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{{quote|''"I am vengeance. I am the night. I. Am. Batman!!"''|'''[[Spell My Name Withwith a "The"|The Batman]]''', ''[[Batman: The Animated Series (Animation)|Batman the Animated Series]]''}}
 
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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|Trope Makers]] and [[Trope Codifier|Trope Codifiers]] 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|Superheroes]] 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 (Comic Book)|Superman]] have taken beatings in the zeitgeist for [[Boring 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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Over time, Batman's [[Cyclic Trope|swung between]] a bright, shiny [[The Cape|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 (Franchise)/Characters|Character Sheet]].
 
== [[Comics]] ==
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* ''[[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 Thethe 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 (Comic Book)|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.
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* ''[[Grant Morrison's Batman (Comic Book)|Batman and Robin]]'' - [[Grant Morrison]], who wrote Batman's ongoing comic from 2006-2009, was given his own book in which to tell the further adventures of the new Batman (Dick Grayson) and Bruce Wayne's son Damian Wayne, the new Robin. The series focuses on the fall-out from Morrison's popular run on the main Batman book as well as Damian's attempt to adjust to being a hero. As of 2011, this Book contains the adventures of the Bruce Wayne Batman and his son Damian. Written by Peter J. Tomasi.
* ''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 (Comic Book)|Gotham City Sirens]]'' - A series, also written by Paul Dini, dealing with the girls of Gotham, notably Poison Ivy, [[Harley Quinn (Comic Book)|Harley Quinn]], and [[Catwoman (Comic Book)|Catwoman]] as they attempt to live "normal" lives.
* ''[[The Batman Adventures]]'' - The tie-in comic of ''[[Batman: The Animated Series (Animation)|Batman the Animated Series]]''.
* ''[[Batman Impostors (Comic Book)|Batman Impostors]]'' - The tie-in comic of ''[[Gotham City Impostors (Video Game)|Gotham City Impostors]]''.
 
'''Storylines'''
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* ''[[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 (Comic Book)|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 Thethe 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.
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*** ''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 Onon 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 Asas 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.
* ''Night of the Owls:'' Batman as of the New 52. Bruce is Batman again, though Damian is still Robin, and Dick still operates as Nightwing. A shadowy organization known as The Court of Owls, basically Gotham City's Illuminati, are trying to take back Gotham City, using pseudo-immortal assassins as their footsoldiers.
 
'''One-Shots & Limited Series'''
* ''[[The Dark Knight Returns (Comic Book)|The Dark Knight Returns]]'' - An old Batman takes up the cowl again to fight mutants. And along with ''[[Watchmen (Comic Bookcomics)|Watchmen]]'', it helped start the [[Dark Age]] of comics.
* ''[[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 a Serious House Onon Serious Earth|Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth]]'' - [[Grant Morrison]]'s first Batman story, Arkham Asylum is what happens when the Batman's rogues gallery gets overdosed on [[Nightmare Fuel]], with a little of [[Lewis Carroll]] as well. An unholy force has taken over the asylum, forcing Batman to have to storm the place and save the staff. Notable for giving the back story behind the place, and it definitely wasn't pretty.
* ''[[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'').
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* ''[[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 (Comic Book)|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 (Comic Bookcomics)|Batman Beyond]]'' - Based off the ''[[Batman Beyond (Animation)|Batman Beyond]]'' animated series continuity. It started out as a six-part miniseries, but became an ongoing series in 2011.
* ''[[Whatever Happened to Thethe Caped Crusader?]]'' - A two-part Batman story written by [[Neil Gaiman]], in the same vein of Superman's "''[[Whatever Happened to Thethe 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 (Comic Book)|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).
* ''[[Batman Detective No. 27 (Comic Book)|Batman Detective No. 27]]'' - An "elseworld" where Bruce Wayne never becomes Batman, instead becoming Detective No. 27. Batman's debut was in ''Detective Comics'' #27.
* ''Mad Love'' - Harley Quinn's origin story, which was later adapted for an episode of ''[[Batman: The Animated Series (Animation)|Batman the Animated Series]]''. It received massive critical praise and won the 1994 Eisner Award for "Best Single Issue."
* ''[[Batman Odyssey (Comic Book)|Batman Odyssey]]'' - A supremely bizarre miniseries (2010-2011) drawn ''and written'' by Neal Adams, featuring Batman's journey to [[Hollow World|the underworld]].
 
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'': "Holy surrealism, Batman!" The colorful, [[Camp|campy]] '60s series that pretty much defines the bright, shiny Batman.
 
