History Quotes / Batman

-->-- '''[[spoiler: Batman disguised as Hawkman]]''', ''ComicBook/PublicEnemies''

->'''Mr. Freeze:''' Tonight I mean to pay back the man who ruined my life...''our'' lives...

->'''Mr. Freeze:''' *nods* Think of it, Batman. To never again walk on a summer's day with a hot wind in your face, [[TearJerker and a warm hand to hold]]...oh yes. I'd ''kill'' for that.

->'''Harley:''' There's one thing I gotta know: why'd you stay with me all day? Risking your life for someone who's never given you anything but trouble?

->'''Harley:'''...Nice guys like you shouldn't have bad days. ''(kisses him on the cheek, turns away - then plants one on him)''

->'''Ace:''' When I was little, Cadmus used to make me play all kinds of games. They'd strap me into their machines and poke wires into my brain, "Ace, can you move this object with your mind?" ''(uproots a tree and launches it into the sky)'' Yeah. I can move it. They weren't really games, you know. They were training me, turning me into a weapon -- for "justice", they said. They got their weapon. I got cheated out of my childhood.\\

->'''Bruce:''' You don't know the first thing about the American justice system, do you?\\

->'''Wonder Woman:''' So he could turn out like you?

->''Young man, you have two seconds to remove your hands from my person before I remove them for you.''
-->-- '''Alfred Pennyworth''' to the Goddamned '''''Batman''''', after the latter has grabbed him and shoved him against a wall, showing everyone that Batman is NoBadassToHisValet.

->''It’s taken me years to accept what you told me back then, that you were there for me that night. Not as a vigilante swinging to the rescue, but as an ideal, as an inspiration. A voice I heard in darkness, commanding me to stand up. The same voice that tells us when we get beaten down, we can accept being a victim or choose to be the hero of our own stories. And we make that choice by standing up.''

-->-- '''Batman''', ''ComicBook/IdentityCrisis''

->''"Batman as a traumatized vigilante haunted by the death of his parents is a recent thing. It sounds crazy because of course having dead parents is Batman's most recognizable trait, but in his intial characterization he wasn't traumatized, he was motivated. He went through something horrible and decided he would devote his life to guaranteeing that nobody would have to go through something like that ever again...by dressing up like a bat and punching crime in the face. The modern version where the death of his parents haunts him and twists him into a nightstalking monster is recent. And you know something? This is all Creator/AlanMoore's fault. As a much as I appreciate ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'', it unintentionally sparked the idea that deep down, Batman and Joker were the same. That they were both broken men driven by tragedy beyond the limits of sanity. But Alan Moore didn't mean for that to be the takeaway from the comic. In ''The Killing Joke'' the Joker is ''wrong.'' His premise that all it takes is one bad day to become exactly like him is blatantly disproven, both by Batman and Jim Gordon. [...] The idea that Batman does what he does because he's cracked completely defeats the purpose of his character. He does what he does because he knows what it's like to be powerless, so he takes it upon himself to be the power that helps the powerless. A good sign of whether or not your Batman is being characterized properly is as follows: Could you picture this Batman comforting a scared child? If yes, congratulations! This a certified Batman. If not, I'm afraid you instead have ComicBook/ThePunisher in a silly hat."''

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->''"Batman as a traumatized vigilante haunted by the death of his parents is a recent thing. It sounds crazy because of course having dead parent is Batman's most recognizable trait, but in his intial characterization he wasn't traumatized, he was motivated. He went through something horrible and decided he would devote his life to guaranteeing that nobody would have to go through something like that ever again...by dressing up like a bat and punching crime in the face. The modern version where the death of his parents' death haunts him and twists him into a nightstalking monster is recent. And you know something? This is all Creator/AlanMoore's fault. As a much as I appreciate ''ComicBook/TheKillingJoke'', it unintentionally sparked the idea that deep down, Batman and Joker were the same. That they were both broken men driven by tragedy beyond the limits of sanity. But Alan Moore didn't mean for that to be the takeaway from the comic. In ''The Killing Joke'' the Joker is ''wrong.'' His premise that all it takes is one bad day to become exactly like him is blatantly disproven, both by Batman and Jim Gordon. [...] The idea that Batman does what he does because he's cracked completely defeats the purpose of his character. He does what he does because he knows what it's like to be powerless, so he takes it upon himself to be the power that helps the powerless. A good sign of whether or not your Batman is being characterized properly is as follows: Could you picture this Batman comforting a scared child? If yes, congratulations! This a certified Batman. If not, I'm afraid you instead have ComicBook/ThePunisher in a silly hat."''

