Bat-Signal
Main article: Bat-Signal
When Batman is needed, the Gotham City police activate a searchlight with a bat-shaped insignia over the lens called the Bat-Signal, which shines into the night sky, creating a bat-symbol on a passing cloud which can be seen from any point in Gotham. The origin of the signal varies, depending on the continuity and medium.
In various incarnations, most notably the 1960s Batman TV series, Commissioner Gordon also has a dedicated phone line, dubbed the Bat-Phone, connected to a bright red telephone (in the TV series) which sits on a wooden base and has a transparent cake cover on top. The line connects directly to Batman's residence, Wayne Manor, specifically both to a similar phone sitting on the desk in Bruce Wayne's study and the extension phone in the Batcave.
Batcave
Main article: Batcave
The Batcave is Batman's secret headquarters, consisting of a series of subterranean caves beneath his mansion, Wayne Manor. It serves as his command center for both local and global surveillance, as well as housing his vehicles and equipment for his war on crime. It also is a storeroom for Batman's memorabilia. In both the comic Batman: Shadow of the Bat (issue #45) and the 2005 film Batman Begins, the cave is said to have been part of the Underground Railroad. Of the heroes and villains who see the Batcave, few know where it is located.
Supporting characters
Main article: List of Batman supporting characters
Batman's interactions with both villains and cohorts have, over time, developed a strong supporting cast of characters.[66] Commissioner James "Jim" Gordon, Batman's ally in the Gotham City police, debuted along with Batman in Detective Comics #27. Gordon has been a consistent presence ever since. As a crime-fightingeveryman, he shares the Batman's goals while offering, much as the character of Watson does in Sherlock Holmes stories, a normal person's perspective on the work of an extraordinary genius. Later the Batman gained a butler. Alfred Pennyworth serves as Bruce Wayne's loyal father figure and is one of the few persons to know his secret identity. The character "[lends] a homey touch to Batman's environs and [is] ever ready to provide a steadying and reassuring hand" to the hero and his sidekick.[131] In the 1970s, Lucius Fox appeared as Bruce Wayne's business manager and technology specialist.
Robin
Main article: Robin (comics)
A widely recognized supporting character for many years has been the young sidekick Robin.[132] Bill Finger stated that he wanted to include Robin because "Batman didn't have anyone to talk to, and it got a little tiresome always having him thinking."[133] The first Robin, Dick Grayson, was introduced in 1940. In the 1970s he finally grew up, went off to college and became the hero Nightwing. A second Robin, Jason Todd, appeared in the 1980s. In the stories he was eventually badly beaten and then killed in an explosion set by the Joker, but later revived as an adversary using the Joker's old persona, theRed Hood. Carrie Kelly, the first female Robin to appear in Batman stories, was the final Robin in the continuity of Frank Miller's graphic novels The Dark Knight Returns and The Dark Knight Strikes Again, fighting alongside an aging Batman in stories set out of the mainstream continuity.
The third Robin in mainstream comics is Tim Drake, who first appeared in 1989. He went on to star in his own comic series. In the first decade of the new millennium, Stephanie Brown served as the fourth in-universe Robin between the character's stints as The Spoiler and Batgirl.[134] After Stephanie Brown's apparent death, Drake resumed the role of Robin for a time. The role eventually passed to Damian Wayne, the ten-year-old son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, in the late 2000s.[135]Damian's tenure as du jour Robin ended when the character was killed off in the pages of Batman Incorporated in 2013.[136]Batman's next young sidekick is Harper Row, a young woman who avoids the name Robin, debuting under the codenameBluebird in 2014. Unlike the Robins, Bluebird is willing and permitted to use firearms.[137]
Villains
Main article: List of Batman Family adversaries
Batman faces a variety of foes ranging from common criminals to outlandish supervillains. Many of them mirror aspects of the Batman's character and development, often having tragic origin stories that lead them to a life of crime.[131]Batman's foes are commonly referred to as the "rogues gallery". Batman's "most implacable foe" is the Joker, a homicidal maniac with a clown-like appearance who, as a "personification of the irrational", represents "everything Batman [opposes]."[34]Other long time recurring foes include Catwoman (who is sometimes an ally andantiheroine), the Penguin, Ra's al Ghul, Two-Face, the Riddler, the Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, and Bane, among many others.
