Subsequent creation credit

Kane signed away ownership in the character in exchange for, among other compensation, a mandatory byline on all Batman comics. This byline did not originally say "Batman created by Bob Kane"; his name was simply written on the title page of each story. The name disappeared from the comic book in the mid-1960s, replaced by credits for each story's actual writer and artists. In the late 1970s, when Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster began receiving a "created by" credit on the Superman titles, along with William Moulton Marston being given the byline for creating Wonder Woman, Batman stories began saying "Created by Bob Kane" in addition to the other credits.

Finger did not receive the same recognition. While he had received credit for other DC work since the 1940s, he began, in the 1960s, to receive limited acknowledgment for his Batman writing; in the letters page of Batman #169 (February 1965) for example, editor Julius Schwartz names him as the creator of the Riddler, one of Batman's recurring villains. However, Finger's contract left him only with his writing page rate and no byline. Kane wrote, "Bill was disheartened by the lack of major accomplishments in his career. He felt that he had not used his creative potential to its fullest and that success had passed him by."^[13] At the time of Finger's death in 1974, DC had not officially credited Finger as Batman co-creator.

Jerry Robinson, who also worked with Finger and Kane on the strip at this time, has criticized Kane for failing to share the credit. He recalled Finger resenting his position, stating in a 2005 interview with The Comics Journal:

Bob made him more insecure, because while he slaved working on Batman, he wasn't sharing in any of the glory or the money that Bob began to make, which is why ...[he was] going to leave [Kane's employ]. ...[Kane] should have credited Bill as co-creator, because I know; I was there. ...That was one thing I would never forgive Bob for, was not to take care of Bill or recognize his vital role in the creation of Batman. As with Siegel and Shuster, it should have been the same, the same co-creator credit in the strip, writer, and artist.^[18]

Although Kane initially rebutted Finger's claims at having created the character, writing in a 1965 open letter to fans that "it seemed to me that Bill Finger has given out the impression that he and not myself created the ''Batman, t' [sic] as well as Robin and all the other leading villains and characters. This statement is fraudulent and entirely untrue." Kane himself also commented on Finger's lack of credit. "The trouble with being a 'ghost' writer or artist is that you must remain rather anonymously without 'credit'. However, if one wants the 'credit', then one has to cease being a 'ghost' or follower and become a leader or innovator."^[19]

In 1989, Kane revisited Finger's situation, recalling in an interview:

In those days it was like, one artist and he had his name over it [the comic strip] — the policy of DC in the comic books was, if you can't write it, obtain other writers, but their names would never appear on the comic book in the finished version. So Bill never asked me for it [the byline] and I never volunteered — I guess my ego at that time. And I felt badly, really, when he [Finger] died.^[20]

In September 2015, DC Entertainment revealed that Finger would be receiving credit for his role in Batman's creation on the 2016 superhero film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the second season of Gotham after a deal was worked out between the Finger family and DC.^[2] Finger received credit as a creator of Batman for the first time in a comic in October 2015 with Batman and Robin Eternal #3 and Batman: Arkham Knight Genesis #3. The updated acknowledgment for the character appeared as "Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger".^[3]

Early years

Batman made his debut in Detective Comics #27 (cover dated May 1939), cover art by Bob Kane

The first Batman story, "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate", was published in Detective Comics #27 (cover dated May 1939). It was inspired, some say plagiarized, by the 60 page story “Partners of Peril” in The Shadow #113, which was written by Theodore Tinsley and illustrated by Tom Lovell.^[21] Finger said, "Batman was originally written in the style of the pulps",^[22] and this influence was evident with Batman showing little remorse over killing or maiming criminals. Batman proved a hit character, and he received his own solo title in 1940 while continuing to star in Detective Comics. By that time, Detective Comics was the top-selling and most influential publisher in the industry; Batman and the company's other major hero, Superman, were the cornerstones of the company's success.^[23] The two characters were featured side by side as the stars of World's Finest Comics, which was originally titled World's Best Comics when it debuted in fall 1940. Creators including Jerry Robinson and Dick Sprang also worked on the strips during this period.

Over the course of the first few Batman strips elements were added to the character and the artistic depiction of Batman evolved. Kane noted that within six issues he drew the character's jawline more pronounced, and lengthened the ears on the costume. "About a year later he was almost the full figure, my mature Batman", Kane said.^[24] Batman's characteristic utility belt was introduced in Detective Comics #29 (July 1939), followed by the boomerang-like batarang and the first bat-themed vehicle, the Batplane, in #31 (September 1939). The character's origin was revealed in #33 (November 1939), unfolding in a two-page story that establishes the brooding persona of Batman, a character driven by the death of his parents. Written by Finger, it depicts a young Bruce Wayne witnessing his parents' murder at the hands of a mugger. Days later, at their grave, the child vows that "by the spirits of my parents [I will] avenge their deaths by spending the rest of my life warring on all criminals".^[25][26][27]

The early, pulp-inflected portrayal of Batman started to soften in Detective Comics #38 (April 1940) with the introduction of Robin, Batman's junior counterpart.^[28] Robin was introduced, based on Finger's suggestion, because Batman needed a "Watson" with whom Batman could talk.^[29] Sales nearly doubled, despite Kane's preference for a solo Batman, and it sparked a proliferation of "kid sidekicks".^[30] The first issue of the solo spin-off series Batman was notable not only for introducing two of his most persistent enemies, the Joker and Catwoman, but for a pre-Robin inventory story, originally meant for Detective Comics #38, in which Batman shoots some monstrous giants to death.^[31][32] That story prompted editor Whitney Ellsworth to decree that the character could no longer kill or use a gun.^[33]

By 1942, the writers and artists behind the Batman comics had established most of the basic elements of the Batman mythos.^[34] In the years following World War II, DC Comics "adopted a postwar editorial direction that increasingly de-emphasized social commentary in favor of lighthearted juvenile fantasy". The impact of this editorial approach was evident in Batman comics of the postwar period; removed from the "bleak and menacing world" of the strips of the early 1940s, Batman was instead portrayed as a respectable citizen and paternal figure that inhabited a "bright and colorful" environment.^[35]

1950s and early 1960s

Batman was one of the few superhero characters to be continuously published as interest in the genre waned during the 1950s. In the story "The Mightiest Team in the World" in Superman #76 (June 1952), Batman teams up with Superman for the first time and the pair discover each other's secret identity.^[36] Following the success of this story, World's Finest Comics was revamped so it featured stories starring both heroes together, instead of the separate Batman and Superman features that had been running before.^[37] The team-up of the characters was "a financial success in an era when those were few and far between";^[38] this series of stories ran until the book's cancellation in 1986.

Batman comics were among those criticized when the comic book industry came under scrutiny with the publication of psychologist Fredric Wertham's book Seduction of the Innocent in 1954. Wertham's thesis was that children imitated crimes committed in comic books, and that these works corrupted the morals of the youth. Wertham criticized Batman comics for their supposed homosexual overtones and argued that Batman and Robin were portrayed as lovers.^[39] Wertham's criticisms raised a public outcry during the 1950s, eventually leading to the establishment of the Comics Code Authority, a code that is no longer in use by the comic book industry. The tendency towards a "sunnier Batman" in the postwar years intensified after the introduction of the Comics Code.^[40] Scholars have suggested that the characters of Batwoman (in 1956) and the pre-Barbara Gordon Bat-Girl (in 1961) were introduced in part to refute the allegation that Batman and Robin were gay, and the stories took on a campier, lighter feel.^[41]

In the late 1950s, Batman stories gradually became more science fiction-oriented, an attempt at mimicking the success of other DC characters that had dabbled in the genre.^[42] New characters such as Batwoman, the original Bat-Girl, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Bat-Mite were introduced. Batman's adventures often involved odd transformations or bizarre space aliens. In 1960, Batman debuted as a member of the Justice League of America in The Brave and the Bold #28 (February 1960), and went on to appear in several Justice League comic book series starting later that same year.

