Batman

This article is about a comic book superhero. For the city in Turkey, see Batman (city).

Cosplay of Batman.

Batman is a fictional character created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in the DC Comics and movies as well as one of the most famous superheroes in DC. Batman is the secret identity of the very rich and successful businessman Bruce Wayne. Batman is one of the most famous and popular superheroes. He first appeared in comic books and was later used in several radio series, movies, TV programs, books, and video games. There are also many toys and other merchandise dealing with Batman and other characters and items from the world he lives in. Batman lives in the fictional city of Gotham. And he had a sidekick called Robin.

Comic book

Actor Adam West as Batman in the 1960s

Batman was first named "Bat-Man" by Kane. Batman made its first appearance in 1939 in Detective Comics No. 27. He was the second DC superhero to be created. The first was Superman. Batman's origin story is that as a young child, Bruce Wayne saw a robber named Joe Chill murder his mother and father after the family left a theatre. Bruce decided that he did not want that kind of violence to happen to anyone else and wanted to avenge his parents' death. He then dedicated his life to protect his city, Gotham City. While he was growing up, Bruce learned many different ways to fight and solve crimes. As an adult, Bruce used a costume of a bat to scare criminals so that there would be less crime in Gotham City.

Batman's tools

Batman's car, the Batmobile

Batman uses many different tools to help fight crime, these may vary based on the different iterations of batman. Notable examples include his car which he calls "the Batmobile", a motorcycle called the "Bat-Cycle", and has a special belt full of tools called a "utility belt" and most notably bat-shaped boomerangs called "Bat-A-Rangs." He also has radio signals in his bat ears and can shoot them out to his enemy. He also has tasers built in his suit, shocking his foes. In the movie "Batman & Robin" he has ice skates. He also has a kryptonite ring and a kryptonite launcher. He even has a power suit and a Bat-Saber (His version of a lightsaber).

Friends

Batman is often helped from other people in Gotham. Batman and his some of his various allies are often referred to as the Bat Family. Some of these people also put on costumes and become superheroes when they help him. Some of the notable people who help Batman are his sidekick, Robin (Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, and Damian Wayne, and briefly Stephanie Brown), his butler Alfred Pennyworth, police commissioner James Gordon, Wayne Enterprises CEO and president Lucius Fox, and Gordon's daughter Barbara Gordon. Barbara Gordon became a superhero named Batgirl (and later used the name Oracle). Commissioner Gordon uses a Bat-Signal which shines a light into the sky with a shadow in the shape of a bat on when he needs Batman's assistance. Batman is often, but not always, shown being friends with Superman. He is often shown as a friend of Wonder Woman. Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are often referred to as the "Trinity". Batman is a part of many superhero teams that fight against evil, most notably the Justice League or JL for short, the Justice League of America or JLA, and the Justice League Dark or JLD.

Enemies

Some of the villains that Batman fights, called his Rogues Gallery, are the Joker, Penguin, Ra's al Ghul, Scarecrow, Talia al Ghul, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, Bane, Riddler, Two-Face, and Clayface. Because the city and the police never gave Batman permission to fight crime, sometimes people see Batman as an enemy of the police. Sometimes if the police ever do bad things, Batman will fight them to keep everyone else safe. Once his tactics were stolen and used against some of the members of the Justice League.

Television

In the 1960s, a live-action television series was made of Batman and it was called Batman. In Batman, Adam West was the actor who was Batman and Burt Ward was the actor who was Robin. There are also many of cartoons with Batman as a character. These include, but are not limited to, Superfriends, Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, and Justice League. There are other cartoons and programs where Batman is a character but he is not the most important part of the story, such as "Birds of Prey". This was a live-action series that is about Batman's daughter, the Huntress. A 3D-animation show was called Beware the Batman. Most recently in 2024, a show came out that was made by Amazon and it is called Batman: Caped Crusader.

Movies

The actors who have played Batman in live action movies. Top from left to right: Lewis Wilson, Adam West, Michael Keaton and Val Kilmer. Bottom from left to right: George Clooney, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck and Robert Pattinson

Kevin Conroy (left) voiced the character in various animated movies, television shows and video games while Will Arnett (right) voiced the character in The Lego Movie franchise

• 1940s movie serials by Lewis Wilson and Robert Lowery.
• 1966 Batman, based on the TV series, and starring Adam West.
• 1989-2023 Tim Burton's film series
  • 1989 Batman by Michael Keaton
  • 1992 Batman Returns by Michael Keaton
    • 2023 The Flash by Michael Keaton
• 1995-1997Joel Schumacher's duology
  • 1995 Batman Forever by Val Kilmer.
  • 1997 Batman & Robin by George Clooney.
    • 2023 The Flash by George Clooney.
• 2005–2012 The Dark Knight Trilogy by Christian Bale
  • 2005 Batman Begins
  • 2008 The Dark Knight
  • 2012 The Dark Knight Rises
• 2014–2019 The Lego Movies by Will Arnett
  • 2014 The Lego Movie
  • 2017 The Lego Batman Movie
  • 2019 The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
• 2016–2023 DC Extended Universe Movies by Ben Affleck
  • 2016 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
  • 2016 Suicide Squad
  • 2017 Justice League
  • 2021 Zack Snyder's Justice League
  • 2023 The Flash
• 2022–present The Batman Movies by Robert Pattinson
  • 2022 The Batman
• 2022 DC League of Super-Pets by Keanu Reeves