We All Need a Batman The Power of Loyal Friends

Life has challenges and can’t be faced alone, but with the help of faithful and loyal friends, we can make it through. We all need a Batman.

In short: A batman was a soldier assigned to serve and protect an officer through the hardest campaigns. Tolkien’s Samwise Gamgee, Ruth, Jonathan, and Mary of Bethany all show the same loyal, behind-the-scenes love, and in a culture of rugged individualism, we need people like that in our corner for our mental and spiritual health.

They were right there beside me. Where I went, they went. I couldn’t shake them off, and neither would I want to. They saw both my very private moments of despair and the times of victorious success. He was my batman and carried my bat well.

In this post

Before Batman wore a mask: the military batman
Samwise Gamgee and Tolkien’s batmen
Batmen in the Bible: Jonathan, Ruth, and Mary
Being a batman in real life
Have we lost the batman?

Before Batman Wore a Mask: The Military Batman

Long before Batman made his appearance as a comic book caped crusader, some men had a role in military life as a batman to a senior officer. They were essentially a servant to an officer in the army.

The term is derived from the obsolete word ‘bat’, meaning ‘packsaddle’. The batman was in charge of the officer’s ‘bat-horse’, which carried the officer’s kit during a campaign.

A batman’s duties often included:

Acting as a “runner” to convey orders from the officer to subordinates
Maintaining the officer’s uniform and personal equipment as a valet
Driving the officer’s vehicle, sometimes under combat conditions
Acting as the officer’s bodyguard in combat
Digging the officer’s foxhole in combat, giving the officer time to direct his unit
Other miscellaneous tasks the officer did not have time or inclination to do

Learn more about the history of the military batman role.

Samwise Gamgee and Tolkien’s Batmen

J.R.R. Tolkien served as a young officer at the Battle of the Somme in 1916. That place of hellish death and evil was part of the soil out of which he later wrote The Lord of the Rings.

Tolkien later said that his Sam Gamgee was a reflection of the ordinary English soldiers, the privates and batmen he knew in the war, men he recognised as “so far superior to myself.” Tolkien scholar John Garth explores Tolkien’s batmen and Sam Gamgee in more depth.

In the epic story, a small furry-footed hobbit called Frodo is on a mission to rid the world of a powerful ring. Alongside him walks an equally little man named Samwise Gamgee, a batman to his friend.

Sam’s loyalty to Frodo is the loyalty of a batman to his officer.

“Come, Mr. Frodo!” he cried. “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you.” — J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

Batmen in the Bible: Jonathan, Ruth, and Mary

When we look into the biblical hero stories of men and women like you and me, we find batmen.

David had Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:1-4). He also had his mighty men, who would go way beyond the call of duty to serve their leader.

Naomi had a daughter-in-law, Ruth, who declared her loyalty:

“Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried.” — Ruth 1:16-17

Jesus had Mary:

“Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” — John 12:3

What a Batman Sees

There is something special about the truest of batmen and batwomen. They see something beyond the immediate struggle. They see who the other person is becoming. When the one they are serving loses heart, they come alongside and fill up the encouragement tank.

They know that their role is subservient to some higher calling. That there is a mission, and their part to play is backstage. In many ways, a batman is a soul believer who stands by you in the dark.

Being a Batman in Real Life

I’ve been batman to many. I haven’t dug any actual foxholes, but I have provided places for people to come and find shelter from the storms and battles of life.

It Takes Vision

Being a batman means seeing in someone else the battles and challenges they are facing. That takes deep listening.

It Takes Coming Alongside

It means pouring encouragement directly into the soul, the way a mental health champion helps someone see their progress. These are the qualities of people who restore the soul.

For a man: It might well be noticing the remembered movements he is making in his world. He is on a quest, and when he stumbles and falls, you pick him up and tell him to keep going.
For a woman: It might well be noticing the beauty that is contained within her. There is an invitation there to know something of that divine beauty. She gets hurt, used, and wants to hide, but you confirm the beauty and help her to reveal it once more.

Have We Lost the Batman?

In the foolishness of self-individualism, where it’s all about ‘me’ and less about ‘we’, perhaps we have lost the awareness of batmen and batwomen: the faithful Samwise Gamgee, the loyalty of Ruth, and the self-sacrifice of Mary. The truth is, you can’t make it on your own.

Theodore Roosevelt said this in his 1910 speech “Citizenship in a Republic”:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood…” — Theodore Roosevelt, “The Man in the Arena”

For every ‘man in the arena’, there has to be a batman or batwoman in his corner. Someone who will wipe away the dust and sweat and blood. Someone who will give him water and a warm, encouraging pat on the back.

It’s time to acknowledge and endorse the role of Batman and Batwoman and rid Gotham City of despair.

Quotes to Consider

“Real encouragement occurs when words are spoken from a heart of love to another’s recognized fear.” — Larry Crabb
“Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” — often attributed to Albert Camus
“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.” — Henri J.M. Nouwen
“Encouragement has its root in the Latin word cor, which literally means ‘heart’. So does the word courage. To have courage means to have heart. To encourage – to provide with or give courage – literally means to give others heart.” — Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner

Questions to Answer

What are the qualities of a good batman?
What other examples can you think of people in the background who have been batmen?
How do we encourage those who seem to be like batmen?

We All Need a Batman: The Power of Loyal Friendship in Tough Times