Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by 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 continuity, Batman is the alias of Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American playboy, philanthropist, and industrialist who resides in Gotham City. Batman's origin story features him swearing vengeance against criminals after witnessing the murder of his parents Thomas and Martha as a child, a vendetta tempered with 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, James Gordon, and Catwoman; and foes such as the Penguin, the Riddler, Two-Face, and his archenemy, the Joker.
Batman: Year One is an American comic book story arc written by Frank Miller and illustrated by David Mazzucchelli. Year One was originally published by DC Comics in Batman #404–407 in 1987. There have been several reprints of the story: a hardcover, multiple trade paperbacks, several deluxe editions in hardcover and paperback format, and an absolute edition. Year One was also adapted into an animated feature in 2011, after efforts to adapt it into a live-action film were cancelled following the failure of 1997's Batman & Robin.
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 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 with a confrontation with Superman, who is now a pawn of the government.
Detective Comics is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011, is best known for introducing the superhero Batman in Detective Comics #27.
Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, often simply called Legends of the Dark Knight, is the name of several DC comic books featuring Batman. The original series launched in 1989 as the third major monthly Batman title, following the popularity of Tim Burton's 1989 film Batman. Many of the stories follow the tone of Frank Miller's Batman: Year One. The series differed from other Batman titles of the time. The creative team rotated with every story arc and the stories stood alone, unlike the inter-connected nature of other Batman comics. Initially the title ran stories contained to five issues, often with more mature topics and sensibilities than the other Batman titles. After issue #20, the number of issues for each story began to vary and occasionally tied into crossover events.
Timothy Jackson "Tim" Drake is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Created by Marv Wolfman and Pat Broderick, he first appeared in Batman #436 as the third character to assume the role of Batman's crime-fighting partner and sidekick Robin. Following the events of Batman: Battle for the Cowl in 2009, Drake adopted the identity of Red Robin. In 2019, Tim returned to his original Robin persona and briefly used the mononym "Drake".
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. Initially sharing a similar origin to Grayson, his character's origin was rewritten after the Crisis on Infinite Earths event. His origin, which has since been the standard for most iterations of the character, re-imagined Todd as an orphaned pre-teen living alone in Gotham City who came from an abusive family and was forced to partake in crime from an early age to survive before being taken in by Batman as his adopted son and protégé.
Timothy Roger Sale was an American comics artist, "best known for his work on the DC Comics characters Batman and Superman and for influencing depictions of Batman in numerous films." He is primarily known for his collaborations with writer Jeph Loeb, which included both comics work and artwork for the TV series Heroes. Sale's renditions of Batman influenced modern cinematic depictions of the character, with film directors and actors directly citing Sale's work.
Batman: The Long Halloween is a 13-issue American comic book limited series written by Jeph Loeb with art by Tim Sale. It was originally published by DC Comics in 1996 and 1997. It was the follow-up to three Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Specials by the same creative team. The series' success led to Loeb and Sale to reteam for two sequels, Batman: Dark Victory and Catwoman: When in Rome, which are set concurrently.
"Knightfall" is a 1993–1994 Batman story arc published by DC Comics. It consists of a trilogy of storylines that ran from 1993 to 1994, consisting of "Knightfall", "Knightquest", and "KnightsEnd".
Batman: Shadow of the Bat is a comic book series featuring Batman, published by DC Comics. The series ran for 96 issues, from 1992 to 2000. The stories took place in Batman's then-current continuity along with Detective Comics and Batman, in contrast to Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, which focused on Batman's early years. Batman: Shadow of the Bat looked into the psyche of the various cast members of the Batman comics. It was also notable for introducing the villain Victor Zsasz into the Batman mythos.
Batman is an ongoing American comic book series featuring the DC Comics superhero Batman as its main 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.
Batman Black and White refers to the comic book limited series published by DC Comics featuring 8-page black and white Batman stories. Volumes 1, 4 and 5 of the series feature all-new stories, while Vol. 2 and 3 contain stories from the back-up feature of the Batman: Gotham Knights comic book.
"Batman and Son" is a 2006 comic book story arc featuring the DC Comics character Batman. Written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Andy Kubert, the story was published in four parts in the comic book Batman starting in #655 and ending in #658. The story was the beginning of Morrison's run in the Batman comic as well as their long-term take on the character of Batman through multiple titles over the next seven years. The arc introduced Batman's son, Damian Wayne, bringing him into the mainstream continuity of the DC Universe.
"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.
Batman and Robin is an American comic book ongoing series, created by Grant Morrison and featuring Batman and Robin. The debut of the series followed the events of "Batman R.I.P.", Final Crisis, and "Battle for the Cowl" in which the original Batman, Bruce Wayne, apparently died at the hands of DC Comics villain Darkseid and features the winner of the "Battle for the Cowl" as the new Batman. The conclusion of Battle for the Cowl shows Dick Grayson ascending to the role of Batman, while Damian Wayne becomes the new Robin.
Batman: Haunted Knight is an anthology trade paperback published by DC Comics in 1996. It reprinted three one-shot specials from the previous three years. Each of the stories was written by Jeph Loeb and featured art by Tim Sale. The popularity of these three stories led to the three miniseries Batman: The Long Halloween #1-13, Batman: Dark Victory #0-13 and Catwoman: When in Rome #1-6.
Batman of Zur-En-Arrh is a character appearing in media published by DC Comics. Introduced in the Silver Age, the character is an alien named Tlano from the planet Zur-En-Arrh who decided to become a version of Batman for his own planet. The character's reappearance in the 2000s rebranded him as a violent and unhinged backup personality of Batman, but the alien version has been revealed to still exist in the main continuity.
Batman: Arkham is a superhero action-adventure video game series based on the DC Comics character Batman, developed by Rocksteady Studios and WB Games Montréal, and published originally by Eidos Interactive and currently by Warner Bros. Games. The franchise consists of four main installments and a spin-off, along with four smaller titles for mobile devices, a virtual reality game, tie-in comic books, and an animated film. The continuity established by the games is often referred to as the Arkhamverse.
Batman: Curse of the White Knight is an American comic book published by DC Comics under its Black Label imprint. The eight-issue limited series, written and illustrated by Sean Murphy, began publication on July 24, 2019 and concluded on March 25, 2020. It is the sequel to Batman: White Knight and is the second installment in the Murphyverse's White Knight series, which takes place within a self-contained alternate reality that is different from and unrelated to the main DC Universe.