"New Look" Batman and camp

By 1964, sales of Batman titles had fallen drastically. Bob Kane noted that, as a result, DC was "planning to kill Batman off altogether".^[43] In response to this, editor Julius Schwartz was assigned to the Batman titles. He presided over drastic changes, beginning with 1964's Detective Comics #327 (May 1964), which was cover-billed as the "New Look". Schwartz introduced changes designed to make Batman more contemporary, and to return him to more detective-oriented stories. He brought in artist Carmine Infantino to help overhaul the character. The Batmobile was redesigned, and Batman's costume was modified to incorporate a yellow ellipse behind the bat-insignia. The space aliens, time travel, and characters of the 1950s such as Batwoman, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Bat-Mite were retired. Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred was killed off (though his death was quickly reversed) while a new female relative for the Wayne family, Aunt Harriet Cooper, came to live with Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson.^[44]

The debut of the Batman television series in 1966 had a profound influence on the character. The success of the series increased sales throughout the comic book industry, and Batman reached a circulation of close to 900,000 copies.^[45] Elements such as the character of Batgirl and the show's campy nature were introduced into the comics; the series also initiated the return of Alfred. Although both the comics and TV show were successful for a time, the camp approach eventually wore thin and the show was canceled in 1968. In the aftermath, the Batman comics themselves lost popularity once again. As Julius Schwartz noted, "When the television show was a success, I was asked to be campy, and of course when the show faded, so did the comic books."^[46]

Cover of Batman #227 (November 1970) returning Batman to the darker roots of the original publications. Art by Neal Adams.

Starting in 1969, writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams made a deliberate effort to distance Batman from the campy portrayal of the 1960s TV series and to return the character to his roots as a "grim avenger of the night".^[47] O'Neil said his idea was "simply to take it back to where it started. I went to the DC library and read some of the early stories. I tried to get a sense of what Kane and Finger were after."^[48]

O'Neil and Adams first collaborated on the story "The Secret of the Waiting Graves" in Detective Comics #395 (January 1970). Few stories were true collaborations between O'Neil, Adams, Schwartz, and inker Dick Giordano, and in actuality these men were mixed and matched with various other creators during the 1970s; nevertheless the influence of their work was "tremendous".^[49] Giordano said: "We went back to a grimmer, darker Batman, and I think that's why these stories did so well ..."^[50] While the work of O'Neil and Adams was popular with fans, the acclaim did little to improve declining sales; the same held true with a similarly acclaimed run by writer Steve Englehart and penciler Marshall Rogers in Detective Comics #471–476 (August 1977 – April 1978), which went on to influence the 1989 movie Batman and be adapted for Batman: The Animated Series, which debuted in 1992.^[51] Regardless, circulation continued to drop through the 1970s and 1980s, hitting an all-time low in 1985.^[52]

The Dark Knight Returns

Frank Miller's limited series The Dark Knight Returns (February–June 1986) returned the character to his darker roots, both in atmosphere and tone. The comic book, which tells the story of a 55-year-old Batman coming out of retirement in a possible future, reinvigorated interest in the character. The Dark Knight Returns was a financial success and has since become one of the medium's most noted touchstones.^[53] The series also sparked a major resurgence in the character's popularity.^[54]

That year Dennis O'Neil took over as editor of the Batman titles and set the template for the portrayal of Batman following DC's status quo-altering 12-issue miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths. O'Neil operated under the assumption that he was hired to revamp the character and as a result tried to instill a different tone in the books than had gone before.^[55] One outcome of this new approach was the "Year One" storyline in Batman #404–407 (February–May 1987), in which Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli redefined the character's origins.^[56] Writer Alan Moore and artist Brian Bolland continued this dark trend with 1988's 48-page one-shot issue Batman: The Killing Joke, in which the Joker, attempting to drive Commissioner Gordon insane, cripples Gordon's daughter Barbara, and then kidnaps and tortures the commissioner, physically and psychologically.^[57]

The Batman comics garnered major attention in 1988 when DC Comics created a 900 number for readers to call to vote on whether Jason Todd, the second Robin, lived or died. Voters decided in favor of Jason's death by a narrow margin of 28 votes (see Batman: A Death in the Family).^[56]

Knightfall

The 1993 "Knightfall" story arc introduced a new villain, Bane, who critically injures Batman after pushing him to the limits of his endurance. Jean-Paul Valley, known as Azrael, is called upon to wear the Batsuit during Bruce Wayne's convalescence. Writers Doug Moench, Chuck Dixon, and Alan Grant worked on the Batman titles during "Knightfall", and would also contribute to other Batman crossovers throughout the 1990s. 1998's "Cataclysm" storyline served as the precursor to 1999's "No Man's Land", a year-long storyline that ran through all the Batman-related titles dealing with the effects of an earthquake-ravaged Gotham City. At the conclusion of "No Man's Land", O'Neil stepped down as editor and was replaced by Bob Schreck.^[58]

Another writer who rose to prominence on the Batman comic series, was Jeph Loeb. Along with longtime collaborator Tim Sale, they wrote two miniseries (The Long Halloween and Dark Victory) that pit an early-in-his-career version of Batman against his entire rogues gallery (including Two-Face, whose origin was re-envisioned by Loeb) while dealing with various mysteries involving serial killers Holiday and the Hangman.

Hush and Under the Hood

In 2003, Loeb teamed with artist Jim Lee to work on another mystery arc: "Batman: Hush" for the main Batman book. The 12–issue story line has Batman and Catwoman teaming up against Batman's entire rogues gallery, including an apparently resurrected Jason Todd, while seeking to find the identity of the mysterious supervillain Hush.^[59] While the character of Hush failed to catch on with readers, the arc was a sales success for DC. The series became #1 on the Diamond Comic Distributors sales chart for the first time since Batman #500 (October 1993) and Todd's appearance laid the groundwork for writer Judd Winick's subsequent run as writer on Batman, with another multi-issue arc, "Under the Hood", which ran from Batman #637–650 (April 2005 – April 2006).

All Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder

In 2005, DC launched All Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder, a stand-alone comic book miniseries set outside the main DC Universe continuity. Written by Frank Miller and drawn by Jim Lee, the series was a commercial success for DC Comics,^[60][61] although it was widely panned by critics for its writing, characterization, and strong depictions of violence.^[62][63]

Grant Morrison's Batman Run

Starting in 2006, Grant Morrison and Paul Dini were the regular writers of Batman and Detective Comics, with Morrison reincorporating controversial elements of Batman lore. Most notably of these elements were the science fiction-themed storylines of the 1950s Batman comics, which Morrison revised as hallucinations Batman experienced under the influence of various mind-bending gases and extensive sensory deprivation training. In Batman and Son, Morrison re-introduced the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia Al Ghul, Damian Wayne, to continuity, who had been raised by his mother in the League of Assassins. A son of Wayne and Al Ghul had previously appeared as an infant in the non-canon Son of the Demon. In the storyline The Three Ghosts of Batman, Morrison expanded upon the gun-wielding imposter Batman from his first issue on the series, introducing two more imposter Batmen, all former police officers.^[64][65] Morrison created an apocalyptic possible future in Batman #666, where Damian Wayne has adopted the role of Batman following his father's death, but unlike Bruce Wayne, having no issue with killing criminals. Following this story, Morrison reintroduced a number of Silver Age characters such as Knight and Squire, El Gaucho, and Man of Bats in The Batmen of All Nations, laying the groundwork for their future work on Batman Incorporated.

