Does anyone like Batman for Batman

A lot of people just read batman comics for his villains. Does any one actually like the character himself? I personally lean towards him more than other heroes because I like intellectual characters like Sherlock, but a lot of people seem to think he's boring

I like Batman because his costume is awesome and he has cool gadgets. it's a bit cooler to see him being a superhero even though he doesn't have any.(he lives in a world FULL of them and he's one of the "main heroes". that says something.)

I have to be honest, I like the villains a lot more than I like Batman. We need more villain centered works like Penguin: Pain and Prejudice.

I've honestly never heard that before. I had no idea some people preferred the villains to Batman, besides a handful of Joker fans.

I will admit, I always found Batman's villains and supporting cast more interesting than the character himself.

Same.

I like Batman for Batman

I prefer Batman when his with the JLA rather than in his solo stories

@perethorn: I'm the opposite. I prefer Batman handling street level problems in Gotham than the world ending threats of the JLA.

I like Batman for Batman and I actually only really care about his villains (who I think are overrated and people only like because of their eccentric gimmicks) , allies and side characters BECAUSE they're associated with him not the other way around. I doubt I'd be into the franchise if say Dick was Batman instead of Bruce.

I guess I'm the opposite of Jack Donaghy above. I often find Bruce to be boring and emotionally retarded, whereas I thought Dick Grayson a much better and more interesting Batman. I also agree that the villains are a varied and fascinating lot.

Batman is the best the other that holds my interest is Gordon, the rest of his allies are good, necessary to some stories. In his rouge gallery I only care for Bane and Ras al Ghul.

@cap10nate: Though it may be for whichever reason overall, I'm 100% with you. I find it all fun and interesting whatever's going on in the superhero world, give or take, but what really stands out with Batman for me (hands down my favourite hero and actually the only comic I follow - as well as his accomplices) is the fact that he's incredibly human. The more grounded he is, as we see when he's dealing with the death of Damian, the closer to him I feel and that's why Batman inspires me so much.

I like Batman, but part of why I like him is because of the villains he interacts with, as apposed to me liking Superman for Superman regardless of who he's fighting.

Yes part of what makes batman great is his villains but its the intereaction between batman and his villains that makes the books so compeling

Yup. Gordon and Barbara especially make Batman even more awesome. The quality villains are a great part of the story, though they aren't critical. Put in Trickster instead of Joker, for example, and it gets a lot worse, but still good enough. I mean, if we can stick with Batman past the Man-Bat, we aren't gonna leave.

Of course I read them for Batman just as much as for the villains and other characters.

I love Batman. But I think I read it more for his supporting characters. In my honest opinion, I would prefer to read about Jason Todd, Tim Drake and The Joker.

I like Bat's supporting cast way more than I like Bruce.

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I love batman's villains!

I think batman should of died and have Dick grayson take the helm. It's time people start letting go of the past,and stop playing with the same toy over and over.

Of course i like Batman for Batman.

I read Batman primarily for his supporting cast. I do like Batman. But I feel that his amazing family is what elevates him to such a prestigious level. Most of the intrigue around the character comes from his interactions with his family and his villains.

I read/follow on all media, Batman because i like Batman and the character of Bruce Wayne.......i am very surprised that i'm the minority.....

i grew up on batman , i always liked the genius, ninja aspect of him. not the god of prep stuff he gets blasted on the internet about lol

Batman/Bruce is one of my favorite characters in any medium.

@shonen3: you could say that about every character

Same feeling.

I like batman for batman

Considering the character himself is probably the most popular comic book character there is right now, I'd think it's fair to say there is a vast number of people who like batman for batman, I honestly don't even think it's in any doubt whatsoever.

(I mean honestly, just look at the reaction when the bat symbol comes up at their announcement at comic-con that he will be in the next Superman film. People are f'in flipping out because Batman will be on screen with Superman, not because they're thinking maybe one of his villains might be.)

IMO the reverse is also true, Batman's supporting characters are also made more interesting because they interact with him. At the end of the day both him and his supporting cast are what make the franchise so great, you couldn't have great stories with a bad lead character and a great cast. And you can't have good stories with a great lead and a bad supporting cast.

