Batman
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- For other uses, see Batman (disambiguation).
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The comic book character Batman, originally and still sometimes referred to as The Batman, is a fictional character and superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. Although the character was cocreated by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, only Kane receives official credit for the character. Batman was, at first, just one of several characters featured in Detective Comics. He has since become the lead or co-lead character of a number of comic book series, including a family of titles featuring related characters (e.g. Robin, Batgirl). Batman and Superman are DC Comics' two most popular and recognizable characters.
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Creation and publication
In early 1939, the success of Superman in Action Comics prompted editors at the comic book division of National Publications (later DC Comics, now a subsidiary of Time Warner) to request more superheroes for their titles. In response, Bob Kane created a character called "Birdman". His collaborator Bill Finger offered such suggestions as renaming the character "Batman", giving the character a cowl instead of a simple domino mask, giving him a cape instead of wings, giving him gloves, and removing bright red sections of the original costume. Finger wrote the first Batman story, while Kane provided art. Because Kane had already submitted the proposal for a Batman character to his editors at DC Comics, Kane was the only person given official credit at the time for the creation of Batman.
A number of other sources have been cited as inspirations for Batman's personality, character history, and visual design and equipment, including Zorro, Doc Savage, The Shadow, 1926's The Bat, The Phantom, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Douglas Fairbanks, Superman, Dick Tracy, and even the technical drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci.
The character was a breakout hit, with sales on Detective soaring to the point that National's comic book division was renamed "Detective Comics, Inc." Soon after, National suggested that the violence be toned down, and that the character receive a youthful sidekick whom the readers could use as an audience surrogate. Kane initially suggested an impish character like Puck, while Finger suggested a more down-to-earth character, Robin. The Batman and Robin team was a hit, and the character soon gelled into the hero that generations of readers and pop culture fans would come to recognize.
Kane, the more business-savvy of the Kane-Finger creative team, negotiated a contract with National, signing away any ownership that he might have in the character in exchange for, among other compensations, a mandatory byline on all Batman comics stating "Batman created by Bob Kane", regardless of whether or not Kane had been involved with that story. At the time, no comic books and few company-owned comic strips were explicitly credited to their creative teams. Bill Finger's contract, by comparison, left him with a monetary pittance and no credit even on the stories that he wrote without Kane. Finger, like Joe Shuster, Jerry Siegel, and many other creators during and after the Golden Age of Comic Books, would resent National for cheating him of the money and dignity that he was owed for his creation. By the time Finger died in 1974, he had never once been officially credited for his work. In comparison, Kane parlayed his official sole creator status into a low level of celebrity, enjoying a post-comic book career as a painter. Ironically, much of Kane's later comics work, and even some of his non-comics art, was written or illustrated by other, uncredited writers or artists, ghosting under Kane's name.
Character overview and history
Origin
In the Batman mythos, Batman is the alter-ego of Bruce Wayne, a billionaire industrialist and philanthropist who was driven to fight crime after his parents, the physician Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha Wayne, were murdered before his eyes at the age of eight. The identity of the mugger traditionally is known as the small-time criminal Joe Chill, though some versions have deviated from that (the 1989 Tim Burton movie Batman presented the Joker as the killer of Wayne's parents, while Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins sticks with Joe Chill). In the present comics continuity, the killer's identity was never found. In the comics and animated series, medical doctor and social worker Leslie Thompkins was there to give loving comfort to the traumatized Bruce. Depending on the adaptation, he was then raised on the Wayne Manor estate by uncle Philip Wayne and/or wise and loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth.
Bruce Wayne swore an oath to rid the city of the evil that had taken his parents' lives. He spent his youth traveling the world, training himself to intellectual and physical perfection and learning a variety of crime-fighting skills, including criminology, forensics, martial arts, gymnastics, and disguise. At age 14, Bruce Wayne began his global sojourn, attending courses at Cambridge, the Sorbonne, and other European universities. Beyond academia, Bruce acquired more "practical" skills. While abroad, Bruce learned all 127 major styles of combat, from Aikido to Yaw-Yan. Frenchman Henri Ducard made him an apprentice in manhunting. The ninja Kirigi schooled Bruce in stealth and the ways of the shadow warrior. African Bushmen taught hunting techniques, while Nepalese monks revealed healing arts. (In the film Batman Begins, he conducted his studies at Princeton University in New Jersey as a young adult, and learns jujitsu, ninjitsu, and multiple forms of kung-fu from Henri Ducard, who is depicted as Ra's al Ghul's right-hand man.) He even studied ventriloquism from practitioners of the art. And so it went for 12 years as Bruce matured into manhood. His knowledge of so many varied disciplines has made Bruce an unconventional and unpredictable opponent. After returning to Gotham in his mid-twenties, Wayne made several harrowing and near-fatal forays into the world of crime-fighting before donning his now familiar costume that was in part inspired by another tragic accident of his life that would have a profound impact on who he would become — at the age of six, he fell down a cavern, located beneath Wayne Manor (later to become the Batcave), that was swarming with bats, nocturnal creatures, wherein he was forever haunted by the event despite the timely arrival of his father.
The Dark Knight
In keeping with the "dark" theme of the comics and the nature of bats, Batman is usually presented as operating only at night. In recent comics, the idea was introduced of Batman being an urban legend and not believed by the denizens of Gotham City to actually exist; however, this notion is contradicted by various previous stories that indicate otherwise. In order to make up for this flaw in continuity Batman was recently "outed" in War Games, a story that stretched across all Batman titles, when his live image was broadcast over the news when had made a brief appearance during the day in front of a violence-overtaken high school in Gotham.
Whenever he is needed, the Gotham City police activate a "Bat-Signal" (a searchlight with a bat-shaped insignia over the lens) that shines into the night sky (in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, the Bat-Signal is used as much to enhance the terror effect of Batman on criminal elements as a signal). He operates out of the Batcave located at Wayne Manor, which contains all of his gadgets, weapons, and other paraphernalia.
An important part of the mythos is that although Batman is commonly referred to as a Superhero; unlike Superman and most other costumed heroes; he is a normal human being who does not possess any superhuman abilities. However, he has elevated himself to near-superhuman status through years of rigorous training - eventually he became an exceptional escape artist, master of martial arts, acrobatics, science, technology, boxing, disguises, criminology and detective skills. Batman is typically portrayed as a brilliant tactician and peerless martial-artist, possessed with a stoic personality and a strong desire for justice. In recent comics, Batman has often been presented as having an obsessive, humorless personality. Like Superman, the prominent persona of his dual identities has varied with time. Present comics seem to favor portraying the decadent playboy aspect of his character as the facade, while the masked and particularly dark, grim vigilante is marked as the "true" man. Usually, Batman is further separated from Bruce Wayne by the raspy voice he usually assumes while costumed. (Except for Adam West's smooth baritone from the TV series.)
