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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!!"''
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
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.
Over time, Batman's [[Cyclic Trope|swung between]] a bright, shiny [[The Cape (trope)|Cape]] and a dark, nightmarish [[Shadow Archetype]] and the iconic [[The Cowl|Cowl]]; in modern times, it's usually the latter. A number of comic-book writers, most famously [[Frank Miller]], love the contrast between Batman and [[Superman]] -- darkness and light -- and often play it up when the two are paired together.
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]].
* ''Batman'' - Batman's self-named monthly title, which debuted in 1940 (issue #1 featured the first appearances of the Joker and Catwoman). Considered to be the main flagship title.
* ''World's Finest Comics'' - An anthology series that debuted in the late 1940s, originally it featured stand-alone solo stories involving Batman and Superman. However, with issue #71, the series switched formats to its now familiar "Superman/Batman" team-up stories. The series (which featured the first appearance of Scarecrow and Clock King) was cancelled in 1986. However, it lives on in a series of mini-series specials and in ''Superman/Batman'', which is considered to be the [[Spiritual Successor]] to ''World's Finest''.
* ''[[The Joker]]'' - the Clown Prince of Crime starred in his own short-lived series in the mid-1970s. Largely forgettable.
* ''[[Batman Family]]'' - Anthology title, focusing on the supporting cast.
* ''[[Batman and the Outsiders]]''. Batman leading his own team. Launched in 1983. The team has gone through several incarnations, typically without their original leader.
* ''Legends of the Dark Knight'' - An anthology series that debuted in 1989, to tie into the release of the 1989 live action Batman movie. The series originally was a flashback book, focusing on past adventures of Batman, though by the early '90s (and the events of Knightfall), the book was revamped and took place in the here and now. Suffers from continuity issues, with several stories being considered non-canon.
* ''Batman: Shadow of the Bat'' - Another Batman book, launched mainly as a vehicle for then Detective Comics writer Alan Grant. The series was much darker than the main Batman books at the time; in particular, the stories were often told from the POV of the villain.
* ''[[Gotham Central]]'' - A series that starred Renee Montoya and members of the Gotham City Police Department, with Batman only playing a minor role. While receiving critical acclaim (most notably for the story where Montoya is outed as a lesbian), [[Too Good to Last|the series ran for only 40 issues]].
* ''Batman: Gotham Knights'' - A series focused on Batman, but heavily spotlighting and examining the rest of the Batfamily, his [[Rogues Gallery]], and their relationships to each other.
* ''Batman Confidential'' - Another anthology series that replaced ''Legends of the Dark Knight''. The series features classic Batman villains (who rarely appeared in Legends of the Dark Knight) and early adventures between them and Batman. Most notably (and infamously) the series is known for it's Joker origin story, which uses the 1989 movie as it's template.
* ''Superman/Batman'' - Mentioned above, this is a team-up series with Comicbook/ [[Superman]] that is the [[Spiritual Successor]] to "World's Finest". But unlike "World's Finest", Superman/Batman features major story lines for both characters, most notably Superman with its first arc featuring the two bringing down President Lex Luthor (which was later spun off into the direct-to-DVD movie ''Superman/Batman: Public Enemies'') and its second arc re-introducing the Pre-Crisis [[Supergirl]] to [[The DCU]].
* ''[[Grant Morrison's Batman
* ''Streets of Gotham'' - A series written by Paul Dini that features the new Batman and Robin in the eyes of other characters. Also features a back-up feature starring Kate Spencer, the current Manhunter.
* ''[[Gotham City Sirens]]'' - A series, also written by Paul Dini, dealing with the girls of Gotham, notably Poison Ivy, [[Harley Quinn]], and [[Catwoman (
* ''[[The Batman Adventures]]'' - The tie-in comic of ''[[Batman: The Animated Series|Batman the Animated Series]]''.
* ''[[Batman Impostors]]'' - The tie-in comic of ''[[Gotham City Impostors]]''.
'''Storylines'''
* ''[[Batman: Year One|Year One]]'' - Flashback tale written by [[Frank Miller]] and illustrated by David Mazzucchelli which told of The Caped Crusader's first year in Gotham City and how he met then patrol officer James Gordon. Critically acclaimed, it spawned a slew of sequels (''Batman: Year Two'', ''Batman: Year Three'', the continuity of both being debatable) and mini-series that take place afterwards. It also created a massive [[Continuity Snarl]] (which was more-or-less, albeit uneasily, taken care of later), as far as erasing Batgirl from canon and introducing a new offspring for Commissioner Gordon, as well as a controversial new origin for Catwoman where she is a former prostitute. Many elements of the story were adapted into ''Batman Begins'' and ''The Dark Knight''.
* ''A Death In The Family'' - Batman and Robin II (Jason Todd) go to the Middle East, to track down Jason's birth mother and stop Joker from stealing relief aid from the Red Cross for cash. In the process, Joker kills Jason Todd and his mom and ultimately finds immunity waiting for him in Iran, who offer to make him their ambassador in exchange for him poisoning the entire UN with Joker gas. Superman stops the gas attack and Batman beats the crap out of the Joker, who gets shot by a stray bullet from his Iranian henchmen, and his plane crashes into the ocean. Famous for the fact that Jason's fate was decided by a "1-900" call-in phone poll.
