Title Character
Batman (Bruce Wayne)
Allies
The Bat-Family (Batgirl | Batwoman | Jason Todd | Robin) | Extended Bat-Family & Other Supporting Cast (Azrael | Huntress)
Villains
Bane | Catwoman (Selina Kyle) | Clayface | Harley Quinn (Harleen Quinzel) | The Joker | Lady Shiva | League of Assassins (Ra's Al Ghul | Talia Al Ghul) | Mr. Freeze | The Penguin | Poison Ivy | The Riddler | The Scarecrow | Two Face | A-F | G-L | M-R | S-Z
Spin-Offs
Batgirl (2000) | Batman Incorporated | Dark Nights: Metal (The Batman Who Laughs) | I Am Batman | Nightwing (Dick Grayson) | The Outsiders | Red Hood and the Outlaws | Robin (1993) (Tim Drake) | Robin (2021) (Damian Wayne)
Batman has built up a large cast of allies over the years. These are his allies that are either considered to be "unofficial" Batfamily members or allies from outside the Batclan. Due to the nature of comic book continuity, currently held identities are in bold.
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Extended Batfamily
Azrael I
Alter Ego: Jean-Paul Valley
Named after the Angel of Death, Jean-Paul Valley was an agent of the Sacred Order of Saint Dumas. Jean-Paul becomes a more independent crime fighter after acting as Batman for a time.
Azrael II
Alter Ego: Michael Lane
Michael Lane was once a GCPD officer who volunteered to be part of an experiment that would make him and two others into the next Batman should Bruce ever be unable to fulfill his duties. In actuality, the experiment was run by Dr. Simon Hurt, who implanted subliminal messages into the three replacement Batmen. Eventually, Lane was "activated" and became a murderous, flamethrower-wielding Batman and fought the real Batman. He was defeated, and after a failed plan to kill Batman alongside Dr. Hurt, disappeared.
However, he was later chosen by the Sacred Order of St. Dumas splinter group the Order of Purity to become the new Azrael. Donning the Suit of Sorrows, he was eventually allowed to operate in Gotham.
Catwoman I
Alter Ego: Selina Kyle
She started out as a run-of-the-mill villain, but Catwoman is known by ninety percent of the world today as Batman's main love interest. As the definition of a "cat burglar", Selina was, in many ways, as much of a dark counterpart to Batman as the Joker was (she's even got an animal theme!). Time after time, she would steal valuable jewels and the like (often items with a cat theme), and time after time, the Dark Knight would put a stop to her. As these "dates" went on, she became more and more infatuated with Batman, an attraction he mostly reciprocates but that he hates to admit.
Out of all of Batman's love interests, Selina is probably the most supported one, mainly because she's one of the few who can fight. By The '90s, she had moved out of "supervillain" territory and become more of an anti-heroine. Various origin stories by authors such as Frank Miller and Ed Brubaker suggest that before she became Catwoman, she was a Street Urchin who suffered a variety of (often sexually-related) troubles before becoming who she is today. After the nineties, she is a wealthy socialite who steals for the hell of it (and help out the Bat-Family on occasion).
For a while, Selina went straight, and even had a baby, but soon enough, the reluctance of The DCU to let anybody in the Bat-universe have a happy life returned her to her costumed persona after a tragic event involving B-list villains Angle Man and Film Freak. Additionally, it is revealed that her going straight may have had something to do with Zatanna's magic instead of her own will. Either way, she makes a very effective hero when she wants to be. Her experience, skill, and social influence are second only to Bats himself, and she has no qualms using lethal force to get the job done.
See her page for more info.
Catwoman II
Alter Ego: Holly Robinson
Catwoman's pal Holly Robinson first appeared in Batman: Year One as a child prostitute who lived with Selina Kyle. Later, Holly returned as Selina's Girl Friday in Ed Brubaker's relaunch of the Catwoman title. Over the course of the series, Holly worked as Catwoman's spy on the streets, learned boxing moves from Wildcat, got a nice girlfriend, and became a den mother to a bunch of street urchins. Holly later became the second Catwoman when Selina temporarily retired.
After ending her brief stint as a replacement Catwoman, Holly left Gotham and was thrown into the cast of Countdown to Final Crisis. Holly spent most of Countdown in a state of constant facepalming, as she began an Odd Friendship with Harley Quinn and tried to make sense of a plot involving fake Amazons and Granny Goodness. Post-Countdown, Holly ran away to Comic-Book Limbo.
She was seemingly Ret-Gone'd in the New 52, with some of her role going to Eiko Hasigawa. However, Tom King's "I am Suicide" arc re-establishes her as canon, and she is now a girl who Selina grew up with at an orphanage.
Catwoman III
Alter Ego: Eiko Hasigawa
The daughter of a Yakuza family, introduced in the Catwoman ongoing, Eiko admired Catwoman as a Robin Hood type of figure. When Selina becomes a mob boss, Eiko decides to take on the mantle herself.
Gotham Girl
Alter Ego: Claire Clover
First Appearance: DCU: Rebirth #1 (July, 2016)
A young woman from a rich family who were saved by Batman. Claire's brother Hank was inspired by Batman and passed on his obsession to Claire. The two worked in homeless shelters and developing countries before one day undergoing a procedure to attain superpowers. They returned to Gotham, where they help with Batman's war on crime as Gotham and Gotham Girl.
- Alliterative Name: Claire Clover as well as her alias Gotham Girl.
- Ascended Fangirl: Became a fan of Batman thanks to her brother, and now works with Batman.
- Blue Is Heroic: Her original costume was mostly blue, and she was pretty earnest is her idea of being a hero.
- Break the Cutie: Over the course of Tom King's Rebirth run, Gotham Girl is put through a massive Trauma Conga Line that culminates in her becoming a mentally unhinged pawn in Bane's master plan to break Batman for good and finally seize Gotham City for himself.
- Cast from Lifespan: The Gothams tend to use their powers enough that they're as strong and fast as Superman. This actually shortens their lifespans, and she says if they kept going, they'd only live for two years. However, they can further increase their powers, to the point where Gotham was able to easily defeat the Justice League on his own while Gotham Girl was able to solo and cripple Captain Atom without much exertion. Bruce eventually offers a rehabilitated Claire a permanent cure in the form of Platinum Kryptonite acquired from Superman. By just touching it once, she can now use her abilities to their fullest without the life draining caveat.
- The Dreaded: In the City of Bane story arc, Gotham Girl is this even more so than Thomas thanks to her Kryptonian level superpowers in a city turned Police State where most costumed individuals are street level at best. This gets to a point where billboards with her face on it are erected to discourage citizens from breaking the law.
- Expy:
Word of God confirms she's an intentional one of Supergirl. Her appearance, costume, even her powerset are all evocative of the Girl of Steel. Following her temporary Face–Heel Turn, Claire becomes a Evil Counterpart of Robin complete with a wardrobe change and Flashpoint Thomas Wayne serving as her Batman. - Flying Brick: Bruce compares her and Gotham to Superman on more than one occasion. She's actually stronger.
- Happily Married: Her narration in the epilogue of "I am Gotham" has her mention that she's married to Duke.
- Important Haircut: She cuts her hair extremely short, while talking to her dead brother. It's from then that she becomes much more unhinged until Batman helps to settle her down while he can find a more permanent solution. Her hair grows back across the later arcs, and her sanity returns as well.
- Magic Skirt
- Minidress of Power: Wears a very short skirt, sometimes barely long enough to cover her crotch, sometimes long enough to reach halfway down her thighs.
- Modesty Shorts: Depending on the Artist, she sometimes wears shorts to downplay the above trope. Obviously, David Finch, who first drew her, does not draw these.
- Motor Mouth: As her sanity continues to decline, Claire tends to have vocal discussions with her late brother or go on introspective ramblings reflecting on her current situation.
- Purple Is Powerful: Her second costume is purple and she's one of the few truly superpowered vigilantes of Gotham.
- Super Power Lottery: The Clovers got their money's worth.
- Flight: Faster than a speeding bullet.
- Heat Vision
- Super-Strength: More powerful than a locomotive.
- X-Ray Vision: She calls it "Ultra-Vision", but it works on all frequencies.
- Unskilled, but Strong: Has no martial arts experience and is new in the use of her powers. She can also bench press a plane. Bruce says he'll get her proper training so that she can fight crime without relying on her powers.
Harold Allnut
First Appearance: Question #33 (December, 1989)
Harold Allnut was born a mute hunchback. He found his way north to Hub City in The Question #33 after his parents threw him out of their Gotham City home.
He later came back to Gotham, where he came to the Penguin's attention. When the criminal learned of Harold's mechanical genius he provided shelter in exchange for Harold creating new devices to be used in the Penguin's criminal activity. Harold's life was threatened whenever he tried to object. Batman fought Penguin's forces several times, eventually discovering and rescuing Harold.
Grateful, Harold used his skills to help Batman build new gear; eventually maintaining everything from the Batmobile to the Batcave's computer systems. Shortly after Harold came to live in the Batcave, Batman's back was broken during a confrontation with the villain Bane. As Bruce Wayne began his recuperation process, he relinquished the mantle of the Bat to his recently acquired ally, Jean-Paul Valley who was currently serving as the hero Azrael. As Valley slowly spiraled into madness he barred Harold from Batcave. Harold found a secret entrance and worked in secret, ultimately supporting Nightwing, Robin, and a recovered Wayne as they confronted Valley.
After the events in Batman: Cataclysm, Harold helped reconstruct Gotham. He disappeared during Batman: No Man's Land, sent away by Alfred. He wasn't seen again until his involvement in the Hush storyline
During the Batman: Hush storyline, Dr. Tommy Elliot, later revealed to be Hush, used his surgical skills to correct Harold's deformities. To repay him, Harold hid microcircuits inside the Batcave's computer systems. The circuits then transmitted subliminal cues into Batman's mind, throwing the Caped Crusader off balance as Hush pressed forward his plan. Hush eventually killed Harold before he could reveal his identity. As he died, Harold confessed to Batman that he continued to look up to the hero, despite his own betrayal.
Batman researched and found Harold's full name, Harold Allnut, which he inscribed on his gravestone.
Often forgotten in modern adaptations.
- Canine Companion: He is best buddies with Ace the Bathound.
- Demoted to Extra: Harold appears in just a single issue of The New 52 timeline, where he still acts as a mechanic for Batman but lives outside of the Batcave.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: Shows up in one page in the Hush storyline only to get killed off by Hush.
- Forgotten Fallen Friend: Rarely mentioned after his murder, though Tim does bitterly bring up his brutal murder when Bruce sends him to try and recruit Hiro Okumura to help build new vehicles.
- Genius Cripple: The poor guy was born a mute hunchback and abandoned by his parents. Nevertheless, he was an incredible technological savant, who helps build a lot of the Bat-family's important gadgets.
- Gadgeteer Genius: He was such a good one that the Penguin took interest in him and had him design a machine that can control birds. Later Batman would adopt him and give him a new home in the Batcave, in gratitude he offer his service as his chief mechanic.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: Along with his friend Alfred Pennyworth. This is the guy who takes care of the Batcave and fixes and maintains the Batcomputer, Batmobiles, Redbird, and even helps design their costumes.
- Intergenerational Friendship: Harold is friends with the much younger Tim Drake, they found common ground in their interest in trying to make and test out new gadgets.
- Mr. Fixit: He can and does repair and maintain the Batclan's fleet of vehicles with ease.
- Put on a Bus: After the event of No-Man's Land, he left the Batcave in order to help rebuild the city. He pretty much disappears until the Hush Storyline, where he is killed off.
Huntress (Pre-Crisis / New 52)
Alter Ego: Helena Wayne
First Appearance: All-Star Comics #69 (December, 1977)
Batman and Catwoman finally confessed their love for one another, then got married and had a daughter. The daughter, Helena, had all the benefits of being rich (an excellent education, etc.), was trained by her parents to be an excellent athlete, and joined Dick Grayson's law firm. However, tragedy struck and Selena was blackmailed into donning the Catwoman suit for one more heist, which led to her death. Swearing vengeance on the blackmailer, Helena Wayne became the costumed heroine, the Huntress. No, this was not a badly written fan-fic, this was what happened on Earth-Two, during the pre-Crisis era. Even after her father, the Earth-Two Batman, died in battle with a villain after coming out of semi-retirement one last time, she continued crimefighting with Dick Grayson (still going by Robin even though he was well into middle age), and joined the Justice Society of America. Then Crisis on Infinite Earths happened, and all of the Earth-Two characters "never existed".
... until the 'New 52' reboot, where Earth 2 is not the previous Earth-Two. In the New 52 Earth 2, Helena Wayne was trained by her father to be the perfect Robin. Somehow or another, she ended up in the main 52-verse, where she took on the identities of Huntress and Helena Bertinelli. She would eventually return to Earth 2 with her friend Power Girl.
See Huntress personal page for more info.
Nobody II
Alter Ego: Maya Ducard
First Appearance: Robin: Son of Batman #1 (August, 2015)
Maya Ducard is the daughter of Morgan Ducard, the first Nobody and a murderous rival of Bruce Wayne's. Raised to be a deadly assassin just like her father, she has never actually taken a life. She accompanied her father on his missions and had the same equipment as him; namely a cloaking device and sonic weapons in her palms. After her father's murder at the hands of Damian Wayne, she is determined to kill him, but ends up helping him on his Year of Atonement quest, ostensibly so she can kill him when he's done. She instead befriends him and turns away from her family's life of villainy, instead becoming a superhero and ally of Damian's.
- Abusive Parents: She makes no secret of her father's treatment of her. Still, she loved him all the same.
- Ambiguously Brown: Her father and grandfather are Ambiguously Brown as well, and we don't know the identity of her mother. She's noticeably lighter skinned than her dad, however.
- Badass Normal: She's not on par with Damian, but she is a really good fighter, and was trained from birth by her father.
- Cool Big Sis: She acts as this to Damian, as much as he hates it. She later adopts this role towards Jon Kent whenever he's around, and he does like it.
- Daddy's Little Villain: She was groomed to be just like her father, and did work with him. She just never killed anyone and turns away from that life pretty easily.
- Defector from Decadence: She comes from a family of assassins but has a strong moral fiber and turns away from that life.
- Information Broker: Her dad had this role among DC's assassin characters, and after his death she took up the role.
- Invisibility: Her most often used gadget.
- The Knights Who Say "Squee!": She's absolutely giddy to meet Superman and is touched when he compliments her on her choice to turn away from the life of an assassin like Nobody.
- Legacy Character: Takes up the Nobody identity after finding out about her father's death.
- Missing Mom: We never learn the identity of her mother, but Maya does resolve to find her after moving past Damian's murder of her father. It's implied that Maya's mother is why she didn't turn out like her dad.
- Nice Girl: Despite her family and previous profession, she's actually surprisingly nice to everyone. Jon Kent, himself a Nice Guy, even notes it.
- Out of Focus: Despite being one of Damian's closest associates in the New 52 and DC Rebirth continuities, she's rarely ever brought up outside of her debut in Robin: Son of Batman, with her appearance in Superman #10 being a complete surprise.
- Redeeming Replacement: While she keeps her dad's name, her costume is much whiter and she's not villainous.
- Sonic Stunner: She has blasters in the palms of her suit that can blast various types of sonics.
