Batman

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Batman
Second printing cover to Batman #608 (Oct. 2002). Art by Jim Lee (pencils) and Scott Williams (inks).
Publisher DC Comics First appearance Created by Bob Kane Bill Finger
Characteristics
Alter ego Bruce Wayne Affiliations Batman Family Justice League Wayne Enterprises Outsiders Notable aliases Matches Malone Sir Hemmingford Gray Abilities Genius-level intelligence, master detective, peak human physical condition, martial arts master, escapologist, access to high tech equipment.

Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still sometimes as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. He has since become, along with Superman and Spider-Man, one of the world's most recognized superheroes.^[1] Batman was co-created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, although only Kane receives official credit for the character. Batman's secret identity is Bruce Wayne, a billionaire industrialist, playboy, and philanthropist. Witnessing the murder of his parents as a child leads him to train himself to the peak of physical and intellectual perfection, don a costume, and fight crime. Unlike most superheroes, he does not possess any superhuman powers or abilities; he makes use of intellect, detective skills, science and technology, physical prowess, and intimidation in his war on crime.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Modern Batman 2 Personas 2.1 Bruce Wayne 2.2 The Dark Knight 2.3 Matches Malone 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Biography

Over the years, Batman's origin story, history and tone have undergone various revisions, both minor and major. Some elements have changed drastically; others, like the death of his parents and his pursuit of justice, have remained constant.

Consistent across all versions of the Batman mythos, Batman is the alter-ego of Bruce Wayne, a wealthy playboy, industrialist and philanthropist who is driven to fight crime in Gotham City after his parents, the physician Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha Wayne, are murdered by a mugger. Bob Kane said he and Bill Finger has discussed the character's background and decided that "there's nothing more traumatic than having your parents murdered before your eyes."^[2]

• /Golden Age history
• /Silver Age history

[edit] Modern Batman

After the 12-issue limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths, DC Comics rebooted the histories of some major characters in an attempt at updating them for contemporary audiences. Frank Miller retells Batman's origin in the storyline "Year One" from Batman #404-407, which emphasizes a grittier tone in the character. Though the Earth-Two Batman is erased from history, many stories of Batman's Silver Age/Earth-One career (along with an amount of Golden Age ones) remain canonical in the post-Crisis universe, with his origins remaining the same in essence, despite alteration. For example, Gotham's police are mostly corrupt, setting up further need for Batman's existence. While Dick Grayson's past remains much the same, the history of Jason Todd, the second Robin, is altered, turning the boy into the orphan son of a petty crook, who tries to boost the tires from the Batmobile. Also removed is the guardian Phillip Wayne, leaving young Bruce to be raised by Alfred. Additionally, Batman is no longer a founding member of the Justice League of America, although he becomes leader for a short time of a new incarnation of the team launched in 1987. To help fill in the revised backstory for Batman following Crisis, DC launched a new Batman title called Legends of the Dark Knight in 1989 and has published various miniseries and one-shot stories since then that largely take place during the "Year One" period.

In 1988's "Batman: A Death in the Family" storyline from Batman #426-429 Jason Todd, the second Robin, is killed by the Joker. Subsequently Batman takes an even darker, often excessive approach to his crimefighting. Batman works solo until 1989's "A Lonely Place of Dying", in which Tim Drake becomes the new Robin. In the tale Batman: Son of the Demon, Batman marries Talia Al Ghul. This story was deemed non-canonical shortly after its publication, though its concept would be revisited in a 2006 storyline.

Many of the major Batman storylines since the 1990s have been inter-title crossovers that run for a number of issues. In 1993, the same year that DC published the "Death of Superman" storyline, the publisher released the "Knightfall" storyline. In the storyline's first phase, new villain Bane paralyzes Batman, leading Wayne to ask Azrael to take on the role. After the end of "Knightfall", the storylines split in two directions, following both the Azrael-Batman's adventures, and Bruce Wayne's quest to become Batman once more. The story arcs realign in "KnightsEnd", as Azrael becomes increasingly violent and is defeated by a healed Bruce Wayne, who reclaims the mantle of Batman. Wayne has Nightwing stand in as Batman for a brief time before returning to the role once more.

1994's company-wide crossover Zero Hour changes aspects of DC continuity again, including those of Batman. Noteworthy among these changes is that the general populace and the criminal element now considers Batman an urban legend rather than a known force. Similarly, the Waynes' killer is never caught or identified, effectively removing Joe Chill from the new continuity, rendering stories such as "Year Two" non-canon.

Batman once again becomes a member of the Justice League during Grant Morrison's 1996 relaunch of the series, titled JLA. While Batman during Morrison's JLA run is depicted as "the most dangerous man alive"^[3] and contributes greatly to many of the team's successes, the Justice League is largely uninvolved as Batman and Gotham City face catastrophe in the decade's closing crossover arc. In 1998's "Cataclysm" storyline, Gotham City is devastated by an earthquake. Deprived of many of his technological resources, Batman fights to reclaim the city from legions of gangs during 1999's "No Man's Land." While Lex Luthor rebuilds Gotham at the end of the "No Man's Land" storyline, Bruce Wayne is later framed by Luthor for murder in the "Bruce Wayne: Murderer?" and "Bruce Wayne: Fugitive" story arcs; Wayne is eventually acquitted.