Being only human, Batman doesn't have any unusual personal physical strengths or weaknesses, like Superman's weakness to kryptonite, but has character flaws that can be exploited by enemies. In recent comics, Batman is shown as being vastly paranoid by nature and tending to not trust other heroes beyond those he has known for years, like Superman or Robin. Batman, also in recent comics in particular, has a deep mistrust in metahumans, similar to that of Lex Luthor, and is very suspicious of Supergirl and Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) especially. This often causes conflicts among his peers, who wonder what measures he has taken against them (eg. the recently discovered OMAC project). Some enemies have used this to isolate him and play games with him. Batman (as recent comics portray him) is also very arrogant and treats many of his allies with a hint of disrespect, being that he is often the smartest person involved. He also sometimes overestimates his own abilities and allows foes to take advantage of that. All of these traits are a reversal of more traditional (pre-1990s) portrayals of Batman, which usually tend to show him as more willing to work with others, much less paranoid, and more trustful/respectful of his allies.
Batman is indeed a brilliant detective, criminal scientist, tactician, and commander; he is widely regarded as the keenest analytical mind on the planet and possesses an eidetic memory. His most lasting and popular stories have almost without exception been ones where he has displayed intelligence, cunning, and planning to outwit his foes, rather than merely out-fighting them. His deductive skills put him on par with Sherlock Holmes, and in several stories he has even met the "Great Detective" himself, proving himself to be a worthy successor to Holmes. Batman is the mastermind behind the Justice League of America, offering brains and tactical skills to guide the raw power of the other members of the team. In this capacity, he is often seen as the antithesis of Superman as aforementioned; in older comics, the two were close friends, while in current comics, the two share an uneasy friendship. At the start of Grant Morrison's run on the Justice League, it is revealed that Superman considers Batman "the most dangerous man on Earth". He has also been briefly affiliated with other superhero teams, including a short-lived team he founded in the 1980s called "The Outsiders".
Bruce Wayne
To the world at large, Bruce Wayne is an irresponsible, superficial playboy who lives off his family's personal fortune and the profits of Wayne Enterprises, a major private technological firm that he has inherited. However, Wayne is also known for his contributions to charity, notably through the Wayne Foundation, a foundation devoted to helping the victims of crime and preventing people from turning to it.
Secret identity
Wayne guards his secret identity well, as only a handful of individuals know of his superhero alter-ego, including Superman (Clark Kent), Wonder Woman (Diana), The Flash III (Wally West), Green Lanterns John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, and Alan Scott, Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brien), Aquaman (Orin/Arthur Curry), Green Arrow (Oliver "Ollie" Queen), Nightwing (Dick Grayson), Robin III (Tim Drake), Oracle (Barbara Gordon), and his butler Alfred. In the films, the female lead usually learns of Batman's identity, because more often than not, she likes both of them. However, several villains have discovered his true identity over the years, most notably eco-terrorist Ra's Al Ghul, Hugo Strange, the Riddler, Catwoman and Bane. Of recent, the villain Hush has been mostly driven on revenge on both sides of the Batman/Bruce Wayne persona, and is noted throughout his run as a villain as having personal ties to Bruce Wayne and/or Batman; yet it is not yet clear who Hush is, therefore it is is unclear who else knows of Bruce's other identity. Fortunately, most of Batman's enemies have dismissed the notion of Bruce Wayne as Batman because of Wayne's apparent dim-wittedness and self-absorption while the ones who do know prefer to keep the information to themselves for their own reasons. The Joker has had opportunities to learn himself, but refused them since it would personally rob the mystique of his enemy.
Gotham City
Batman's base of operations is Gotham City, a fictional city modeled primarily after New York City; In some of the early comics it is called New York. It specifically emphasizes a "dark side," in contrast to the modern, futuristic feel of Superman's Metropolis.
Equipment, vehicles and weapons
Bruce designs the costumes, equipment, and vehicles he uses as Batman, which are produced by a secret military division of Wayne Industries. Over the years he has accumulated a large arsenal of specialized gadgets (compare with the later James Bond). The designs of most of Batman's equipment share a common theme of dark coloration with a bat motif. A prime example is Batman's car, the Batmobile, often depicted as an imposing black car with large tail fins that suggest a bat's wings; another is his chief throwing weapon, the batarang, a bat-shaped boomerang. In proper practice, the "bat" prefix (as in batmobile or batarang) is no longer used by Batman himself when referring to his equipment, especially as this has been stretched to camp in some portrayals (namely the 1960s Batman live-action television show and the Super Friends animated series). The 1960s live-action television show arsenal included such ridiculous, satirical "bat-" names as a bat-computer, bat-rope, bat-scanner, bat-radar, bat-handcuffs, bat-phone, bat-bat, bat-pontoons, bat-drinking water dispenser, bat-camera with polarized bat-filter, shark repellent bat-spray, bat-funnel, alphabet soup bat-container, and emergency bat-turn lever.
Batman keeps most of his personal field equipment in a signature piece of apparel, a yellow utility belt. Over the years it has contained items such as plastic explosives, nerve toxins, batarangs, smoke bombs, a fingerprint kit, a cutting tool, a grappling hook gun, a "re-breather" breathing device, and a shard of kryptonite, "just in case." In some of his early appearances, Batman used sidearms (see especially Detective Comics #32, September 1939), but since that time, he has eschewed their use because his parents were murdered by a gunman. Some stories have relaxed this rule to allow Batman to arm his vehicles for purposes of disabling other vehicles or removing inanimate obstacles.
