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* ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns'' - An old Batman takes up the cowl again to fight mutants. And along with ''{{Watchmen}}'', it helped start the DarkAge of comics.
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* ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns'' - An old Batman takes up the cowl again to fight mutants. And along with ''{{Watchmen}}'', ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'', it helped start the DarkAge of comics.
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* ''BatmanAndTheOutsiders''. Batman leading his own team. Launched in 1983. The team has went through several incarnation, typically without their original leader.
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* ''BatmanAndTheOutsiders''. Batman leading his own team. Launched in 1983. The team has went gone through several incarnation, incarnations, typically without their original leader.
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* ''DarkVictory'' - Written and drawn by the guys who did ''TheLongHalloween'', this limited series deals with the fall-out of Harvey Dent's transformation into Two-Face as another serial killer "The Hangman" attempts to kill off those within the Gotham City PD that are loyal to Commission Gordon. It also features the story of how Bruce Wayne adopted Dick Grayson, who dons the Robin identity at the end of the story.
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* ''DarkVictory'' - Written and drawn by the guys who did ''TheLongHalloween'', this limited series deals with the fall-out of Harvey Dent's transformation into Two-Face as another serial killer "The Hangman" attempts to kill off those within the Gotham City PD that are loyal to Commission a number of former and current GCPD members - including Jim Gordon. It also features the story of how Bruce Wayne adopted Dick Grayson, who dons the Robin identity at the end of the story.
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* ''BatmanLive'': a big-budget arena show that premiered in the UK July '11 and toured Europe and North America. It focuses on the relationship between Batman and Robin, and is a fusion between theatre, circus, and hand-drawn animation.
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* ''BatmanLive'': ''Theatre/BatmanLive'': a big-budget arena show that premiered in the UK July '11 and toured Europe and North America. It focuses on the relationship between Batman and Robin, and is a fusion between theatre, circus, and hand-drawn animation.
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* ''SuperFriends''
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* ''SuperFriends''''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}''
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* ''GothamCitySirens'' - A series, also written by Paul Dini, dealing with the girls of Gotham, notably Poison Ivy, Comicbook/HarleyQuinn, and Comicbook/{{Catwoman}} as they attempt to live "normal" lives.
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* ''GothamCitySirens'' ''ComicBook/GothamCitySirens'' - A series, also written by Paul Dini, dealing with the girls of Gotham, notably Poison Ivy, Comicbook/HarleyQuinn, and Comicbook/{{Catwoman}} as they attempt to live "normal" lives.
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** ''BatmanReturns''
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** ''BatmanReturns''''Film/BatmanReturns''
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** The first Schumacher film, ''BatmanForever'' still did well, especially among fans of the more light-hearted 60s Batman.
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** The first Schumacher film, ''BatmanForever'' ''Film/BatmanForever'' still did well, especially among fans of the more light-hearted 60s Batman.
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* ''BatmanFamily'' - Anthology title, focusing on the supporting cast.
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* ''[[ArkhamAsylumASeriousHouseOnSeriousEarth Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth]]'' - GrantMorrison's first Batman story, Arkham Asylum is what happens when the Batman's rogues gallery gets overdosed on HighOctaneNightmareFuel, with a little of LewisCarroll as well. An unholy force has taken over the asylum, forcing Batman to have to storm the place and save the staff. Notable for giving the back story behind the place, [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel and it definitely wasn't pretty.]]
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* ''[[ArkhamAsylumASeriousHouseOnSeriousEarth Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth]]'' - GrantMorrison's first Batman story, Arkham Asylum is what happens when the Batman's rogues gallery gets overdosed on HighOctaneNightmareFuel, NightmareFuel, with a little of LewisCarroll as well. An unholy force has taken over the asylum, forcing Batman to have to storm the place and save the staff. Notable for giving the back story behind the place, [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel and it definitely wasn't pretty.]]
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* ''Batman: Child of Dreams'' by KiaAsamiya of ''SilentMobius'' fame.
* ''Batman: Death Mask''
* ''Batman: Death Mask''
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* ''Batman: Child of Dreams'' ''BatmanChildOfDreams'' by KiaAsamiya of ''SilentMobius'' fame.
*''Batman: Death Mask''
''BatmanDeathMask''
*
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* ''TheNewAdventuresOfBatman'': The AnimatedAdaptation of the 1960s TV series, featuring the same actors. And [[TheScrappy Bat-Mite]].
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* ''TheNewAdventuresOfBatman'': ''WesternAnimation/TheNewAdventuresOfBatman'': The AnimatedAdaptation of the 1960s TV series, featuring the same actors. And [[TheScrappy Bat-Mite]].
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** Joker's maniacal cackle (particularly Mark Hamill's interpretation).
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** Joker's maniacal cackle (particularly Mark Hamill's interpretation).]
** The Scarecrow's infamous "HRROOO HRRAAA", which nobody knows how to pronounce.
** The Scarecrow's infamous "HRROOO HRRAAA", which nobody knows how to pronounce.
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The Dark Knight. The Caped Crusader. The [[TropeCodifier iconic]] [[TheCowl Cowl]]. '''''[[TropeCodifier The]]''''' BadassNormal SuperHero.
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The Dark Knight. The Caped Crusader. [[GreatDetective The World's Greatest Detective.]] The [[TropeCodifier iconic]] [[TheCowl Cowl]]. '''''[[TropeCodifier The]]''''' BadassNormal SuperHero.
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The Dark Knight. The Caped Crusader. The [[TropeCodifier iconic]] [[TheCowl Cowl]]. ''[[TropeCodifier The]]'' BadassNormal SuperHero.
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The Dark Knight. The Caped Crusader. The [[TropeCodifier iconic]] [[TheCowl Cowl]]. ''[[TropeCodifier The]]'' '''''[[TropeCodifier The]]''''' BadassNormal SuperHero.
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* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'': A TimeSkip continuation of the above, [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture 40 years in the future]], Bruce Wayne acting as TheMentor to Terry McGinnis, who [[LegacyCharacter takes up the mantle]] of Batman (or maybe "the Bat-mantle"?)
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* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'': A TimeSkip continuation of the above, [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture 40 years in the future]], Bruce Wayne acting as TheMentor to Terry McGinnis, [=McGinnis=], who [[LegacyCharacter takes up the mantle]] of Batman (or maybe "the Bat-mantle"?)
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* HolyMusicalBatman: a musical parody by TeamStarKid, performed during March 2012 and made available online on April 13th.
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* HolyMusicalBatman: ''WebVideo/HolyMusicalBatman'': a musical parody by TeamStarKid, performed during March 2012 and made available online on April 13th.
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* ''BewareTheBatman'': An upcoming CGI animated series in which Batman teams up with Katana, and a younger, gun-toting Alfred.
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* ''GothamGirls''
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* ''GothamGirls''''WebAnimation/GothamGirls''
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* "HolyMusicalBatman": a musical parody by TeamStarKid, performed during March 2012 and made available online on April 13th.
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* "HolyMusicalBatman": HolyMusicalBatman: a musical parody by TeamStarKid, performed during March 2012 and made available online on April 13th.
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* "HolyMusicalBatman!": a musical parody by TeamStarKid, performed during March 2012 and made available online on April 13th.
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* "HolyMusicalBatman!": "HolyMusicalBatman": a musical parody by TeamStarKid, performed during March 2012 and made available online on April 13th.
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* "HolyMusicalB@man!": a musical parody by TeamStarKid, performed during March 2012 and made available online on April 13th.
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* "HolyMusicalB@man!": "HolyMusicalBatman!": a musical parody by TeamStarKid, performed during March 2012 and made available online on April 13th.
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* "HolyMusicalB@man!": a musical parody by Team StarKid, performed during March 2012 and made available online on April 13th.
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* "HolyMusicalB@man!": a musical parody by Team StarKid, TeamStarKid, performed during March 2012 and made available online on April 13th.
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* "HolyMusicalB@man!": a musical parody by Team StarKid, performed during March 2012 and made available online on April 13th.
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Batman is also one of the greatest {{Trope Maker}}s and {{Trope Codifier}}s in not just comics, but ''all'' visual media; one of the oldest superheroes still in print -- having debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #27 (May 1939) -- Batman is one of the two best known {{Superhero}}es ever (alongside {{Superman}}). The Batman mythos has expanded into numerous forms of media in the decades since the character's debut, and there's a damned good argument to be made for Batman being the most ''critically'' and ''culturally'' successful superhero in history. When veterans such as Comicbook/{{Superman}} have taken beatings in the zeitgeist for [[BoringInvincibleHero perceived problems]] ([[YourMileageMayVary justified or otherwise]]), Batman's legacy and relevancy have never truly faded in the public eye, and his popularity across multiple sections of the mainstream remains as strong -- if not stronger -- than it was back in the 1940s. He's pretty much [[RuleOfCool the only superhero to date who could pull out a lightsaber]] [[CrazyPrepared with no explanation at all and get away with it]].
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Batman is also one of the greatest {{Trope Maker}}s and {{Trope Codifier}}s in not just comics, but ''all'' visual media; one of the oldest superheroes still in print -- having debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #27 (May 1939) -- Batman is one of the two three best known {{Superhero}}es ever (alongside {{Superman}}).{{Superman}} and {{Spider-Man}}). The Batman mythos has expanded into numerous forms of media in the decades since the character's debut, and there's a damned good argument to be made for Batman being the most ''critically'' and ''culturally'' successful superhero in history. When veterans such as Comicbook/{{Superman}} have taken beatings in the zeitgeist for [[BoringInvincibleHero perceived problems]] ([[YourMileageMayVary justified or otherwise]]), Batman's legacy and relevancy have never truly faded in the public eye, and his popularity across multiple sections of the mainstream remains as strong -- if not stronger -- than it was back in the 1940s. He's pretty much [[RuleOfCool the only superhero to date who could pull out a lightsaber]] [[CrazyPrepared with no explanation at all and get away with it]].
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* ''ComicBook/BatmanImpostors'' - The tie-in comic of ''VideoGame/GothamCityImpostors''.
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* ''VideoGame/GothamCityImpostors'', a downloadable FirstPersonShooter on XboxLiveArcade and PlayStationNetwork. Has a ComicBookAdaptation in the form of ''ComicBook/BatmanImpostors''.
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* TheProudElite: He is handsome, and, while charming, tries to be aloof enough that he makes people think he's a bit arrogant. However, when he catches criminals as Batman, he'll get them jobs at Wayne Enterprises. Even the Ventriloquist got a second chance once on an episode of ''[[BatmanTheAnimatedSeries New Batman Adventures]]''.
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* WolverinePublicity: This is beginning to become a bit of a problem for not just Bats but his wider crew. In the New52 line-up of titles, not only does Bats and his "family" have more individual titles than the any other superhero (only the combined Justice League matches), but counting characters with major recurring roles in other titles, the Bat-family shows up in '''twenty''' of the 52 current titles put out by DC. By comparison, ''Superman'' and GreenLantern, and related characters, only show up in six or so books each, total. Most people suspect this is due to the constant financial success Batman's had, especially in the past two decades (as noted above), and ''especially'' in the past half-decade or so, between the Arkham games and ''TDK''.
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* WolverinePublicity: This is beginning to become a bit of a problem for not just Bats but his wider crew. In the New52 {{New 52}} line-up of titles, not only does Bats and his "family" have more individual titles than the any other superhero (only the combined Justice League matches), but counting characters with major recurring roles in other titles, the Bat-family shows up in '''twenty''' of the 52 current titles put out by DC. By comparison, ''Superman'' and GreenLantern, and related characters, only show up in six or so books each, total. Most people suspect this is due to the constant financial success Batman's had, especially in the past two decades (as noted above), and ''especially'' in the past half-decade or so, between the Arkham games and ''TDK''.
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* WolverinePublicity: This is beginning to become a bit of a problem for not just Bats but his wider crew. In the New52 line-up of titles, not only does Bats and his "family" have more individual titles than the any other superhero (only the combined Justice League matches), but counting characters with major recurring roles in other titles, the Bat-family shows up in '''twenty''' of the 52 current titles put out by DC. By comparison, ''Superman'' and GreenLantern, and related characters, only show up in six or so books each, total. Most people suspect this is due to the constant financial success Batman's had, especially in the past two decades (as noted above), and ''especially'' in the past half-decade or so, between the Arkham games and ''TDK''.
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%%%Please do not put this article in the comic book mainspace. This is a page that directs you to everything Batman.
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/I__m_Batman_by_wordmongerer_570.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[TheCowl "Criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot..."]]]]
->''"I am vengeance. I am the night. I. Am. Batman!!"''
-->--'''[[SpellMyNameWithAThe The Batman]]''', ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''
%% One quote is sufficient. Please place additional entries on the quotes tab.
The Dark Knight. The Caped Crusader. The [[TropeCodifier iconic]] [[TheCowl Cowl]]. ''[[TropeCodifier The]]'' BadassNormal SuperHero.
Batman is also one of the greatest {{Trope Maker}}s and {{Trope Codifier}}s in not just comics, but ''all'' visual media; one of the oldest superheroes still in print -- having debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #27 (May 1939) -- Batman is one of the two best known {{Superhero}}es ever (alongside {{Superman}}). The Batman mythos has expanded into numerous forms of media in the decades since the character's debut, and there's a damned good argument to be made for Batman being the most ''critically'' and ''culturally'' successful superhero in history. When veterans such as Comicbook/{{Superman}} have taken beatings in the zeitgeist for [[BoringInvincibleHero perceived problems]] ([[YourMileageMayVary justified or otherwise]]), Batman's legacy and relevancy have never truly faded in the public eye, and his popularity across multiple sections of the mainstream remains as strong -- if not stronger -- than it was back in the 1940s. He's pretty much [[RuleOfCool the only superhero to date who could pull out a lightsaber]] [[CrazyPrepared with no explanation at all and get away with it]].
At the age of eight, Bruce Wayne witnessed the [[HarmfulToMinors murder of his parents]] at the hands of a mugger. Swearing [[YouKilledMyFather vengeance]] against all criminals, Bruce used his parents' vast fortune to travel the world and hone his fighting abilities and detective skills. When he felt he was ready, Bruce returned to his beloved Gotham City, intent on removing the criminal element that had [[WretchedHive overrun the city]] in his absence. Donning a costume with a bat motif to strike fear into criminals, Bruce protects the streets of Gotham as "The Batman" at night while pretending to be a [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob clueless playboy billionaire]] by day.
Over time, Batman's [[CyclicTrope swung between]] a bright, shiny [[TheCape Cape]] and a dark, nightmarish ShadowArchetype and the iconic [[TheCowl Cowl]]; in modern times, it's usually the latter. A number of comic-book writers, most famously FrankMiller, love the contrast between Batman and {{Superman}} -- darkness and light -- and often play it up when the two are paired together.
This series has a (very long) [[Characters/{{Batman}} Character Sheet]].
[[index]]
[[AC:{{Comics}}]]
* ''Detective Comics'' - DC's [[LongRunners longest-running]] still-published comic series (though not longest number in issue number, as Action Comics overtook it in 1988 when it briefly turned into a weekly comic), Batman debuted in issue #27 in 1939, and still headlined it up until 2009, when {{Batwoman}} briefly took over the book. Batman has since returned as the headliner. Various supporting characters, including the MartianManhunter, GreenArrow and BlackCanary, the ElongatedMan, and [[TheQuestion the current Question]] have appeared over the years in various backup strips.
** Originally an AnthologyComic.
* ''Batman'' - Batman's self-named monthly title, which debuted in 1940 (issue #1 featured the first appearances of the Joker and Catwoman). Considered to be the main flagship title.
* ''World's Finest Comics'' - An anthology series that debuted in the late 1940s, originally it featured stand-alone solo stories involving Batman and Superman. However, with issue #71, the series switched formats to its now familiar "Superman/Batman" team-up stories. The series (which featured the first appearance of Scarecrow and Clock King) was cancelled in 1986. However, it lives on in a series of mini-series specials and in ''Superman/Batman'', which is considered to be the SpiritualSuccessor to ''World's Finest''.
* ''TheJoker'' - the Clown Prince of Crime starred in his own short-lived series in the mid-1970s. Largely forgettable.
* ''BatmanAndTheOutsiders''. Batman leading his own team. Launched in 1983. The team has went through several incarnation, typically without their original leader.
* ''Legends of the Dark Knight'' - An anthology series that debuted in 1989, to tie into the release of the 1989 live action Batman movie. The series originally was a flashback book, focusing on past adventures of Batman, though by the early '90s (and the events of Knightfall), the book was revamped and took place in the here and now. Suffers from continuity issues, with several stories being considered non-canon.
* ''Batman: Shadow of the Bat'' - Another Batman book, launched mainly as a vehicle for then Detective Comics writer Alan Grant. The series was much darker than the main Batman books at the time; in particular, the stories were often told from the POV of the villain.
* ''Comicbook/GothamCentral'' - A series that starred Renee Montoya and members of the Gotham City Police Department, with Batman only playing a minor role. While receiving critical acclaim (most notably for the story where Montoya is outed as a lesbian), [[TooGoodToLast the series ran for only 40 issues]].
* ''Batman: Gotham Knights'' - A series focused on Batman, but heavily spotlighting and examining the rest of the Batfamily, his RoguesGallery, and their relationships to each other.
