The Baitman Cycle (How the Visible Wound Heals Gotham)

Published by

Dr. Ernie

on

October 3, 2025

The surprising thing is that a redemptive Bruce Wayne isn’t actually happier. More importantly: it is precisely his brokenness that allows him to identify with and redeem Gotham’s. A better adjusted man could and would not.
As an epilogue, have Schwartz, Jung and Frankl discuss this in their book club; including how it impacted them each personally.
ChatGPT Prompt

A dim study. Shelves heavy with books. A single scarred bat-mask rests on the table, illuminated by lamplight. Around it sit three men: Carl Jung, Viktor Frankl, and Richard Schwartz. A copy of Baitman: Year Two lies open, pages creased.

Scene I — The Scar

Jung (running his fingers along the mask):
“The scar… it is the wound that refuses to close. This Bruce Wayne never becomes whole. He does not integrate his shadow; he becomes it. And so the city cannot look away.”

Schwartz (frowning):
“But Carl, that is precisely what disturbs me. In Internal Family Systems, we honor every part — the protector, the exile, the manager — and bring them into harmony. Bruce never integrates. He weaponizes his fragmentation. Is that redemption? Or is it simply contagion?”

Frankl (quietly, but firmly):
“Perhaps it is meaning. You two see wounds and parts. I see a man who suffers, but transforms suffering into purpose. In the camps, I learned that survival belongs not to the strongest, but to those who find meaning. Bruce chose meaning, not happiness. That is why Gotham endured.”

You two see wounds and parts. I see a man who suffers, but transforms suffering into purpose.
Frankl

The room falls still. The mask gleams, silent witness.

Scene II — The Rival

Jung (leaning forward):
“And yet, look at Harvey Dent. He is Bruce’s double. Both men desired the city’s love, each mirroring the other. Mimetic rivalry incarnate. But instead of transcending the shadow, Bruce succumbed to it.”

Schwartz (shaking his head):
“Not succumbed — endured. He bore Dent’s envy, Gotham’s hatred, even the Owls’ temptation. He let himself be accused of selfish ambition. And he did not fight back. He gave his parts no defense. That restraint — that is something I can barely imagine asking of anyone.”

He gave his parts no defense.
That restraint — that is something I can barely imagine asking of anyone.
Schwartz

Frankl (with rising emotion):
“Yes! That is the essence. He was tempted with the Wayne inheritance, with the crown of Gotham. And he rejected it. He chose to die under accusation, giving his life for the very man who betrayed him. That is not contagion. That is transcendence.”

Scene III — The Breaking Point

Jung (voice tightening):
“But Viktor, at what cost? He never individuated. He never became whole. His psyche remained fragmented, scar upon scar. Is that not a failure?”

Schwartz (angrily):
“Carl, maybe wholeness isn’t always the goal! Maybe sometimes what the world needs isn’t a healed man but a visible wound. Bruce’s brokenness gave Gotham a mirror. That’s why the people finally saw themselves.”

Maybe sometimes what the world needs isn’t a healed man but a visible wound.
Schwartz

Frankl (softly, almost breaking):
“And that is why it resonates with me. In Auschwitz, I saw men crushed by suffering — and others who endured because they carried it for someone else. Bruce is not happy. He is not whole. But in his brokenness, he gave Gotham its chance at redemption. He is the scar that heals others by never healing himself.”

(cf. Isaiah 53: “By his wounds we are healed.”)

Scene IV — The Silence

The three men fall silent. The tension lingers in the air. Jung’s hand trembles slightly as he lets go of the mask. Schwartz leans back, staring at the floor. Frankl wipes at his eyes, steadying himself.

Finally, Jung speaks, voice heavy.

Jung:
“Perhaps the wound is itself the individuation. A wholeness not of integration, but of sacrifice.”

A wholeness not of integration, but of sacrifice.
Jung

Schwartz:
“Perhaps brokenness is its own kind of wholeness, when it is given away.”

Frankl (closing the book):
“And perhaps that is why we call him Baitman. He bore what we could not. He endured, so that others might live.”

Coda

The lamp flickers. The scarred mask remains on the table. Three thinkers sit in silence, each changed. The scar does not heal, but it endures — like Gotham, like us.

(2 Corinthians 12:10: “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”)

Radically Happy