* ''[[Knightfall]]''/''Knightquest''/''Knightsend'' - Introduces Bane, who after forcing Batman to run a gauntlet of his worst enemies, breaks Batman's back. This forces Bruce to promote his latest sidekick [[Azrael]] to Batman status, which backfires due to Azrael having still not shaken the effects of being brainwashed into becoming an assassin and ultimately forces Bruce (when he's recovered) to face him down to reclaim the cape and cowl.
* ''Contagion'' & ''Legacy'': Two arcs which pretty much go together back-to-back. In the former, Gotham has to deal with an outbreak of Ebola-A and chronicles Batman's attempts to help contain and cure the virus. After which, in the latter, Ra's Al Ghul makes his return to the Batman books as he unleashes a massive plague upon Gotham City, as a test run to unleashing the virus upon humanity. Batman is forced to call in all of his allies (Catwoman, Azrael, Nightwing, and Robin) to help stop Ra's Al Ghul. But victory ultimately depends on Poison Ivy (whose blood holds the cure for the virus) and Bane (who has been recruited by Ra's Al Ghul to marry his daughter) helping Batman and his crew in saving the world.
* ''Cataclysm'' and ''[[Batman: No Man's Land|Batman No Mans Land]]'' - An earthquake hits Gotham and the U.S. Government, rather than rebuild, orders the city sealed off. As Batman and his crew struggle to keep the peace, it soon becomes apparent that {{spoiler|Lex Luthor is behind the government turning its back on Gotham City. With no government in the city, Luthor plans on destroying all records of land ownership, to claim the city as his own but fails when Batman stops him (though he is unable to prove to the world what Lex did)}}. Mainly known for introducing the third Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) and reintroducing Black Mask into the Batman books.
* ''Officer Down'' - It's a normal night in Gotham City, until a lucky punk has shot Commissioner Gordon and all of Gotham City's finest are looking for the shooter. Notable for largely writing Commissioner Gordon and Detective Harvey Bullock out of the Bat-books until ''[[Infinite Crisis]]''.
* ''Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive'' - Following the events of ''No Man's Land'', [[Lex Luthor]] became President and Bruce Wayne, in retaliation, severed all business ties with the U.S. Government in protest. In retaliation, Lex orders Bruce Wayne's girlfriend murdered and Bruce framed for the deed. Making things worse for Batman, Lex Luthor hires the new Batgirl's dad to carry out the hit and since he knows Bruce Wayne is Batman, he is able to turn Batman's friends & allies against him as Batman struggles to prove his innocence.
* ''Hush'' and ''Under the Hood'' - "Hush" was a warmly received and massively hyped story written by [[Jeph Loeb]] and illustrated by Jim Lee. The story deals with an alliance with new Bat-foe Hush and {{spoiler|the Riddler}} after the latter figures out Batman's identity. While Hush had Batman run the gauntlet with much of his [[Rogues Gallery]], a figure appearing to be a resurrected Jason Todd appears to confuse Batman. In the end, Hush's identity is revealed to be Bruce Wayne's childhood friend, Thomas Elliot, who has decided to harbor a deep hatred over Bruce's "gifted childhood" (AKA the dead parents). The buzz over the appearance of the supposed Jason Todd lead to "Under The Hood" where [[Judd Winick]] detailed the rise of a new Red Hood, which was originally held by the man who would become the Joker. Upon the discovery that the Red Hood was indeed Jason returned from the dead, angry that Batman replaced him and didn't kill his "killer", Batman has to stop his adopted son and former ward's [[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]].
* ''War Games'' and ''War Crimes'' - Spoiler decided to prove to Batman she was worthy of being the newest Robin by taking one of his plans and engaging in a massive [[Batman Gambit]] against all of Gotham's gangs that goes horribly wrong. The result? Black Mask becoming the top crime boss in Gotham and Stephanie Brown, AKA the fourth Robin, dying because Batman waited too long to get her medical treatment. The story was almost immediately followed up with ''War Crimes'', which tried to retcon the story by saying it was longtime Batman ally Leslie Thompkins who withheld medical treatment from Stephanie, and then ''Infinite Crisis'' warped reality within months of the publication of ''War Crimes''. {{spoiler|''War Crimes'' was erased from canon and replaced with a scenario where Thompkins, with Batman's permission, faked Stephanie's death to protect her from further reprisals from Black Mask.}}
* [[Grant Morrisons Batman]]: A group of [[Story Arc|Story Arcs]] all written during [[Grant Morrison]]'s run on ''Batman''. All titles are connected by a large overarching storyline, and Morrison himself says that he intends for this group of titles to be [[Writing for the Trade|part of a series]].
** ''Batman and Son'': Batman discovers that his one-time sexual encounter with Talia Al Ghul left her pregnant. And now, several years later, she's dropping off her son on Batman's doorsteps so that he can teach the kid how to be a great man, as she prepares to take over the world with her army of Manbat Ninjas. Introduces Damian Wayne to the Batman universe.