* ''Batman Confidential'' - Another anthology series that replaced ''Legends of the Dark Knight''. The series features classic Batman villains (who rarely appeared in Legends of the Dark Knight) and early adventures between them and Batman. Most notably (and infamously) the series is known for it's Joker origin story, which uses the 1989 movie as it's template.
* ''Superman/Batman'' - Mentioned above, this is a team-up series with Comicbook/ {{Superman}} that is the SpiritualSuccessor to "World's Finest". But unlike "World's Finest", Superman/Batman features major story lines for both characters, most notably Superman with its first arc featuring the two bringing down President Lex Luthor (which was later spun off into the direct-to-DVD movie ''Superman/Batman: Public Enemies'') and its second arc re-introducing the Pre-Crisis {{Supergirl}} to TheDCU.
* ''[[Comicbook/GrantMorrisonsBatman Batman and Robin]]'' - GrantMorrison, who wrote Batman's ongoing comic from 2006-2009, was given his own book in which to tell the further adventures of the new Batman (Dick Grayson) and Bruce Wayne's son Damian Wayne, the new Robin. The series focuses on the fall-out from Morrison's popular run on the main Batman book as well as Damian's attempt to adjust to being a hero. As of 2011, this Book contains the adventures of the Bruce Wayne Batman and his son Damian. Written by Peter J. Tomasi.
* ''Streets of Gotham'' - A series written by Paul Dini that features the new Batman and Robin in the eyes of other characters. Also features a back-up feature starring Kate Spencer, the current Manhunter.
* ''GothamCitySirens'' - A series, also written by Paul Dini, dealing with the girls of Gotham, notably Poison Ivy, Comicbook/HarleyQuinn, and Comicbook/{{Catwoman}} as they attempt to live "normal" lives.
* ''TheBatmanAdventures'' - The tie-in comic of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''.
'''Storylines'''
* ''[[BatmanYearOne Year One]]'' - Flashback tale written by FrankMiller and illustrated by David Mazzucchelli which told of The Caped Crusader's first year in Gotham City and how he met then patrol officer James Gordon. Critically acclaimed, it spawned a slew of sequels (''Batman: Year Two'', ''Batman: Year Three'', the continuity of both being debatable) and mini-series that take place afterwards. It also created a massive ContinuitySnarl (which was more-or-less, albeit uneasily, taken care of later), as far as erasing Batgirl from canon and introducing a new offspring for Commissioner Gordon, as well as a controversial new origin for Catwoman where she is a former prostitute. Many elements of the story were adapted into ''Batman Begins'' and ''The Dark Knight''.
* ''A Death In The Family'' - Batman and Robin II (Jason Todd) go to the Middle East, to track down Jason's birth mother and stop Joker from stealing relief aid from the Red Cross for cash. In the process, Joker kills Jason Todd and his mom and ultimately finds immunity waiting for him in Iran, who offer to make him their ambassador in exchange for him poisoning the entire UN with Joker gas. Superman stops the gas attack and Batman beats the crap out of the Joker, who gets shot by a stray bullet from his Iranian henchmen, and his plane crashes into the ocean. Famous for the fact that Jason's fate was decided by a "1-900" call-in phone poll.
* ''{{Knightfall}}''/''Knightquest''/''Knightsend'' - Introduces Bane, who after forcing Batman to run a gauntlet of his worst enemies, breaks Batman's back. This forces Bruce to promote his latest sidekick {{Azrael}} to Batman status, which backfires due to Azrael having still not shaken the effects of being brainwashed into becoming an assassin and ultimately forces Bruce (when he's recovered) to face him down to reclaim the cape and cowl.
* ''Contagion'' & ''Legacy'': Two arcs which pretty much go together back-to-back. In the former, Gotham has to deal with an outbreak of Ebola-A and chronicles Batman's attempts to help contain and cure the virus. After which, in the latter, Ra's Al Ghul makes his return to the Batman books as he unleashes a massive plague upon Gotham City, as a test run to unleashing the virus upon humanity. Batman is forced to call in all of his allies (Catwoman, Azrael, Nightwing, and Robin) to help stop Ra's Al Ghul. But victory ultimately depends on Poison Ivy (whose blood holds the cure for the virus) and Bane (who has been recruited by Ra's Al Ghul to marry his daughter) helping Batman and his crew in saving the world.
* ''Cataclysm'' and ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'' - An earthquake hits Gotham and the U.S. Government, rather than rebuild, orders the city sealed off. As Batman and his crew struggle to keep the peace, it soon becomes apparent that [[spoiler:Lex Luthor is behind the government turning its back on Gotham City. With no government in the city, Luthor plans on destroying all records of land ownership, to claim the city as his own but fails when Batman stops him (though he is unable to prove to the world what Lex did)]]. Mainly known for introducing the third Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) and reintroducing Black Mask into the Batman books.
* ''Officer Down'' - It's a normal night in Gotham City, until a lucky punk has shot Commissioner Gordon and all of Gotham City's finest are looking for the shooter. Notable for largely writing Commissioner Gordon and Detective Harvey Bullock out of the Bat-books until ''InfiniteCrisis''.
* ''Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive'' - Following the events of ''No Man's Land'', LexLuthor became President and Bruce Wayne, in retaliation, severed all business ties with the U.S. Government in protest. In retaliation, Lex orders Bruce Wayne's girlfriend murdered and Bruce framed for the deed. Making things worse for Batman, Lex Luthor hires the new Batgirl's dad to carry out the hit and since he knows Bruce Wayne is Batman, he is able to turn Batman's friends & allies against him as Batman struggles to prove his innocence.
* ''Hush'' and ''Under the Hood'' - "Hush" was a warmly received and massively hyped story written by JephLoeb and illustrated by Jim Lee. The story deals with an alliance with new Bat-foe Hush and [[spoiler:the Riddler]] after the latter figures out Batman's identity. While Hush had Batman run the gauntlet with much of his RoguesGallery, a figure appearing to be a resurrected Jason Todd appears to confuse Batman. In the end, Hush's identity is revealed to be Bruce Wayne's childhood friend, Thomas Elliot, who has decided to harbor a deep hatred over Bruce's "gifted childhood" (AKA the dead parents). The buzz over the appearance of the supposed Jason Todd lead to "Under The Hood" where JuddWinick detailed the rise of a new Red Hood, which was originally held by the man who would become the Joker. Upon the discovery that the Red Hood was indeed Jason returned from the dead, angry that Batman replaced him and didn't kill his "killer", Batman has to stop his adopted son and former ward's RoaringRampageOfRevenge.
* ''War Games'' and ''War Crimes'' - Spoiler decided to prove to Batman she was worthy of being the newest Robin by taking one of his plans and engaging in a massive BatmanGambit against all of Gotham's gangs that goes horribly wrong. The result? Black Mask becoming the top crime boss in Gotham and Stephanie Brown, AKA the fourth Robin, dying because Batman waited too long to get her medical treatment. The story and its ending was so poorly received that it was almost immediately followed up with ''War Crimes'', which tried to retcon the story by saying it was longtime Batman ally Leslie Thompkins who withheld medical treatment from Stephanie. This was also poorly received, and so with ''Infinite Crisis'' warping reality within months of the publication of ''War Crimes''. [[spoiler:''War Crimes'' was erased from canon and replaced with a scenario where Thompkins, with Batman's permission, faked Stephanie's death to protect her from further reprisals from Black Mask.]]
* GrantMorrisonsBatman: A group of {{Story Arc}}s all written during GrantMorrison's run on ''Batman''. All titles are connected by a large overarching storyline, and Morrison himself says that he intends for this group of titles to be [[WritingForTheTrade part of a series]].
** ''Batman and Son'': Batman discovers that his one-time sexual encounter with Talia Al Ghul left her pregnant. And now, several years later, she's dropping off her son on Batman's doorsteps so that he can teach the kid how to be a great man, as she prepares to take over the world with her army of Manbat Ninjas. Introduces Damian Wayne to the Batman universe.
** ''The Black Glove'': Batman's weekend vacation with a cadre of international superheroes he inspired takes a turn for the worst when the mysterious "Black Glove" destroys their transportation off an island, so that they can be killed off one by one.
** ''Batman R.I.P.'' - The Black Glove makes its assault against Batman, and attempts to destroy his personality with long dormant mental triggers which were placed in Batman's mind years ago. Upon the activation of a mental safeguard in the case of such a scenario, the personality of "the Batman of Zurr-En-Arr" keeps Batman functioning until his mind repairs the damage and stops the Black Glove from killing him and invading Gotham City. Upon confronting the leader in an escaping helicopter, Batman becomes "cursed" to die the next time he wears the cape and cowl. After escaping the helicopter crash, Batman is summoned by Superman to investigate [[FinalCrisis the death of a God...]]
*** ''Battle For The Cowl'' (not written by Morrison, but fits into the overarching story) - [[spoiler:Bruce Wayne is dead, and a great void has been created in Gotham City. A war on two fronts has started that the Bat-Family must deal with: the recently escaped RoguesGallery from Arkham, along with the various gangs and factions trying to claim Gotham as their own; and the appearance of a mysterious masked "Batman", who holds no qualms for murder (eventually revealed to be Jason Todd). After attempting to kill both Tim Drake and Damian Wayne, Jason fights Nightwing, and is defeated. Dick takes over the mantle of the Bat, and Damian becomes the new Robin while Tim heals from his injuries]].
** ''Batman: Reborn'' - Umbrella title for the various Batbooks dealing with Dick Grayson as the new Batman and Damian as the new Robin. Threats facing them are Jason Todd and a new Black Mask, along with new villains such as Professor Pyg and his army of circus freak show villains and the assassin known as "The Flamingo".
** ''The Return of Bruce Wayne'': [[spoiler:[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The title says it all.]] Until it happens, we're treated to Bruce Wayne's displaced adventures in time, where he suits up in period-specific Bat-costumes and fights pirates and cavemen and stuff, due to [[UnstuckInTime continually being shunted around the timestream]]. Oh, and Superman says his return will bring about [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the end of the world]]...]]
** ''Batman, Inc.'': After the events of the above storyline, Bruce Wayne decides to take the Batman operation international and train potential Batmen worldwide, leaving Dick and Damian to continue their roles as Batman and Robin in Gotham City.
'''One-Shots & Limited Series'''
* ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns'' - An old Batman takes up the cowl again to fight mutants. And along with ''{{Watchmen}}'', it helped start the DarkAge of comics.
* ''TheKillingJoke'' - With the help of AlanMoore, The Joker gets reinvented into the insane sociopath we all know and love. This book is a major influence over all adaptations of the Joker following it. Notable for featuring Batgirl being crippled, paving the way for her reinvention as "Oracle", super-hacker extraordinaire.
* ''[[ArkhamAsylumASeriousHouseOnSeriousEarth Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth]]'' - GrantMorrison's first Batman story, Arkham Asylum is what happens when the Batman's rogues gallery gets overdosed on HighOctaneNightmareFuel, with a little of LewisCarroll as well. An unholy force has taken over the asylum, forcing Batman to have to storm the place and save the staff. Notable for giving the back story behind the place, [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel and it definitely wasn't pretty.]]
* ''ArkhamAsylumLivingHell'': A limited series that focuses on the hellish environment inside the walls of Arkham Asylum from the viewpoint of Warren White, a white collar criminal who declares himself insane to escape jailtime, only to find himself in Arkham, [[DrivenToMadness and is eventually driven insane by the other inmates]], transforming him into the villain The Great White Shark. also notable for focusing mostly on the C-list villains, as well as small time inmates created for the series, such as Humpty Dumpty, Death Rattle, [[MadArtist Doodlebug]] and [[DumbMuscle Lunkhead]].
* ''TheLongHalloween'': A sequel of sorts to ''Year One'', detailing the origin of Two-Face. The story itself involves a serial killer named "Holiday" bumping off members of Carmine "The Roman" Falcone's mob on various holidays. Much like ''Year One'', many elements were adapted into ''Batman Begins'' (as well as ''The Dark Knight'').
* ''DarkVictory'' - Written and drawn by the guys who did ''TheLongHalloween'', this limited series deals with the fall-out of Harvey Dent's transformation into Two-Face as another serial killer "The Hangman" attempts to kill off those within the Gotham City PD that are loyal to Commission Gordon. It also features the story of how Bruce Wayne adopted Dick Grayson, who dons the Robin identity at the end of the story.
* ''TheDarkKnightStrikesAgain'' - A sequel to ''The Dark Knight Returns'', once again written by Frank Miller. Unlike The Dark Knight Returns, it features a cast of dozens, as Batman gathers an army of his former friends to free America from Lex Luthor and Brainiac, who have taken over the U.S. thanks to a sentient hologram president. YourMileageMayVary, as many didn't know if Miller was being serious with the book or mocking the grim and gritty nature of his previous story.
* ''The Man Who Laughs'' - A one-shot issue written by Ed Brubaker and another intended sequel of ''Year One'', detailing the Batman's first encounter with the Joker. (Mainly an attempt to re-write the original Joker story with the modern characterization of the Joker).
* ''AllStarBatmanAndRobinTheBoyWonder'' - The Goddamn Batman abducts the Goddamn Dick Grayson (age twelve) and goes on some crazy stuff in the Goddamn Gotham City.
* ''Gotham Underground'' - A limited series that focuses on the effects of the Countdown to Final Crisis on Batman's RoguesGallery, not to mention the recent death of Black Mask. While the rest of the Bat-family struggle to prevent a gang war from breaking out, Batman - undercover as a henchman - winds up in prison. By the end of the series, [[spoiler:Penguin finds himself Batman's informant - whether he likes it or not.]]
* ''ComicBook/{{Joker}}'' - Another one-shot, written by Brian Azzarello, detailing the Joker's release from Arkham and his subsequent rise (and fall). The Bat himself makes only a short but effective appearance. Quite a few similarities between the Joker depicted within and HeathLedger's portrayal in ''TheDarkKnight'', but this is coincidental, this being written a good bit before the film was released.
* ''ComicBook/BatmanBeyond'' - Based off the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' animated series continuity. It started out as a six-part miniseries, but became an ongoing series in 2011.
* ''WhateverHappenedToTheCapedCrusader'' - A two-part Batman story written by NeilGaiman, in the same vein of Superman's "''WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow"'', this is an epilogue to the Bruce Wayne Batman (in '''all''' of his incarnations). It was to be the 'last' story after his death in ''Batman R.I.P.'' and ''Final Crisis'' and act as a summing-up of the character.
* ''Comicbook/BatmanDigitalJustice'' - An Alternate Reality story set exty years from now, featuring the grandson of Commissioner Gordon taking up the mantle of Batman to fight cyber-crime in Gotham City. Written/illustrated by Pepe Moreno and created entirely on computer (a new idea in 1990).
* ''BatmanDetectiveNo27'' - An "elseworld" where Bruce Wayne never becomes Batman, instead becoming Detective No. 27. Batman's debut was in ''Detective Comics'' #27.
* ''Mad Love'' - Harley Quinn's origin story, which was later adapted for an episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''. It received massive critical praise and won the 1994 Eisner Award for "Best Single Issue."
[[AC:{{Live Action TV}}]]
* ''{{Series/Batman}}'': "Holy surrealism, Batman!" The colorful, {{camp}}y '60s series that pretty much defines the bright, shiny Batman.
[[AC:{{Manga}}]]
* ''[[http://boingboing.net/2008/10/29/batmanga-the-lost-ja.html Bat-manga!: A Secret History of Batman In Japan]]''
* ''Batman: Child of Dreams'' by KiaAsamiya of ''SilentMobius'' fame.
* ''Batman: Death Mask''
[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* ''Film/TheBatman'': Batman's film debut in 1943, a 15-chapter serial, served as the inspiration and cause of the 1960s show.
* ''Serial/BatmanAndRobin'': The sequel 15-chapter serial.
* ''BatmanTheMovie'': TheMovie of the 60s TV show.
* The TimBurton films, two very dark and Gothic versions.
** ''{{Film/Batman}}''
** ''BatmanReturns''
* The next two were directed by JoelSchumacher, and cranked the {{camp}} UpToEleven.
** The first Schumacher film, ''BatmanForever'' still did well, especially among fans of the more light-hearted 60s Batman.
** ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' was a critical failure and effectively killed the film franchise.
* ''Film/TheDarkKnightSaga''. After "[[FanNickname Batman On Ice]]", it was necessary to do a complete [[ContinuityReboot reboot]] of the film continuity, which was a rare occurrence in Hollywood at the time, illustrating just ''how bad'' the fourth film really was. Written and directed by ChristopherNolan. Very much AdaptationDistillation.
** ''Batman Begins''
** ''The Dark Knight''
** ''The Dark Knight Rises''
[[AC:Theatre]]
* ''Theatre/BatmanTheMusical''. No, really. It never made it onstage, but you can still read about WhatMightHaveBeen here and listen to the demo recordings.
* ''BatmanLive'': a big-budget arena show that premiered in the UK July '11 and toured Europe and North America. It focuses on the relationship between Batman and Robin, and is a fusion between theatre, circus, and hand-drawn animation.
[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Adaptations based on the 1989 film for the [[NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] and SegaGenesis by {{Sunsoft}}.
** ''Batman: Return/Revenge of the Joker'', videogame-only sequels to the above for the same systems.
* ''VideoGame/BatmanVengeance'', based on the New Batman Adventures.
