Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man, and still sometimes as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional character and superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. He has since become, along with Superman and Spider-Man, one of the world's most recognized superheroes.[1] Batman was co-created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, although only Kane receives official credit for the character.
Batman's secret identity is Bruce Wayne, billionaire industrialist, playboy, and philanthropist. Witnessing the murder of his parents as a child leads him to train himself to the peak of physical and intellectual perfection, don a costume, and fight crime. Unlike many other superheroes, he does not possess superhuman powers or abilities; he makes use of intellect, detective skills, technology, and physical prowess in his war on crime.
Over the years, Batman's origin story, history and tone have undergone various revisions, both minor and major. Some elements have changed drastically; others, like the death of his parents and his pursuit of justice, have remained constant.
Consistent across all versions of the Batman mythos, Batman is the alter-ego of Bruce Wayne, a millionaire or billionaire (depending on time period) playboy, industrialist and philanthropist who is driven to fight crime in Gotham City after his parents, the physician Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha Wayne, are murdered by a mugger.
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Golden Age version
Batman debuted in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939).The Golden Age Batman first appears in Detective Comics #27, May 1939. Batman's origin is first presented in Detective Comics #33 in November 1939, and is later fleshed out in Batman #47, the 1985 four-issue limited series America vs. the Justice Society and 1986's Secret Origins (volume 2) #6. As these comics state, Bruce Wayne is born in the 1910s to Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, two wealthy Gotham City socialites. Bruce is brought up in Wayne Manor and its wealthy splendor and leads a happy and privileged existence until the age of eight, when his parents are killed by a small-time criminal named Joe Chill on their way home from the movie theater. Bruce is subsequently raised at Wayne Manor by his uncle, Philip Wayne (introduced in Batman #208, Jan./Feb. 1969).
Bruce Wayne swears an oath to rid the city of the evil that had taken his parents' lives. He engages in intense intellectual and physical training and studies a variety of areas which would aid him in his endeavors, including chemistry, criminology, forensics, martial arts, and gymnastics, as well as theatrical skills like disguise, escapology, and ventriloquism. He realizes, however, that these skills alone would not be enough.
"Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot", said Wayne, "so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. I must be a creature of the night, black, terrible..." As if responding to his desires, a bat suddenly flies through the window, inspiring Bruce to assume the persona of Batman. His debut as the Caped Crusader in 1939 initially earns him the ire of the police; however, his relations with the law thaw by the early 1940s.
Detective Comics #38 (Apr 1940), the first appearance of Robin. Art by Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson.In 1940, Bruce takes in the orphaned circus acrobat Dick Grayson, who becomes his sidekick, Robin. In late 1940, Batman becomes a founding member of the Justice Society of America (DC Special #29).
Batman continues to function in Gotham City through the 1940s and into the 1950s. After the introduction of DC Comics' multiverse in the 1960s, it is retroactively established that the Golden Age Batman lives on the parallel world of Earth-Two. It is revealed that in the mid-1950s, after a brief flirtation and adventuring with Kathy Kane, Bruce Wayne partners with and marries the reformed Earth-Two Catwoman, Selina Kyle (as shown in Superman Family #211); the two have one child, Helena Wayne. Batman's activities soon lessen, as he goes into semi-retirement, only returning to action to engage in special cases, with Robin taking over much of his functioning in Gotham City. Upon the retirement of Commissioner Gordon, the Earth-Two Bruce Wayne takes over the post of Gotham City police commissioner.
In the late 1970s, Bruce Wayne's life becomes tumultuous, as he deals with the death of his wife Selina, who is fatally blackmailed by criminals into going into action one more time as Catwoman (as seen in DC Super-Stars #17). After Selina's death, Bruce permanently retires as Batman, but is forced to go into action again as Batman, when a criminal named Bill Jensen gains superpowers from a sorcerer named Frederic Vaux. Jensen and Wayne fight each other, Jensen eventually using his powers to destroy both himself and Batman[2]. Wayne is laid to rest next to his wife Selina; after Vaux is defeated, the sorcerer Dr. Fate uses his powers to erase the knowledge of Wayne's secret identity from human memory, making all think the two had perished at almost the same time. (Adventure Comics #461-463).
