17 Batman Facts: Man With Ultimate Self Control & Wealth!

Batman, the Caped Crusader, or the Dark Knight, is one of the most popular and recognized superheroes of all time.

When we look at comic book history, we find that Batman first appeared in 'Detective Comics' number 27 in May of 1939, capitalizing on the popularity of Spiderman a year earlier. In the '60s, he was portrayed as a silly crime-fighter but took on a more serious tone in later years in comics and film.

Created by the iconic illustrator Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger in 1939, Batman is considered the world's greatest detective whose dark past led him to don a bat costume to conceal his identity.

Batman is a millionaire who uses his fortune and detective skills to exact vengeance on criminals in the fictional Gotham City to avenge his parents, who were killed by a burglar named Joe Chill when he was young.

He swore an oath to bring all evildoers to justice.

While de does not have superpowers himself, his genius-level smarts, battle-tested inventions, martial arts skills, and vast fortune make him one of the strongest leaders in the DC Universe. Batman is also one of the original members of the Justice League.

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Back Story Of Batman

Batman is not only a superhero; he is a cultural icon. From the moment he took the comic world by storm in the early part of the 20th century, numerous accolades have gone his way.

Various fan surveys have shown that Batman ranks number two after Superman in the all-time greatest superhero list. To have a better understanding of the caped crusader, let us delve deeper into his past.

When Batman first appeared in 1939, he did not have a proper background story. In these earlier times, he was using guns and throwing people into acid pools. However, all that changed in 1940. In 'Detective Comics' number 33, comic book readers were introduced to the man behind the symbol.

As readers and moviegoers, we have the privilege of knowing something that the host of villains that Batman fights daily doesn't know! The person who wears the cape and fights crime is Bruce Wayne. He is one of the richest men in the world.

It was Bob Kane who drew the image of Batman, and his assistant Bill Finger had come up with the name Bruce Wayne. He took inspiration from two historical figures - Robert Bruce, a former king of Scotland, and Anthony 'Mad' Wayne, a revolutionary soldier during the American War of Independence.

Batman has had more than five different sidekicks taking on the role of Robin, including Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Jason Todd, Stephanie Brown, and our favorite, Dick Grayson.

Batman has made several allies along the way like Lucius Fox, Catwoman, Huntress, Batwoman, and of course, the Justice League. He also has intriguing foes in the shape of Poison Ivy, Two-Face, Riddler, Bane (an exceptionally strong mercenary who uses a serum to get his inhuman strength), and the most dangerous of them all, the Joker. 

Did you know that the Huntress is the daughter of Batman and Catwoman? Her real name is Helena Wayne!

Struggle Of Batman

A young Bruce Wayne had to experience the first-hand murder of his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne, by a thief named Joe Chill. Imagine someone losing his parents at the fragile age of eight years.

It would leave a deep scar in the child's mind. After losing his mother and father in a tragedy, Bruce Wayne become a quiet and reclusive teenager.

With time, Batman's character grows up to become an intelligent, skilled, and dashing young man. But beneath all the charm and charisma lies a deep sense of loss and hurt.

The young Bruce took an oath to bring not just the killer of his parents to justice, but every other criminal who injects fear into the common people of his city. Bruce Wayne's character has an ultra-keen mind and an IQ of over 190. Even Albert Einstein did not have an IQ of more than 160!

He developed himself into a fighting machine. Bruce Wayne's struggles to fit into the norms of the society that he is a part of have been depicted time and again in both comic books and movies.

Even after becoming Batman, Bruce Wayne remains a bachelor for the entirety of his adult life. His old butler and close friend Alfred has on many occasions asked him to give up crime-fighting and settle down to have a family.

In the movie 'The Dark Knight Rises', the part of Alfred, played by veteran actor Michael Caine, is seen pleading with Bruce Wayne, played by Christian Bale, to not ruin his whole life running after mindless criminals and gangsters. In the Batman comics, a character named Julie Madison was Bruce Wayne's first love interest.

Sacrifices Of Batman

The atmosphere around Batman has mostly remained dark and brooding. As a child without siblings, Bruce Wayne was brought up by the faithful butler, Alfred. Due to his intense desire to become a shield between criminals and innocent people, he gave up many fun activities which kids of his age would more rather do.

Instead, young Bruce dedicated hours on end to studies ranging from ancient forms of martial arts to criminal psychology. He knew that to be able to tackle the criminal underbelly of Gotham City and beyond, he had to build both his body and mind. No wonder he speaks around 40 languages and knows 127 styles of martial arts!

