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[[File:I__m_Batman_by_wordmongerer_570.jpg|frame|[[The Cowl|"Criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot..."]]]]
{{quote|''"I am vengeance. I am the night. I. Am. Batman!!"''
|'''[[Spell My Name with a "The"|The Batman]]''', ''[[Batman: The Animated Series]]''}}
The Dark Knight. The Caped Crusader. [[Great Detective|The World's Greatest Detective.]] The [[Trope Codifier|iconic]] [[The Cowl|Cowl]]. '''''[[Trope Codifier|The]]''''' [[Badass Normal]] [[Superhero]].
'''Batman''' is also one of the greatest [[Trope Maker]] and [[Trope Codifier]]s in not just comics, but ''all'' visual media; one of the oldest superheroes still in print -- having debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #27 (May 1939) -- Batman is one of the three best known [[Superhero]]es ever (alongside [[Superman]] and [[Spider-Man]]). The Batman mythos has expanded into numerous forms of media in the decades since the character's debut, and there's a damned good argument to be made for Batman being the most ''critically'' and ''culturally'' successful superhero in history. When veterans such as [[Superman]] have taken beatings in the zeitgeist for [[Invincible Hero|perceived problems]], Batman's legacy and relevancy have never truly faded in the public eye, and his popularity across multiple sections of the mainstream remains as strong -- if not stronger -- than it was back in the 1940s. He's pretty much [[Rule of Cool|the only superhero to date who could pull out a lightsaber]] [[Crazy Prepared|with no explanation at all and get away with it]].
At the age of eight, Bruce Wayne witnessed the [[Harmful to Minors|murder of his parents]] at the hands of a mugger. Swearing [[You Killed My Father|vengeance]] against all criminals, Bruce used his parents' vast fortune to travel the world and hone his fighting abilities and detective skills. When he felt he was ready, Bruce returned to his beloved Gotham City, intent on removing the criminal element that had [[Wretched Hive|overrun the city]] in his absence. Donning a costume with a bat motif to strike fear into criminals, Bruce protects the streets of Gotham as "The Batman" at night while pretending to be a [[Rich Idiot With No Day Job|clueless playboy billionaire]] by day.
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This series has a (very long) [[Batman/Characters|Character Sheet]].
== [[
* ''Detective Comics'' - DC's [[Long Runners|longest-running]] still-published comic series (though not longest number in issue number, as Action Comics overtook it in 1988 when it briefly turned into a weekly comic), Batman debuted in issue #27 in 1939, and still headlined it up until 2009, when [[Batwoman]] briefly took over the book. Batman has since returned as the headliner. Various supporting characters, including the [[Martian Manhunter]], [[Green Arrow]] and [[Black Canary]], the [[Elongated Man]], and [[The Question|the current Question]] have appeared over the years in various backup strips.
** Originally an [[Anthology Comic]].
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* ''[[Batman Odyssey]]'' - A supremely bizarre miniseries (2010-2011) drawn ''and written'' by Neal Adams, featuring Batman's journey to [[Hollow World|the underworld]].
== [[Live
* ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'': "Holy surrealism, Batman!" The colorful, [[Camp|campy]] '60s series that pretty much defines the bright, shiny Batman.
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** ''The Dark Knight''
** ''The Dark Knight Rises''
* ''[[DC Extended Universe]]''
** ''[[Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice]]''
** ''[[Suicide Squad (film)|Suicide Squad]]''
** ''[[Justice League (2017 film)|Justice League]]''
*** ''[[Zack Snyder's Justice League]]''
* ''[[The Batman (film)|The Batman]]''. A 2022 standalone film separate from the DCEU.
== Theatre ==
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* ''[[The New Adventures of Batman]]'': The [[Animated Adaptation]] of the 1960s TV series, featuring the same actors. And [[The Scrappy|Bat-Mite]].
* ''[[Superfriends]]''
* ''[[Batman: The
** Later became ''
** It also spun off these films and OVAs:
*** ''[[Batman: Mask of the Phantasm]]''
*** ''[[Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero
*** ''[[Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman]]''
* ''[[Batman Beyond]]'': A [[Time Skip]] continuation of the above, [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future|40 years in the future]], Bruce Wayne acting as [[The Mentor]] to Terry McGinnis, who [[Legacy Character|takes up the mantle]] of Batman (or maybe "the Bat-mantle"?)
** ''[[Batman Beyond:
* ''[[Justice League (animation)|Justice League]]'' and ''Justice League Unlimited'': Linked the two above series and ''[[Superman: The Animated Series|Superman the Animated Series]]'', solidifying the DCAU, with Batman as a major character and Batman II making two cameos. The ''JLU'' episode "Epilogue" served as a [[Fully-Absorbed Finale]] for ''Beyond''.
* ''[[The Batman]]'': A non-DCAU series aimed at a younger audience, starring Batman in his first few years as a crime-fighter.