** ''The Black Glove'': Batman's weekend vacation with a cadre of international superheroes he inspired takes a turn for the worst when the mysterious "Black Glove" destroys their transportation off an island, so that they can be killed off one by one.
** ''The Three Ghosts of Batman'': Bruce faces off against three psychotic Batman impersonators (a marksman, a steroid-fueled behemoth, and a raving Satanic killer) with ties to a cadre of corrupt police officers and a mysterious military experiment that Bruce himself took part in years ago. A prelude to ''Batman: R.I.P'' that introduces Dr. Simon Hurt, the leader of the Black Glove organization. Notable for giving us a glimpse of a possible future where Damian has become the new Batman.
** ''Batman R.I.P.'' - The Black Glove makes its assault against Batman, and attempts to destroy his personality with long dormant mental triggers which were placed in Batman's mind years ago. Upon the activation of a mental safeguard in the case of such a scenario, the personality of "the Batman of Zurr-En-Arr" keeps Batman functioning until his mind repairs the damage and stops the Black Glove from killing him and invading Gotham City. Upon confronting the leader in an escaping helicopter, Batman becomes "cursed" to die the next time he wears the cape and cowl. After escaping the helicopter crash, Batman is summoned by Superman to investigate [[Final Crisis|the death of a God...]]
*** ''Battle For The Cowl'' (not written by Morrison, but fits into the overarching story) - {{spoiler|Bruce Wayne is dead, and a great void has been created in Gotham City. A war on two fronts has started that the Bat-Family must deal with: the recently escaped [[Rogues Gallery]] from Arkham, along with the various gangs and factions trying to claim Gotham as their own; and the appearance of a mysterious masked "Batman", who holds no qualms for murder (eventually revealed to be Jason Todd). After attempting to kill both Tim Drake and Damian Wayne, Jason fights Nightwing, and is defeated. Dick takes over the mantle of the Bat, and Damian becomes the new Robin while Tim heals from his injuries}}.
** ''Batman: Reborn'' - Umbrella title for the various Batbooks dealing with Dick Grayson as the new Batman and Damian as the new Robin. Threats facing them are Jason Todd and a new Black Mask, along with new villains such as Professor Pyg and his army of circus freak show villains and the assassin known as "The Flamingo".
** ''The Return of Bruce Wayne'': {{spoiler|[[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|The title says it all.]] Until it happens, we're treated to Bruce Wayne's displaced adventures in time, where he suits up in period-specific Bat-costumes and fights pirates and cavemen and stuff, due to [[Unstuck in Time|continually being shunted around the timestream]]. Oh, and Superman says his return will bring about [[The End of the World as We Know It|the end of the world]]...}}
** ''Batman, Inc.'': After the events of the above storyline, Bruce Wayne decides to take the Batman operation international and train potential Batmen worldwide, leaving Dick and Damian to continue their roles as Batman and Robin in Gotham City.
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'''One-Shots & Limited Series'''
* ''[[
* ''[[The Killing Joke]]'' - With the help of [[Alan Moore]], The Joker gets reinvented into the insane sociopath we all know and love. This book is a major influence over all adaptations of the Joker following it. Notable for featuring Batgirl being crippled, paving the way for her reinvention as "Oracle", super-hacker extraordinaire.
* ''[[
* ''[[Arkham Asylum: Living Hell]]'': A limited series that focuses on the hellish environment inside the walls of Arkham Asylum from the viewpoint of Warren White, a white collar criminal who declares himself insane to escape jailtime, only to find himself in Arkham, [[Driven to Madness|and is eventually driven insane by the other inmates]], transforming him into the villain The Great White Shark. also notable for focusing mostly on the C-list villains, as well as small time inmates created for the series, such as Humpty Dumpty, Death Rattle, [[Mad Artist|Doodlebug]] and [[Dumb Muscle|Lunkhead]].
* ''[[The Long Halloween]]'': A sequel of sorts to ''Year One'', detailing the origin of Two-Face. The story itself involves a serial killer named "Holiday" bumping off members of Carmine "The Roman" Falcone's mob on various holidays. Much like ''Year One'', many elements were adapted into ''Batman Begins'' (as well as ''The Dark Knight'').
* ''[[Batman: Dark Victory]]'' - Written and drawn by the guys who did ''[[The Long Halloween]]'', this limited series deals with the fall-out of Harvey Dent's transformation into Two-Face as another serial killer "The Hangman" attempts to kill off a number of former and current GCPD members - including Jim Gordon. It also features the story of how Bruce Wayne adopted Dick Grayson, who dons the Robin identity at the end of the story.
* ''Batman: Thrillkiller'' - An [[Elseworlds]] limited series taking place in [[The Sixties]], in an alternate timeline where Bruce Wayne became a police officer after his parents' murder and Barbara Gordon inherited Wayne Manor after a penniless Bruce sold it. By 1960, Babs Gordon fights crime as Batgirl alongside her partner Dick Grayson (aka Robin, the Man Wonder) while Commissioner Wayne of the GCPD tries to put them both behind bars. Oh...and [[The Joker]]'s [[Distaff Counterpart|a woman]].