Costume
The costume may have been inspired by a Halloween "bat-suit" worn by his father before his death, and was also certainly influenced by both Wayne's conviction that criminals are a "superstitious, cowardly lot" and his own fear of bats. The details of the Batman costume have changed repeatedly through the character's evolution, but the most distinctive elements have remained consistent: a dark scalloped hem cape, with a cowl covering most of his face, with a pair of pointed ears suggesting those of a bat, and a stylized bat emblem on his chest. His gloves also typically feature three fins that protrude from the sides of each glove, presumably depictive of bat's wings. In Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins, these fins are portrayed as metal blades doubling as weapons, derivative of his training with Ra's Al Ghul's organization. The most noticeable costume variations include a "yellow elliptical" bat-emblem vs. no ellipse, lighter colors (medium blue and light gray) vs. darker (black and dark gray), a bulky utility belt vs. a streamlined belt, and a long-eared cowl vs. short-eared. The development of Kevlar, Spectra and other types of body armor has prompted some modern creators to make Batman's costume or parts of the costume bullet-proof. In Frank Miller's seminal work The Dark Knight Returns, Miller explains that the yellow ellipse is used to attract gunfire to Batman's chest, where his armor is heaviest.
When faced with difficult or vastly strong opponents (Frank Miller's Superman in The Dark Knight Returns, Alex Ross's gulag prisoners in Kingdom Come and Predator in Batman vs. Predator)) writers do not hesitate to arm Batman with a battle suit of armor. Merchandising variants of his costume have exploited Batman's occasional need to fit him with a suit to match his challenge (ex: Batman's fire-proof suit against Firefly).
In the earliest Batman stories of Detective Comics, the costume features a few curiosities before it evolved in to its more or less standard style. The first gloves were ordinary looking, and lacked any sort of scalloped fins or other stylings, and only came to the wrists. A few issues later the gloves became longer, and by 1940 the familiar fins/scallops were added to the gloves. On a curious sidenote, the second Batman adventure featured the character wearing no gloves at all. Another early curiosity was the cape, which at times seemed to attach to Batman's arms, giving it a more wing-like look. The costume is also occasionally seen with a holster, as Batman sometimes carried a pistol in those days.
Also known as
Nicknames for Batman include the Dark Knight, the Caped Crusader, the Masked Manhunter, and the World's Greatest Detective; when teamed with his sidekick Robin, The Boy Wonder, the two are nicknamed the Dynamic Duo, and with sidekicks Robin and Batgirl the Terrific Trio.
"Matches" Malone is Batman's civilian guise. When Batman needs an underworld human face, he becomes "Matches" Malone.
Evolution of the concept
In Batman's earliest comics, Batman stories were often presented in a tone closer to that of pulp fiction stories of the day, with a particularly grim emphasis; a few stories even present Batman making use of firearms, as well as showing little remorse over an enemy's death. The body count in the first dozen or so published Batman stories is quite high, with Batman breaking necks, throwing men off buildings to their deaths, and even committing one act of cold-blooded murder when he kills a thug from behind in the first "Dr. Death" story.
In 1940, the introduction of Robin changed this tone, with Batman becoming a less grim character. During the 1940s, Batman continued to go on various cases, meeting foes such as the Penguin, Scarecrow and Riddler for the first time. Batman also went on a few cases as a member of the Justice Society of America. Noteworthy stories of this era include 1940's Batman #1 (with the simultaneous debuts of Batman foes Catwoman and the Joker) and Batman #47 (1948), where Batman finally encountered Joe Chill, the man who shot his parents.
In 1952's Superman (1st series) #76, Batman first teamed up with Superman and learned his secret identity; following the success of this story, the separate Batman and Superman features that had been running in World's Finest Comics were combined into one feature featuring both Superman and Batman together; this series of stories ran until the book's cancellation in 1986. The stories featured Superman and Batman as close friends and allies, tackling threats that required both of their talents.
The Silver Age of comic books is generally marked by comic book historians to have begun when DC comics re-created a number of its superhero titles during the 1950s. Starting in the mid-1950s, Batman's stories gradually became more and more outlandish and science fiction oriented in tone, an apparent attempt at mimicking the success of the top-selling Superman comics of the time. Batman received all manner of new characters such as Batwoman, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Bat-Mite (the latter two paralleling Krypto the Superdog and Mr. Mxyzptlk of the Superman titles). Batman also began having various adventures involving either odd transformations or dealing with bizarre space aliens. Batman was a highly public figure during the stories of the 1950s as well, regularly appearing at such events as charity functions, and also frequently appearing in broad daylight. In 1960, Batman also became a member of the Justice League of America as shown in its debut issue in The Brave and the Bold #28.
Editor Julius Schwartz presided over the drastic changes made to a number of DC's comic book characters, including Batman in 1964's Detective Comics #327. Schwartz introduced a myriad of changes designed to make Batman more contemporary and return him to his detective roots, including a redesign of Batman's equipment, the Batmobile, and his costume (introducing the yellow oval behind the costume's bat-insignia), as well as bringing in artist Carmine Infantino to help in this makeover. The previous decade's worth of space aliens and characters such as Batwoman, Ace, and Bat-Mite were also retired in this makeover. This makeover soon became known as the "New Look" Batman, with Batman being returned to his dark and mysterious roots, giving rise to the version of the character that most modern fans are familiar with.
For the next twenty-five years, Batman was the mysterious, dark avenger of the night, though the popularity of the Batman TV series of the 1960s overshadowed the comic books considerably. A plethora of writers and artists took the Caped Crusader on a number of interesting adventures; high points of the comic book series include the Ra's Al Ghul storyline, written by Dennis O'Neil and drawn by Neal Adams who established the modern look of the character, and a late 1970s brief eight-issue run of Detective Comics written by Steve Englehart that many fans considered to be the definitive Batman. The classic Joker story "The Laughing Fish" was written by Englehart. In 1969, Batman's longtime partner Dick Grayson (Robin) was sent off to college, making Batman a largely solo character again for the first time since Robin's 1940 debut.
Batman continued through the 1970s and early 1980s to make appearances with Superman in World's Finest, the Justice League in Justice League of America, and with various other DC characters in his own teamup title, The Brave and the Bold.
Writer Frank Miller grounded Batman firmly in his grim and gritty roots with the comic book miniseries The Dark Knight Returns (1986), which takes place in an alternate future, and 1987's storyline Batman: Year One, the latter designed to rewrite Batman's origin in a similar manner to the rewritten origins Superman and Wonder Woman received at that time. Unlike those two characters, however, much, though not all, of Batman's previously written stories remained canonical.