The "Batman: Hush" storyline introduces Tommy Elliot, a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne's, who had significant influence on him during his youth. As Hush, Elliot attacks Batman by coordinating many of the hero's enemies. During the story, Catwoman and Batman become romantically involved for a brief time, but Batman's growing sense of distrust in her ends their relationship. One of Hush's tactics is to trick Batman into believing that Jason has returned from the dead. Although the Jason Todd whom Batman fights in the "Hush" storyline is revealed to be Clayface, Todd does turn up alive later in the guise of the Red Hood.

DC's 2005 limited series Identity Crisis, reveals that JLA member Zatanna had edited Batman's memories, leading to his deep loss of trust in the rest of the superhero community. Batman later creates the Brother I satellite surveillance system to watch over the other heroes. Its eventual co-opting by Maxwell Lord, Black King of the government organization known as Checkmate, is one of the main events that leads to the Infinite Crisis miniseries, which again restructures DC continuity. In Infinite Crisis #7, Alexander Luthor, Jr. mentions that in the newly-rewritten history of the "New Earth", created in the previous issue, the murderer of Martha and Thomas Wayne is captured, thus undoing the retcon created after Zero Hour. Batman and a team of superheroes, including the new Blue Beetle, destroy Brother Eye and the OMACs.

Following Infinite Crisis, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, and Tim Drake retrace the steps Bruce had taken when he originally left Gotham City, to "rebuild Batman". In the "Face the Face" storyline, Batman and Robin return to Gotham City after their year-long absence. Additionally, Bruce adopts Tim as his son. The follow-up story arc in Batman, "Batman & Son", features Talia al Ghul and a boy who believes Batman to be his father and brings elements of Son of the Demon into continuity. Batman also helps create Wonder Woman's new identity, Diana Prince, and has begun screening other heroes for candidacy in the new Justice League of America.

[edit] Personas

Like his close friend Superman, the prominent persona of Bruce Wayne's dual identities varies with time. Modern-age comics have tended to portray "Bruce Wayne" as the facade, with "Batman" as the truer representation of his personality (in counterpoint to the post-Crisis Superman, whose "Clark Kent" persona is the 'real' personality, and "Superman" is the act). Since Infinite Crisis and the portrayal in Batman Begins, Bruce Wayne has been shown as somewhat of an amalgam between the two.

Wayne guards his secret identity well, as only a handful of individuals know of his superhero alter-ego. Several villains have also discovered his true identity over the years, most notably eco-terrorist Ra's al Ghul, as well as Catwoman, Hugo Strange, the Riddler, Bane, and Hush.

[edit] Bruce Wayne

To the world at large, Bruce Wayne is seen as an irresponsible, superficial playboy who lives off his family's personal fortune (amassed when Bruce's family invested in Gotham real estate before the city was a bustling metropolis) and the profits of Wayne Enterprises, a major private technology firm that he inherits. Forbes Magazine once estimated Bruce Wayne to be the 7th-richest fictional character with his $6.3 billion fortune.^[4] However, Wayne is also known for his contributions to charity, notably through the Wayne Foundation, a charity devoted to helping the victims of crime and preventing people from becoming criminals. Bruce creates the playboy public persona to aid in throwing off suspicion of his secret identity, often acting dim-witted and self-absorbed to further the act. Batman makes it clear that he considers keeping his secret identity a top priority; on various occasions, he often risks death rather than exposing his skills in public as Bruce Wayne.

[edit] The Dark Knight

Bruce Wayne creates Batman to strike fear into the hearts of Gotham's underworld. The costume — and the way he acts while wearing it — are meant to be as imposing and intimidating as possible. While Bruce Wayne is lighthearted and irresponsible, Batman is stoic and driven. In addition to the change in costume and personality, Bruce Wayne also changes his voice significantly to become Batman. The Dark Knight's voice is low and raspy, for both disguise and intimidation.

In keeping with the "dark" theme of the comics and the nature of bats, Batman is usually presented as operating primarily at night. After Zero Hour, DC Comics introduced the idea of Batman as an urban legend; however, Batman is "outed" in the "War Games" crossover, when his live image is broadcast over the news during a brief daytime appearance in front of a high school under siege in Gotham. In The Long Halloween, Batman himself regards "his appearance to be more effective during the night".

[edit] Matches Malone

Main article: Matches Malone

Batman also occasionally goes undercover to infiltrate Gotham's criminal element. Matches Malone is a small-time thug who serves as Batman's snitch; when Matches is killed, Batman assumes his identity.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• DC Comics - Batman
• The official Warner Bros. Batman Site
• Batman-on-film.com
• Legions of Gotham
• Batman in Don Markstein's Toonopedia
• batmantrades.com - Chronological List of Batman Graphic Novels
• The Golden Age Batman Chronology

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DC Universe characters: Heroes · Villains · Supporting characters | DC Universe locations · The Multiverse | DC Universe chronology DC Comics titles | History | Imprints | Other Media | Personnel
	Fictional biography: Contemporary · Golden Age · Silver Age | Abilities
	Supporting characters | Enemies: Major · Minor · One timers · Henchmen · Mobsters · From other media | Locations
	Bibliography | Publication history | Writers | Artist | CCA issues | Batman in other media

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