== [[Manga]] ==
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== [[Film]] ==
* ''[[The Batman (Filmfilm)|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: theThe Movie (Film)|Batman the Movie]]'': [[The Movie]] of the 60s TV show.
* The [[Tim Burton]] films, two very dark and Gothic versions.
** ''[[Batman (Filmfilm)|Batman]]''
** ''[[Batman Returns (Film)|Batman Returns]]''
* The next two were directed by [[Joel Schumacher]], and cranked the [[Camp]] [[Up to Eleven]].
** The first Schumacher film, ''[[Batman Forever (Film)|Batman Forever]]'' still did well, especially among fans of the more light-hearted 60s Batman.
** ''[[Batman and Robin (Filmfilm)|Batman and Robin]]'' was a critical failure and effectively killed the film franchise.
* ''[[The Dark Knight Saga (Film)|The Dark Knight Saga]]''. After "[[Fan Nickname|Batman On Ice]]", it was necessary to do a complete [[Continuity Reboot|reboot]] of the film continuity, which was a rare occurrence in Hollywood at the time, illustrating just ''how bad'' the fourth film really was. Written and directed by [[Christopher Nolan]]. Very much [[Adaptation Distillation]].
** ''Batman Begins''
** ''The Dark Knight''
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== Theatre ==
* ''[[Batman the Musical (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 (Theatre)|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 (Web Video)|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 (Video Game)|Batman: Vengeance]]'', based on the New Batman Adventures.
** ''[[Batman Rise of Sin Tzu]]''
* ''Batman: Dark Tomorrow''
* ''[[Lego Adaptation Game (Video Game)|Lego Batman]]'', a [[Lighter and Softer]] [[LEGO]] game where every character is put into Lego form.
* ''[[Batman: Arkham Asylum (Video Game)|Batman Arkham Asylum]]'', often considered to be the best video game adaptation of the Batman franchise.
* ''[[Batman: Arkham City (Video Game)|Batman Arkham City]]'', the sequel to [[Batman: Arkham Asylum]] where the inmates are allowed to run free over an area of Gotham.
* ''[[Gotham City Impostors (Video Game)|Gotham City Impostors]]'', a downloadable [[First-Person Shooter]] on [[Xbox Live Arcade]] and [[Playstation Network]]. Has a [[Comic Book Adaptation]] in the form of ''[[Batman Impostors (Comic Book)|Batman Impostors]]''.
 
