History ComicBook / Batman

* AntiHeroSubstitute: When Azrael took over as Batman during UsefulNotes/{{the Dark Age|of Comic Books}}.

** The Joker's first [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]] appearance had him not as a comedy obsessed EvilLaugh happy nut job that people are likely to see and assorted later comics and adaptations depict him as (such as, WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries), but rather as a fairly straight forward killer and thief (with a slight jewel obsession) who associated with the titular playing card because it resembled him, not the other way round. He also didn't do a noticeable EvilLaugh until his third-last panel in his debut issue, where (true to form) he thinks he's about to die.

* DeusExMachina: Batman [[CrazyPrepared often solves situations by just happening to have a gadget on hand.]] Back [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks when he killed people,]] Batman once confronted a Doctor Doom who threw a grenade at him. Batman then shields his and Robin's body with...[[https://web.archive.org/web/20121023005648if_/http://i.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/article/5/8/2/100582.jpg?v=1 this.]] It's not even a frickin' ''gadget!''

** While not to Black-and-white counterpart standards, UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks and later retellings posit that most of Batman's RoguesGallery reflect a part of Batman's characterization.

** During the aftermath of ComicBook/{{Knightfall}} while ComicBook/{{Azrael}} is [[TakeUpMySword filling in]] for Bruce as Batman, Jean-Paul's {{darker and edgier}} (and [[BrainwashedAndCrazy crazy]]) version of The Dark Knight starts off as a commentary on [[UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks comics of the time]], but slowly he explicitly becomes Creator/FrankMiller's [[ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns Dark Knight]], cemented when Jean-Paul makes himself gauntlets with metal claws.

* MasqueradingAsTheUnseen: In [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] comics, Bruce would sometimes have Superman or even Alfred[[note]]if it was for a non-fighting event[[/note]] wear the cowl if he had to be in two places at once.

* ReluctantWarrior: Hates violence, but is prepared to use it to stop crime. [[ImplausibleDeniability Subverted]] by every interpretation since the dawn of UsefulNotes/{{the Dark Age|of Comic Books}}, so Batman's mileage may definitely vary.

* ShadowArchetype: Several of Batman's villains apply, such as The Joker (obsession and mental issues), Catwoman (night animal motif and skills with things like spying and thievery, was also a wealthy socialite in the [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks Golden Age]]), The Penguin (was created as a parody of Bruce's image as a fop), and Two-Face (dual nature). Batman himself has served as a ShadowArchetype for Superman.

* SuperheroesWearCapes: One of the surviving UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks {{Trope Codifier}}s.

In addition to this appealing and ([[UndeadHorseTrope for its time]]) unique origin story, Batman has an iconic supporting cast and, more crucially, the single largest and most iconic RoguesGallery in all of comic book history, as well as one of the most beloved. Many of them are up there with the Dark Knight himself in terms of pop culture relevance and recognition. While his ArchEnemy, ComicBook/TheJoker, is the most recognizable, villains such as ComicBook/HarleyQuinn, ComicBook/TwoFace, ComicBook/ThePenguin, ComicBook/TheRiddler, ComicBook/{{Catwoman}}, ComicBook/PoisonIvy, ComicBook/{{Bane}}, ComicBook/TheScarecrow, and ComicBook/MrFreeze are recognizable even to those with only the most basic knowledge of comics. Over time, many of his enemies began to be written as [[ShadowArchetype dark reflections of certain aspects of Batman's personality]], such as The Joker with overall sanity, Two-Face with duality and identity, Scarecrow with the use of fear, etc..

* AmbiguouslyGay: Aside from accusations on all sides, ComicBook/TheJoker sometimes delivers HoYay, depending on the writer. After a while, some writers decided to incorporate that aspect of the character into their stories to create ambiguity on purpose.

* AnAsskickingChristmas[=/=]TwistedChristmas: Christmas is '''''never''''' a happy time for Batman. Not only is it an emotional time for him since the loss of his parents, but his enemies LOVE the irony of stirring up crap on what's supposed to be the happiest holiday of the year. ComicBook/TheJoker, Mister Freeze and the Calendar Man, in particular, have stirring up crap during Christmas practically as a tradition (though at least Calendar Man is partially justified in this, given his particular obsession/MO). Batman's had at least one Christmas story in pretty much all media he's been featured in. This is so common for Batman that [[MerryChristmasInGotham the aversion of these tropes is its own trope that he named!]]