Morrison's run reached its first climax with "Batman R.I.P.", which brought Batman up against the villainous "Black Glove" organization, led by Doctor Simon Hurt, which sought to drive Batman to madness and ruin the Wayne family's reputation. "Batman R.I.P." segued into Final Crisis (also written by Morrison), which saw the apparent death of Batman at the hands of Darkseid, revealing in its final pages that Bruce was alive, but sent back in time by Darkseid's Omega Sanction. In the 2009 miniseries Batman: Battle for the Cowl, Wayne's former protégé Dick Grayson becomes the new Batman, and Wayne's son Damian becomes the new Robin.^[66][67] In June 2009, Judd Winick returned to writing Batman, while Grant Morrison was given their own series, titled Batman and Robin.^[68] Batman and Robin followed this new dynamic duo, introducing villains such as Professor Pyg and Flamingo, and further developing the characters of Knight and Squire.

In 2010, the storyline Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne saw Bruce travel through history, eventually returning to the present day. Although he reclaimed the mantle of Batman, he also allowed Grayson to continue being Batman. Bruce decided to take his crime-fighting cause globally, which is the central focus of Batman Incorporated. DC Comics would later announce that Grayson would be the main character in Batman, Detective Comics, and Batman and Robin, while Wayne would be the main character in Batman Incorporated and another ongoing series, Batman: The Dark Knight. The first volume of Batman Incorporated continued Morrison's quest to reintroduce elements of previous stories, with the return of the original Kathy Kane Batwoman, and finished with the reveal of Talia Al Ghul as the person behind Leviathan, and the series main antagonist.

The New 52

In September 2011, DC Comics' entire line of superhero comic books, including its Batman franchise, were cancelled and relaunched with new #1 issues as part of The New 52 reboot. Bruce Wayne is the only character to operate under the Batman identity and is featured in Batman, Detective Comics, Batman and Robin, and Batman: The Dark Knight. Dick Grayson returns to the mantle of Nightwing and appears in his own ongoing series. While many characters have their histories significantly altered to attract new readers, Batman's history remained mostly intact.

Batman Incorporated was relaunched in 2012–2013 to complete the "Leviathan" storyline in issues 0-13. It also contextualized the possible future of Batman #666 as a vision Bruce Wayne experienced while travelling through time, and reached its conclusion in 2013. In this final act of Morrison's run reached its emotional climax with the death of Damian Wayne at the hands of his evil clone, the Heretic, working for Leviathan. The run concluded with Leviathan's plan to destroy the world thwarted by the members of Batman Incorporated, the reveal that Kathy Kane was alive and working for the organization Spyral, and the death of Talia Al Ghul at Kane's hands. In the run's final pages, Ra's Al Ghul stands in a room of clones of Damian Wayne, declaring "Sons of Batman. Rise!", ending Morrison's work on Batman.

With the beginning of The New 52, Scott Snyder took over as writer of the Batman title. His first major story arc was "Night of the Owls", where Batman confronts the Court of Owls, a secret society that has controlled Gotham for centuries. It was followed by Batman vol. 2 #0, published in June 2012, a brief flashback to Zero Year, teasing the upcoming Zero Year arc. The second story arc was "Death of the Family", in which the Joker returns to Gotham and attacks each member of the Batman family in an attempt to prove Batman's extended cast makes the character weaker.

The third story arc was "Batman: Zero Year", which redefined Batman's origin in The New 52, replacing the previous Year One storyline. The final story before the Convergence (2015) storyline was "Endgame", depicting the supposed final battle between Batman and the Joker when he unleashes the deadly Endgame virus onto Gotham City. The storyline ends in issue #40 with Batman and Joker's apparent deaths.

Starting with Batman vol. 2 #41, Commissioner James Gordon takes over Bruce's mantle as a new, state-sanctioned, robotic-Batman, debuting in the Free Comic Book Day special comic Divergence. However, Bruce Wayne is soon revealed to be alive, albeit now with almost total amnesia of his life as Batman, but, with Alfred's help, remembers his life as Bruce Wayne. Bruce Wayne finds happiness and proposes to his girlfriend, Julie Madison, but Mr. Bloom heavily injures Jim Gordon and takes control of Gotham City and threatens to destroy the city by energizing a particle reactor to create a "strange star" to swallow the city. Bruce Wayne discovers the truth that he was Batman and after talking to a stranger who smiles a lot (it is heavily implied that this is the amnesic Joker) he forces Alfred to implant his memories as Batman, but at the cost of his memories as the reborn Bruce Wayne. He returns and helps Jim Gordon defeat Mr. Bloom and shut down the reactor. Gordon gets his job back as the commissioner, and the government Batman project is shut down.^[69]

In 2015, DC Comics released The Dark Knight III: The Master Race, the sequel to Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns and The Dark Knight Strikes Again.^[70]

DC Rebirth and Infinite Frontier

In June 2016, the DC Rebirth event relaunched DC Comics' entire line of comic book titles. Batman was rebooted as starting with a one-shot issue entitled Batman: Rebirth #1 (August 2016). The series then began shipping twice-monthly as a third volume, starting with Batman vol. 3 #1 (August 2016). The third volume of Batman was written by Tom King, and artwork was provided by David Finch and Mikel Janín. The Batman series introduced two vigilantes, Gotham and Gotham Girl. Detective Comics resumed its original numbering system starting with June 2016's #934, and the New 52 series was labeled as volume 2, with issues numbering from #0-52.^[71] Similarly with the Batman title, the New 52 issues were labeled as volume 2 and encompassed issues #0-52. Writer James Tynion IV and artists Eddy Barrows and Alvaro Martinez worked on Detective Comics #934, and the series initially featured a team consisting of Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, Cassandra Cain, and Clayface, led by Batman and Batwoman.

DC Comics ended the DC Rebirth branding in December 2017, opting to include everything under a larger DC Universe banner and naming. The continuity established by DC Rebirth continues across DC's comic book titles, including volume 1 of Detective Comics and volume 3 of Batman.^[72][73]

After the conclusion of Batman vol. 3 #85^[74] a new creative team consisting of James Tynion IV with art by Tony S. Daniel and Danny Miki replaced Tom King, David Finch and Mikel Janín. Following Tynion's departure from DC Comics, Joshua Williamson, who previously wrote the backup story in issue #106, briefly became the new head writer in December 2021 starting with issue #118.^[75] Chip Zdarsky then became the head writer with artist Jorge Jimenez returning after having previously illustrated parts of Tynion's run. Their run begun with issue #125, which was released on July 5, 2022 and starts with "Failsafe", a six-issue story arc.^[76]

Personality

Batman's primary character traits can be summarized as "wealth; physical prowess; deductive abilities and obsession".^[89] The details and tone of Batman comic books have varied over the years with different creative teams. Dennis O'Neil noted that character consistency was not a major concern during early editorial regimes: "Julie Schwartz did a Batman in Batman and Detective and Murray Boltinoff did a Batman in the Brave and the Bold and apart from the costume they bore very little resemblance to each other. Julie and Murray did not want to coordinate their efforts, nor were they asked to do so. Continuity was not important in those days."^[90]

The driving force behind Bruce Wayne's character is his parents' murder and their absence. Bob Kane and Bill Finger discussed Batman's background and decided that "there's nothing more traumatic than having your parents murdered before your eyes".^[91] Despite his trauma, he sets his mind on studying to become a scientist^[92][93] and to train his body into physical perfection^[92][93] to fight crime in Gotham City as Batman, an inspired idea from Wayne's insight into the criminal mind.^[92][93] He also speaks over 40 languages.^[94]

Another of Batman's characterizations is that of a vigilante; in order to stop evil that started with the death of his parents, he must sometimes break the law himself. Although manifested differently by being re-told by different artists, it is nevertheless that the details and the prime components of Batman's origin have never varied at all in the comic books, the "reiteration of the basic origin events holds together otherwise divergent expressions".^[95] The origin is the source of the character's traits and attributes, which play out in many of the character's adventures.^[89]