Others
Other supporting characters in the Batman's world include Barbara Gordon, Commissioner Gordon's daughter, who has fought crime under the aliases Batgirl and, during a period in which she was confined to a wheelchair due to a gunshot wound inflicted by the Joker, the computer hacker Oracle; Azrael, a would-be assassin who replaces Bruce Wayne as Batman for a time; Cassandra Cain, an assassin's daughter who became the new Batgirl; Huntress, the sole surviving member of a mob family turned Gotham vigilante who has worked with Batman on occasion, Stephanie Brown, the daughter of a criminal who operated as the Spoiler and temporarily as Robin, Ace the Bat-Hound, Batman's canine partner;[138] and Bat-Mite, an extra-dimensional imp who idolizes Batman.[138]
Batman is at times a member of superhero teams such as the Justice League of America and the Outsiders. Batman has often been paired in adventures with his Justice League teammate Superman, notably as the co-stars of World's Finest andSuperman/Batman series. In pre-Crisis continuity, the two are depicted as close friends; however, in current continuity, they have a mutually respectful but uneasy relationship, with an emphasis on their differing views on crime-fighting and justice. In Superman/Batman #3 (December 2003), Superman observes, "Sometimes, I admit, I think of Bruce as a man in a costume. Then, with some gadget from his utility belt, he reminds me that he has an extraordinarily inventive mind. And how lucky I am to be able to call on him."[139]
Romantic relationships
Bruce Wayne has been portrayed as being romantically involved with many women throughout his various incarnations. Some have been respected society figures, such as Julie Madison, Vicki Vale, and Silver St. Cloud. Some have been allies, such as Wonder Woman and Sasha Bordeaux. Some have been villainesses, such as Selina Kyle (Catwoman) and Talia al Ghul. Writers have varied in the approach over the years to the "playboy" aspect of Bruce Wayne's persona; some show his playboy reputation as a manufactured illusion to support his mission as Batman, while others have depicted Bruce Wayne as genuinely enjoying the benefits of being "Gotham's most eligible bachelor."
Batman has had many romantic relationships with female characters throughout the years, but while these relationships tend to be short, the attraction between Batman and Catwoman is present in nearly every version and medium in which the characters appear. While Catwoman has been historically portrayed as a supervillainess, Batman and Catwoman have worked together in achieving common goals and are usually depicted as having a romantic relationship.
After the introduction of DC Comics' multiverse in the 1960s, DC established that stories from the Golden Age star theEarth-Two Batman, a character from a parallel world. This version of Batman partners with and marries the reformed Earth-Two Catwoman, Selina Kyle (as shown in Superman Family #211). They have a daughter named Helena Wayne, who, as the Huntress, becomes (along with Dick Grayson, the Earth-Two Robin) Gotham's protector once Wayne retires from the position to become police commissioner, a position he occupies until he is killed during one final adventure as Batman.
In an early 1980s storyline, Selina and Bruce develop a relationship, in which the closing panel of the final story shows her referring to Batman as "Bruce". However, a change in the editorial team brought a swift end to that storyline and, apparently, all that transpired during the story arc. Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle (out of costume) develop a relationship during The Long Halloween. The story shows Selina saving Bruce from Poison Ivy. However, the relationship ends when Bruce rejects her advances twice; once as Bruce and once as Batman. In Batman: Dark Victory, he stands her up on two holidays, causing her to leave him for good and to leave Gotham City for a while. When the two meet at an opera many years later, during the events of the twelve-issue story arc called Hush, Bruce comments that the two no longer have a relationship as Bruce and Selina. However, Hush sees Batman and Catwoman teaming up against as allies against the entire rogues gallery and rekindling their romantic relationship. In Hush, Batman reveals his true identity to Catwoman. Batman and Catwoman are shown having a sexual encounter on a rooftop in Catwoman #1 (2011); the same issue implies that the two have had an ongoing sexual relationship.[140]
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