* ''[[The Dark Knight Strikes Again]]'' - A sequel to ''The Dark Knight Returns'', once again written by Frank Miller. Unlike The Dark Knight Returns, it features a cast of dozens, as Batman gathers an army of his former friends to free America from Lex Luthor and Brainiac, who have taken over the U.S. thanks to a sentient hologram president.
* ''The Man Who Laughs'' - A one-shot issue written by Ed Brubaker and another intended sequel of ''Year One'', detailing the Batman's first encounter with the Joker. (Mainly an attempt to re-write the original Joker story with the modern characterization of the Joker).
* ''[[All-Star Batman and Robin The Boy Wonder]]'' - The Goddamn Batman abducts the Goddamn Dick Grayson (age twelve) and goes on some crazy stuff in the Goddamn Gotham City.
* ''Gotham Underground'' - A limited series that focuses on the effects of the Countdown to Final Crisis on Batman's [[Rogues Gallery]], not to mention the recent death of Black Mask. While the rest of the Bat-family struggle to prevent a gang war from breaking out, Batman - undercover as a henchman - winds up in prison. By the end of the series, {{spoiler|Penguin finds himself Batman's informant - whether he likes it or not.}}
* ''[[Joker]]'' - Another one-shot, written by Brian Azzarello, detailing the Joker's release from Arkham and his subsequent rise (and fall). The Bat himself makes only a short but effective appearance. Quite a few similarities between the Joker depicted within and [[Heath Ledger]]'s portrayal in ''[[The Dark Knight]]'', but this is coincidental, this being written a good bit before the film was released.
* ''[[Batman Beyond (comics)|Batman Beyond]]'' - Based off the ''[[Batman Beyond]]'' animated series continuity. It started out as a six-part miniseries, but became an ongoing series in 2011.
* ''[[Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?]]'' - A two-part Batman story written by [[Neil Gaiman]], in the same vein of Superman's "''[[Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?]]"'', this is an epilogue to the Bruce Wayne Batman (in '''all''' of his incarnations). It was to be the 'last' story after his death in ''Batman R.I.P.'' and ''Final Crisis'' and act as a summing-up of the character.
* ''[[Batman: Digital Justice]]'' - An Alternate Reality story set exty years from now, featuring the grandson of Commissioner Gordon taking up the mantle of Batman to fight cyber-crime in Gotham City. Written/illustrated by Pepe Moreno and created entirely on computer (a new idea in 1990).
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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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== [[Film]] ==
* ''[[The Batman (film)|The Batman]]'': Batman's film debut in 1943, a 15-chapter serial, served as the inspiration and cause of the 1960s show.
* ''[[Batman and Robin (Serial)|Batman and Robin]]'': The sequel 15-chapter serial.
* ''[[Batman: The Movie|Batman the Movie]]'': [[The Movie]] of the 60s TV show.
* The [[Tim Burton]] films, two very dark and Gothic versions.
** ''[[Batman (film)|Batman]]''
** ''[[Batman Returns]]''
* The next two were directed by [[Joel Schumacher]], and cranked the [[Camp]] [[Up to Eleven]].
** The first Schumacher film, ''[[Batman Forever]]'' still did well, especially among fans of the more light-hearted 60s Batman.
** ''[[Batman and Robin (film)|Batman and Robin]]'' was a critical failure and effectively killed the film franchise.
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** ''Batman Begins''
** ''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 ==
* ''[[Batman the Musical]]''. No, really. It never made it onstage, but you can still read about [[What Might Have Been]] here and listen to the demo recordings.
* ''[[Batman Live]]'': a big-budget arena show that premiered in the UK July '11 and toured Europe and North America. It focuses on the relationship between Batman and Robin, and is a fusion between theatre, circus, and hand-drawn animation.
* ''[[Holy Musical Batman]]'': a musical parody by [[Team Starkid]], performed during March 2012 and made available online on April 13th.
== [[Video Games]] ==
* Adaptations based on the 1989 film for the [[Nintendo Entertainment System|NES]] and [[Sega Genesis]] by [[Sunsoft]].
** ''Batman: Return/Revenge of the Joker'', videogame-only sequels to the above for the same systems.
* ''[[Batman: Vengeance]]'', based on the New Batman Adventures.
** ''[[Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu]]''
* ''Batman: Dark Tomorrow''
* ''[[Lego Adaptation Game|Lego Batman]]'', a [[Lighter and Softer]] [[LEGO]] game where every character is put into Lego form.
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== [[Web Original]] ==
* ''[[Gotham Girls]]''
* [[Cat
* [[The Joker Blogs]]
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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]]''
* ''[[
* ''[[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.
----
* [[Adam Westing]]
* [[Bat Deduction]]
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* [[Mad Love]]
* [[Merry Christmas in Gotham]]
* [[Riddle Me This]]
* [[Superman Stays Out of Gotham]]
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* [[Utility Belt]]
* [[Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?]]
----
== 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.
* [[Animal-Themed Superbeing]]: Bruce, his sidekicks, and many of his enemies are animal based.
* [[Affably Evil]]: Ra's Al Ghul.
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* [[Anti-Hero Substitute]]: When Azrael took over as Batman during the [[Dark Age]].
