Batman is an undisputed icon in entertainment. Whether it be in comics, movies, TV, or video games, Batman has done it all and his symbol is one of the most recognizable in the world. Even people who don't like Batman know Batman's story and the character's mission to defend Gotham from the most dangerous villains. That said, because of the multiple adaptations, some people don't know a lot about the comics' version of the character.
Fans still have questions about Batman, even eighty years later. There's no such thing as a stupid question and Batman's lore is complicated and multi-faceted.
10 Has Batman Ever Killed? Golden Age Batman Did But He Is No Longer Canon
Batman movies often show the character doing some things that are pretty lethal, most notably the Ben Affleck version of the character. So, this has colored the way movie fans look at the character and it begs the question: does Batman in the comics kill? Well, that's actually a more complicated answer than yes or no.
So, in the most simplistic sense, yes Batman has killed. Golden Age Batman was much more liable to kill someone but that version isn't technically canon; some of those events happened but they didn't happen that way. Alternate universe versions of Batman have killed and the current version has done things that are basically lethal without actually killing. So, yes, Batman has killed with caveats.
9 Has Batman Ever Killed Joker? Alternate Versions Of Batman Have
The Joker is Batman's greatest foe. An insane mass murderer, Joker's attacks on Gotham have often been terrible and by now, he should have gotten executed by someone. So, has Batman killed the Joker? He'd be completely justified at this point and it's doubtful anyone would bat an eye. The answer to that question is complicated, of course.
Joker actually did die in his first appearance but was brought back. Since then, Joker has "died" but Batman has never actually broken his neck or anything like that. He has killed the Joker in alternate timelines, so yes, Batman has killed the Joker, just not the version of Batman most people are thinking of.
8 Has Batman Ever Used Guns? Yes, Different Versions Of Him Have Had Different Relationships With Guns
One of the things that modern fans of Batman know is that he hates guns. His parents were killed by a gunman and so he doesn't use them. Or at least he says he doesn't use them. The modern Batman has a complicated relationship with guns. He's used them on more occasions than he'd like to admit.
Older versions of Batman, like the Golden Age version, had little qualms with using guns. Guns have been a big part of the Batman mythos in a lot of ways and while he's not going to gun down a bunch of crooks, he's had no problem with using a radion bullet to shoot Darkseid, for example.
7 Has Batman Ever Actually Beat Superman? Yes, But It's Rarely Directly
Batman and Superman are best friends but they're also complete opposites. They do things in entirely different ways and look at the world quite disparately. While they've learned to work well together, they've also clashed. Because this is comics, the two of them have fought each other and so a valid question is has Batman beat Superman?
Yes, Batman has beat Superman but it's usually in a roundabout way. Either he takes advantage of one of Superman's weaknesses and is able to stop him or he tricks Superman into giving up the fight. It might be tricky but he's done it more than once.
6 Do Batman's Anti-Justice League Plans Work? Yes, JLA: Tower Of Babel and Batman: Endgame Are Two Notable Examples
Batman has a reputation for always winning. Anyone who has been in geek spaces on the Internet has heard of "prep time"- the Batman fans' favorite weapon in online arguments. These same fans will also bring up that Batman makes plans to beat everyone, which begs the question do these plans work against the Justice League?
There are two separate stories that show this to be the case- JLA: Tower Of Babel and Batman: Endgame- but each of those also makes sure to give caveats. In Tower Of Babel, they work because Ra's al Ghul enacts them all at the same time. And in Endgame, the League is infected by a Joker toxin that makes them crazier than usual, which held them back. So, his plans do work but in order for him to beat the entire Justice League, he'd need more help than just himself.
5 How Does Bruce Wayne Help Gotham Besides Crimefighting? He's Actually More Helpful Than He Seems
Bruce Wayne is one of the wealthiest heroes in the DC Universe. He owns Wayne Enterprises, a multi-national conglomerate that rivals LexCorp. Honestly, with money and resources like he has, he can seemingly do more than just beat up drug dealers and thieves, so how does Bruce Wayne help Gotham?
Wayne Enterprises is a massive employer in Gotham City, giving out good-paying jobs and working to lift people out of poverty. Wayne personally donates untold sums to all kinds of charities and bankrolls all kinds of food banks, free clinics, and other institutions that help people. While it can certainly be argued he doesn't do enough, he does more than most realize.
4 Did Batman Lose All Of His Money? Yes And He Got It Back But It Gets Complicated
For some people who haven't been paying close attention to Batman comics but still have heard things, one thing they've heard is that Batman has lost all of his money. It seems kind of inconceivable that Batman could lose all of his money but it did happen in a rather roundabout way. In Joker War, the Joker did steal all of his money but Catwoman got it back. There was a problem though.
Joker revealed that Bruce Wayne had been squirreling away money for Batman-related endeavors, but it looked like embezzling. While Wayne Enterprises was able to make that go away, the public still looks at Wayne as an embezzler and the government is watching his finances. He's been removed from the Wayne Enterprises board of directors and now has to be careful with what money he gets from the company.
3 Has Arkham Asylum Ever Helped Anyone? Not In Any Long Term Way
Batman and Arkham Asylum are pretty entwined, as it's the place where he always brings his foes after catching them. Arkham has had an interesting history and has been working for years to help those with extreme mental issues. So, has Arkham ever really helped any of the villains put there?
The easiest answer is not really. Sometimes, someone like Two-Face will come out "cured" and then just become Two-Face again. They're also just not very good at figuring out if they've actually helped people, as multiple villains have pretended to be cured in order to be set free and get back to crime.
2 How Many Robins Have There Been? Six- But Only Five In The Main Universe
Robin is a huge part of the Batman mythos and most people know that there has been more than one. A valid question is how many people have held the mantle of Robin and that's a simple answer. There have been six Robins but only five have existed in the main DC Universe. Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, and Damian Wayne have all been Robin in the main DC Universe.
The sixth is Carrie Kelly, the Robin of The Dark Knight Returns universe.
1 How Many Batmen Have There Been? There Have Been Four
Characters swapping mantles has been a part of superheroes for a lot longer than naysayers of the practice like to talk about and Batman hasn't been immune to that. In fact, Batman has had more people take over for him than a lot of other DC heroes. At this point in the character's existence, there have been four different people who have been Batman.
There's Bruce Wayne, of course, then in the '90s there was Jean-Paul Valley, the former Azrael. In the late 2000s, Dick Grayson took over for a few years, and right now there are two Batmen- Bruce and the son of his friend Lucius, Luke Fox.
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