* AntiVillain: Lots. Most of Batman's RoguesGallery are some shade of antivillain; turning to crime as a result of some past trauma is very common. There are also a fair number of [[ComicBook/TheJoker real villains]].
* ArchEnemy: ComicBook/TheJoker is quite possibly the most famous example in the medium. There are some other guys who qualify as Batman's ArchEnemy, who are as much dangerous, just not as much popular: ComicBook/{{Bane}}, [[ComicBook/RasAlGhul Rā's al Ghūl]], ComicBook/ThePenguin, ComicBook/TwoFace, ComicBook/TheRiddler, Hugo Strange, [[EvilCounterpart Owlman]], [[ComicBook/{{OMAC}} Brother]] [[AIIsACrapshoot Eye]] and, in more metaphorical sense, Bruce Wayne's own [[HumansAreFlawed humanity]].

* BreakoutVillain: ComicBook/TheJoker is a big one. Originally he was supposed to be killed in his second appearance back in 1940. Fast-forward 70 years later and he's the most famous villain in all of comics.
** A cross-media example is ComicBook/TheRiddler. Prior to the 1966 TV show, Edward Nygma had made only three appearances including his 1948 debut. Thanks largely to his delightfully demented portrayal by Frank Gorshin, he is now one of Batman's arch-nemeses, second only to the aforementioned Clown Prince of Crime and, perhaps, Oswald Cobblepot.

* TheDreaded: Both Batman and ComicBook/TheJoker have been shown to terrify even those FAR more powerful than they will ever be.
** And if not fear, (in the rare circumstances) at the very least respect, as given by ''ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}'', who is basically the DC equivalent of '''the Devil'''
** To put the Joker into perspective, he scares ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}''.[[note]]Not because he's physically afraid, but because he's unpredictable and doesn't care about killing innocent people.[[/note]]

* ForWantOfANail: There's an Elseworlds story that explores what'd happen if Joe Chill didn't kill Batman's parents. [[FisherKing Apparently Bruce wouldn't have become Batman, Gotham would've become less of a CrapsackWorld]], and he and [[ComicBook/TheJoker Jack Napier]] would've become HeterosexualLifePartners.

** Bruce Wayne himself becomes one in when he gets sent back in time by ComicBook/{{Darkseid}}'s Omega Beams during ''ComicBook/FinalCrisis'' and ends up in 18th century North America where he has a run-in with UsefulNotes/{{Blackbeard}}. To escape the legendary pirate, Bruce fakes his own death and then dons pirate gear, where he dismantles Blackbeard's crew before engaging and defeating him in sword duel.

* FrigidWaterIsHarmless: In one issue, ComicBook/ThePenguin falls through the ice ''at the South Pole'' and climbs out completely fine. This is given zero explanation (the Penguin is by all accounts a completely ordinary human), save for Batman remarking in surprise that "he's immune to the cold!"

* IllKillYou: In his first appearance, ComicBook/TheJoker was not played at all as funny, even in a dark way. He was, in fact, a permanently smiling psychotic gangster with no sense of humor whatsoever. In his first fight with Batman, Bats is actually the one making puns, Joker's Line? "I am going to kill you!"

* LoveCannotOvercome: This is why Silver St. Cloud broke up with Bruce Wayne in a famous 1970s arc: she can't handle knowing that he's risking his life against people like ComicBook/TheJoker every night, so she abandons him and Gotham. This seems to be the source for many other examples of this trope from Batman adaptations in other media.

* NocturnalCrime: Batman prefers to operate at night, because in Gotham that is usually when the majority of crimes that need his attention occur. Batman himself has wryly noted on several occasions that his costume is much more effective at night.
** ComicBook/TheJoker throws a lampshade on this in ''Film/TheDarkKnight'', when he crashes a meeting of underworld leaders and mockingly tells them that the reason they have the meeting in the middle of the day is because they do not want to go out at night due to being scared shitless of Batman. He also points out to them that not being able to operate at night has severely cut into their profits.

** In a look at ComicBook/TheJoker's childhood in ''ComicBook/TheBraveAndTheBold'' revival issue #31, as a child the Joker burned down his house with his bickering parents inside. This being the Joker, [[MultipleChoicePast who knows how accurate the story is]].

** ComicBook/TheJoker's first appearance has civilians dismissing his threats over radio as a hoax, much like the 1938 ''Radio/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' broadcast, mentioning it in all but name.
** The 1960's ''Series/{{Batman|1966}}'' series was generally held in disfavor by Batman's comic book creators, but prolific Batman writer Chuck Dixon was a fan of the show, and snuck in some tributes here and there. Most notably in a two-parter featuring pirate-themed villain Cap'n Fear, which was structured much like a two-parter for the show, and began "in the shadow of the [[PunnyName Westward Bridge]]."

