Batman

Batman, otherwise known as Bruce Wayne, was a Gotham Cityvigilante who rose up to fight gangsters, insane criminals, and eventually even alternate universe despots, metahuman threats, and intergalactic tyrants.

Early life
Bruce Wayne was born to a wealthy family, the son of Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne. Young Bruce would often watch the television adventures of the Gray Ghost with his father, and took many ideas from this show later.

On the way home from seeing the film The Mark of Zorro, Bruce watched as his mother and father were gunned down by a mugger. Some say that Bruce died that night with his parents, and Batman was born in his place. In any case, he later stated that the incident marked the end of his childhood. Bruce was taken home to Wayne Manor, where he was raised by the Waynes' faithful butler Alfred Pennyworth.

Intent on eliminating the crime that took his parents, Bruce immersed himself in studying a wide variety of arts and sciences. He learned from masters in their fields, such as escape artistry from Zatara, martial arts from Yoru Sensei in Japan and The Master in Nanda Parbat, and science from Nobel laureates.

During his three-month training stint with Zatara, Bruce and his mentor's daughter Zatanna became very close.

During his training in Japan, Bruce became enemies with fellow student Kyodai Ken when the latter was kicked out for trying to steal Yoru's sword. The two would meet again years later, in which Kyodai would acknowledge him as a worthy adversary.

Early career
Bruce Wayne very nearly gave up his plan to become a force for justice in the night when he nearly found happiness with Andrea Beaumont. When Andrea abruptly called off their engagement under mysterious circumstances, however, a heartbroken Bruce dove headfirst onto the path of becoming Batman with renewed vigor.

One day while Bruce was exploring the recently discovered bat-infested caverns below Wayne Manor, Alfred informed him that Andrea would be leaving both he and Gotham behind. Recalling the omen of bats bursting from the belly of the caverns, when he decided to give up his life as a crime-fighter to be with Andrea, Bruce set up an appropriate identity to strike fear into the hearts of "superstitious and cowardly" criminals. He donned a suit made to look like a giant bat and built his secret headquarters, the Batcave, in the caverns below the Manor.

Some time after this, he would be reunited with the woman who almost prevented Batman. After being accused of murdering several members of Salvatore Valestra's gang, Batman was able to determine that the real assassin was actually his former love. When he confronted her, who was in a heated battle with the Joker, she said that vengeance was all she had left before she disappeared with a detained Joker as an abandoned theme park exploded in their wake.

Eventually, Bruce took in Dick Grayson as his ward after Dick's parents were killed. He eventually made Dick into his partner Robin.

Further adventures
Batman spent years keeping the people of Gotham City safe from common criminals and bizarre villains. He had several partners and occasional imitators, such as Batwoman, but his most common partner was Barbara Gordon, who had officially taken the job at his side as Batgirl. While on another mission, Batman rescued the young Tim Drake from Two-Face when he attempted to kill the boy. Tim found himself inspired by Bruce's desire to stand up to people like Two-Face. In combination with his own rebellious nature, Tim later stole the Robin costume from the Batcave, ultimately taking up the mantle as the second Robin. Receiving Tim as his new sidekick, Batman gave the young boy three rules: Tim had to give Bruce everything he's got, Tim had to give him even more, and Bruce made the rules.

For a short amount of time, Dick Grayson returned to Gotham as Nightwing to assist his former mentor. While he was a welcome addition, the two of them never truly seemed to forget the argument that caused Dick to leave. Despite this, the partnership remained stable. Nightwing would spend a decent amount of time in Gotham, but he would later leave to establish himself in Blüdhaven. Batman would later find himself in Metropolis, having followed the Joker to the city. While his long-time nemesis struck a deal with Lex Luthor, Batman would find himself working with Superman to thwart the plot. After foiling the Joker's plans to kill the Man of Steel and destroy Metropolis, he would return to the city a couple of times to stop villains from his own rogue's gallery. He would also form an unlikely partnership with the young Static when another case brought the heroes into one another's home city. While these two partnerships did not usually start off well, Batman eventually learned to respect their abilities and trust both of them with his secret identity.

