This page covers the DC comicbook hero Batman also known as Caped Crusader , Matches Malone , Dark Knight , Hemingford Gray , World's Greastest Detective , Bats , Thomas Wayne Jr. , Wayne Williams , The Bat , The Batman , Terry McGinnis , Nekhrun . If this is not the page you were looking for check here.

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Characteristics

Gender: Male
Height: 6"2
Weight: 225 lbs. (Estimated)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black

Publication History

Batman was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, though Kane, who designed the character, often receives credit as the sole creator. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #27, published in 1939, and later became popular enough to spawn his own books. Along with Superman and Wonder Woman, Batman has provided many of the core story arcs for the DC brand since his creation. He is unique for the simple reason that he has no super-human powers and is an ordinary human relying on intelligence, money, inventiveness, detective skills, and a terror-inducing M.O., or method of operating, to beat his opponents. A regular member of the Justice League Of America, though not a founder, he makes up for his lack of super-human powers with a library of information and weaknesses of numerous villains and his team mates should they ever go rogue. In the modern era the Batman "universe" puts out more monthly comic books then any other universe in comics, though Marvel's X-Men often rivals it in sheer size. Some of his most famous and key books have come from Frank Miller, who revitalized the brooding vengeance of the character through his Dark Knight Returns series. Miller also re-imagined Batman's origin in the popular Batman: Year One mini, setting the background for the way the character is described in the modern era and providing the basis for the 2005 film Batman Begins.

Origin

Golden Age Batman

When Batman first appeared in Detective Comics, he was already the vigilante known as Batman. Eventually they told the origin of Batman, Bruce Wayne was the son of Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha Wayne. His parents were wealthy philanthropists in the high society of Gotham City. Bruce grew up in Wayne Manor and they all lived happily until one fateful night. Bruce and his parents went to the movies and were walking home. They were confronted by a small-time crook called Joe Chill. At first, Chill demanded their money, but he ended up shooting both Bruce’s parents to death instead.

Due to the deaths of his parents, Bruce swore to rid Gotham City of evil for good. He began his intense mental and physical training. Bruce would master many skills including martial arts, chemistry, escapology, and other various skills. He finished his training but realized that he alone cannot rid the whole city of evil. He began to think of something that would strike terror in evil, when all of a sudden a bat flew through the window, scaring Bruce. He was inspired by the bat and would soon become Batman.

Later Batman would take in Nightwing, who would become his sidekick Robin. Together the "dynamic duo" fought many enemies including the Joker, who was to become Batman's greatest enemy. Batman eventually became one of the founding members for the Justice Society Of America. However it was later said that he and Superman were honorary members and only participated in limited JSA adventures. Batman would continue working with the Gotham City Police Department in fighting evil, and it later legally deputized Batman as a civilian police agent. Later Alfred would arrive to work as their butler, and eventually learning their identities and began working for them. Vicki Vale was also introduced during the 1940s; one of the numerous girlfriends of Bruce Wayne, she was created to mirror Lois Lane of Metropolis. She often spent her time trying to figure out the identity of Batman. Whenever she got close to figuring out Batman was Bruce Wayne, Batman would often trick her into believing he was not Bruce Wayne.

Silver Age Batman

The Silver Age Batman changed little, but when DC Comics introduced the The DC Multiverse, it established that all the stories of Batman that were told in the Golden Age were actually Earth-Two Batman. It revealed that Earth-Two Batman had married Catwoman and fathered a daughter named Huntress. Earth-Two Batman would retire as Batman to take the job as Commissioner of the GCPD. It was revealed that Selina had been killed Silky Cernak, an old former henchman when she refused and attempted to arrest him. Eventually he died in his final adventure against a criminal named Bill Jensen who had acquired superpowers. The Silver Age Batman had his back story expanded upon such as his uncle Philip Wayne raising Bruce for a while after his parents’s deaths. He was also had an older brother named Thomas Wayne Jr. who had to be institutionalized after the death of his parents. It was revealed that his parents' killing had not been chance, but an assassination ordered by gangster Lew Moxon. As a child, Bruce's father had worn a bat costume (similar to Batman's future costume) to a masquerade party, where he encountered and stopped the mobster. Moxon swore revenge against Dr. Wayne, and hired the criminal Joe Chill to arrange a mugging that would result in their deaths. Also at some point in his training, he wore a costume similar to the future Robin's and he was trained by Harvey Harris, a Gotham City Police detective.

During the Silver Age Batman would regularly team up with other heroes to fight evil. They began publishing World’s Finest Comics from the 1950s through the 1980s for team ups with Batman and Superman and other heroes. This depicted that Batman and Superman were close friends. In the early 1960s Batman later became a founding member of the Justice League of America.

In the late 1960s, Robin began attending college because DC Comics wanted to revise Batman somewhat. Batman decided to move from Wayne Manor to one of his penthouse apartments on top of Wayne Foundation, so he could be closer to Gotham City and the crimes. Batman began to work solo during the 1970s and 1980s, but would occasionally team up with Robin and Batgirl. This was the period where Batman started becoming a bit darker. Violent crimes were increasing, and there were many first appearances. The Joker finally made his first appearance since the Golden Age. The Joker was made extremely darker and more sadistic. Ra's al Ghul also made his first appearance during this time period. Batman's older brother Thomas would reappear. Thomas had become an assassin, but his body had been taken over by the anti-hero Deadman. Batman was able to remove Deadman from his brother's body, but he soon died trying to save his brother from an assassin. Later Batman would quit the Justice League and formed his new group called the Outsiders. Batman was the leader of the group for a while, but he eventually quit it as well.

Modern Age Batman

After Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Earth-Two and the Batman that was on it was erased from history. DC Comics attempted to reboot many of the major character’s origins including Batman. The re-tooled history was recounted in Frank Miller’s run on Batman in the Year One story arc. This made Batman much darker and showed the corruption in the Gotham City Police Department, giving more of a reason for Gotham City to need Batman. They left Dick’s back story the same but changed Jason Todd's back story. They also got rid of Philip Wayne and had Bruce being raised by Alfred Pennyworth. Batman also was no longer a founding member of the Justice League.

During the Son of the Demon story arc, Batman married Talia. It appeared that Talia had become pregnant, and when Talia was attacked, Batman nearly died trying to save her. Talia would conclude that she did not want to do this to Batman and pretended to have a miscarriage. Shortly after, in the story arc “A Death in the Family” Jason Todd wanted to find his biological mother. He travelled with Batman to the middle east. Eventually Jason found his mother, but the Joker bludgeoned him with a crowbar, then blew Jason up inside a building which killed him. After this tragic event, Batman became even darker and more violent when he battled crime. Later Tim Drake would become the next Robin in order to keep Batman sane and keep his humanity intact.

Later during the Death and Return of Superman, Batman had his own crisis to deal with. In the Knightfall story arc, Batman was attacked in his own Batcave by his new enemy, a criminal called Bane. Bane broke Batman’s back, paralysing him. Bruce decided to ask Azrael to take the role of Batman while he healed. As Azrael battled crime in his murderous stint as the Batman, Bruce Wayne healed and battled his own inner demons. Batman eventually fought Azrael and succeeded in defeating him. Bruce asked Nightwing to take the Batman mantle while he retrained himself.

After that event, some changes were made in Batman’s history. Batman was now not well known in Gotham and was actually an urban legend amongst some of the criminals. Also they were never able to catch the killer of the Wayne couple, meaning they eliminated Joe Chill from the entire continuity. Later during the “Hush” storyline, Hush was introduced. He was Bruce’s childhood friend and was a big influence for Bruce when they were young. Elliot had in fact been the enemy known as Hush and was attacking Batman by manipulating his enemies to attack him. He also tried to torture Batman by making him believe that Jason Todd was still alive. Batman fought the man who claimed to be Jason, but it proved to be Clayface. However, Jason was really alive and would eventually turn up later as the Jason Todd, reviving an early alias of the Joker.

Crisis after Crisis

In DC's 2005 limited series Identity Crisis, it was revealed that JLA member Zatanna had erased part of Batman's memories, leading to his loss of trust in the rest of the superhero community worrying that someday, someone could possibly "cross the line." In retaliation, Batman creates the Brother Eye satellite surveillance system to monitor every crusading adventurer on Earth. Its eventual co-opting by Maxwell Lord, Black King of the government organization known as Checkmate, is one of the main reasons that leads to the Infinite Crisis miniseries. In Infinite Crisis #7, Alex Luthor, Jr. mentions that in the newly-rewritten history of the "New Earth," created in the previous issue, the murderer of Thomas and Martha Wayne is captured, thus undoing the Retcon created after Zero Hour. Batman and a team of crusading adventurers destroy Brother Eye and the OMACs.

Following Infinite Crisis, Batman, Nightwing, and Robin 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. Also upon their return, Bruce adopts Tim as his son. The follow-up story arc in Batman, entitled: "Batman & Son," features Talia and a boy whom Talia claims is her son by Batman. Damian is a violent and spoiled child and is difficult to deal with at first, but despite his attitude he wants to become the next Robin and almost killed Tim to do it. Batman and Talia battle each other only to have Talia launch a missile at the Submarine that Batman, Talia, and their "son" are on. Batman had only found Damian's cape after the explosion. It was soon revealed that Damian had survived and had to have multiple organ transplants and a servant of Ra's Al Ghul tried to use Damian as a host for Ra's, but was defeated.