After the 1985 12-issue limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths, this version of Batman and all memory of his existence are retroactively erased from history (along with Earth-Two's Robin, Catwoman and Huntress), with various activities in his career being attributed to Flying Fox, Rex Tyler and/or Dr. Charles McNider in the new continuity. However, in 2006, after the Infinite Crisis, some of his friends and acquaintances remember him again. In a post-Infinite Crisis issue of JSA, the Earth-Two Batman returns in ghost-form with other dead members of the JSA to help Jakeem Thunder and his Thunderbolt battle the Gentleman Ghost. When Jakeem Thunder, unaware of the existence of a parallel universe version of the Dark Knight, asks the Thunderbolt how it is possible for someone like Batman, whom he knows not to be dead, to appear as a ghost, the Thunderbolt responds by saying, "It's complicated".
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Silver Age version
The Silver Age of comic books in DC Comics is sometimes held to have begun in 1956 when the publisher introduced Barry Allen as a new, updated version of The Flash. DC Comics gave several other superhero identities they had not used for a long time (such as Green Lantern) to other new characters but also updated characters they had published during the interim between the Golden and Silver ages. Batman is not significantly changed by the late 1950s for the continuity which would be later referred to as Earth-One. The lighter tone Batman had taken in the period between the Golden and Silver Ages led to the stories of the late 1950s and early 1960s that often feature a large number of science-fiction elements, and Batman is not significantly updated in the manner of other characters until 1964's Detective Comics #327, in which Batman reverts to his detective roots, with all science-fiction elements jettisoned from the series.
It is retroactively established within the pages of the 2006 limited series Infinite Crisis (when Bette Kane, a character from the pre-1964 era, is transferred to a re-created Earth-Two) that the pre-1964 Silver Age stories happen on Earth-Two, despite the fact that the year 1964 is years after the date of retirement of the Earth-Two Batman proposed in Superman Family #211, and that the Earth-One Batman has adventures with Superman, the Justice League of America, and other heroes in stories published before 1964. Much in the same way that many of the characters and creative concepts which remain after the 1964 revamp aren't given new origin stories (with some characters even seeming to recall some of their pre-1964 adventures), various new elements added to Batman's origin, background and history typically associated with the Silver Age were introduced as early as the 1950s, and are for that reason discussed in this section.
Batman and Superman; World's Finest. Art by Jim Lee and Alex Ross.While the Golden Age and Silver Age distinctions are useful for discussing the character's evolution over the decades, said evolution is gradual, and the Silver Age Batman is in essence the same character as the Golden Age version. The character as he appears near the beginning of the Silver Age (in the mid-1950s) and after his 1964 revamp is different in many ways from how he appears near the end of the Silver Age (in the mid-1980s) due to many minor revisions and new directions in the character's publication history. As summarized in various later Silver Age stories, including 1980's Untold Legend of the Batman limited series that thoroughly retell Batman's Silver Age origin and history, Bruce Wayne is raised by wealthy socialites Dr. Thomas and Martha Wayne in Wayne Manor. Eight year-old Bruce sees his parents murdered by small-time criminal Joe Chill, after which he is raised by his uncle Philip Wayne. Bruce swears to seek revenge on all criminals, and launches himself into a lifetime of dedicated training similar to the Golden Age Batman's training.
At some point early in his training, Bruce wears a costume similar to that of the future Robin's, in order to anonymously receive training from Gotham City police detective Harvey Harris (Detective Comics #226). He and his guardians visit Smallville, where he meets the youthful superhero Superboy, with whom he works on several cases. Bruce Wayne attends college, taking various criminology and law-related courses, but soon decides that being a police officer isn't the path he should take. After graduating, Bruce ponders how to handle criminals alone in his study when suddenly a bat flies through his study window; he decides to create a bat costume, and calls himself "Batman".
Sometime after the start of his crimefighting career, Bruce takes in orphan Dick Grayson, whose parents had been killed by gangster Boss Zucco and his henchmen, and trains him as his sidekick Robin.