->''"The night was his time, the shadows were his place. Like the bat from which he took his name he saw with his hands and feet and ears. As Bruce Wayne, he was cheerful, poshy, full of savoir faire and bonhomie, a fellow easily imagined n front of the fire in his book-lined library, with a balloon glass of brandy and a bowl of Cheez Doodles near at hand. But when the Bat-Signal floated against one of Gotham's skyscrapers(or perhaps the underside of a handy passing cloud) a grim and unsmiling creature emerged from the Bat-Cave. You could shoot him and he would bleed...you could crank him a good one on the head and he would fold up (at least for a little while)...but you could never, ''never'' stop him."''

-->''"The night was his time, the shadows were his place. Like the bat from which he took his name he saw with his hands and feet and ears. As Bruce Wayne, he was cheerful, poshy, full of savoir faire and bonhomie, a fellow easily imagined n front of the fire in his book-lined library, with a balloon glass of brandy and a bowl of Cheez Doodles near at hand. But when the Bat-Signal floated against one of Gotham's skyscrapers(or perhaps the underside of a handy passing cloud) a grim and unsmiling creature emerged from the Bat-Cave. You could shoot him and he would bleed...you could crank him a good one on the head and he would fold up (at least for a little while)...but you could never, ''never'' stop him."''

-->-- [[Series/TheDailyShow Jon Stewart]], to [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} Jimmy Wales]]

->''"If I were to go on [[Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} there]] and write that, I don't know, I'm Batman, how long would I legitimately be Batman?"''

-->-- '''Machinima/SanityNotIncluded'''

-->-- '''[[spoiler: Batman disguised as Hawkman]]''', ''ComicBook/SupermanBatman'' #5

-->-- ComicBook/BatmanRIP

[[quoteright:350:[[WebComic/{{Shortpacked}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Shortpacked_2005-02-18_3375.jpg]]]]

-->-- '''[[spoiler: The Archivist-Bruce fusion, so we'll let you decide if he is Batman or not]]''', ''[[ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsBatman Return of Bruce Wayne]]'' #6

-->-- ''Comicbook/{{Runaways}}'' [[labelnote:note]]And [[http://www.engrish.com/2017/08/batman-begins/ the inevitable inversion.]][[/labelnote]]

-->-- '''Wally West''', ''[[Comicbook/DCRebirth DC Universe: Rebirth]]''

-->-- '''ComicBook/RedRobin''', ''[[ComicBook/GrantMorrisonsBatman Return of Bruce Wayne #6]]'', '''Robin brings it back to first principles for us.'''

-->-- ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice''

-->-- ''WebSite/SFDebris'' on ''Film/TheDarkKnight''

-->--''Comicbook/ArkhamAsylumASeriousHouseOnSeriousEarth''

-->-- '''Franchise/{{Superman}}''' to Franchise/{{Batman}}, ''Comicbook/KingdomCome''

-->-- ''Videogame/BatmanArkhamOrigins''

->Batman is no noble hero. He isn't the person people look up to. He doesn't inspire others like [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica Captain Steve Rogers]] would, or cradle hope like [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Superman]] can. He doesn't save a burning school bus full of kids that's going in the river. Batman ''isn't a hero''. Rather, he would mercilessly stalk the deranged psychopath that wants to use school buses as tinderboxes, haunt his dreams, catch him when he least expects it, and burn a hole through his non-existent soul.

->'''Batman''': "[[{{Terror Hero}} Fear is a tool.]] When that light hits the sky...it's not just a call. [[{{TheDreaded}} It's a warning.]]"

->'''[[PerkyGoth Dark Esther]]''': [[https://badmachinery.com/comic/a-feather-quill-from-his-cloak/ “He’s the BYRON of beating up criminals… …the ultimate fighting goth!”]]
-->--'''ComicBook/GiantDays'''