A Gotham crimefighter with a specialized stealth suit who infiltrates gangs to try and control them from the inside. He has a background in dance and martial arts especially Kung Fu. After graduating from college he traveled the world in a dance troupe where the poverty he saw and losses he suffered inspired him to try and combat crime. He was recruited and trained by a secret organization which gave him his high tech suit and funded his activities in Gotham, his hometown to which he returned to fight crime.
- Badass Longcoat: His stealth suit has one.
- Badass Normal: No superpowers, just his martial arts training and his stealth suit.
- Black and Nerdy: In his youth he was picked on and bullied for being a dancer, it's why he started learning Kung Fu which he adapted to quickly seeing it as another form of dance.
- Cool Helmet: Part of his stealth suit.
- Dance Battler: He was a dancer first and has viewed martial arts as an extension of dancing since his youth.
- Depending on the Artist: Just how purple is the stealth suit when it's not being used to camouflage?
- Forgotten Fallen Friend: He's not mentioned much after his death and does not appear to have a memorial in the Batcave, on the other hand he was largely independent of the Bats and tended to consider anytime they worked together as a favor.
- Foreshadowing: His superhero name references the Orpheus of myth, whose story is a tragedy and whose manner of death is not all that dissimilar to Gavin's.
- Good Old Fisticuffs: He rarely fights with any other weapon.
- Invisibility Cloak: His stealth suit operates like an imperfect one.
- Killed Off for Real: In Batman: War Games, specifically Batman: Gothan Knights #57.
- Let's You and Him Fight: The first time he and Batman meet they have a misunderstanding which leads to a fight.
- Meaningful Name:
- Guy with the last name King ends up leading a gang.
- Orpheus, he returned to Gotham largely for his first love, and it hints at the manner of his death as well.
- The Mole: In the Hill Gang which he took leadership of with Onyx acting as his bodyguard and Number Two.
- My Greatest Failure: How he views his failure to save his friend the Marcus Cooper from Doctor Excess' experiments in time to save his life.
- Slashed Throat: Black Mask kills him this way.
The Question II
Alter Ego: Renee Montoya
First Appearance: Batman #475 (March, 1992)
Renee Montoya was an officer of the GCPD. She was Harvey Bullock's partner until he was promoted to lieutenant and stayed in Gotham during No Man's Land; it was then that a connection between her and Harvey Dent/Two-Face was first established. After No Man's Land, her new partner is Crispus Allen, a cop from Metropolis. When she is outed due to Two-Face's machinations - Two-Face being in love with her - she is disowned by her family. Renee struggles with anger issues for more than a year until Infinite Crisis breaks and Cris is murdered by Dirty Cop Jim Corrigan. She comes close to crossing the line once more, and leaves the force. However, Victor Sage took her in during this stressful time and made her his protégé.
The events of 52 reveal that she has become the new Question after the death of Vic Sage, where she saved her friend (and ex), wealthy socialite Kate Kane, the new Batwoman.
Renee was missing for the first few years of the New 52, but finally returned to the GCPD after having been a member of the Blüdhaven Police Department for five years in-universe. She remained with the GCPD in the DC Rebirth era, which also saw Renee rekindling her relationship with Kate Kane and eventually retaking the mantle of The Question.
- Adaptational Sexuality: She's one of the more famous lesbians in comics, but according to the Series Bible for Batman: The Animated Series she originally joined the force after the death of her husband.
- The Alcoholic: Renee's alcoholism is a significant part of Gotham Central and some of 52, and becomes particularly bad after Crispus Allen's murder. She eventually becomes The Teetotaler.
- Battle Couple: She has this a bit with Batwoman, especially around the time two began dating again in the Rebirth era. They've accompanied each other on various missions and fought side-by-side against such villains as Clock King and Black Mask.
- Boxing Battler: Renee was a skilled boxer even before becoming the Question, able to defeat an opponent while she was suffering from broken ribs.
- Butch Lesbian
- By-the-Book Cop: When partnered with Bullock. She changed.
- Canon Immigrant: From Batman: The Animated Series. Also an inversion, as while she was created for the DCAU, when she was brought over to the mainstream continuity her debut appearance was months before Batman: The Animated Series first aired.
- Coming-Out Story: In Gotham Central, she was involuntarily outed by Two-Face, who had become obsessed with her since their encounter in Batman: No Man's Land. He mailed pictures of her with her girlfriend to her family and to the Major Crimes Unit, the branch of the Gotham City Police Department where she worked. Captain Maggie Sawyer, Renee's shift commander at the MCU, was already out and attempted to help guide Renee through the initial tribulations, but Renee felt that their circumstances were not comparable. Ultimately, her parents disowned her, but she was able to find a modicum of acceptance from the cops she worked with. It's later implied that her parents — or her father at least — upon cooling down a bit have deeply regretted this disownment, but Renee is by this point understandably unwilling to have anything to do with them even if they are willing to mend fences.
- Clear My Name: The plot of an arc in Gotham Central. She is accused of murder when a criminal she has history with and a private detective hired to follow her are both killed. She is being set up by her Stalker with a Crush Two-Face, who thinks that by completely ruining her life she will have nowhere to go except into his arms. On that occasion, her colleagues try to prove she is innocent, Batman investigates the case, and everybody in the cast is confused (but grateful) when Bruce Wayne pays for her lawyer. Two-Face eventually has to resort outright kidnapping once the lawyer manages to get her released on bail, since he knows that once she is free she inevitably will be able to find enough evidence to clear herself.
- Deadpan Snarker: She's rather sarcastic, particularly after meeting Vic Sage.
- Despair Event Horizon: The murder of her partner Cris Allen.
- Gibberish of Love: She has a habit of getting tongue-tied when women flirt with her. Less apparent since she's gotten older, but it still happens initially.
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: She was the Good Cop to Harvey's Bad; partnered with Cris Allen, she played more often the Bad Cop.
- Good Old Fisticuffs: How she lays the hurt on people she feels deserves it.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: Her confrontation with Two-Face left her with a scar running along her right cheekbone and a confrontation with The Flash villain Dr. Alchemy burned the double Venus symbol into her collarbone.
- Heroic Seductress: She begins doing this in Lois Lane as a way to keep her cover and get information, though she still only flirts with women.
- Legacy Character: During 52, she inherits the mantle of the Question.
- In Love with Your Carnage: A non-villainous version. There are multiple instances of Renee expressing attraction toward Batwoman while the latter is in the middle of dishing out a beatdown, or else immediately afterward.
- Platonic Life-Partners: With Harvey Bullock.
- Police Brutality: Renee's anger issues were what led her to resign from the force.
- She Who Fights Monsters: The freaks and dirty cops have a tendency to attack her personal life; that sort of thing takes a toll.
- The Teetotaler: Though she's still an alcoholic, Renee gave up drinking for good after 52.
- Twofer Token Minority: Renee is a woman, a Latina, and a lesbian.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: She and Harvey Bullock regularly trade sarcastic jabs.
Talon
Alter Ego: Calvin Rose
First Appearance: Talon #0 (November, 2012)
A former agent of the Court of Owls, escape artist Calvin Rose rebelled against his masters before they gave him their usual Immortality Inducer. He now fights to bring the Court down once and for all.
- Abusive Parents: Calvin Rose was eight years old when his father locked him in an old dog kennel and threw away the key.
- Badass Normal: Unlike any other Talons, he wasn't given electrum.
- Defector from Decadence: Calvin Rose is the early 21st Century incarnation of the "Talon", an assassin of the Court of Owls, having escaped from them before being given the immortality-inducing electrum treatment most receive.
- Empowered Badass Normal: By Issue 8, he has been captured, killed, and reanimated with electrum.
- Escape Artist: Calvin is, arguably, the best escape artist in the world. While not showed competing against another escape masters, Calvin showed since a young age talents to find out the best possible ways to get out of every deadly situation with success.
- Healing Factor: Due to the synthesized electrum in his blood, Calvin could recover from bodily injuries at a superhuman rate.
- Mook–Face Turn: Once an assassin for the Court Of Owls.
- Unwitting Pawn: To his mentor, former Court of Owls Grandmaster Sebastian Clark... maybe.
Abuse
Alter Ego: Colin Wilkes
First Appearance: ''Detective Comics' #847 (October, 2008)
Colin was a ten year old orphan with a history of claustrophobia, chiroptophobia, abandonment issues, paranoia and violence. He had spent time in several foster homes, and underwent therapy sessions at the Children's Hospital. He was introduced to superheroes by George, a janitor at one of the orphanages he grew up in. He started collecting newspaper clippings, which was everything he had ever owned, along with his teddy bear Rory.
The Scarecrow abducted Colin and experimented on him with a synthetic Venom, hoping Batman would not fight children. But, realizing that despite Colin's grotesque appearance he was a child at heart, Batman used his Batrope to stick Colin's teddy bear to Crane causing him to attack Scarecrow instead of Batman. In the end, Batman prevented Colin from killing the Scarecrow by cutting his venom lines. Scarecrow was arrested, and Colin was moved to a hospital.
After the hospital, Colin was placed in St. Aden's Orphanage. He was still suffering from side effects of the Venom-treatment, and when he concentrated, he could activate it, changing into a giant behemoth. He decided to use this nearly indestructible form to fight crime, but knew he didn't look the part. He donned a trench coat and a hat, and ordered custom-made brass knuckle dusters that carried his new name: Abuse.
Though his first superheroing involved stopping robberies, he later turned to something bigger when he found children's bodies in the river. After investigating Humpty Dumpty's connection, he teamed up with Robin to take down the cause of the bodies: an illegal fighting ring for children, operated by Mr. Zsasz. Robin and Colin took him down, and shut down the operation. As a sign of gratitude, Robin gave Colin the Cycle of Abuse, a trike, because he thought Abuse looked stupid walking with his trench coat.
- As the Good Book Says...: His inner monologue mentions the story of Cain's fate, as well as how he personally took it and applies it. Unsurprising, since his orphanage is run by nuns.
- Badass Biker: Damian buys and builds a bike for Colin as well as a garage to store it in. Part of this was to solidify Colin as a potential ally. The other part of this was a simple thank you for helping him.
- Badass Longcoat: When in Abuse form. Complete with a fedora.
- Brains and Brawn: An argument can be made that he fits either or, with Damian fitting the opposite.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Hasn't been seen since the cancellation of Streets of Gotham. And thanks to the DC reboot, it'll be a miracle if he ever shows up again. He has since gotten cameos in Li'l Gotham which is out of the main continuity.
- Conspicuous Trenchcoat: The closest thing he has to a superhero costume. He even has internal monologue like a gritty noir protagonist, with the twist coming from him being a child.
- Dual Age Modes: Transformed he looks like a musclebound adult man.
- Healing Factor: When Damian asked a few days later if Colin was okay from the fight, Colin said "I... Abuse heals quick." It turns out he was mostly wearing all those band-aids because he thought they looked cool.
- Heartwarming Orphan: With his parents dead and moving from foster home to foster home, he's had to mature quicker than others. It doesn't stop him from being nice to other children and doesn't let his neuroses get him down.
- However, he was shown in the past to have had more serious issues (fear of abandonment, got into fights a lot) which he has mostly grown out of.
- Hulking Out: Albeit it doesn't require any Unstoppable Rage and he's still in full control.
- He can also do it partially, at first only affecting his leg so it would grow and break a restraint.
- Mild squick here, since you see all his veins get really big before he grows with them and it looks creepy for the 3 panels before he's fully Abuse.
- Morality Pet: Partially, to Damian. At least to where he convinced him to merely injure Zsasz badly instead of outright killing him.
- Power Fist: Brass knuckles shaped in the form of the word: "Abuse".
- Put on a Bus: Did not linger too long before disappearing entirely from the bat stories.
- Secret-Keeper: Met Damian as Damian before finding out he was Robin. Damian is probably also this for him.
- Super-Strength: As Abuse, seemingly about to the same levels of Bane when he used Venom. He can at the least deliver enough force to bend steel girders.
- Thememobile: After their first team-up Damian gifts him a motorcycle for transportation, cheekily calling it the Cycle of Abuse.
- Wake Up, Go to School & Save the World: Sneaks out at night to fight crime, with the nuns and other kids apparently none the wiser.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Colin suffers from chiroptophobia, which is a fear of bats. Since he winds up fighting (then working with) Batman, this is especially ironic.
Bat-Mite
Alter Ego: Unknown
First Appearance: Detective Comics #267 (May, 1959)
Batman's #1 fan, who is actually an imp from the fifth dimension with magic powers. Technically a hero, but he often ends up causing more harm than good. Sometimes gets into fights with Mr. Mxyzptlk, a Superman villain of the same species. He vanished at the dawn of the more "realistic" Bronze Age, but his existence was eventually reestablished in the Modern Age in the Superman/Batman story, "With a Vengeance". However, the state of his existence has been rather ambiguous since his return, with him both being described as a figment of Batman's imagination and an imp from the fifth dimension, which isn't helped by Grant Morrison saying that imagination is the fifth dimension. However, some appearances have had him appearing whenever Batman loses his grip on reality, so it's entirely possible he appears during those times to mess with him.
- Animated Adaptation: Since he is basically Genre Refugee cartoon character running around in the Bat-verse, it's not surprising that he was made a regular in Filmation's 1970's Batman cartoon.
- Beware the Silly Ones: Like Mxyzptlk, he's a funny little man who mainly just annoys a superhero, but as a Fifth Dimensional imp, he's nigh-omnipotent in our three-dimensional universe. In the (admittedly non-canon) World's Funnest, Bat-Mite and Mxyzptlk's petty squabble ends with the entire multiverse destroyed, with even heavy hitter like The Spectre and the New Gods being bugs squashed in their path. When they have enough, they simply restore everything with snaps of their fingers. According to Mxyzptlk in Justice League (2018), Bat-Mite and him are the two most powerful imps.
- Depending on the Artist: His Chest Insignia can be a misshapen bat-insignia, a lightning bolt or an M (likely the first one was the original idea).
- Great Gazoo: While Mr. Mxyzptlk is an enemy of Superman who use his power to create chaos for his fun, Bat-Mite is a gigantic fanboy who honestly wants to help instead of cause trouble. Naturally, Batman finds this even more annoying than if Bat-Mite were just out to get him. Also, Bat-Mite does sometimes knowingly make things harder for Batman, just to see how his hero is going to get out of the situation.
- Humanoid Abomination: Even if he is just a prankster, he still belongs to the same species as Mxyzptlk and is thus still one of these at the core.
- Loony Fan: In Bat-Mite's dimension, the resident imps idolize the heroes of the Batman's dimension and impersonated them, re-enacting their heroic feats and adventures. Bat-Mite's favorite hero was Batman, and thus the imp visited Batman on various occasions, often setting up strange events so that he could see his hero in action.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Two stories by Alan Grant show Bat-Mite appearing to a criminal named Overdog. Both times Batman (who doesn't find Bat-Mite) rationalizes that these were just Overdog's drug-induced hallucinations, but the reader is left wondering... One Grant Morrison story implied that Bat-Mite was simultaneously both.Batman: So... Are you really a fifth-dimensional imp? Or are you just a figment of my imagination?Bat-Mite: The fifth dimension is imagination.
- Mini-Me: Due to being a big fan of Batman and always dressing like him, Bat-Mite looks like a smaller, whacky, magical version of The Dark Knight.
- The Omnipotent: Like all Imps, his fifth-dimensional nature means he's all-powerful in a three-dimensional universe. According to Mxyzptlk in Justice League (2018), Bat-Mite and him are the two most powerful imps.