* [[Anti-Villain]]: Lots. Most of Batman's [[Rogues Gallery]] are some shade of antivillain; turning to crime as a result of some past trauma is very common. There are also a fair number of [[The Joker|real villains]], of course.
* [[
* [[Badass]]
** [[Badass in Distress]]: Currently the trope picture.
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* [[Bandaged Face]]: At least one the villains is bound to have this happen to them at some point. Hush in particular is known for this.
* [[Bash Brothers]]: On occasions, Batman and Robin. This trope could have easily been called "Dynamic Duo".
** Batman and Red Hood/Robin II: even after all the time that passed between Jason's death and his return, they're able to fall right back in to this and work together flawlessly.
* [[Bat Family Crossover]]
* [[Batman Cold Open]]
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* [[Best Served Cold]]: One of the classic examples.
* [[Betrayal Insurance]]: The idea that Batman has a stockpile of kryptonite in case Superman ever goes rogue is extremely common. The idea that [[Crazy Prepared|he also has plans to take down any other Justice League member he might have to]] is almost as common.
* [[Big Damn Heroes]]: Batman and his extended family make a regular habit of this trope.
* [[Blonde, Brunette, Redhead]]: With ''Batman: Reborn'' and ''Gotham City Sirens'', as well as ''Blackest Night'', Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy take on this trope respectively.
** The three Batgirls: Stephanie, Cassandra and Barbara respectively.
* [[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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* [[Caramelldansen Vid]]
* [[Catch Phrase]]: At least once every continuity, expect situations set up to dramatically deliver the line "I'M BATMAN!"
* [[Characterization Marches On]]:
** The first appearances of Batman are notorious for him lacking a code against killing, although even then killing wasn't routine. For example, in his very first story, ''The Case of the Chemical Syndicate'', he punches the villain into a vat of [[Hollywood Acid]], and shows no remorse for it. In the Post-Crisis version of the event, the crook tries to flee, as he cannot stand the shame of being sent to prison, and [[Self-Disposing Villain|falls into the acid by accident]].
** The Joker's first [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]] appearance had him not as a comedy obsessed [[Evil Laugh]] happy nut job that people are likely to see and assorted later comics and adaptations depict him as (such as, [[Batman: The Animated Series|Batman the Animated Series]]), but rather as a fairly straight forward killer and thief who just happened to be associated with the titular playing card. He also didn't do a noticeable [[Evil Laugh]] until his third-last panel in his debut issue, where (true to form) he thinks he's about to die.
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* [[Clark Kenting]]: Many heroes throughout the franchise have rather easy time hiding their secret identities. Especially notable in live-action series.
* [[Classy Cat Burglar]]: Catwoman more often than not.
* [[The Chessmaster]]: The Riddler. See "Hush" for details.
** Batman himself is a heroic version of this trope due to being a brilliant tactician and superb analytical skills.
* [[Clothes Make the Legend]]: You don't even need to see his emblem - Bats is so infamous and feared that he can be identified ''just by the silhouette of his cowl.''
* [[The Comically Serious]]: Because nothing's more hilarious than Batman singing karaoke, while still completely straight-faced. Though in the rare instance where he cracks a joke, it's all the funnier because of it. In ''[[Superman]]/Batman'' #44, Superman has been hit in the eye with a shard of Kryptonite and has to wear an eyepatch until it heals.
{{quote|
'''Batman''': No, Clark. You can't borrow my pirate ship. }}
* [[The Commissioner Gordon]]: The [[Trope Namer]]
* [[Continuity Nod]]: Crossing over with [[Mythology Gag]], when [[Distaff Counterpart|Batwoman]] resurfaces in 2006, her suit borrows very heavily from the one made famous in [[Batman Beyond]], especially in regards to the Bat Symbol she uses.
* [[Cool Car]]: The Batmobile
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* [[Dating Catwoman]]: [[Trope Codifier]]. On-again and off-again with Selina Kyle, both before and after he learned her true identity. Some say the ''only'' woman he has ever loved.
* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Alfred, especially when Frank Miller's writing him.
* [[Death
* [[Death Trap]]
* [[Depending on the Writer]]: ''The Dark Knight Returns'' presented Batman as a dangerously-obsessed, deeply-disturbed, paranoid control freak who is possibly a mentally ill [[
** One example is his creation of the Brother Mk I satellite, which was created by Batman to keep an eye on all of the meta-humans, hero and villain alike.
** Another story, "Tower of Babel", centers on Ra's Al Ghul obtaining a file containing Batman's contingency plans to cripple each and every member of the Justice League "[[Crazy Prepared|just in case]]" and using them to his own ends. The existence of the files and the secrecy under which they are kept infuriates The League and lead to his expulsion.
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* [[Elemental Shapeshifter]]: Clayface is a walking mountain of mud, and can use his powers for shapeshifting or brute strength. He's one of the few recurring villains Batman admits to being no physical match for.
* [[Emerging From the Shadows]]: Whether it's Batman, or other characters.
* [[Evil Counterpart]]: Quite a few.