In Detective Comics #235 (September 1956), Batman learns that his parents' killing had not been chance, but an assassination ordered by gangster Lew Moxon. Shown in flashback, while Bruce is a child, his father wears a bat costume similar to Batman's future costume to a masquerade party, where he encounters and stops the mobster. Moxon swears revenge against Dr. Wayne and hires criminal Joe Chill to arrange a mugging that will result in their deaths. Batman, wearing his father's bat costume (his usual costume having been torn while in action) tracks down Moxon, but the panicked mobster, recognizing the costume, inadvertently flees into the middle of traffic, where he is struck by a truck and killed.
Batman meets and regularly works with other heroes, most notably Superman, whom he began regularly working alongside in a series of team-ups in World's Finest Comics, starting in 1954 and continuing through 1986. Batman and Superman are usually shown as close friends. Batman becomes a founding member of the Justice League of America, appearing in its first story in 1960's Brave and the Bold #28. In the 1970s and 1980s, Brave and the Bold became a Batman title, in which Batman teams up with a different DC Universe superhero each month.
In 1969, Dick Grayson attends college as part DC Comics' effort to revise the Batman comics. Additionally, Bruce also moves from Wayne Manor into a penthouse apartment atop the Wayne Foundation building in downtown Gotham City, in order to be closer to Gotham City's crime. Bruce spends the 1970s and early 1980s mainly working solo, with occasional team-ups with Robin and/or Batgirl. Batman's adventures also become somewhat darker and more grim during this period, depicting increasingly violent crimes, including the first appearance (since the early Golden Age) of an insane, murderous Joker.
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Modern Age
After the 12-issue limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC Comics "rebooted" or revised the histories of some of their major characters in an attempt at updating them for then-contemporary audiences. Frank Miller retells Batman's origin in the storyline "Batman: Year One" (Batman #404-407), which emphasizes a grittier tone to the character and largely ignores the sci-fi and campy elements of the 1950s and '60s Batman comics. However, unlike the reboots given to Superman and Wonder Woman's histories, many stories of Batman's Silver Age Earth-One career remain canonical in the post-Crisis universe, with his origins remaining the same in essence, despite alteration (e.g. "Batman: The Man Who Falls"). While Dick Grayson's past remains much the same, the history of Jason Todd, the second Robin, is altered, turning the boy into the orphan son of a petty crook, who tries to boost the tires from the Batmobile. Also removed is the guardian Phillip Wayne, leaving young Bruce to be raised by Alfred the butler. Additionally, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are no longer founding members of the JLA.
Most Batman stories written during this era either carry on from where the Crisis left Batman's life, or retold his early years. "Batman: Year Two" continued Frank Miller's work, and later stories such as Batman: The Man Who Laughs, Batman: The Long Halloween and Batman: Dark Victory told of Batman's first encounters with the Joker, Two-Face and Robin respectively also following "Year One".
Batman's evolution continues through the late 1980s, notably with the 1988's "Batman: A Death in the Family" storyline, for which DC Comics created a 900 number for readers to call to vote on whether Jason Todd lived or died. Originally, Jason is very similar to Dick Grayson, complete with similar circus background and origin. As mentioned above, after the Crisis on Infinite Earths, Jason's origin changes to that of a street punk found by Batman, and his character developed accordingly. Jason was killed by a narrow margin. Following Todd's death, Tim Drake became the new Robin.
In 1993, the same year that DC published the "Death of Superman" storyline, the publisher released the "Knightsaga" storyline. In the storyline's first phase, "Knightfall", new villain Bane critically injures Bruce Wayne, leading Bruce to ask Azrael to take on the role of Batman.
After the end of "Knightfall", the storylines split in two directions. "KnightQuest: The Crusade", which follows the Azrael-Batman's adventures, and "KnightQuest: The Search", following Bruce Wayne. The story arcs realign in "KnightsEnd". As time passes, Azrael becomes increasingly violent; after a year, a healed Bruce Wayne defeats Azrael and takes back the mantle of Batman. Bruce is not ready to return, however, so he passes the mantle to Dick Grayson during "Prodigal" before returning once more.
1994's company-wide crossover Zero Hour, changes aspects of DC continuity again, including those of Batman. Noteworthy among these changes is that the general populace and the criminal element now considers Batman an urban legend rather than a known force. Similarly, the Waynes' killer is never caught or identified, effectively removing Joe Chill from the new continuity, rendering stories such as "Year Two" and Batman: Son of the Demon non-canon. However, attempts in the 2000s have been made to reintroduce elements such as Joe Chill.