- Person of Mass Destruction: There was a notable story where Bat-Mite and Mxyzptlk fought, which destroyed the entire Multiverse. There was even a scene where Darkseid "found" a paper with the Anti-Life Equation on it that simply said: "Bat-Mite + Mr. Mxyzptlk = Anti-Life". Darkseid promptly laughed himself to death.
- Reality Warper: Bat-Mite has shown the ability to animate inanimate objects, shrink or enlarge both people and objects, levitate same, endow either people or animals with super-powers and grant superpowers at will, making reality his for the bending.
- Shoo Out the Clowns: Introduced in the fifties, but vanished (much like Batwoman, Bat-Girl, and Ace the Bat-hound) during the Dark Age. He did eventually reappear with Grant Morrison's help, though with some Cerebus Retconning.
- Unwanted Assistance: Batman's reaction to Bat-Mite efforts to help him is usually to tell Mite to stop trying to help.
The Creeper
Alter Ego: Jack Ryder
First Appearance: Showcase #73 (March, 1968)
Created by Steve Ditko, the Creeper first appeared in "Showcase" #73 (April, 1968). He went on to star in his own short-lived magazine, suffered a couple of retcons and revisions, and has done some guest appearances, never quite achieving wide popularity.
The original story tells about Jack Ryder, a Gotham City talk host who tries to save a scientist named Dr. Yatz from mobsters. An attempt to sneak in to the boss' mansion in probably one of the weirdest outfits ever, where Dr. Yatz was held during a masquerade, only got Ryder wounded and saved by Dr. Yatz who implanted him with a device that could make his costume disappear and with a serum that gave him super strength and agility, as well as the power to heal almost instantly. It's also mentioned that his laughter makes people nervous or is even physically painful. Ryder could activate the suit (and apparently the superpowers, too, since he mentions not being so fast and strong in his normal form) whenever he wanted with a button-like object.
Much like Vicki Vale, Jack Ryder is one of Gotham’s most well-known reporters, infamous for his aggressive, truth-seeking nature he displays in his controversial talk show aptly named You Are WRONG! After researching a famed biochemist named Dr. Yatz and his breakthrough in nanocell technology, Jack sought the doctor out only to find him held captive by a group of mobsters who intended to use his discovery for their own ends. His attempts at rescuing Yatz failed and he was shot in the head, but not before being injected with Yatz’s last sample of nanocells. The cells saved Ryder’s life, granting him a healing factor as well as enhanced agility and strength, turning him into an insane yellow skinned, green haired creature that took to calling itself the Creeper. Although unpredictable and considered deranged even by the standards of the other nutcases who plague Gotham, the Creeper is still moral at his core and fights on the side of good, even becoming an ally of Batman whenever their paths cross.
Unlike Steve Ditko’s other staple creations like Blue Beetle and the Question, the Creeper never really achieved the spotlight that his fellow heroes had largely due to the number of retcons and inconsistencies that have grown in his origin story over the years (the above story is the newest and most used version in the Post-Crisis continuity so far). Mostly, he’s featured as a supporting character who’s had a number of small appearances in main and alternate canon alike, most notably in the DCAU where he had his own episode in Batman: The Animated Series as well as cameos in Justice League Unlimited. He was also a member of the sadly short-lived Outsiders, getting some long overdue action during their Blackest Night arc.
Depending on the series, Creeper either acts like Ryder or is happily insane. Some versions explain the insanity by stating that he had a drug of some sort in his system at the time he had the device inserted, so the narcotic is recreated along with the costume.
The Creeper is also remarkable in being pretty much the only character The Joker fears (barring an encounter with Frank Castle), which is one hell of an accomplishment.
No relation to the walking green timebombs from Minecraft, or the hunched-over hulk who constantly shouts PAPER from Scooby-Doo, or the monster from Jeepers Creepers.
NOTE: Tropes specific for his version from Batman: The Animated Series go here.
- Action Girl: Fran definitely wasn't left out when the gang fought against Disruptor's men.
- Adaptational Villainy: His New 52 version is very much demonic, and even gets a Villain Episode in Justice League Dark during the Forever Evil (2013) event. As part of DC Rebirth, Jack Ryder appears to be back to his original pre-New 52 version from before.
- Alternate Company Equivalent: The Creeper is an artificially enhanced human with a bizarre costume themed around an unsavory creature of folklore created by Steve Ditko. Essentially he's the DC equivalent to the Green Goblin. The Dark Knight Strikes Again alluded to this by showing the Creeper being impaled by the new Joker while the latter was wearing a Spider-Man costume.
- Brown Note: Depending on the Writer, the Creeper's laugh can shatter anything from nerves to bones.
- The Cameo: Aside from his many appearances in the comics as both Jack Ryder and the Creeper alike, he figures into animated continuities as this such as Batman: The Brave and the Bold and, most memorably, the DCAU.
- Jack Ryder's voice can be heard on a radio on Batman: Arkham Asylum, and he appears as a minor supporting character in Batman: Arkham City. One of the tapes unlocked by talking to Quincey in the church makes it clear that the Creeper and Huntress exist.
- He is also the source of a lot of discoverables in DC Universe Online, but he never turns into the Creeper.
- Camp Straight: The Creeper has a rather flamboyant personality and outfit, but Ryder's only dated women.
- Crazy Enough to Work: His insanity gives him the ability to come up with bizarrely irrational but effective plans. He stopped a prison riot a jailbreak at Arkham by inciting a riot between the inmates.
- Creepy Good: The guy is so batshit loco that even The Joker considers him a lunatic! The Joker actually fears him. Let us reiterate that: THE Monster Clown of comics who terrifies millions has nightmares about this guy.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: When Hush posed as Bruce Wayne in the comics following Batman’s apparent death, Batman's friends and allies displayed a "show of force" to demonstrate how easily they could stop him if he tried anything. Most of them just block his path when he tries to escape (Katana going so far as to hold a sword to his throat), but the Creeper picks him up like a doll and throws him across the room. Later, he's seen in disguise personally babysitting Hush at work.
- Dramatic Pause: I heard you guys worked for, dramatic pause, The Joker!
- Everyone Has Standards: The Joker (yeah, that one) thinks he's uncontrollably insane, and wants the Creeper to get away from him, so it's more like "Even Insanity Has Standards."
- Evil Laugh: The New 52 version.
- Expy:
- The Creeper's resemblance to Batman foe The Joker (both have green hair, clownlike faces and maniacal laughter) first pointed out in an issue of the latter's own comic book in the 1970's (where the two fought) may have led to the character's reinterpretation as being insane.
- These days his "Jack Ryder" persona seems to make a growing resemblance in appearance and attitude to tv personalities Stephen Colbert or Bill O'Reilly
- Fluffy Fashion Feathers: The costume, famously, incorporates a giant red feather boa.
- Full-Frontal Assault: Not quite, but close. Part of the reason he's so terrifying to enemies is that he's literally wearing just a thong and booties.
- Fun Personified: Imagine the Joker in one of his wacky phases... as a good guy. Including the part where wackiness doesn't mean not being good at what you do.
- Future Badass: A dystopian future that Captain Atom appears in, during Brightest Day shows The Creeper still alive over 100 years later as a cyborg, and as noted, still insane.
- Happy Rain: In one story he ponders how he's always enjoyed being in the rain, and as Ryder even doing news reports during blizzards and typhoons.
- Has a Type: At least this is what Ryder's ex seems to think. "Switching from blondes to redheads now, you son-of-a—"
- Healing Factor: One of the effects of his serum is his ability to heal from any wound he may sustain.
- Hell Is That Noise: His laughter is depicted as this for his enemies, triggering primal fear or even inducing deep psychological problems.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: From his unnatural yellow skin, his molester's outfit (wearing only nothing but green skintight briefs) and his questionable sanity, you wouldn't believe Ryder is actually a benevolent figure.
- Impractically Fancy Outfit: In the original comics the costume was actually a full suit, the yellow part being spandex or similar (and it was also the last suit available in the shop), the hair being a wig, and the cape being made from an old rug that the costume shop cashier threw in. It was also recognized to be a costume by some criminals, but since the doctor's device makes the costume stick like glue, trying to pull the wig off with no effect made them realize it to be the "real deal".
- Intrepid Reporter: So much that he slips into jerkass territory now and then. He hosts a talk show called You Are WRONG!, not to say anything of the guest stars he has on just for the sake of deliberately antagonizing them.
- Involuntary Shapeshifting: Jack Ryder spent the good portion of one comic book spontaneously half-transforming into the Creeper without any control. His attempts to make himself scarce in the presence of his co-workers were entertaining.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In spite of his assholish tendencies with his fellow reporters, he’s shown to genuinely care where it counts when ex-girlfriend Vicki Vale approaches him for advice on whether or not it’s ethical to publish an incriminating story that could ruin someone’s life.
- Large Ham: He purposefully invokes this in his original Ditko incarnation, in order to terrify criminals into submission. All subsequent versions, though, have portrayed the Creeper persona as being genuinely out of his gourd.
- Laughing Mad: Sort of. His wild laughter made criminals extremely paranoid and nearly insane.
- Locking MacGyver in the Store Cupboard: The very first comic origin.
- The Mad Hatter: Creeper isn't just irregularly insane and unpredictable, he loves being that way. Even when he's Obfuscating Insanity.
- Magic Pants: It is never explained how he always manages to have his trademark striped briefs on when he transforms. Hammerspace or censorship maybe.
- Male Frontal Nudity: Downplayed but still part of his Full-Frontal Assault act. He never gets completely naked but these skintight briefs can't really hide the quite conspicuous large bulge which adds to his intended creepiness.
- Make Me Wanna Shout: Depending on the Writer, his laugh can range from a deadly sonic weapon to just plain annoying.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: A rare unintentional example. Jack Ryder is a black haired, caucasian reporter, who, as noted in the Strawman Political entry, is a left-wing political pundit, with a TV show that parodies right-wing political pundits. In a meta-sense, both were supporting characters for someone else, whose popularity rose significantly from one or more TV appearances. Also, Google 'Stephen Colbert smiling', we'll wait.
- Obfuscating Insanity: In some stories the Creeper is perfectly sane; he only acts crazy because it scares the crap out of the bad guys. In his origin story the first opponents to see him took one look and assumed anyone dressed like that had to be insane. Since that meant they were too freaked out to fight him effectively, he decided to run with it.
- Our Demons Are Different: His Creeper side has been revealed to be demonic in nature.
- Slasher Smile: His trademark expression, albeit an often goofier take on the trope.
- Plot Hole: Steve Niles's Retcon explains the change with nanocells, but the fact that Ryder can change to Creeper (who has his own set of "clothes") and back and still have his normal clothes is never explained or even lampshaded.
- Retroactive Legacy: Of a sort. Vertigo Comics' Beware the Creeper was about a surrealist vigilante wearing a very similar costume in 20s Paris, and was more-or-less set in the DCU in the usual way of Vertigo things (the Shade appears, as does a member of the Zatara family).
- Rummage Sale Reject: Literally
. Ryder put together his costume with ten dollars of leftover costume parts, including a sheepskin rug for a cape. - Split Personality: Suffers from this depending on the story.
- Strawman Political: In pre-New 52 continuity, Jack Ryder was a very outspoken left-wing pundit, whose show was called You Are WRONG! Though he did start to mellow a bit after becoming the Creeper.
- Stripperiffic: Rare Male Example. His costume consists of a green speedo, red boots and gloves, and a giant, fluffy red boa. In the 2006 miniseries, the costume naturally grows on his body as another side effect of the nanocell technology with the “boa” resembling some sort of organic, tendon-like growth.
- Super Serum: The source of his powers.
- Talkative Loon: The Creeper is not a quiet or reserved individual, as anyone who has tried to fight him will attest.
- Terror Hero: Creeper used to pull a scare shtick by pretending he was not human, describing the horrible fates of his enemies, laughing and acting weirdly to make his enemies panic (and loving every minute of it). This worked well enough that he actually managed to make one less hard-boiled guy faint. He even managed to make Scarecrow briefly recoil in fright while visiting him in his cell at Arkham.
- Too Kinky to Torture: Or insane at least, as is found out when he's tortured to test his pain threshold.
- Underwear of Power: As part of his Stripperiffic outfit.
- Wall Crawl: One of his usual feats is to be able to climb buildings effortlessly.
- Weather-Control Machine: Dr. Storme's weather rod.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Zigzagged. Depending on the Writer, he's either insane because of his power, he's Obfuscating Insanity or his power ''is'' his craziness.
- You're Insane!: Almost all times when doing something with (or near) other heroes and is usually treated with "Yeah... Ain't it cool?" Also, need we remind you that the JOKER called him a lunatic?
Proxy
Alter Ego: Wendy Harris
First Appearance: Teen Titans Vol. 3 #34 (May, 2006)
Based on the character of Wendy from Superfriends, Wendy's comic book incarnation is somewhat different. Wendy and her twin brother Marvin ran away from home to fight their father, the supervillain known as the Calculator. They joined the Teen Titans, rebuilding Cyborg together using the knowledge they obtained as young students at MIT. However, a savage attack by Wonderdog left Marvin dead and Wendy comatose.
Their father tried to use the Anti-Life Equation to save her life, but Oracle prevented him from using it. Wendy woke up and discovered that she was paralyzed from the waist down.
At the start of Stephanie Brown's Batgirl run, Leslie Thompkins encouraged Barbara Gordon to take a mentoring role toward Wendy. Eventually, Barbara let Wendy into the Firewall, Oracle and Batgirl's base of operations. She assisted Stephanie Brown in an Oracle-like role, dubbing herself Proxy.
Post-Flashpoint, Wendy and Marvin appeared as young children in Batgirl and the Birds of Prey, when they were used as hostages against their father.
- Ambiguously Gay: Marvin, Wendy’s hallucination, comments that Barbara is hot.Wendy: I can’t even deal with what that little gem means right now.
- Angsty Surviving Twin: Struggles with survivor's guilt and loneliness after the death of Marvin.
- Darker and Edgier: Her new backstory has her and her brother attacked by Wonderdog, whereas in Superfriends she and Marvin were happy-go-lucky kid sidekicks alongside Wonderdog.
- Handicapped Badass: In the vein of her mentor, Oracle.
Roberta
Alter Ego: Mary Wills
First Appearance: Star-Spangled Comics #103 (April, 1950)
Before the batgirls, there was Roberta the Girl Wonder. The very first Distaff Counterpart to Robin, Mary Wills was a high school classmate of the very first Robin, Dick Grayson. She had a crush on Robin, but she was unaware of his true identity. Eventually, she decided to become a superheroine herself, naming herself "Roberta the Girl Wonder". When she and Robin first met, the boy wonder was initially reluctant to work together with this new "girl wonder", but he came around and they started working together. They were a good team and she was a big help to Robin on a few cases, but eventually, Robin discovered her secret identity. Due to his paranoia and fear that she could discover and accidentally leak his own identity, he sabotaged Roberta and then exposed her identity to the public. This forced Mary to quit without ever knowing that it was Robin who sabotaged her. Thus ended the short-lived career of Roberta the Girl Wonder.
- Ascended Fangirl: She started out as just a Robin fangirl, before she decided to step up and become a vigilante in her own right.
- Badass Normal: As expected of Gotham vigilantes. However, she is notable in that from what we can see of her, she seems mostly self-taught, and she even makes her own gadgets too. All without any outside help.