** There's the Wrath, Prometheus (although he's more of a JLA-specific villain than a Batman villain), Bane when he first appeared, and Black Mask (or Roman Sionis) who has a similar back story to Bruce (son of wealthy parents who died to the unnatural causes, although in Roman's case his parents were [[Rich Bitch|Rich Bitches]] who were killed by Roman himself, and Roman ran his company into the ground with his own carelessness).
** One of the origins of Catman tried to build him up as an evil mirror counterpart who was inspired by the death of his parents to become a supervillain complete with Catmobile and the like. The idea got dropped quickly.
** Hush is a much more recent example, especially when you get into his backstory and how intricately entwined it is with Batman's.
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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.
* [[Face Your Fears]]: Whenever Scarecrow manages to get Batman with his Fear Gas, expect this to occur.
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* [[Genius Bruiser]]: Bane, but Bats applies too.
* [[The Gimmick]]: Saying "Batman's [[Rogues Gallery]] has plenty of examples of [[The Gimmick]]" is bit like saying "Water is wet".
* [[Glamour]]: Poison Ivy is pheromonally irresistible.
* [[Go-Karting with Bowser]]: ''The Killing Joke'', Batman and Joker.
* [[Go
* [[Grappling Hook Pistol]]: Favorite method of transportation when the [[To the Bat Noun|Batwing or Batmobile]] aren't practical.
* [[Grenade Tag]]: Practically perfected the trope.
* [[Guile Hero]]
* [[Happily Married]]: The dearly departed Waynes.
* [[Heads or Tails]]: A staple feature of Two-Face.
* [[Heads-Tails-Edge]]: Recurring constantly around Two-Face.
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* [[Just Like Robin Hood]]: Catwoman, occasionally, especially in recent years.
* [[Just Whistle]]: The Bat-Signal serves this purpose.
== K-O ==
* [[Knight in Sour Armor]]: In some of the darker depictions of Gotham City.
** In general, Bruce is almost always a [[Knight in Sour Armor]] (or in this case a [[Incredibly Lame Pun|Dark Knight in Sour Armor]], with the only possible exceptions being when he makes some wry observation about a situation he or the JLA are in.
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* [[Laughably Evil]]: Hell, can anyone ''not'' say Joker? And, well, Harley Quinn as well (which, in some cases, [[Misaimed Fandom|manages to even overshadow]] [[In-Series Nickname|Mr. J, her Puddin']]).
* [[Laughing Mad]]
* [[Living Doll Collector]]: The Mad Hatter's shtick.
* [[Lecherous Licking]]: Catwoman frequently does this to Batman.
* [[Legacy Character]]
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* [[Master Poisoner]]: Poison Ivy, the Joker, the Scarecrow
* [[McNinja]]
* [[Mega Manning]]: Batman tends to keep items from his defeated villains handy, such as a vial of [[Scarecrow]]'s fear gas, and one of Mr. Freeze's guns.▼
** [[Batman Can Breathe in Space]] originates from Batman's ability to do just about anything and have the audience accept it. Because he's Batman. [[Crazy Prepared|And he already planned ahead for the possibility of being attacked by]] gigantic mutated wombats fueled by VENOM, wearing suicide vests. So it makes perfect sense that he already has a plan.▼
* [[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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* [[Moral Myopia]]: Villains operate on their own twisted morality.
* [[Multiple Demographic Appeal]]: In the 60's television show, Batgirl was added to attract two demographics that weren't watching the show -- young girls ''and their fathers''.
* [[Never Smile At a Crocodile]]: Killer Croc. Depending on the writer, he's a man with a really bad skin disease (which makes him look like reptilian) or in some others a full-blown, [[I
▲* [[Never Smile At a Crocodile]]: Killer Croc. Depending on the writer, he's a man with a really bad skin disease (which makes him look like reptilian) or in some others a full-blown, [[I Am a Humanitarian|hungry]] crocodile-man.
* [[No OSHA Compliance]]: A lot of Gotham's buildings, warehouses and factories are like this, but the most glaring example is the Batcave. Platforms suspended over near-[[Bottomless Pits]] with nary a bit of railing in sight. The health hazards of all the moisture and wild bats have been pointed out from time-to-time as well.
* [[No Sense of Humor]]: Batman is sometimes depicted as this, [[Depending on the Writer]].
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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 ==
* [[Papa Wolf]]: Batman himself, and Commissioner Gordon when his kids' involved.
* [[The Paragon]]: Depending on the continuity.
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* [[Plant Aliens]]: He has dealt with them in the story "The Plants of Plunder".
* [[Popularity Power]]
▲* [[
▲** [[Batman Can Breathe in Space]] originates from Batman's ability to do just about anything and have the audience accept it. Because he's Batman. [[Crazy Prepared|And he already planned ahead for the possibility of being attacked by]] gigantic mutated wombats fueled by VENOM, wearing suicide vests. So it makes perfect sense that he already has a plan.
* [[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.
* [[Red Baron]]: The Batman has been known as the Caped Crusader, the Gotham Guardian, the Masked Manhunter or more commonly, the Dark Knight.