Batman is often treated as a vigilante by other characters in his stories. Frank Miller views the character as "a dionysian figure, a force for anarchy that imposes an individual order".^[96] Dressed as a bat, Batman deliberately cultivates a frightening persona in order to aid him in crime-fighting,^[97] a fear that originates from the criminals' own guilty conscience.^[98] Miller is often credited with reintroducing anti-heroic traits into Batman's characterization,^[99] such as his brooding personality, willingness to use violence and torture, and increasingly alienated behavior. Batman, shortly a year after his debut and the introduction of Robin, was changed in 1940 after DC editor Whitney Ellsworth felt the character would be tainted by his lethal methods and DC established their own ethical code, subsequently he was retconned to have a stringent moral code,^[33][100] which has stayed with the character of Batman ever since. Miller's Batman was closer to the original pre-Robin version, who was willing to kill criminals if necessary.^[101]

Children

Throughout the character's history, Batman has had numerous adopted and biological children throughout the character's various interpretations and iterations. In the mainline DC Universe, Bruce is the adoptive father of Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Cassandra Cain, and the biological father of Damian Wayne, who is Bruce's son with his old lover Talia Al Ghul (the daughter of Bruce's ex-mentor and League of Assassins head Ra's al Ghul, thus making Ra's Damian's grandfather), all of whom Bruce trained to become and have followed his path as crimefighters. In addition to his legally adopted children, Bruce is also a surrogate father to proteges Duke Thomas and Stephanie Brown. Notable alternate universe biological children of Bruce's include Helena Wayne, the biological daughter of the Golden Age/Earth 2's Bruce Wayne and that universe's Selina Kyle, Terry and Matt McGuiness from the DC Animated Universe, and Ibn al Xu'ffasch from the Kingdom Come universe. Damian Wayne is the biological son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul,^{[66][111][112]} and thus the grandson of Ra's al Ghul. Terry and Matt McGuiness were the result of an experiment led by the DCAU's Amanda Waller to create a replacement Batman to succeed Bruce once he aged out of the mantle. Waller had her team gather Bruce's genetic material from the aftermaths of numerous battles and crime scenes and used the genetic material to transform the reproductive system of Warren McGuiness, Terry and Matt's father, to be a copy to Bruce's. Terry eventually did meet Bruce and wound up becoming Batman in the series Batman Beyond, though he did not discover his relation to Bruce until 15 years after they first met when an elderly Amanda Waller revealed the full story to him. Like Damian, Ibn al Xu'ffasch is Bruce's son with Talia al Ghul, but unlike Damian, al Xu'ffasch did not learn of his relation to Bruce until his adulthood. Ibn later married the daughter of Dick Grayson and Starfire, Mari Grayson, whom he had two children with.

Romantic interests

Writers have varied in the approach over the years to the "playboy" aspect of Bruce Wayne's persona. Some writers show his playboy reputation as a manufactured illusion to support his mission as Batman, while others have depicted Bruce Wayne as genuinely enjoying the benefits of being "Gotham's most eligible bachelor". Bruce Wayne has been portrayed as being romantically linked with many women throughout his various incarnations.

Batman's first romantic interest was Julie Madison in Detective Comics #31 (September 1939); however, their romance was short-lived. Some of Batman's romantic interests have been women with a respected status in society, such as Julie Madison, Vicki Vale, and Silver St. Cloud. Batman has also been romantically involved with allies and enemies such as Kathy Kane (Batwoman), Sasha Bordeaux, Zatanna, Wonder Woman, and Pamela Isley (Poison Ivy). His most significant relationships occurred with Selina Kyle (Catwoman)^[113] and Talia al Ghul; both women bore his biological offsprings, Helena Wayne and Damian Wayne, respectively.

Catwoman

While most of Batman's romantic relationships tend to be short in duration, Catwoman has been his most enduring romance throughout the years.^[114] The attraction between Batman and Catwoman, whose real name is Selina Kyle, is present in nearly every version and medium in which the characters appear, including a love story between their two secret identities as early as in the 1966 film Batman. Although Catwoman is typically portrayed as a villain, Batman and Catwoman have worked together in achieving common goals and are usually depicted as having a romantic connection.

In an early 1980s storyline, Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne develop a relationship, in which the closing panel of the final story shows her referring to Batman as "Bruce". However, a change in the editorial team brought a swift end to that storyline and, apparently, all that transpired during the story arc. Out of costume, Bruce and Selina develop a romantic relationship during The Long Halloween. The story shows Selina saving Bruce from Poison Ivy. However, the relationship ends when Bruce rejects her advances twice; once as Bruce and once as Batman. In Batman: Dark Victory, he stands her up on two holidays, causing her to leave him for good and to leave Gotham City for a while. When the two meet at an opera many years later, during the events of the 12-issue story arc called "Hush", Bruce comments that the two no longer have a relationship as Bruce and Selina. However, "Hush" sees Batman and Catwoman allied against the entire rogues gallery and rekindling their romantic relationship. In "Hush", Batman reveals his true identity to Catwoman.

The Earth-Two Batman, a character from a parallel world, partners with and marries the reformed Earth-Two Selina Kyle, as shown in Superman Family #211. They have a daughter named Helena Wayne, who becomes the Huntress. Along with Dick Grayson, the Earth-Two Robin, the Huntress takes the role as Gotham's protector once Bruce Wayne retires to become police commissioner, a position he occupies until he is killed during one final adventure as Batman.

Batman and Catwoman are shown having a sexual encounter on the roof of a building in Catwoman vol. 4 #1 (2011); the same issue implies that the two have an ongoing sexual relationship.^[115] Following the 2016 DC Rebirth continuity reboot, the two once again have a sexual encounter on top of a building in Batman vol. 3 #14 (2017).^[116]

Following the 2016 DC Rebirth continuity reboot, Batman and Catwoman work together in the third volume of Batman. The two also have a romantic relationship, in which they are shown having a sexual encounter on a rooftop and sleeping together.^{[116][117][118]} Bruce proposes to Selina in Batman vol. 3 #24 (2017),^[119] and in issue #32, Selina asks Bruce to propose to her again. When he does so, she says, "Yes."^[118]

Batman vol. 3 Annual #2 (January 2018) centers on a romantic storyline between Batman and Catwoman. Towards the end, the story is flash-forwarded to the future, in which Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle are a married couple in their golden years. Bruce receives a terminal medical diagnosis, and Selina cares for him until his death.^[118]

Origin

Thomas and Martha Wayne are shot by Joe Chill in Detective Comics #33 (November 1939), art by Bob Kane

The central fixed event in the Batman stories is the character's origin story.^[89] As a young boy, Bruce Wayne was horrified and traumatized when he watched his parents, the physician Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, murdered with a gun by a mugger named Joe Chill. Batman refuses to utilize any sort of gun on the principle that a gun was used to murder his parents. This event drove him to train his body to its peak condition and fight crime in Gotham City as Batman. Pearson and Uricchio also noted beyond the origin story and such events as the introduction of Robin, "Until recently, the fixed and accruing and hence, canonized, events have been few in number",^[89] a situation altered by an increased effort by later Batman editors such as Dennis O'Neil to ensure consistency and continuity between stories.^[129]

Golden Age

In Batman's first appearance in Detective Comics #27, he is already operating as a crime-fighter.^[130] Batman's origin is first presented in Detective Comics #33 (November 1939) and is later expanded upon in Batman #47. As these comics state, Bruce Wayne is born to Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, two very wealthy and charitable Gotham City socialites. Bruce is brought up in Wayne Manor, and leads a happy and privileged existence until the age of 8, when his parents are killed by a small-time criminal named Joe Chill while on their way home from a movie theater. That night, Bruce Wayne swears an oath to spend his life fighting crime. He engages in intense intellectual and physical training; however, he realizes that these skills alone would not be enough. "Criminals are a superstitious cowardly lot", Wayne remarks, "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 craft the Batman persona.^[131]

In early strips, Batman's career as a vigilante earns him the ire of the police. During this period, Bruce Wayne has a fiancé named Julie Madison.^[132] In Detective Comics #38, Wayne takes in an orphaned circus acrobat, Dick Grayson, who becomes his vigilante partner, Robin. Batman also becomes a founding member of the Justice Society of America,^[133] although he, like Superman, is an honorary member,^[134] and thus only participates occasionally. Batman's relationship with the law thaws quickly, and he is made an honorary member of Gotham City's police department.^[135] During this time, Alfred Pennyworth arrives at Wayne Manor, and after deducing the Dynamic Duo's secret identities, joins their service as their butler.^[136]

Silver Age

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. 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 many science-fiction elements, and Batman is not significantly updated in the manner of other characters until Detective Comics #327 (May 1964), in which Batman reverts to his detective roots, with most science-fiction elements jettisoned from the series.