- Distaff Counterpart: To Robin. The very first one, as she made her debut before any of thr Batgirls, even Betty Kane.
- Gadgeteer Genius: Implied. Not only did she make her own superheroine outfit without any help, but she also somehow made her own crime-fighting gadgets without any help or funding either. See Utility Belt below.
- Master of Disguise: One of her main talents. In fact, whenever she and Robin worked together, he often asked her to disguise herself and go undercover to help him catch criminals.
- Utility Belt: Zig-zagged. She had her own belt, but she also had something called the ”crime compact". It was an actual compact that contained various high-tech gadgets to help her on the job. It’s made all the more impressive when you consider that a), she made it on her own without any help or ressources, and b), she made the gadgets fit in there on an even smaller and more compact form than the usual utility belts seen on Bat-family members at the time.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Despite the fact that Mary and Dick were classmates, and that she was in love with Robin, she has not been seen or mentionned since her initial appearance. Her current fate is unknown.
Wingman I
Alter Ego: Benedict Rundstrom
First Appearance: Batman #65 (June, 1951)
A European vigilante inspired by Batman, Wingman eventually became quarrelsome with and envious of the Caped Crusader, accusing him of holding his allies back from being Justice League-level heroes.
- Attention Whore: He just wants to be famous, and saw the Club of Heroes as a way to become an international superstar. The fact that the team disbanded before he could become a household name is the main reason for his Face–Heel Turn.
- Faking the Dead: He kills Dark Ranger and switches costumes with him, and then sets the corpse on fire in order to make it look like Wingman was the one who'd been murdered.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: None of the other members of the team like him.
- Green-Eyed Monster: He makes little effort to hide how jealous he is of Batman. He also claims that he thought up his whole shtick before Batman.
- I Coulda Been a Contender!: His main source of angst. Even Batman agrees, saying that he never would've trained Wingman if he didn't think he had the potential to be great.
- Kill and Replace: He killed the original Dark Ranger and stole his identity.
- Non-Specifically Foreign: In his first appearance, he was stated to be from a country in Northern Europe, but exactly which country was never specified. It was revealed to be Sweden by subsequent writers.
- The Resenter: He hates Batman and blames him for the dissolution of the Club of Heroes, as he felt the team could've been his ticket to Justice League-level stardom.
- Small Name, Big Ego: In-universe, he's a very obscure superhero that few people outside of Sweden have ever heard of. Doesn't stop him from acting like he's the greatest thing since sliced bread.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness / You Have Failed Me: John Mayhew shoots him in the head after he is no longer needed and has been captured by Batman.
Spyral
First Appearance: Batman Incorporated #4 (April, 2011)
A UN covert operations agency formed during the Cold War, Spyral is an enigmatic force that gathers oddities, rebels, and rogues to investigate global and political dangers. Originally led by the mysterious Agent Zero, the organization seemingly fell apart after Zero was discovered to actually be former Nazi and supervillain Otto Netz, who was selling its secrets. However in the present day, Spyral was reformed with a new leader and has since become an extremely uneasy ally of sorts to Batman Inc. Both despise the others' methods and have come into conflict on several occasions, but are generally operating towards the same goals.
After the fall of Leviathan, their leader Matron was somehow removed and their new leader Mister Minos has targeted the secret identities of the Earth's superheroes. The leadership of the organization was unstable for a long time, but eventually they came to be led by Tiger, formerly Agent 1.
- Academy of Adventure: They also run and operate out of the St. Hadrian's School, which is essentially a college for training super spy women.
- Animal Motif: Spiders; their symbol is a spider-web with an eye in the center. Also, the secret code-word they use to shut down renegade agents is "Tsuchigumo", from a Japanese spider-Yokai.
- Face–Heel Turn: An unsettling number of Spyral agents turn out to actually be double agents of some sort. This includes the organization's founder, Mister Minos and Agent 8. This also extends to their employees, like Dr. Poppy Ashemore!
- The Faceless: The Hypnos implants their agents use gives off this appearance sometimes, especially when they're seen via recording.
- Femme Fatale: Everyone at St. Hadrian's, the entire curriculum of which is geared towards turning attractive young schoolgirls into efficient, remorseless killers.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Two examples:
- Their Hypnos implants also do this. You'll see their faces... you just will never be able to recall the face after-the-fact.
- They have a mind-wiping satellite.
- Mildly Military: They explicitly prefer recruiting loose cannons and Rebellious Rebels rather than drilled-and-disciplined types. This is done specifically to avoid conflicts of interest with the agents' home nations.
- Mind Control: The Hypnos can also do this, though with difficulty.
- Organ Theft: Dick Grayson spent part of his time with them tracking down superhuman organs and harvesting them as part of Minos' plot to create an All Your Powers Combined monster.
- Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: Seem to like classical mythology references, especially relating to the story of Daedalus and the Labyrinth. This could be Meaningful Name on a couple levels: for one, they're involved in a "labyrinthine" network of espionage and intel, and for another, their chief function seems to be to oppose heroes (a la Theseus).
- The Rival:
- The organization as a whole is this towards Batman Inc.
- They also have a bit of secret war going on with DC's other covert groups: Checkmate and S.H.A.D.E.
- Finally, they seem to get into conflicts with the Fist of Cain a lot.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: They eventually become this for the superhero community under Helena Bertenelli's leadership.Protect the secrets that protect the world.
- Shame If Something Happened: Used this to force Batman Inc. to split up for a time, essentially gathering a force large enough to threaten them. As the Batfamily had just been through a brutal final battle with Leviathan and had lost two members, they decided that it wasn't worth it to try and fight them.
- The Unfettered: Much more willing to get their hands dirty than the Batfamily. This is just one reason the two organizations don't get along.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Have a tendency to do this to agents that betray them in any way.
Before you ask, no, Batwoman was not Batman's wife. Not even in the Silver Age (no matter what that one comic cover on Superdickery.com says). Kathy was, however, designed to be a possible romantic interest for the Dark Knight (mainly to dispel the Ho Yay Shipping between him and Robin), as well as an attempt to cash in on the popularity of Superman's "family members", such as Supergirl. As a rich heiress and a former circus performer, Kathy's life was rather untouched by tragedy, and she mainly became a crimefighter because of her attractions to Batman. Eventually, her niece Betty joined in on the fun as well, as Robin's love interest Bat-Girl.
Although rather sexist by our standards (she had a utility purse!), Kathy and her niece, the original Bat-Girl, were fairly popular back in the fifties and sixties. So, of course, when the Dark Age ensued, she, her niece, and a handful of other characters were wiped from the Caped Crusader's life (it's actually more complicated than that, as Kathy existed on both Earth-1 and Earth-2, and when Crisis on Infinite Earths is brought into the equation...). It should be noted that unlike Kathy, Bette was able to escape complete erasure by joining the Teen Titans, later becoming Flamebird.
After Final Crisis, she was reintroduced into the Post-Crisis universe by Grant Morrison as Katherine Kane nee Webb, a wealthy widow with an eye for thrills and dangerous men. At some point during her fling with Batman, she was murdered, though the circumstances of her death were put into scrutiny. It is later revealed that she is "Agent Zero", Spyral's top agent, and that her birth name is Luka Netz, and that she is the daughter of Otto Netz. At the end of Morrison's Batman: Incorporated, it turns out Kathy is indeed very much alive.
More info on Batwoman personal page.
Mr. Minos
Alter Ego: Hyperion 1.0
First Appearance: Grayson #1 (September, 2014)
A Spyral head agent and ally of Dick Grayson who recruited Dick after the events of Forever Evil (2013) left him unable to operate as Nightwing any longer. His face is always obscured through a mask that makes it resemble a spiral, in order to hide his identity.
- Ambiguously Evil: Loses the Ambiguously part later on.
- Face Death with Dignity: Upon seeing that the new Agent Zero is going to kill him, he simply asks that he be allowed to say his real name before she does so. She refuses.
- The Faceless: His mask is designed to give him this look.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: While he's not completely evil, he's certainly willing to do amoral things and is sporting a pair of thick-rimmed glasses.
- The Handler: For Dick and Matron.
- Properly Paranoid: Has nanobots that eat any trace of his existence that leave his person all around his office. Turns out, this was a good move, because Dick tries to collect DNA via a lollipop and is unable to.
- Smart People Wear Glasses
- The Spook: Nobody except Spyral's heads and himself know his real name and past. In a rather bitter deconstruction, it's suggested that he actually hates this and desires to known by his true name again.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: He wants to expose Spyral's existence and amorality to the media, which could be argued as an admirable goal but the methods he uses are too extreme to root for him.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Attempts to do this to Matron, but fortunately she lives.
First Appearance: Grayson #3 (December, 2014)
Spyral's top agent and the second begrudging partner to Dick Grayson when he was Agent 37. Eventually ends up leading the organization after Helena Bertinelli leaves the position.
- The Ace: Spyral's top (non-Agent Zero) agent.
- The Comically Serious.
- Fire-Forged Friends: With Dick. Initially hates him, but comes to respect him.
- Straight Man: To Dick.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Dick Grayson. Over time, "Dick Grayson, you're an idiot" becomes more of a playful thing.
Gotham City Police Department
Commissioner James Worthington "Jim" Gordon, Sr.
First Appearance: Detective Comics #27 (May, 1939)
Probably Batman's only law-abiding ally, Jim Gordon was a rare one - an honest cop in a city so full of corruption that everyone treated him as if he were corrupt. Though his first meeting with Batman was on shaky terms, he eventually grew to accept that for the time being, Gotham needed the vigilante to keep order.
Like every other member of Batman's supporting cast, he has suffered many tragedies that would drive any normal man to suicide and/or insanity. The most extreme example came from Alan Moore's The Killing Joke where he was kidnapped by the Joker and tortured both mentally and physically for hours on end. Almost as mind-shattering was the killing of his second wife by the same man during the No Man's Land story arc. The implication has been that you kind of have to be a little crazy to try to be an honest cop in Gotham to begin with, and Gordon's success at it has made him tough enough to survive anything the world has thrown at him.
His battle against crime had taken its toll on him, and he temporarily retired from the police force. He has since returned to his position as Gotham PD Commissioner, and continues to help out Batman as much as he can.
After the events of Batman: Endgame, he was briefly a GCPD-backed Batman, using his military training and power armour to do the job. After Bruce's return, he goes back to being commissioner.
- Age Lift: After Flashpoint, he loses a few decades (which just so happens to make him look more like Gary Oldman). He even gets his hair colour back, though The Joker (2021) later retconned that he was dying his hair, on Barbara's advice, and it was still white — DC Infinite Frontier as a whole aged characters up, and Jim essentially returned to how old he was pre-Flashpoint.
- Badass Normal: With more emphasis on "normal", compared to the Bat-family, that is. He still isn't someone who you want upset with you, however; as he's depicted as a former Army Ranger in some places. On the Super Weight scale, Gordon is right on the boundary between Muggle and Iron. He needs Batman to handle things which are out of his depth, but he still does as much as he can by himself. In the few imaginary stories where Gordon became Batman's foe, it's been a Curb-Stomp Battle ... in Gordon's favor.
- Beard of Sorrow: Grows one after being temporarily fired from his Commissioner position for a short arc in the early Eighties.
- By-the-Book Cop:
- His original role, and most of his career as the Commissioner has been ridding the GCPD of Corrupt Cops.
- While he does allow a vigilante to patrol the city, he will absolutely not tolerate said vigilante killing anybody.
- There's actually a whole set of rules the Bat-Family must abide by in Gotham or else they lose Jim Gordon's cooperation and protection.
- This puts him at odds post-Batman: Endgame: as the new Batman, he's been ordered to put away vigilantes in Gotham and he's set his sights on both Batgirl and the currently-powerless Superman.
- The Commissioner Gordon: He is the Trope Namer and the various media include numerous different versions — after all, the exact rank and function of any Commissioner Gordon varies depending on how cynical or idealistic the series is.
- Deconstructed in Batman: No Man's Land: Sarah Essen explains that Gordon tried to get a job outside Gotham City when No Man's Land was declared, but had been laughed at because he couldn't keep his city safe without the help of a vigilante. She warns the officers to not speak about Batman around him anymore.
- In the Novelization of Knightfall, Gordon's internal monologue states that the second Batman kills someone, he'll be shut down.
- Deconstructed yet again in the Joker mini-series set after the events of The Joker War. After loosing his job in the GCPD and burning bridges with Mayor Christopher Nakano's new administration, Gordon becomes haunted by the fact that every single atrocity the Joker has committed (including the crippling of his daughter and the death of his son) is a direct result of his refusal to do anything other than apprehend him in unflinching accordance to the law instead of putting him down when he had the chance, which would have spared countless lives in the process. Because of this, Gordon undertakes One Last Job to kill the Joker before retiring in peace.
- Cool Old Guy: For the most part.
- A Family Affair: Before the Retcon that he was always Barbara Gordon's father, she discovered evidence that he may have been sleeping with her mother/his sister-in-law, possibly making him her bio-father.
- Frame-Up: Eternal begins with Gordon supposedly shooting an unarmed man, followed by sparking a small disaster. It's blatantly obvious to every member of the Bat-Family and all the non-corrupt cops on the force that he was framed, and sure enough he was.
- If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: He gives these speeches to Batman on a regular basis.
- Inspector Javert: He becomes this to the Barbara Gordon Batgirl during her New 52 run, since he thought she'd killed James Junior, which she hadn't. Making it worse, she'd been trying to save Gordon. He thankfully backpedals on this after confessing he always knew who Barbara really was, admitting that he was being unfair in his accusations and he was just lashing out.
- Mind Rape: The Joker puts him through at least three of these. And he still doesn't crack beyond shooting the clown in the kneecap. The major example in the graphic novel The Killing Joke where the Joker brutally tortures him with images of the Monster Clown's torture of his daughter Barbara Gordon, AKA Batgirl, in an effort to prove that "one bad day" can drive anyone insane. He fails.
- Morality Chain: Gordon has pulled Batman back from the brink of Knight Templardom more than once, including shooting him to keep him from killing the Joker.
- My Greatest Failure: His role in the origin of the original Wrath: on the same night Thomas and Martha Wayne got killed, a rookie Gordon got into a firefight with two crooks with their child watching, which ended with the parents killed in self-defense by Gordon. This, in-turn, led to the kid to grow up to become the original Wrath. The sequel story in Batman Confidential, "Wrath Child", made this worse for Gordon by revealing that the Wrath's father was one of the many dirty cops in the GCPD, then-Captain Gillian Loeb covered it up so that it wouldn't bring him and half of the GCPD down, and Loeb forced Gordon to comply with this and a transfer to Chicago for several years by threatening the original Wrath's life.
- Only Sane Man: Was this for the GCPD during the early years of Batman's career. Arguably still is.
- Police Are Useless: In the earlier comics. He gets better in later ones.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He trusts Batman and knows he's doing the right thing.
- Refusal of the Call: When asked to become Gotham's new Batman, Gordon is reluctant as all hell, feeling that he shouldn't be a Batman at all. He's still adamant when Bullock tries to convince him, but it's when the two see a potential Batman showing off his baby boy in a Batman shirt that Gordon's finally convinced.
- Remarried to the Mistress: After Batman: Year One he eventually married Sarah Essen, who in that comic he was having an affair with, once his first marriage broke apart.
