If Batman were real, who do you think his secret identity would be in the real world?: originally appeared on Quora: The best answer to any question. Ask a question, get a great answer. Learn from experts and access insider knowledge. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.
Answer by Ken Miyamoto, Produced screenwriter, former Sony Pictures script reader/story analyst, former Sony Studios liaison
Well, if you're really wanting to stick to the true mythos of Batman, you need the following:
- Wealth
- Inheritance of such wealth (Which cancels out the Zuckerbergs and such)
- A tragic loss of parents
- Suave public persona
- And then yes, good looks, business savvy, and athleticism
So who does that leave us? Well, if we're looking for the best match, then sadly, our real world original Batman died on July 16th, 1999.
John F. Kennedy Jr.
Born November 25th, 1960
- Heir to political and socialite Kennedy family
- Father tragically killed by an assassin(s) on November 22nd, 1963
- Heir to Kennedy fortune which on the record was a share of upwards of600 million, although grandfather Joe Kennedy was very secretive with family fortune, thus there could have been so much more.
- JFK Jr. was once known as America's number one bachelor and certainly New York City's (Gotham) most famous bachelor of all time. Was People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1988, the only person named so who was not a working actor.
- His love life was filled with a plethora of beauties, including the likes of Daryl Hannah, Madonna, Cindy Crawford and Sara Jessica Parker, until he finally married Carolyn Bessette.
- Tragedy. Wealth. Inheritance. Beautiful love interests. Public figure. Business savvy. Athletic. Adventurous.
Possible origin and story arc: After the tragic death of his father, JFK Jr. was deeply affected and haunted. While growing up in the public eye, he secretly studied the Martial Arts and learned the ways of American law. Disgruntled by the political arena of Washington, he relocated to the Gothic city of New York. Here he used the crime ridden back streets of New York City as his training ground as he fought crime in the shadows of dark alleys, fueled by his father's assassination.
By day he was the socialite son, after dusk, he lived by the code of vengeance as The Dark Knight.
One tragic day, JFK Jr. was reported as having died in a plane crash, although this was a cover story created by a media mogul with connections to the mob and to a secret ring of corrupt political villains who were responsible for his father's death.
In his guise as Batman, The Dark Knight, he had slowly unraveled the mystery of his father's demise that fateful November day in Dallas. As he closed in on the secret ring responsible for the assassination, the corrupt powers that be sent out their greatest warriors to destroy him.
Over a rainy night in the back alleys of New York and on the rooftops of its skyscrapers, Batman took them on one by one, defeating them all until one final foe remained. Matching Batman in strength and ability, Batman was thrown into the night off of a towering skyscraper after an epic battle. As authorities came to the scene, the final foe disappeared into the night, thinking he had prevailed over the Batman. Little did he know that the body found by authorities was that of one of Batman's conquests, face destroyed from the fall.
The Dark Knight, seemingly forever handicapped by the wounds from his battles, now lives an anonymous life in an unknown location, watching as the secret ring of corrupt political villains wreak havoc on the country, controlling the seemingly uncontrollable. He waits for the science and technology to repair him so he may once again return and vanquish these men and their heirs who killed his father and forever changed his country.
*This is written with all due respect to JFK Jr. and his family.
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