After the introduction of DC Comics' Multiverse in the 1960s, DC established that stories from the Golden Age star the Earth-Two Batman, a character from a parallel world. This version of Batman partners with and marries the reformed Earth-Two Catwoman (Selina Kyle). The two have a daughter, Helena Wayne, who becomes the Huntress. She assumes the position as Gotham's protector along with Dick Grayson, the Earth-Two Robin, once Bruce Wayne retires to become police commissioner. Wayne holds the position of police commissioner until he is killed during one final adventure as Batman. Batman titles, however, often ignored that a distinction had been made between the pre-revamp and post-revamp Batmen (since unlike the Flash or Green Lantern, Batman comics had been published without interruption through the 1950s) and would occasionally make reference to stories from the Golden Age.^[137] Nevertheless, details of Batman's history were altered or expanded upon through the decades. Additions include meetings with a future Superman during his youth, his upbringing by his uncle Philip Wayne (introduced in Batman #208 (February 1969)) after his parents' death, and appearances of his father and himself as prototypical versions of Batman and Robin, respectively.^[138][139] In 1980, then-editor Paul Levitz commissioned the Untold Legend of the Batman miniseries to thoroughly chronicle Batman's origin and history.

Batman meets and regularly works with other heroes during the Silver Age, 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 the series' cancellation in 1986. Batman and Superman are usually depicted as close friends. As a founding member of the Justice League of America, Batman appears in its first story, in 1960's The Brave and the Bold #28. In the 1970s and 1980s, The Brave and the Bold became a Batman title, in which Batman teams up with a different DC Universe superhero each month.

Bronze Age

In 1969, Dick Grayson attends college as part of DC Comics' effort to revise the Batman comics. Additionally, Batman also moves from his mansion, 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. In 1974's "Night of the Stalker" storyline, a diploma on the wall reveals Bruce Wayne as a graduate of Yale Law School.^[140] Batman 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 the Joker as a homicidal psychopath, and the arrival of Ra's al Ghul, a centuries-old terrorist who knows Batman's secret identity. In the 1980s, Dick Grayson becomes Nightwing.^[141]

In the final issue of The Brave and the Bold in 1983, Batman quits the Justice League and forms a new group called the Outsiders. He serves as the team's leader until Batman and the Outsiders #32 (1986) and the comic subsequently changed its title.

Modern Age

After the 12-issue miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC Comics retconned the histories of some major characters in an attempt at updating them for contemporary audiences. Frank Miller retold Batman's origin in the storyline "Year One" from Batman #404–407, which emphasizes a grittier tone in the character.^[142] Though the Earth-Two Batman is erased from history, many stories of Batman's Silver Age/Earth-One career (along with an amount of Golden Age ones) remain canonical in the Post-Crisis universe, with his origins remaining the same in essence, despite alteration. For example, Gotham's police are mostly corrupt, setting up further need for Batman's existence. The guardian Phillip Wayne is removed, leaving young Bruce to be raised by Alfred Pennyworth. Additionally, Batman is no longer a founding member of the Justice League of America, although he becomes leader for a short time of a new incarnation of the team launched in 1987. To help fill in the revised backstory for Batman following Crisis, DC launched a new Batman title called Legends of the Dark Knight in 1989 and has published various miniseries and one-shot stories since then that largely take place during the "Year One" period.^[143]

Subsequently, Batman begins exhibiting an excessive, reckless approach to his crimefighting, a result of the pain of losing Jason Todd. Batman works solo until the decade's close, when Tim Drake becomes the new Robin.^[144]

Many of the major Batman storylines since the 1990s have been intertitle crossovers that run for a number of issues. In 1993, DC published "Knightfall". During the storyline's first phase, the new villain Bane paralyzes Batman, leading Wayne to ask Azrael to take on the role. After the end of "Knightfall", the storylines split in two directions, following both the Azrael-Batman's adventures, and Bruce Wayne's quest to become Batman once more. The story arcs realign in "KnightsEnd", as Azrael becomes increasingly violent and is defeated by a healed Bruce Wayne. Wayne hands the Batman mantle to Dick Grayson (then Nightwing) for an interim period, while Wayne trains for a return to the role.^[145]

The 1994 company-wide crossover storyline Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! changes aspects of DC continuity again, including those of Batman. Noteworthy among these changes is that the general populace and the criminal element now consider Batman an urban legend rather than a known force.

Batman once again becomes a member of the Justice League during Grant Morrison's 1996 relaunch of the series, titled JLA. During this time, Gotham City faces catastrophe in the decade's closing crossover arc. In 1998's "Cataclysm" storyline, Gotham City is devastated by an earthquake and ultimately cut off from the United States. Deprived of many of his technological resources, Batman fights to reclaim the city from legions of gangs during 1999's "No Man's Land".

Meanwhile, Batman's relationship with the Gotham City Police Department changed for the worse with the events of "Batman: Officer Down" and "Batman: War Games/War Crimes"; Batman's long-time law enforcement allies Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock are forced out of the police department in "Officer Down", while "War Games" and "War Crimes" saw Batman become a wanted fugitive after a contingency plan of his to neutralize Gotham City's criminal underworld is accidentally triggered, resulting in a massive gang war that ends with the sadistic Black Mask the undisputed ruler of the city's criminal gangs. Lex Luthor arranges for the murder of Batman's on-again, off-again love interest Vesper Lynd (introduced in the mid-1990s) during the "Bruce Wayne: Murderer?" and "Bruce Wayne: Fugitive" story arcs. Though Batman is able to clear his name, he loses another ally in the form of his new bodyguard Sasha, who is recruited into the organization known as "Checkmate" while stuck in prison due to her refusal to turn state's evidence against her employer. While he was unable to prove that Luthor was behind the murder of Vesper, Batman does get his revenge with help from Talia al Ghul in Superman/Batman #1–6.

2000s

DC Comics' 2005 miniseries Identity Crisis reveals that JLA member Zatanna had edited Batman's memories to prevent him from stopping the Justice League from lobotomizing Dr. Light after he raped Sue Dibny. Batman later creates the Brother I satellite surveillance system to watch over and, if necessary, kill the other heroes after he remembered. The revelation of Batman's creation and his tacit responsibility for the Blue Beetle's death becomes a driving force in the lead-up to the Infinite Crisis miniseries, which again restructures DC continuity. Batman and a team of superheroes destroy Brother EYE and the OMACs, though, at the very end, Batman reaches his apparent breaking point when Alexander Luthor Jr. seriously wounds Nightwing. Picking up a gun, Batman nearly shoots Luthor in order to avenge his former sidekick, until Wonder Woman convinces him to not pull the trigger.

