Batman

Batman is one of the most enduring fictional characters in the history of entertainment. Created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger and first appearing in Detective Comics issue 27 in May 1939, Bruce Wayne has spent over 85 years as Gotham City’s dark knight across comics, radio, television, film, animation, and video games. The Batman franchise is the tenth highest-grossing film franchise of all time with over $6.76 billion in global box office. He is, alongside Superman and Spider-Man, one of the three superheroes whose cultural footprint extends genuinely beyond the people who read comics or play games.

The Character

Bruce Wayne witnesses the murder of his parents Thomas and Martha Wayne as a child in Crime Alley, Gotham City. The trauma shapes everything that follows. He spends years training his body and mind to peak human condition, returns to Gotham, and wages a one-man war on crime using fear as his weapon. He is not a superhero in the traditional sense. He has no powers. What he has is preparation, intelligence, discipline, and an unbreakable will. The no-kill rule is central to who Batman is across almost every version of the character. It is what separates him from the criminals he hunts and what makes the Joker’s existence such a specific kind of torment.

Batman in Comics

Batman’s comic history spans over 85 years of publication from DC Comics. The character has been defined by different eras and different writers. The Golden Age Batman of the 1940s was rougher and more violent, occasionally using guns. The Silver Age Batman of the 1960s was brighter and more science-fiction oriented, paired with Robin and fighting bizarre villains. The 1970s brought Denny O’Neil and Neal Adams, who stripped away the camp and returned Batman to his dark detective roots. Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns in 1986 and Batman: Year One in 1987 redefined the character for modern audiences and influenced every serious Batman adaptation since. Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s The Killing Joke in 1988 remains one of the most debated Batman stories ever published for what it does to Barbara Gordon and what it says about Batman’s relationship with the Joker. Grant Morrison’s run in the 2000s added mythological scope. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s New 52 run including the Court of Owls storyline introduced a Gotham mythology deeper than anything the comics had attempted before.

Batman on Television

Batman: The Animated Series (1992)

The gold standard for Batman outside of comics. Produced by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini, the series ran from 1992 to 1995 and is considered one of the greatest animated series ever made regardless of genre. Kevin Conroy voiced Bruce Wayne and Batman in a way that is still the definitive performance for many fans, distinguishing the two personalities with subtle vocal shifts rather than an obvious disguise voice. Mark Hamill voiced the Joker. The series introduced Harley Quinn, who became one of DC’s most popular characters. It treated its audience as intelligent and its villains as tragic. Batman: The Animated Series is where generations of fans met the character for the first time and it holds up completely.

Adam West’s Batman (1966)

The ABC television series starring Adam West and Burt Ward ran for three seasons and defined Batman for an entire generation. Campy, colorful, and deliberately comedic, it was enormous popular culture. Every major villain had a celebrity guest appearance. The POW and ZAP fight scene graphics became iconic. West’s Batman is often dismissed but the series was intentionally satirical and West played it with genuine commitment. A theatrical film released alongside the series in 1966 featured all four major villains teaming up. West remained proud of his Batman until his death in 2017.

Gotham (2014) and Other Series

Gotham ran for five seasons on Fox following a young James Gordon and a teenage Bruce Wayne before he becomes Batman. It was uneven but developed a devoted audience. The Batman animated series has continued in various forms including Batman Beyond, The Batman, and Batman: The Brave and the Bold. The Penguin series on HBO in 2024, starring Colin Farrell reprising his role from The Batman, received strong reviews and expanded Matt Reeves’s Batman universe to television.

Batman had a strong presence in Gotham Knights and Batwoman. Though he was rarely seen in either show, Kevin Conroy did appear in the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover as Bruce Wayne/Batman.

Batman in Film

The Tim Burton Era (1989 to 1992)

Tim Burton’s Batman in 1989, starring Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne and Jack Nicholson as the Joker, changed how people thought about superhero films. Dark, gothic, expressionist in its production design, it grossed over $400 million worldwide and proved the genre could be taken seriously. Batman Returns in 1992 was darker and stranger, featuring Danny DeVito as the Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman in one of the most compelling villain performances in the franchise’s history. It was more polarizing than the first film and led to Burton being replaced.

