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Deconstructing Sasha Bordeaux
Bridget Haines
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| April 9, 2002 |
This month I want to take a look at a comparison
of Sasha Bordeaux and Bruce Wayne/Batman.
They are frighteningly similar people on
the most basic level, though of course there
is a great deal of difference in the manner
in which their basic traits are presented
to the world in general.
Like the hard-headed, no punches pulled Bat,
she has no qualms about outright telling
someone when they are doing something that
she believes isn't right. She is one of the
few members of the Batcrew prior to Bruce
Wayne's escape from prison, who has had the
guts to tell him when he's wrong, and the
tenacity to stick it out through the looming
anger of the man each and every time. He's
growled at her, yelled at her, smashed coffee
cups, and done everything in his power to
drive her out (including purposely rubbing
Vesper in her face), but Sasha has remained
by his side and in his corner. Yes she loves
him, but its more than that. She BELIEVES
in him. I don't care how smitten I may be
with a guy, he does not get threatening around
me or try purposely and obviously to hurt
my feelings and still remain in my good graces,
so love isn't enough to overcome his behaviors
in my eyes.
Sasha believes in what Batman does. In a
lot of ways his nighttime duty is the same
thing she has done in her daytime career
as a bodyguard. He protects the people he
feels responsible for, in his case it just
happens to be all of Gotham, and instead
of wearing a suit and carrying a pistol,
he wears a cape and runs across rooftops.
Failure is not an option for either of them.
They would both die before they willingly
let a charge be hurt or killed. In this case,
Sasha's charge happens to be Batman, who,
as a protector of the people of Gotham, cannot
allow his own protector to be harmed. Quite
a quandary isn't it? Rather than have to
arm wrestle over who gets to jump in front
of a bullet in any given situation to protect
the other, Batman trained Sasha to cover
his back, while he does his job. They became
a team, and one with an enormous amount of
potential (If anyone from DC is reading this,
take note. Greg Rucka has laid a foundation
for what could easily become Batwoman. Yes
Batwoman. I like the idea, and I am not the
only one. There is a pretty large fan base
out there for our Sasha, and several people
have brought up the idea of her taking on
the role of Batwoman. We like it. The Batcrew
needs a blonde!)
But, back to the issue at hand, a further
comparison of the two characters beyond the
similarity in their jobs. We cannot compare
their histories, as Sasha, from our viewpoint,
is almost devoid of a past. We know she was
a secret service agent, but that is pretty
much the extent of our glimpse into her past.
We don't even know how long ago she was a
government employee, or who she was assigned
to guard prior to Bruce Wayne. We are left
to compare their behaviors in the brief time
we have gotten to know Sasha.
Keep it all inside: Sasha suffers from the same syndrome Batman
does. Though both are outspoken and straightforward
on matters of business, neither one is willing
to discuss their emotions. Sasha loves him,
but she bottles that up inside, unwilling
to let it deter her in her job of protecting
him, unwilling to let it drive a wedge between
them which might prevent her from protecting
her charge. Much the same, Bruce has always
stumbled with affection, unable to display
it to Dick even during the adoption process.
Those who know him just take it for granted
that he cares and is unable to show it.
Business before pleasure: We have never seen Sasha kick back and
watch TV, go out for a pizza, see a movie
or meet up with friends. Since her assignment
as Bruce Wayne's bodyguard, she has never
let that slip save for her small moment of
bringing him a little Christmas cheer. Whether
he is in the guise of Bruce or the Bat, she
is equally vigilant, and equally on task
as bodyguard or vigilante. As for Bruce,
well, when was the last time anyone saw him
kick back other than Christmas with Sasha?
Even when he was out on a date with Vesper,
he was really trying to dig at how far her
investigation of Batman had gotten.
Loyalty: Batman does not turn his back on people
when they need him (at least not prior to
the strange behaviors he has exhibited during
BW:M? AND BW:F! ). He stood vigilant over
Jim Gordon's bedside when he was shot. He
helped Catwoman get treatment for the toxin
Scarecrow injected her with. He worked with
his influence as Bruce Wayne to get Gotham,
rebuilt after No Man's Land. He used that
same influence to get the incident of Barbara
Gordon shooting a federal agent glossed over.
Though he may seem distant, or as if he doesn't
care at times, when the chips are down, he
supports people. Even risking his ID as Batman
to help Superman get Lex Luthor's Kryptonite
ring away from the president. Sasha has shown
the depths of her loyalty to Bruce throughout
her ordeal of the arrest, interrogation,
and incarceration due to the murder of Vesper
Fairchild. Even with her own small doubts
(later washed away), she has kept her mouth
shut, and kept his secret, at risk of going
to prison for the rest of her life (or the
electric chair!). That kind of devotion and
loyalty is easily on par with the Dark Knight's.
Although there are many other similarities
between them, and no doubt equal number of
differences, it makes it easy to see why
Sasha and Bruce mesh well together in the
pages of Detective Comics, and other Bat
Books. One can only hope that the writers
recognize this, and maintain the integrity
of both characters in the future.
~B.
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