** ''BatmanRiseOfSinTzu''
* ''Batman: Dark Tomorrow''
* ''[[VideoGame/LEGOAdaptationGame Lego Batman]]'', a LighterAndSofter {{Lego}} game where every character is put into Lego form.
* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'', often considered to be the best video game adaptation of the Batman franchise.
* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'', the sequel to BatmanArkhamAsylum where the inmates are allowed to run free over an area of Gotham.
[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* ''GothamGirls''
* CatTales
* TheJokerBlogs
[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* ''The Batman/Superman Hour''
* ''TheNewAdventuresOfBatman'': The AnimatedAdaptation of the 1960s TV series, featuring the same actors. And [[TheScrappy Bat-Mite]].
* ''SuperFriends''
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': An animated tie-in with the 1989 ''Batman'' film. It turned out to be AdaptationDistillation and launched the {{DCAU}} with a crossover into ''SupermanTheAnimatedSeries''. Still held in very high regard.
** Later became ''[[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries The New Batman Adventures]]''; both names are included here for completion.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'': A TimeSkip continuation of the above, [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture 40 years in the future]], Bruce Wayne acting as TheMentor to Terry McGinnis, who [[LegacyCharacter takes up the mantle]] of Batman (or maybe "the Bat-mantle"?)
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' and ''Justice League Unlimited'': Linked the two above series and ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', solidifying the DCAU, with Batman as a major character and Batman II making two cameos. The ''JLU'' episode "Epilogue" served as a FullyAbsorbedFinale for ''Beyond''.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'': A non-DCAU series aimed at a younger audience, starring Batman in his first few years as a crime-fighter.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'': A lighter series, having nothing to do with the DCAU. Tone greatly resembles that of the '60s {{Series/Batman}} show and/or the SilverAge comic, but with a more PostModern, self-aware vibe to it.
* ''[[SupermanBatmanPublicEnemies Superman/Batman: Public Enemies]]''
* ''[[JusticeLeagueCrisisOnTwoEarths Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths]]''
* ''BatmanUnderTheRedHood'': A dark animated film about Jason Todd, the second Robin's return.
* ''[[SupermanBatmanApocalypse Superman/Batman: Apocalypse]]''
* ''DCSuperFriends'': a 17-minute short made for Fisher-Price's range of "DC Super Friends" toys.
* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'': Batman plays an important, recurring role in the series. He gives the central team their black-ops type missions, missions that the Justice League can't do themselves because of their high public profile.
* ''BatmanYearOne'': An AnimatedAdaptation of the comic storyline.
[[/index]]
----
!!Various parts of the franchise have provided the [[TropeNamer name for]]:
* AdamWesting
* BatDeduction
* BatFamilyCrossover
* BatmanCanBreatheInSpace
* BatmanColdOpen
* BatmanGambit
* BatmanGrabsAGun
* BatmanInMyBasement
* BatSignal
* BruceWayneHeldHostage
* TheCommissionerGordon
* TheCowl
* DatingCatwoman
* JokerImmunity
* JokerJury
* MadLove
* MerryChristmasInGotham
* MissRobinsonBoyWonder
* RiddleMeThis
* SupermanStaysOutOfGotham
* {{Thememobile}}
* ToTheBatnoun
* ToTheBatpole
* TwoFaced
* UtilityBelt
* WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys
----
!!Tropes among all versions:
* AdvantageBall: Batman almost always has the advantage in direct conflict. Three guys with knives or a dozen Mooks with machine guns, it makes no difference. As such, the general method of his rogues gallery to deal with him is to attack him indirectly, especially by undermining what he believes in and threatening those he values.
* AmbiguouslyGay: Aside from accusations on all sides, TheJoker sometimes delivers HoYay, depending on the writer. After a while, some writers decided to incorporate that aspect of the character into their stories to create ambiguity on purpose.
* AnimalThemedSuperbeing: Bruce, his sidekicks, and many of his enemies are animal based.
* AffablyEvil: Ra's Al Ghul.
** The Penguin comes across as this most of the time, as the owner of a popular upscale night spot, but he can go from a gentleman criminal to a vicious bastard if he needs to.
* AffirmativeActionLegacy: Batman's first sidekick [[spoiler: and later successor]] Dick Grayson was [[RaceLift retconned]] to be part Roma. And after [[spoiler: Batman's supposed demise]], his longest-running title was given to the [[TwoferTokenMinority Jewish lesbian]] {{Batwoman}}. Also, The Dark Knight Returns featured a female Robin.
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: It's not so much that Bats is a bad guy, but compared to a lot of the other team members within his various groups, his dark, brooding act stirs up the loins of many a female, both superpowered and non.
* AlmightyMom: Alfred is ''the'' quintessential male example.
* AlternateUniverse: Earth-Two, where Batman married Catwoman and had a daughter, the Huntress.
* AntiHero: Bruce Wayne's Batman is a [[SlidingScaleOfAntiHeroes Type II]].
** Dick Grayson, whether as Robin, Nightwing or Batman is also a Type II.
** Barbra Gordon is a Type II as Batgirl, and a Type III as Oracle.
** Catwoman is actually leaning towards Type III, but she still does her cat burglar thing.
** Tim Drake is a Type II as Robin, developing into a Type III as Red Robin.
** Damian Wayne starts out as a Type V, being the grandson of Ra's Al Ghul and all, but is softening under Dick's tutelage.
** Jean-Paul Valley begins as Type V, even during his time as Batman. However after he shakes his programming he becomes an ally of Batman and slides up the scale to a IV with leanings towards III.
** Jason Todd is a Type V, but fancies himself Type IV. Becomes Type IV post-relaunch, with Type III hints due to being less jerky.
* AntiHeroSubstitute: When Azrael took over as Batman during the DarkAge.
* AntiVillain: Lots. Most of Batman's RoguesGallery are some shade of antivillain; turning to crime as a result of some past trauma is very common. There are also a fair number of [[TheJoker real villains]], of course.
* AxeCrazy: ''The Joker''
* {{Badass}}
** BadassInDistress: Currently the trope picture.
** BadassCrew[=/=]BadassFamily: It'd be tough to mess with the Bat-Family.
** BadassNormal: Even the silly versions are like this.
* BadCopIncompetentCop: Gotham City Police Department. [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Except for Gordon.]] Eventually got its ''own'' comic series, ''GothamCentral'', about the few honest cops in the city who have to deal with working in the second most corrupt department in the country.
** Should be noted also that it often seems like a woefully understaffed Police Department. Chicago, one of the basis cities for Gotham, has nearly 15,000 officers. The most we ever see on one page at one time is about twenty for Gotham, no matter how big the crisis.
** [[FridgeBrilliance Would you want to be a cop in Gotham?]] If you honestly want to "protect and serve" you will have precious few allies, and if you don't, there's the crazy winged lunatic ([[InformedLoner or one of his many allies]]) that just might hang you upside down off a roof one of these days. Not to mention the mafia. And all the gangs. And all the supervillains. And the [[MonsterClown J]][[AxCrazy o]][[SlasherSmile k]][[OmnicidalManiac e]][[CompleteMonster r]].
* BandagedFace: At least one the villains is bound to have this happen to them at some point. Hush in particular is known for this.
* BashBrothers: On occasions, Batman and Robin. This trope could have easily been called "Dynamic Duo".
** Batman and Red Hood/Robin II: even after all the time that passed between Jason's death and his return, they're able to fall right back in to this and work together flawlessly.
* BatFamilyCrossover
* BatmanColdOpen
* BatmanGambit: The TropeNamer
* BattleButler
* BatSignal: The TropeNamer. Again.
* BecomingTheMask: Bruce Wayne adopted the identity of Batman as a means to fight injustice. As with most Batman tropes, this is the dark version. It's not that he loves being Batman so much he doesn't want to go back to being Bruce Wayne. It's that he IS Batman because he has to be even when dressed and acting like Bruce Wayne. It's a strong contrast to the modern version of Superman, who always thinks of himself as Clark Kent regardless of the costume.
* BedlamHouse
* BerserkButton: Anyone getting killed, whether by any fault of his own or someone else's. Bats is not good with death, for obvious reasons. If you've killed someone within his vicinity, he may not kill you, but you may wish he had.
* BestServedCold: One of the classic examples.
* BetrayalInsurance: The idea that Batman has a stockpile of kryptonite in case Superman ever goes rogue is extremely common. The idea that [[CrazyPrepared he also has plans to take down any other Justice League member he might have to]] is almost as common.
* BigDamnHeroes: Batman and his extended family make a regular habit of this trope.
* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: With ''Batman: Reborn'' and ''Gotham City Sirens'', as well as ''Blackest Night'', Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy take on this trope respectively.
** The three Batgirls: Stephanie, Cassandra and Barbara respectively.
* BloodBath: GarthEnnis once wrote a comic where the villain was a drug lord who got people hooked on a drug so he could kill them, fill a pool with their drugged-up blood, and get high by bathing in it.
** In ''Batman: The Cult'', Deacon Blackfire bathed in blood, supposedly to make himself immortal.
* TheBookCipher: In the ''Detective Comics'' issue "And the Executioner Wore Stiletto Heels", the villain, Stiletto, uses an obscure book about shoes for a cipher. When Batman goes to the bookstore, the owner mentions how strange it is that he just sold several copies of a book nobody would buy normally. Batman asks him who bought the book in order to learn who's in on the plot.
* BoredWithInsanity: The Joker several times.
* BreakoutCharacter: Alfred was originally intended to be a comedic foil to Batman and Robin, but eventually got more serious. The Post-Crisis version had him as an out and out BattleButler, not to mention surrogate father figure to the entire Bat-Clan.
* BreakoutVillain: TheJoker is a big one. Originally he was supposed to be killed in his second appearance back in 1940. Fast-forward 70 years later and he's the most famous villain in all of comics.
* BruceWayneHeldHostage
* BulletproofVest: Batman's costume has evolved into a suit of advanced lightweight armor with the ChestInsignia intended to draw fire to his thick chestpiece.
* CapeSwish
* CardboardPrison: Arkham Asylum amongst others.
* CaramelldansenVid
* CatchPhrase: At least once every continuity, expect situations set up to dramatically deliver the line "I'M BATMAN!"
* CharacterizationMarchesOn:
** The first appearances of Batman are notorious for him lacking a code against killing, although even then killing wasn't routine. For example, in his very first story, ''The Case of the Chemical Syndicate'', he punches the villain into a vat of HollywoodAcid, and shows no remorse for it. In the Post-Crisis version of the event, the crook tries to flee, as he cannot stand the shame of being sent to prison, and [[SelfDisposingVillain falls into the acid by accident]].
** The Joker's first [[TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] appearance had him not as a comedy obsessed {{Evil Laugh}} happy nut job that people are likely to see and assorted later comics and adaptations depict him as (such as, WesternAnimation/{{Batman The Animated Series}}), but rather as a fairly straight forward killer and thief who just happened to be associated with the titular playing card. He also didn't do a noticeable {{Evil Laugh}} until his third-last panel in his debut issue, where (true to form) he thinks he's about to die.
* CharityBall: Bruce Wayne, being a wealthy playboy, attends a lot of these.
* ChewOutFakeOut: Tim Drake/Robin, after losing nearly all of his biological family, sets up an actor to pretend to be his fake uncle so that he doesn't have to go into the foster care system. Batman, being Batman, naturally finds out, and Robin assumes he's about to be reamed out for going behind Bruce's back... but all Bruce can say is that he's so proud of Tim for taking the initiative, and gives him some tips on how to make the deception foolproof.
* ChronicVillainy
* ChestInsignia: In ''Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'', he reveals that most of his armor is bulletproof, but he wears a chest insignia because he couldn't make his mask and cowl protective enough (in most versions, he leaves his mouth and chin uncovered). "Why do you think I wear a target on my chest?"
* TheCityNarrows: It would be pretty hard to do the origin story without that one dark alley that you really shouldn't go into. Similarly, CityNoir. Gotham City is a [[BlatantLies nice place to live.]]
* ClarkKenting: Many heroes throughout the franchise have rather easy time hiding their secret identities. Especially notable in live-action series.
* ClassyCatBurglar: Catwoman more often than not.
* {{Chessmaster}}: The Riddler. See "Hush" for details.
** Batman himself is a heroic version of this trope due to being a brilliant tactician and superb analytical skills.
* ClothesMakeTheLegend: You don't even need to see his emblem - Bats is so infamous and feared that he can be identified ''just by the silhouette of his cowl.''
* TheComicallySerious: Because nothing's more hilarious than Batman singing karaoke, while still completely straight-faced. Though in the rare instance where he cracks a joke, it's all the funnier because of it. In ''{{Superman}}/Batman'' #44, Superman has been hit in the eye with a shard of Kryptonite and has to wear an eyepatch until it heals.
-->'''Superman''': I have a strange favor to ask you.
-->'''Batman''': No, Clark. You can't borrow my pirate ship.
* TheCommissionerGordon: The TropeNamer
%% CompleteMonster belongs in the YMMV tab. Please, stop adding it on the main page.
* ContinuityNod: Crossing over with MythologyGag, when [[DistaffCounterpart Batwoman]] resurfaces in 2006, her suit borrows very heavily from the one made famous in WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond, especially in regards to the Bat Symbol she uses.
* CoolCar: The Batmobile
* CoolGarage
* CoolPlane
* CorruptPolitician: Aversions are easier to find.
* CostumedNonsuperHero
* TheCowl: TropeCodifier.
* CrazyPrepared: Batman plus the Bat-family has his own ''category'' on the page.
* CreepySouvenir: Villain Mr. Zsasz marks a notch in his skin every time he murders someone. He has scars all over his body.
* CrimefightingWithCash
* CriminalDoppelganger: Bruce Wayne's childhood friend Thomas Elliot (a.k.a. [[spoiler: Hush]]) got facial reconstruction surgery to look more like Bruce so that he can impersonate him and more easily get away with sapping Bruce's wealth.
* CriminalMindGames: The Riddler's MO.
* CutHimselfShaving
* DarkIsNotEvil: And ironically, [[LightIsNotGood most of his rogues (particularly the Joker) are very colorful.]]
* DarkerAndEdgier: After many years of campiness, in the 70s and 80s Batman started getting dark and gritty again and his villains became much more brutal and sadistic (or returned to form in the case of TheJoker). Batman is currently one of the grittiest heroes you'll find with an emphasis on fear and a brutal fighting style, most of what he does stemming from what he views as his failures and an insanely violent RoguesGallery. Despite this, [[DarkIsNotEvil his strong moral integrity remains one of the most consistent in comics.]]
* DatingCatwoman: TropeCodifier. On-again and off-again with Selina Kyle, both before and after he learned her true identity. Some say the ''only'' woman he has ever loved.
* DeadpanSnarker: Alfred, especially when Frank Miller's writing him.
* DeathByOriginStory: Thomas and Martha Wayne, The Flying Graysons.
* DeathTrap
* DependingOnTheWriter: ''The Dark Knight Returns'' presented Batman as a dangerously-obsessed, deeply-disturbed, paranoid control freak who is possibly a mentally ill HeroicSociopath as opposed to the stalwart Caped Crusader of the Golden and Silver Ages and the Adam West series. This interpretation is touched on DependingOnTheWriter and sometimes, it is the basis for whole story arcs.
** One example is his creation of the Brother [=Mk I=] satellite, which was created by Batman to keep an eye on all of the meta-humans, hero and villain alike.
** Another story, "Tower of Babel", centers on Ra's Al Ghul obtaining a file containing Batman's contingency plans to cripple each and every member of the Justice League "[[CrazyPrepared just in case]]" and using them to his own ends. The existence of the files and the secrecy under which they are kept infuriates The League and lead to his expulsion.
** This is hinted at in ''[[TheDarkKnightSaga The Dark Knight]]''.
*** Another issue of interpretation is whether he became a man the night his parents died, or if he never truly grew up.
* DidNotDoTheResearch: After getting a nasty cut during the "Cataclysm" storyline, Batman's internal monologue states that his belt has "anticoagulants to stem the bleeding." An anticoagulant actually makes blood ''thinner,'' and thus would make a cut bleed worse.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: He tends to do this more often during crossover events.
* {{Determinator}}
* DistaffCounterpart: At least three still breathing (two girls and a woman).
* DoesntLikeGuns: Even more than he despises killing.
* DoubleConsciousness
* DramaticNecklaceRemoval: His parents' death scene frequently has this.
* TheDreaded: Both Batman and TheJoker are able to put the fear of god even into those FAR more powerful than they will ever be.
* DumbMuscle: Killer Croc, Amygdala and Clayface at times.
** Averted with Bane, who has the mind of a criminal mastermind as well as the colossal strength to back it up, but [[DidNotDoTheResearch played annoyingly straight]] in several adaptations.
* EagleEyeDetection: One of the many skills employed by the Bat-family.
* ElaborateUndergroundBase
* ElementalShapeshifter: Clayface is a walking mountain of mud, and can use his powers for shapeshifting or brute strength. He's one of the few recurring villains Batman admits to being no physical match for.
* EmergingFromTheShadows: Whether it's Batman, or other characters.
* EvilCounterpart: Quite a few.
