Batmonk
Sir: To see Antony Lambton competing with John Mortimer over the question of the precise manner in which Batman flies (Books, 30 April) reminds me of the old riddle, 'Do you say the yolk of an egg is white or the yolk of an egg are white?' to which the reply is 'Neither, it is yellow.'
The answer to the question, 'Does Bat- man fly like St Augustine or like an arrow?' is, 'Neither, he drives around with Robin in the Batmobile.' I suspect the confusion arises from the fact that Batman wears his underpants over his tights and leaps around very energetically, thus caus- ing the older generation to confuse him with Superman.
Supes does fly, of course, and from time to time when airborne (in case Mr Mor- timer should ever need a more accurate simile) he adopts all the positions indicated by the angels in Giotto's 'Lamentation' in the chapel at Padua.
Christopher Dunkley
Financial Times, Bracken House, 10 Cannon Street, London EC1
Previous page