** {{spoiler|Which came from Darknight Detective.}}
* [[Reinventing the Telephone]]: The Batsignal
* [[Relationship Reboot]]: After ''Infinite Crisis'', Batman returns to Gotham City and decides to give the former corrupt cop Harvey Bullock another chance.
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* [[Resurrection Sickness]]: What Ra's Al Ghul experiences after using the Lazarus Pit.
* [[Revealing Skill]]: In the backstory of the third Robin (Tim Drake), this is how he learned the secret identities of Batman and Robin (Dick Grayson): by watching news coverage of the Dynamic Duo's escapades, during which Robin performed a complicated gymnastics move (a quadruple somersault) — which it had been established could be performed only by orphaned circus artist Dick Grayson.
* [[The Reveal Prompts Romance]]: Batman has unmasked himself as Bruce Wayne to various women in various continuities. Neither the reveal nor the romance has stuck, yet.
* [[Reverse Cerebus Syndrome]]: When the stories first began, they followed the pulp magazine model. Things became [[Lighter and Softer]] shortly after Robin was introduced, and the Jack Schiff era relished in this trope. Julius Schwartz attempted [[Cerebus Syndrome]] when his term as editor started, but then [[Batman (TV series)|the 1960's show debuted]] and the trope was forced to reverse itself for the comic to emulate the show. The syndrome has waved back and forth since then.
* [[Rich Idiot With No Day Job]]: Batman deliberately cultivates this image as Bruce Wayne. See [[Obfuscating Stupidity]].
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* [[Rival Turned Evil]]: {{spoiler|Hush, Deadshot}}
* [[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]]''.
* [[Say My Name]]: If you haven't figured it out by now, ''He's '''Batman'''''
* [[Science Marches On]]: The character's been around for over 70 years, so this is a given. For example, Batman started out in the 30's as a rich guy in actual tights with a [[Bulletproof Vest]], a silk rope, smoke bombs, and a souped up but otherwise normal car. Nowadays he wears a full suit of kevlar armor loaded with high tech gear, military level weaponry, and of course the [[Thememobile|Batmobile]] along with nearly every kind of vehicle he could need. Although as things like carbon nanotubes become more common in the future, it'll be interesting to see how the writers can maintain the dramatic tension when the batsuit seems damn near indestructible. The writers of ''[[Batman Beyond]]'' successfully maintained dramatic tension when Terry was going around in ''flying power armor''. When technology reaches the point where the Bat-suit has carbon buckytube armor, that only means the Joker will be shooting at it with a rail gun.
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* [[Shadow Archetype]]: Several of Batman's villains apply, such as The Joker (obsession and mental issues), Catwoman (night animal motif and skills with things like spying and thievery, was also a wealthy socialite in the [[The Golden Age of Comic Books|Golden Age]]), The Penguin (was created as a parody of Bruce's image as a fop), and Two-Face (dual nature). Hell, Batman himself has served as a [[Shadow Archetype]] for Superman.
* [[Sidekick]]: The assorted Robins may deserve their own page!
** Robin I: Dick Grayson. [[Circus Brat]], [[Death
*** The original Earth-2 Grayson grew up, became a politician, and stayed Robin even after his Batman died. He himself died in the [[Crisis on Infinite Earths]].
*** The Earth-1 Grayson was a founding member of the Teen Titans, was urged to retire by Wayne after nearly getting killed by the Joker, [[Sidekick Graduations Stick|changed his supranym to Nightwing]], and mended his fences with Wayne. He later took over the role of Batman when Wayne was apparently dead, and continued in the role when he returned.
** Robin II: Jason Todd.
*** The pre-Crisis Todd was a redheaded circus acrobat whose [[Death
*** Post-Crisis Todd had [[Adaptation Dye Job|black hair]], and was a [[Street Urchin]] taken in by Wayne. [[Death
*** Around ''[[Infinite Crisis]]'', Todd [[
** Robin III: Tim Drake. [[Death
** Robin IV: Stephanie Brown. The daughter of the Cluemaster (a minor Batman villain), she originally went by the Spoiler, and was Tim Drake's girlfriend. She was [[Distaff Counterpart|Robin]] very briefly (during a period when Drake and Wayne were arguing), before Batman [[Put on a Bus|faked her death]]. Later became the third (or fourth, or fifth, depending on how you count) Batgirl.
** Robin V: Damian Wayne. Batman's son, born and raised in secret by [[Dating Catwoman|Talia al Ghul]]. Became Robin while Wayne was presumed dead. Mildly [[Psycho Sidekick|psychopathic]], considering he was raised by assassins, but he [[So Proud of You|received Wayne's blessing]] to continue as Robin.
* [[Sidekick Graduations Stick]]: Grayson is one of the more triumphant examples, though Todd, Drake, and Brown have all moved on as well.
* [[Signature Device]]: Anything that starts with the "bat" word.
* [[Signature Laugh]]: Several, represented different ways in different media:
** The Penguin's "wah wah" squawking laugh.
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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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* [[Terror Hero]]: Batman seeks to put enormous fear into anyone he goes up against. Given that he's one of the most [[The Dreaded|dreaded]] heroes in comics, even among superpowered villains despite having no superpowers himself, he is very good at it.