The Joel Schumacher Era (1995 to 1997)

Batman Forever with Val Kilmer in 1995 and Batman and Robin with George Clooney in 1997. Forever was commercially successful but stylistically opposite to Burton’s films, leaning into camp and neon. Batman and Robin is one of the most notorious blockbuster failures ever made. Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze delivering ice puns for two hours. Bat nipples on the costume. It nearly killed the franchise entirely.

The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005 to 2012)

Christopher Nolan’s reboot with Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne is the most critically acclaimed version of the character on film. Batman Begins in 2005 told the origin story with a grounded, realistic approach. The Dark Knight in 2008 is widely considered one of the best films ever made in the superhero genre. Heath Ledger’s Joker won a posthumous Academy Award. The Dark Knight Rises in 2012 concluded the trilogy. The trilogy’s influence on superhero filmmaking cannot be overstated. Everything that followed tried to replicate its tone.

Ben Affleck’s Batman (2016 to 2023)

Ben Affleck appeared as an older, more brutal Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, and The Flash. His version of the character, a veteran hero who had grown cynical and violent, was well-received even when the films around him were not. Affleck’s Batman remains one of the more interesting interpretations of the character even though it never got a standalone film.

The Batman (2022)

Matt Reeves directed Robert Pattinson as a young Year Two Batman operating as a detective in a corrupt Gotham. Colin Farrell as the Penguin and Paul Dano as the Riddler as a serial killer inspired by internet radicalization. The film is three hours of noir atmosphere and received strong critical reviews. A sequel, The Batman Part II, is in development with a 2027 release date.

The Joker Films

Joker in 2019, directed by Todd Phillips and starring Joaquin Phoenix, told an origin story for the character as an independent standalone outside any larger continuity. It won the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion and Phoenix won the Academy Award for Best Actor. Joker: Folie a Deux in 2024 was a musical sequel that received universally poor reviews and was a significant commercial disappointment.

Batman in Animation

Beyond the Animated Series, Batman has featured in numerous animated films and series. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm in 1993 is considered one of the best Batman films of any format. The DC Animated Movie Universe running from 2013 to 2020 adapted major comic arcs including The Dark Knight Returns, The Killing Joke, and Death in the Family. Batman: Caped Crusader, produced by Bruce Timm and J.J. Abrams, launched on Amazon Prime in 2024 as a spiritual successor to the Animated Series, receiving strong reviews.

Batman in Video Games

Batman: Arkham Series

Rocksteady Studios and WB Games Montreal’s Arkham series, beginning with Batman: Arkham Asylum in 2009 written by Paul Dini, is the definitive Batman video game experience. The Freeflow combat system established a template for superhero games that the industry has been building on ever since. Arkham Asylum and Arkham City are both considered among the greatest superhero games ever made. The series concluded with Batman: Arkham Knight in 2015, which ended Bruce Wayne’s story in the Arkhamverse definitively. Rocksteady’s subsequent game, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League in 2024, was set after Arkham Knight and was a significant commercial and critical disappointment.

Other Batman Games

Before Arkham, Batman games ranged from the NES game based on the 1989 film to the LEGO Batman series, which has produced three mainline games and several crossovers. The LEGO Batman games are among the best licensed games for families ever made and introduced many younger players to the character. NetherRealm Studios has included Batman in both Injustice: Gods Among Us and Injustice 2 as a major character.

The Future of Batman

James Gunn’s DCU has The Brave and the Bold in development, a Batman film focusing on Bruce Wayne’s relationship with his son Damian Wayne directed by Andy Muschietti. Matt Reeves continues The Batman universe with Part II in 2027. Batman: Caped Crusader is ongoing on Amazon Prime. The character shows no signs of slowing down after 85 years. Whatever version of Batman you found first, whether it was the Animated Series, the Nolan films, the Arkham games, or the comics, that version probably still feels like the real one to you. That is what great characters do.