Damian Wayne

The combination of the worlds best detective (Bruce Wayne) and the daughter of the greatest criminal mind (Ra's al Ghul) should bring forth something special. The Ultimate Child. Bred in an artificial embyro which allowed Damian to grow up with genetic perfection, to kill and replace his famous father. from the moment of his birth Damian was trained in the Murder Society to be the warrior king of a new medieval age. But he rebelled... impelled by guilt and followed by his consciousness Damian Wayne now goes a lonely path... between good and evil... as Batman!

Ra's Al Ghul Returns

Ra's Al Ghul has returned back form the dead. Ra's is looking for a new host because his body's former host betrayed Ra's and poisoned his body with radiation. Ra's intended to use Daiman as a host, but he has refused. After escaping from his grandfather's ninjas he left to tell his father about Ra's's return. He showed up at the manor looking for his father, but found Robin. Robin didn't trust Damian and the two started fighting. Damian fled and ran into Alfred, but before he could say anything he was attacked by Robin again. Meanwhile ninjas were getting close to the manor intending to capture Damian. Robin and Damian were soon attacked by ninjas. Nightwing shows up to help the two,but the ninja's poison some lackey that were also sent to retrieve Damian. Nightwing leaves the boys to save the two women. Robin and Damian's bodies are brought to Ra's. The two soon reveal they they are awake and start fighting off the ninjas and amongst themselves, Damian soon leaves Robin during the fight. Ra's orders some women to care for Robin's wounds much to his surprise. However Robin refuses to allow Ra's to trick him. Ra's tries to tell Robin that he can bring his parents back and can teach and be a mentor. However Ra's reminds him of Batman, but Ra's says Batman cares more for Damian and he will soon be better than Robin. Ra's tells him that they can rule the world together, but Ra's knows he is trying to stall so he knocks him out. Batman and Talia survive a crash in the Bat-Plane and are soon attacked by ninjas and Talia is cut. However Batman's old friend I-Ching shows up to help him and beat the ninjas. Nightwing drops off Dragon Fly, Silken Spider, and Tiger Moth at Arkham, but their brains have been damaged by the poison and may not recover. Nightwing and Alfred travel to Tibet and are attacked by Ubu. Nightwing and Alfred are able to beat Ubu and leave. Batman, Talia and I-Ching are soon surrounded by ninjas after getting into Ra's lair. However the ninjas do not attack, because Ra's has not ordered them to. Ra's walks up to Batman after they are given swords and the two being to fight. As they fight Ra's says Batman has gotten faster, but Ra's has the edge, because his body cannot feel pain and plunges himself on Batman's sword. Ra's has Robin and Damian's body's pulled out and says he will need a new body to fight the Sensei and wants a young body to do it in. Ra's tells Batman that he can't decide so he wants Batman to choose for him.

Batman surprises Ra's by coming up with a third option, taking Ra's to the Fountain of Life in Nanda Parbat. Ra's, who had been searching for the Fountain of Life for a long period of his life, agrees and the two head for Nanda Parbat alone. They arrive just outside of Nanda Parbat to discover that Sensei and his ninjas have arrived before them. Batman saves a monk and then defeats the Sensei's Men of Death by himself. The two of them then headed for the Fountain beyond the Temple of Rama Kushna. There, they confront the Sensei, who is revealed to be Ra's al Ghul's father. Sensei stabs Ra's and appears to have killed him, then he battles Batman. Although Sensei's skill is far superior to Batman's, he can only continue at full strength for two minutes due to his age. However, Batman would be able to last longer then two minutes and was able to defeat Sensei knocks him into the Fountain of Life which kills him because he is not a pure soul. The monks of Nanda Parbat check Ra's Al Ghul's body, but he takes over one of the monk's body and walks off. Batman, restored to full health and slightly de-aged after being soaked in the fountain, knows what Ra's has done and screams at him "RA'S!"

Elsewhere, Robin is still haunted by Ra's offer to restore his loved ones to life. In the midst of a battle with Ra's ninjas, Tim breaks off in pursuit of the White Ghost, deciding that it is selfish of him to deny his parents and friends another chance at life. White Ghost tells robin he can restore them, but only if Tim swears his undying loyalty to Ra's Al Ghul and forsakes Batman. Tim agrees, and is sent to a chamber with a Lazarus Pit. There he is confronted by Nightwing, who swears to stop him. Meanwhile, the monk body Ra's possessed is rapidly decaying like the last one. As a symbol of his rebirth, he offers Batman his friendship, but Batman refuses. Ra's again attempts to take over Damian's body. However Batman stops him and badly damages Ra's body deciding not to hold back. Batman orders Damian to grab a weapon and they begin to fight Ra's ninjas. Soon Nightwing, Talia, Alfred and Robin arrive at Nanda Parbat and join the battle. Meanwhile White Ghost offers his body to Ra's Al Ghul and Ra's reveals that White Ghost is his son. Ra's agrees and takes over White Ghost body and due to White Ghost being his son and blood relative he is fully restored. Not wanting him to die Talia knocks Damian so she can take him to safety and leaves the battle. As Ra's joins the battle Batman, Robin, Nightwing and Alfred prepare to die fighting Ra's Al Ghul and his forces. However the monks invoke the power of their Goddess Rama Kushna and cause Nanda Parbat to sick into the ground giving Batman and his allies to chance to escape. Ra's men also escape the destruction. Nightwing pilots the plane back home while Batman hopes that Talia and Damian have gone some place where they can be safe. Alfred reminds everyone it's Christmas and they all have a toast to Family.

After the Resurrection

Two months after Ra's Al Ghul's resurrection Batman was back in Gotham attempting to capture a villian called the The Globe. The Globe has an obssession with globes and maps and had stolen a jewel-covered globe from British Museum. After Batman defeated the Globe Ra's Al Ghul and a group of his ninjas appeared. Ra's revealed that he was the real owner of the globe and had a receipt signed by Peter Carl Faberge for it's creation in 1901. Batman returned the Globe and Ra's revealed that the inside of the globe shows the location of every Lazarus Pit known on Earth. Ra's revealed he blamed Batman for Talia and Damian's departure and him being forced to live in The White Ghost's albino body which he deemed inferior. Batman battled Al Ghul's ninjas and was able to escape. Back at the cave Batman revealed he believed that a small part of White Ghost's consciousness is still present and is causing Ra's Al Ghul to act more violently towards Batman as he saw killing Batman as a way to gain his father's approval. Batman tracked Ra's down and spread knockout gas through the building putting all his ninjas to sleep. Batman battled Ra's and sent kicked him out a window. He survived and dressed as a guard he sent him to Arkham under the alias of Terry Gene Kase and stated that he has multiple personality disorder and has called himself Superman, Jesus and the "billionaire leader of a cabal of international assassins". He also has him under a prescription that will keep his speech slurred and give him zero mobility. He left Arkham welcoming him to Gotham with the hope that he will rot in there for decades.

Alternate Continuities

All-Star Batman and Robin

Bruce Wayne is a bachelor and just recently started his Batman career. He is going on a date with one of the most beautiful journalist in Gotham City, Vicki Vale. Alfred picks up Vicki at her apartment and informs her that they are going to watch a circus. Vicki was very excited that she is going on a date with Bruce Wayne. Bruce and Vicki meet up and they attend the show at the circus. Bruce becomes interested in a twelve year old boy named Dick Grayson and his acrobatic ability, and just as they finished their act, Dick’s parents were shot and killed right in front of him. Bruce leaves immediately without informing Vicki and gets into his Batsuit. Batman chases after the murderer and puts him down, the police are coming and Batman comments on how corrupt the men of the law are. Meanwhile, Vicki gets into a struggle with the policemen when they take Dick into their custody. They slap her across the face and leave. Vicki tells Alfred to get in the car and let her drive, she follows the policemen into the woods where they were about to beat Dick to death. However, a horde of bats arrive and start attacking the policemen. Batman then crashes through the police car, then grabs Dick and says, ”On your feet, soldier. You’ve just been drafted. Into a war.”

Batman then tosses Dick into his Batmobile, and they drive off. Batman believes the kid is strong and will make a useful sidekick. Meanwhile, Alfred and Vicki were badly injured when Batman came crashing in. Alfred bandages the both of them up, while Vicki becomes enraged at what had happened to Dick. She then passes out from her loss of blood. Batman meanwhile, continues to drive and still refuses to speak to Dick. Dick asks Batman what he wants with him, Batman tells him that he is going to be his ward. Dick falls asleep, but soon wakes up when Batman is being chased by the Gotham police. Batman then turns his car around and rams it into the other police cars, while laughing like a maniac. The Batmobile then turns into a jet and they fly off. Dick begins freaking out but Batman slaps him over the head to make him stop. Batman then begins thinking why he is doing this to a twelve-year-old kid. Batman decides to tell Dick that he wants him to fight crime. Meanwhile, at a local bar, the Black Canary was the bartender. However, she wants to become a crime fighter too. The drunks at the bar begin hitting on her, in response to which she beats the drunks badly. Back in the Batmobile, Batman flies the Batmobile into the ocean and it changes into a submarine. Word about Dick’s kidnapping spreads quickly, as in Metropolis, Superman discovers about the kidnap and is angered. Batman finally arrives at the Batcave when Alfred calls him. He tells him that Vicki was in an accident and is in critical condition. Batman tells him to call Eckhart in Paris to help Vicki, Alfred tells him there’s no way Eckhart would do it. Batman then tells Alfred to get Clark Kent, to go fetch him, then hangs up. Batman smiles and was proud that he knew his secret identity already. Batman begins seeing himself in Dick, he then tells Dick that he is going to work and tells him to do whatever he wants in the cave. Alfred returns to the cave and gives Dick food. This angers Batman, because he wants Dick to go through the same thing he did.