** There's the Wrath, Prometheus (although he's more of a JLA-specific villain than a Batman villain), Bane when he first appeared, and Black Mask (or Roman Sionis) who has a similar back story to Bruce (son of wealthy parents who died to the unnatural causes, although in Roman's case his parents were {{Rich Bitch}}es who were killed by Roman himself, and Roman ran his company into the ground with his own carelessness).
** One of the origins of Catman tried to build him up as an evil mirror counterpart who was inspired by the death of his parents to become a supervillain complete with Catmobile and the like. The idea got dropped quickly.
** Hush is a much more recent example, especially when you get into his backstory and how intricately entwined it is with Batman's.
** While not to Black-and-white counterpart standards, most of Batman's rogues gallery reflect a part of Batman's characterization.
** Killer Moth (of all people) was originally presented as an EvilCounterpart. His MO was that he was an anti-vigilante; he showed up to ''rescue criminals''. He even had a [[BatSignal Moth Signal]] criminals could use to summon him!
* EpicHail: The Bat Signal: the most BadAss searchlight in existence.
* EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor:
* EvilIsStylish: His RoguesGallery.
* ExcuseMeComingThrough: He is carrying a live bomb after all, you would've run screaming too, admit it.
* {{Expy}}: Sherlock Holmes at first. Also, {{Zorro}}.
** He actually had much more to do with TheShadow in his first stories. Even his first story was lifted from TheShadow pulp.
* [[{{Faceship}} Face Car]]: The Batmobile sometimes has his masked face on it.
* FaceYourFears: Whenever Scarecrow manages to get Batman with his Fear Gas, expect this to occur.
* TheFettered
* {{Fiction 500}}
* FingerInTheMail: The maniacal doctor Hush from [[InvertedTrope turns this around]] by sending Batman the entirety of Catwoman... minus her heart. [[UnexplainedRecovery She gets better.]]
* FourthWallObserver: The Joker occasionally, but especially in non-canon story lines and Emperor Joker.
* FreezeRay: Take a guess.
* FrothyMugsOfWater: Inverted. Bruce Wayne doesn't drink, afraid that it'll ruin his edge; however, a socialite like himself must on occasion be seen drinking, to erase any suspicion of being Batman. Thus, he will often drink non-alcoholic beverages, usually ginger ale, prepared to ''look'' to others as though they are made with alcohol. He'll even go so far as to act drunk, usually as an excuse for slipping out to chase after criminals.
* FrozenFace: Joker
* FoeYay: The Joker again, but one-sided.
* GeniusBruiser: Bane, but Bats applies too.
* TheGimmick: Saying "Batman's RoguesGallery has plenty of examples of TheGimmick" is bit like saying "Water is wet".
* {{Glamour}}: Poison Ivy is pheromonally irresistible.
* GoKartingWithBowser: ''The Killing Joke'', Batman and Joker.
* GoToAlias: Alfred tends to use "Thaddeus Crane" (his middle names) whenever he has to go undercover.
* GrapplingHookPistol: Favorite method of transportation when the [[ToTheBatnoun Batwing or Batmobile]] aren't practical.
* GrenadeTag: Practically perfected the trope.
* GuileHero
* HappilyMarried: The dearly departed Waynes.
* HeadsOrTails: A staple feature of Two-Face.
* HeadsTailsEdge: Recurring constantly around Two-Face.
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Cassandra Cain, Catwoman, Jean-Paul Valley (to an extent) and more recently, Bane.
* HighAltitudeInterrogation: One of Batman's favorite methods for questioning mooks.
* HeroHarassesHelpers
* HollywoodHealing: Someone who's been through the physical injuries Batman has suffered should really [[DentedIron show more signs of it.]]
* HonestAdvisor: Alfred, who knows Bruce Wayne better than anyone, isn't afraid to tell him when he's taking himself too seriously or when he's doing something that probably won't end well. He's also the person Bruce most respects, and probably the only person he trusts completely.
* HorrorHunger
* TheHyena: Joker is practically the TropeMaker in comics.
* ItGetsEasier: Why Batman doesn't kill.
* AnIceSuit: Mr. Freeze.
* JokerImmunity: TropeNamer.
* JokerJury
* JustLikeRobinHood: Catwoman, occasionally, especially in recent years.
* JustWhistle: The Bat-Signal serves this purpose.
* KnightInSourArmor: In some of the darker depictions of Gotham City.
** In general, Bruce is almost always a KnightInSourArmor (or in this case a [[{{IncrediblyLamePun}} Dark Knight in Sour Armor]], with the only possible exceptions being when he makes some wry observation about a situation he or the JLA are in.
* KnockoutGas: One of his standard tricks, Batman has used knockout gas from various sources: bombs, canisters, guns, etc.
* TheLancer: Not in his own series. To Superman in the Justice League, but as the biggest and most recognizable superhero after Superman, he's effectively this for the entire industry.
* LaughablyEvil: Hell, can anyone ''not'' say Joker? And, well, Harley Quinn as well (which, in some cases, [[MisaimedFandom manages to even overshadow]] [[InSeriesNickname Mr. J, her Puddin']]).
* LaughingMad
* LivingDollCollector: The Mad Hatter's shtick.
* LecherousLicking: Catwoman frequently does this to Batman.
* LegacyCharacter
* LoadBearingHero
* LoveCannotOvercome: This is why Silver St. Cloud broke up with Bruce Wayne in a famous 1970s arc: she can't handle knowing that he's risking his life against people like TheJoker every night, so she abandons him and Gotham. This seems to be the source for many other examples of this trope from Batman adaptations in other media.
* MagicalDatabase
* MasterOfDisguise
* MasterPoisoner: Poison Ivy, the Joker, the Scarecrow
* McNinja
* MegaManning: Batman tends to keep items from his defeated villains handy, such as a vial of {{Scarecrow}}'s fear gas, and one of Mr. Freeze's guns.
** BatmanCanBreatheInSpace originates from Batman's ability to do just about anything and have the audience accept it. Because he's Batman. [[CrazyPrepared And he already planned ahead for the possibility of being attacked by]] gigantic mutated wombats fueled by VENOM, wearing suicide vests. So it makes perfect sense that he already has a plan.
* MiniDressOfPower: Catwoman's outfit sometimes is this.
* MiseryBuildsCharacter: Batman envelopes the very heart of this trope.
* MonsterClown: The Joker. Accept no substitutes.
* MonsterFangirl: Harley Quinn to the Joker.
* {{Mooks}}
* MoralMyopia: Villains operate on their own twisted morality.
* MultipleDemographicAppeal: In the 60's television show, Batgirl was added to attract two demographics that weren't watching the show -- young girls ''and their fathers''.
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* NeverSmileAtACrocodile: Killer Croc. Depending on the writer, he's a man with a really bad skin disease (which makes him look like reptilian) or in some others a full-blown, [[IAmAHumanitarian hungry]] crocodile-man.
* NoOSHACompliance: A lot of Gotham's buildings, warehouses and factories are like this, but the most glaring example is the Batcave. Platforms suspended over near-BottomlessPits with nary a bit of railing in sight. The health hazards of all the moisture and wild bats have been pointed out from time-to-time as well.
* NoSenseOfHumor: Batman is sometimes depicted as this, DependingOnTheWriter.
* TheNotableNumeral: The Dynamic Duo and Terrible Trio
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Brucie's outward persona is like this, to make him seem harmless and Not-Batman-At-All.
* OffhandBackhand
* OfficerOHara: At first a generic cop who would just say "Saints Preserve Us!" anytime something dramatic happened, later reinvented by JephLoeb with heavy influences by TheUntouchables.
* OrphansOrdeal: In most versions, Batman becomes who he is through witnessing the deaths of his parents as a child, leaving him to dedicate his life to ridding Gotham of crime.
* PapaWolf: Batman himself, and Commissioner Gordon when his kids' involved.
* TheParagon: Depending on the continuity.
* ParentalAbandonment: [[MemeticMutation HIS PARENTS ARE DEEAAAAAAAD!]]
* PimpedOutCape: In some continuities where his cape has some gadgets built in.
* PlantAliens: He has dealt with them in the story "The Plants of Plunder".
* PopularityPower
* PsychoForHire
* RecklessSidekick: Jason Todd, Damian Wayne.
* RecklessPacifist: Batman, on and off. Excluding incarnations that actually did kill people (or just refused to save them), The Bat has been known to get really, really rough with with his enemies despite his ThouShaltNotKill policy.
* RedBaron: The Batman has been known as the Caped Crusader, the Gotham Guardian, the Masked Manhunter or more commonly, the Dark Knight.
** [[spoiler:Which came from Darknight Detective.]]
* ReinventingTheTelephone: The Batsignal
* RelationshipReboot: After ''Infinite Crisis'', Batman returns to Gotham City and decides to give the former corrupt cop Harvey Bullock another chance.
* ReluctantWarrior: Hates violence, but is prepared to use it to stop crime. [[ImplausibleDeniability Subverted]] by just about every interpretation since the dawn of the DarkAge, so [[YourMileageMayVary Batman's mileage may definitely vary]].
* ResurrectionSickness: What Ra's Al Ghul experiences after using the Lazarus Pit.
* RevealingSkill: In the backstory of the third Robin (Tim Drake), this is how he learned the secret identities of Batman and Robin (Dick Grayson): by watching news coverage of the Dynamic Duo's escapades, during which Robin performed a complicated gymnastics move (a quadruple somersault) — which it had been established could be performed only by orphaned circus artist Dick Grayson.
* TheRevealPromptsRomance: Batman has unmasked himself as Bruce Wayne to various women in various continuities. Neither the reveal nor the romance has stuck, yet.
* ReverseCerebusSyndrome: When the stories first began, they followed the pulp magazine model. Things became LighterAndSofter shortly after Robin was introduced, and the Jack Schiff era relished in this trope. Julius Schwartz attempted CerebusSyndrome when his term as editor started, but then [[Series/{{Batman}} the 1960's show debuted]] and the trope was forced to reverse itself for the comic to emulate the show. The syndrome has waved back and forth since then.
* RichIdiotWithNoDayJob: Batman deliberately cultivates this image as Bruce Wayne. See ObfuscatingStupidity.
* RiddleMeThis: The standard MO of The Riddler.
* RivalTurnedEvil: [[spoiler:Hush, Deadshot]]
* RoguesGallery: Quite possibly the most famous and recognizable Rogues Gallery in all of comics. Also easily one of the most violent.
* RoguesGalleryShowcase ''The Long Halloween'', ''Hush''.
* RuleThirtyFour: ''BatmanXXX: A Porn Parody''.
* SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining: Cassandra Cain, but also Bruce Wayne in a few things.
* SaveTheDayTurnAway The ending of ''YearOne''.
* SayMyName: If you haven't figured it out by now, ''He's '''Batman'''''
* ScienceMarchesOn: The character's been around for over 70 years, so this is a given. For example, Batman started out in the 30's as a rich guy in actual tights with a BulletProofVest, a silk rope, smoke bombs, and a souped up but otherwise normal car. Nowadays he wears a full suit of kevlar armor loaded with high tech gear, military level weaponry, and of course the [[{{Thememobile}} Batmobile]] along with nearly every kind of vehicle he could need. Although as things like carbon nanotubes become more common in the future, it'll be interesting to see how the writers can maintain the dramatic tension when the batsuit seems damn near indestructible. The writers of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' successfully maintained dramatic tension when Terry was going around in ''flying power armor''. When technology reaches the point where the Bat-suit has carbon buckytube armor, that only means the Joker will be shooting at it with a rail gun.
* SecretIdentityIdentity: Main/DependingOnTheWriter, and something of a CyclicTrope. Bruce Wayne is a violent, obsessive loner who plays the dual roles of Batman (who gives him the power to instill fear in criminals and take revenge) and "Billionaire Playboy" Bruce Wayne (leading the carefree life he cannot truly enjoy, and actually disdains). He ''usually'' identifies more with Batman (to the point of calling himself such in his head), but not always. The one thing they all have in common is that they are self-absorbed misanthropes who cannot get over the murder of Bruce's parents in Crime Alley.
* ServileSnarker: Alfred was a candidate for TropeNamer.
* ShoeShineMister: In one early comic, Robin goes undercover as a shoeshine boy, and when the villain of the week stops to get a shine, Robin secretly applies a tracking device to his shoe.
* ShoutOut: The 1960's ''{{Series/Batman}}'' series was generally held in disfavor by Batman's comic book creators, but prolific Batman writer Chuck Dixon was a fan of the show, and snuck in some tributes here and there. Most notably in a two-parter featuring pirate-themed villain Cap'n Fear, which was structured much like a two-parter for the show, and began "in the shadow of the [[PunnyName Westward Bridge]]."
* ShadowArchetype: Several of Batman's villains apply, such as The Joker (obsession and mental issues), Catwoman (night animal motif and skills with things like spying and thievery, was also a wealthy socialite in the [[TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]]), The Penguin (was created as a parody of Bruce's image as a fop), and Two-Face (dual nature). Hell, Batman himself has served as a ShadowArchetype for Superman.
* {{Sidekick}}: The assorted Robins may deserve their own page!
** Robin I: Dick Grayson. CircusBrat, [[DeathByOriginStory saw his parents killed in front of him]], taken in as Wayne's ward.
*** The original Earth-2 Grayson grew up, became a politician, and stayed Robin even after his Batman died. He himself died in the CrisisOnInfiniteEarths.
*** The Earth-1 Grayson was a founding member of the Teen Titans, was urged to retire by Wayne after nearly getting killed by the Joker, [[SidekickGraduationsStick changed his supranym to Nightwing]], and mended his fences with Wayne. He later took over the role of Batman when Wayne was apparently dead, and continued in the role when he returned.
** Robin II: Jason Todd.
*** The pre-Crisis Todd was a redheaded circus acrobat whose [[DeathByOriginStory parents were killed]] by Killer Croc. He [[DyeHard dyed his red hair black]], became Robin, and was later adopted by a minor villainess named Nocturna. He vanished into CanonDiscontinuity after the Crisis.
*** Post-Crisis Todd had [[AdaptationDyeJob black hair]], and was a StreetUrchin taken in by Wayne. [[DeathByOriginStory His father was killed by Two-Face; his mother was killed by the Joker]] in the same explosion he himself died in. Noted for being a [[RecklessSidekick bit of a jerk]], even before he died.
*** Around ''InfiniteCrisis'', Todd [[ComicBookDeath came back from the dead]]. He is now an [[FaceHeelTurn adult villain]] calling himself the Red Hood. This Todd has had black and (later) red hair, so he's apparently an [[BroadStrokes amalgam]] of the pre-Crisis and post-Crisis Todd.
** Robin III: Tim Drake. [[DeathByOriginStory Mother killed by the Obeah Man very early in his career, father killed by Captain Boomerang much later.]] Later became Red Robin II.
** Robin IV: Stephanie Brown. The daughter of the Cluemaster (a minor Batman villain), she originally went by the Spoiler, and was Tim Drake's girlfriend. She was [[DistaffCounterpart Robin]] very briefly (during a period when Drake and Wayne were arguing), before Batman [[PutOnABus faked her death]]. Later became the third (or fourth, or fifth, depending on how you count) Batgirl.
** Robin V: Damian Wayne. Batman's son, born and raised in secret by [[DatingCatwoman Talia al Ghul]]. Became Robin while Wayne was presumed dead. Mildly [[PsychoSidekick psychopathic]], considering he was raised by assassins, but he [[SoProudOfYou received Wayne's blessing]] to continue as Robin.
* SidekickGraduationsStick: Grayson is one of the more triumphant examples, though Todd, Drake, and Brown have all moved on as well.
* SignatureLaugh: Several, represented different ways in different media:
** The Penguin's "wah wah" squawking laugh.
** Riddler's high pitched giggle.
** Joker's maniacal cackle (particularly Mark Hamill's interpretation).
* SilverFox: Depending on the art style, Commissioner Gordon can be one of these.
* ShrineToTheFallen: Batman keeps Jason's costume on display in the Batcave.
* SkullForAHead: Black Mask
* SpiritedCompetitor
* SmugSnake: The Riddler. But significantly less so since his reformation in ''Detective Comics'' #822. Still smug, but a highly successful detective as well.
* SociallyAwkwardHero: It varies by the writer, but Bruce Wayne is often depicted as not really understanding how to behave like a normal RichIdiotWithNoDayJob, and finds hosting a Wayne Foundation party more stressful than taking on the Joker.
* StealthHiBye
* StoryBreakerTeamUp: Whenever the Bat-mite shows up.
* StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred: Joker is prone to this.
* StupidCrooks: "Rocket Scientist" in ''Detective Comics'' #704. The story details the career of one of Gotham City's most incompetent crooks. His actions included once disguising himself by painting his face red (following an earlier mishap due to his choice of masks) only to collapse because the paint was toxic.
* SuperheroSobriquets: The Dark Knight, the Caped Crusader, the World's Greatest Detective, the Dark Knight Detective. Robin is the Boy Wonder and Joker is the Clown Prince of Crime, the Thin White Duke of Death, and the Harlequin of Hate.
* SuperheroesWearCapes
* SuperheroesWearTights
* SurvivorGuilt: His ENTIRE LIFE revolves around the guilt he felt at his parents' murder.
* TalkingThroughTechnique: With Cassandra Cain.
* TechnicalPacifist
* TerrorHero: Batman seeks to put enormous fear into anyone he goes up against. Given that he's one of the most [[TheDreaded dreaded]] heroes in comics, even among superpowered villains despite having no superpowers himself, he is very good at it.
