Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book Detective Comics on March 30, 1939. In the DC Universe, Batman is the alias of Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American playboy, philanthropist, and industrialist who resides in Gotham City. His origin story features him swearing vengeance against criminals after witnessing the murder of his parents, Thomas and Martha, as a child, a vendetta tempered by the ideal of justice. He trains himself physically and intellectually, crafts a bat-inspired persona, and monitors the Gotham streets at night. Kane, Finger, and other creators accompanied Batman with supporting characters, including his sidekicks Robin and Batgirl; allies Alfred Pennyworth and James Gordon; love interest Catwoman; and foes such as the Penguin, the Riddler, Two-Face, and his archenemy, the Joker.
Robin is the alias of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was originally created by Bob Kane, Bill Finger, and Jerry Robinson to serve as a junior counterpart and the sidekick to the superhero Batman. As a team, Batman and Robin have commonly been referred to as the Caped Crusaders and the Dynamic Duo. The character's first incarnation, Dick Grayson, debuted in Detective Comics #38. Conceived as a way to attract young readership, Robin garnered overwhelmingly positive critical reception, doubling the sales of the Batman titles. Robin's early adventures included Star Spangled Comics #65–130 (1947–1952), the character's first solo feature. He made regular appearances in Batman-related comic books and other DC Comics publications from 1940 through the early 1980s, until the character set aside the Robin identity and became the independent superhero Nightwing.
Batman is an American live-action television series based on the DC Comics character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Burt Ward as Dick Grayson/Robin—two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City from a variety of archvillains. It is known for its camp style and upbeat theme music, as well as its intentionally humorous, simplistic morality aimed at its preteen audience. It was described by executive producer William Dozier at the time as "the only situation comedy on the air without a laugh track". The 120 episodes aired on the ABC network for three seasons from January 12, 1966, to March 14, 1968, twice weekly during the first two seasons, and weekly for the third. In 2016, television critics Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz ranked Batman as the 82nd greatest American television series of all time. A companion feature film was released in 1966 between the first and second seasons of the TV show.
Nightwing is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The most prominent is Dick Grayson, who takes the name when he leaves his role as Batman's partner and sidekick Robin in his adulthood.
Richard John "Dick" Grayson is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with Batman, Teen Titans and Justice League. Created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, he first appeared in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940 as the original and most popular incarnation of Robin, Batman's crime-fighting partner. He is the eldest child of Bruce Wayne, Batman's alter ego, the first child to be adopted by Batman. In Tales of the Teen Titans #44, the character, after becoming an adult, retires his role as Robin and assumes the persona of Nightwing. Grayson has donned the cape and cowl to replace Wayne as Batman; his most notable spell followed Wayne's supposed death in Final Crisis, and sees Grayson adopt Damian Wayne, Bruce's biological son and his adoptive younger brother, as his Robin.
"Batman: Hush" is an American comic book story arc published by DC Comics featuring the superhero Batman. It was published in monthly installments within the comic book series Batman, running from issue #608–619 in October 2002 until September 2003. The story arc was written by Jeph Loeb, penciled by Jim Lee, inked by Scott Williams, and colored by Alex Sinclair, under the editorship of Bob Schreck.
Jason Peter Todd is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. First appearing in Batman #357 in March 1983, he was created to succeed Dick Grayson as Robin, Batman's partner and sidekick. He initially shared a similar origin to Grayson, being the son of circus acrobats who are killed by criminals in Gotham and adopted by Bruce Wayne, Batman's alter ego, as his son and protege. Following the Crisis on Infinite Earths event and the rebooting of DC's main comics universe, Jason's origin was changed to being a pre-teen street urchin and petty thief who Bruce adopted and mentored after finding the boy attempting to steal the tires off of the Batmobile. This origin has since become the standard for subsequent iterations of the character.
The New Batman Adventures is an American animated superhero television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation, it is a continuation of Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995), serving as the third season of the show, and the third series in the DC Animated Universe. It was followed by Batman Beyond (1999–2001). The series was revamped from BTAS, replacing its art style with streamlined designs to allow for more consistent animation and maintain similarity with the simultaneously running Superman: The Animated Series (1996–2000), with episodes airing on Kids' WB under the title The New Batman/Superman Adventures.
Batman: Nine Lives is an Elseworlds graphic novel published by DC Comics in 2002, written by Dean Motter, with art by Michael Lark.
The Huntress, also known as Helena Wayne, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character is the daughter of the Batman and Catwoman of an alternate universe established in the early 1960s and referred to as "Earth-Two", where the Golden Age stories took place. A modern-day predecessor of Helena Wayne as Huntress with no blood-relation to Batman or Catwoman, Helena Bertinelli, was additionally co-created by the character's co-creator Joe Staton in 1989, originally intended as a reinvention of the character following the events of Crisis on Infinite Earths, before being retconned as different characters.
In addition to DC Comics books, the superhero Robin also appears in other media, such as films, television and radio. Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, and Damian Wayne are examples of the characters who use the name Robin.
Robin of Earth-Two is an alternate version of the superhero Robin, who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was introduced after DC Comics created Earth-Two, a parallel world that was retroactively established as the home of characters which had been published in the Golden Age of comic books. This allowed creators to publish comic books taking place in current continuity while being able to disregard Golden Age stories featuring Robin, solving an incongruity, as Robin had been published as a single ongoing incarnation since inception. Unlike his main counterpart, Robin is the only alter ego of Dick Grayson, who uses the title into adulthood, rather than taking on later codenames such as Nightwing or Batman. In addition, the name "Robin" is not taken on by later characters.
Originally created in 1967, the fictional comic book character Barbara Gordon has been adapted into various other forms of media. The character has appeared in both live action and animated television series and films, as well as in video games in her alter-egos as both Batgirl and Oracle.
"Batman: Battle for the Cowl" is a 2009 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous, three-issue miniseries written and penciled by Tony Daniel, as well as a number of tie-in books. The central story details the chaos in Gotham City following the "Batman R.I.P." and "Final Crisis" story arcs, due to Batman's absence. His disappearance is caused by the character's apparent death at the hands of Darkseid in Final Crisis, which causes dissension in the ranks of his allies and enemies who fight for the right to become the new Batman.
This article is about the publication history of the DC Comics fictional character Dick Grayson, who has been portrayed in comic books alternatively as Robin, Nightwing, and Batman.
Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders is a 2016 American animated superhero film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. Based on the 1960s Batman TV series, the film stars the voices of Adam West, Burt Ward, and Julie Newmar reprising their roles of Batman, Robin, and Catwoman from the series. In the film, Batman and Robin set out to defeat the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, and Catwoman, who have teamed up. Matters are further complicated when Batman gradually becomes more hostile.
Batman: Hush is a 2019 American animated superhero film featuring the DC Comics superhero Batman and loosely based on the 2002 comic book story arc of the same name. It is the thirteenth installment of the DC Animated Movie Universe and the 37th overall film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies. In the film, Batman forms an alliance with Catwoman to defeat a new villain named Hush, who knows all of Batman's secrets and targets key figures in his life.
"The Joker War" is a comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics in late 2020, featuring Batman and his allies. Primarily written by James Tynion IV, the arc is his first major arc on Batman in DC Rebirth. The main story was from Batman #95–100, while 16 other issues were tie-ins.