Wonder Woman has arrived in Metropolis for a meeting with Superman, the Green Lantern, and Plastic Man, the early Justice League. They begin discussing the Batman problem, and Wonder Woman gets angered that they just want to turn him into the authorities. Wonder Woman (who in this story arc is described as being much more misandristic, or man-hating, than she had ever been shown to be before) just wants to hunt down Batman and beat him to death--strictly because he is a man. Her comments anger Superman, and just as she was about to leave, muttering how much she hates men, she kisses Superman. Meanwhile, back in Gotham, Batman runs amongst rooftops patrolling his city. He beats up a few thugs and saves a damsel in distress. New wannabes have been turning up in Gotham, Barbara Gordon, a fifteen year old girl, is now running around in the city as Batgirl.

Batman was patrolling the docks where the Black Canary was beating up a few thugs nearby. However, he does not get involved as he was waiting for some more corrupt cops who were transporting a criminal come by. Once they came, Batman kicks through the windshield and knocks the two of them unconscious. However, gunfire sounds off nearby and Batman knows immediately that the amateur needs help. After Batman saves Black Canary, she jumps into him and kisses him. Batman takes her home and then heads back to the batcave. There, he brought the man who murdered Dick's parents and allowed Dick to do whatever he wishes with Jocko-Boy Vanzetti. Batman was testing whether Dick would kill Jocko-Boy or not, to his pleasure, Dick did not kill him. Instead, he beat him until he spilled a name, the Joker.

Afterwards, Batman tosses Jocko-Boy back into the trunk and tells Dick to stay at the batcave and come up with a mask and costume. Later, while Batman was driving, the Green Lantern (Hal Jordan) flashed his signal in the sky to get Batman's attention. He tosses Jocko-Boy into the harbour and heads to the Green Lantern. They have a quick chat and Batman returns to find Dick finished with his costume. Robin is now ready to go into action.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns

Bruce Wayne has retired from the Batman mantle after the death of the second Robin, Jason Todd, and become an alcohol abuser. (This book came out before the death of Jason Todd in the main continuity.) Faced with horrible guilt, Bruce decided to stop being Batman and bury his past with alcohol. Ten years have gone by since he last put on the mask, Bruce is now a 55 year old man. Gotham City has been overwhelmed with crime as groups of teenagers calling themselves “Mutants” take over the city. However, Bruce would be forced to retake the mantle of Batman again after he encountered Mutant gangs the place where his parents died. The final incident that pushed Bruce over the edge and start being Batman again was the re-emergence of Two-Face. Bruce had funded a rehabilitation for Harvey Dent to recover; obviously it had not worked. Batman begins his comeback battling against Mutants who were causing trouble. When Batman got into trouble due to his old age, a 13 year old girl named Carrie Kelly saved Batman. However, the feedback that Batman got was not as it used to be. The media has labeled him a “menace” and says that he is violating the criminals civil rights. After the some fights, Batman realizes that he is not what he used to be at the age of 55, his recovery and reaction time has greatly decreased. Batman would eventually confront Two-Face when he attempted to blow up Gotham’s twin towers. Batman stops Two-Face and discovers that his face was not splitted due to plastic surgery. However, he mutters to himself that they cannot run away from the monster inside them.

Meanwhile, the Mutant gangs have been using Gotham City as their own personal playground. While Commissioner Gordon was walking to work, he was confronted by a teenager with an M60. Gordon kills the teenager in self-defense. Shortly afterwards, Gordon was forced to retire from the Department. The Mayor had already hired a successor for Gordon’s position named Ellen Yindel, due to her anti-vigilante stance. Although Yindel did not understand why Gordon would allow such vigilantism, she was had a great deal of respect for ex-Commissioner Gordon. Meanwhile, Batman had been investigating how the Mutants can gain high tech weaponry, eventually discovering that a United States Army general officer had been supplying the Mutants with military weapons in exchange for cash. When Batman confronts him, he confesses and justifies his actions by saying he needs to help his sick wife. However, the general’s conscience is still eating him away, and he eventually commits suicide in front of Batman. Meanwhile, Carrie decided that she wanted to become the next Robin, so she went and bought a Robin outfit with her lunch money, and later that night, sneaked out of home and searched for Batman. Meanwhile, Batman decides to put a stop to the Mutants once and for all, so he drives his tank version Batmobile to the Mutants’ meeting ground at the city dump. Batman begins to open fire at them, but assures that they are just rubber bullets. Only one Mutant is standing and it is the Mutant Leader, taunting Batman to come out and fight like a man. Batman would be overpowered by the Mutant Leader, however, Carrie distracts the Leader and then takes the injured Batman away safely. As they are heading back to the Batcave, Carrie attends to Batman’s wounds. Batman recovers quickly and despite Alfred’s objections, Batman allows Carrie to become the new Robin. The Mutant Leader has still threatened that he will unleash his army on the city, however the Mayor tries to prove that he does not need Batman by negotiating one on one with the Leader. Unfortunately for this plan, however, the Leader rips the Mayor’s throat out with his teeth. Batman and Carrie have infiltrated their ranks by dressing up as Mutants. They spread a rumor that the Leader wants an assembly quickly. Afterwards, the Leader escapes from jail and meets up with Batman at a mud-hole. Batman decides that the only way to beat him is to slow him down in the mud-hole, in which he is successful. Batman then mutters to the Leader, ”You don’t get it, boy...this isn’t a mudhole--it’s an operating table. And I’m the surgeon.” Commissioner Gordon finally officially retires and Yindel is appointed Commissioner.

Batman’s greatest nemesis, the Joker, had been “rehabilitated” while he was incarcerated in Arkham Asylum. While Batman had been gone from Gotham City for a long time, the Joker did not have any reason to terrorize Gotham, and thus remained quiet in Arkham. However, after he sees Batman’s re-emergence on the television, his return to madness is hinted. The Joker convinces his psychiatrist, Dr. Bartholomew Wolper (who also hates Batman) that he is now sane and regrets his past decisions. Dr. Wolper decides to get the Joker on the Late Night Show with David Endochrine to show everyone that the Joker was caused by Batman. Yindel placed the building under heavy guard to be ready to arrest Batman. When Batman shows up, he is forced to battle the police force while the Joker releases his toxic smiling gas on the audience including Endochrine and Wolper. The Joker then escapes, and Batman begins his search for the Joker. The Joker heads to Selina Kyle’s place; she has become depressed and now likewise abuses alcohol. He then beats her and dresses her up as Wonder Woman for Batman. Yindel and the police then break into Selina’s place, but Batman and Robin escape just in time. Batman stuns Yindel when he tells her that she’d better be ready to protect the Governor from the Joker. The Joker continues his rampage and kills a group of Cub Scouts before Batman and Robin are able to arrive. However, Robin is able to prevent more deaths on a roller coaster on which the Joker had planted a bomb. Batman chases after the Joker and eventually the two fight. Batman beats the Joker badly and wonders whether he should kill the Joker. Eventually, Batman realizes that he is unable to kill the Joker since that would make him too much like the Joker, but he leaves the Joker paralyzed. The Joker begins laughing and taunting at how Batman is a coward. He then twists and breaks his own neck attempting to frame Batman for murder. Meanwhile, the President calls for Superman, who is now an undercover agent for the American government. He then tells Superman to keep an eye on Batman, but he is soon called to deal with a Soviet Union problem in South America.

The Sons of Batman have become more well known now, fighting crime like Batman but willing to kill those who broke the law. Batman is still injured from the fight against the Joker, but decides that he and Robin will train the Sons of Batman to fight crime with non-lethal methods. Soon, the Government dispatches Superman to take down Batman after he makes Gotham City the safest city in America. However, Oliver Queen, now a one-armed revolutionary, warns Batman of the Government’s plans. Batman begins preparing for his battle against Superman and is equipped with a powerful suit of armor, synthetic kryptonite, and a mysterious pill. Batman and Superman engage in a powerful battle, but Batman emerges the winner. However, Batman then suffers, and dies from, a heart attack shortly after. Meanwhile, Alfred Pennyworth detonates bombs that he and Batman had deliberately planted in the Batcave for just this purpose, and destroys Wayne Manor. Alfred dies right afterwards. Bruce Wayne’s identity as Batman quickly becomes public knowledge, but his stocks and funds have already been sold to his heirs. With the Batcave and Wayne Manor destroyed, there is no solid evidence. The funeral is attended by James Gordon, Selina Kyle, Carrie Kelly, Clark Kent, and Ellen Yindel. Clark has been stricken with guilt and saddened by the death of his friend. As Clark begins walking away, he hears a heart beat inside the coffin, and after looking at Carrie, winks at her and leaves. Carrie later digs up Bruce’s body and it is revealed that he faked his death with the pill. Bruce Wayne now begins a new life, leading Robin, Green Arrow, and his army through unexplored caves beyond the Batcave, to begin their new lives.

Gear

Batman is most notable for his use of gadgetry. Due to his wealth, money is no obstacle for the development of various gadgets he uses in fighting crime. The most recognizable of these is the Batarang, a thrown weapon that has a returning ability. This was slowly replaced by his grappling hook as a favored gadget over time. Other items include smoke or flash grenades, caltrops, a re- breather, and various anti-venoms. His heels have a sonic device which can summon a swarm of bats. This allows for dramatic escapes or diversions to keep his enemies busy. A kryptonite ring was entrusted to Batman by Superman himself, to ensure a defense in case he were to ever go rogue.