You must have noticed that Batman has unbelievable strength and power. This does not come unless a person is willing to sacrifice a lot of the things that we do every day.

Being a millionaire, Bruce Wayne could have easily given up his job of crime-fighting and lived a life of ease and comfort anywhere he could wish. As the owner of Wayne Enterprises, he could have used the vast fortunes under his control to shape any life he wanted.

But he keeps watching over the people of Gotham once everyone falls asleep at night.

Technology: Batman

Batman follows a personal code that stops him from killing bad people. He has said time and again in comic books, movies, and video games that killing would make him identical to his enemies.

To compensate for the use of guns and other killing devices, Batman uses a lot of gadgets to outsmart the villains he goes after. He has built many weapons over the years using funds from the profits of his company, Wayne Enterprises.

For example, his famous Batwing, a jet that resembles a giant flying bat, special knives in his costume, and most importantly, his grappling gun. He uses the grappling gun to swing from rooftop to rooftop undetected.

Over the years, Batman has had more than 12 batmobiles. Our favorite is the one used by Micheal Keaton's Batman in the movie 'The Batman', which was released in 1989. The sleek style and speed are just ridiculously good! It has machine guns, bulletproof exteriors; it even has rocket launchers.

Some other variants have sonar radars, smoke-screen devices, electromagnetic ejection seats. They are simply the coolest vehicles ever! The Batmobiles from the Ben Affleck and Christian Bale reincarnation are also the favorites of many fans.

Batman has had many suits. His bat suits come with a utility belt.

Our favorite is the Hell Bat-suit because it has a feature that allows the suit to throw fire when needed. When Batman wears this suit to fight crime, he could go anywhere undetected, and it could also stop Superman's x-ray vision. Superman would not be able to detect Batman even if he stands right next to him!

Movies: Batman

The first Batman movie appeared on the silver screen way back in the year 1943. It was named 'Batman' and had Lewis Wilson in the titular role.

An alternative version of Batman was created by artist Andy Warhol in 1964. It was named Batman Dracula and was both written and directed by Warhol. Since he did not take Detective Comics' permission before starting his project, this movie never received official status as a part of the Batman movie franchise.

A host of different actors have played Batman. In the hugely popular 1960s TV series, Adam West donned the cape of the superhero.

His was a funny take of the caped crusader, something that held onto the public imagination until Tim Burton directed the 1989 reboot, 'The Batman', and its sequel, 'Batman Returns' in 1992.

Michael Keaton was roped in to play the fictional superhero, and it went on to define the treatment superhero movies were to get henceforth. Michael Keaton is set to put on the suit and the role again in the upcoming 'Flash' movie.

Christopher Nolan then took the Warner Bros franchise forward with his trilogy starring Christian Bale as Batman. Nolan had forced Warner Bros to spend millions of dollars to create the fictional city of Gotham.

The first of the three-part trilogy, 'Batman Begins', was released in 2005.

It went on to develop a unique niche for itself, and when the second part, 'The Dark Knight', came out in 2008, everyone knew Nolan had created something special. Together with the final part, 'The Dark Knight Rises', the trilogy is considered to be the best adaptation of Batman's story so far.

Nolan was wise enough to take inspiration from parallel Batman comic universes, such as the one created by Frank Miller in the 1980s, while getting the script of Batman written for his project.

Miller brought forth his own comic book series in 1986, and his miniseries, 'The Dark Knight Returns', has been voted one of the most influential comic book series of all time.

He followed it up with 'The Dark Knight Strikes Again' in 2001-02.

Zack Snyder had cast Ben Affleck in his version of Batman in the DC Extended Universe.

Apart from the ones that we have discussed so far, famous Hollywood actor George Clooney had also donned the role of Batman in the 1997 movie Batman and Robin. Before him, Val Kilmer of Topgun fame was also seen as Batman in 'Batman Forever'. Actor Robert Pattinson is the next in line to play this masked vigilante.

If you were born in the late '80s or early '90s, you might remember the animated Batman shows that used to run on the television channels. The first animated series was released in 1992 and had voice-actor Kevin Conroy playing both Bruce Wayne and Batman.

As a mash-up between DC Comics' Batman and Marvel Comic's Wolverine, the Amalgam Universe has created a new superhero named Dark Claw. His name is Logan Wayne, and he possesses the powers of both Batman and Wolverine.

Did you know that it takes around 25 hours to complete the video game 'Batman: Arkhan Asylum'?

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Batman Facts then why not take a look at Cherokee Indian facts for kids or Mercury planet color?