In 1998, Gotham City is destroyed during the "Cataclysm" storyline, depriving Batman of many of his technological resources. Lex Luthor rebuilds Gotham at the end of the "No Man's Land" storyline. Bruce Wayne is later framed by Luthor for murder in the "Bruce Wayne: Murderer?" and "Bruce Wayne, Fugitive" story arcs, although he is later acquitted.
Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee began a 12-issue run on Batman in 2003. Lee's first regular comic book work in nearly a decade, and the series became #1 on the Diamond Comics sales chart for the first time since Batman #500 (1993). The "Batman: Hush" storyline introduces Tommy Elliot, a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne's, who had signficant influence on him during his youth. As Hush, Elliot attacks Batman by coordinating many of the hero's enemies, and a large number of them appear, including the Joker, Scarecrow, and the Riddler. Batman reveals his identity to Catwoman and the two became romantically involved for a brief time, until Batman's growing sense of distrust ended their relationship.
Although the Jason Todd whom Batman fights in the "Hush" storyline is revealed to be Clayface, later issues reveal that Batman does fight Todd during this encounter, but Clayface switches places with the former Robin mid-fight. Todd is shown to have been operating without detection for several years with the help of Talia al Ghul. Despite returning to life six months after his death, Jason does not reveal himself to Batman until he fights him as the Red Hood.
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
DC's 2005 limited series Identity Crisis, reveals that JLA member Zatanna had edited Batman's memories, leading to his deep loss of trust in the rest of the superhero community. He later creates the Brother I satellite surveillance system to watch over the other heroes. Its eventual co-opting by Maxwell Lord, Black King of the government organization known as Checkmate, is one of the main events that leads to the Infinite Crisis, which again restructures DC continuity. In Infinite Crisis #7, Alexander Luthor, Jr. mentions that in the newly-rewritten history of the "New Earth", created in the previous issue, the murderer of Martha and Thomas Wayne is captured, thus undoing the retcon created after Zero Hour. Batman and a team of superheroes, including the new Blue Beetle, destroy Brother Eye and the OMACs. During the Battle of Metropolis, Batman holds Alexander Luthor, Jr. at gunpoint, until Wonder Woman intervenes.
Following Infinite Crisis, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, and Tim Drake retrace the steps Bruce had taken when he originally left Gotham City, to "rebuild Batman". Wonder Woman and a depowered Superman are also missing for the following year.
In the "Face the Face" storyline, Batman and Robin return to Gotham City after their year-long absence. Batman has left Harvey Dent as the city's protector, but the investigation into the KGBeast's murder pegs him as the prime suspect when the murders are found to have been committed using Two-Face's trademarks. Writer Grant Morrison and artist Andy Kubert are currently working on the follow-up story arc "Batman and Son", featuring Talia al Ghul, which brings elements of Son of the Demon into continuity.
Also, one year later, a retired Selina Kyle has given birth to a baby she named Helena. This is a reference to Batman's Earth-Two daughter Huntress, but does not necessarily mean Batman is the father.
Spoilers end here.
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Personas
Like Superman, the prominent persona of Bruce Wayne's dual identities varies with time. Present comics seem to favor portraying the decadent playboy aspect of his character (earlier versions of Bruce Wayne depict him as a more mature, refined gentleman) as the facade, while the masked and particularly dark, grim vigilante is marked as the "true" man. Wayne guards his secret identity well, as only a handful of individuals know of his superhero alter-ego. Several villains have also discovered his true identity over the years, most notably eco-terrorist Ra's al Ghul, as well as Hugo Strange, the Riddler, Bane, and Hush.
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Bruce Wayne
To the world at large, Bruce Wayne is an irresponsible, superficial playboy who lives off his family's personal fortune (amassed when Bruce's parents invested in Gotham real estate before the city was a bustling metropolis) and the profits of Wayne Enterprises, a major private technology firm that he inherits. Forbes Magazine [3] once estimated Bruce Wayne to be the 7th-richest fictional character, with his $6.3 billion fortune. However, Wayne is also known for his contributions to charity, notably through the Wayne Foundation, a charity devoted to helping the victims of crime and preventing people from becoming criminals. Bruce creates the playboy public persona to aid in throwing off suspicion of his secret identity, often acting dim-witted and self-absorbed to further the act. Batman makes it clear that he considers keeping his secret identity a top priority; on various occasions he comes near death rather than use his skills in public as Bruce Wayne.