The Batsuit#

Origin

While Bruce was studying how to fight crime, it crossed his mind that he could not do it effectively as Bruce Wayne. Realizing from his studies of psychology that “criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot,” Bruce began thinking of a way to strike terror into their hearts. One night he was in one of his rooms when a bat flew in through his window and sat atop a bust of his father. Realizing how the bat had frightened him, he decided to adopt that persona and became Batman.

Armor

The Batsuit is a piece of technology in its prime, helping Bruce Wayne through his work as a detective. The Batsuit is like armor that uses a system called the Normax Survival Suit. It was developed by Applied Science Division of Wayne Enterprises. The first layer is much like what SCUBA divers wear. It functions as a water-repellent, lightly armored, temperature-regulating undergarment. On this, he can attach six tools.

1. - A vest
2. - A spine guard
3. - Arm guards
4. - Calf armor
5. - Knee guards
6. - Leg armor

On his arms, he has attached forearm gauntlets and Kevlar gloves which can make his arms an offensive weapon as well as defensive. The gauntlets also allow him to be protected from sharp objects. Batman wears a hood, which is basically his head gear. The ears contain an antenna and microphone. This allows him to hear over a long distance, or use them to embellish his voice. Parts of the hood are fitted with bullet-proof Kevlar. His hood also comes equipped with night and thermal vision. His cape is a special kind of fiber. It flows freely, which gives him his scary look, but he can send electrical waves through it so it becomes stiff. This allows him to glide, or slow down his fall, and is also flame-retardant.

Cape

Batman's cape has undergone many redesigns from DC Comics artists throughout the years. It was originally inspired by the drawings of a wing-like cape by Leonardo Da Vinci. Later artists would begin making the wings look more cape-like. All the versions of Batman's cape, however, still retain the scalloped wing design at the bottom of the cape. The cape is used to help conceal Batman in the shadows, and it has also been used as a sort of parachute. In the movie adaptations, the cape has been shown to be made of Kevlar and to be resistant to bullets and fire. It has also been used as a hang glider. But Batman has never truly been able to fly using any of the various versions of his cape.

Variant suits

Batman has other various suits that he uses. Some of his suits provide extra power for him to fight meta-humans. He also has a SCUBA variant suit that is a fireproof version of his Batsuit that allows him to fight enemies like Firefly. Jean-Paul Valley redesigned the Batsuit when he abandoned his customary alias of Azrael to take over the mantle while Bruce was temporarily out of action. He created an armored suit that had shuriken launchers, flamethrowers, and other lethal weapons.

Utility Belt#

Description

Batman’s utility belt is one of his most characteristic items of special paraphernalia, and everyone in the "Batman Family" has the same designs on their utility belts. His enemies believe that if they have his belt, it will give them an advantage over him. However, Batman had designed the pockets to be locked, and only he knows how to open them. His belt has a security device on it where it can electrically shock someone, shoot a stun gas, or detonate an explosive device to prevent anyone from tampering with it. It is made of a leather strap with a solid steel buckle. The buckle is a miniature camera and a two-way radio. There are also compartments that hold collapsible "Batarangs." It can hold ten cylinder cartridges that are equipped vertically outside of the belt. The cylinders hold various tools and equipment Batman needs to fight crime and vary depending on his mission:

1. - Batarang: A shuriken of shakens, each designed like a boomerang and all with a boomerang effect. They are usually designed to look like a bat. Batarang shakens also vary in their sizes and effects.
2. - Bat-bolas: It is an explosive ball that when thrown at an opponent’s feet, explode and ties them up in a nylon cord. Batman can also give an electric shock with a button on his gauntlets.
3. - Bat-cuffs: These are bat-shaped handcuffs that are made of lightweight diamond-impregnated nylon. Theirs is a one-piece design. They slide open and closed so they can fit into his utility belt.
4. - Bat-tracer: Used to attach on opponents to track their location.
5. - Communication device: Ear-bug to communicate with allies.
6. - First aid kit: To heal injuries.
7. - Gas Mask: Provides protection against various toxic gases.
8. - Goo gun: A gun that fires adhesive substance to incapacitate an opponent.
9. - Grappling hook: A gun that fires a line to swing from one area to another.
10. - Night vision goggles: Lenses that allow Batman to see in the dark. They are currently built into his hood.
11. - Kryptonite ring: Inside a lead-lined box is a ring, with a green kryptonite jewel, to weaken Superman if he ever goes rogue.
12. - Laser torch: A laser that cuts through almost any material.
13. - Oxy-acetylene torch: A newer version of the laser torch.
14. - Line gun: Stronger version of the grappling gun in which the top clamps onto a big surface.
15. - Lock picks: To pick locks, sometimes stored in Batman's gauntlets.
16. - Micro camera: Mounted on his utility-belt buckle, it allows him to shoot photographs.
17. - Miniature smoke grenades: These allow him to conceal himself from his enemies.
18. - Miniature mines: Small explosives that detonate on touch.
19. - Mini computer: A computer connected to WayneTech communications satellite.
20. - Money: Whatever currency is needed.
21. - Radar: Kept on his buckle, it emits a radar wave.
22. - Re-breather: Allows Batman to breathe underwater or in a vacuum.
23. - Remote control: Controls the batmobile and other vehicles, and WayneTech satellites.
24. - Smoke pellets: Used to conceal him during entrances and exits.
25. - Sonar device: Stored on the heels of his boots, it allows him to summon bats.
26. - Stun grenades: A grenade that emits bright light, loud sounds, and stuns opponents.
27. - Taser: This can incapacitate an opponent by means of non-lethal electrocution.
28. - Thermite grenades: Burn through most materials.

Skills and Abilities

Throughout the years, Batman has been shown to become one of the most powerful human beings in the DC Universe. When Bruce Wayne lost his parents to a petty criminal, he inherited a large sum of money. With so much money, Bruce was able to dedicate his time into training to become a crime fighter. Batman is known as the “World’s Greatest Detective.” His deductive skills have been shown to be almost limitless. Batman is fluent in many languages and is also a very brilliant scientist, such as chemistry and his specialty, forensic science. Batman also has a supercomputer that he dubbed the “Bat-Computer” in which he uses when he is solving cases. Tim Drake has been shown to be the only other person to have a full understanding of how to use the Bat-Computer. He is an expert user of many vehicles such as a car, motorcycle, helicopter, Jet-Skis, planes, boats, and hang gliders.

Batman has been an excellent strategist from the start. When he first figured out that criminals were superstitious cowards, he began using the bat as intimidation to throw his enemies off balance. His utility belt also has a wide array of weapons which he may need during a fight. While he fights, he usually calculates several moves ahead to be able to calculate the best possible strategy to win. After finally returning to Gotham as the Batman, Bruce has become a master martial artist, acrobat, and escapologist. He is also an expert in many different and exotic weapons. However, with his parents having been killed by a gun, he has always rejected the use of guns. Due to him being a regular human being, his physical strength cannot be matched with a super-humanoid. However, he is still one of the greatest fighters in the DC Universe, and only a handful can defeat him. Throughout the years, Batman began putting himself through rigorous training in his Batcave, and it has made him so strong that it is near meta-human level. Having mastered several martial arts such as boxing, karate, jujitsu, kung fu, muay thai, aikido, ninjitsu and kobudo(weapons handling), his being in the pinnacle of human physical condition combined with his genius-level intellect makes him arguably the most dangerous non-meta on the planet.

Bat Cave

The Bat Cave is one of the most important factors in Batman's career as both a headquarters for his operation as well as a place of privacy for him to think. In Batman Begins the cave was described as being used in the underground railroads and it in the movies Bruce fell through the caves at a young age. The cave can be reached through many ways. One is by setting a grandfather cloak in the study to 10:47 (the time when Bruce's parents were killed). In Batman: The Series, after opening a William Shakespeare bust on the table of Bruce Wayne's study, a bookcase would slide over and one could reach it by sliding down Batpoles. In Batman Forever Bruce was able to slide down a tunnel that lead to the Cave from his office in Wayne Enterprises. A waterfall or camouflaged door is used for connecting to the road for the Batmobile. There is also a dry well entrance as well. Also almost anyone who knows Batman's true identity knows the location and how to enter the cave. Batman has several advanced computers that store data on many of his foes and he can connect to any network via a series of satellites. Batman has worked with several advanced minds on the creation of his system and often communicates to Oracle and use her computer skills. Batman may at times use JLA computers when he feels his aren't up to a certain task due to the use of alien technology in League's computers. The cave houses many of Batman's vehicles such as the Batmobile, Batbikes and the Bat-Wing to name a few. The Batcave is also a advanced bomb shelter and panic room and can even survive an earthquake such as during the Cataclysm. The Bat Cave also stores, and is home to, memorabilia collected from various adventures. Three items often seen in the cave are a defunct full-size mechanical Tyrannosaurus Rex, an equally large U.S. penny, and a Joker playing card. There are also other Bat Caves in other locations aside form the one under the manor.

Central Batcave: Located fifty feet below the bottom of Robinson Park Reservoir, it is accessible through a secret entrance at the foot of one of the Twelve Caesars statues at the north of the park. This safehouse was put out of commission by Poison Ivy, her "Feraks," and Clayface.

Batcave South: A boiler room of a derelict shipping yard on the docks across from Paris Island. This safehouse is accessible through a number of false manholes planted throughout Old Gotham streets.

Batcave South-Central: Located in the Old Gotham prototype subway station, a four-block stretch of track sealed in 1896 and forgotten.