Batman's secret identity

 * Main article: List of people who know Batman's Secret Identity

While Batman kept his identity a closely guarded secret, there were a number of individuals to whom he had either revealed his identity or who had discovered it. Among the most prominent ones are Alfred Pennyworth, Dick Grayson, Barbara Gordon, Tim Drake, Terry McGinnis, Leslie Thompkins, Talia, Hugo Strange, Ra's al Ghul, Andrea Beaumont, Lois Lane, Amanda Waller, the core Justice Leaguers, and his archnemesis The Joker.

Love interests
Bruce Wayne has rarely had anything that could be described as a committed relationship, mainly because he is unwilling to ever get close to someone in case they are ever put at risk. Ironically, most of Bruce's more notable relationships would at some point become part of his Rogues Gallery.

Andrea Beaumont
Bruce's first true love is often viewed as Andrea Beaumont, who Bruce apparently loved so much that he was willing to give up his promise of avenging his parents and marry her. This was changed however, when Andrea broke off their engagement and left for Europe due to her father owing money to the mob (in her letter, she lied to Bruce by saying she was "too young" and "needed time"). Years later, she reappeared in Gotham shortly after the costumed murderer known as The Phantasm started killing off mob bosses. In reality it turned out to be Andrea behind the persona, killing off the same mob that killed her father and prevented their potential happiness. After an intense battle with The Joker, Andrea disappeared with the lunatic and left a locket with a picture of her and Bruce in the Batcave, leaving him heartbroken. Many years later, Andrea would later be recruited by Amanda Waller as part of Project Batman Beyond to kill young Terry McGinnis's parents to mirror Bruce's trauma and create a new Batman, but at the last moment refused to out of respect for Batman and his unwillingness to resort to murder. This convinced Waller that if she wanted to honor all he stood for, neither could she.

Zatanna
During his training to become Batman, Bruce studied under the magician, Zatara, in escape artistry under the alias John Smith. During this time, Zatara's daughter, Zatanna, developed a crush on "John" and attempted to stop him from leaving by handcuffing him to a ladder. Bruce, of course, quickly got out of them and left before she could try again. Years later, a performance in Gotham led to her encountering Batman. She soon realized that Batman and "John Smith" were one and the same. At some unknown point in time, Zatanna learned that he was Bruce Wayne (though it is unclear how). On occasion, they worked together during their time in the Justice League. Bruce even went to her for help when he needed magical assistance kept under wraps. The two remained good friends.

Selina Kyle
Bruce's most notable relationship was with Catwoman. After their first encounter, both expressed strong feelings for each other (in Bruce's case, out of costume as well), but were never able to start a true relationship due to being on opposite sides of the law. , they were more scornful of each other as they knew a relationship wasn't possible due to a lack of trust, and only dealt with each other when crime was involved. Selina even attempted to seduce Nightwing once, but soon realized she was being tricked.

Talia Al Ghul
His other most prominent relationship was with Talia, daughter of Ra's al Ghul. Despite a dubious first meeting, Talia soon developed strong feelings for Bruce and often referred to him as her "Beloved". After testing him out, Ra's deemed Batman a worthy successor and offered him an alliance. Bruce, however, had seen Ra's' methods for bringing about a better world and refused. Bruce would come to develop feelings for Talia as well, but her loyalty to her father continually interfered with their chances of a true relationship. In Bruce's old age, Talia appeared on his birthday to offer him use of the Lazarus Pits, reminding him of their time together. He later discovered it was actually her father who had transferred his mind into her body when his could no longer be sustained. After defeating Ra's with the new Batman, Bruce mourned Talia and referred to her as "a very special woman", but avoided answering when Terry asked if she was "the" special woman. After looking at pictures from what appeared to be their time in an actual relationship, Bruce said his final goodbye: "Rest well, Beloved".

