Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing

The superhero Batman is a recurring motif in Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. Perry first refers to the character at the end of the Prologue, cryptically claiming, “Also, I’m Batman” (11). The author explains his identification with the superhero later in the memoir, when he describes imagining his father as Superman and himself as Batman. The roleplay illustrates Perry’s idolization of the father he rarely sees and his childlike desire to be heroic and invincible.

In the Interlude entitled “Matman,” the author plays on the motif of Batman. Describing his misidentification of two ordinary citizens as famous movie directors, Perry humorously emphasizes how far he falls from demonstrating the superpowers of Batman. Meanwhile, in the Interlude “Holes,” Perry personifies his addiction as embodying the Joker’s nihilistic desire to “see the whole world burn,” suggesting that Batman’s enemy is akin to his own (136). Finally, Perry names his concluding chapter “Batman” to suggest that, by achieving sobriety, he has eventually discovered his inner superhero. In the concluding line, he advises anyone in a crisis to consider “What would Batman do?” (250).