Northwest Batcave: This safehouse is located in the subbasement of Arkham Asylum. Batman secretly stocked it with emergency rations, all-terrain vehicles, and battery-powered communication equipment.

Batcave East: An abandoned oil refinery owned by Wayne Enterprises. It fell out of use during a gasoline crisis when the company moved all its holdings offshore decades ago.

Los Angeles Bat Cave Used by the Outsiders when Batman rejoined the group as the headquarters.

Another was introduced in 2002's Fugitive story arc, this time in the form of an abandoned submarine.

Homosexual Interpretation

One of the most controversial questions popped up in the early 1950s. Are Batman and Robin gay lovers? The answer is left for the audience to interpret, so theoretically the answer could be yes and no. However, a psychologist named Fredric Wertham testified in the Senate to get comic books outlawed. The comic industry had to organize the Comics Code Authority, and comics had to obtain that Authority's seal of approval. Wertham published a book titled Seduction Of The Innocent in 1954. Six pages in that book were dedicated to Batman’s supposed connection to homosexuality. During this time, homosexuality was much more intolerable then nowadays. Note that every example used is seen through Fredric Wertham’s eyes, as his work is all based on long-since totally discredited theories and a vicious, evil bias against homosexuality--AND comics, which he had always hated. The homosexuality interpretation began when one of his gay patients brought in Detective Comics and began telling him how it became a fantasy if he could live with Bruce. The homophobic, misogynistic Wertham wrote in his book:

"One young homosexual during psychotherapy brought us a copy of Detective Comics, with a Batman story. He pointed out a picture of ‘The Home of Bruce and Dick,’ a house beautifully landscaped, warmly lighted and showing the devoted pair side by side, looking out a picture window. When he was eight this boy had realized from fantasies about comic-book pictures that he was aroused by men. At the age of ten or eleven, ‘I found my liking, my sexual desires, in comic books. I think I put myself in the position of Robin. I did want to have relations with Batman. The only suggestion of homosexuality may be that they seem to be so close to each other. I remember the first time I came across the page mentioning the secret BatCave. The thought of Batman and Robin living together and possibly having sex relations came to my mind. You can almost connect yourself with the people. I was put in the position of the rescued rather than the rescuer. I felt I’d like to be loved by someone like Batman or Superman.’"

Wertham stated that “the Batman type of story” was what caused children to have subconscious homosexual fantasies. Wertham came up with a totally ridiculous and evilly homophobic "theory" that “they lived in sumptuous quarters, with beautiful flowers in large vases, and have a butler. It is like a wish dream of two homosexuals living together.” Up until 1961, male homosexual activities were banned in the United States of America. So therefore it was easy for Wertham, in his quackery, to connect that Bruce Wayne used a secret identity to hide his true self, just as gays had to hide themselves prior to 1961. Another argument he advanced that Batman was gay was the supposed lack of women in Bruce Wayne’s life. During these times, it was thought that homosexuals hated women, so Wertham quickly jumped to the wrong, false, and lying conclusion that “Bruce and Dick must be homosexual because there were no women in their home.” He viewed Batman as an anti-feminine and wrote that there are only “masculine, bad, witchlike women. And if a girl is good looking, she is undoubtedly the villainess. If she is after Bruce Wayne, she will have no chance against Dick.”

DC Comics would try to refute the allegations that Bruce and Dick were gay by introducing Batwoman, a former circus acrobat whose real name was Kathleen Kane, and her daughter, the first Bat-Girl, a fellow former circus acrobat whose own real name was Elizabeth "Betty" Kane, into the "Batman Family." In an interview with Julius Schwartz, who was then the editor of Batman comics in the 1960s, he stated that he had killed off Alfred and replaced him with Dick’s Aunt Harriet to have a woman in the house. The 1960s was the same time that Batman: The Series began to air on television. The television series seemed to support Wertham’s ludicrous theory of a homosexual Batman. The television series looked like it had everything Wertham said, from the happy "campy" atmosphere to the nice Batcave and no women in Bruce’s life. The next allegation was that Batman was the prime example of “the muscular male supertype, whose primary sex characteristics are usually well-emphasized, while Robin is a handsome ephebic boy, usually shown in his uniform with bare legs. He often stands with his legs spread, the genital region discreetly evident.” This also pointed out the type of costumes they wore. Robin then wore little green shorts and pixie boots while Batman wore skin tight clothing.

However, just as these can be falsely interpreted as “gay,” it can and should be interpreted as “straight” by mentioning that Robin’s costume was originally designed in the 1930s and that it was made to be colorful for children, while Batman was a dark character. Batman’s skin tight clothing could be interpreted as clothing worn by American football players. The skin-tight clothing helped one avoid being grabbed by extra clothing. So originally, Batman was never meant to be gay. However, it is up to the reader to interpret whatever they want. But let’s see what the creators think:

Alan Grant:

"In my 40 years as a Batman reader, that question never occurred to me. Then, during my time as writer on the Batman titles, I was interviewed for an American college rag. The first question was, 'Is Batman gay?' Well, the Batman I wrote for 13 years ISN'T gay. Denny O'Neil's Batman, Marv Wolfman's Batman, everybody's Batman all the way back to Bob Kane...NONE of them wrote him as a gay character! Only Joel Schumacher might have had an opposing view.”

Craig Lemon:

"No, of course not. When in 'Batman' form, he is dedicated to the job in hand, romance doesn't enter into the equation. Maybe the correct question should be, 'Is Bruce Wayne gay?' Whereupon you could come up with a whole line of speculation relating to his continual use and abuse of women, his fondness for young boys, and his weird obsession with older men (Alfred, Jim Gordon)...all of which could be put together and give one of two readings:
(a) he's gay;
(b) he has a secret identity he's trying to hide.”

Devin Grayson:

“To answer your second question first, do I agree with people imposing their own 'readings' on establish FICTIONAL characters? Of course. That's the whole point of reading, to bring your imagination and experience to the text, and to come away feeling inspired or entertained or like you've made a connection with the universal (because as I keep insisting, fiction is about truth, not reality)... So now, specifically, is he gay? Well, I guess it depends who you ask, doesn't it? Since you're asking me, I'll say no, I don't think he is. I'm pretty attached to the idea of him having the impossible romance with Selina, and I also think he's someone who lives pretty far outside sexual self-expression as a general rule. I certainly understand the gay readings, though. There's lots there to play with and I think that's fun and cool. And, of course, had you asked me about Nightwing's sexuality, well, you might have gotten a very different answer.”

Batman On Television: The Live-Action Situation Comedy That Saved The Caped Crusader

The first exposure people had to Batman on television was through the television series program Batman: The Series, which ABC-TV transmitted from 1966 to 1968. Bob Kane pointed out that at that time, DC Comics was on the verge of folding the Batman titles after over a quarter of a century, and he was already looking into other ways of making a living. In the early 1960s, ABC, which like so many other television networks was always looking for ways to strengthen its programming, decided to look into comic book materiel for programming at 7:30 PM weeknights, which was then prime time. The five most popular choices, in descending order, were Superman, Dick Tracy, Batman, the Green Hornet, and Little Orphan Annie. ABC was unable to get the rights to Superman because of a Broadway play, which had been dramatized into existence not long after the rights to the series starring George Reeves had expired, titled It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Superman. Theater critics were agreed that It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Superman was sillier than Batman: The Series would become. The rights to Dick Tracy were tangled in side negotiations NBC was conducting with Chester Gould, which ultimately came to nothing. But ABC acquired the rights to Batman, and chose William Dozier, a former CBS executive who had come from a background as a dramatic producer to work on situation comedies, as the executive producer of Batman: The Series, and Twentieth-Century Fox Television, which had proven, with the series based on Grace Metalious's novel Peyton Place, that it could meet the deadlines for two installments a week.

Dozier chose Lorenzo Semple Jr. to write the first planned installment of Batman: The Series, titled "Hi Diddle Riddle/Smack In The Middle," by which means Semple "developed Batman for television." As the "show runner," or hands-on producer, he chose Howard "Howie" Horwitz. Dozier had been reading Batman comics on an airliner, and owing to his having avoided comic books when young, he had never developed a liking for the medium. Reading through the books, he came up with the idea of producing Batman: The Series as a lampoon program that would be villain-driven and action-comedy heavy. This motivated his recruitment of Semple, who had a reputation for introducing fresh new approaches to older concepts. One unfortunate casualty of Dozier's approach to Batman: The Series was that none of the scripts were able to use Bruce Wayne's massive childhood trauma in any of the installments.

Actor Adam West, a native of Washington State born William West Anderson, was recruited to act out both the Caped Crusader and his tycoon alter ego Bruce Wayne in Batman: The Series. The Batcostumes he wore in character, which were all executions by Jan Kemp, the series wardrobier, of Bob Kane's design, were not executed exactly according to the way Kane had originally designed the Batcostume; instead, they all followed, to some degree, the revisions that the comic books were then using. These revisions incorporated a shorter, less voluminous cape, shorter ears on the hood, a lighter gray coloration of Batman's jacket and trousers, and shading of the black portions of Batman's Batcostume with blue. Actor Lyle Waggoner, who later went on to appear as Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman: The Series, also tested for Batman so that, as Dozier explained to Joel Eisner in The Official Batman Batbook before he died, ABC would have a choice of lead actors. The network chose West, who subsequently had to come to terms with the problem of "typecasting."