- Shout-Out: The armor costume that he wore during DC You was inspired by the manga Appleseed.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Implied. In the comics Batman often agonizes over whether or not he should be officially let in on the secret, and suspects that Gordon is too good of a cop not to have figured it out already. By the end of Scott Snyder's Detective Comics run, it's clear that he knows, when he straight up says to Dick Grayson (who was Batman at the time): "Thank you, on all fronts."
- In Post-Crisis continuity, it's implied he knows right from the beginning. After an unmasked Batman saves Jim's baby, Gordon makes the point that he's practically blind without his glasses even though he's only three feet away.
- As of DC Infinite Frontier, it's finally confirmed that Gordon always knew that his daughter Barbara was Batgirl/Oracle and that no costume or amount of digital voice alteration was going to keep him from recognizing his own kid.
- Smoking Is Cool: Commissioner Gordon was seen smoking at least once per issue, especially after Frank Miller's big '80s stories. A heart scare in the mid '90s put an end to that. Specifically, he stopped smoking cigarettes to take up the pipe. The logic has sometimes been lampshaded.
- Smoking Is Not Cool: As noted above, he had a heart attack during the 1990s and for a while gave up cigarettes.
- Status Quo Is God: Any attempt to remove him from the post of Commissioner will ultimately be undone, with the longest time away from the post being the five year span between Officer Down and Face the Face. In fact, Superheavy likewise not only ends with him quitting being Batman after Bruce's return, but once again in the role of Commissioner after being fired in Batman Eternal.
- The Stoic: Gordon's developed something of a reputation for holding himself together pretty well.
- Save the Villain: He once talked Batman out of killing Joker when Batman believed him to have killed one of his childhood friends.
- Take Up My Sword: After the events of Batman: Endgame, Jim dons a suit of Powered Armor to become a GCPD-sponsored replacement for the presumed-dead Batman.
Harvey Bullock
First Appearance: Detective Comics #441 (July, 1974)
Perhaps the most controversial member of the Gotham Police. He was initially sent by the corrupt Hamilton Hill as an Unwitting Pawn to drive Commissioner Gordon into a nervous breakdown through his clumsiness and crookedness, but did a Heel–Face Turn after Gordon actually suffered a stroke from one of his pranks, and got his own back on Hamilton Hill. He has a reputation for taking bribes and wrangling Miranda Rights, yet Commissioner Gordon and his partner Renee Montoya trust him unconditionally. Bullock was a "bishop" in the government agency Checkmate, but eventually returned to Gotham. He was one of the few who stayed in Gotham during No Man's Land. After Jim Gordon retired after being shot during the storyline Officer Down - when the man who shot him walked free - Bullock killed the culprit and left the force. He became a PI.
After Infinite Crisis and the return of Jim Gordon as Commissioner, Bullock returned to the force as well.
- Ascended Extra: His first appearance was as a minor character from a Batman comic in the early 70's. He wouldn't appear again until nearly a decade later, and he's been a frequent recurring character since.
- Cowboy Cop
- Dirty Cop: Can be at times. Usually he's portrayed as the cop who's not quite clean, but just a little bit too principled to be out-and-out dirty.
- Donut Mess with a Cop
- Everyone Has Standards: He crosses into Dirty Cop territory at times, and even then doesn't exactly have the cleanest record. That being said, given that he operates within Gotham, you can bet that there are far worse people than him.
- Foil: To Dan Turpin. Turpin is more of a By-the-Book Cop, but he's also more aggressive and hardnosed than Bullock.
- Genre Refugee: From looks to disposition, Bullock would be quite at home in a contemporary Film Noir. As such he sometimes falls Out of Focus.
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: With Montoya, he was the bad cop.
- Hidden Depths: Harvey is quite knowledgeable in classic film. He also has two cats that he takes care of. One of them is named Sprinkles.
- If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: Pulls this one on Renee Montoya before taking the matter into his own hands.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: He's done a lot of morally questionable things, but he at the very least cares about Gordon and Renee. When push comes to shove, he's one of the only decent cops in the GCPD.
- My God, What Have I Done?: His reaction after a prank of his inadvertently caused Commissioner Gordon to have a stroke that left him comatose.
- Noble Bigot with a Badge: "Noble" may be a stretch. Not entirely loathable, at least.
- Perma-Stubble
- Platonic Life-Partners: With Renee Montoya.
- Police Brutality: Usually of the not-entirely-unjustified "Maybe the Asshole Victim tripped on the cell-block stairs, Commish" variety. Maybe he'd handle a suspect a little roughly, or indulge in some moderate off-the-books roughing-up, but he's deeply aware of the lines he refuses to cross.
- Private Detective: When he was off the force.
- Sympathetic Murderer: The police only think he's "helped" the mob get their hands on the man who shot Commissioner Gordon, but they find it hard to hate him for that.
- That One Case: For Harvey, it was a school killing that was later resolved in Gotham Central.
- Undying Loyalty: To Commissioner Gordon, in most modern books.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: He and Renee Montoya often trade sarcastic jabs.
Maggie Sawyer
First Appearance: Superman Vol. 2 #4 (April, 1987)
A friendly police captain who transferred to Gotham after a fairly long time in the Metropolis Special Crimes Unit. Though there were initial tensions, Maggie became a central member of the GCPD and eventually entered a committed relationship with Kate Kane, unaware at first that Kate is actually Batwoman.
- Badass Normal: In Metropolis, she joined the Special Crimes Unit, working in situations that would normally require Superman but without the assistance of the Man of Steel.
- Butch Lesbian: She often shifts back and forth between this and Bifauxnen Depending on the Artist.
- Incompatible Orientation: She was married to a man for a brief time, but pretty quickly realized that she was lesbian and that it just wasn't going to work out.
- Lesbian Jock: Which was rather impressive for a character to be when it was revealed in 1988.
- Platonic Life-Partners: With Dan Turpin.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: A good example of this was the time Superman's powers were increasing beyond his control leading to a series of accidents. When she arrived just as Superman was about to turn himself in, she cut him off and apologized "for arriving to late to help catch the bad guy" saying that she was "distracted because her friend was sick and needed help." Superman promised her friend would get that help.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: She was already an existing character in her own right, but many fans noted that she was slotted into Batwoman's story after Renee Montoya, Kate's previous badass lesbian cop girlfriend, was Put on a Bus.
- Team Mom: Sometimes takes this role for the GCPD.
- Transplant: Used to be a Superman supporting character, but became a firmly Batman character for a long time, particularly because of her high-profile (out of universe) association with Batwoman. As of DC Rebirth, she went back to Metropolis and appears in the Superman books once again.
Crispus Allen
First Appearance: Detective Comics #742 (March, 2000)
A GCPD officer and once Renee Montoya's partner on the force, Crispus disapproves of Batman's vigilantism but considers it an unfortunate necessity in Gotham. Thus, he's become a steadfast ally for the Caped Crusader in Gotham's Major Crimes Division and tries to cool the tempers of his more adventurous colleagues. Tragically, Allen was later murdered by the corrupt Jim Corrigan. After his death however, he was chosen to be the new human host of The Spectre.
- Back from the Dead: Sort of.
- Good Cop/Bad Cop: When working with Renee, he was the good cop.
- Irony:
- Allen respects Batman, but views Bruce Wayne with withering contempt.
- Also, his transformation into the third Spectre involved being killed by a man who shares the name of the original Spectre.
- Legacy Character: He's the third person to become the Spectre, after Jim Corrigan (the Golden Age one, not his murderer) and Hal Jordan, better known as the Silver Age Green Lantern.
- Only Sane Man: For the GCPD, whenever Gordon's not around.
- Skewed Priorities: During a brief appearance at the beginning of Infinite Crisis, he's busy complaining about the situation with Corrigan when there's a nigh-literal apocalypse going on around him, something Renee even points out.
Michael Akins
First Appearance: Batman: Turning Points #5 (January, 2001)
A skilled police officer transferred from Gateway City and commissioner during a period when Gordon had retired due to injuries. Though strict and distrustful of Batman, Akins is an honorable man who ultimately means well and became an uneasy ally.
- The Atoner: His behavior in Gotham is an attempt to atone after a vigilante he allowed to run wild in Gateway City got a child killed. He eventually retired out of shame when an investigation by Bullock revealed that some of Akin's men were on the take from the mobs.
- The Bus Came Back: As part of Detective Comics (Rebirth), Akins returns as Sebastian Hady's successor to the role of Gotham's mayor.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: He disappeared without really any real sign of what happened to him during the One Year Later Time Skip for Infinite Crisis with the only thing known is that Gordon retook the position of Commissioner after Bullock uncovered corruption in the GCPD.
- The Commissioner Gordon: Averted. During his tenure he attempted to break off ties with the Batfamily and even had the batsignal removed from GCPD headquarters.
- The Cynic: He used to be a lot more idealistic, but his experiences in Gateway City caused him to lose this.
- My God, What Have I Done?: In Gateway City he endorsed a rookie superhero, only for said superhero to get himself and a child killed in a botched hostage situation. Akins blames himself for the incident and has never really gotten over it.
Sarah Essen-Gordon
First Appearance: Batman #405 (March, 1987)
Sarah Essen was originally introduced as a detective and paramour of Jim Gordon in Batman: Year One to illustrate how the job was ruining his personal life. Three years later later Denny O'Neil reintroduced her into regular continuity, though this time Gordon was already divorced. Sarah was a constant presence in the GCPD, and served as a moral and emotional rock for the police and especially Gordon, whose relationship with her progressed naturally until they got married in 1992.
She was murdered by The Joker at the climax of Batman: No Man's Land. Since the New 52 retconned the marriage into non-existence, Sarah's canonicity is unknown.
- Adapted Out: Poor Sarah barely gets any mention in adaptations, which mostly depict Gordon as single (or his home life goes unmentioned), or he's still married to Barbara Kean. The fact that their relationship started as an affair is almost never adapted.
- Happily Married: To Gordon for a long time.
- Kill the Cutie: In what was considered so cruel a moment that even the Joker didn't laugh afterward. It was so shocking, not because Sarah was incredibly popular, but she was always there for almost ten years, and Gordon's reaction was heartbreaking.
- Morality Pet: To Gordon, as shown in The Dark Knight Returns for example.
- Number Two: To Gordon, arguably even more than Bullock was.
- Satellite Character: While she was shown to be a good cop, most of Sarah's characterization came from her relationship with Gordon.
- Second Love: After his marriage to Barbara Kean fell apart, his relationship to Sarah Essen lasted many years.
- Sympathetic Inspector Antagonist: Sarah had a harder time trusting Batman than Gordon did, and would resent the times Batman's problems would affect the GCPD.
Mercedes Stone
First Appearance: Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Vol. 1 #37 (September, 1992)
Mercedes Stone was a rookie GCPD officer who was badly injured in an attempt to quell a riot that had started at an illegal fighting ring, an operation that also left her partner dead. Having brushed off Batman's assistance for the raid, she later sought him out to train her to infiltrate the illegal fighting circuit to take down the Cossack, the fearsome fighter who had killed her partner and put her in the hospital.
- Blood Knight: Batman notes that she became almost addicted to the "thrill" of fighting.
- Fight Clubbing: She became a successful underground fighter after being dismissed from the GCPD, in an attempt to get revenge on the Cossack.
- Gone Horribly Right: The training Stone received from Batman made her a popular fixture in the underground fighting world, as well as giving her a bloodlust that led to her accidentally beating another fighter to death. Before becoming a fighter, she also became more aggressive in her police duties and was eventually suspended for excessive force.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: She's at least a head shorter than Batman, but was still able to shove him around once her training was done. In the underground fight circuit, she regularly knocked out much larger men, and even killed one on accident.
- Took a Level in Badass: After training with Batman, she put on a considerable amount of muscle and became a notable fighter in the underground circuit.
Mackenzie 'Hardback' Bock
First Appearance: Detective Comics #681 (January, 1995)
Mackenzie Bock earned the nickname "Hardback" due to his insatiable reading habit. After No Man's Land story arc he was promoted to Captain of OCCB (Organised Crime Unit) in the Gotham City Police Department. He is an extremely capable police officer, although somewhat wary of the vigilante heroes like Batman. Following the retirement of Commissioner James Gordon, Bock received a promotion to Chief of Police.
- Badass Bookworm: A tough-as-nails cop, Bock earned the nickname "Hardback" due to his insatiable reading habit.
- By-the-Book Cop: He is an extremely capable police officer, although somewhat wary of the vigilante heroes like Batman. He eventually comes round and sees the value of Batman to Gotham City.
- Scary Black Man: A large black man, he is not above using his bulk to intimidate suspects.
Other Major Crimes Unit Members
Detectives such as Marcus Driver, Romy Chandler, Josephine "Josie Mac" MacDonald, Vincent Del Arazzio, Sarge Davies, Nelson Crowe, Joely Barlett, and Tommy Burke frequently appear in the Lower-Deck Episode series Gotham Central, but rarely appear outside of it.
- No Hero to His Valet: Most of them look at Batman with distrust and frustration despite his Man of the City status, being frustrated about how he rarely communicates with them and can't keep a lid on villains like Joker and Mr. Freeze.
- Remember the New Guy?: Most of them never appear before the first issue of Gotham Central (Del Arrazio, Bartlett, MacDonald, civilian worker Stacy, and the Out of Focus Detective Eric Cohen are among the few exceptions) but are treated as cops who've spent a long time dealing with Batman and his Rogues Gallery.
Detectives Murphy and Moses
First Appearance: Detective Comics #674 (May, 1994)
Two homicide detectives who appear in several issues throughout the nineties.
- Only One Name: Neither detective ever gets a first name.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: They may not normally be the most sensitive and professional guys, but in Batgirl #37, they are very concerned and professional during an apparent child abduction case and show subdued anger and disgust at the victim's mother's bad parenting.
- The Slacker: Every time they take a case, they keep their eyes peeled for any sign of the slightest superhero or supervillain connections to what's going on, and the moment they find it, they cheerfully make the Major Crimes Unit take over the case for them.
- Those Two Guys: They are a duo who always appear together and are more notable for their playful, established banter than they are for solving crimes.
Stanley Kitch
First Appearance: Detective Comics #596 (January, 1989)
A former lawyer and sometimes partner of Harvey Bullock. Gordon trusts him enough to let him work with Batman on occasion. He appears in the Post-Crisis era.
- By-the-Book Cop: He respects procedures (to Bullock's annoyance) and doesn't use violence as a first resort.
- Early Installment Character-Design Difference: He is originally dark-haired but becomes blonde in later appearances.
- Good Is Not Dumb: His By-the-Book Cop attitude earns him some ridicule, but he is a keen and resourceful investigator.
Billy Pettit
First Appearance: Man-Bat (Vol 2) #1 (February, 1996)
A Trigger-Happy S.W.A.T. cop best known for his role in Batman: No Man's Land.
- Cold Sniper: He is introduced in a three-part story that he spends trying to take out the mutant Man-Bat with a sniper rifle. Pettit seems to care more about making the kill (and finding out just what Man-Bat is) than ending the crime spree, tries to shoot Man-Bat while he's carrying an innocent woman who could fall to her death if Man-Bat dies, and spends a lot of time yelling at his spotter.
- Crazy Survivalist: He is a swaggering, gun-toting cop who has been hiding caches of ammo throughout the city long before the earthquake that made them come in handy.
- Depending on the Artist Different artists give him gray, black, or brown hair in stories set months, weeks, or even days apart.