In both Year One and The Dark Knight Returns, Batman's story runs parallel to that of Jim Gordon. In Year One, Gordon has not yet become the police commissioner, and is instead a middle-aged cop with a shady past working to redeem himself amidst Gotham's corrupt police force, while Bruce Wayne learns the ropes as a costumed avenger. In The Dark Knight Returns, Gordon is seventy, and is forced into mandatory retirement from his post as police commissioner while Wayne returns from retirement as Batman. These stories gave Gordon's character a depth he had seldom achieved before. The Dark Knight Returns served to boost sales and interest for mainstream comic books, particularly superhero comics, as its popularity was nothing short of phenomenal. It allowed Batman finally to shed the image of a campy, clownish character for which he was still known, and it also helped to raise the image of comic books so that they were no longer known solely as a form of children's entertainment. The Dark Knight Returns and stories following it (such as John Byrne's Superman origin rewrite) also severed the friendly relationship of Batman and Superman, replacing it with a more antagonistic one (the title World's Finest Comics, with its series of Superman-Batman teamups, was cancelled around this same time).
Miller's stories have set the tone for the franchise, including Tim Burton's Batman movies, Warner Bros' 1990s animated series (created by Bruce Timm), and the ongoing comic book series, and have served to inspire imitators both on the Batman franchise and on numerous other superhero comic books.
Batman: Year One was also significant in that it cemented the concept of Year One, an early period during which Bruce Wayne was still a relatively inexperienced crimefighter and Batman had yet to become an established figure in Gotham. Since the original publication of Year One, many creators - notably Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale in their miniseries Batman: The Long Halloween (a follow-up to Year One) and Batman: Dark Victory - have set their stories in this era, and is the most popular sequels by fans. Others included "Batman: Year Two" in which Batman encounters Gotham's first vigilante, "The Reaper" and forms an uneasy alliance with his parents' killer, Joe Chill. The most recent sequel to Year One is "Batman: The Man Who Laughs", which follows Batman's first encounter with the Joker. The Batman title Legends of the Dark Knight in particular often features stories that take place during Year One.
The Year One Batman is characterized by his ongoing learning process, somewhat more down-to-earth approach to challenges, underdeveloped relationship with Gotham's government, lack of connections to the rest of the superhero community, and less developed technological equipment, as well as a somewhat different costume, which notably lacks the yellow oval around the bat emblem on his chest. This version of Batman is the basis for the 2005 film Batman Begins.
Many people consider the most controversial Batman story to be Alan Moore's late 1980s story Batman: The Killing Joke, in which the Joker crippled Barbara Gordon by shooting her in the stomach, which injured her spine and paralyzed her from the waist down. Immediately afterwards, he kidnapped Commissioner Gordon with the intent of torturing him to death or into insanity. The story led to Barbara Gordon having to give up her career as Batgirl and eventually taking the identity and role of Oracle.
Batman's stories continued to take a similar tone to Miller's stories through the rest of the decade and into the 1990s, with Batman portrayed with an increasingly humorless personality as the 1990s wore on. After 1994's Zero Hour storyline, the ideas of Batman as not having caught his parent's killer and of being an urban legend were introduced, both meant to make Batman into an even darker and more driven character (though such changes have met with criticism from some fans). Noteworthy stories of this period also include the death of Batman's second sidekick to bear the name of Robin, Jason Todd; a new Robin, Tim Drake, took over the role of Robin several years later.
Love interests
Batman has had many romantic relationships with various female characters throughout his years fighting crime. The following characters do not include the various female hangers-on that Bruce has employed to maintain his image as a playboy.
In the earliest Batman comics, Bruce Wayne dates the often-imperiled Julie Madison. The two eventually separate and Julie weds into European royalty, much in the manner of Grace Kelly. In Batman and Robin, Elle MacPherson plays Julie, though the character seems to have little in common with her comic book self. The character adds little to the plot, though many of her scenes were edited out of the film's final cut.
In several 1950s stories, Vicki Vale, a reporter for the Gotham Gazette newspaper, was shown as an occasional romantic interest of Batman. Vale appeared as a character in Tim Burton's first Batman feature film, portrayed by Kim Basinger.
His most well known romance is with Selina Kyle, alias Catwoman. Catwoman has fought Batman on various occasions, yet the two share a mutual attraction to each other. Formerly a jewel thief, Catwoman is now an antihero who defends Gotham City's East End with the help of Dr. Leslie Thompkins. In pre-Crisis continuity, the Earth-Two versions of Batman and Catwoman were shown to have married in the 1950s, and later Selina gave birth to a daughter, Helena Wayne (alias The Huntress) in 1957. Batman and Catwoman became romantically involved during the Hush story arc of Batman. Batman ended the relationship because he was unsure if Catwoman had been a willing participant in Hush's plot. Even when the spark between them rekindled in Crisis of Conscience, the Dark Knight couldn't be sure of Selina's love for him, because of his suspicions that Selina's reformation could be a result of a personality-altering mindwipe by Zatanna. Batman Returns featured Bruce and Selina's romance; she was portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer.
A storyline in the late 1970s featured Silver St. Cloud, who managed to deduce the secret of Bruce Wayne's alter ego, but she couldn't handle being involved with someone in such a dangerous line of work. The two parted ways; a 2005 miniseries features a return appearance of Silver St. Cloud.
Another major woman in Batman's life is Talia al Ghul, the daughter of the supervillain, Ra's al Ghul. The villain has encouraged the relationship in hopes of recruiting Batman as his successor, and in the out-of-continuity graphic novel, Batman: Son of the Demon, the romance progressed to the bed and Talia bore his son (later named Ibn al Xu'ffasch in another out-of-continuity 4-part series "Kingdom Come").
In Batman Forever, Bruce/Batman has a relationship with psychiatrist Chase Meridian, played by Nicole Kidman. She is kidnapped by Two-Face and the Riddler, leading to the climactic showdown.
In Batman Begins, Bruce/Batman is romantically involved with Rachel Dawes, an assistant district attorney who was a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne. She ends the relationship with him when she finds out he is really Batman. Dawes was played by Katie Holmes.
Wonder Woman and Batman briefly dated within the pages of the recent Justice League of America comics, but nothing came of the relationship and the two remain friends. This is echoed in the Justice League animated series (see below).
In the comic series Batman: Gotham Knights, "The Human Nature" story arc, Bruce and Poison Ivy are involved, after he helps her return to normal. Poison Ivy has special abilities in this comic through a chemical drug.
In other media, Batman was shown in Batman: The Animated Series as having had a relationship of some sort with Zatanna, the daughter of Zatara the Magician, the man who had taught Bruce Wayne everything he knew about escape artistry. While this relationship didn't last, the two have remained friends, with Bruce contacting her from time to time for help.
He had a brief relationship with Lois Lane during Batman's crossover in the "World's Finest" three part Episode of Superman: The Animated Series. She ended it after learning Bruce Wayne was Batman.