Far from ruining Batman, as some comic book purists have claimed, Batman: The Series actually saved the title and made it possible for a new generation to get to know Batman as he was really meant to be known. For after seeing the series, Batfans, so to call them, realized they wanted to know how it had all started, and thus they rediscovered the old comics and their pulp-art origins. This, as has been pointed out by such as Adam West himself when he dictated his autobiography, Back To The Batcave, to Jeff Rovin, saved the Caped Crusader from the one enemy he could never have defeated: poor comics sales.

Accused of being camp, an accusation that demeaned the efforts of those who were involved in Batman: The Series by suggesting that what they were working hard to achieve was so easy or bad that anyone could have done it--all West and his castmates, and all Dozier and his crew, did was make it look that way--Batman: The Series was actually a farce and a lampoon, and it was one that was being produced at the time when pop art was in its heyday. Moreover, ABC had originally wanted a fun Batman who appealed both to younger viewers (which it did through Batman's derring-do) and the older audiences the advertisers wanted to reach (which it did through the lampoon humor and the guest appearances of well-known public figures of the time) in the way The Man From U.N.C.L.E. did. That was the reason it had originally approached Dozier; the former network executive had had a background in dramatic programming and had made the adjustment to situation comedies. This was because the level of public tension was rising, and Batman: The Series premiered at a time when many serious dramas were on the way to being canceled.

The content of the Batman comic books that DC Comics was publishing at the time, indeed, was much sillier than anything Batman: The Series showed as, facing competition from other media and suffering the limits of watchdogging from the Comics Code Authority, DC Comics was finding it necessary to grow more outrageous in its stories and had much more difficulty authorizing the inclusion of serious materiel. Indeed, not till the 1970s, after Batman: The Series had been canceled, was DC Comics able to authorize more serious materiel in its stories.

Contrariwise, Batman: The Series often featured rewritings for television of comic book stories, especially during its first two seasons, produced as series installments. After the first season of Batman: The Series, which was actually only a partial television season, the very first full-length Batman movie, titled simply Batman, was produced and released. The second season of Batman: The Series was somewhat rushed in the beginning, with cast and crew failing to give themselves enough time, before production began, to choose the direction in which Batman: The Series would go, and hence it was not as successful as the first season had been. But only in the third season, in which actress and former dancer Yvonne Craig joined the cast as Batgirl and Barbara Gordon, did the level of quality of Batman: The Series truly slip, for in introducing that character, who had not truly been interesting to DC Comics when she had actually been created in the comics, Batman: The Series became calculating and titillating, an approach which was always a short-range solution to ratings problems on network television series programs. None of the installments of the third season of Batman: The Series were based on Batman comic book stories.

One of the more comedic aspects of Batman: The Series was how actor Burt Ward, who had once been Herbert John Gervis Jr. and had been nicknamed "Sparky," would, in character as either Robin or Richard "Dick" Grayson, yell, "Holy (bad pun of the moment)!" Another was the visual displays of sound effects like "POW!" or "CRUNCH!" or "KLONK!" William Dozier himself narrated Batman: The Series in imitation of Walter Winchell, and he was able to add a touch of mock pomposity to his narrations.

It has already been pointed out that Batman: The Series, during its run, was intentionally villain-driven and action-comedy heavy. A number of villains who had not appeared in the Bat-Rogues's Gallery were created specifically for Batman: The Series. However, it was in his make-up artistry for Batman: The Series that Ben Nye Sr., one of 20th Century Fox's most skilled manipulative cosmetologists, created the make-up format for the Joker, Batman's greatest enemy. (Bob Kane's apparent inspiration for the Joker was the character of Gwymplaine in The Man Who Laughs, the first film version of Victor Hugo's novel.) Actor Cesar Romero, who became the first actor ever to be made up as the Joker, did not shave his mustache before being so made up; Jose Ferrer had been Dozier's first choice for the role, but was unavailable at the time and had little willingness to be involved with the program till after it became successful.

When tested for an early demographic audience, before television demographics became as sophisticated as they eventually did, Batman: The Series got off to what seemed to be a bad start; the test audience members had not reacted to it because they had had no reference points, and thus the preview ratings were ironically dismally low. But once the network audiences were primed for what to expect thanks to a series of network promotions, Batman: The Series became a renegade success.

One of the Bat-Villains who actually made his way into the Batman comics was Mr. Freeze, who had been based on the character of Mr. Zero, first depicted in one of the Batman comic books. Three actors acted out the role in Batman: The Series. The first of these, in two 1966 first-season installments, was George Sanders, who committed suicide six years later. The second, in two of four second-season installments, was director and actor Otto Preminger, whom none of his surviving castmates from those two installments recalled with any fondness; director George WaGGner, who had directed Lon Chaney Jr. in The Wolf Man for Universal Pictures, directed Preminger in both of those two installments. The third, in the other two of those four second-season installments, indeed the last two of the second season, was Eli Wallach.

The false "gay" accusations Wertham had so evilly made were sidestepped in Batman: The Series by including actress Madge Blake as Bruce's aunt(or Dick's aunt, depending on whose interpretation was followed), Harriet Cooper, a character who had been introduced to the Batman comics in 1964 to give Bruce Wayne and Richard "Dick" Grayson a reason to be secretive about their dual identities; otherwise, the two could have lounged around in their respective Batcostumes, which would have had an undercutting effect on the dramatic elements. In the comics, Batman has, of course, never allowed his relationships with any of the youths who have worn Robin's costume to go farther than that of a highly reluctant mentor to a series of eager proteges, all of whom he has deliberately kept at arm's length and none of whom like that very much.

Not too long after Batman: The Series was canceled, Horwitz was killed in an accident. The shocked Dozier dissolved his production company, Greenway/Greenlawn Productions, and went into partial retirement before his death.

Batman In Animated Cartoons For Television

Batman: The Animated Series (1992)

Batman: The Animated Series debuted on September 5, 1992 and lasted through September 16, 1995. With its success, the series went on as The New Batman Adventures from September 13, 1997 through January 16, 1999. It was created by an artist named Bruce Timm, and is also the beginning of the DC Animated Universe. Bruce Timm was inspired by Tim Burton's 1989 Batman movie about a dark Batman, unlike, but ironically made possible by, the Batman of the 1960s. This series was widely acclaimed by fans because of how closely it followed the Batman mythos, while also creating original stories that were never in the comics. The series begins with Batman already at the prime of his career, with Dick Grayson already a college student and works with Batman part time. Batman was voiced by Kevin Conroy. Batman battles many familiar comic villains such as the Joker (voiced by Mark Hamill), Poison Ivy, the Mad Hatter, the Riddler, Mr. Freeze, the Scarecrow, the Clock King, and many other villains. When Batman the animated series was relaunched in 1997, Timm gave Batman and all the characters in the series a new design. He also had Dick Grayson mature and became Nightwing, while Tim Drake takes over the mantle of Robin. In one particular episode in The New Batman Adventures, in the season 4 episode 19 entitled "Legends Of The Dark Knight." The episode did a tribute on the Batman in the comics. The first tribute was to Bill Finger and Dick Sprang's run on Batman in the 1950s. The art was also similar to the comics in the 1950s. The next one was a tribute the Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. The art was also accurate to Miller's own art in the comics. During this episode the movies of the 1990's were refered to by a character named "Joel", who gushes about Batmans "fabulous rubber suits" and his car that can "go up walls." During the run of Batman: The Animated Series, Batman crossed over with Superman from Superman: The Animated Series, in the movie called The World's Finest. This began opening the doors for a series with multiple DC heroes.

Batman Beyond (1999)

Batman Beyond launched on January 10, 1999 and lasted through December 18, 2001. The series lasted for 52 episodes, with a special origin story in the Justice League animated series episode entitled "Epilogue." Bruce Wayne was once again voiced by Kevin Conroy.

Batman Beyond starts off 45 years into the future, where an aging Batman still continues to fight crime. However, one night, Batman has a heart attack during a mission and is forced to threaten the criminals with a gun. After this event, Batman decides to retire from crime fighting. Twenty long years go by as Bruce Wayne continues to age and live in bitterness with only his guard dog, Ace, at his mansion. In the movie Batman Beyond: Return Of The Joker, it was revealed that Tim Drake had been kidnapped and transformed into a duplicate of the Joker. After this event, Batman forbsde anyone from ever wearing any mantle again. However, Bruce eventually met Terry McGinnis. Terry had recently lost his father, Warren McGinnis, to some Jokerz gang members. Terry would eventually stumble onto Bruce's mansion while fighting the Jokerz gang. He then discovers the Batcave and begs Bruce to let him take on the Batman mantle. Eventually Bruce would allow Terry to take on the mantle and go out as the new Batman, while Bruce monitors everything from the super computer.

In the Justice League episode titled "Epilogue," which followed an adult Terry McGinnis, it was revealed that Bruce Wayne was the father of Terry McGinnis. However, not even Bruce knew that Terry was his son. It all began when Amanda Waller, a government agent who had been bent on trying to take down the Justice League, realized that the world needed a Batman. She then noticed that Batman was growing older and slower, so she decided to take a sample of his blood. They choose Warren and Mary McGinnis to bear the baby because they were the most similar to Thomas and Martha Wayne. Warren then got called in for what he was told was a "flu shot." Actually they were rewriting his reproductive DNA. Eventually Terry would be born. However, they needed Terry to suffer the same fate that Bruce had when he was young. Waller then sent an assassin (apparently an older Andrea Beaumont from Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm). However, the assassin could not go through with the assassination. Fortunately for Waller, the Jokerz gang murdered Warren McGinnis anyway, forcing Terry to become the new Batman. This episode is considered the series finale of Batman Beyond, as Terry has matured and reconciled with Bruce.