- Rank Up: He is a mere sniper in his debut, but leads the S.W.A.T. team afterward.
- Token Evil Teammate: Even on his best days he is a Blood Knight, and he spends most of No Man's Land enforcing law and order with brutal methods before Jumping Off the Slippery Slope and becoming a borderline warlord who will kill anyone who upsets him.
- Trigger-Happy: Has a 'shoot first, ask questions later' attitude.
Officer/Watch Commander Stan Merkel
- The Faceless: Up until his final appearance in Batman: Dark Victory, his face is always obscured by his hat, shadows, or the direction he is facing. This is eliminated in the animated adaptations of some of the stories featuring him.
- Face Palm: In Dark Victory, he puts a hand to his face during an Oh, Crap! moment when he realizes that he's been out celebrating St. Patrick's Day hours later than he'd told his wife he'd be home.
- Lantern Jaw of Justice: He is a rare honest cop in the early days of Gotham City and once he stops being The Faceless, he turns out to have a thick chin that sticks out some.
- The Reliable One; He helps with unglamorous but important jobs like turning on the Bat-Signal or setting up perimeters around apartments with active shooters. He is good at his job and is professional enough to ask Trigger-Happy S.W.A.T. Cops not to go in prematurely.
- Rank Up: He rises two ranks between his first and last appearances.
First Appearance: Detective Comics #226 (December, 1955)
- Alliterative Name: Harvey and Harris both begin with an H.
- Batman Gambit: Pre-Crisis, he pulls such a gambit on the future Batman by having him dial a list of phone numbers for a case and slipping the names of several families he suspects his masked new apprentice may belong to onto the list. He watches Bruce dial each number and picks up on how he is able to call Wayne Manor without pausing to read the number, meaning he already knows it.
- Canon Welding: He is eventually retconned into being the uncle of Super Friends character Wendy, with his connection to Batman having led to her association with superheroes.
- Genius Bruiser: His deductive abilities don't keep him from being a quick-fisted brawler (and a decent gunman) when the situation calls for it.
- Great Detective: He is a famous and intelligent detective who commands respect, gets results, and sees through the disguise Bruce uses to apprentice under him in both continuities.
- Mentor Occupational Hazard: He imparts valuable lessons to Bruce in multiple continuities, and while he lives to die of natural causes Pre-Crisis and Post-Crisis, he is mortally wounded as they fight a killer together.
- Married to the Job: He has little life outside of detective work.
- Nice Guy: He is usually considerate and/or friendly toward everyone but bullies, bigots, and crooks.
- One-Steve Limit: He has the same first name as Two-Face and Harvey Bullock.
- Respected by the Respected: Even after Batman achieves the "World's Greatest Detective" title as an adult, he still considers Harvey his superior.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Only at the end of his life does he reveal that he knew his mysterious young student was Bruce Wayne (and, Pre-Crisis, that he knew Bruce grew up to be Batman).
- Small Role, Big Impact: His appearances in any continuity as of 2023 can be counted on one hand, but he helped make Bruce a Great Detective (even if he learned about man hunting from other mentors like Henri Ducard) and, Pre-Crisis, is the one who came up with the name Robin when Bruce used the costume during their association.
- Trickster Mentor: Post-Crisis, he reveals that Bruce is already a brilliant detective without needing help from him and what Harvey has really been doing throughout their association is helping him improve his discipline and deal with his emotions.
Love Interests
Julie Madison
First Appearance: Detective Comics #31 (September, 1939)
...the other oldest love interest, and the first. A kidnapping-prone socialite/actress, and Bruce Wayne's fiancee, Julie appeared in the earliest Batman stories in Detective Comics and remained engaged to Bruce for two years before breaking it off, due to stress from, you know, being kidnapped so often. She then became an actress, then a princess, and then ceased to be of any importance whatsoever.
She sometimes appears as The Cameo, if ever. Matt Wagner did a fair amount of work with the character in a pair of mini-series, "Batman and the Monster Men" and "Batman and the Mad Monk", set during the Year One era. She made her New 52 appearance in Batman Vol. 2 #30 and plays a heavy role in the "Superheavy" storyline, once more as Bruce's girlfriend.
- The Artifact: Probably the only reason anyone occasionally bothers to write her.
- Damsel in Distress: She got kidnapped more than once, notably by the Mad Monk, and the stress from it was what led to her and Batman's breakup.
- First Girl Wins: Subverted. Her only real presence for the last several decades has been as an obscure reference and occasionally cameoing in flashbacks as one of the first examples of Bruce forgoing happiness in the name of crime fighting. She returns in the "Superheavy" storyline and Bruce plans on marrying her, but she sacrifices their chance at happiness so that Batman can return and save Gotham.
- Reimagining the Artifact: Her return in the "Superheavy" storyline gave her a new design and more story prominence as the girlfriend of the amnesiac Bruce whose romance must tragically be sacrificed in order for Batman to return.
- Sins of the Father: During the "Superheavy" storyline, Julie reveals that not only did she know Bruce was Batman, but her father was a gun runner that may have sold the gun that killed Bruce's parents. Ultimately, she decides to "murder" Bruce Wayne, destroying his repaired mind to allow the return of Batman so Gotham can be saved from Bloom.
- Stage Name: After her acting career takes off, the studio changes her name to the more exotic sounding 'Portia Storme'.
First Appearance: Batman #5 (March, 1941)
Even more obscure than Julie Madison, Linda Page was Bruce Wayne's second love interest after Julie broke her engagement off with Bruce. A former socialite, she dedicated her time as a nurse for the elderly, instead of falling into the stereotype that rich women were spoiled and lazy. She dated Bruce for two years, but broke up with him when he would not explain why he seemed to be wooing another woman (trying to reform a disguised Catwoman).
- Couldn't Find a Pen: In one story, Linda is kidnapped to tend to a wounded gangster. She manages to write a message on her dressing table in lipstick which Batman finds.
- Fiery Redhead: The first redheaded love interest for Bruce, who finds her spirited attitude attractive.
- Hospital Hottie: A Fiery Redhead nurse.
- Non-Idle Rich: Comes from a wealthy family but took up nursing as a career to give her life purpose.
- Shoe Slap: When Linda kidnapped by gangsters who needed a nurse, she aided in her own rescue by clouting one of the crooks over the head with her shoe when Batman and Robin came crashing in.
First Appearance: Batman #98 (March, 1956)
One of Batman's earliest love interests, Vicki Vale is a skilled and determined reporter for the Gotham Gazette. Her typical subject of writing is Batman: she reports on his exploits and occasionally tries to puzzle out his real identity, but she's always foiled. She has a hidden crush on Batman, and less so on Bruce Wayne, creating a Love Triangle out of two people, though she sometimes suspects that they're one and the same. If it is unclear, she is essentially Gotham's Lois Lane.
What with being an expy of the Superman comic books who appeared primarily during Batman's Silver Age, Vicki seldom shows up today. She disappeared in 1963, resurfaced in 1977 (and was promptly forgotten by the editors), and finally resumed love interest status in The '80s...right before the Crisis on Infinite Earths wiped her history from existence. Post-Crisis, her appearances are primarily limited to the occasional cameo. She's done better in alternate continuities and media, having featured in All-Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder, the 1989 film (in which she was intended to be 1970s love interest Silver St. Cloud, whose name was deemed too silly), and The Batman vs Dracula. She also has an Expy in the form of Summer Gleeson.
- Adaptation Dye-Job: She's traditionally red-haired in the comics, but is blonde in the 1989 Batman. This is due to, as noted above, the character originally having intended to be Silver St. Cloud, who is blonde in the comics. This carried over to the version in the Batman: Arkham Series.
- Alliterative Name: Vicki Vale.
- Broken Bird: In modern comics, she's often shown to be a somewhat shallow tv show host who's jealous of Lois Lane's reputation as a legitimate news reporter and constantly embittered by her ex, Bruce Wayne, every time she has to report the latest gossip of his newest "Wayne Girl".
- Captain Ersatz: Her entire character as a reporter in the center of a Two-Person Love Triangle with a superhero is lifted directly from Lois Lane.
- Damsel in Distress: When portrayed as the main love interest, she's usually kidnapped or endangered in some way to engineer a rescue from Batman. The straightest example is in the 1989 Batman, where she's captured by the Joker and taken to the top of the Gotham Cathedral. Nowadays, it's usually because she refuses to stop sticking her nose into Batman's business.
- Demoted to Extra: After the 90s Batman films proved to be of less than stellar quality, Vicki more or less disappeared from all adaptations. When she returned to comics she was a bitter pseudo-reporter, reflecting on her unpopularity.
- Redheads Are Ravishing: She's red-haired and one of the more notable love interests to Batman, though mostly in adaptations outside of the comics. If Catwoman isn't the main love interest, it's often Vicki.
- Secret-Keeper: Pieced together the identities of the Bat-family's male members, and has kept it secret. The only reason she keeps the secret is because she can't prove it.
Poison Ivy is a villain who often relies on seduction and the manipulation of pheromones to drive men around her to obey. This is no different with Batman, who initially confused the lust and desire caused by Ivy's methods for love. Ivy has a somewhat love/hate relationship with Batman; on some occasions she claims to love him and desires his affection, while on others she is more than willing to kill him. Bruce and Pamela had a brief but genuine romantic relationship after he helped to cure her of her condition, but this came to an end when Pamela seemingly died in an attempt to turn herself back into Poison Ivy.
First Appearance: Detective Comics #470 (June, 1977)
Silver St. Cloud was a socialite from Gotham City's upper class. She was first introduced to Bruce Wayne during one of his private parties, where sparks flew between them almost at once. However, Silver noticed Bruce's mysterious disappearances and she became suspicious. Silver's suspicions were eventually confirmed when she witnessed the fight between Batman and the recently escaped Deadshot. After the fight was over, Silver deduced the truth that Batman was Bruce Wayne. After this, Silver talked with Batman, revealing to him her knowledge of the truth and despite their strong feelings for each other, Silver was forced to break up with Batman, as she couldn't stand the thought of losing him because of his crusade.
Years later, St. Cloud returned to Gotham with her then-fiancé, U.S. Senator Evan Gregory. Gregory was on a political campaign running for Governor, but he ran into some complications when his opponent turned out to be The Joker.
St. Cloud and Wayne rekindled their relationship after Gregory's death. St. Cloud now understood Wayne's responsibilities as Batman and was more than content to have him during daytime while Gotham had him at night. Wayne seriously considered giving up the mantle of the bat and settling with St. Cloud for good, especially since a new vigilante, Baphomet, had turned up and impressed both Batman and Robin with his crime-fighting abilities. Wayne finally proposed to Silver and invited Baphomet to his Batcave to formally introduce himself and St. Cloud to Baphomet. However, Baphomet then revealed himself as the villain Onomatopoeia and instantly stabbed St. Cloud.
- Affectionate Nickname: In Widening Gyre, Silver constantly addresses Bruce as 'D.D.' (and, no, it doesn't stand for 'Darknight Detective').note
- It's Not You, It's My Enemies: Inverted. Silver breaks up with Bruce and leaves Gotham because she cannot bear the thought of him being killed because of his crusade.
- Left Hanging: St. Cloud's apparent death was the cliffhanger ending of the first half of the Widening Gyre storyline. The second half of Widening Gyre is still forthcoming.
- Love Cannot Overcome: As much as she genuinely loved Bruce, she couldn't handle his crusade as Batman and elected to save herself the pain of potentially watching him die by breaking up with him.
- Ms. Fanservice: Silver was the first of Bruce's Love Interests to be shown lounging around in her lingerie.
- Secret-Keeper: Deduced Batman's identity and kept it secret; even from Batman himself at first.
- Slashed Throat: Her apparent death in Pre-Flashpoint continuity was via this, courtesy of Onomatopoeia. We never see her actually die, but it is the last we ever saw of her in that continuity.
- Spared by the Adaptation: She appears alive and well in the "Batman/Elmer Fudd Special".
- Sympathetic Adulterer: Of the Pay Cheating Unto Normal variety. She sleeps with Bruce when she's still with Evan Gregory and feels bad about it afterwards because while she loves Evan, she loves Bruce just that much more and isn't otherwise portrayed as a horrible person in spite of spending a night with Bruce despite being engaged to someone else.
- Third-Option Love Interest: She's one of Bruce's most iconic love interests (especially during the 70s, where Talia had just been introduced and Catwoman had taken a backseat), and probably the closest Bruce has ever come to loving a woman outside of Selina Kyle and Talia al Ghul. He was even willing to give up Batman just to marry her.
First Appearance: Detective Comics #501 (April, 1981)
In the pre-Crisis continuity, Julia Remarque was born to her mother Mademoiselle Marie of the French resistance. Her father was Alfred Pennyworth, who had been stationed in France during World War II. She has been raised by her mother's friend Jacques Remarque due to her mother's dangerous lifestyle. Eventually, Julia learned that Alfred was her biological father and she travelled to Gotham City to join him. While in Gotham, she also investigated the murder of her adoptive father. After solving the mystery, Julia went to live in Wayne Manor with Alfred, where she met Bruce Wayne and Jason Todd. Julia became a temporary houseguest at Wayne Manor, which created conflict between Bruce Wayne and Vicki Vale. A relationship gradually developed between Bruce and Julia. However, the inconsistency of their relationship caused her to lose hope to ever be with Bruce Wayne.
- Famous Ancestor: The daughter of Mademoiselle Marie, the most famous La Résistance leader in The DCU.
- Intrepid Reporter: Was a freelance writer for the Gotham Gazette and often worked alongside Vicki Vale.
- Ret-Gone: Vanished from continuity post-Crisis, although a new version eventually turned up in Batman Eternal.
- Race Lift: The pre-Crisis Julia was the a pale-skinned brunette. The New 52 Julia is dark-skinned and, while he mother's identity has not been established, she appears to have south Asian ancestry.
First Appearance: Detective Comics #575 (June, 1987)
Rachel Caspian was the daughter of Judson Caspian and a girlfriend of Bruce Wayne. At an early age, she lost her mother to crime, which prompted her father to become the dreadful vigilante called The Reaper. As an adult, Rachel focused on becoming a nun until she met Bruce Wayne, falling in love with him. They eventually engaged, but unfortunately, her father was exposed as The Reaper after his demise following the confrontation with Batman. Devastated by the news, Rachel decided to atone for the sins of her father and became a Nun in the Sisters of Mercy Order, ending her engagement with Bruce.
- The Atoner: Rachel decided to atone for the sins of her father and became a Nun in the Sisters of Mercy Order, ending her engagement with Bruce.
- I Have Your Wife: In Full Circle, Rachel is captured by the new Reaper from Leslie Thompkins' free clinic in an effort to lure Batman to him.
- Missing Mom: At an early age, she lost her mother to crime, which prompted her father to become the dreadful vigilante called The Reaper.
- Taking the Veil: Rachel decided to atone for the sins of her father and became a Nun in the Sisters of Mercy Order, ending her engagement with Bruce.
First Appearance: Batman #481 (July, 1992)
Shondra first met Bruce Wayne when his anxiety and inability to relax prompted him to visit her clinic. She was Bruce's doctor when Bane broke his spine later on, and the two began to develop a romantic relationship.
- Cain and Abel: Shondra is the adopted sister of the psychic assassin Benedict Asp.