** One explanation given for why Batman doesn't kill supervillains who keep breaking out of prison/containment (especially mass-murdering monsters like ComicBook/TheJoker) is that he's afraid of JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and end up killing not just supervillains but anyone he sees as breaking the law.

** A security [[TheGuardsMustBeCrazy guard]] in ''Arkham Asylum: Madness'' ran head first in to this trope when he decided to put the Name [[BerserkButton "Milton Napier"]] on a plaque to screw with ComicBook/TheJoker. It [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown ended]] badly. For the [[AssholeVictim guard]] that is.

** Also, anyone who has ever teamed up with ComicBook/TheJoker and then decided to double cross him thinking, "He's just a clown with too much free time. What could he possibly do?"

* TrollFic: [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7575076/1/Batman_Hero_of_Gotham Batman Hero Of Gotham]]. Characters die and randomly come back to life (In Chapter 3, the Joker dies and [[JokerImmunity then comes back to life for no reason]] in around 12 sentences), The Penny Plunderer is called "one of the most powerful villains in Gotham", Batgirl walks off a backbreaker from Bane, and Crazy Quilt is called "the evilest villain ever" and actually kills Robin (thus leading to Alfred, of all people, taking up the mantle). [[{{Crossover}} Many other characters also appear]], such as ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} (who even says that he appears in everything), a few of the other ComicBook/XMen, ComicBook/{{Darkseid}} (spelled as Darkseed), ComicBook/{{Superman}}, General Zod, and [[Franchise/{{Halo}} Master Chief]] (spelled as Mastar Chief). Also, there's tons of bad grammar. Here's some quotes from the story:

Batman, a.k.a. the Dark Knight or the Caped Crusader, was created by Creator/BobKane and Creator/BillFinger (who until 2015 was [[MyRealDaddy uncredited]][[note]]TheNewTens led to DC finally negotiating official acknowledgment for Finger who is now considered the major creative force of the character. The reason why Bill Finger went uncredited is a long and complicated story, but to put it shortly, Bob Kane [[GladIThoughtOfIt infamously stole much of the credit]] from Finger (not helped by him being a shy ReclusiveArtist) and his contract prevented DC from acknowledging him as Batman's co-creator. It wouldn't be until 2015, after years of fighting for his acknowledgment from Athena Finger (Bill Finger's granddaughter) and Finger historian Marc Tyler Nobleman, that a deal finally crediting Finger would be reached.[[/note]]) and is, alongside his contemporary ComicBook/{{Superman}}, one of the greatest TropeMakers and {{Trope Codifier}}s in not just comics, but ''all'' visual media; one of the oldest superheroes still in print -- having debuted in ''ComicBook/DetectiveComics'' [[ComicBook/DetectiveComicsNumber27 #27]] (May 1939) -- Batman is one of the three best-known superheroes ever (alongside ComicBook/{{Superman}} and ComicBook/SpiderMan), one of the flagships of Creator/DCComics and one of the most popular comic book characters ever created.

[[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries He is vengeance. He is the night. He is]] '''''[[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries [=Batman=]!]]'''''

The [[TerrorHero Dark Knight]]. The [[TheHero Caped Crusader]]. The [[WorldsBestCharacter World's]] [[GreatDetective Greatest Detective]]. [[OneManArmy The Most Dangerous Man on Earth]]. One half of The [[BashBrothers Dynamic Duo]].

TheCowl of Franchise/TheDCU.

'''[[TropeCodifier The]]''' BadassNormal {{Superhero}}.

[[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries He is vengeance. He is the night]]. He is [[SpellMyNameWithAThe the]] ''[[ComicBook/AllStarBatmanAndRobinTheBoyWonder Goddamn]]'' '''''[=Batman=]'''''.

Created by Creator/BobKane and Creator/BillFinger (who until 2015 was [[MyRealDaddy uncredited]][[note]]TheNewTens led to DC finally negotiating official acknowledgment for Finger who is now considered the major creative force of the character. The reason why Bill Finger went uncredited is a long and complicated story, but to put it shortly, Bob Kane [[GladIThoughtOfIt infamously stole much of the credit]] from Finger (not helped by him being a shy ReclusiveArtist) and his contract prevented DC from acknowledging him as Batman's co-creator. It wouldn't be until 2015, after years of fighting for his acknowledgment from Athena Finger (Bill Finger's granddaughter) and Finger historian Marc Tyler Nobleman, that a deal finally crediting Finger would be reached.[[/note]]), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman Batman]] is also one of the greatest TropeMakers and {{Trope Codifier}}s in not just comics, but ''all'' visual media; one of the oldest superheroes still in print -- having debuted in ''ComicBook/DetectiveComics'' [[ComicBook/DetectiveComicsNumber27 #27]] (May 1939) -- Batman is one of the three best-known superheroes ever (alongside ComicBook/{{Superman}} and ComicBook/SpiderMan), one of the flagships of Creator/DCComics and one of the most popular comic book characters ever created.