== [[Web Original]] ==
* ''[[Gotham Girls (Web Animation)|Gotham Girls]]''
* [[Cat Tales]]
* [[The Joker Blogs]]
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== [[Western Animation]] ==
* ''The Batman/Superman Hour''
* ''[[The New Adventures of Batman (Animation)|The New Adventures of Batman]]'': The [[Animated Adaptation]] of the 1960s TV series, featuring the same actors. And [[The Scrappy|Bat-Mite]].
* ''[[Superfriends (Animation)|Superfriends]]''
* ''[[Batman: The Animated Series (Animation)|Batman the Animated Series]]'': An animated tie-in with the 1989 ''Batman'' film. It turned out to be [[Adaptation Distillation]] and launched the [[DCAU]] with a crossover into ''[[Superman: The Animated Series (Animation)|Superman the Animated Series]]''. Still held in very high regard.
** Later became ''[[Batman: The Animated Series (Animation)|The New Batman Adventures]]''; both names are included here for completion.
** It also spun off these films and OVAs:
*** ''[[Batman Mask of the Phantasm (Animation)|Batman: Mask of the Phantasm]]''
*** ''[[Batman and& MisterMr. Freeze: Sub Zero (Animation)SubZero|Batman and Mister Freeze Sub Zero]]''
*** ''[[Batman Mystery of the Batwoman (Animation)|Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman]]''
* ''[[Batman Beyond (Animation)|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: Return of the Joker (Animation)|Batman Beyond Return of the Joker]]'' was an OVA spun off from the series.
* ''[[Justice League (Animationanimation)|Justice League]]'' and ''Justice League Unlimited'': Linked the two above series and ''[[Superman: The Animated Series (Animation)|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 (Animation)|The Batman]]'': A non-DCAU series aimed at a younger audience, starring Batman in his first few years as a crime-fighter.
* ''[[Batman: theThe Brave And The Bold (Animation)|Batman the Brave And The Bold]]'': A lighter series, having nothing to do with the DCAU. Tone greatly resembles that of the '60s [[Batman (TV series)|Batman]] show and/or the [[Silver Age]] comic, but with a more [[Post Modern]], self-aware vibe to it.
* ''[[Superman Batman Public Enemies|Superman/Batman: Public Enemies]]''
* ''[[Justice League Crisis On Two Earths|Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths]]''
* ''[[Batman Under the Red Hood (Animation)|Batman: Under the Red Hood]]'': A dark animated film about Jason Todd, the second Robin's return.
* ''[[Superman Batman Apocalypse|Superman/Batman: Apocalypse]]''
* ''[[DC Super Friends (Animation)|DC Super Friends]]'': a 17-minute short made for Fisher-Price's range of "DC Super Friends" toys.
* ''[[Young Justice (Animationanimation)|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 CGI animated series in which Batman teams up with Katana, and a younger, gun-toting Alfred.
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** In ''Batman: The Cult'', Deacon Blackfire bathed in blood, supposedly to make himself immortal.
* [[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 Withwith Insanity]]: The Joker several times.
* [[Breakout Character]]: Alfred was originally intended to be a comedic foil to Batman and Robin, but eventually got more serious. The Post-Crisis version had him as an out and out [[Battle Butler]], not to mention surrogate father figure to the entire Bat-Clan.
* [[Breakout Villain]]: [[The Joker]] is a big one. Originally he was supposed to be killed in his second appearance back in 1940. Fast-forward 70 years later and he's the most famous villain in all of comics.
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* [[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 (Animation)|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.
* [[Charity Ball]]: Bruce Wayne, being a wealthy playboy, attends a lot of these.
* [[Chew Out Fake Out]]: Tim Drake/Robin, after losing nearly all of his biological family, sets up an actor to pretend to be his fake uncle so that he doesn't have to go into the foster care system. Batman, being Batman, naturally finds out, and Robin assumes he's about to be reamed out for going behind Bruce's back... but all Bruce can say is that he's so proud of Tim for taking the initiative, and gives him some tips on how to make the deception foolproof.
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* [[The Commissioner Gordon]]: The [[Trope Namer]]
<!-- %% CompleteMonster belongs in the YMMV tab. Please, stop adding it on the main page. -->
* [[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 (Animation)|Batman Beyond]], especially in regards to the Bat Symbol she uses.
* [[Cool Car]]: The Batmobile
* [[Cool Garage]]
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* [[Crazy Prepared]]: Batman plus the Bat-family has his own ''category'' on the page.
* [[Creepy Souvenir]]: Villain Mr. Zsasz marks a notch in his skin every time he murders someone. He has scars all over his body.
* [[Crimefighting Withwith Cash]]
* [[Criminal Doppelganger]]: Bruce Wayne's childhood friend Thomas Elliot (a.k.a. {{spoiler|Hush}}) got facial reconstruction surgery to look more like Bruce so that he can impersonate him and more easily get away with sapping Bruce's wealth.
* [[Criminal Mind Games]]: The Riddler's MO.
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* [[Death By Origin Story]]: Thomas and Martha Wayne, The Flying Graysons.
* [[Death Trap]]
* [[Depending Onon the Writer]]: ''The Dark Knight Returns'' presented Batman as a dangerously-obsessed, deeply-disturbed, paranoid control freak who is possibly a mentally ill [[Heroic Sociopath]] as opposed to the stalwart Caped Crusader of the Golden and Silver Ages and the Adam West series. This interpretation is touched on [[Depending Onon the Writer]] and sometimes, it is the basis for whole story arcs.
** 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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* [[The Fettered]]
* [[Fiction 500]]
* [[Finger in Thethe Mail]]: The maniacal doctor Hush from [[Inverted Trope|turns this around]] by sending Batman the entirety of Catwoman... minus her heart. [[Unexplained Recovery|She gets better.]]
* [[Fourth Wall Observer]]: The Joker occasionally, but especially in non-canon story lines and Emperor Joker.
* [[Freeze Ray]]: Take a guess.
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* [[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 Withwith Bowser]]: ''The Killing Joke'', Batman and Joker.
* [[Go to Alias]]: Alfred tends to use "Thaddeus Crane" (his middle names) whenever he has to go undercover.