Justice League

Appearances

First Mission (Promo Pilot)

Secret Origins Part One

Secret Origins Part Two

Secret Origins Part Three

The Enemy Below Part One

The Enemy Below Part Two

Injustice for All Part One

Injustice for All Part Two

Paradise Lost Part One

Paradise Lost Part Two

The Brave and the Bold Part Two

Fury Part One

Fury Part Two

Legends Part One

Legends Part Two

A Knight of Shadows Part One

A Knight of Shadows Part Two

Metamorphosis Part One

Metamorphosis Part Two

Savage Time Part One

Savage Time Part Three

Twilight One

Twilight Two

Tabula Rasa Part One

Tabula Rasa Part Two

Only a Dream Part One

Only a Dream Part Two

Maid of Honor Part One

Maid of Honor Part Two

A Better World Part One

A Better World Part Two

Secret Society Part One

Hereafter Part One

Hereafter Part Two

Wild Cards Part One

Wild Cards Part Two

Starcrossed Part One

Starcrossed Part Two

Starcrossed Part Three

Movies

Batman (1989)

In the 1970s, Warner Communications had acquired full ownership of DC Comics, and with it, the Batman copyright. Studio executive Michael E. Uslan decided that he would finance a Batman movie, even though no one at Warners or DC would acknowledge the role of Batman: The Series in saving the character from poor comics sales.

In the 1989 movie, Michael D. Keaton appeared as Batman, and Jack Nicholson took the role of the Joker; Nicholson's contract for the film was lucrative enough for him to be financially secure for the rest of his life. The movie was directed by Tim Burton, who was a fan of Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns. He decided to do a very dark-toned Batman movie. Peter Guber and Jonathan Peters produced.

In this movie, Gotham City has been consumed by the criminal underworld. A vigilante dressed like a bat has began showing up in Gotham City and is causing hysteria in the media and the police force on the eve of Gotham City's 200th anniversary. When a mob boss named Carl Grissom (Jack Palance) discovers his second in command, Jack Napier, flirting around with his girlfriend, he decides to send Jack to Axis Chemicals for a “mission.” However, Jack is being set up and double-crossed. Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon(Pat Hingle), along with the police, attempt to arrest Jack. A gunfight ensues and Batman shows up to stop the criminals. Batman is able to capture Jack, but is forced to let him go when Jack’s own henchman, Bob, takes Gordon hostage. Batman disappears and Jack kills one of the corrupt officers, a certain Lt. Eckhardt. Batman reappears and Jack tries to shoot him, but the bullet bounces off Batman’s gloves and back to Jack’s face. Jack falls over the railing and Batman tries to drag him back up, but Jack’s hand slips and he ends up falling into a vat of chemicals. The police try to apprehend Batman, who quickly escapes by using his smoke bombs. Batman returns to his civilian life as multi-millionaire playboy and philanthropist Bruce Wayne. Bruce had been throwing a fund-raising party for Gotham City's 200th anniversary at his mansion, where Vicki Vale(Kim Basinger) had caught his eye, when he got the news that Gordon was heading to Axis Chemicals.

Meanwhile, Jack Napier has emerged from the chemicals that were dumped in the bay. Jack has become deformed due to the chemicals; they have turned his hair, fingernails, and toenails green, his lips rouge-red, and his skin chalk white. A poor store-front surgeon reduced to using rusted, unsterilized equipment, has had to re-connect completely severed nerves, and Napier has been left with a permanent smile on his face, properly called a rictus grin. This proves too much for Napier's already unstable mind to bear, and he goes insane and kills the surgeon. Calling himself "The Joker," he then proceeds to kill Grissom and takes over the criminal underworld.

Setting up headquarters at Axis Chemicals, the Joker then devises a plan to intoxicate all hygiene products with DDID nerve gas, experiments with which the Government had abandoned, which he renames Smylex. Using his aptitude for chemistry, he so formulates the poison that it will only work when the components are mixed and uses these separate components to taint hundreds of basic chemicals at the source. The poison takes effect on a news anchor who is on the air live, and it causes a city-wide panic.

Meanwhile, Bruce has begun a relationship with Vicki Vale but has yet to tell her about his alter-ego. Bruce later makes an excuse to avoid Vicki for that day, but she finds out Bruce is lying when she talks with Alfred(Michael Gough). Vicki decides to follow Bruce and finds him laying two roses in front of a theater door in Crime Alley. She later discovers that Bruce’s parents were killed right at that spot in front of his own eyes when he was a child.

Vicki is later invited to the Gotham City("Flugelheim") Museum of Art, ostensibly by Bruce, for a supposed date. The invitation proves actually to have been from the Joker, who has been attracted to her. Batman comes in and saves Vicki. During a fight, Batman comes close to being unmasked by the Joker's henchmen, including Bob, a near-unmasking Vicki captures on film, concealing the can of the film in her brassiere. Escaping with her in his Batmobile, Batman takes her to his Batcave and gives her information on what products are contaminated with Smylex. Batman then renders her unconscious and she wakes up at home--without the film, which Batman has stolen from her and lost no time in destroying undeveloped.

Later Bruce comes over to Vicki’s apartment to try and apologize to her and tell her about Batman. However, the Joker interferes and Bruce tries to distract him. The Joker points a gun at Bruce and asks him, “Have you ever danced with the Devil in the pale moonlight?” He then adds, "I always ask that of all my prey. I just like the sound of it." Bruce is then shot as Vicki screams in terror, and the Joker leaves. Vicki runs back to Bruce, but she discovers that he is already gone, and that he had used a silver platter to protect himself from a bullet. Meanwhile, the city has canceled its plans to celebrate its own 200th anniversary, but the Joker makes a television announcement that the celebration will go on as scheduled and that he will be doling out money to the crowd.

Back in the Batcave, Bruce finally realizes that it was Jack Napier, long before becoming the Joker, who had killed his parents. Alfred allows Vicki into the Batcave, where she finally learns the truth about Bruce. Meanwhile, the Joker again plans to release his Smylex gas on Gotham City, during the 200th anniversary celebration he has been staging, but Batman interferes again with his Batwing, a small jet aircraft. He takes all the gas-filled balloons and releases them up high in the sky, where they will explode, dispersing the gas harmlessly. This angers the Joker, who challenges the Batwing to a showdown. There he shoots down the Batwing with a long pistol. The Batwing crashes in front of a cathedral and the Joker kidnaps Vicki and takes her to the top of the cathedral. There he calls for a helicopter to make good his escape.

Batman follows the Joker up to the top of the cathedral, along which way he fights some of the Joker’s henchmen. Batman finally faces the Joker face to face, and the two fight. Batman punches the Joker over the edge, but the Joker then grabs and pulls Batman and Vicki over. As they are clinging to a ledge, he begins dancing around, deliberately stomping on the edge in order to knock possible handholds off, until the helicopter arrives for him to escape. But Batman foils this plan by shooting a line at the Joker's legs with a "Batarang" and wrapping it around a stone statue. The statue pulls the Joker off the helicopter and he falls to his death.

Later, Batman gives the Gotham Police Department a "Bat-Signal" to call him whenever the city needs him.

Noteworthy is the appearance of Billy Dee Williams as District Attorney Harvey Dent. His involvement in this film irredeemably ruined Tommy Lee Jones's later involvement in Batman Forever.

Batman Returns (1992)

Batman Returns is a sequel to the 1989 Batman movie and was released in 1992. It too was directed by Tim Burton, thus it still had the same dark theme in it. Michael Keaton returned as Batman and Bruce Wayne. Michelle Pfeiffer appeared as both the Catwoman and Selina Kyle, roles which Burton had denied Sean Young, and Dante Daniel "Danny" DeVito appeared as Oswald Cobblepot, the Penguin.

The movie starts off 33 years before the present time with the birth of Oswald Cobblepot, later known as the Penguin. He was born deformed, so his parents decided to toss him into the sewers, where he drifted until he was discovered by penguins.

Now back in present time, Batman has established himself as the Dark Knight of Gotham City. It is Christmastide, and people are beginning to see sightings of a “penguin man.” Meanwhile a multi-millionaire named Max Shreck (Christopher Walken) is trying to convince the mayor to approve his new power plant. But it is turned down, and they all go to the Christmas rally. Selina Kyle, Max’s secretary, realizes that he left his speech paper on the table. She grabs it and runs to him. All of a sudden, a giant wrapped present rolls into the middle of the rally. It explodes, and a horde of clowns and freaks emerge from it. The police are overwhelmed, so Commissioner Gordon calls for the Bat-Signal to be ignited. Bruce Wayne has been sitting in his chair sleeping, but the Bat-Signal wakes him up. He gears up and Batman takes the Batmobile into the city.

Meanwhile the freaks seem to be after Max Shreck. Batman finally arrives and takes down a number of the freaks, then rescues a helpless Selina Kyle from a clown with a taser. Max is able to escape, but he decides to rest at the wrong spot. For a trap door opens, and the Penguin captures him. The Penguin decides to blackmail Max into getting him good publicity so that the Penguin can go to the surface.

Meanwhile Selina realizes that she had forgotten to prepare for Max’s meeting with Bruce Wayne, so she goes back to the office and pulls all his files on the power plant. But these prove to include encrypted files with illegal information. Shreck, convinced Kyle knows too much, then pushes her out a window.

He does not count on Kyle surviving the fall. She wakes up after a number of cats start nibbling on her body. She staggers home and has a complete mental breakdown due to this trauma aggravating her personal life problems. She then decides to make a tight black leather-like cat costume and, after completing it and pulling it on for the first time, says, "I don't know about you...but suddenly I feel so much yummier."

