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.
The Dark Knight Returns is a 1986 four-issue comic book miniseries starring Batman, written by Frank Miller, illustrated by Miller and Klaus Janson, with color by Lynn Varley, and published by DC Comics. It tells an alternative story of Bruce Wayne, who at 55 years old returns from a decade of retirement to fight crime while facing opposition from the Gotham City police force and the United States government. The story also features the return of classic foes Two-Face and the Joker, and culminates in a confrontation with Superman, who is now a pawn of the government.
The Joker is a supervillain who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. He was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book Batman on April 25, 1940. Credit for the Joker's creation is disputed; Kane and Robinson claimed responsibility for his design while acknowledging Finger's writing contribution. Although the Joker was planned to be killed off during his initial appearance, he was spared by editorial intervention, allowing the character to endure as the archenemy of the superhero Batman.
James W. "Jim" Gordon Sr. is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane as an ally of Batman, the character debuted in the first panel of Detective Comics #27, Batman's first appearance, making him the first Batman supporting character ever to be introduced.
Owlman is a fictional character appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. A supervillainous alternate-universe counterpart of Bruce Wayne / Batman, he is depicted as the adult version of Wayne's deceased older brother, who in most iterations dies as a child, before Bruce is born. In The New 52, the primary continuity Owlman, originally depicted as the asylum-bound Boomerang Killer, is retroactively revealed to be still alive, stolen from his parents as a child, and working in the service of the Court of Owls under the name Lincoln March.
Metron is a fictional antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics.
Batman is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the DC Comics superhero Batman as its protagonist. The character, created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, first appeared in Detective Comics #27. Batman proved to be so popular that a self-titled ongoing comic book series began publication with a cover date of spring 1940. It was first advertised in early April 1940, one month after the first appearance of his new sidekick, Robin the Boy Wonder. Batman comics have proven to be popular since the 1940s.
Dr. Thomas Wayne, M.D. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is the father of Bruce Wayne (Batman), and husband of Martha Wayne as well as the paternal grandfather of Damian Wayne. Wayne was introduced in Detective Comics #33, the first exposition of Batman's origin story. A gifted surgeon and philanthropist to Gotham City, Wayne inherited the Wayne family fortune after Patrick Wayne. When Wayne and his wife are murdered in a street mugging, Bruce is inspired to fight crime in Gotham as the vigilante Batman.
Scott Snyder is an American comic book author. He is known for his 2006 short story collection Voodoo Heart, and his work for DC Comics, including series such as American Vampire, Detective Comics, a highly acclaimed run on Batman, Swamp Thing, and Justice League as well as the company-wide crossover storylines "Dark Nights: Metal" and "Dark Nights: Death Metal." He has also written creator-owned comics published through Image Comics, including Wytches, Undiscovered Country, and Nocterra.
Gregory Capullo is an American comic book artist and penciller, best known for his work on Quasar (1991–1992), X-Force (1992–1993), Angela (1994), Spawn, Batman (2011–2016), and Reborn (2016–2017). He also drew the DC Comics company-wide crossover storylines Dark Nights: Metal and Dark Nights: Death Metal. As part of his DC work, he co-created the characters, The Batman Who Laughs, Mr. Bloom, and the Court of Owls.
In most of the DC Comics media, the Multiverse is a "cosmic construct" that is composed of the many fictional universes the stories of DC media take place in. The worlds within the multiverse share a space and fate in common, and its structure has changed several times in the history of DC Comics.
The Joker, a supervillain in DC Comics and archenemy of the superhero Batman, has appeared in various media. WorldCat records over 250 productions featuring the Joker as a subject, including films, television series, books, and video games. Live-action films featuring the character are typically the most successful.
The Court of Owls is a criminal organization and secret society appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They appear as adversaries of the superhero Batman. Created by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo, the Court is described as an organization of the wealthiest and most influential citizens of the city of Gotham, having existed since the city's founding and completely unknown among its general population outside of an urban legend centered around their reputation for grisly assassinations carried out by indoctrinated agents known as Talons. The 2015–2016 "Robin War" story line details their international expansion, with the group renaming itself the Parliament of Owls.
Batman is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Geoff Johns (writer) and Andy Kubert (artist), he made his first appearance in Flashpoint #1. He is a hardened murderous version of Thomas Wayne seen in the alternate timeline comic Flashpoint (2011) whose son was killed instead of Martha Wayne and himself, eventually helping Barry Allen/The Flash defeat Eobard Thawne. His character returned to the main DC Universe in DC Rebirth as a revived amalgamation of his original self that was killed by Joe Chill and the Flashpoint version of Batman that was killed in "The Button", a storyline revolving around the "Smiley-face" button from Watchmen.
"Batman: Endgame" is a six-issue comic book story arc first published by DC Comics in 2014, featuring the fictional superhero Batman. Set after the events of Batman Eternal, the story involves the return of Batman's arch-enemy, the Joker, following his disappearance in the 2012 story arc "Death of the Family".
"Dark Nights: Metal" is a 2017–2018 monthly crossover comic book storyline published by DC Comics, which consisted of a core eponymous miniseries, and a number of other tie-in books. Premiering in June 2017 and lasting until April 2018, the plot was written by Scott Snyder, with art by Greg Capullo, Jonathan Glapion and FCO Plascencia. The story closely links with Snyder and Capullo's run on Batman during The New 52 DC relaunch.
Duke Thomas is a fictional character appearing in comics published by DC Comics. He was created by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. He was introduced as a supporting character of Batman, his first appearance being in 2013 in Batman #21, before later leading a youth vigilante movement inspired by Robin, in the comic book We Are... Robin, in May 2015. He officially became Batman's newest partner and joined the Batman family in 2016.
Year of the Villain was a crossover comic book event published by DC Comics. Beginning May 2019, the event narrated the aftermath of Dark Nights: Metal and the prelude to Batman/Superman vs. The Secret Six and Dark Nights: Death Metal. The crossover and one-shots received generally positive reviews for the characterization of certain villains.
"Dark Nights: Death Metal" is a 2020–2021 comic book storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous central miniseries by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo, and a number of tie-in books. The seven-issue miniseries was released from June 16, 2020, to January 5, 2021. The crossover was received with acclaim, with critics praising the unique plot, the art, the action, and the ending. It serves as the conclusion of the five-year Dark Multiverse Saga, taking place near the end of the New Justice era.
The character of Batman was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, and has been continually published in a variety of DC Comics book titles since its premiere in 1939. There have been several versions of Batman over the years, both as the main hero in the stories as well as several alternative versions.