* ''[[Batman: The Brave
* ''[[Superman/Batman: Public Enemies]]''
* ''[[Justice League: Crisis on
* ''[[Batman: Under the Red Hood]]'': A dark animated film about Jason Todd, the second Robin's return.
* ''[[Superman/Batman: Apocalypse]]''
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* ''[[Young Justice (animation)|Young Justice]]'': Batman plays an important, recurring role in the series. He gives the central team their black-ops type missions, missions that the Justice League can't do themselves because of their high public profile.
* ''[[Batman: Year One]]'': An [[Animated Adaptation]] of the comic storyline.
* ''[[Beware the Batman]]'': An upcoming{{when}} CGI animated series in which Batman teams up with Katana, and a younger, gun-toting Alfred.
* ''[[Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders]]'' A 2016 tribute (and sequel) to the 1960s live-action TV series.
----
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{{tropelist|Tropes common among all versions:}}
== A-E ==
* [[Adaptational Personality Adjustment]]:
** Know how much [[Early Installment Weirdness]] there was for Batman? An early Golden Age story had him use a gun to kill a vampire after it attacked a woman he was dating. Imagine any 1990s and onward incarnation of Batman that isn't ''[[Elseworlds]]'' which shows him using a gun without any ethical dilemma, let alone killing.
** In one version where the Spectre sends Batman and Robin to a universe where another Bruce is still a child and his parents are alive, it's implied this will happen to alternate Bruce. Thomas and Martha Wayne are doomed to get mugged and killed on Bruce's birthday, as they were in canon. Because Batman and Robin interfere to save Thomas and Martha, with Bruce ultimately avenging his parents by stopping their killer in this timeline, his parallel child self never goes through his immense [[Break the Cutie]]. The page indicates he will instead instead takes up the Bat moniker, detective work and martial arts as ''inspiration'' from the figure that rescued his mom and dad. To a lesser extent, Sergeant Gordon in this version tries to apprehend this masked figure, rather than trust him. He's a lot sterner, but Batman convinces him even if they don't know each other in this universe, they will in another.
** Dwayne McDuffie pitched a story (which has sadly vanished from the Internet, though the original pitch is referenced on [http://web.archive.org/web/20061010183426/http://web.mac.com:80/dmcduffie/iWeb/Site/Scripts.html his archived website]) where Batman is a black man. Uncle Bruce, as an old man and a [[Cool Uncle]] to some kids, tells them Batman actually had to deal with more barriers, owing to being a vigilante that couldn't hide his skintone. In his version, Commissioner Gordon had to overcome internal biases, and the men never really became friends.
* [[Advantage Ball]]: Batman almost always has the advantage in direct conflict. Three guys with knives or a dozen Mooks with machine guns, it makes no difference. As such, the general method of his rogues gallery to deal with him is to attack him indirectly, especially by undermining what he believes in and threatening those he values.
* [[Ambiguously Gay]]: Aside from accusations on all sides, [[The Joker]] sometimes delivers [[Ho Yay]], depending on the writer. After a while, some writers decided to incorporate that aspect of the character into their stories to create ambiguity on purpose.
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* [[Blood Bath]]: [[Garth Ennis]] once wrote a comic where the villain was a drug lord who got people hooked on a drug so he could kill them, fill a pool with their drugged-up blood, and get high by bathing in it.
** In ''Batman: The Cult'', Deacon Blackfire bathed in blood, supposedly to make himself immortal.
* [[Bodyguard]]: In the ''Batman'' comics, Wayne Enterprises assigned Bruce a bodyguard in the 1990s, Sasha Bordeaux. [[Hilarity Ensues]] because Sasha keeps trying to do her job, and Bruce keeps shaking her off his tail to become Batman. {{spoiler|She would eventually become a hero in her own right, after she discovered Bruce's identity and he started training her.}}
* [[The Book Cipher]]: In the ''Detective Comics'' issue "And the Executioner Wore Stiletto Heels", the villain, Stiletto, uses an obscure book about shoes for a cipher. When Batman goes to the bookstore, the owner mentions how strange it is that he just sold several copies of a book nobody would buy normally. Batman asks him who bought the book in order to learn who's in on the plot.
* [[Bored with Insanity]]: The Joker several times.
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* [[Expy]]: Sherlock Holmes at first. Also, [[Zorro]].
** He actually had much more to do with [[The Shadow]] in his first stories. Even his first story was lifted from [[The Shadow]] pulp.
== F-J ==
* [[Face Ship|Face Car]]: The Batmobile sometimes has his masked face on it.
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* [[Mini-Dress of Power]]: Catwoman's outfit sometimes is this.
* [[Misery Builds Character]]: Batman envelopes the very heart of this trope.
* [[Mommy Issues]]: The reason why Scarecrow is psychotic and instilling fear in others was because he grew up with an abusive grandma.
* [[Monster Clown]]: The Joker. Accept no substitutes.
* [[Monster Fangirl]]: Harley Quinn to the Joker.
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* [[Officer O'Hara]]: At first a generic cop who would just say "Saints Preserve Us!" anytime something dramatic happened, later reinvented by [[Jeph Loeb]] with heavy influences by [[The Untouchables]].