* [[Thememobile]]: The Batmobile, the Batwing, the Batcycle, etc etc...
* [[There Are No Therapists]]:
** Most depictions for the past two decades have made it clear Mr. Wayne has... issues... ''lots'' of issues.
{{quote|
** [[Double Subverted]]. There are numerous psychologists in Gotham City - just none you'd actually want helping you. [[Scarecrow]] and Hugo Strange would rather drive you mad [[For the Evulz|for laughs]], whereas [[Mad Love|Harley Quinn]] and Jeremiah Arkham couldn't even keep themselves sane. Then there's the crack staff of [[Bedlam House|Arkham Asylum]], who will probably be curing their first patient [[Sarcasm Mode|any day now]].
*** How many levels of subversion did they reach when Arkham ''did'' successfully cure Cluemaster... of his obsessive need to leave clues. Now he's just a criminal genuis who ''doesn't'' give our heroes any way to anticipate his next crime.
{{quote|
* [[The Tooth Hurts]]: In ''Detective Comics'' #832, Shark pulls out his own teeth with pliers to plant them as fake evidence of his supposed death by sharks. He mentions that it was very painful, but he's got lots of teeth (three rows!).
* [[Thou Shalt Not Kill]]
* [[Token Motivational Nemesis]]:
** Joe Chill the mugger, who is seldom seen again after serving his narrative purpose of introducing us to and traumatizing Bruce Wayne. In some versions, notably Frank Miller's, he doesn't even have a name.
** Joe Chill did appear again in a 1948 followup to the origin story, where it's revealed he eventually became a small-time gangster. Unfortunately for him, Batman soon found him out, leading to a classic confrontation. Chill also appeared post-Crisis in several stories. Post-Zero Hour he was specifically stated NOT to be the Wayne killer, bringing Batman's desire for vengeance back to the way Miller envisioned it.
** Batman had to ally with Joe Chill when facing a legacy of The Reaper, a crazed slasher vigilante. At several points, Batman has the choice of whether to save Joe's life and each time, he does.
** Noteworthily, Joker sees Batman like this.
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* [[Tragic Dream]]: This is what motivates Mr. Freeze, wanting to cure his wife.
** After an extenuating day being Batman, Jean-Paul Valley reflected that after being the Avatar of the Order of St. Dumas, who wanted to conquer Jerusalem back again to Christianity, and presently being the [[Temporary Substitute]] to Batman, who wants to stop crime in Gotham City, he finds the fanatical obsessive founder Dumas was the wiser: sure, Jerusalem was never conquered again, but it was a tangible goal that could be achieved... ending crime forever in Gotham is a madman’s dream.
* [[The Trickster]]: A role sometimes shared by Joker and Riddler, depending on the situation and motivation.
* [[True Love Is Boring]]: One of the major reasons why Bruce will probably never settle down.
* [[Tsundere]]: Damian Wayne is one of the rare male examples, and is type A towards... pretty much everyone. Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown, Alfred...
* [[Two-Headed Coin]]: A characteristic attribute of Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Played straight as Dent and then [[Subverted]] by Two-Face.
== U-Z ==
* [[Underestimating Badassery]]: Done constantly by superpowered villains who have never faced him before. After they do fight him, they figure out why he's one of the most [[The Dreaded|feared]] heroes of them all.
* [[Underwear of Power]]: Batman is one of the older examples, though nowadays (Post-[[Knight Saga]] and then Post-Return) his Underwear on the outside is usually either absent, not shown, or the same color as the rest of him (and thus hard to see). Also, the Robins wore this until Tim Drake came along.
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** ''[[Young Justice (animation)|Young Justice]]'' places it in Connecticut... [[Lovecraft Country]].
* [[Who Even Needs a Brain?]]: Rare dramatic example - new villainess "The Absence" has an enormous hole in her forehead and extending all the way through, with no visible brain, yet functions just fine, and may be smarter than before the hole happened. It appears to be a combination of a freak medical condition and Gotham City's water supply being seriously tainted.
** ... So anyone with ''half a brain'' can see that humankind has gone insane, to the point where I don't know if I'll upset the status quo [[Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog|if I throw poison in the water main]]?
* [["Well Done, Son" Guy|Well Done Great-Nephew Guy]]: Silas Wayne, who, in his last moments of life, becomes proud of Bruce when he reveals himself as Batman, and even happier that the rest of the family wasn't in the room to learn the secret identity, so he'll die proudly with the knowledge that a Wayne is Batman.
* [[Wolverine Publicity]]: This is beginning to become a bit of a problem for not just Bats but his wider crew. In the [[New 52]] line-up of titles, not only does Bats and his "family" have more individual titles than the any other superhero (only the combined Justice League matches), but counting characters with major recurring roles in other titles, the Bat-family shows up in '''twenty''' of the 52 current titles put out by DC. By comparison, ''Superman'' and [[Green Lantern]], and related characters, only show up in six or so books each, total. Most people suspect this is due to the constant financial success Batman's had, especially in the past two decades (as noted above), and ''especially'' in the past half-decade or so, between the Arkham games and ''TDK''.
{{reflist}}
{{IGN Top 100 Heroes}}
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