Wonder Woman has been hinted as a romantic interest of Batman in the series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, though the relationship in the series does not go as far as that of the JLA comics.
In Batman Beyond, Barbara Gordon reveals that she had a romantic relationship with Wayne. However, when he became too obsessed with crime fighting, the relationship ended.
Bruce himself also hints at a relationship with Catwoman, Selina Kyle, in the past of Batman Beyond. At the time of Batman Beyond, Bruce Wayne is unattached, and does not seem to have ever married.
Probably the most well-known relationship he had in an animated series was to Andrea Beaumont in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Though all of their relationship is told in flashback, it seems to hint that Andrea was the true love of Bruce's life. It also hinted that had their relationship continued, there probably would not be a Batman in the animated series continuity as he was deeply in love with her.
However, in the original live action series starring Adam West, Batman's relationships with women were somewhat more liberal. In many episodes, the Dark Knight would find himself in a night club, often with a far-fetched name such as the "What-a-Way-to-Go-Go," where he would dance his infamous (and often embarrassing) dance, the "Batusi". A similar dance (thought to be a parody, by some) was attempted by actor John Travolta in the film Pulp Fiction.
Supporting characters
- Robin: Perhaps Batman's most important allies have been several teenage sidekicks, all of whom had the title Robin (some of them advertised with the nickname "The Boy Wonder" or "The Teen Wonder").
- Dick Grayson (1940): The original Robin, Dick Grayson has since grown up and become "Nightwing," continuing as an assistant and ally to Batman. Though he is now Bruce Wayne's legally adopted son, many writers have portrayed his current relationship with Batman as strained. Nightwing is also the original leader of the Teen Titans (also known as the New Teen Titans, the New Titans and simply The Titans) and is the current leader of the Outsiders.
- Jason Todd (1983): Originally a virtual copy of Dick Grayson (orphaned circus acrobat trained by the Batman), Todd's origin was later retconned so that he was a juvenile delinquent Batman took into his care. In 1989, Todd was murdered by the Joker in the controversial A Death in the Family storyline. He was recently discovered alive under the alias of "Red Hood".
- Tim Drake (1990): After Jason Todd's death, Drake tracked down Grayson and urged him to become Robin once again, because Batman was growing unstable. When Grayson refused, Drake volunteered for the job - arguing that "Batman needs a Robin". Although Drake retired, he has since returned.
- Stephanie Brown (2004): Formerly the Spoiler; became the fourth Robin and the only female Robin in current DC continuity. Stephanie was captured and fatally tortured by Black Mask, becoming the second Robin to perish.
- Carrie Kelly (1986): Although not technically part of current DC continuity, Carrie Kelly became the first female Robin (in real world chronology) in 1986's The Dark Knight Returns and The Dark Knight Strikes Again.
- Alfred: Bruce Wayne's loyal butler (in effect, Batman's batman), who knows his secret identity. Alfred is a trained combat medic in addition to an accomplished former thespian, and has used both skills in Batman's service on many occassions.
- Batgirl: Several female crime-fighters have taken the name "Batgirl". Unlike Robin, Batgirl has rarely debuted as a sanctioned member of the "Batman Family," although they have all come to be accepted by the Batman to some extent (depending on continuity).
- In 1961, the original Bat-Girl was introduced as the sidekick to Batwoman (Kathy Kane).
- In 1967, the Silver Age Batgirl was introduced: Barbara Gordon, niece (turned adoptive daughter) of James Gordon. She continued the role until an attack by the Joker left her a paraplegic. She later reinvented herself as Oracle, a research assistant for superheroes and the leader of the Birds of Prey female superhero team.
- In 1997, Batgirl was Barbara Wilson, the niece of Alfred. She decided to suit herself up and fight alongside Batman and Robin in the film Batman and Robin. This version of Batgirl doesn't exsist in the comics or TV shows.
- In 1999, a fourth Batgirl was introduced: Cassandra Cain, the daughter of the assassin David Cain.
- James ("Jim") Gordon: the police commissioner of Gotham City, with whom Batman has a strong (though secret and unofficial) working relationship. In the current DC Universe, James Gordon has retired and been replaced by Michael Akins, a hand-picked successor. Gordon, like other characters, has changed considerably over the years. Of particular note, is that in the early days of the characters, Gordon was not allied with Batman, and was more antagonistic towards him. However, he was friends with Bruce Wayne. In the "Year One" timeframe, Gordon is portrayed as one of the few honest, non corrupt Gotham cops.
- In addition, other members of the Gotham City Police Department have played prominent roles, such as Harvey Bullock who was introduced as a subordinate secretly assigned to spy on and discredit Gordon. However, Bullock soon changed his mind and became loyal to the commissioner while having a deep suspicion of Batman. The 1990s comics added Detective Renee Montoya as a character adapted from the animated series. The GCPD are currently featured in their own series, Gotham Central, in which they investigate the unusual crimes that plague the city, in a personal effort to minimize Batman's involvement.
- Huntress: Originally the daughter of the Batman and Catwoman of Earth-Two, Helena Wayne followed in her late father's footsteps. In current DC continuity, Helena Bertinelli, a daughter of the Bertinelli Mafia family, has become a crime-fighter. She has a difficult relationship with Batman, who feels that she is too rash and violent, and she works closely with Oracle/Barbara Gordon. Bertinelli also went by the alias of Batgirl in 1999, trying to prove herself to Batman. Eventually they fell out again and the mantle was passed to Cassandra Cain.
- Lucius Fox: Although far less privy to his personal life, Lucius Fox is a trusted close associate of Wayne as his business manager responsible for both Wayne Enterprises and The Wayne Foundation.
- The Justice League of America: Batman is a member of the superhero group, although is sometimes skeptical of the League's more powerful and idealistic members. In some versions, Superman (often the team's leader) is portrayed as having a strained relationship with Batman. In earlier versions, however, they are shown as "best friends" or the "World's Finest" team. The "World's Finest" nickname derives from the long-running Superman/Batman teamups in World's Finest Comics. In current continutity, the pair are shown as friends with nonetheless different, and sometimes conflicting, crime-fighting philosophies. In the 1980s, when Superman had waning involvement in the team, Batman was portrayed as the leader of the Justice League.