I've noticed that online a lot of times it seems fans like certain franchises for everyone but the main character or like the main character the least. From what I've seen of Harry Potter fandom there are other characters who hardcore fans like more. There are people who read the Flash for the Rogues, people who read Wonder Woman for her villains and supporting characters, people who like SpOCK and don't want Peter Parker to ever come back, etc. Whereas casual fans almost always like the main character the most. I've always noticed this and wondered why. I can't get into a franchise unless I like the main character no matter how good the supporting characters are at the end of the day the lead character gets the most focus. So if I don't like the lead I won't really care.

@thebakeboss: i did not know that i honestly thought that everybody liked batman because he was cool and all

No you can't.Bruce wayne has been batman for over 70+ years and has gone through many retellings, remodelling. The character also has been exposed to a wide variety of story arcs, that have looked and explored at different aspects of his character. You can't compare that to a character whose only been around for 1-2+ years, in which the reader is still getting to understand about him/her.

I like Batman for Batman, yep. Cant say any of the villains particularly do it for me, but the Batman character is a very special one. I mean he is pretty much the only popular DC or Marvel hero who doesn't have any super-powers or serum enhanced strength/speed etc, but he manages to take down some tough cookies

Dick is a character over 70+ years.

@shonen3: What about Superman, Green Lanturn, Aquaman, Captian Marvel, Wonder Woman i could go on forever the most popular characters in comics are are well past their 50's should we just kill them all off just to replace them with lame copies of the originals

I like Batman. The villains are only interesting because of how they challenge and relate to batman, most of them are boring by themselves.

I actually like both equally. I think Batman is a very interesting and versatile character who has a great supporting cast, as well as some of the most interesting villains ever created.

Yes. It should of been a gradual process in comics where old heroes of the past were being replaced by new heroes to signify a change in the generation. now for the past 70+ years we have many oldies still hanging around. This shows comic writers are still stuck in wonder land, and refuse to grow up.

@shonen3: Ya lets just create new heros every generation that makes sense becuase its not like a generation is a short ass time and dosnt real allow for any real character devalopment. Than you have the problem who the hell wants to read about some losers who arnt the heros they grew up with reading no one thats who.

So i have to ask why do you even read main stream comics its obvously not for any love of the characters

This might be the most asinine thing I'll read this weekend. Because characters in a medium where 70 real life years may have had as little as 10 years pass need to grow old and pass the torch to legacy heroes or the writers are immature. Ohhhh boy. You're reading about people who fly under their own power, can lift skyscrapers and wear a belt of infinite plot device. I think writers of any comic book, and the readers too refuse to grow up.

I can enjoy solo batman books from time to time but I largely read batman for the batfamily than batman himself.

Can I say this is an impossible question to answer. I absolutely love Batman, but his villains are a part of Batman's character. So sure I want to say I like Batman not for his villains. I like him in Justice League and they don't always fight his villains. But his villains are a critical part of him that make him good. Batman's villains are explorations of Batman's character, and it allows us to see how Batman would act in certain conditions when dealing with these villains. Could we have explored the true depths of Jason Todd's death if it wasn't the Joker (the one who always gets away) who killed him? Could we explore the difference in how Batman utilizes fear and Crane does? Could we explore when Batman has two conflicting thoughts on a villain (i.e. Two-Face or Catwoman)?

So we can isolate our knowledge from these encounters and say we like Batman for the character himself. But his villains have allowed us to explore Batman's character into deeper depths. And since we live in this world and in a world where Batman exists without his villains, we may never really know why exactly we like Batman, and we cannot rule out his villains for being a critical part of that.

So just because you read a piece of fiction you are asserting in no way their can't be a level of maturity, and ability to detach from a character and move on ?

Just as in life in which people come and go. So to should comic reflect this. Their should be a transition period in which new generations of heroes arise from the old. This is why I liked the idea of a superman dynasty in 1,000,000 storyline. As, well as, the batman beyond stories. It actually should progression,and evolution in comic history.