* {{Thememobile}}: The Batmobile, the Batwing, the Batcycle, etc etc...
* ThereAreNoTherapists:
** Most depictions for the past two decades have made it clear Mr. Wayne has... issues... ''lots'' of issues.
--> '''Bruce Wayne himself''': "Any guy who dresses up as a bat... clearly has issues."
** DoubleSubverted. There are numerous psychologists in Gotham City - just none you'd actually want helping you. {{Scarecrow}} and Hugo Strange would rather drive you mad [[ForTheEvulz for laughs]], whereas [[MadLove Harley Quinn]] and Jeremiah Arkham couldn't even keep themselves sane. Then there's the crack staff of [[BedlamHouse Arkham Asylum]], who will probably be curing their first patient [[SarcasmMode any day now]].
*** How many levels of subversion did they reach when Arkham ''did'' successfully cure Cluemaster... of his obsessive need to leave clues. Now he's just a criminal genuis who ''doesn't'' give our heroes any way to anticipate his next crime.
---> '''Robin:''' "Gee, thanks, Arkham!"
* TheToothHurts: In ''Detective Comics'' #832, Shark pulls out his own teeth with pliers to plant them as fake evidence of his supposed death by sharks. He mentions that it was very painful, but he's got lots of teeth (three rows!).
* ThouShaltNotKill
* TokenMotivationalNemesis:
** Joe Chill the mugger, who is seldom seen again after serving his narrative purpose of introducing us to and traumatizing Bruce Wayne. In some versions, notably Frank Miller's, he doesn't even have a name.
** Joe Chill did appear again in a 1948 followup to the origin story, where it's revealed he eventually became a small-time gangster. Unfortunately for him, Batman soon found him out, leading to a classic confrontation. Chill also appeared post-Crisis in several stories. Post-Zero Hour he was specifically stated NOT to be the Wayne killer, bringing Batman's desire for vengeance back to the way Miller envisioned it.
** Batman had to ally with Joe Chill when facing a legacy of The Reaper, a crazed slasher vigilante. At several points, Batman has the choice of whether to save Joe's life and each time, he does.
** Noteworthily, Joker sees Batman like this.
* {{Tontine}}: The very first Batman story, ''The Case of the Chemical Syndicate'', used this as a plot point.
* TooFunnyToBeEvil - usually the Riddler. Less often the Joker.
** And those who believe this of [[CompleteMonster The Joker]] are often [[NotSoHarmless proven fatally wrong.]]
* TragicDream: This is what motivates Mr. Freeze, wanting to cure his wife.
** After an extenuating day being Batman, Jean-Paul Valley reflected that after being the Avatar of the Order of St. Dumas, who wanted to conquer Jerusalem back again to Christianity, and presently being the TemporarySubstitute to Batman, who wants to stop crime in Gotham City, he finds the fanatical obsessive founder Dumas was the wiser: sure, Jerusalem was never conquered again, but it was a tangible goal that could be achieved... ending crime forever in Gotham is a madman’s dream.
* {{Trickster}}: A role sometimes shared by Joker and Riddler, depending on the situation and motivation.
* TrueLoveIsBoring: One of the major reasons why Bruce will probably never settle down.
* {{Tsundere}}: Damian Wayne is one of the rare male examples, and is type A towards... pretty much everyone. Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown, Alfred...
* TwoHeadedCoin: A characteristic attribute of Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Played straight as Dent and then {{subverted}} by Two-Face.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Done constantly by superpowered villains who have never faced him before. After they do fight him, they figure out why he's one of the most [[TheDreaded feared]] heroes of them all.
* UnderwearOfPower: Batman is one of the older examples, though nowadays (Post-KnightSaga and then Post-Return) his Underwear on the outside is usually either absent, not shown, or the same color as the rest of him (and thus hard to see). Also, the Robins wore this until Tim Drake came along.
* UpperClassWit: Bruce Wayne's image to the world.
* UselessSpleen: Tim Drake loses his spleen to a sword-strike in ''Red Robin #4''.
* TheVamp: Poison Ivy, Nocturna, Catwoman at times ({{depending on the writer}}), and others.
* ViewerMyopia: Batman obviously being Bruce Wayne gets the same "never in the same place" evidence as {{Superman}}... discounting all the times that both of them ''have'' arranged to be seen with their alternate identities.
* VillainousHarlequin: Harley Quinn (duh)
* VitriolicBestBuds: Batman and Superman are [[DependingOnTheWriter sometimes]] depicted this way, as both Type 1 ''and'' Type 2.
* WaterSourceTampering: Deconstructed in one comic, where Bruce deduces the {{Villain of the Week}} ''won't'' put his hallucinogen into the water supply, because it's too easy to shut off. Instead, he plots to put it in the milk supply.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Ra's Al Ghul.
** The Order of St. Dumas, who created {{Azrael}}, who was also one.
* WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys (The TimBurton movie is the TropeNamer)
* [[WhereTheHellIsSpringfield Where The Hell Is Gotham]]: Apparently, New Jersey. Many people from the greater Trenton area dispute this, as Gotham is shown to be [[WretchedHive a grungy, filth-ridden, dated city]], [[TakeThat and nothing in New Jersey could be that nice]].
** ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' places it in Connecticut... LovecraftCountry.
* WhoEvenNeedsABrain: Rare dramatic example - new villainess "The Absence" has an enormous hole in her forehead and extending all the way through, with no visible brain, yet functions just fine, and may be smarter than before the hole happened. It appears to be a combination of a freak medical condition and Gotham City's water supply being seriously tainted.
** ... So anyone with ''half a brain'' can see that humankind has gone insane, to the point where I don't know if I'll upset the status quo [[DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog if I throw poison in the water main]]?
* [[WellDoneSonGuy Well Done Great-Nephew Guy]]: Silas Wayne, who, in his last moments of life, becomes proud of Bruce when he reveals himself as Batman, and even happier that the rest of the family wasn't in the room to learn the secret identity, so he'll die proudly with the knowledge that a Wayne is Batman.
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[[caption-width-right:350:[[TheCowl "Criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot..."]]]]
->''"I am vengeance. I am the night. I. Am. Batman!!"''
-->--'''[[SpellMyNameWithAThe The Batman]]''', ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''
%% One quote is sufficient. Please place additional entries on the quotes tab.
The Dark Knight. The Caped Crusader. The [[TropeCodifier iconic]] [[TheCowl Cowl]]. ''[[TropeCodifier The]]'' BadassNormal SuperHero.
Batman is also one of the greatest {{Trope Maker}}s and {{Trope Codifier}}s in not just comics, but ''all'' visual media; one of the oldest superheroes still in print -- having debuted in ''Detective Comics'' #27 (May 1939) -- Batman is one of the two best known {{Superhero}}es ever (alongside {{Superman}}). The Batman mythos has expanded into numerous forms of media in the decades since the character's debut, and there's a damned good argument to be made for Batman being the most ''critically'' and ''culturally'' successful superhero in history. When veterans such as Comicbook/{{Superman}} have taken beatings in the zeitgeist for [[BoringInvincibleHero perceived problems]] ([[YourMileageMayVary justified or otherwise]]), Batman's legacy and relevancy have never truly faded in the public eye, and his popularity across multiple sections of the mainstream remains as strong -- if not stronger -- than it was back in the 1940s. He's pretty much [[RuleOfCool the only superhero to date who could pull out a lightsaber]] [[CrazyPrepared with no explanation at all and get away with it]].
At the age of eight, Bruce Wayne witnessed the [[HarmfulToMinors murder of his parents]] at the hands of a mugger. Swearing [[YouKilledMyFather vengeance]] against all criminals, Bruce used his parents' vast fortune to travel the world and hone his fighting abilities and detective skills. When he felt he was ready, Bruce returned to his beloved Gotham City, intent on removing the criminal element that had [[WretchedHive overrun the city]] in his absence. Donning a costume with a bat motif to strike fear into criminals, Bruce protects the streets of Gotham as "The Batman" at night while pretending to be a [[RichIdiotWithNoDayJob clueless playboy billionaire]] by day.
Over time, Batman's [[CyclicTrope swung between]] a bright, shiny [[TheCape Cape]] and a dark, nightmarish ShadowArchetype and the iconic [[TheCowl Cowl]]; in modern times, it's usually the latter. A number of comic-book writers, most famously FrankMiller, love the contrast between Batman and {{Superman}} -- darkness and light -- and often play it up when the two are paired together.
This series has a (very long) [[Characters/{{Batman}} Character Sheet]].
[[index]]
[[AC:{{Comics}}]]
* ''Detective Comics'' - DC's [[LongRunners longest-running]] still-published comic series (though not longest number in issue number, as Action Comics overtook it in 1988 when it briefly turned into a weekly comic), Batman debuted in issue #27 in 1939, and still headlined it up until 2009, when {{Batwoman}} briefly took over the book. Batman has since returned as the headliner. Various supporting characters, including the MartianManhunter, GreenArrow and BlackCanary, the ElongatedMan, and [[TheQuestion the current Question]] have appeared over the years in various backup strips.
** Originally an AnthologyComic.
* ''Batman'' - Batman's self-named monthly title, which debuted in 1940 (issue #1 featured the first appearances of the Joker and Catwoman). Considered to be the main flagship title.
* ''World's Finest Comics'' - An anthology series that debuted in the late 1940s, originally it featured stand-alone solo stories involving Batman and Superman. However, with issue #71, the series switched formats to its now familiar "Superman/Batman" team-up stories. The series (which featured the first appearance of Scarecrow and Clock King) was cancelled in 1986. However, it lives on in a series of mini-series specials and in ''Superman/Batman'', which is considered to be the SpiritualSuccessor to ''World's Finest''.
* ''TheJoker'' - the Clown Prince of Crime starred in his own short-lived series in the mid-1970s. Largely forgettable.
* ''BatmanAndTheOutsiders''. Batman leading his own team. Launched in 1983. The team has went through several incarnation, typically without their original leader.
* ''Legends of the Dark Knight'' - An anthology series that debuted in 1989, to tie into the release of the 1989 live action Batman movie. The series originally was a flashback book, focusing on past adventures of Batman, though by the early '90s (and the events of Knightfall), the book was revamped and took place in the here and now. Suffers from continuity issues, with several stories being considered non-canon.
* ''Batman: Shadow of the Bat'' - Another Batman book, launched mainly as a vehicle for then Detective Comics writer Alan Grant. The series was much darker than the main Batman books at the time; in particular, the stories were often told from the POV of the villain.
* ''Comicbook/GothamCentral'' - A series that starred Renee Montoya and members of the Gotham City Police Department, with Batman only playing a minor role. While receiving critical acclaim (most notably for the story where Montoya is outed as a lesbian), [[TooGoodToLast the series ran for only 40 issues]].
* ''Batman: Gotham Knights'' - A series focused on Batman, but heavily spotlighting and examining the rest of the Batfamily, his RoguesGallery, and their relationships to each other.
* ''Batman Confidential'' - Another anthology series that replaced ''Legends of the Dark Knight''. The series features classic Batman villains (who rarely appeared in Legends of the Dark Knight) and early adventures between them and Batman. Most notably (and infamously) the series is known for it's Joker origin story, which uses the 1989 movie as it's template.
* ''Superman/Batman'' - Mentioned above, this is a team-up series with Comicbook/ {{Superman}} that is the SpiritualSuccessor to "World's Finest". But unlike "World's Finest", Superman/Batman features major story lines for both characters, most notably Superman with its first arc featuring the two bringing down President Lex Luthor (which was later spun off into the direct-to-DVD movie ''Superman/Batman: Public Enemies'') and its second arc re-introducing the Pre-Crisis {{Supergirl}} to TheDCU.
* ''[[Comicbook/GrantMorrisonsBatman Batman and Robin]]'' - GrantMorrison, who wrote Batman's ongoing comic from 2006-2009, was given his own book in which to tell the further adventures of the new Batman (Dick Grayson) and Bruce Wayne's son Damian Wayne, the new Robin. The series focuses on the fall-out from Morrison's popular run on the main Batman book as well as Damian's attempt to adjust to being a hero. As of 2011, this Book contains the adventures of the Bruce Wayne Batman and his son Damian. Written by Peter J. Tomasi.
* ''Streets of Gotham'' - A series written by Paul Dini that features the new Batman and Robin in the eyes of other characters. Also features a back-up feature starring Kate Spencer, the current Manhunter.
* ''GothamCitySirens'' - A series, also written by Paul Dini, dealing with the girls of Gotham, notably Poison Ivy, Comicbook/HarleyQuinn, and Comicbook/{{Catwoman}} as they attempt to live "normal" lives.
* ''TheBatmanAdventures'' - The tie-in comic of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''.
'''Storylines'''
* ''[[BatmanYearOne Year One]]'' - Flashback tale written by FrankMiller and illustrated by David Mazzucchelli which told of The Caped Crusader's first year in Gotham City and how he met then patrol officer James Gordon. Critically acclaimed, it spawned a slew of sequels (''Batman: Year Two'', ''Batman: Year Three'', the continuity of both being debatable) and mini-series that take place afterwards. It also created a massive ContinuitySnarl (which was more-or-less, albeit uneasily, taken care of later), as far as erasing Batgirl from canon and introducing a new offspring for Commissioner Gordon, as well as a controversial new origin for Catwoman where she is a former prostitute. Many elements of the story were adapted into ''Batman Begins'' and ''The Dark Knight''.
* ''A Death In The Family'' - Batman and Robin II (Jason Todd) go to the Middle East, to track down Jason's birth mother and stop Joker from stealing relief aid from the Red Cross for cash. In the process, Joker kills Jason Todd and his mom and ultimately finds immunity waiting for him in Iran, who offer to make him their ambassador in exchange for him poisoning the entire UN with Joker gas. Superman stops the gas attack and Batman beats the crap out of the Joker, who gets shot by a stray bullet from his Iranian henchmen, and his plane crashes into the ocean. Famous for the fact that Jason's fate was decided by a "1-900" call-in phone poll.
* ''{{Knightfall}}''/''Knightquest''/''Knightsend'' - Introduces Bane, who after forcing Batman to run a gauntlet of his worst enemies, breaks Batman's back. This forces Bruce to promote his latest sidekick {{Azrael}} to Batman status, which backfires due to Azrael having still not shaken the effects of being brainwashed into becoming an assassin and ultimately forces Bruce (when he's recovered) to face him down to reclaim the cape and cowl.
* ''Contagion'' & ''Legacy'': Two arcs which pretty much go together back-to-back. In the former, Gotham has to deal with an outbreak of Ebola-A and chronicles Batman's attempts to help contain and cure the virus. After which, in the latter, Ra's Al Ghul makes his return to the Batman books as he unleashes a massive plague upon Gotham City, as a test run to unleashing the virus upon humanity. Batman is forced to call in all of his allies (Catwoman, Azrael, Nightwing, and Robin) to help stop Ra's Al Ghul. But victory ultimately depends on Poison Ivy (whose blood holds the cure for the virus) and Bane (who has been recruited by Ra's Al Ghul to marry his daughter) helping Batman and his crew in saving the world.
* ''Cataclysm'' and ''ComicBook/BatmanNoMansLand'' - An earthquake hits Gotham and the U.S. Government, rather than rebuild, orders the city sealed off. As Batman and his crew struggle to keep the peace, it soon becomes apparent that [[spoiler:Lex Luthor is behind the government turning its back on Gotham City. With no government in the city, Luthor plans on destroying all records of land ownership, to claim the city as his own but fails when Batman stops him (though he is unable to prove to the world what Lex did)]]. Mainly known for introducing the third Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) and reintroducing Black Mask into the Batman books.
* ''Officer Down'' - It's a normal night in Gotham City, until a lucky punk has shot Commissioner Gordon and all of Gotham City's finest are looking for the shooter. Notable for largely writing Commissioner Gordon and Detective Harvey Bullock out of the Bat-books until ''InfiniteCrisis''.
* ''Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive'' - Following the events of ''No Man's Land'', LexLuthor became President and Bruce Wayne, in retaliation, severed all business ties with the U.S. Government in protest. In retaliation, Lex orders Bruce Wayne's girlfriend murdered and Bruce framed for the deed. Making things worse for Batman, Lex Luthor hires the new Batgirl's dad to carry out the hit and since he knows Bruce Wayne is Batman, he is able to turn Batman's friends & allies against him as Batman struggles to prove his innocence.
* ''Hush'' and ''Under the Hood'' - "Hush" was a warmly received and massively hyped story written by JephLoeb and illustrated by Jim Lee. The story deals with an alliance with new Bat-foe Hush and [[spoiler:the Riddler]] after the latter figures out Batman's identity. While Hush had Batman run the gauntlet with much of his RoguesGallery, a figure appearing to be a resurrected Jason Todd appears to confuse Batman. In the end, Hush's identity is revealed to be Bruce Wayne's childhood friend, Thomas Elliot, who has decided to harbor a deep hatred over Bruce's "gifted childhood" (AKA the dead parents). The buzz over the appearance of the supposed Jason Todd lead to "Under The Hood" where JuddWinick detailed the rise of a new Red Hood, which was originally held by the man who would become the Joker. Upon the discovery that the Red Hood was indeed Jason returned from the dead, angry that Batman replaced him and didn't kill his "killer", Batman has to stop his adopted son and former ward's RoaringRampageOfRevenge.