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The Dark Knight
Bruce Wayne creates Batman to strike fear into the hearts of Gotham's underworld. The costume — and the way he acts while wearing it — are meant to be as imposing and intimidating as possible. While Bruce Wayne is lighthearted and irresponsible, Batman is stoic and driven. In addition to the change in costume and personality, Bruce Wayne also changes his voice significantly to become Batman. The Dark Knight's voice is low and raspy, for both disguise and intimidation.
In keeping with the "dark" theme of the comics and the nature of bats, Batman is usually presented as operating primarily at night. After Zero Hour, DC Comics introduced the idea of Batman as an urban legend; however, Batman is "outed" in the "War Games" crossover, when his live image is broadcast over the news during a brief daytime appearance in front of a high school under siege in Gotham.
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Matches Malone
Main article: Matches Malone
Batman also occasionally goes undercover to infiltrate Gotham's criminal element. Matches Malone is a small-time thug who once acts as Batman's snitch; when Matches is killed, Batman assumes his identity.
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Skills, resources and abilities
Batman is a superhero despite his not having super-powers. His resourcefulness, insight, and years of rigorous training make up for the absence of any other special abilities.
Physically, he is at the peak of human ability in dozens of areas, notably martial arts, acrobatics, strength, and escape artistry. Intellectually, he is just as peerless; Batman is one of the world's greatest scientists, criminologists, and tacticians, as well as a master of disguise. He is regarded as one of the DC Universe's greatest detectives. Rather than simply out-fighting his opponents, Batman often uses cunning and planning to outwit them.
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Weaknesses
Being human, Batman's character flaws can be exploited. In modern comics, Batman is shown to have become steadily paranoid over the years and tends to not trust other heroes, even those he has known for years, like Superman. Some enemies use this to isolate the Dark Knight. Batman is sometimes portrayed as arrogant, treating allies with various degrees of disrespect. At one point, Batman's arrogance and mistrust so infuriate the resurrected Green Lantern Hal Jordan that Jordan hits him across the face. Additionally, his childhood trauma makes him emotionally distant from even those closest to him, and a common theme among the younger heroes he often works with is how hard it is to gain his approval. These traits have developed over the last few decades, whereas older portrayals of Batman usually tend to show him as more willing to work with others.
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Equipment
The 1966 television Batmobile was built by George Barris from a Lincoln Futura concept car.Batman designs or modifies the majority of costumes, equipment, and vehicles he uses as Batman, producing them through various divisions of Wayne Enterprises, including Kordtronics. At various times, characters such as Oracle, Harold, and Toyman III create, modify, or repair Batman's equipment. Additionally, sometimes Batman adapts or reverse-engineers the technology of other villains and heroes, such as Mister Terrific's T-spheres.
Over the years, Batman accumulates a large arsenal of specialized gadgets (compare with the later James Bond), the designs of which usually share a common theme of dark coloration and a bat motif. A notable example is Batman's primary vehicle, the Batmobile, usually depicted as an imposing black car with large tailfins that suggest a bat's wings; another is his chief throwing weapon, the batarang, a bat-shaped boomerang/throwing star. Batman's other vehicles include the Batplane/Batwing, Batboat, and Batcycle.
In proper practice, the "bat" prefix (as in batmobile or batarang) is rarely used by Batman himself when referring to his equipment, particularly after some portrayals (primarily the 1960s Batman live-action television show and the Super Friends animated series) stretched the practice to camp proportions. The 1960s television series Batman has an arsenal that includes such ridiculous, satirical "bat-" names as the bat-computer, bat-scanner, bat-radar, bat-cuffs, bat-pontoons, bat-drinking water dispenser, bat-camera with polarized bat-filter, shark repellent bat-spray, and bat-rope. In one episode, Batman and Robin stop by an outdoor hamburger stand which sells "bat-burgers", beef sandwiches supposedly named in his honor. The storyline "A Death in the Family" suggests that given Batman's grim nature, he is unlikely to have adopted the "bat" prefix on his own.