* [[Orphan's Ordeal]]: In most versions, Batman becomes who he is through witnessing the deaths of his parents as a child, leaving him to dedicate his life to ridding Gotham of crime.
* [[Overwhelming Obsession]]: Many of Batman's Rogues are crazies and weirdos who are obsessed with a concept or thing they base their entire identities around: Two-Face and duality, Scarecrow and fear, Poison Ivy and plants, Riddler and his... well, [[Captain Obvious|riddles]]... whether they're solely defined by these quirks or are deeper characters that happen to have an obsession differs from writer to writer, though D-Listers like Captain Blimp and Cap'n Fear are often stuck with being the former.
== P-T ==
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* [[The Proud Elite]]: He is handsome, and, while charming, tries to be aloof enough that he makes people think he's a bit arrogant. However, when he catches criminals as Batman, he'll get them jobs at Wayne Enterprises. Even the Ventriloquist got a second chance once on an episode of ''[[Batman: The Animated Series|New Batman Adventures]]''.
* [[Psycho for Hire]]
* [[Rebellious Prisoner]]: If [[Batman]] gets caught by his Rogues Gallery, expect this trope. Batman does not beg for mercy, and will be plotting how to escape. The same goes for anyone in the Bat-family.
** [https://scans-daily.dreamwidth.org/8655620.html#cutid1 One mainstream story written by Paul Dini] had Joker kidnap Tim Drake when he was Robin after "rescuing" him from a gang fight because it was Christmas, strapping him in the front seat of a stolen car while [[Bound and Gagged]] with appropriate ornaments as he goes around using the vehicle to cause havoc in Gotham. [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|And he does this while leaving the car temperature at 92 degrees]]. Tim is horrified to realize he murdered two parents and left their smiling bodies in the backseat, but tries to think outside the box, digging into the front seat with his bound hands for any stray toys or broken CDs as a family would have. Joker then casually pulls the toy car from Tim, saying he left it there to entertain him. He removes Tim's gag, expecting him to beg for the lives of passerby he's about to run over; Tim responds by defiantly quoting the Marx brothers, entertaining Joker so much that he actually spares the shoppers. Tim proceeds to use an argument about which movie the line came from to stall, because the hot temperature made his hands sweaty enough to slip out of his bound Robin gloves. Then he, in his own words, "Goes Batman on [Joker's] ass" after punching him in the face.
** ''[[The Batman Adventures]]''
*** One comic in has DCAU Tim Drake asking Batman why every supervillain has a [[Death Trap]], and where do they get the money? Batman answers as they're trying to escape the latest death trap in question.
*** ''Mad Love'' has an awesome version of this. Batman later admits that Harley had covered every contingency when trapping him, and preparing to feed him to piranhas while hanging him upside down so he couldn't think clearly while drugged and the blood was rushing to his head. At the time, however, he has the sense to not give any of this away; he laughs in her face about her presumptions that killing him will make the Joker love her. Batman attempts to reason with her, saying that Joker's "secrets" that he told her were sob stories he told to anyone who could help him. When that fails, he goads her to call the Joker to "prove" that she did it, knowing Joker would not let anyone but himself kill Batman.
* [[Reckless Sidekick]]: Jason Todd, Damian Wayne.
* [[Reckless Pacifist]]: Batman, on and off. Excluding incarnations that actually did kill people (or just refused to save them), The Bat has been known to get really, really rough with with his enemies despite his [[Thou Shalt Not Kill]] policy.
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* [[Rogues Gallery]]: Quite possibly the most famous and recognizable Rogues Gallery in all of comics. Also easily one of the most violent.
* [[Rogues Gallery Showcase]] ''The Long Halloween'', ''Hush''.
* [[Rule 34]]: ''[[Batman XXX
* [[Sacrificed Basic Skill for Awesome Training]]: Cassandra Cain, but also Bruce Wayne in a few things.
* [[Save the Day Turn Away]]: The ending of ''[[Year One]]''.
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* [[Socially Awkward Hero]]: It varies by the writer, but Bruce Wayne is often depicted as not really understanding how to behave like a normal [[Rich Idiot With No Day Job]], and finds hosting a Wayne Foundation party more stressful than taking on the Joker.
* [[Stealth Hi Bye]]
* [[Stealth Mook]]: The League of Shadows are supposed to be comprised of these. They can conduct ambushes, kidnapping and assassinations with few problems.
* [[Story-Breaker Team-Up]]: Whenever the Bat-mite shows up.
* [[Strike Me Down with All of Your Hatred]]: Joker is prone to this.
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{{reflist}}
{{IGN Top 100 Heroes}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Animal Title Index]]
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[[Category:DC Comics Series]]
[[Category:The DCU]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Film Series]]
[[Category:Films of the 1990s]]
[[Category:Films of the 2000s]]
[[Category:Franchises]]
[[Category:The Great Depression]]
[[Category:Hugo Award]]
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