Following Infinite Crisis, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson (having recovered from his wounds), and Tim Drake retrace the steps Bruce had taken when he originally left Gotham City, to "rebuild Batman".^[146] In the Face the Face storyline, Batman and Robin return to Gotham City after their year-long absence. Part of this absence is captured during Week 30 of the 52 series, which shows Batman fighting his inner demons.^[147] Later on in 52, Batman is shown undergoing an intense meditation ritual in Nanda Parbat. This becomes an important part of the regular Batman title, which reveals that Batman is reborn as a more effective crime fighter while undergoing this ritual, having "hunted down and ate" the last traces of fear in his mind.^[148][149] At the end of the "Face the Face" story arc, Bruce officially adopts Tim (who had lost both of his parents at various points in the character's history) as his son.^[150] The follow-up story arc in Batman, Batman and Son, introduces Damian Wayne, who is Batman's son with Talia al Ghul. Although originally, in Batman: Son of the Demon, Bruce's coupling with Talia was implied to be consensual, this arc retconned it into Talia forcing herself on Bruce.^[151]

Batman, along with Superman and Wonder Woman, reforms the Justice League in the new Justice League of America series,^[152] and is leading the newest incarnation of the Outsiders.^[153]

Grant Morrison's 2008 storyline, "Batman R.I.P." featured Batman being physically and mentally broken by the enigmatic villain Doctor Hurt and attracted news coverage in advance of its highly promoted conclusion, which would speculated to feature the death of Bruce Wayne.^[154] However, though Batman is shown to possibly perish at the end of the arc, the two-issue arc "Last Rites", which leads into the crossover storyline "Final Crisis", shows that Batman survives his helicopter crash into the Gotham City River and returns to the Batcave, only to be summoned to the Hall of Justice by the JLA to help investigate the New God Orion's death. The story ends with Batman retrieving the god-killing bullet used to kill Orion, setting up its use in "Final Crisis".^[155] In the pages of Final Crisis Batman is reduced to a charred skeleton.^[156] In Final Crisis #7, Wayne is shown witnessing the passing of the first man, Anthro.^[157][158] Wayne's "death" sets up the three-issue Battle for the Cowl miniseries in which Wayne's ex-proteges compete for the "right" to assume the role of Batman, which concludes with Grayson becoming Batman,^[159] while Tim Drake takes on the identity of the Red Robin.^[160] Dick and Damian continue as Batman and Robin, and in the crossover storyline "Blackest Night", what appears to be Bruce's corpse is reanimated as a Black Lantern zombie,^[161] but is later shown that Bruce's corpse is one of Darkseid's failed Batman clones. Dick and Batman's other friends conclude that Bruce is alive.^[162][163]

2010s

Bruce subsequently returned in Morrison's miniseries Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne, which depicted his travels through time from prehistory to present-day Gotham.^{[164][165][166]} Bruce's return set up Batman Incorporated, an ongoing series which focused on Wayne franchising the Batman identity across the globe, allowing Dick and Damian to continue as Gotham's Dynamic Duo. Bruce publicly announced that Wayne Enterprises will aid Batman on his mission, known as "Batman, Incorporated". However, due to rebooted continuity that occurred as part of DC Comics' 2011 relaunch of all of its comic books, The New 52, Dick Grayson was restored as Nightwing with Wayne serving as the sole Batman once again. The relaunch also interrupted the publication of Batman, Incorporated, which resumed its story in 2012–2013 with changes to suit the new status quo.

Barbatos

Barbatos is a hooded, God-like being in the Dark Multiverse. Barbatos had previously visited Prime-Earth in the DC Multiverse and founded the Tribe of Judas, which would later become the Court of Owls. Sometime before returning (either willingly or not) to the Dark Multiverse, Barbatos encountered Hawkman/Carter Hall, and was hit by his mace. Barbatos tried to return to the Multiverse but the events of Final Crisis prevented him from doing so. However, after witnessing Bruce Wayne/Batman being sent back in time by Darkseid's Omega Beams, Barbatos realised the similarities between his and Bruce's Bat emblems and believed he could use him as a doorway. Barbatos' followers manipulated events in order for Bruce to be injected with four out of the five metals needed to create the doorway, and after the fifth was injected in the present day, Barbatos was able to transport himself and the Dark Knights to Prime-Earth to conquer it.^[193]

The Batman Who Laughs

The Batman Who Laughs is a version of Batman from Earth -22, a dark reflection of the Earth-22. In that reality, the Earth -22 Joker learned of Batman's identity as Bruce Wayne and killed most of Batman's other rogues along with Commissioner Gordon. He then subjected a sizeable population of Gotham's populace to the chemicals that transformed him, subsequently killing several parents in front of their children with the goal of turning them into essentially a combination of himself and Batman. When Batman grappled with the Joker, it resulted in the latter's death as Batman is exposed to a purified form of the chemicals that gradually turned him into a new Joker, the process proving irreversible by the time Batman discovered what was happening to him. The Batman who Laughs proceeded to take over Earth-22, killing off most of his allies and turning Damian into a mini-Joker. The Batman Who Laughs seems to be the de facto leader or second-in-command of Barbatos' Dark Knights and recruited the other members. After arriving on Prime-Earth, the Batman Who Laughs takes control of Gotham and oversees events at the Challenger's mountain. He distributes joker cards to the Batman's Rogues, giving them the ability to alter reality and take over sections of the city. Accompanying him are Damian and three other youths whom he also calls his sons, all four being twisted versions of Robin, having intended to destroy all of reality by linking the Over-Monitor to Anti-Monitor's astral brain. But The Batman Who Laughs is defeated when the Prime Universe Batman is aided by the Joker, who notes the alternate Batman's failure to perceive this scenario due to still being a version of Batman. While assumed dead, the Batman who Laughs is revealed to be in the custody of Lex Luthor who offers him a place in the Legion of Doom.

Red Death

The Red Death is a version of Batman from Earth -52, originally an aged man who broke after the deaths of Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian. Believing he has a chance to prevent the loss of more loved ones, Bruce decides he needs the Flash's Speed Force to achieve this and equips himself with the Rogues' equipment to capture the Flash. He knocks Barry out and ties him to the Batmobile, which has a machine created from reverse-engineering the Cosmic Treadmill attached to it. Using this machine against Barry's wishes, Bruce drove straight into the Speed Force while absorbing Barry in the process. Scarred by the ordeal, he developed a split personality created from residual traces of the Earth -52 Barry's mind. The newly-born Red Death tests his new powers but realizes he cannot stop his Earth from its destruction until he is recruited by The Batman Who Laughs, who promises him a new Earth to live upon. After entering Prime-Earth, the Red Death arrives in Central City and is confronted by Iris West and Wally West, during which he uses his powers to slow Wally and age them both. The Flash confronts the Red Death, and Doctor Fate saves Barry before the latter can attack. The Red Death proclaims that he will save Central City and make it his new home.^[194] After Barry is transported to a 'sand'-filled cave beneath Central City, the Red Death arrives and reveals several Flashmobiles and chases after Barry.^[195]

During the events of the Wild Hunt, the Red Death ceased when exposed by an energy wave from the release of a newlyborn universe with the restored Earth -52 Barry eventually destroyed from the energy consuming him.

• An original incarnation of the Red Death in the ninth season of The Flash, portrayed by Javicia Leslie. This version is a doppelgänger of Ryan Wilder from Earth-4125,^[196] a world where she was adopted by the Wayne family and Batman does not exist. Following her adoptive parents' murder, she became Batwoman to protect Gotham City as an adult, during which she met other heroes such as the Flash and befriended his wife Iris West-Allen. In time, Wilder gradually realized her methods for fighting crime resulted in criminals being temporarily incarcerated and allowed to escape. Studying the Flash's abilities, she built a suit of armor capable of artificially channeling the Speed Force and changed her codename to the Red Death. Eventually, she became reckless, killed Iris while fighting the Flash, and was rejected by the Speed Force due to her inorganic connection to it, which left her trapped in a vibrational form. In the present, she reaches Earth-Prime and forms the Rogues to steal Wayne Enterprises technology to restore her physical form and build a time machine. However, she comes into conflict with the Earth-Prime Flash, who forms his own Rogues and joins forces with his Batwoman to defeat her, after which the Red Death is taken into A.R.G.U.S. custody.

