batsuit.
5. Both men have their own mancaves where they can relax and be themselves.
Dexter: The Kill Room, a plastic-wrapped hidey-hole where he can bring his serial killer pals to chill out before he stabs them in the chest for their sins.
Batman: The Batcave, a literal cave where he keeps all his awesome stuff, including a giant penny and an animatronic T-Rex!
6. And one of the most striking similarities between the two is the masks they wear in their “regular” lives.
Dexter: His friends and family know him as Dexter Morgan, a quiet, unassuming, lab geek, maybe a little odd and socially awkward, but harmless. The true Dexter is ruthless, brilliant, violent, and delivers a mean one-liner.
Batman: The world knows him as billionaire playboy and philanthropist Bruce Wayne, a rich kid who spends his time traipsing about the globe with supermodels. The real Bruce Wayne died in Crime Alley with his parents. Now he’s solely Batman, an unstoppable force for vengeance, with an absurdly gravelly voice (I’m looking at you, Christian Bale!)
So the next time you look at Dexter and think he’s a raging, psychopathic killer… Rest assured that he is actually Batman.
Batman is a hero, Dexter is a serial killer. How could anyone think they’re alike? Sure, Dexter’s keen analytical mind, martial arts skills, and severe post-traumatic stress disorder combine to form one heck of an effective vigilante….huh. Seems they have more in common than we thought.
So why is Batman usually lauded as a hero, while Dexter toils away in secret, cleaning up Miami Beach one scumbag at a time?
1. Both men’s psychoses were forged by witnessing their parent(s) die in horrifying, soul-searing ways.
Dexter: Three-year-old Dexter was forced to watch his mother killed by drug dealers. He spent the next three days plopped down in a pool of her blood until being discovered by the cops. Unsurprisingly, this kinda messed the little guy up. He became an utter blood-o-phile, with an obsession that would impress a vampire. Promising medical career? No thanks! Blood spatter analysis and the far less glamorous world of crime scene investigation? (Sorry, Horatio Caine!) Yes, please!
Batman: As a young boy, Bruce helplessly watched as a mugger shot both of his parents to death in Crime Alley over some jewelry. Not the first time someone died because of a pearl necklace. He vowed to never use a gun (razor-sharp boomerangs are cool, though), and uses the same fear he felt to combat the “cowardly and superstitious” underworld. That, plus all bat-themed goodies a bazillion-dollar inheritance can buy.
2. Both men were raised by surrogate fathers who tried to curb their craziness and point them in more positive directions, to varying success.
Dexter: Harry Morgan, a veteran detective, adopted young Dex, and after realizing his sociopathic tendencies, taught him a moral code to only kill those who deserved it. You know, as opposed to hardcore therapy to deal with his trauma.
Batman: Alfred Pennyworth, a former stage actor, medic and Cold War-era spy, becomes Bruce’s legal guardian and mentor. Coincidentally, he has all the skills necessary to be the butler of a crime-fighting vigilante. For most folks, it’s hard enough to find someone who won’t mix the whites with the colors!
3. Both men have adopted the methods of those who traumatized them, using terror to both do good, and fill the empty voids inside them. Vicious cycle, much?
Dexter: He’s a killer, killing other killers. They may be bad guys, but does that make him different or better than a serial killer who isn’t so picky? He’s not doing his slaughtering out of altruism, he still has that pesky need to kill. In his spare time, he also worked with a young serial killer-in-training, Lumen.
Batman: Dressing up like a giant bat and beating up criminals doesn’t exactly scream of mental health. Though he doesn’t kill, he does take the law into his own hands. If he were charged with the laundry list of crimes he’s committed (assault, breaking and entering, illegal wiretapping, kidnapping, the non-street legal Batmobile, lack of code compliance with the Batcave, etc.), he’d never see the inside of his cowl again. In his spare time, he’s fond of finding traumatized young kids, suiting them up in bat-kevlar, and tossing them into battle against crazed super-villains.
4. Both men love their gadgets, though Batman’s wealth gives him access to way cooler toys.
Dexter: Forensic toolkit, knives, access to Miami Metro PD resources, his boat the Slice of Life, extremely tight shirts.
Batman: Utility belt, Batarangs, Batcomputer, Batmobile, Batwing, Bat-Sub, Batcycle, Bat-Shark Repellant Bat-Spray, high-tech Batsuit.
5. Both men have their own mancaves where they can relax and be themselves.
Dexter: The Kill Room, a plastic-wrapped hidey-hole where he can bring his serial killer pals to chill out before he stabs them in the chest for their sins.
Batman: The Batcave, a literal cave where he keeps all his awesome stuff, including a giant penny and an animatronic T-Rex!
6. And one of the most striking similarities between the two is the masks they wear in their “regular” lives.
Dexter: His friends and family know him as Dexter Morgan, a quiet, unassuming, lab geek, maybe a little odd and socially awkward, but harmless. The true Dexter is ruthless, brilliant, violent, and delivers a mean one-liner.
Batman: The world knows him as billionaire playboy and philanthropist Bruce Wayne, a rich kid who spends his time traipsing about the globe with supermodels. The real Bruce Wayne died in Crime Alley with his parents. Now he’s solely Batman, an unstoppable force for vengeance, with an absurdly gravelly voice (I’m looking at you, Christian Bale!)
So the next time you look at Dexter and think he’s a raging, psychopathic killer… Rest assured that he is actually Batman.