The next day, the Penguin stages a kidnapping of the Mayor’s baby and rescues the baby himself. He succeeds and goes public, telling the public that he wants to find out his identity and his parents, and learn why they threw him away. However, Bruce Wayne, watching the press conference, becomes suspicious about him. Batman goes out on patrol while keeping an eye on the Penguin. His suspicions are becoming more serious as he believes the Penguin has other plans.

Bruce meets Selina after his meeting with Max--who is surprised to discover her still alive--and she escorts Bruce out of the building after a disagreement between Max and him. Afterwards Max goes to the Penguin’s place and proposes that he run for Mayor. The Penguin agrees to the plan and sends his henchmen to destroy the city in order to force the current Mayor into a recall. Batman intervenes but is unsuccessful in stopping the Penguin's plans. Batman, the Catwoman, and the Penguin meet face to face for the first time. Batman and the Penguin go after the Catwoman, but Batman gets to her first, and the two fight. She stabs Batman with a claw--just at a point where his Batcostume is weakest. Batman then knocks her off the roof and she falls onto a dumper-style land freighter's cargo of sand, which the Catwoman disparages as "kitty litter."

The Catwoman meets up with the Penguin, and the two agree to team up to sabotage Batman. Later, Bruce meets Selina on the streets and is able to get her to go on a date with him. That very night, the Penguin uses a stolen Batarang to kidnap the Ice Princess and frame Batman in the process.

Meanwhile, Bruce and Selina are on their date. But they are interrupted when news about the kidnapping is shown on television. They both rush out, Bruce becoming Batman, and Selina changing to the Catwoman. They rush to Gotham Plaza where Batman confronts the Catwoman. She takes the Ice Princess to the top of the roof where the Penguin throws an umbrella full of bats to knock her down, again framing Batman. Meanwhile, the Penguin’s henchmen begin to tamper with the Batmobile.

Afterwards, Batman returns to the Batmobile, where he realizes that the Penguin is controlling it. His suspicions strengthened, Batman records everything the Penguin says and finally breaks the remote under the car. The next day at the press conference during the Penguin’s speech, Batman hacks into the public-address system and plays the recording he made of the Penguin's statements, revealing the Penguin's evil intentions to Gotham City. The Penguin, enraged, runs back to the sewer and briefs his henchmen on his plan to kidnap all Gotham City's first-born sons and kill them in the sewer.

Bruce goes to Max’s costume party where he meets up with Selina; they there discover each other's alter-egos. All of a sudden, the Penguin blasts in, yelling, "You didn't invite me--so I crashed!" He reveals his plan to everyone, then kidnaps Max. Batman is able to stop the Penguin’s henchmen from kidnapping the children. He then goes after the Penguin.

The Penguin goes to his next plan, which involves his packing all his penguins with missiles to shoot at the city. Batman goes after the Penguin while also hacking the transmission of the penguins with missiles. He sends them back to the Penguin’s lair, and the two have a final confrontation. The Penguin ends up falling to his death.

Batman goes inside to discover that Selina Kyle, the Catwoman, is there. She takes a taser and seemingly kills herself and Max at the same time. But after Batman has removed all the debris, he fails to find Selina Kyle's body!

Batman Forever (1995)

In the third installment of the Batman Anthology, Val Kilmer pulled on the Batcostume, with Chris O’Donnell acting out Robin and Nicole Kidman as Bruce’s girl-friend of the moment, Dr. Chase Meridian. Batman faces off against the Riddler, acted out by a very badly miscasted James Carrey, and Two-Face, as whom Tommy Lee Jones, who had been even more poorly chosen in the first place, turned in an even worse performance. This was because Jones was reprising the role of now-former District Attorney Harvey Dent, a role that Billy Dee Williams had originated in Batman.

Batman Forever was directed by Joel Schumacher, who had an idea of a new type of Batman that was less dark. The movie starts off with a downtown bank robbery, whose mastermind is a criminal called Two-Face. His real name is Harvey Dent, and he had once been the District Attorney of Gotham City. But now, the left side of his face is scarred after he has had blue vitriol thrown at it. Moreover, he has impounded a two-headed silver dollar from the criminal he was prosecuting at the time of his own disfigurement. Dent has scarred one side of the two-headed silver dollar to match his own face, and he now makes all his decisions by toss of the coin.

Batman arrives and falls into Two-Face’s trap. He is able to escape and swing the hostage and bank vault back into the bank. However, Batman hangs onto the helicopter that was carrying them while Two-Face tries to kill him. Batman finally gets onto the helicopter when Two-Face bails on the helicopter as it headed for the Statue of Liberty. Batman survives by jumping out of the helicopter seconds before it crashes.

The next day, Bruce Wayne is inspecting his company, where he meets Edward Nygma. Bruce turns down a project that Edward proposes. Later that night, Edward decides to test his machine on his supervisor and as a result, he discovers that he has stolen all of his supervisor’s brainwaves, making him smarter. Edward then proceeds to kill his supervisor by throwing him out the window, alters the security camera images to make it look like a suicide, and forges a suicide note. Bruce goes back to his office where he discovers a riddle for him.

The next morning, Bruce goes to his appointment with Dr. Chase Meridian, where he ends up asking her out on a date. They go to a circus event with an acrobatic family named the Flying Graysons. However, the circus is taken hostage by Two-Face and his gang. He brings out a time bomb to force Batman to show himself. The Flying Graysons decide to stop Two-Face’s time bomb themselves. They get it to the top where one of their own, Richard "Dick" Grayson, throws it into the water.

Meanwhile, Two-Face tosses his coin, and the scarred side wins. Thus, he shoots at Dick’s family. A bullet breaks a line they were holding and the entire family, let alone Dick, falls to their deaths. Bruce decides to adopt Dick, but Dick has other plans and does not want to remain. However, Dick decides to stay after he sees Bruce’s motorcycle collection, enabling Bruce to bribe him with a motorcycle of his choice. Bruce continues to have recurring dreams about the deaths of his parents, then he is interrupted by the Bat-Signal. Batman then fights Two-Face in the streets and barely escapes by driving the Batmobile up a wall.

Meanwhile, Edward Nygma is trying to think of a persona for his new criminal career. After he decides to become the Riddler, he pays Two-Face a visit. The Riddler proposes a plan to Two-Face that will give Two-Face a chance to find out Batman's secret identity and kill him, while the Riddler becomes the smartest person on the planet.

Two-Face and the Riddler go on a crime spree, and Batman is too slow to catch them. Bruce later receives another riddle in front of his house. Once the Riddler has stolen enough funding for his project, he announces the formation of NygmaTech. Its first product is his new 3D box that allows the viewer to feel like he or she is inside the television. With the 3D box, the Riddler is able to gain the brainwaves of everyone in Gotham City.

Meanwhile, back at the mansion, Dick has become curious of the locked doors and finally succeeds in breaking into one. However, that door leads to the Batcave. There, Dick takes the Batmobile out for a joy ride. At the time, Bruce was not at the mansion, but instead with Chase, talking about his repressed memories. Then Alfred interrupts them, telling Bruce that Dick has taken the Batmobile.

Dick rides into the city with the Batmobile and saves a damsel in distress from some gang. However, Dick gets overwhelmed by the numbers until Batman arrives to save him. Back at the Batcave, Dick begs Bruce to train him as his partner, but Bruce is unwilling to allow Dick to take the same path he took himself. Later, Bruce goes to Edward Nygma’s party, which shows him Nygma's latest technology. Bruce snoops around the machine and tries it himself--and it extracts secrets from Bruce’s mind. However, Two-Face interrupts and Bruce rushes out to change into Batman.

Dick, already something of a dandy as far as the Flying Graysons had gone, goes and dons a costume of his own right after Bruce. Batman crashes in and fights off Two-Face’s henchmen. But when he then chases after Two-Face, he falls into another trap. Batman ends up getting buried underneath a massive amount of sand, from which Dick is able to rescue him. They return to the Batcave, and Bruce decides to give up being Batman in order to keep Dick from becoming a crime fighter.

Meanwhile, the Riddler and Two-Face have discovered Batman’s identity and begin plotting an attack. During dinner between Bruce and Chase, the Riddler and Two-Face show up and attack them, ruining Bruce's plans to tell her everything. The Riddler destroys the Batcave and kidnaps Chase while Bruce is unconscious. Bruce finally wakes up and realizes what has happened, and another riddle is left for him. Bruce and Alfred begin deducing the clues from the riddles and discover that the Riddler is Edward Nygma. Bruce gears up in a prototype Batcostume and meet up with Dick Grayson, now calling himself Robin, whose own costume Alfred had created. Batman takes the Batwing and Robin takes the Batboat as they storm for the Riddler’s hideout.

Batman goes after the Riddler while Robin engages Two-Face, who is able to trick Robin and capture him. Batman finally confronts the Riddler and realizes he has to choose who to save. Batman ends up saving both Chase and Robin while destroying the Riddler’s hideout. However, Two-Face has the upper hand on Batman until Batman convinces him to toss his coin. But after Two-Face tosses the coin, Batman throws a handful of coins at him, all virtually identical to Two-Face's silver dollar, which confuses the horrified Two-Face as to which one is really his coin. In the midst of the confusion, Two-Face falls to his apparent death. Batman apprehends the Riddler, and Edward Nygma is sent to Arkham Asylum, where he is convinced that he himself is Batman.

Batman & Robin (1997)

Batman And