Saturday, July 19, 2008

Every night, Zach Marfin enters his room and furtively closes the door behind him to be alone with what's inside.

The 20-year-old does this to be with Batman -- to become Batman. Inside his room, the image of the iconic superhero is plastered everywhere: the walls, the carpeting, his pillow case. Everywhere.

"You all want to see the Bat Cave?" Marfin of Penn Hills asks as he opens the door. "You all want to see my Wayne Manor?"

Today is a day Marfin and other local Batman fans have anticipated for months, even years: "The Dark Knight" hits theaters. The movie, starring Christian Bale as Batman and the late Heath Ledger as The Joker, is director Christopher Nolan's second crack at spearheading the series.

Batmaniacs are uniting in Pittsburgh and across the country to rejoice in the opening and bask in the attention their hero is getting.

"It's like a holiday," said Todd McDevitt, owner of New Dimension Comics, which has stores throughout the region. "This is as important to them as anything. They're taking days off, planning their week, their month around (the opening). It's crazy."

For some, it's a secret obsession. They might have a pair of Batman boxers, or a key chain.

Marfin, however -- "Batzman" to his friends -- isn't one of those people. His fanaticism reaches far beyond his bedroom's doorway.

Tattooed on his back is a giant outline of a bat. His belt buckle, rings and T-shirts are adorned with the Batman symbol. From his ears hang a pair of metal earrings that look like vampire stakes.

"Batman is my god," said Marfin, a plumber for Restano, a heating and plumbing business. "I live and breathe Batman. Everything I do, I think about Batman.

"People think I'm strange, but like Batman says, 'You always fear what you don't understand.' "

The Dark Knight's symbol, a black bat on a yellow background, isn't a childhood fantasy to Marfin -- it's an objective.

"One day, I will be Batman."

No joke.

"I want to build a real suit," he said. "Right now, I'm getting a bulletproof vest (made), and once I get this suit, I'll be atop the UPMC Building looking out."

By the light of his bedside lamp he reads "The Batman Handbook: The Ultimate Training Manual" at night, to learn how to handle any situation as Batman.

His mother, Amy Marfin, just rolls her eyes. "That's my Zachary," she said.

When Marfin began romping about the house in a cape and cowl at age 4, Amy Marfin, 43, said she realized she could never stand between something her son loves so dearly.

"We don't rationalize it," she said. "At least it's a positive thing, and he's not idolizing an ax murderer."