* [[Grappling Hook Pistol]]: Favorite method of transportation when the [[To the Bat Noun|Batwing or Batmobile]] aren't practical.
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* [[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 Onon the Writer]].
* [[The Notable Numeral]]: The Dynamic Duo and Terrible Trio
* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]]: Brucie's outward persona is like this, to make him seem harmless and Not-Batman-At-All.
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* [[Plant Aliens]]: He has dealt with them in the story "The Plants of Plunder".
* [[Popularity Power]]
* [[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: theThe Animated Series|New Batman Adventures]]''.
* [[Psycho for Hire]]
* [[Reckless Sidekick]]: Jason Todd, Damian Wayne.
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* [[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]].
* [[Riddle Me This]]: The standard MO of The Riddler.
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* [[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 (Animation)|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.
* [[Secret Identity Identity]]: [[Depending Onon the Writer]], and something of a [[Cyclic Trope]]. Bruce Wayne is a violent, obsessive loner who plays the dual roles of Batman (who gives him the power to instill fear in criminals and take revenge) and "Billionaire Playboy" Bruce Wayne (leading the carefree life he cannot truly enjoy, and actually disdains). He ''usually'' identifies more with Batman (to the point of calling himself such in his head), but not always. The one thing they all have in common is that they are self-absorbed misanthropes who cannot get over the murder of Bruce's parents in Crime Alley.
* [[Servile Snarker]]: Alfred was a candidate for [[Trope Namer]].
* [[Shoe Shine, Mister?]]: In one early comic, Robin goes undercover as a shoeshine boy, and when the villain of the week stops to get a shine, Robin secretly applies a tracking device to his shoe.
* [[Shout-Out]]: The 1960's ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' series was generally held in disfavor by Batman's comic book creators, but prolific Batman writer Chuck Dixon was a fan of the show, and snuck in some tributes here and there. Most notably in a two-parter featuring pirate-themed villain Cap'n Fear, which was structured much like a two-parter for the show, and began "in the shadow of the [[Punny Name|Westward Bridge]]."
* [[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 By Origin Story|saw his parents killed in front of him]], taken in as Wayne's ward.
*** The original Earth-2 Grayson grew up, became a politician, and stayed Robin even after his Batman died. He himself died in the [[Crisis Onon 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.
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*** Around ''[[Infinite Crisis]]'', Todd [[Comic Book Death|came back from the dead]]. He is now an [[Face Heel Turn|adult villain]] calling himself the Red Hood. This Todd has had black and (later) red hair, so he's apparently an [[Broad Strokes|amalgam]] of the pre-Crisis and post-Crisis Todd.
** Robin III: Tim Drake. [[Death By Origin Story|Mother killed by the Obeah Man very early in his career, father killed by Captain Boomerang much later.]] Later became Red Robin II.
** 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 Onon 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.
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** The Scarecrow's infamous "HRROOO HRRAAA", which nobody knows how to pronounce.
* [[Silver Fox]]: Depending on the art style, Commissioner Gordon can be one of these.
* [[Shrine to Thethe Fallen]]: Batman keeps Jason's costume on display in the Batcave.
* [[Skull for Aa Head]]: Black Mask
* [[Spirited Competitor]]
* [[Smug Snake]]: The Riddler. But significantly less so since his reformation in ''Detective Comics'' #822. Still smug, but a highly successful detective as well.
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* [[Stealth Hi Bye]]
* [[Story-Breaker Team-Up]]: Whenever the Bat-mite shows up.
* [[Strike Me Down Withwith All of Your Hatred]]: Joker is prone to this.
* [[Stupid Crooks]]: "Rocket Scientist" in ''Detective Comics'' #704. The story details the career of one of Gotham City's most incompetent crooks. His actions included once disguising himself by painting his face red (following an earlier mishap due to his choice of masks) only to collapse because the paint was toxic.
* [[Superhero Sobriquets]]: The Dark Knight, the Caped Crusader, the World's Greatest Detective, the Dark Knight Detective. Robin is the Boy Wonder and Joker is the Clown Prince of Crime, the Thin White Duke of Death, and the Harlequin of Hate.
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* [[Upper Class Wit]]: Bruce Wayne's image to the world.
* [[Useless Spleen]]: Tim Drake loses his spleen to a sword-strike in ''Red Robin #4''.
* [[The Vamp]]: Poison Ivy, Nocturna, Catwoman at times ([[Depending Onon the Writer]]), and others.
* [[Viewer Myopia]]: Batman obviously being Bruce Wayne gets the same "never in the same place" evidence as [[Superman]]... discounting all the times that both of them ''have'' arranged to be seen with their alternate identities.
* [[Villainous Harlequin]]: Harley Quinn (duh)
* [[Vitriolic Best Buds]]: Batman and Superman are [[Depending Onon the Writer|sometimes]] depicted this way, as both Type 1 ''and'' Type 2.
* [[Water Source Tampering]]: Deconstructed in one comic, where Bruce deduces the [[Villain of the Week]] ''won't'' put his hallucinogen into the water supply, because it's too easy to shut off. Instead, he plots to put it in the milk supply.
* [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]]: Ra's Al Ghul.
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* [[Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?]] (The [[Tim Burton]] movie is the [[Trope Namer]])
* [[Where the Hell Is Springfield?|Where The Hell Is Gotham]]: Apparently, New Jersey. Many people from the greater Trenton area dispute this, as Gotham is shown to be [[Wretched Hive|a grungy, filth-ridden, dated city]], [[Take That|and nothing in New Jersey could be that nice]].
** ''[[Young Justice (Animationanimation)|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. HorriblesHorrible'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''.
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