Susan Macguire
Bruce met and married Susan Maguire in a short span of time, citing his feeling happier with her than he had in a long time and was even going to give up being Batman to be with her. Susan was later revealed to be one of many human looking plants created by Poison Ivy to marry Gotham's rich patrons and inherit their fortunes. Bruce realized this and stated that his initial feelings were likely the result of pheromones.

Lois Lane
For a short time, during his stay in Metropolis tracking the Joker, Bruce was in a relationship with Lois Lane. Lois even planned to move to Gotham (and transfer to the Daily Planet's branch there) to be with him, but that changed when she discovered he was Batman (and there was a whole side to him she didn't know and wasn't sure if she wanted to know). For some time after, Lois did have second thoughts about this decision and almost called him several times. Decades later while in his late eighties/early nineties, Bruce is shown to still care for Lois, having kept a picture of her on his personal computer files.

Barbara Gordon
Early on in Barbara's career at Batgirl, she had a dream that she kissed Batman after saving his life. For some time, she was in a relationship with Dick Grayson., despite not knowing that he was Robin. When Barbara had discovered Batman’s true identity, she and him began working more closely together, though she still had feelings for Dick. At some point in time after Dick had left for good, despite the obvious age difference between them, Bruce and Barbara dated, but they broke things off between them as Bruce was too focused on fighting crime than being in a full relationship and because of what happened to Robin when the Joker had abducted him. These events eventually put a major strain on their relationship, which made Barbara hold a long lasting grudge towards him in the future. Despite what happened in the past, Bruce still cares deeply for Barbara, even having a picture of the two of them together on the Batcomputer.

Kathy Duquesne
Batman first ran into Kathy Duquesne accidentally while out as Bruce Wayne in a shopping mall, where he helps her escape from two over-protective body guards. Bruce and Kathy develop a close bond, and eventually begins suspecting that Kathy is the new Batwoman that has appeared in Gotham using lethal force against criminals. This turns out to be true, as Kathy is working with Sonia Alcana and Rocky Ballantine to take down Rupert Thorne and the Penguin, and Kathy's father who works as their enforcer Carlton Duquesne. Kathy infiltrates their ship and is captured by Bane. However, after Batman saves her she manages to attach a bomb to the ship. The ship is destroyed and the criminals are arrested, and Kathy is able to regain a relationship with her father. Kathy decides to give up on her career as Batwoman, and her and Bruce drive off into the sunset.

Wonder Woman
During his time in the Justice League, Batman and Wonder Woman had a growing affection for each other, that Batman first showed when Diana was apparently killed by a missile in Gorilla City during their first encounter with Gorilla Grodd. He admitted that he may have had feelings for her, but decided not to pursue it because he felt dating on the team led to disasters and out of fear that Diana would become a target for his enemies, despite her demonstrations of being perfectly able to fend for herself. Others, such as Green Lantern, noted the relationship, but when pressed Batman dodged the question by describing her as merely "a remarkable woman and valued friend". Bruce and Diana also showed their feelings for each other when they were in their civilian identities and on the run from the invading Thanagarian forces and, with the help of a restaurant owner, hid from the soldiers disguised as a pair of lovers enjoying an intimate meal.

Powers and abilities
Batman, though considered a "superhero," had no metahuman abilities. He was, however, at the peak of human physical and mental conditioning, having extensively studied the sciences, technology, martial arts, detection and many other disciplines under masters of their respective fields.

Batman was a master of stealth and infiltration (all the more remarkable given that he stands 6'2" and weighs 210 lbs), and often revealed himself to his enemies when they least suspected him to. This also allowed him to just disappear from allies in mid-sentence, a habit that frequently annoyed the likes of Commissioner Gordon ("One of these days I'm gonna nail his feet to the ground") and Harvey Bullock ("I wonder how the Commish puts up with that").