* ''War Games'' and ''War Crimes'' - Spoiler decided to prove to Batman she was worthy of being the newest Robin by taking one of his plans and engaging in a massive BatmanGambit against all of Gotham's gangs that goes horribly wrong. The result? Black Mask becoming the top crime boss in Gotham and Stephanie Brown, AKA the fourth Robin, dying because Batman waited too long to get her medical treatment. The story and its ending was so poorly received that it was almost immediately followed up with ''War Crimes'', which tried to retcon the story by saying it was longtime Batman ally Leslie Thompkins who withheld medical treatment from Stephanie. This was also poorly received, and so with ''Infinite Crisis'' warping reality within months of the publication of ''War Crimes''. [[spoiler:''War Crimes'' was erased from canon and replaced with a scenario where Thompkins, with Batman's permission, faked Stephanie's death to protect her from further reprisals from Black Mask.]]
* GrantMorrisonsBatman: A group of {{Story Arc}}s all written during GrantMorrison's run on ''Batman''. All titles are connected by a large overarching storyline, and Morrison himself says that he intends for this group of titles to be [[WritingForTheTrade part of a series]].
** ''Batman and Son'': Batman discovers that his one-time sexual encounter with Talia Al Ghul left her pregnant. And now, several years later, she's dropping off her son on Batman's doorsteps so that he can teach the kid how to be a great man, as she prepares to take over the world with her army of Manbat Ninjas. Introduces Damian Wayne to the Batman universe.
** ''The Black Glove'': Batman's weekend vacation with a cadre of international superheroes he inspired takes a turn for the worst when the mysterious "Black Glove" destroys their transportation off an island, so that they can be killed off one by one.
** ''Batman R.I.P.'' - The Black Glove makes its assault against Batman, and attempts to destroy his personality with long dormant mental triggers which were placed in Batman's mind years ago. Upon the activation of a mental safeguard in the case of such a scenario, the personality of "the Batman of Zurr-En-Arr" keeps Batman functioning until his mind repairs the damage and stops the Black Glove from killing him and invading Gotham City. Upon confronting the leader in an escaping helicopter, Batman becomes "cursed" to die the next time he wears the cape and cowl. After escaping the helicopter crash, Batman is summoned by Superman to investigate [[FinalCrisis the death of a God...]]
*** ''Battle For The Cowl'' (not written by Morrison, but fits into the overarching story) - [[spoiler:Bruce Wayne is dead, and a great void has been created in Gotham City. A war on two fronts has started that the Bat-Family must deal with: the recently escaped RoguesGallery from Arkham, along with the various gangs and factions trying to claim Gotham as their own; and the appearance of a mysterious masked "Batman", who holds no qualms for murder (eventually revealed to be Jason Todd). After attempting to kill both Tim Drake and Damian Wayne, Jason fights Nightwing, and is defeated. Dick takes over the mantle of the Bat, and Damian becomes the new Robin while Tim heals from his injuries]].
** ''Batman: Reborn'' - Umbrella title for the various Batbooks dealing with Dick Grayson as the new Batman and Damian as the new Robin. Threats facing them are Jason Todd and a new Black Mask, along with new villains such as Professor Pyg and his army of circus freak show villains and the assassin known as "The Flamingo".
** ''The Return of Bruce Wayne'': [[spoiler:[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The title says it all.]] Until it happens, we're treated to Bruce Wayne's displaced adventures in time, where he suits up in period-specific Bat-costumes and fights pirates and cavemen and stuff, due to [[UnstuckInTime continually being shunted around the timestream]]. Oh, and Superman says his return will bring about [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt the end of the world]]...]]
** ''Batman, Inc.'': After the events of the above storyline, Bruce Wayne decides to take the Batman operation international and train potential Batmen worldwide, leaving Dick and Damian to continue their roles as Batman and Robin in Gotham City.
'''One-Shots & Limited Series'''
* ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns'' - An old Batman takes up the cowl again to fight mutants. And along with ''{{Watchmen}}'', it helped start the DarkAge of comics.
* ''TheKillingJoke'' - With the help of AlanMoore, The Joker gets reinvented into the insane sociopath we all know and love. This book is a major influence over all adaptations of the Joker following it. Notable for featuring Batgirl being crippled, paving the way for her reinvention as "Oracle", super-hacker extraordinaire.
* ''[[ArkhamAsylumASeriousHouseOnSeriousEarth Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth]]'' - GrantMorrison's first Batman story, Arkham Asylum is what happens when the Batman's rogues gallery gets overdosed on HighOctaneNightmareFuel, with a little of LewisCarroll as well. An unholy force has taken over the asylum, forcing Batman to have to storm the place and save the staff. Notable for giving the back story behind the place, [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel and it definitely wasn't pretty.]]
* ''ArkhamAsylumLivingHell'': A limited series that focuses on the hellish environment inside the walls of Arkham Asylum from the viewpoint of Warren White, a white collar criminal who declares himself insane to escape jailtime, only to find himself in Arkham, [[DrivenToMadness and is eventually driven insane by the other inmates]], transforming him into the villain The Great White Shark. also notable for focusing mostly on the C-list villains, as well as small time inmates created for the series, such as Humpty Dumpty, Death Rattle, [[MadArtist Doodlebug]] and [[DumbMuscle Lunkhead]].
* ''TheLongHalloween'': A sequel of sorts to ''Year One'', detailing the origin of Two-Face. The story itself involves a serial killer named "Holiday" bumping off members of Carmine "The Roman" Falcone's mob on various holidays. Much like ''Year One'', many elements were adapted into ''Batman Begins'' (as well as ''The Dark Knight'').
* ''DarkVictory'' - Written and drawn by the guys who did ''TheLongHalloween'', this limited series deals with the fall-out of Harvey Dent's transformation into Two-Face as another serial killer "The Hangman" attempts to kill off those within the Gotham City PD that are loyal to Commission Gordon. It also features the story of how Bruce Wayne adopted Dick Grayson, who dons the Robin identity at the end of the story.
* ''TheDarkKnightStrikesAgain'' - A sequel to ''The Dark Knight Returns'', once again written by Frank Miller. Unlike The Dark Knight Returns, it features a cast of dozens, as Batman gathers an army of his former friends to free America from Lex Luthor and Brainiac, who have taken over the U.S. thanks to a sentient hologram president. YourMileageMayVary, as many didn't know if Miller was being serious with the book or mocking the grim and gritty nature of his previous story.
* ''The Man Who Laughs'' - A one-shot issue written by Ed Brubaker and another intended sequel of ''Year One'', detailing the Batman's first encounter with the Joker. (Mainly an attempt to re-write the original Joker story with the modern characterization of the Joker).
* ''AllStarBatmanAndRobinTheBoyWonder'' - The Goddamn Batman abducts the Goddamn Dick Grayson (age twelve) and goes on some crazy stuff in the Goddamn Gotham City.
* ''Gotham Underground'' - A limited series that focuses on the effects of the Countdown to Final Crisis on Batman's RoguesGallery, not to mention the recent death of Black Mask. While the rest of the Bat-family struggle to prevent a gang war from breaking out, Batman - undercover as a henchman - winds up in prison. By the end of the series, [[spoiler:Penguin finds himself Batman's informant - whether he likes it or not.]]
* ''ComicBook/{{Joker}}'' - Another one-shot, written by Brian Azzarello, detailing the Joker's release from Arkham and his subsequent rise (and fall). The Bat himself makes only a short but effective appearance. Quite a few similarities between the Joker depicted within and HeathLedger's portrayal in ''TheDarkKnight'', but this is coincidental, this being written a good bit before the film was released.
* ''ComicBook/BatmanBeyond'' - Based off the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' animated series continuity. It started out as a six-part miniseries, but became an ongoing series in 2011.
* ''WhateverHappenedToTheCapedCrusader'' - A two-part Batman story written by NeilGaiman, in the same vein of Superman's "''WhateverHappenedToTheManOfTomorrow"'', this is an epilogue to the Bruce Wayne Batman (in '''all''' of his incarnations). It was to be the 'last' story after his death in ''Batman R.I.P.'' and ''Final Crisis'' and act as a summing-up of the character.
* ''Comicbook/BatmanDigitalJustice'' - An Alternate Reality story set exty years from now, featuring the grandson of Commissioner Gordon taking up the mantle of Batman to fight cyber-crime in Gotham City. Written/illustrated by Pepe Moreno and created entirely on computer (a new idea in 1990).
* ''BatmanDetectiveNo27'' - An "elseworld" where Bruce Wayne never becomes Batman, instead becoming Detective No. 27. Batman's debut was in ''Detective Comics'' #27.
* ''Mad Love'' - Harley Quinn's origin story, which was later adapted for an episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries''. It received massive critical praise and won the 1994 Eisner Award for "Best Single Issue."
[[AC:{{Live Action TV}}]]
* ''{{Series/Batman}}'': "Holy surrealism, Batman!" The colorful, {{camp}}y '60s series that pretty much defines the bright, shiny Batman.
[[AC:{{Manga}}]]
* ''[[http://boingboing.net/2008/10/29/batmanga-the-lost-ja.html Bat-manga!: A Secret History of Batman In Japan]]''
* ''Batman: Child of Dreams'' by KiaAsamiya of ''SilentMobius'' fame.
* ''Batman: Death Mask''
[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* ''Film/TheBatman'': Batman's film debut in 1943, a 15-chapter serial, served as the inspiration and cause of the 1960s show.
* ''Serial/BatmanAndRobin'': The sequel 15-chapter serial.
* ''BatmanTheMovie'': TheMovie of the 60s TV show.
* The TimBurton films, two very dark and Gothic versions.
** ''{{Film/Batman}}''
** ''BatmanReturns''
* The next two were directed by JoelSchumacher, and cranked the {{camp}} UpToEleven.
** The first Schumacher film, ''BatmanForever'' still did well, especially among fans of the more light-hearted 60s Batman.
** ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' was a critical failure and effectively killed the film franchise.
* ''Film/TheDarkKnightSaga''. After "[[FanNickname Batman On Ice]]", it was necessary to do a complete [[ContinuityReboot reboot]] of the film continuity, which was a rare occurrence in Hollywood at the time, illustrating just ''how bad'' the fourth film really was. Written and directed by ChristopherNolan. Very much AdaptationDistillation.
** ''Batman Begins''
** ''The Dark Knight''
** ''The Dark Knight Rises''
[[AC:Theatre]]
* ''Theatre/BatmanTheMusical''. No, really. It never made it onstage, but you can still read about WhatMightHaveBeen here and listen to the demo recordings.
* ''BatmanLive'': a big-budget arena show that premiered in the UK July '11 and toured Europe and North America. It focuses on the relationship between Batman and Robin, and is a fusion between theatre, circus, and hand-drawn animation.
[[AC:VideoGames]]
* Adaptations based on the 1989 film for the [[NintendoEntertainmentSystem NES]] and SegaGenesis by {{Sunsoft}}.
** ''Batman: Return/Revenge of the Joker'', videogame-only sequels to the above for the same systems.
* ''VideoGame/BatmanVengeance'', based on the New Batman Adventures.
** ''BatmanRiseOfSinTzu''
* ''Batman: Dark Tomorrow''
* ''[[VideoGame/LEGOAdaptationGame Lego Batman]]'', a LighterAndSofter {{Lego}} game where every character is put into Lego form.
* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'', often considered to be the best video game adaptation of the Batman franchise.
* ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'', the sequel to BatmanArkhamAsylum where the inmates are allowed to run free over an area of Gotham.
[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* ''GothamGirls''
* CatTales
* TheJokerBlogs
[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* ''The Batman/Superman Hour''
* ''TheNewAdventuresOfBatman'': The AnimatedAdaptation of the 1960s TV series, featuring the same actors. And [[TheScrappy Bat-Mite]].
* ''SuperFriends''
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'': An animated tie-in with the 1989 ''Batman'' film. It turned out to be AdaptationDistillation and launched the {{DCAU}} with a crossover into ''SupermanTheAnimatedSeries''. Still held in very high regard.
** Later became ''[[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries The New Batman Adventures]]''; both names are included here for completion.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'': A TimeSkip continuation of the above, [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture 40 years in the future]], Bruce Wayne acting as TheMentor to Terry McGinnis, who [[LegacyCharacter takes up the mantle]] of Batman (or maybe "the Bat-mantle"?)
* ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' and ''Justice League Unlimited'': Linked the two above series and ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'', solidifying the DCAU, with Batman as a major character and Batman II making two cameos. The ''JLU'' episode "Epilogue" served as a FullyAbsorbedFinale for ''Beyond''.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'': A non-DCAU series aimed at a younger audience, starring Batman in his first few years as a crime-fighter.
* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'': A lighter series, having nothing to do with the DCAU. Tone greatly resembles that of the '60s {{Series/Batman}} show and/or the SilverAge comic, but with a more PostModern, self-aware vibe to it.
* ''[[SupermanBatmanPublicEnemies Superman/Batman: Public Enemies]]''
* ''[[JusticeLeagueCrisisOnTwoEarths Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths]]''
* ''BatmanUnderTheRedHood'': A dark animated film about Jason Todd, the second Robin's return.
* ''[[SupermanBatmanApocalypse Superman/Batman: Apocalypse]]''
* ''DCSuperFriends'': a 17-minute short made for Fisher-Price's range of "DC Super Friends" toys.
* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'': Batman plays an important, recurring role in the series. He gives the central team their black-ops type missions, missions that the Justice League can't do themselves because of their high public profile.
* ''BatmanYearOne'': An AnimatedAdaptation of the comic storyline.
[[/index]]
----
!!Various parts of the franchise have provided the [[TropeNamer name for]]:
* AdamWesting
* BatDeduction
* BatFamilyCrossover
* BatmanCanBreatheInSpace
* BatmanColdOpen
* BatmanGambit
* BatmanGrabsAGun
* BatmanInMyBasement
* BatSignal
* BruceWayneHeldHostage
* TheCommissionerGordon
* TheCowl
* DatingCatwoman
* JokerImmunity
* JokerJury
* MadLove
* MerryChristmasInGotham
* MissRobinsonBoyWonder
* RiddleMeThis
* SupermanStaysOutOfGotham
* {{Thememobile}}
* ToTheBatnoun
* ToTheBatpole
* TwoFaced
* UtilityBelt
* WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys
----
!!Tropes among all versions:
* AdvantageBall: Batman almost always has the advantage in direct conflict. Three guys with knives or a dozen Mooks with machine guns, it makes no difference. As such, the general method of his rogues gallery to deal with him is to attack him indirectly, especially by undermining what he believes in and threatening those he values.
* AmbiguouslyGay: Aside from accusations on all sides, TheJoker sometimes delivers HoYay, depending on the writer. After a while, some writers decided to incorporate that aspect of the character into their stories to create ambiguity on purpose.
* AnimalThemedSuperbeing: Bruce, his sidekicks, and many of his enemies are animal based.
* AffablyEvil: Ra's Al Ghul.
** The Penguin comes across as this most of the time, as the owner of a popular upscale night spot, but he can go from a gentleman criminal to a vicious bastard if he needs to.
* AffirmativeActionLegacy: Batman's first sidekick [[spoiler: and later successor]] Dick Grayson was [[RaceLift retconned]] to be part Roma. And after [[spoiler: Batman's supposed demise]], his longest-running title was given to the [[TwoferTokenMinority Jewish lesbian]] {{Batwoman}}. Also, The Dark Knight Returns featured a female Robin.
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: It's not so much that Bats is a bad guy, but compared to a lot of the other team members within his various groups, his dark, brooding act stirs up the loins of many a female, both superpowered and non.
* AlmightyMom: Alfred is ''the'' quintessential male example.
* AlternateUniverse: Earth-Two, where Batman married Catwoman and had a daughter, the Huntress.
* AntiHero: Bruce Wayne's Batman is a [[SlidingScaleOfAntiHeroes Type II]].
** Dick Grayson, whether as Robin, Nightwing or Batman is also a Type II.
** Barbra Gordon is a Type II as Batgirl, and a Type III as Oracle.
** Catwoman is actually leaning towards Type III, but she still does her cat burglar thing.
** Tim Drake is a Type II as Robin, developing into a Type III as Red Robin.
** Damian Wayne starts out as a Type V, being the grandson of Ra's Al Ghul and all, but is softening under Dick's tutelage.
** Jean-Paul Valley begins as Type V, even during his time as Batman. However after he shakes his programming he becomes an ally of Batman and slides up the scale to a IV with leanings towards III.
** Jason Todd is a Type V, but fancies himself Type IV. Becomes Type IV post-relaunch, with Type III hints due to being less jerky.
* AntiHeroSubstitute: When Azrael took over as Batman during the DarkAge.
* AntiVillain: Lots. Most of Batman's RoguesGallery are some shade of antivillain; turning to crime as a result of some past trauma is very common. There are also a fair number of [[TheJoker real villains]], of course.
* AxeCrazy: ''The Joker''
* {{Badass}}
** BadassInDistress: Currently the trope picture.
** BadassCrew[=/=]BadassFamily: It'd be tough to mess with the Bat-Family.
** BadassNormal: Even the silly versions are like this.
* BadCopIncompetentCop: Gotham City Police Department. [[ReasonableAuthorityFigure Except for Gordon.]] Eventually got its ''own'' comic series, ''GothamCentral'', about the few honest cops in the city who have to deal with working in the second most corrupt department in the country.