- Ace the Bat-Hound: In 1955, a few months after the Superman mythos saw the introduction of Krypto, the Batman mythos saw the introduction and short duration of Ace, the Bat-hound, a German shepherd with a black mask covering most of his head. Ace later reappeared as Bruce's guard dog and companion in the television series Batman Beyond, and is currently seen as a character in the 2005 animated series Krypto the Superdog.
- Batwoman: In 1958, Kathy Kane was introduced as Batwoman, but the character was mostly dropped from the series by the appearance of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 1967. A different Batwoman appeared in the direct-to-video animated movie Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman in 2003.
- Azrael: Trained from birth to be the assassin and enforcer of a sinister secret society, Jean-Paul Valley was trying to forge a new destiny for himself with Bruce Wayne's help when Wayne was crippled by Bane. Valley took up the Bat-mantle until Wayne recovered, but his Azrael conditioning began to take over, and he became violent and dangerous, and Bruce Wayne was forced to fight him to reclaim his identity as Batman. Valley went his own way, returning for the occasional guest appearance until his death.
Enemies of Batman
- Main article: Enemies of Batman
Batman's foes form one of the most distinctive rogues galleries in comics. In the 1930s and 1940s the most familiar Batman villains evolved: the Joker, Catwoman, the Penguin, Two-Face, the Riddler, the Mad Hatter, the Scarecrow, Dr. Phosphorus, and Clayface. Other well known villains emerged in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s including Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and Ra's Al Ghul; Killer Croc, The Ratcatcher, and the Ventriloquist emerged in the 1980s, and Bane and Harley Quinn in the 1990s.
Homosexual theories, Frederic Wertham and "The Code"
Since his introduction, Batman has become one of the most famous comic book characters, known even to people who do not read the comics. In addition to DC's comic books, he has appeared in movies, television shows, and novels.
In 1954, the book Seduction of the Innocent by psychologist Fredric Wertham used Batman and Robin, among several examples, as evidence that the comic book medium corrupted the morals of the young. He suggested that Batman and Robin had a homosexual relationship, hinted at, among other things, by the bare legs in Robin's costume and their happy domesticity, a single man living with an unrelated boy in a posh mansion. He also criticized the dark and violent portrayals of crime in comic books as promoting juvenile delinquency.
The original inspiration for Wertham's interpretation came from fans of Batman in the fifties, who brought the comic book to his attention as an example of the idealization of a "homosexual lifestyle." Their interpretation is seconded by Burt Ward, who, in his autobiographical Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights agrees that the characters could be interpreted as lovers, while the show's double entendres and lavish camp help make the case persuasive. [1] This is despite the fact that the TV series was an attempt at a tamer, more family friendly version of Batman which tried to be less violent than the comic series — one of Wertham's arguments against comics. Wertham wrote another book in 1958 called Circle of Guilt, whose main claim was that Americans were starting to feel that they were less responsible for themselves and their actions, resulting in higher crime rates across the country. The culprit behind this crime, he claimed, was comic books and the cinema.
Wertham succeeded in raising a public outcry, eventually leading to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority. The outcry particularly affected Batman comics for a number of years; the characters of Bat-Girl and Batwoman were introduced to "prove" that Batman and Robin were not gay, and the stories took on a campier, lighter feel. Characters such as the Joker, who had previously been murderers, became characterized by themed crime sprees, such as committing robbery while dressed as famous jester characters from literature.
Despite Wertham and "The Code," the theme of ambiguous sexuality continued to be played upon by both the studios and the readers until the late sixties, when changing public morality necessitated an official split between Batman and any suggestion of sexuality with his young friend. Denny O'Neil separated the two heroes in 1969 by sending Dick Grayson to college, and female characters were eventually brought in as more "proper foils" to the main hero.
Despite the studio's efforts, popular culture and a number of artists continue to play off the homosexual connotation of their relationship, actions which are occasionally challenged by DC Studios under the copyright statutes. In summer of 2005, painter Mark Chamberlain and the galleries featuring his art were threatened with legal action if they did not cease selling and displaying a number of watercolors depicting both Batman and Robin in suggestive poses. The studio also demanded that all remaining art as well as any profits be handed over as well.
Batman and Robin continue to be fairly popular figures in gay culture, and a well-known pornographic parody, titled Batdude and Throbbin plays on the association. Likewise, a series of skits on the U.S. TV show Saturday Night Live titled The Ambiguously Gay Duo is generally seen as a parody of Batman's and Robin's relationship.
The Showtime drama Queer as Folk featured an exchange in one episode about a fictitious superhero named Captain Astro, where one character said that people were going to suspect Captain Astro of being gay after living with his sidekick "Galaxy Lad" for all those years. The joke is an obvious reference to the suspicions people have had regarding Batman and Robin.
Comics that feature Batman
Current comics starring Batman
On-going titles
- Batman
- Detective Comics
- Legends of the Dark Knight
- Batman: Gotham Knights
- Batman Strikes
- Superman/Batman
- All Star Batman and Robin
Current comics where Batman does not star, but appears regularly or from time to time as a guest character:
- Batgirl
- Birds of Prey
- Catwoman
- Gotham Central
- JLA
- JLA Classified
- Justice League Unlimited
- Nightwing
- The Outsiders
- Robin
Finished series
Previous comics with long runs featuring Batman:
- Batman Family
- Batman and The Outsiders
- The Brave and the Bold
- Batman: Shadow of the Bat
- World's Finest Comics
Batman has also been featured in numerous miniseries and guest starred in many other comics.
See also List of Batman comics
Additional reading
- Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller is a story featuring an elder Batman returning to battle evil and crime in Gotham. Its success has been seen as a major turning point in representations of Batman, making Batman an even darker character than he was previously and serving as a basis for modern stories featuring Batman.
- Batman: Year One is another book by Frank Miller that recounts Batman's origins. This became the primary influence for Batman Begins. The book was part of the larger project to condense and retcon the origins of many DC characters following the Crisis on Infinite Earths miniseries.
- Arkham Asylum: Serious House On Serious Earth written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Dave McKean is a richly textured exploration of Batman's own psyche, sybolically represented as he battles through his rogues gallery imprisoned at Arkham. Using an exotic mix of traditional drawing, painting, and photography, it is both beautiful and terrifying.
- Batman: Strange Apparitions by Steve Englehart reprints his famous late 1970s run on Batman, including Bruce Wayne's relationship with Silver St. Cloud.
- Batman in the Forties, Batman in the Fifties, Batman in the Sixties, Batman in the Seventies, and Batman in the Eighties reprints some of Batman's most classic stories from each decade.
- Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland features the possible origin for the Joker as well a battle of wits between James Gordon and himself. This is the source of inspiration for Jack Nicholson's portrayal of the Joker in the 1989 film.
- Batman: A Death in the Family by Jim Aparo and Jim Starlin recollect the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin at the hands of the Joker.
- Batman: Knightfall by various writers and artists recounts Batman's struggle with a broken back at the hands of Bane as well as the rise of a new Batman.
- Batman: The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale features Batman investigating a string of gang killings. The book also depicts the origin of Two-Face.
- Batman: Dark Victory is Loeb's and Sale's sequel to the Long Halloween about a cop killer.
- Batman: No Man's Land by various writers & artists is about Batman dealing with Gotham becoming a destroyed wasteland broken apart from the rest of the country.
- Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again is Miller's sequel to Dark Knight Returns as Batman comes back to form a group of superheroes to battle Lex Luthor and Brainiac for control of the world.
- Batman: Hush by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee features a mysterious figure conspiring against Batman.
- Batman: The Man Who Laughs by Ed Brubaker and Doug Mahnke is about Batman's first encounter with the Joker.
Batman in other media
Newspaper
From 1943 to 1946, Batman and Robin appeared in a syndicated daily and Sunday newspaper comic strip distributed by the McClure Syndicate. Other newspaper comic versions appeared in 1953, 1966, and 1989.
Books
In 2005 The Batman Handbook: The Ultimate Training Manual, written by Scott Beatty was published by Quirk Books (ISBN 1-59-474023-2). Written in the same style as The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook series, the book explained the basics on how to be Batman. Amongst the skills included in the book are "How to Train a Sidekick", "How to Execute a Backflip", "How to Throw a Grappling Hook" and "How to Survive a Poison Gas Attack". Batman is also slated to appear in a novel by cyberpunk/horror novelist John Shirley, entitled Batman: Dead White from Del Rey books.
Radio
Beginning in March 1945, Batman and Robin made regular appearances on the Superman radio drama on the Mutual Broadcasting System. Efforts were made to launch a Batman radio series in 1943 and again in 1950, but neither came to fruition.
Television
In the late 1960s, the ABC Network aired a Batman television series with Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin. The series aired for 120 episodes from January 12, 1966 to March 14, 1968 and was marked for its high camp. It continues to be the version many associate with the Batman character, despite its being perhaps the least representative of his depiction in comics; although some comic book stories were adapted to the TV series. Although it has been disliked and denounced by some serious Batman fans ever since, the live-action TV show was extraordinarily popular; at the height of its popularity, it was the only prime-time TV show besides Peyton Place to be broadcast twice each week as part of its regular schedule. (This was, however, inherent in its format, typically splitting full-hour stories into two half-hour episodes to be aired different nights of the same week).
The character also had a cameo appearance in the short lived 2002-2003 TV series, Birds of Prey.
There have also been several TV animated series starring Batman, produced by at least three different TV animation studios. The treatment of the character has varied with the decade; the 1990s and later series have had a darker, more sincere tone which has appealed to adult viewers, while still being accessible and entertaining to children. These cartoons include:
- 1960s - Batman/Superman Adventure Hour by Filmation
- 1970s - Super Friends by Hanna-Barbera Productions
- 1970s - The New Adventures Of Batman by Filmation
- 1980s - Super Powers: Galactic Guardians by Hanna-Barbera
- 1990s - Batman: The Animated Series by Warner Bros.
- 1990s - Batman: Gotham Knights by Warner Bros.
- 2000s - Batman Beyond (a.k.a. Batman of the Future in Europe and Latin America) by Warner Bros.
- 2000s - Justice League animated series by Warner Bros.
- 2004 - The Batman by Warner Bros.
Movies
A number of Batman theatrical films have also been made.
- Columbia Pictures released two 15-chapter, live-action movie serials, The Batman starring Lewis Wilson as Batman and Douglas Croft as Robin, (1943) and Batman and Robin starring Robert Lowery and Johnny Duncan (1949).
- Batman (1966), the first feature-length adaptation, based on the TV series with Adam West and Burt Ward.
- Batman (1989), directed by Tim Burton, and starring Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as the Joker. This movie introduces Batman as a brooding vigilante and dispenses with campy overtones. It relied heavily on the dark atmosphere set by the Frank Miller graphic novel: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and the comic run, Batman: Year One.
- Batman Returns (1992), also directed by Burton and starring Keaton, with Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman and Danny DeVito as the Penguin.
- Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) feature length spinoff of Batman: The Animated Series
- Batman Forever (1995), produced by Burton, directed by Joel Schumacher, and starring Val Kilmer as Batman, Chris O'Donnell as Robin, Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face, and Jim Carrey as the Riddler. The decision to continue the franchise without Burton or Keaton was controversial and opinions of the movie's quality were mixed.
- Batman and Robin (1997), directed by Joel Schumacher, starring George Clooney as Batman, Chris O'Donnell as Robin, Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze, Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl, and Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy. A huge critical and box office embarassment, many believe it all but destroyed the Batman film franchise and superhero films in general. It is consistently near the top in lists of "the worst movie ever made".
- Batman Begins (2005), directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale as Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred, Gary Oldman as Detective Sergeant James Gordon, Liam Neeson as Henri Ducard, Ken Watanabe as Ra's al Ghul and Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow. An origin story that reboots the film franchise and is independent from the previous Burton/Schumacher films. One of the few DC Comics film adaptations to have reached the IMDb.com Top 250 list. The film's critical and box office success has opened the window to an expected sequel.
Several low-budget, unauthorized Batman movies have also been made, including Batman Dracula (1964) by Andy Warhol; Batman Fights Dracula (1967), made in the Philippines; and a second Filipino movie called Alyas Batman en Robin (1993). (Critics who have seen this movie say it is very poor quality.) Additionally, an independently funded self-promo film titled Batman: Dead End was produced by Sandy Collora in 2003, starring Clark Bartram as Batman. The film featured not only Batman but also Aliens and Predators from the popular 20th Century Fox film franchises, and generated considerable buzz. Another self-promo by Collora, a trailer for a World's Finest film and also featuring Superman, followed in 2004.
Since 1997 Warner Bros. has released a number of episodes of Batman: The Animated Series on video (both VHS and DVD), including a volume one set of DVDs in July 2004 and volume two set in January 2005. One three-part episode involving a team-up with Superman ("World's Finest") is available on video as The Batman/Superman Movie.
In addition to Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, a number of movies based on the animated series have been released direct-to-video: Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, and Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman.