Murder Machine

The Murder Machine is a version of Batman from Earth -44, a dark reflection of the Earth-44. Distraught from having lost Alfred, Batman requested Cyborg to help him finish the Alfred Protocol, an A.I. version of Alfred. But the Alfred Protocol malfunctioned upon activation and began to multiply and kill all of Batman's Rogues Gallery. Bruce pleaded with Cyborg to help find a way to fix it but the latter refused. The Alfred Protocol began to merge with Bruce and the two became the Murder Machine, and his first act as this new entity was to kill Cyborg. After being recruited by the Batman Who Laughs, the Murder Machine arrives on Prime-Earth with the other Dark Knights. He proceeds to the Justice League's Watchtower and confronts Cyborg. After Cyborg is incapacitated by the other Dark Knights, the Murder Machine infects and converts the Watchtower as the Dark Knights' new base of operations.^[197]

Dawnbreaker

The Dawnbreaker is a version of Batman from Earth -32, a dark reflection of the Earth-32 where Batman became a Green Lantern. When Earth -32 Bruce lost his parents to Joe Chill, he is chosen by a Green Power Ring to become a Green Lantern. But Bruce's will overrides the ring's ban on lethal force and corrupts it, enabling him to use it to kill Chill and various criminals. After Bruce killed Gordon when eventually confronted, he wipes out the Green Lantern Corp and the Guardians of the Universe when they confront him. Bruce then entered his giant Green Lantern Power Battery and exits with a new outfit and moniker, the Dawnbreaker. However, he finds that his Earth has begun to collapse and he is met by the Batman Who Laughs who, after recruiting the Red Death and the Murder Machine, recruits the Dawnbreaker, promising him a new world to shroud in darkness. After arriving on Earth-0, Dawnbreaker heads to Coast City where he is confronted by Hal Jordan. Dawnbreaker tries to consume Hal Jordan in a 'blackout' but the latter is rescued by Doctor Fate. With Green Lantern gone, Dawnbreaker takes control of Coast City.^[198] The Dawnbreaker confronts Hal Jordan in a blacked out cave underneath Coast City, claiming that the Green Lantern oath is worthless in his cave.^[195]

Drowned

The Drowned is a version of Batman from Earth -11, a dark reflection of the reversed-gender Earth-11. Originally known as Batwoman, Bryce Wayne was in a relationship with Sylvester Kyle (Earth-11's male version of Selina Kyle) until he was killed by a metahuman. A revenge-driven Bryce spent 18 months hunting down every rogue metahuman before Aquawoman and the Atlanteans emerged from their self-imposed exile. While Aquawoman claimed her people came in peace, a skeptical Bryce declared war on Atlantis with the Atlanteans flooding Gotham in retaliation when their queen was killed. Bryce survived the disaster by performing auto-surgery on herself by introducing mutated hybrid DNA into her body, giving Bryce the ability to breath underwater, accelerated healing, and water manipulation. She also created an army of Dead Waters to fight for her. Donning a new attire, Bryce called herself The Drowned and successfully conquered Atlantis at the cost of flooding every city. After seeing her signal being lit, the Drowned met the Batman Who Laughs, who recruits her as a Dark Knight. After arriving on Earth-0, the Drowned headed to Amnesty Bay, where she was confronted by Aquaman and Mera. The two were unable to combat the Drowned and her army of Dead Waters, with Mera becoming infected and controlled by the Drowned while Aquaman was saved by Doctor Fate. The Drowned proceeded to take control of Amnesty Bay.^[199] When Aquaman is transported fathoms below Amnesty Bay, the Drowned attacks him, revealing that the infected Mera has mutated into a gargantuan shark/crab/octopus creature.^[195]

Merciless

The Merciless is a version of Batman from Earth -12. Here Batman is in a relationship with Wonder Woman. Having killed Ares in a fit of rage when Ares presumably kills Wonder Woman, the Earth -12 Batman acquired Ares's helmet and assumed that he can channel its power to war with justice and mercy rather than ruthless brutality. But it corrupted him and the 'Merciless' Batman ended up killing Wonder Woman (who had actually just been knocked out) while eliminating all his enemies. The Merciless is later depicted as destroying the Valhalla Mountain when Sam Lane, Amanda Waller, Steve Trevor and Mister Bones attempt a counter-attack against the Dark Batmen after the regular heroes have apparently failed.^[200] The Merciless confronts Wonder Woman after she is transported under the foundation of A.R.G.U.S Headquarters in Washington D.C., revealing his armory filled with the divine arsenal of the Gods he killed on his Earth. He reveals to her that his Diana taught him to fight and after he destroyed the Gods, the Merciless found Themyscria and fought them for three days. The Merciless also reveals that he ordered the Ferryman at the River Styx to gather every coin from every dead Amazon seeking passage into the afterlife which he melted into a giant golden drachma, which he strikes with a hammer, summoning the undead Amazons.^[195]

Devastator

The Devastator is a version of Batman from Earth -1, a dark reflection of Earth-1. When Superman turned evil and kills friend and foe alike along with Lois, the Earth-1 Batman injected himself with an engineered version of the Doomsday virus to stop the Kryptonian at the cost of his humanity as he transformed into a Doomsday-like monster. Despite his victory, the Devastator still feels remorse for not being able to protect Metropolis from Superman's wrath. The Batman Who Laughs offers The Devastator a second chance at saving those whom he feels are blindly inspired by Superman. Bruce infects the Earth-0 Lois Lane, Supergirl, and all of Metropolis with the Doomsday virus as he views it as the only way to protect them from Superman's strength and false prophecies.^[201] Along with the Murder Machine, the Devastator was sent to retrieve the Cosmic Tuning Tower, ripping it out of its foundation and throwing it outside the Fortress of Solitude.^[202] He is then confronted by the two Green Lanterns of Earth (Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz), The Flash/Wally West, Firestorm, and Lobo and he proceeds to incapacitate all except Lobo who he throws into the Sun. Grabbing the Cosmic Tuning Tower, the Devastator leaps into space and lands on the Challenger's Mountain, planting the tower on top of it.^[201]

Bathomet

Bathomet is a Cthulhu-like Batman from an unknown part of the Dark Multiverse.^[190]

Batmage

Batmage is an evil sorcerer version of Batman from an unknown part of the Dark Multiverse.^[190]

Batmanosaurus Rex

Batmanosaurus Rex (also called B-Rex) is a version of Batman from an unknown part of the Dark Multiverse. It is the result of Batman uploading his mind into the robotic Tyrannosaurus that he has in the Batcave when the Batcave collapsed for an unknown reason.^[190][191]

Castle Bat

Castle Bat is a version of Batman from an unknown part of the Dark Multiverse who sacrificed Damian Wayne as part of a ritual that would merge his soul with Gotham City enabling him to easily hunt down every villain. The Batman Who Laughs uses him as a headquarters for the Dark Knights.^[190][191]

Darkfather

Darkfather is a Batman from an unknown part of the Dark Multiverse who defeated Darkseid and acquired his powers. After mastering the Anti-Life Equation, Darkfather turned the Parademons of Apokolips into his Pararobins.^[190]

Dr. Arkham

Dr. Arkham is a Batman from an unknown part of the Dark Multiverse who left the vigilante business and took part in performing experiments on humans.^[190]