** Should be noted also that it often seems like a woefully understaffed Police Department. Chicago, one of the basis cities for Gotham, has nearly 15,000 officers. The most we ever see on one page at one time is about twenty for Gotham, no matter how big the crisis.
** [[FridgeBrilliance Would you want to be a cop in Gotham?]] If you honestly want to "protect and serve" you will have precious few allies, and if you don't, there's the crazy winged lunatic ([[InformedLoner or one of his many allies]]) that just might hang you upside down off a roof one of these days. Not to mention the mafia. And all the gangs. And all the supervillains. And the [[MonsterClown J]][[AxCrazy o]][[SlasherSmile k]][[OmnicidalManiac e]][[CompleteMonster r]].
* BandagedFace: At least one the villains is bound to have this happen to them at some point. Hush in particular is known for this.
* BashBrothers: On occasions, Batman and Robin. This trope could have easily been called "Dynamic Duo".
** Batman and Red Hood/Robin II: even after all the time that passed between Jason's death and his return, they're able to fall right back in to this and work together flawlessly.
* BatFamilyCrossover
* BatmanColdOpen
* BatmanGambit: The TropeNamer
* BattleButler
* BatSignal: The TropeNamer. Again.
* BecomingTheMask: Bruce Wayne adopted the identity of Batman as a means to fight injustice. As with most Batman tropes, this is the dark version. It's not that he loves being Batman so much he doesn't want to go back to being Bruce Wayne. It's that he IS Batman because he has to be even when dressed and acting like Bruce Wayne. It's a strong contrast to the modern version of Superman, who always thinks of himself as Clark Kent regardless of the costume.
* BedlamHouse
* BerserkButton: Anyone getting killed, whether by any fault of his own or someone else's. Bats is not good with death, for obvious reasons. If you've killed someone within his vicinity, he may not kill you, but you may wish he had.
* BestServedCold: One of the classic examples.
* BetrayalInsurance: The idea that Batman has a stockpile of kryptonite in case Superman ever goes rogue is extremely common. The idea that [[CrazyPrepared he also has plans to take down any other Justice League member he might have to]] is almost as common.
* BigDamnHeroes: Batman and his extended family make a regular habit of this trope.
* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: With ''Batman: Reborn'' and ''Gotham City Sirens'', as well as ''Blackest Night'', Harley Quinn, Catwoman, and Poison Ivy take on this trope respectively.
** The three Batgirls: Stephanie, Cassandra and Barbara respectively.
* BloodBath: GarthEnnis once wrote a comic where the villain was a drug lord who got people hooked on a drug so he could kill them, fill a pool with their drugged-up blood, and get high by bathing in it.
** In ''Batman: The Cult'', Deacon Blackfire bathed in blood, supposedly to make himself immortal.
* TheBookCipher: In the ''Detective Comics'' issue "And the Executioner Wore Stiletto Heels", the villain, Stiletto, uses an obscure book about shoes for a cipher. When Batman goes to the bookstore, the owner mentions how strange it is that he just sold several copies of a book nobody would buy normally. Batman asks him who bought the book in order to learn who's in on the plot.
* BoredWithInsanity: The Joker several times.
* BreakoutCharacter: Alfred was originally intended to be a comedic foil to Batman and Robin, but eventually got more serious. The Post-Crisis version had him as an out and out BattleButler, not to mention surrogate father figure to the entire Bat-Clan.
* BreakoutVillain: TheJoker is a big one. Originally he was supposed to be killed in his second appearance back in 1940. Fast-forward 70 years later and he's the most famous villain in all of comics.
* BruceWayneHeldHostage
* BulletproofVest: Batman's costume has evolved into a suit of advanced lightweight armor with the ChestInsignia intended to draw fire to his thick chestpiece.
* CapeSwish
* CardboardPrison: Arkham Asylum amongst others.
* CaramelldansenVid
* CatchPhrase: At least once every continuity, expect situations set up to dramatically deliver the line "I'M BATMAN!"
* CharacterizationMarchesOn:
** The first appearances of Batman are notorious for him lacking a code against killing, although even then killing wasn't routine. For example, in his very first story, ''The Case of the Chemical Syndicate'', he punches the villain into a vat of HollywoodAcid, and shows no remorse for it. In the Post-Crisis version of the event, the crook tries to flee, as he cannot stand the shame of being sent to prison, and [[SelfDisposingVillain falls into the acid by accident]].
** The Joker's first [[TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] appearance had him not as a comedy obsessed {{Evil Laugh}} happy nut job that people are likely to see and assorted later comics and adaptations depict him as (such as, WesternAnimation/{{Batman The Animated Series}}), but rather as a fairly straight forward killer and thief who just happened to be associated with the titular playing card. He also didn't do a noticeable {{Evil Laugh}} until his third-last panel in his debut issue, where (true to form) he thinks he's about to die.
* CharityBall: Bruce Wayne, being a wealthy playboy, attends a lot of these.
* ChewOutFakeOut: Tim Drake/Robin, after losing nearly all of his biological family, sets up an actor to pretend to be his fake uncle so that he doesn't have to go into the foster care system. Batman, being Batman, naturally finds out, and Robin assumes he's about to be reamed out for going behind Bruce's back... but all Bruce can say is that he's so proud of Tim for taking the initiative, and gives him some tips on how to make the deception foolproof.
* ChronicVillainy
* ChestInsignia: In ''Batman: The Dark Knight Returns'', he reveals that most of his armor is bulletproof, but he wears a chest insignia because he couldn't make his mask and cowl protective enough (in most versions, he leaves his mouth and chin uncovered). "Why do you think I wear a target on my chest?"
* TheCityNarrows: It would be pretty hard to do the origin story without that one dark alley that you really shouldn't go into. Similarly, CityNoir. Gotham City is a [[BlatantLies nice place to live.]]
* ClarkKenting: Many heroes throughout the franchise have rather easy time hiding their secret identities. Especially notable in live-action series.
* ClassyCatBurglar: Catwoman more often than not.
* {{Chessmaster}}: The Riddler. See "Hush" for details.
** Batman himself is a heroic version of this trope due to being a brilliant tactician and superb analytical skills.
* ClothesMakeTheLegend: You don't even need to see his emblem - Bats is so infamous and feared that he can be identified ''just by the silhouette of his cowl.''
* TheComicallySerious: Because nothing's more hilarious than Batman singing karaoke, while still completely straight-faced. Though in the rare instance where he cracks a joke, it's all the funnier because of it. In ''{{Superman}}/Batman'' #44, Superman has been hit in the eye with a shard of Kryptonite and has to wear an eyepatch until it heals.
-->'''Superman''': I have a strange favor to ask you.
-->'''Batman''': No, Clark. You can't borrow my pirate ship.
* TheCommissionerGordon: The TropeNamer
%% CompleteMonster belongs in the YMMV tab. Please, stop adding it on the main page.
* ContinuityNod: Crossing over with MythologyGag, when [[DistaffCounterpart Batwoman]] resurfaces in 2006, her suit borrows very heavily from the one made famous in WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond, especially in regards to the Bat Symbol she uses.
* CoolCar: The Batmobile
* CoolGarage
* CoolPlane
* CorruptPolitician: Aversions are easier to find.
* CostumedNonsuperHero
* TheCowl: TropeCodifier.
* CrazyPrepared: Batman plus the Bat-family has his own ''category'' on the page.
* CreepySouvenir: Villain Mr. Zsasz marks a notch in his skin every time he murders someone. He has scars all over his body.
* CrimefightingWithCash
* CriminalDoppelganger: Bruce Wayne's childhood friend Thomas Elliot (a.k.a. [[spoiler: Hush]]) got facial reconstruction surgery to look more like Bruce so that he can impersonate him and more easily get away with sapping Bruce's wealth.
* CriminalMindGames: The Riddler's MO.
* CutHimselfShaving
* DarkIsNotEvil: And ironically, [[LightIsNotGood most of his rogues (particularly the Joker) are very colorful.]]
* DarkerAndEdgier: After many years of campiness, in the 70s and 80s Batman started getting dark and gritty again and his villains became much more brutal and sadistic (or returned to form in the case of TheJoker). Batman is currently one of the grittiest heroes you'll find with an emphasis on fear and a brutal fighting style, most of what he does stemming from what he views as his failures and an insanely violent RoguesGallery. Despite this, [[DarkIsNotEvil his strong moral integrity remains one of the most consistent in comics.]]
* DatingCatwoman: TropeCodifier. On-again and off-again with Selina Kyle, both before and after he learned her true identity. Some say the ''only'' woman he has ever loved.
* DeadpanSnarker: Alfred, especially when Frank Miller's writing him.
* DeathByOriginStory: Thomas and Martha Wayne, The Flying Graysons.
* DeathTrap
* DependingOnTheWriter: ''The Dark Knight Returns'' presented Batman as a dangerously-obsessed, deeply-disturbed, paranoid control freak who is possibly a mentally ill HeroicSociopath as opposed to the stalwart Caped Crusader of the Golden and Silver Ages and the Adam West series. This interpretation is touched on DependingOnTheWriter and sometimes, it is the basis for whole story arcs.
** One example is his creation of the Brother [=Mk I=] satellite, which was created by Batman to keep an eye on all of the meta-humans, hero and villain alike.
** Another story, "Tower of Babel", centers on Ra's Al Ghul obtaining a file containing Batman's contingency plans to cripple each and every member of the Justice League "[[CrazyPrepared just in case]]" and using them to his own ends. The existence of the files and the secrecy under which they are kept infuriates The League and lead to his expulsion.
** This is hinted at in ''[[TheDarkKnightSaga The Dark Knight]]''.
*** Another issue of interpretation is whether he became a man the night his parents died, or if he never truly grew up.
* DidNotDoTheResearch: After getting a nasty cut during the "Cataclysm" storyline, Batman's internal monologue states that his belt has "anticoagulants to stem the bleeding." An anticoagulant actually makes blood ''thinner,'' and thus would make a cut bleed worse.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: He tends to do this more often during crossover events.
* {{Determinator}}
* DistaffCounterpart: At least three still breathing (two girls and a woman).
* DoesntLikeGuns: Even more than he despises killing.
* DoubleConsciousness
* DramaticNecklaceRemoval: His parents' death scene frequently has this.
* TheDreaded: Both Batman and TheJoker are able to put the fear of god even into those FAR more powerful than they will ever be.
* DumbMuscle: Killer Croc, Amygdala and Clayface at times.
** Averted with Bane, who has the mind of a criminal mastermind as well as the colossal strength to back it up, but [[DidNotDoTheResearch played annoyingly straight]] in several adaptations.
* EagleEyeDetection: One of the many skills employed by the Bat-family.
* ElaborateUndergroundBase
* ElementalShapeshifter: Clayface is a walking mountain of mud, and can use his powers for shapeshifting or brute strength. He's one of the few recurring villains Batman admits to being no physical match for.
* EmergingFromTheShadows: Whether it's Batman, or other characters.
* EvilCounterpart: Quite a few.
** There's the Wrath, Prometheus (although he's more of a JLA-specific villain than a Batman villain), Bane when he first appeared, and Black Mask (or Roman Sionis) who has a similar back story to Bruce (son of wealthy parents who died to the unnatural causes, although in Roman's case his parents were {{Rich Bitch}}es who were killed by Roman himself, and Roman ran his company into the ground with his own carelessness).
** One of the origins of Catman tried to build him up as an evil mirror counterpart who was inspired by the death of his parents to become a supervillain complete with Catmobile and the like. The idea got dropped quickly.
** Hush is a much more recent example, especially when you get into his backstory and how intricately entwined it is with Batman's.
** While not to Black-and-white counterpart standards, most of Batman's rogues gallery reflect a part of Batman's characterization.
** Killer Moth (of all people) was originally presented as an EvilCounterpart. His MO was that he was an anti-vigilante; he showed up to ''rescue criminals''. He even had a [[BatSignal Moth Signal]] criminals could use to summon him!
* EpicHail: The Bat Signal: the most BadAss searchlight in existence.
* EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor:
* EvilIsStylish: His RoguesGallery.
* ExcuseMeComingThrough: He is carrying a live bomb after all, you would've run screaming too, admit it.
* {{Expy}}: Sherlock Holmes at first. Also, {{Zorro}}.
** He actually had much more to do with TheShadow in his first stories. Even his first story was lifted from TheShadow pulp.
* [[{{Faceship}} Face Car]]: The Batmobile sometimes has his masked face on it.
* FaceYourFears: Whenever Scarecrow manages to get Batman with his Fear Gas, expect this to occur.
* TheFettered
* {{Fiction 500}}
* FingerInTheMail: The maniacal doctor Hush from [[InvertedTrope turns this around]] by sending Batman the entirety of Catwoman... minus her heart. [[UnexplainedRecovery She gets better.]]
* FourthWallObserver: The Joker occasionally, but especially in non-canon story lines and Emperor Joker.
* FreezeRay: Take a guess.
* FrothyMugsOfWater: Inverted. Bruce Wayne doesn't drink, afraid that it'll ruin his edge; however, a socialite like himself must on occasion be seen drinking, to erase any suspicion of being Batman. Thus, he will often drink non-alcoholic beverages, usually ginger ale, prepared to ''look'' to others as though they are made with alcohol. He'll even go so far as to act drunk, usually as an excuse for slipping out to chase after criminals.
* FrozenFace: Joker
* FoeYay: The Joker again, but one-sided.
* GeniusBruiser: Bane, but Bats applies too.
* TheGimmick: Saying "Batman's RoguesGallery has plenty of examples of TheGimmick" is bit like saying "Water is wet".
* {{Glamour}}: Poison Ivy is pheromonally irresistible.
* GoKartingWithBowser: ''The Killing Joke'', Batman and Joker.
* GoToAlias: Alfred tends to use "Thaddeus Crane" (his middle names) whenever he has to go undercover.
* GrapplingHookPistol: Favorite method of transportation when the [[ToTheBatnoun Batwing or Batmobile]] aren't practical.
* GrenadeTag: Practically perfected the trope.
* GuileHero
* HappilyMarried: The dearly departed Waynes.
* HeadsOrTails: A staple feature of Two-Face.
* HeadsTailsEdge: Recurring constantly around Two-Face.
* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Cassandra Cain, Catwoman, Jean-Paul Valley (to an extent) and more recently, Bane.
* HighAltitudeInterrogation: One of Batman's favorite methods for questioning mooks.
* HeroHarassesHelpers
* HollywoodHealing: Someone who's been through the physical injuries Batman has suffered should really [[DentedIron show more signs of it.]]
* HonestAdvisor: Alfred, who knows Bruce Wayne better than anyone, isn't afraid to tell him when he's taking himself too seriously or when he's doing something that probably won't end well. He's also the person Bruce most respects, and probably the only person he trusts completely.
* HorrorHunger
* TheHyena: Joker is practically the TropeMaker in comics.
* ItGetsEasier: Why Batman doesn't kill.
* AnIceSuit: Mr. Freeze.
* JokerImmunity: TropeNamer.
* JokerJury
* JustLikeRobinHood: Catwoman, occasionally, especially in recent years.
* JustWhistle: The Bat-Signal serves this purpose.
* KnightInSourArmor: In some of the darker depictions of Gotham City.
** In general, Bruce is almost always a KnightInSourArmor (or in this case a [[{{IncrediblyLamePun}} Dark Knight in Sour Armor]], with the only possible exceptions being when he makes some wry observation about a situation he or the JLA are in.
* KnockoutGas: One of his standard tricks, Batman has used knockout gas from various sources: bombs, canisters, guns, etc.
* TheLancer: Not in his own series. To Superman in the Justice League, but as the biggest and most recognizable superhero after Superman, he's effectively this for the entire industry.
* LaughablyEvil: Hell, can anyone ''not'' say Joker? And, well, Harley Quinn as well (which, in some cases, [[MisaimedFandom manages to even overshadow]] [[InSeriesNickname Mr. J, her Puddin']]).
* LaughingMad
* LivingDollCollector: The Mad Hatter's shtick.
* LecherousLicking: Catwoman frequently does this to Batman.
* LegacyCharacter
* LoadBearingHero
* LoveCannotOvercome: This is why Silver St. Cloud broke up with Bruce Wayne in a famous 1970s arc: she can't handle knowing that he's risking his life against people like TheJoker every night, so she abandons him and Gotham. This seems to be the source for many other examples of this trope from Batman adaptations in other media.
* MagicalDatabase
* MasterOfDisguise
* MasterPoisoner: Poison Ivy, the Joker, the Scarecrow
* McNinja
* MegaManning: Batman tends to keep items from his defeated villains handy, such as a vial of {{Scarecrow}}'s fear gas, and one of Mr. Freeze's guns.
** BatmanCanBreatheInSpace originates from Batman's ability to do just about anything and have the audience accept it. Because he's Batman. [[CrazyPrepared And he already planned ahead for the possibility of being attacked by]] gigantic mutated wombats fueled by VENOM, wearing suicide vests. So it makes perfect sense that he already has a plan.
* MiniDressOfPower: Catwoman's outfit sometimes is this.
* MiseryBuildsCharacter: Batman envelopes the very heart of this trope.
