Je Suis La Nuit

When a character becomes an icon, they are likely to spawn imitators. Some may dress the same, some may sound the same, but once in a while the imitator springs beyond imitation and represents the core of one symbol. This week's Z-Lister is Nightrunner, Le Batman of France.

Created by David Hine and Kyle Higgins and first appearing in "Detective Comics Annual #12" in 2011, Bilal Asselah was a French-Algerian living in France where he was raised by his single mother. When he was sixteen, he and his best friend Aarif were caught in the middle of a French-Muslim protest and beaten by police officers. After they recovered, Aarif gave Bilal the music of a French-Muslim performer. Her songs represented the Muslim culture of France. That night Aarif set fire to a police station and was gunned down. From then on, Bilal refused to take either sides of the French-Muslim argument and took inspiration from the American hero "Batman" to become a symbol both sides could aspire to be. He became a figure free of racial or religious background, a beloved mascot of justice by the people of France, Bilal became The Nightrunner. Using his years of parkour training, he quickly rose to be the watchful eye over oppression and injustice.

Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson invite Nightrunner to be part of "Batman Incorporated"-an international group of Batmen-when he helps the duo rescue the Muslim performer from assassins. After that, Bruce gives Bilal all the tools he needs to fight crime and Dick stays in France to further train Bilal. Though he saw the people of his city reject him, Bilal never quit being Nightrunner because he still saw some members of the community looking up to him. During Batman Incorporated's battle against the group called Leviathan, Bilal is one of two Batmen brainwashed by the enemy group. While he recovered from this, it is unknown if Bilal returned to his role as The Nightrunner.

Nightrunner represents the idea that no matter what background you come from or what kind of world you live in, you too can aspire to be something better. Muslim, French, American or whatever, anyone can look to Nightrunner and know he's doing the right thing. When it comes to race and protest, I stand on the belief that everyone should be aware of perspective. We see a group of people of evil, but that is our perspective. They see us as evil, and that is their perspective. Symbols like Batman and Nightrunner don't care about perspective, they care only about the lives of others. No sides, no Gods, just men keeping their fellow men safe. Nightrunner's background, skill-set, and costume are all unique to him. In his story lies the potential of a great hero and I hope to see someone pick up where the story left off.

Thanks for reading!

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