Batmanhattan

Batmanhattan is a Batman from an unknown part of the Dark Multiverse who harnessed the powers of Doctor Manhattan.^[190] The Batman Who Laughs would later lobotomize Batmanhattan and then transplant his brain into Batmanhattan in order to become Darkest Knight.^[192]

Batom

Batom is a Batman from an unknown part of the Dark Multiverse who sports the same Bio-Belt as Atom.^[192]

Batmobeast

Batmobeast is a version of Batman from an unknown part of the Dark Multiverse whose consciousness was uploaded into a monster truck after every digital system was destroyed by the people of his Earth.^[192][191]

Robin King

Robin King is a child version of Bruce Wayne from an unknown part of the Dark Multiverse who developed mass-murdering tendencies.^[192][191]

Baby Batman

Baby Batman is a baby version of Batman from an unknown part of the Dark Multiverse who downloaded his mind into an infant-resembling artificial body.^[191]

Grim Knight

Grim Knight is a Batman from an unknown part of the Dark Multiverse who wields firearms ever since the day his parents were killed by Joe Chill.^[203]

Burton/Schumacher series

In 1989, Warner Bros. released the feature film Batman, directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton as the title character. The film was a huge success; not only was it the top-grossing film of the year, but at the time was the fifth highest-grossing film in history.^[228] The film also won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction.^[229] The film's success spawned three sequels: Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997), the latter two of which were directed by Joel Schumacher instead of Burton, and replaced Keaton as Batman with Val Kilmer and George Clooney, respectively. The second Schumacher film failed to outgross any of its predecessors and was critically panned, causing Warner Bros. to cancel the planned fourth sequel, Batman Unchained,^[230] and end the initial film series. The first two films later became the basis for the Burton-inspired comic book series Batman '89 (2021).^[231] Keaton would later reprise his role as Bruce Wayne / Batman for the 2023 film, The Flash.^[232]

The Dark Knight Trilogy

In 2005, Batman Begins was released by Warner Bros. as a reboot of the film series, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale as Batman. Its sequel, The Dark Knight (2008), set the record for the highest grossing opening weekend of all time in the U.S., earning approximately $158 million,^[233] and became the fastest film to reach the $400 million mark in the history of American cinema (eighteenth day of release).^[234] These record-breaking attendances saw The Dark Knight end its run as the second-highest domestic grossing film (at the time) with $533 million, bested then only by Titanic.^[235] The film also won two Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for the late Heath Ledger.^[236] It was eventually followed by The Dark Knight Rises (2012), which served as a conclusion to Nolan's film series that has since been known as The Dark Knight Trilogy.

Animated films

Since 2008, Batman has also starred in various direct-to-video films under the DC Universe Animated Original Movies label. Kevin Conroy reprised his voice role of Batman for several of these films while others have featured celebrity voice actors in the role, including Jeremy Sisto, William Baldwin, Bruce Greenwood, Ben McKenzie, Peter Weller, and Jensen Ackles.^[237] In the direct-to-video films of the DC Animated Movie Universe, Batman was voiced by Kevin Conroy again in Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013) and by Jason O'Mara in all subsequent films, such as The Death of Superman (2018) and Batman: Hush (2019). A Lego-themed version of Batman was also featured as one of the protagonists in the theatrically-released animated film The Lego Movie (2014), with Will Arnett providing the voice.^[238] Arnett reprised the voice role for the spin-off film The Lego Batman Movie (2017),^[239] as well as for the sequel The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019). Keanu Reeves voiced Batman in the animated film DC League of Super-Pets (2022).^[240]

DC Extended Universe

Ben Affleck as Batman in the DC Extended Universe.

In 2016, Ben Affleck began portraying Batman in the DC Extended Universe with the release of the film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, directed by Zack Snyder,^[241] a younger child version of the character was played by Brandon Spink in the same film. Affleck also made a cameo appearance as Batman in David Ayer's film Suicide Squad (2016).^[242] Affleck reprised the role in the 2017 film Justice League,^[243][244] also set in the DC Extended Universe, as well as the director's cut, Zack Snyder's Justice League.^{[245][246][247][248]} Affleck reprised his role in the 2023 film, The Flash, also set in the DC Extended Universe. This and a cameo appearance in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom are expected to be Affleck's last appearance in the role.^[249][250]

DC Elseworlds films

Dante Pereira-Olson portrays a young Bruce Wayne in the 2019 film Joker.^[251][252]

Robert Pattinson portrays Bruce Wayne / Batman in the 2022 film, The Batman, directed by Matt Reeves.^[253][254]

DC Universe

A new iteration of Batman is set to appear in the DC Universe (DCU) franchise, beginning with the film The Brave and the Bold, produced by DC Studios. The film will focus on Batman and Damian Wayne.

Gay interpretations

Gay interpretations of the character have been part of the academic study of Batman since psychologist Fredric Wertham asserted in Seduction of the Innocent in 1954 that "Batman stories are psychologically homosexual ...The Batman type of story may stimulate children to homosexual fantasies, of the nature of which they may be unconscious."^[275] Andy Medhurst wrote in his 1991 essay "Batman, Deviance, and Camp" that Batman is interesting to gay audiences because "he was one of the first fictional characters to be attacked on the grounds of his presumed homosexuality".^[276] Professor of film and cultural studies Will Brooker argues the validity of a queer reading of Batman, and that gay readers would naturally find themselves drawn to the lifestyle depicted within, whether the character of Bruce Wayne himself were explicitly gay or not. He also identifies a homophobic element to the vigor with which mainstream fandom rejects the possibility of a gay reading of the character.^[277] In 2005, painter Mark Chamberlain displayed a number of watercolors depicting both Batman and Robin in suggestive and sexually explicit poses,^[278] prompting DC to threaten legal action.^[279]

Creators associated with the character have expressed their own opinions. Writer Alan Grant has stated, "The Batman I wrote for 13 years isn't gay ...everybody's Batman all the way back to Bob Kane ...none of them wrote him as a gay character. Only Joel Schumacher might have had an opposing view."^[280] Frank Miller views the character as sublimating his sexual urges into crimefighting so much so that he is "borderline pathological", concluding "He'd be much healthier if he were gay."^[281] Grant Morrison said that "Gayness is built into Batman ...Obviously as a fictional character he's intended to be heterosexual, but the basis of the whole concept is utterly gay."^[282]

Psychological interpretations

Batman has been the subject of psychological study for some time, and there have been a number of interpretations into the character's psyche.

In Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight, Dr. Travis Langley argues that the concept of archetypes as described by psychologists Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell is present in the Batman mythos, such that the character represents the "shadow archetype". This archetype, according to Langley, represents a person's own dark side; it is not necessarily an evil one, but rather one that is hidden from the outside and concealed from both the world and oneself. Langley argues that Bruce Wayne confronts his own darkness early in life; he chooses to use it to instill fear in wrongdoers, with his bright and dark sides working together to fight evil. Langley uses the Jungian perspective to assert that Batman appeals to our own need to face our "shadow selves".^[283][284] Langley also taught a class called Batman, a title he was adamant about. "I could have called it something like the Psychology of Nocturnal Vigilantism, but no. I called it Batman," Langley says.^[285]

Several psychologists have explored Bruce Wayne/Batman's mental health. Robin. S. Rosenberg evaluated his actions and problems to determine if they reach the level of mental disorders. She examined the possibility of several mental health issues, including dissociative identity disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder, and several others. She concluded that Bruce Wayne/Batman may have a disorder or a combination of disorders but due to his fictional nature, a definitive diagnosis will remain unknown.^{[286][287][288]} However, Langley himself states in his book that Batman is far too functional and well-adjusted, due to his training, confrontation of his fear early on and other factors, to be mentally ill. More likely, he asserts Batman's mental attitude is far more in line with a dedicated Olympic athlete.