* MonsterClown: The Joker. Accept no substitutes.
* MonsterFangirl: Harley Quinn to the Joker.
* {{Mooks}}
* MoralMyopia: Villains operate on their own twisted morality.
* MultipleDemographicAppeal: In the 60's television show, Batgirl was added to attract two demographics that weren't watching the show -- young girls ''and their fathers''.
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* NeverSmileAtACrocodile: Killer Croc. Depending on the writer, he's a man with a really bad skin disease (which makes him look like reptilian) or in some others a full-blown, [[IAmAHumanitarian hungry]] crocodile-man.
* NoOSHACompliance: A lot of Gotham's buildings, warehouses and factories are like this, but the most glaring example is the Batcave. Platforms suspended over near-BottomlessPits with nary a bit of railing in sight. The health hazards of all the moisture and wild bats have been pointed out from time-to-time as well.
* NoSenseOfHumor: Batman is sometimes depicted as this, DependingOnTheWriter.
* TheNotableNumeral: The Dynamic Duo and Terrible Trio
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Brucie's outward persona is like this, to make him seem harmless and Not-Batman-At-All.
* OffhandBackhand
* OfficerOHara: At first a generic cop who would just say "Saints Preserve Us!" anytime something dramatic happened, later reinvented by JephLoeb with heavy influences by TheUntouchables.
* OrphansOrdeal: In most versions, Batman becomes who he is through witnessing the deaths of his parents as a child, leaving him to dedicate his life to ridding Gotham of crime.
* PapaWolf: Batman himself, and Commissioner Gordon when his kids' involved.
* TheParagon: Depending on the continuity.
* ParentalAbandonment: [[MemeticMutation HIS PARENTS ARE DEEAAAAAAAD!]]
* PimpedOutCape: In some continuities where his cape has some gadgets built in.
* PlantAliens: He has dealt with them in the story "The Plants of Plunder".
* PopularityPower
* PsychoForHire
* RecklessSidekick: Jason Todd, Damian Wayne.
* RecklessPacifist: Batman, on and off. Excluding incarnations that actually did kill people (or just refused to save them), The Bat has been known to get really, really rough with with his enemies despite his ThouShaltNotKill policy.
* RedBaron: The Batman has been known as the Caped Crusader, the Gotham Guardian, the Masked Manhunter or more commonly, the Dark Knight.
** [[spoiler:Which came from Darknight Detective.]]
* ReinventingTheTelephone: The Batsignal
* RelationshipReboot: After ''Infinite Crisis'', Batman returns to Gotham City and decides to give the former corrupt cop Harvey Bullock another chance.
* ReluctantWarrior: Hates violence, but is prepared to use it to stop crime. [[ImplausibleDeniability Subverted]] by just about every interpretation since the dawn of the DarkAge, so [[YourMileageMayVary Batman's mileage may definitely vary]].
* ResurrectionSickness: What Ra's Al Ghul experiences after using the Lazarus Pit.
* RevealingSkill: In the backstory of the third Robin (Tim Drake), this is how he learned the secret identities of Batman and Robin (Dick Grayson): by watching news coverage of the Dynamic Duo's escapades, during which Robin performed a complicated gymnastics move (a quadruple somersault) — which it had been established could be performed only by orphaned circus artist Dick Grayson.
* TheRevealPromptsRomance: Batman has unmasked himself as Bruce Wayne to various women in various continuities. Neither the reveal nor the romance has stuck, yet.
* ReverseCerebusSyndrome: When the stories first began, they followed the pulp magazine model. Things became LighterAndSofter shortly after Robin was introduced, and the Jack Schiff era relished in this trope. Julius Schwartz attempted CerebusSyndrome when his term as editor started, but then [[Series/{{Batman}} the 1960's show debuted]] and the trope was forced to reverse itself for the comic to emulate the show. The syndrome has waved back and forth since then.
* RichIdiotWithNoDayJob: Batman deliberately cultivates this image as Bruce Wayne. See ObfuscatingStupidity.
* RiddleMeThis: The standard MO of The Riddler.
* RivalTurnedEvil: [[spoiler:Hush, Deadshot]]
* RoguesGallery: Quite possibly the most famous and recognizable Rogues Gallery in all of comics. Also easily one of the most violent.
* RoguesGalleryShowcase ''The Long Halloween'', ''Hush''.
* RuleThirtyFour: ''BatmanXXX: A Porn Parody''.
* SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining: Cassandra Cain, but also Bruce Wayne in a few things.
* SaveTheDayTurnAway The ending of ''YearOne''.
* SayMyName: If you haven't figured it out by now, ''He's '''Batman'''''
* ScienceMarchesOn: The character's been around for over 70 years, so this is a given. For example, Batman started out in the 30's as a rich guy in actual tights with a BulletProofVest, a silk rope, smoke bombs, and a souped up but otherwise normal car. Nowadays he wears a full suit of kevlar armor loaded with high tech gear, military level weaponry, and of course the [[{{Thememobile}} Batmobile]] along with nearly every kind of vehicle he could need. Although as things like carbon nanotubes become more common in the future, it'll be interesting to see how the writers can maintain the dramatic tension when the batsuit seems damn near indestructible. The writers of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' successfully maintained dramatic tension when Terry was going around in ''flying power armor''. When technology reaches the point where the Bat-suit has carbon buckytube armor, that only means the Joker will be shooting at it with a rail gun.
* SecretIdentityIdentity: Main/DependingOnTheWriter, and something of a CyclicTrope. Bruce Wayne is a violent, obsessive loner who plays the dual roles of Batman (who gives him the power to instill fear in criminals and take revenge) and "Billionaire Playboy" Bruce Wayne (leading the carefree life he cannot truly enjoy, and actually disdains). He ''usually'' identifies more with Batman (to the point of calling himself such in his head), but not always. The one thing they all have in common is that they are self-absorbed misanthropes who cannot get over the murder of Bruce's parents in Crime Alley.
* ServileSnarker: Alfred was a candidate for TropeNamer.
* ShoeShineMister: In one early comic, Robin goes undercover as a shoeshine boy, and when the villain of the week stops to get a shine, Robin secretly applies a tracking device to his shoe.
* ShoutOut: The 1960's ''{{Series/Batman}}'' series was generally held in disfavor by Batman's comic book creators, but prolific Batman writer Chuck Dixon was a fan of the show, and snuck in some tributes here and there. Most notably in a two-parter featuring pirate-themed villain Cap'n Fear, which was structured much like a two-parter for the show, and began "in the shadow of the [[PunnyName Westward Bridge]]."
* ShadowArchetype: Several of Batman's villains apply, such as The Joker (obsession and mental issues), Catwoman (night animal motif and skills with things like spying and thievery, was also a wealthy socialite in the [[TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]]), The Penguin (was created as a parody of Bruce's image as a fop), and Two-Face (dual nature). Hell, Batman himself has served as a ShadowArchetype for Superman.
* {{Sidekick}}: The assorted Robins may deserve their own page!
** Robin I: Dick Grayson. CircusBrat, [[DeathByOriginStory saw his parents killed in front of him]], taken in as Wayne's ward.
*** The original Earth-2 Grayson grew up, became a politician, and stayed Robin even after his Batman died. He himself died in the CrisisOnInfiniteEarths.
*** The Earth-1 Grayson was a founding member of the Teen Titans, was urged to retire by Wayne after nearly getting killed by the Joker, [[SidekickGraduationsStick changed his supranym to Nightwing]], and mended his fences with Wayne. He later took over the role of Batman when Wayne was apparently dead, and continued in the role when he returned.
** Robin II: Jason Todd.
*** The pre-Crisis Todd was a redheaded circus acrobat whose [[DeathByOriginStory parents were killed]] by Killer Croc. He [[DyeHard dyed his red hair black]], became Robin, and was later adopted by a minor villainess named Nocturna. He vanished into CanonDiscontinuity after the Crisis.
*** Post-Crisis Todd had [[AdaptationDyeJob black hair]], and was a StreetUrchin taken in by Wayne. [[DeathByOriginStory His father was killed by Two-Face; his mother was killed by the Joker]] in the same explosion he himself died in. Noted for being a [[RecklessSidekick bit of a jerk]], even before he died.
*** Around ''InfiniteCrisis'', Todd [[ComicBookDeath came back from the dead]]. He is now an [[FaceHeelTurn adult villain]] calling himself the Red Hood. This Todd has had black and (later) red hair, so he's apparently an [[BroadStrokes amalgam]] of the pre-Crisis and post-Crisis Todd.
** Robin III: Tim Drake. [[DeathByOriginStory Mother killed by the Obeah Man very early in his career, father killed by Captain Boomerang much later.]] Later became Red Robin II.
** Robin IV: Stephanie Brown. The daughter of the Cluemaster (a minor Batman villain), she originally went by the Spoiler, and was Tim Drake's girlfriend. She was [[DistaffCounterpart Robin]] very briefly (during a period when Drake and Wayne were arguing), before Batman [[PutOnABus faked her death]]. Later became the third (or fourth, or fifth, depending on how you count) Batgirl.
** Robin V: Damian Wayne. Batman's son, born and raised in secret by [[DatingCatwoman Talia al Ghul]]. Became Robin while Wayne was presumed dead. Mildly [[PsychoSidekick psychopathic]], considering he was raised by assassins, but he [[SoProudOfYou received Wayne's blessing]] to continue as Robin.
* SidekickGraduationsStick: Grayson is one of the more triumphant examples, though Todd, Drake, and Brown have all moved on as well.
* SignatureLaugh: Several, represented different ways in different media:
** The Penguin's "wah wah" squawking laugh.
** Riddler's high pitched giggle.
** Joker's maniacal cackle (particularly Mark Hamill's interpretation).
* SilverFox: Depending on the art style, Commissioner Gordon can be one of these.
* ShrineToTheFallen: Batman keeps Jason's costume on display in the Batcave.
* SkullForAHead: Black Mask
* SpiritedCompetitor
* SmugSnake: The Riddler. But significantly less so since his reformation in ''Detective Comics'' #822. Still smug, but a highly successful detective as well.
* SociallyAwkwardHero: It varies by the writer, but Bruce Wayne is often depicted as not really understanding how to behave like a normal RichIdiotWithNoDayJob, and finds hosting a Wayne Foundation party more stressful than taking on the Joker.
* StealthHiBye
* StoryBreakerTeamUp: Whenever the Bat-mite shows up.
* StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred: Joker is prone to this.
* StupidCrooks: "Rocket Scientist" in ''Detective Comics'' #704. The story details the career of one of Gotham City's most incompetent crooks. His actions included once disguising himself by painting his face red (following an earlier mishap due to his choice of masks) only to collapse because the paint was toxic.
* SuperheroSobriquets: The Dark Knight, the Caped Crusader, the World's Greatest Detective, the Dark Knight Detective. Robin is the Boy Wonder and Joker is the Clown Prince of Crime, the Thin White Duke of Death, and the Harlequin of Hate.
* SuperheroesWearCapes
* SuperheroesWearTights
* SurvivorGuilt: His ENTIRE LIFE revolves around the guilt he felt at his parents' murder.
* TalkingThroughTechnique: With Cassandra Cain.
* TechnicalPacifist
* TerrorHero: Batman seeks to put enormous fear into anyone he goes up against. Given that he's one of the most [[TheDreaded dreaded]] heroes in comics, even among superpowered villains despite having no superpowers himself, he is very good at it.
* {{Thememobile}}: The Batmobile, the Batwing, the Batcycle, etc etc...
* ThereAreNoTherapists:
** Most depictions for the past two decades have made it clear Mr. Wayne has... issues... ''lots'' of issues.
--> '''Bruce Wayne himself''': "Any guy who dresses up as a bat... clearly has issues."
** DoubleSubverted. There are numerous psychologists in Gotham City - just none you'd actually want helping you. {{Scarecrow}} and Hugo Strange would rather drive you mad [[ForTheEvulz for laughs]], whereas [[MadLove Harley Quinn]] and Jeremiah Arkham couldn't even keep themselves sane. Then there's the crack staff of [[BedlamHouse Arkham Asylum]], who will probably be curing their first patient [[SarcasmMode any day now]].
*** How many levels of subversion did they reach when Arkham ''did'' successfully cure Cluemaster... of his obsessive need to leave clues. Now he's just a criminal genuis who ''doesn't'' give our heroes any way to anticipate his next crime.
---> '''Robin:''' "Gee, thanks, Arkham!"
* TheToothHurts: In ''Detective Comics'' #832, Shark pulls out his own teeth with pliers to plant them as fake evidence of his supposed death by sharks. He mentions that it was very painful, but he's got lots of teeth (three rows!).
* ThouShaltNotKill
* TokenMotivationalNemesis:
** Joe Chill the mugger, who is seldom seen again after serving his narrative purpose of introducing us to and traumatizing Bruce Wayne. In some versions, notably Frank Miller's, he doesn't even have a name.
** Joe Chill did appear again in a 1948 followup to the origin story, where it's revealed he eventually became a small-time gangster. Unfortunately for him, Batman soon found him out, leading to a classic confrontation. Chill also appeared post-Crisis in several stories. Post-Zero Hour he was specifically stated NOT to be the Wayne killer, bringing Batman's desire for vengeance back to the way Miller envisioned it.
** Batman had to ally with Joe Chill when facing a legacy of The Reaper, a crazed slasher vigilante. At several points, Batman has the choice of whether to save Joe's life and each time, he does.
** Noteworthily, Joker sees Batman like this.
* {{Tontine}}: The very first Batman story, ''The Case of the Chemical Syndicate'', used this as a plot point.
* TooFunnyToBeEvil - usually the Riddler. Less often the Joker.
** And those who believe this of [[CompleteMonster The Joker]] are often [[NotSoHarmless proven fatally wrong.]]
* TragicDream: This is what motivates Mr. Freeze, wanting to cure his wife.
** After an extenuating day being Batman, Jean-Paul Valley reflected that after being the Avatar of the Order of St. Dumas, who wanted to conquer Jerusalem back again to Christianity, and presently being the TemporarySubstitute to Batman, who wants to stop crime in Gotham City, he finds the fanatical obsessive founder Dumas was the wiser: sure, Jerusalem was never conquered again, but it was a tangible goal that could be achieved... ending crime forever in Gotham is a madman’s dream.
* {{Trickster}}: A role sometimes shared by Joker and Riddler, depending on the situation and motivation.
* TrueLoveIsBoring: One of the major reasons why Bruce will probably never settle down.
* {{Tsundere}}: Damian Wayne is one of the rare male examples, and is type A towards... pretty much everyone. Dick Grayson, Stephanie Brown, Alfred...
* TwoHeadedCoin: A characteristic attribute of Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Played straight as Dent and then {{subverted}} by Two-Face.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: Done constantly by superpowered villains who have never faced him before. After they do fight him, they figure out why he's one of the most [[TheDreaded feared]] heroes of them all.
* UnderwearOfPower: Batman is one of the older examples, though nowadays (Post-KnightSaga and then Post-Return) his Underwear on the outside is usually either absent, not shown, or the same color as the rest of him (and thus hard to see). Also, the Robins wore this until Tim Drake came along.
* UpperClassWit: Bruce Wayne's image to the world.
* UselessSpleen: Tim Drake loses his spleen to a sword-strike in ''Red Robin #4''.
* TheVamp: Poison Ivy, Nocturna, Catwoman at times ({{depending on the writer}}), and others.
* ViewerMyopia: Batman obviously being Bruce Wayne gets the same "never in the same place" evidence as {{Superman}}... discounting all the times that both of them ''have'' arranged to be seen with their alternate identities.
* VillainousHarlequin: Harley Quinn (duh)
* VitriolicBestBuds: Batman and Superman are [[DependingOnTheWriter sometimes]] depicted this way, as both Type 1 ''and'' Type 2.
* WaterSourceTampering: Deconstructed in one comic, where Bruce deduces the {{Villain of the Week}} ''won't'' put his hallucinogen into the water supply, because it's too easy to shut off. Instead, he plots to put it in the milk supply.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Ra's Al Ghul.
** The Order of St. Dumas, who created {{Azrael}}, who was also one.
* WhereDoesHeGetAllThoseWonderfulToys (The TimBurton movie is the TropeNamer)
* [[WhereTheHellIsSpringfield Where The Hell Is Gotham]]: Apparently, New Jersey. Many people from the greater Trenton area dispute this, as Gotham is shown to be [[WretchedHive a grungy, filth-ridden, dated city]], [[TakeThat and nothing in New Jersey could be that nice]].
** ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' places it in Connecticut... LovecraftCountry.
* WhoEvenNeedsABrain: Rare dramatic example - new villainess "The Absence" has an enormous hole in her forehead and extending all the way through, with no visible brain, yet functions just fine, and may be smarter than before the hole happened. It appears to be a combination of a freak medical condition and Gotham City's water supply being seriously tainted.
** ... So anyone with ''half a brain'' can see that humankind has gone insane, to the point where I don't know if I'll upset the status quo [[DrHorriblesSingAlongBlog if I throw poison in the water main]]?
* [[WellDoneSonGuy Well Done Great-Nephew Guy]]: Silas Wayne, who, in his last moments of life, becomes proud of Bruce when he reveals himself as Batman, and even happier that the rest of the family wasn't in the room to learn the secret identity, so he'll die proudly with the knowledge that a Wayne is Batman.
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