- Healing Hands: Shondra Kinsolving possesses the ability to heal major wounds through physical contact. Her powers can even heal what would otherwise be permanent like spinal damage.
- Hospital Hottie: A very good looking doctor.
First Appearance: Batman #540 (March, 1997)
A TV and Radio personality who became romantically involved with billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne. She disappeared from Gotham City during the events of No Man's Land, but would rekindle their relationship after the City's reparation. She was eventually killed by David Cain who was acting on orders from Lex Luthor (then President of the United States), to frame Wayne. Her death would lead to Batman briefly abandoning his Bruce Wayne identity.
- Collateral Angst: She was killed by David Cain who was acting on orders from Lex Luthor (then President of the United States), to frame Wayne.
- Killed Off for Real: Murdered by David Cain.
First Appearance: Detective Comics #751 (December, 2000)
Former Secret Service agent Sasha Bordeaux was hired by Lucius Fox of Wayne Enterprises to act as a bodyguard to Bruce Wayne. Though resistant to the idea, Lucius left Bruce with little choice but to accept Sasha. Wayne at first tries to avoid her, but she keeps doing her job. She eventually becomes suspicious and did some searching, where she discovers that Bruce is secretly Batman. Knowing he couldn't fire her because she knew his secret identity, Batman trains her to be his apprentice. During this time, she falls in love with him, even as he insists on having her around while he dated other women. She was framed for Fairchild's murder and later joined Maxwell Lord's Checkmate organization. During The OMAC Project, Bordeaux was turned into a cyborg OMAC, but this incident has since been resolved. While Sasha and Batman kissed near the end of The OMAC Project, their relationship seems to have passed on.
- Action Girl: Sasha was a former Secret Service agent, and went through intensive physical training to act as Batman's partner.
- Bodyguard Crush: Was Bruce's bodyguard and developed romantic feelings for him.
- Cyborg: During The OMAC Project, Bordeaux was turned into a cyborg OMAC.
- Faking the Dead: After three months time in Blackgate, Sasha's death was faked by agents of Checkmate.
- Secret-Keeper: When David Cain framed Bruce Wayne for the murder of Vesper Fairchild, Sasha was implicated as well. She was convicted of murder before the truth was exposed and sentence to Blackgate. She refused to even take the stand during her trial. Telling the truth would have meant exposing Batman's identity, so she said nothing.
First Appearance: Batman #591 (July, 2001)
Mallory became involved in Bruce's life when Philo Zeiss wanted revenge on her father, Lew Moxon. Bruce had spent as a child a happy summer with her before his parents were killed. He meets her again years later in a reception to honor Moxon's return to Gotham City. The next night he dines with the Moxons, partly to renew his friendship with Mallory. However, he discovers that Mallory is as much a part of the criminal world as her father. She falls in love with Bruce and is protected by Batman. Mallory was still with her father during Bruce's conviction of being a murderer even though she knew what kind of man her father was.
- Alliterative Name: Mallory Moxon
- Childhood Friend Romance: Bruce had spent as a child a happy summer with her before his parents were killed.
- Mafia Princess: The daughter of Lew Moxon, a mob boss connected to the Wayne murders.
- The Queenpin: Mallory is as much a part of the criminal world as her father.
First Appearance: Batman'' #656 (October, 2006)
A wealthy former supermodel of African descent. She is said to own an African province. Like Bruce, she lost her parents at a young age. Though she resisted Bruce's affections at first, she ultimately began a relationship with him. As a result, she discovered that Bruce was Batman just before Batman R.I.P.. Later, she is revealed to be a member of the Black Glove, a villainous organization aimed at defeating Batman.
- Alliterative Name: Jezebel Jet
- Decapitation Presentation: Bruce learned that Talia had killed her after she showed him her severed head.
- Killed Off for Real: Talia Al Ghul wanted to keep Bruce's identity safe, so she sent her League Of Assassins to kill Jezebel Jet.
- Meaningful Name: She is named Jezebel, after the most famous temptress in the Bible, whose name is now a byword for an evil and scheming woman.
- Love-Interest Traitor: She is revealed to be a member of the Black Glove, a villainous organization aimed at defeating Batman.
- Statuesque Stunner: 5'10" and a former supermodel.
- Torn Apart by the Mob: She was ripped apart by a flock of Man-Bat Commandos created by Talia.
- Tragic Keepsake: Before dying, Jezebel's mother wrote her a letter from her prison cell while she was on death row, which Jezebel kept close to her at all times since it's the last memory of her mother.
First Appearance: DC Graphic Novel #4 (March, 1985)
Orion's wife, she and Batman had a strong attraction to each other after she rescued him from Darkseid's forces on the planet Tartarus. She was later murdered.
For more information, see here.
First Appearance: Batman Confidential #7 (September, 2007)
Lorna Shore worked as a curator at the Gotham Museum of Modern art and briefly dated Bruce Wayne. However, after his first encounter with the Joker and realizing that there will be more enemies like him, Bruce broke off their relationship to protect Lorna. Lorna later left the city, feeling that Gotham is not safe anymore because of Batman and the Joker.
- Put on a Bus: Lorna left Gotham City, feeling that Gotham is not safe anymore because of Batman and the Joker.
- It's Not You, It's My Enemies: After his first encounter with the Joker and realizing that there will be more enemies like him, Bruce broke off their relationship to protect Lorna.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Has not been seen since the end of the "Lovers & Madmen" arc in Batman Confidential.
First Appearance: Batman #659 (January, 2007)
A doctor in Leslie Thompkins' clinic in Gotham City, she dated Bruce Wayne for a short time before she ends things with him. A Russian mobster targeted Amina as a means of avenging himself against her allegedly deceased brother Wayne but Batman arrived in time to prevent him from harming Amina. She was killed by her deranged brother Grotesk, who was revealed to be alive.
- Hospital Hottie: A very good looking doctor.
- Killed Off for Real: She was killed by her deranged brother Grotesk.
- The Mafiya: A Russian mobster targeted Amina as a means of avenging himself against her brother.
- Sibling Murder: Was killed by her brother Wayne, aka. the supervillain Grotesk.
A Lieutenant of the Gotham PD, who was against Batman and was taking credit for his work. April was working on the same case as Batman did, searching for the murderous villain, Midnight. During her investigation, she gets a visit from Batman and both are surprised by an unexpected attraction. In his civilian identity, Bruce begins to flirt with April, although being aware that she is working on the same case. She initially rejects him, but he becomes more attracted to her. Batman's attraction towards April is noticed by his closest allies, who warn him to be careful. In the end, April is revealed to be the psychopathic murderer.
For moreinformation, see Midnight under Batman: Rogues Gallery (Part 3) .
First Appearance: Batman: The Dark Knight #1 (January, 2011)
Childhood friend and one-time girlfriend of Bruce Wayne, Dawn Golden was Aleister Golden's only child. Her father was member of a cult that performed dark magic rituals. Dawn's father was cold and distant to her, but he told her that she had a greater purpose. As Dawn reached adulthood, her father fell ill and on his deathbed, he tried to kill her, saying that her greater purpose was to be sacrificed so that he would become Hell's lord on Earth. Dawn escaped and left her father to die. Years later, Dawn would grow into a Gotham socialite.
- Childhood Friend Romance: Dawn Golden was a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne. When they first met, Bruce didn't like Dawn too much, thinking she was cold and mean to him. But the two eventually grew closer, and ended up dating until she apparently broke up with Bruce in college.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: Dawn became a wealthy socialite and developed a self-centered personality.
- Human Sacrifice: Dawn's destiny was foretold by her father, that she would die so that her father could become lord of hell on Earth.
- Hypno Trinket: Throughout Golden Dawn, it is implied that Dawn's shallow and self-centered behavior was caused by her amulet.
- Killed Off for Real: Died at the end of the "Golden Dawn" arc.
- Meaningful Name: Her name references 'The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn': a secret society devoted to the study and practice of the occult, metaphysics, and paranormal activities during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
- New Old Flame: Childhood friend and one-time girlfriend of Bruce Wayne, but first appeared in the same story arc in which she died.
- Not My Driver: Dawn tells her driver to take her back to her apartment but her driver has been murdered and replaced by the demonic Ragman. Ragman tells Dawn that he has been sent by her father to claim her soul.
- Punny Name: Her name is a play on 'Golden Dawn' (see Meaningful Name).
First Appearance: Detective Comics Vol. 2 #2 (December, 2011)
A TV anchorwoman who was visiting Gotham City to cover gruesome slayings and had a romantic relation with Bruce Wayne. Her twin sister is Jill Hampton, the Classy Cat-Burglar known as Chase.
- Intrepid Reporter: Is a dedicated news reporter and anchor.
- Professionals Do It on Desks: When Bruce was having a business meeting, Charlotte sneaked into his office under the pretense of wanting an interview with him. After making love in his office, Charlotte suggested Bruce to take her on a real date.
- Separated at Birth: Charlotte has a twin sister named Jill, and the two are daughters of Sebastian Hardy, who would become mayor of Gotham. Although they were separated at birth, they were aware of each other's existence and their relationship as sisters.
First Appearance: Detective Comics Vol. 2 #0 (November, 2012)
Mio was originally a village girl who lived in a valley near where the legendary Shihan Matsuda lived. She fell in love with his student, Bruce Wayne. One day he invited her to the monastery and she asked him to leave the window open so that she could sneak in. However, she was actually hired by Matsuda's wife who had grown tired of their emotionless marriage. In the ensuing fight, both Mio and the Matsudas are apparently killed. Years later, she is revealed to be alive and working under Ra's al Ghul. Through unknown means, she has learned energy manipulation too. She is sent to destroy a building in Gotham when she is caught by Harper Row. This allows Bruce, who is now going by Batman to find Penumbra and ram into her with the Batplane. She survives but pretends to fall off the building and disappears. As punishment for her failure, she is locked in the dungeons by Ra's to "learn another lesson"
- Casting a Shadow: Penumbra is trained in a mystic discipline from India that allows her to manipulate the shadows around her into constructs.
- Master Swordsman: She has a great amount of weapons training involving blades, as seen by her ability to cut a bat-rope into pieces in mid-air
- Multiarmed And Dangerous: Her shadow constructs can include multiple arms, which she uses to fight her opponents.
- Murder, Inc.: Is a member of the League of Assassins.
- New Old Flame: Mio was once considered to be only an assistant of a local blacksmith in the Himalayas. Bruce Wayne, while he was traveling the world to prepare himself for his future role, came across Mio while he was training with a famous, and considered mythical, martial-artist known as Shihan Matsuda. The two became close during Bruce's trips to the blacksmith and began to fall in love.
First Appearance: Batman: The Dark Knight Vol. 2 #10 (August, 2012)
A Ukrainian accomplished pianist, and girlfriend to Bruce Wayne. She was killed by Mad Hatter after she refused to reveal Batman's identity, thrown from a helicopter with her body crashing into the Bat-Signal.
- Death Flight: Thrown from a helicopter by the Mad Hatter, with her body crashing into the Bat-Signal.
- Elegant Classical Musician: An extremely attractive concert pianist.
- Killed Off for Real: She was killed by the Mad Hatter after she refused to reveal Batman's identity.
Civilians
First Appearance: Detective Comics #33 (November, 1939)
Thomas Wayne was the former CEO of Wayne Enterprises, a surgeon, and father of Bruce Wayne. He was murdered while leaving a theater one night with his family, along with his wife Martha. Generally regarded as a good and honest man, Thomas' death was a signal to Gotham City's criminal underworld that evil could get away with anything, and the city suffered as a result. Bruce and Alfred hold him in near reverent regard, though how loving a father he was depends on the story.
- Alternate Universe Reed Richards Is Awesome: In those alternate universes where Thomas survived, Gotham and Bruce are usually better for it.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: Shares this trope with his wife.
- Depending on the Writer: Whether he was a loving father to Bruce. Pretty much every writer tends to write him as such, but every now and then there's someone who writes Thomas as temperamental, or distant, and on very rare occasions there's hints he was straight-up emotionally abusive. Tom King kept the loving father bit, but added that Thomas was a very "classically dignified" man, who was hard for Bruce to approach.
- Fisher King: While not the king of Gotham, Thomas was one of its wealthiest and best respected citizens, and the city fell apart when he died.
- Frame-Up: During Grant Morrison's run, evidence suddenly appears claiming Thomas was abusive toward Martha, and frequently cheated on her at orgies. All of which turned out to be lies created by Dr. Hurt.
- Non-Idle Rich: Instead of merely enjoying the billions he inherited his father Thomas went out and became a good surgeon.
- Nouveau Riche: Depending on the Writer. Under some writers, unlike his wife who comes from a old rich family, Thomas' father made their fortune, making him one of the youngest billionaire families in the city. However, many other versions have the Waynes also come from old money.
- The Patriarch: Thomas very much epitomizes the age-old ideal of the strong, stern, loving and authoritative father figure who acts as a great male role model to his young son, complete with a manly mustache.
- Strong Family Resemblance: He is often drawn to look exactly like Bruce with a mustache, if even that.
- Too Dumb to Live: Several versions of Batman's origin have it be Thomas' idea to go down that dark, filthy alley rather than just wait for Alfred to show up with the car. Kate Kane's dad is still nursing a grievance that his sister got killed because of it.
First Appearance: Detective Comics #33 (November, 1939)
Martha Wayne, formerly Martha Kane of the illustrious Kane family, was a philanthropist and mother of Bruce Wayne. She was murdered along with her husband while leaving the theater one night, the mugger Joe Chill specifically demanding the pearl necklace she wore before shooting her. Martha was a well respected socialite in Gotham City and, like her husband, her death was a sign that no one was safe in Gotham and crime ran rampant. Bruce considers her a saint, which by all accounts she was.
- Big, Screwed-Up Family: Due to her being a Kane, Martha is related to both Batwomen (the first is her sister in-law by one brother, the second her niece via her younger brother).
- Blue Blood: The Kanes are one of the Old Gotham Families.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: Shares this trope with her husband, though Bruce has especially fond memories of her.
- Dramatic Necklace Removal: The pearl necklace she wore that Joe Chill stole is always shown to be ripped off her neck and scattered.
- Good Parents: While Thomas can vary from a loving and kind man to strict and cold and everything in between, Martha is pretty much universally depicted as a loving mother to Bruce.
- Neutral Female: No version of Martha ever manages to fight off Joe Chill when he comes at her.
- Non-Idle Rich: Martha was a philanthropist specializing in helping children.
- Retcon: In the earliest origin stories (and for Golden Age Batman specifically), Martha's cause of death was a heart attack from seeing her husband shot. Pretty much every origin story from the '50s onward has it that Joe Chill just shot her as well (though his reason for doing so also changes - sometimes it's intentional, sometimes he's just spooked by her screaming).
- Tuckerization: Martha's maiden name is Kane, as in Bob Kane, Batman's co-creator.
First Appearance: Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1 (June, 1992)
The long suffering administrator of Arkham Asylum, a position he inherited from his uncle Amadeus Arkham, the founder of the asylum. If there was ever a contest for "Worst Job in Fiction" Dr. Arkham could win it. Dr. Arkham alternates between trying to rehabilitate his patients and merely trying to keep them locked in, both of which he fails at. The stress of trying to keep several superpowered mass murderers imprisoned has left Dr. Arkham a bitter, exhausted mess.