Batman was capable of incredible feats of agility. During the Second Apokolyptian invasion, Darkseid commented that no one had ever been able to avoid his Omega Beams before. His strength was also exceptional; He is capable of throwing Superman, and even Kalibak several meters away, as well as giving Darkseid a fairly good fight before being subdued. Temporarily youthened for about a week in his older years, his physical mass was all the more apparent when compared to the slim teenager Terry McGinnis.

With his martial arts prowess, occasionally augmented by technology, Batman was usually more than a match for any foe he encountered, human or otherwise. For instance, when Batman first met Superman, the vigilante suddenly threw the powerful alien across a room to Superman's complete astonishment at the attack's sheer audacity.

As Bruce Wayne aged and retired from active crimefighting, he still maintained his wide variety of skills including martial arts. But, due to his weak heart and aging body he couldn't engage in prolonged periods of physical excursion without complications. He could, however, use his cane as a weapon.

Batman's mental discipline and determination were as equally strong a weapon as his physical prowess. On at least two occasions, Batman overcame the temptation to abandon the real world and live in a fantasy world with his "ideal" life, in order to save the day. On another occasion, Batman out-willed the mind control of Doctor Destiny, who had simultaneously overpowered the minds of nearly the entire Justice League, despite having not slept for three nights in a row.

Batman is also a master of intimidation and psychological manipulation, specifically with the criminally minded. Usually he relies on his burly appearance, coupled with the dark appearance of his costume (the main reason why he chose the bat as his symbol and mask), and a certain degree of ruthlessness to intimidate criminals into spilling their guts to him, something his peers in the superhero community, like Superman and Flash, usually find themselves unable to do so, despite their greater physical might. But this ability could also be used more subtly: With a few choice words, Batman once manipulated the nearly mindless Solomon Grundy into fighting his then-teammate, the super-genius Ultra-Humanite; tricked Cheetah into taking sympathy with him; and later swayed the Ultra-Humanite to his side by offering to sponsor an opera performance program which the Humanite cherished.

Perhaps Batman's greatest ability was his intelligence. He was one of the foremost detectives on Earth (Ra's al Ghul always addressed him as "Detective"), possessing one of the sharpest analytical minds of all time. Batman is highly skilled in multiple fields of science, as well as speaking several foreign languages. As a member of the Justice League, he contributed much of the technology that kept it going, including the Watchtower and Javelins. In addition to his fighting abilities, his contributions to the team as a scientist, a detective and a strategist have proved invaluable time and again.

Equipment
As the head of Wayne Enterprises, Bruce Wayne had access to cutting-edge technology, and Batman made good use of it in his field equipment.

Batsuit

 * See dedicated article: Batsuit

Utility belt
Batman's Utility Belt had compartments to hold several items, the contents of which change according to his needs, and often include items such as flashlights, laser cutters, underwater rebreathers, binoculars, a fingerprinting kit, remote controls for his vehicles, and more.

While Batman himself never seemed to have any difficulty nor complicated procedure for opening the belt's compartments, it evidently involved some fairly sophisticated security measures (which for some reason didn't prevent it from being removed). When Batman was taken captive by the Injustice Gang, Lex Luthor spent a great deal of time and effort to open the belt. Initial brute-force attempts resulted not only in failure to get it opened, but in explosions and electric shocks damaging the would-be attacker. Only after using a large and powerful machine of some sort was Lex able to open the belt and empty out its contents, which included Batarangs, hand grenades, and the remote control for access to the Watchtower.

Vehicles
Batman had used several vehicles in the course of his crime-fighting career, including:
 * Batboat
 * Batcycle
 * Bat-glider
 * Batmobile
 * Batwing
 * Jet-wing
 * Whirly-Bat

Apperances
If there's anything you'd like to say that's not derived from episodes, but maybe comes from interviews that actors or crew gave, use this section.