Musical theatre
A parody of a Batman musical was featured in one of the most recent series' comics, but little did anyone know that there was some truth to the matter. As of 2005, Jim Steinman, David Ives, and Tim Burton have begun work on Batman: The Musical, set to premiere late this year. A Batman musical is also parodied in Batman Beyond. The episode "Out of the Past," (first aired October 21, 2000) opens with Bruce and Terry attending a performance of Batman: The Musical, featuring caricatures of prominent members of the Rogues Gallery. This was in response to plans for a Batman musical which had been in place for several years, but was never produced. Series creator Paul Dini, who wrote the episode in question, also wrote a song for the fictitious musical entitled "Superstitious and Cowardly Lot."
Video games
Several Batman video games were created:
- Batman for the Amstrad PCW in 1985. Now known as Batman 3D.
- Batman: The Caped Crusader for various 8-bit and 16-bit platforms.
- Batman for Sega Genesis, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Atari Lynx, Commodore Amiga, Sinclair ZX Spectrum and other platforms. (In October 1989, the Amiga 500 was bundled with this game as part of the Batman Pack [2], which was sold in the United Kingdom and was a phenomenal success).
- Batman: Return of the Joker for Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Game Boy.
- Batman Returns for Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo (Super NES),Sega Genesis, Sega CD, Sega Game Gear, and Atari Lynx.
- Batman: The Animated Series for Game Boy.
- Batman & Robin: The Animated Series for Game Gear.
- The Adventures of Batman & Robin for Super Nintendo (Super NES), Sega Genesis, Sega CD, and Game Gear.
- Batman Forever for Super Nintendo (Super NES), Game Boy, Sega Genesis, and Sega Game Gear.
- Batman Forever: The Arcade Game for Arcade, Sony Playstation and Sega Saturn.
- Batman and Robin for the Tiger Game.com and the Sony Playstation.
- Batman: Total Chaos for Game Boy Color.
- Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker for the Nintendo 64 and the PlayStation.
- Batman Vengeance for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, PC, and the Xbox.
- Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu for the PlayStation 2, PC, Xbox, the GameCube and Game Boy Advance.
- Batman: Dark Tomorrow for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube
- Batman Begins for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube and GameBoy Advance (2005).
Batman also appears in the Justice League Task Force Super Nintendo fighting game.
See also
Batman parodies/references
- Blue Falcon and Dynomutt from Dynomutt, Dog Wonder parody Batman and Robin.
- Knight Watchman (based on Batman) & Galahad the Kid Whiz (based on Robin) are Big Bang Comics recreate the golden age and silver age of comics superhero.
- Midnighter is a comic book superhero who first appeared in the Stormwatch cast in the Batman mold, but with superpowers and one of the few gay superheroes in print. He is married to fellow Authority member Apollo, a hero very similar to Superman.
- Bart's favorite cartoon character in The Simpsons, Radioactive Man, and his sidekick Fallout Boy, are a clear Batman parody. This is especially clear in an episode in which a film version is made, when the episode refers to the 'campy 70s version, which clearly resembles the original Batman TV series, right down to the impact words. Bart is also known for occasionally wearing a dark mask and cape while calling himself "Bartman."
- TV Funhouse's The Ambiguously Gay Duo, Ace and Gary, parody the suggestions that the portrayal of Batman and Robin contains innuendo that the two have a homosexual relationship.
- The Tick's Die Fledermaus (German for "The Bat") is a Batman parody, with a smooth-talking but craven personality substituted for that of Batman. In Fox's live action adaptation of The Tick comic book, the character of Die Fledermaus was changed to "Bat-manuel" and depicted as a phoney Latin lover.
- There are five versions of Nighthawk from four different dimensions in the Marvel Universe, none of which come from the normal Marvel continuity, although the second Nighthawk did come to reside in the normal Marvel Universe.
- The version of Nighthawk that had the most character development was arguably the second Nighthawk, due to his integration into the mainstream Marvel continuity.
- Yet, the version that the rebooted version of Nighthawk from Supreme Power is based upon is actually the version who was a member of the Squadron Supreme, who was replaced by his adopted son Neil Richmond, after his death.
- The version depicted in The Ultimates is a rebooted version of the second Nighthawk, as he is the leader of that reality's Defenders.
- Darkwing Duck has various references to Batman. Several of his enemies resemble Batman's villains, much of Darkwing's gadgets resemble Batman's, and he has an alter-ego similar to Bruce Wayne.
- Image Comics have several pastiches of Batman such as:
- Shadowhawk
- Rising Stars' Ravenshadow.
- Invincible's Darkwing (no relation to the duck).
- Spawn, Todd McFarlane stated that Spawn is Batman when not controlled by Corporate America.
- Astro City contains The Confessor and Altar Boy, a riff on Batman and Robin.
- Hawk-Owl/Jack Danner - A Batman archetype, complete with secret lair ("the Nest") and crime-fighting gadgets. Unlike Bruce Wayne, Danner is far from being any sort of genius. Rather, he's a socially inept middle-aged billionaire with a rather dangerous and expensive hobby. He also lacks the traumatic murder experience of his DC counterpart, making him less 'severe' in some respects, but also lacks a certain personal element to his own mission.
- The flash series Homestar runner has a lot of references to Batman, specificaly the "No Loafing" sign in Strong Bad's Computer room.
External links
- Comics
- DC Comics - Batman
- Batman-On-Film
- Batman Movies hype at the SuperHeroHype!
- The Bat Squad
- Batman: Yesterday, Today, & Beyond
- Batman: The Dark Knight
- Many Faces of Batman
- The Golden Age Batman Chronology
- The Continuity Pages - Batman Index of comics by era
- Index of Batman's Earth-1 solo adventures
- Index of Batman's Earth-1 team-ups with Superman
- Index of Batman's Earth-1 team-ups with other heroes
- Index of the Earth-1 adventures of the Batman "family"-Robin, Batgirl, Alfred, etc.
- Encyclopedia of Television
- Detective Comments
- Animated cartoons
- Warner Bros. official Batman.com
- JLU's Batman profile on JLResource.com
- Batman: The Animated Series @ World's Finest
References
- Daniels, Les. DC Comics: Sixty Years of the World's Favorite Comic Book Heroes.
- Jones, Gerard. Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book.
- Beatty, Scott, et al., The Batman Handbook: The Ultimate Training Manual. Quirk Books, March 30, 2005. ISBN 1594740232