- Abusive Parents: Downplayed (more in the vein of an otherwise decent parent that makes bad decisions), he is nowhere near as bad as the parents of his patients, but this was the guy who decided he kept his daughter a secret from the world (to the point where she has no records) and raised her in the confines of the asylum due to his overprotectiveness, as well as too caught up in his work to notice any red flags, in fact his patients raised her more than him.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Jeremiah was once brainwashed into believing he was Black Mask.
- The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes: You'd think a psychologist would know the importance of socializing children at a young age, but look at what happened to poor Astrid.
- Deadpan Snarker: Probably needs to keep a sense of humor to make it through this kind of work.
- Depending on the Artist: How old he appears varies. Often Dr. Arkham looks to be in his forties, but other times he looks much older.
- Depending on the Writer: He tends to be either a troubled Well-Intentioned Extremist who really is trying to help his patients or he's a Jerkass who is only slightly better than the criminals he's treating. Whether he's Axe-Crazy also depends on the storyline.
- Didn't Think This Through: So, Jeremiah, mind explaining why you decided Astrid should grow up in a notorious Bedlam House like Arkham Asylum? Being overprotective doesn't really justify it, considering the people who reside there and what happens there every week.
- Friendly Enemy: The Joker likes (torturing) him at least, probably because he makes it so easy to escape. The other patients seem amused by him too.
- Good is Not Nice:
- While he does want to make his patients better, his methods in doing so early on could be cruel.
- Arkham Asylum: Living Hell sees him acting bitter to Warren White, implied in dialogue to be the result of both the Asylum suffering cutbacks and Jeremiah himself personally having his pension affected because of White's scam.
- It Runs in the Family: It has been established that mental illness is common in the Arkham family. During The Last Arkham, he committed several acts which made the distinction between him and his patients quite hard (including locking Batman up with several of them). He even asks himself if he's really mad.
- Horrible Judge of Character: Dr. Arkham's hiring practices could use some work, just look at Harley Quinn. And don't get us started on the brain dead morons he hires as security guards. He is aware of it but he kind of stopped caring.
- Knight Templar Parent: Kept his daughter in Arkham due to a well-intended but misguided effort to keep her safe from Gotham.
- Manipulative Bastard: His psychological training came quite handy when dealing with a maniac gunman.
- Minored in Ass-Kicking: During the riot in Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, Jeremiah almost single-handedly stops the inmate riot by shooting Killer Croc with a dart gun and ordering the staff to use the sleeping gas contingency. If it wasn't for the demons showing up he would have taken control of the situation.
- Parents as People: He genuinely loves Astrid, but he was very overprotective and didn't pay enough attention to notice the red flags...granted this probably wouldn't have happened if he didn't think of keeping her in an asylum in the first place, but here we are.
- Psycho Psychologist: See "In the Blood" above and also when it's revealed that he was actually Black Mask in the aftermath of Batman R.I.P., thus suffering from a split personality disorder.
- Surrounded by Idiots: Idiots and crazies, he only sees Cash as a competent staff member. Must be hard to find good people to work in this place after all.
- Unexplained Recovery: He returned to his position as administrator of Arkham Asylum in-between the Post-Crisis and New 52 continuities, however rather than a Cosmic Retcon as is common with reboots, Night of the Owls implies his tenure as Black Mask still happened, but was cured of his insanity off-panel....and it happens again in-between Death of the Family and DC Rebirth.
First Appearance: Arkham Asylum: Living Hell #1 (July, 2003)
Debuting in Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, Aaron Cash is head of security at Arkham Asylum, and probably the only guard there with two brain cells to rub together. Cash lost his hand during a riot when Killer Croc bit it off and uses a prosthetic hook in place.
- Arch-Enemy: Killer Croc is Aaron's since he bit off his hand. Aaron in turn has a wallet made out of Croc's skin.
- Badass Normal: Some demons tell Aaron that he has the soul of a champion. It's all he needs to hear to wipe the floor with a bunch of inmates.
- Blood Knight: It's implied Cash enjoys his job to some degree because he can beat up the inmates. Croc may have caused this.
- Expy: Aaron Cash is partially based off of Captain Hook. Like Captain Hook, Cash lost his hand to crocodile (of sorts) and had it replaced with a hook, and now hates that crocodile with a passion.
- Handicapped Badass: Even though he only has one hand, Cash is still an effective guard.
- Hook Hand: Cash lost his hand during a riot when Killer Croc bit it off and uses a prosthetic hook in place.
- Only Sane Employee: The sanest man in Arkham, with the caveat that, since Cash chooses to stay at Arkham, he can't be that sane. Dr. Arkham actually convinced him to stay after his accident because he knows Cash enjoys hurting the criminally insane.Arkham: You can sit there and be a cripple...or return to a job where it is socially acceptable to cripple others.
First Appearance: Detective Comics #599 (April, 1989)
One of Bruce Wayne's mentors during his journey to become a crime fighter. Henri Ducard was created in an unused draft of Batman (1989) and would jump to the page when screenwriter Sam Hamm wrote an arc on Detective Comics. One of the greatest manhunters and assassins in the world, Ducard is an amoral man who sells his skills to the highest bidder. This causes considerable tension between him and Bruce. He's the father of Morgan Ducard/Nobody and the grandfather of Maya Ducard/Nobody II.
- Adaptational Villainy: In The Dark Knight Trilogy thanks to being a Composite Character with Ra's Al Ghul.
- Broken Pedestal: Bruce lost much of his respect for him after learning about his connections to the criminal underworld.
- Back for the Dead: Return in Baman: The Detective miniseries to be killed.
- Cynical Mentor: To Bruce.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Figured out Batman's identity but kept it to himself
- Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids!: Notes cynically that Batman continues to exist because true criminals realize that he distracts the people from the greater crimes by his public battle against lesser crimes.
First Appearance: Detective Comics #457 (March, 1976)
- Actual Pacifist: Refuses to cause any sort of harm to any person.
- Age Lift: Post-Flashpoint, she appears much, much younger. She looks like she's in her thirties, maybe very early forties and there's not a grey hair on her head.
- Badass Pacifist: She'll never engage in violence, but that doesn't mean she won't stand up to just about everyone.
- The Medic: A pacifistic doctor working out of Gotham's slums and a close friend of the Wayne Family. Over the years Dr. Thompkins has become an invaluable ally for the Batfamily, providing medical aid and expertise whenever possible.
- The Mentor: Taught Bruce a lot about medical practice, which he's put to good use in his investigations.
- Team Mom: Her role concerning the Batfamily.
- What the Hell, Hero?: She's chewed out Batman on a few occasions for letting the younger Batfamily members fight crime at their age.
First Appearance: Batman #307 (January, 1979)
The acting CEO of Wayne Industries: Fox essentially runs the company, since Bruce obviously has other things to occupy his time. He and Bruce are very good friends, and similarly to Jim Gordon it is often implied that he has figured out Bruce's secret. It's later confirmed as he now serves as Batman's Mission Control, as well as his armorer and money-man.
- Badass Family: He's the patriarch of a growing one with his youngest son Luke adopting the mantle of Batwing while his estranged eldest son Timothy ended up walking the path to become the Next Batman. And some continuities, his daughter Tiffany grows up to become Batgirl.
- Deadpan Snarker: To the point where he's one of the few people who could give Alfred himself a run for his money in the snark department.
- Distressed Dude: Many of his appearances involve him getting kidnapped or threatened in some way. This ends up being cruelly deconstructed during the events of The Joker War where being kidnapped, drugged, and physically/psychologically tortured by Punchline results in Lucius resenting Bruce for how being caught up in his crimefighting crusade has routinely resulted in both himself and his family being targeted by psychopaths, significantly straining both their friendship and his faith in costumed heroics as a whole.
- Everyone Has Standards: The backup story "3 Minutes" reveals that while Lucius genuinely believed that he could help Batman make a difference as his personal Armorer, he had major reservations about Bruce recruiting the young Dick Grayson in his war against crime as Robin. During an argument over the matter, Alfred defends Bruce's decision as giving the troubled orphan a constructive outlet for his rage so he doesn't end up as something worse as well as reaffirm that Bruce would sooner give his own life before Robin is in any real danger. But this justification does very little to dispel Lucius' concerns about being an accomplice to what basically equates to a Child Soldier on the field. In fact, the primary reason why Lucius didn't quit right then and there is because his current position as Armorer would at the very least enable him to ensure Robin and any other future sidekicks Bruce brings into the fold will be safe.
- Gadgeteer Genius: He's helped invent a lot of Batman's equipment and vehicles.
- Honest Corporate Executive: Like Bruce, he is also an equally honest businessman. Bruce hired him because he recognized Lucius's strong business ethics. He is largely responsible from rescuing Wayne Enterprises from ruin and forging it into the multinational corporate giant that it is today.
- Mission Control: He temporarily served as this for Bruce after Alfred's death. But due to the Joker War putting more federal scrutiny on the finances of Wayne Enterprises, Lucius relented the position as a necessary move to distance himself from both Batman and Bruce Wayne.
- Nice Guy: He's a pretty approachable person who gives advice to Bruce and others.
- Reasonable Authority Figure:
- Out of Focus: Dips back and forth between a recurring cast member and being an unseen part of the setting.
- Secret-Keeper: After years of it being implied, it was eventually confirmed that not only was Lucius fully aware of Bruce's double life as a superhero vigilante, Bruce outright told Lucius his secret identity during the early years of his life as Batman. Lucius also knows that Dick Grayson is Robin/Nightwing by virtue of having served in a critical role of their crime-fighting campaign since before Dick was ever recruited.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: As a result of the events of The Joker War, this has happened to Lucius and his wife Tanya, who both start to lose their faith in superheroes and Lucius himself being more wiling to do what he feels is necessary to keep Gotham safe. He's even taken steps towards potentially turning Gotham into the Police State seen in DC Future State. In a meta-sense, The Next Batman: Second Son reveals that Lucius always had a darker side to him, revealing that Lucius wasn't the best father and used an Army of Lawyers to dredge up dirt on a man Jace hit with a car to keep Jace out of jail.
The Mystery Analysts of Gotham City
First Appearance: Batman #164 (June, 1964)
A Pre-Crisis group of detectives (D.A. Danton, Kaye Daye, Art Saddows, Hugh Rankin, Martin Tellerman, and initially Ralph Vern) who include Batman and Commissioner Gordon in their circle and regularly meet to discuss tough mysteries. They appear (whether together or individually) in about twenty issues from 1964 to 1978, before being dropped by the writers as Batman began his transition into a Darker and Edgier loner.
- Arc Welding: Kaye Daye was later established as being the aunt of Steve Lombard, the sportscaster at WGBS in the Superman comics.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: None of them have appeared since 1978, and it's likely they were erased entirely by Crisis on Infinite Earths.
- Clashing Cousins: Kaye's cousin tries to kill her in one story due to resenting how their grandfather favored Kaye and standing to inherit his money if Kaye predeceases her.
- Distinguished Gentleman's Pipe: Saddows is a thoughtful and upper class reporter who is always smoking a pipe.
- Evil Old Folks: Ralph Vern, the oldest member of the group, turns out to have ambitions of committing The Perfect Crime and eventually acts on them.
- Genius Bruiser: Rankin is the most quick-fisted group member, but is no fool. He comes up with a Batman Gambit to get Elongated Man to help him close a case and nearly figures out what Batman looks like under his mask through forensic science.
- Hard Boiled Detective: Hugh Rankin is a street-smart private investigator who is good with his fists but engages in gadgets and trickery when needed. He is one of the only members who is constantly helpful in the field, although it also takes him several issues to prove his worth and be accepted into the club.
- Intrepid Reporter: Art Saddows is a crime beat reporter and one of the more accomplished members of the group.
- Keep the Reward: Martin Tellerman once saved the life of a millionaire art collector's son and refused to take a reward. The persistent millionaire secretly replaced Martin's copies of famous paintings with the originals (after purchasing them legally), but Tellerman donates them to a museum once he learns the truth. The museum names a wing after him, which is a reward he is willing to accept.
- Mystery Writer Detective: Kaye Daye writes acclaimed mystery novels and solves crimes.
- Overshadowed by Awesome: All of them are competent enough, but never seem to solve anything on their own while Batman is around.
- The Smurfette Principle: Mystery author Kaye Daye is the only woman in the group.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: While the group itself hasn’t appeared since the Crisis, a similar group of detectives Batman sometimes puts heads together with in tough mysteries does appear Post-Crisis - this time meeting online via aliases. Instead of Gotham residents, this group is mostly composed of other famous DC detectives like Detective Chimp and Ralph Dibny, as well as The Riddler during his brief stint as a crime solving detective.
First Appearance: Batman Vol 2 #22 (September, 2013)
- Adventurer Outfit: He travels worldwide for his work and training projects and often wears a pith helmet.
- Gadgeteer Genius: He is a brilliant inventor whose accomplishments include a swarm of nanobots and prosthetic limbs for his beloved pet monkey.
- Red Herring: In Batman Eternal, the heroes wonder if he has turned villain when his nanobots are linked to a crime, but it turns out the design was stolen from him.
- Renowned Selective Mentor: Eager youths must prove themselves capable of quite a bit before he gives them a chance to enter his Sink or Swim Mentor tutelage.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: He will always be wearing something stylish and expensive.
- Sink or Swim Mentor: He locks Bruce beneath the Great Sphinx of Giza and gives him devices that he can use to get out if he has been learning the right lessons from Sergei. He probably would have let Bruce out eventually if he hadn't been able to get out himself, but indicates that he wouldn't have bothered to continue training him afterward.
- Unscrupulous Hero: He is a former KGB operative who subjects Bruce (and later his sidekicks) to dangerous Sink or Swim Mentor tactics to test or develop their potential, but he avoids using his skills for evil, is pleased when his pupils reach a new level of understanding, and dotes on his pet monkey.
Phillip Wayne/Kane
First Appearance: Batman #208 (February, 1969)
Bruce's uncle and legal guardian after his parents died. Whether he is Thomas or Martha's brother depends on the continuity.
- Ascended Extra: In each issue of Batman: Zero Year that features him, he appears in at least three times as many panels as he did in all of his pre-New 52 appearances combined.
- Everyone Has Standards: On Prime Earth, he makes weapons at Wayne Enterprises and is coerced into being a Mook for a gang leader, but he puts more resources behind the divisions, making non-lethal ones.
- Married to the Job: Pre-Prime Earth, he travels a lot for work and doesn't stop this after Bruce is placed in his care, leaving a lot of Bruce's upbringing to Alfred and a housekeeper (although he does say goodnight to his nephew and ask how he's doing whenever he is home). On Prime Earth, he interacts even less with Bruce until his nephew is an adult, and Bruce left home before getting to know him much.
- Practically Different Generations: Pre-Prime Earth, he is already a white-haired man when Bruce is orphaned, even though his brother Thomas was apparently in early middle age or younger when he died. Averted on Prime Earth, where he is a lot closer to Matha in age.
- Tangled Family Tree: It is unclear if he is meant to be the father of Van Wayne, Bruce's cousin in a couple of continuities, as no other siblings or cousins of Thomas are mentioned in those continuities, but he doesn't act like he has a son or has ever been married in flashbacks with him and a young Bruce.
- Tragic Dream: On Prime Earth, he wanted to be an archaeologist when he was young before business responsibilities took him away from that, and he ended up a forced pawn of criminals.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: He is murdered when Bruce is young on Prime Earth, but in other continuities, the last time he is shown is when he congratulates Bruce as he graduates from college.
