Fear, faith, and forgiveness in “Batman: No Man’s Land”

I must confess I started reading comics at a somewhat later age than most. Although I loved DC and Marvel characters pretty much throughout my childhood and was a massive fan of superheroes on TV (particularly in the form of Batman: The Animated Series), I didn’t actually start reading comic books until my teenage years. I distinctly remember purchasing my first trade paperback collection of Batman comics. It was the first volume of a long story arc that I had heard great things about – Batman: No Man’s Land.

In the aftermath of a massive earthquake, Gotham City lies in ruins. The Federal Government is convinced that rebuilding a town with such a troubled history would be a lost cause (and prohibitively expensive). In response, Congress callously decides to abandon the city to its fate, declaring Gotham to be a federal “No Man’s Land” – effectively cutting it off from the rest of the United States. Gotham’s people are allowed a grace period during which to evacuate, after which all the bridges and tunnels will be blown, and the river mined. A cordon of Federal troops surrounds the city. Anyone left inside the city limits after that time has to fend for themselves. “No Man’s Land,” indeed.

In fact, a surprising number of Gotham’s denizens refuse to vacate the city after the No Man’s Land declaration – among these are the sick, the desperately poor, the mentally handicapped, and the stubbornly loyal.

Unfortunately for those who stay, nearly all of Gotham’s super-villains, released from Arkham Asylum in the confusion following the quake, remain in the city as well. Free to roam at will, they quickly gather armies of followers and carve up the city into fiefdoms in which they terrorize and exploit the remaining citizens.

But heroes remain behind as well. Former police commissioner Jim Gordon leads a small following of police officers, “The Blue Boys,” who refuse to abandon their city in its darkest hour. Bruce Wayne, after unsuccessfully lobbying Congress to save the city, initially gives in to despair. But he soon dons the cape and cowl once again and returns to Gotham as Batman. With a new grim determination to defy seemingly impossible odds, Batman and a small band of allies wage war against the villains and the gangs, liberating the city block by block.

This sprawling, epic story arc contains many side stories that shed light on how different groups of people are coping with life in No Man’s Land. Among these is the four-part tale “Fear of Faith” by writer Devin K. Grayson. “Fear of Faith” is notable for its thoughtful exploration of religious themes and its positive portrayal of faith – things that have sadly become absent from mainstream comics in recent years.

Faith and Fear

In the ruins of Gotham’s great cathedral, Catholic priest Fr. Christian Sounder has established the Ark Project Refugee Center to minister to the temporal and spiritual needs of the many people who couldn’t or wouldn’t escape No Man’s Land. People of all religions and ethnic backgrounds are welcome. Despite the danger from supervillains and gangs, Fr. Chris refuses to accept the aid or protection of Gordon and his Blue Boys, preferring to remain independent. While his intentions are noble and laudable, Fr. Chris’s idealism unfortunately blinds him to the insidious danger posed by the latest arrival at the Ark Project – Dr. Jonathan Crane, a.k.a. the Scarecrow.

Despite being without his trademark fear gas, Scarecrow remains a lethal threat to everyone at the refugee center. Setting out to prove that nothing, even faith, offers an escape from fear, Scarecrow engineers a grand social experiment to break the will of the clergy and people of the Ark Project.

One person who sees through Scarecrow’s vicious deceptions is Helena Bertinelli who, as well as being a practicing Catholic, moonlights as the vigilante known as the Huntress. She urges Fr. Chris to expel Scarecrow from the community before it’s too late, but the priest, who disapproves of Huntress’s vigilante lifestyle, refuses to listen.

Meanwhile, Scarecrow takes the opportunity to introduce rats to the mission’s food supply. Fr. Chris, unfortunately, plays right into Scarecrow’s hands. Worried that the lack of food security and the prospect of hunger will cause the refugees to turn on each other, Fr. Chris makes an arrangement with Oswald Cobblepot – The Penguin. In exchange for food and medical supplies, Penguin demands that Fr. Chris hide the villain’s arsenal of surplus weapons in the cathedral’s fallout shelter. At first Fr. Chris refuses, but Penguin makes plain that he will simply kill the priest and carry out his plan anyway.

Scarecrow, a master manipulator, acts like the Serpent in the Garden of Eden, tempting others to compromise their values, spreading lies and rumors, weaving a tangled web of deceit and half-truths that serve only to inflame an already dangerous situation.

Soon the powder keg is ready to explode. Thanks to Scarecrow’s machinations, various factions – the Penguin’s men, a rival gang, the Blue Boys, and Batman – all simultaneously converge on the refugee center with the aim of securing the weapons cache. Scarecrow preaches his anti-gospel of fear and despair to the congregation, urging them to take up arms and use lethal force to defend themselves. Hoping to atone for his mistakes and diffuse the crisis peacefully, Fr. Chris tries to intervene but ends up being taken hostage by the criminals. Scarecrow continues to urge violent action, but Batman and Huntress manage to defeat the Penguin’s goons and save the priest.

A gang member who surrenders exposes the Scarecrow as the mastermind behind all these events and a mob forms to lynch Crane for his treachery. In his madness and delusion, Scarecrow is delighted that their fear has driven the refugees to exact revenge. “I am to become a martyr for my own solitary cause! How positively glorious…!”

Forgiveness

At the urging of her confessor, Fr. Papaleo, the Huntress intervenes, telling the people that revenge and hatred will only serve the Scarecrow’s ends. “This is what he wants from you, this is how he wins!”

“There’s great power in our fear!” she continues. “It can be used to fuel hatred, viciousness, yes – but it can also remind us of how much we love those things we fear to be threatened.” Huntress deftly turns the tables on the Scarecrow, directing the thoughts of the people from murder to pity. “He’s such a small man. So afraid. Let us thank him for reminding us how much we still have to lose.”

Moved by her words, the refugees forgive Crane, crowding around the Scarecrow and offering words of peace and reconciliation. Several of them tell Crane that God loves him and that Jesus will save him.

But Jonathan Crane’s heart is too hardened to receive this message. Utterly repulsed and terrified by this display of unconditional love, the Scarecrow freaks out and flees the cathedral. By rejecting the mercy and compassion offered by God and his fellow human beings, Crane has lost everything – even his sense of identity as the Scarecrow – and lives in a hell of his own making.

Faith and forgiveness are powerful antidotes for fear and hatred. In the Gospels, Jesus Christ makes plain that we must love all people, including those who mean us harm. “I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:44-45) At his crucifixion, Jesus put his preaching into practice for all to see, praying for divine mercy on his executioners. “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34) In a time when the United States is riven by interracial tension and partisan political strife, perhaps “Fear of Faith” contains a message we all need to meditate on.