'''[[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries He's vengeance. He's the night. He's BATMAN!]]'''

** And those who believe this of The Joker are often proven fatally wrong.

Created by Creator/BobKane and Creator/BillFinger (who until 2015 was [[MyRealDaddy uncredited]][[note]]TheNewTens led to DC finally negotiating official acknowledgment for Finger who is now considered the major creative force of the character. The reason why Bill Finger went uncredited is a long and complicated story, but to put it shortly, Bob Kane [[GladIThoughtOfIt infamously stole much of the credit]] from Finger (not helped by him being a shy ReclusiveArtist) and his contract prevented DC from acknowledging him as Batman's co-creator. It wouldn’t be until 2015, after years of fighting for his acknowledgment from Athena Finger (Bill Finger's granddaughter) and Finger historian Marc Tyler Nobleman, that a deal finally crediting Finger would be reached[[/note]]), [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman Batman]] is also one of the greatest TropeMakers and {{Trope Codifier}}s in not just comics, but ''all'' visual media; one of the oldest superheroes still in print -- having debuted in ''ComicBook/DetectiveComics'' [[ComicBook/DetectiveComicsNumber27 #27]] (May 1939) -- Batman is one of the three best-known superheroes ever (alongside ComicBook/{{Superman}} and ComicBook/SpiderMan), one of the flagships of Creator/DCComics and one of the most popular comic book characters ever created.

** [[https://batman.fandom.com/wiki/Black_Spider_(Eric_Needham) Black Spider]] is a clear villainous riff on Marvel's [[SpiderManSendUp Friendly Neighbour]] ComicBook/SpiderMan. Rather than being a AllLovingHero and PrimaryColorChampion he's a [[DarkIsEvil dark coloured]] AxCrazy VigilanteMan who kills the criminals he hunts down rather than just webbing them up like Spidey does. He even has a similar working-class background to Peter as well as being motivated by the death of a loved one whose death he unintentionally caused. Except Black Spider has no sense of responsibility (something that defines his Marvel counterpart) and refuses to acknowledge that his actions make him a bad guy. ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' even gives him Web-Shooters, has him WallCrawl, and gives him Spider-Man's [[Creator/JoshKeaton voice]] from Creator/GregWeisman's [[WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan last project]] just to heighten the similarities.

* ExaltedTorturer: Since so much of the story has Batman's no-kill rule mined for drama, this has obscured the fact that a good deal of what Batman does, such as intimidating, scaring, and often times physically beating people up in order to get information flirts with torture and PoliceBrutality. His actions during the [[ComicBook/JusticeLeagueOfAmericaTowerOfBabel Tower of Babel]] story where he created countermeasures in case the League went rogue had him analyzing his teammates in such a way so that he could devise traps that tortured them in ways tailored to their superpowers.

* GodzillaThreshold: Whenever Batman realizes he needs ComicBook/{{Superman}} or the ComicBook/JusticeLeague, and not just the Bat-Family.

The [[TerrorHero Dark Knight]]. The [[TheHero Caped Crusader]]. The [[WorldsBestCharacter World's]] [[GreatDetective Greatest Detective]]. [[OneManArmy The Most Dangerous Man on Earth]]. One half of The [[BashBrothers Dynamic Duo]].

TheCowl of Franchise/TheDCU.

'''[[TropeCodifier The]]''' BadassNormal {{Superhero}}.

[[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries He is vengeance. He is the night]]. He is [[SpellMyNameWithAThe the]] ''[[ComicBook/AllStarBatmanAndRobinTheBoyWonder Goddamn]]'' '''''[=Batman=]'''''.

[[SpellMyNameWithAThe The]] ''[[ComicBook/AllStarBatmanAndRobinTheBoyWonder Goddamn]]'' '''''[=Batman=]'''''.

** ''ComicBook/BatmanAndTheOutsiders'': Sparkler, part of the Force of July, is essentially Cannonball from ''ComicBook/NewMutants'' as a MyCountryRightOrWrong patriot who mindlessly obeys the orders of his evil superior.

* TheStoic: Even when threatening mooks as a GutturalGrowler, Bats never really loses control. During a fight with ComicBook/ThePunisher, while Frank Castle's internal monologue is about giving into rage and joining the chaos, Batman prefers to remain cool and avoid being consumed by other people's rage and use ''that'' to his advantage.