Batman

Batman
Developer	Bill Finger, Bob Kane
Publisher	DC Comics, various
Platforms	As noted below
Released	1939-present
Added to Museum	See Batman category

Batman is a character that is part of an American multimedia series consisting of books, comics, films, magazines, music, television shows, and video games.

Batman is a superhero created on March 30, 1939, by the DC Comics team consisting of the writer Bill Finger and the artist Bob Kane.

The character was spun off into the Justice League series. Batman was also one of the main characters in the Injustice series and in some entries in the Mortal Kombat series.

Fictional character biography

Billionaire genius Bruce Wayne was orphaned at a young age when his parents were gunned down in front of him outside of a movie theater.

Vowing to avenge the death of his parents, he left home to train both his mind and body, learning various sciences as well as martial arts.

Upon arriving back in Gotham City, he donned the image of his childhood fear, the bat.

Using a sophisticated suit and high-tech armor purchased with his inherited wealth, he acted as the costumed vigilante known as Batman.

Batman was a founding member of the superhero team known as the Justice League.

Batman (pre-crisis)

Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 on March 30, 1939. This is the original version of Batman, which is deputized and works for the police. This version of Batman was overwritten with the post-crisis version after the Crisis on Infinite Earths comic book event that took place in multiple DC comics in 1985 and 1986.

Comics

Title	Producer	Release	Notes
Detective Comics	DC Comics	1939-1986

Films

Title	Producer	Release	Formats	Notes
Batman	Columbia Pictures	1943	Digital, DVD, VHS	Public domain serialized film.
Batman and Robin	Columbia Pictures	1949	Digital, DVD, VHS	Public domain serialized film.

Batman '66

The 1966 Batman television series depicted a humorous take on Batman that contained aspects from the pre-crisis comics such as Batman working directly with the police.

Television series

Title	Producer	Release	Notes
Batman	Greenlawn Productions 20th Century-Fox Television	1966-1988

Films

Title	Producer	Release	Formats	Notes
Batman: The Movie	Greenlawn Productions	1966	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, VHS
Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders	Warner Bros. Animation DC Entertainment	2016	Digital, DVD	Animated film.
Batman vs. Two-Face	Warner Bros. Animation DC Entertainment	2017	Digital, DVD	Animated film.

Batman (post-crisis)

After the Crisis on Infinite Earths event that appeared in multiple DC comics in 1985 and 1986, the Earth One version of Batman was overwritten with the post-crisis version. This Batman has an antagonistic relationship with the police, however, Commissioner Gordon is still an ally.

Comics

Title	Producer	Release	Notes
Detective Comics	DC Comics	1986-present

Batman '89

In the 1989 Batman film, the Joker began as a low-level criminal named Jack Napier.

Films

Title	Producer	Release	System	Notes
Batman	Warner Bros.	1989	Beta, Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, LD, VHS
Batman Returns	Warner Bros.	1992	Beta, Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, LD, VHS
Batman Forever	Warner Bros.	1995	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, LD, VHS
Batman & Robin	Warner Bros.	1997	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, LD, VHS

Batman: The Animated Series

Batman: The Animated Series was introduced in 1991. This version of Batman is largely the same as the DC Comics version. The main difference is that, in this version, Jason Todd never met Bruce Wayne, thus he never became Robin.

Television series

Title	Producer	Release	System	Notes
Batman: The Animated Series	Warner Bros. Animation	1991-1995	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, LD, VHS	The pilot was produced in 1991, the series began in 1992.
The New Batman Adventures	Warner Bros. Animation	1997-1999	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, VHS
Superman: The Animated Series	Warner Bros. Animation	1999	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, LD, VHS	Batman was in season 2, episodes 16, 17, and 18, season 3, episode 2, and season 4, episode 1.
Batman Beyond	Warner Bros. Animation	1999-2001	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, VHS
Gotham Girls	Warner Bros. Animation	2000-2002	DVD, Flash	Web series
Justice League	Warner Bros. Animation	2001-2002	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, VHS
Justice League Unlimited	Warner Bros. Animation	2003-2004	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, VHS
Static Shock	Warner Bros. Animation	2003-2004	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, VHS	Batman is in season 3, episodes 6 and 7. Bruce Wayne and the future Batman were in season 4, episode 1.

Films

Title	Producer	Release	System	Notes
The Dark Knight's First Night	Warner Bros. Animation	1991	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD	Short film that acted as the pilot of Batman: The Animated Series.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm	Warner Bros. Animation	1993	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, LD, VHS
The Batman/Superman Movie: World's Finest	Warner Bros. Animation	1997	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, LD, VHS	Combined episodes 29 - 31 of Superman: The Animated Series.
Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero	Warner Bros. Animation	1998	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, LD, VHS
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker	Warner Bros. Animation	2000	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, VHS
Justice League: The First Mission	Warner Bros. Animation	2001	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD	Short film that acted as the pilot of Justice League.
Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman	Warner Bros. Animation	2003	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, VHS
Chase Me	Warner Bros. Animation	2003	Blu-ray, DVD, VHS	Short film
Batman Beyond	Warner Bros. Animation	2014	Digital	Short film for the 75th anniversary of Batman.

Video games

Title	Developer	Release	System	Notes
View-Master Batman Animated VR	Blue Ribbon Content	2008	Android, iOS

Batman Beyond

In Batman Beyond, which premiered in 1999, Terry McGuiness takes over as Batman from an aging Bruce Wayne.

Television series

Title	Developer	Release	Platform	Notes
Batman Beyond	Warner Bros. Animation	1999-2001	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, VHS
Static Shock	Warner Bros. Animation	2004	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, VHS	Batman and Bruce Wayne were in season 4, episode 1.

Films

Title	Developer	Release	Platform	Notes
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker	Warner Bros. Animation	2000	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, VHS
Batman Beyond	Warner Bros. Animation	2014	Digital	Short film for the 75th anniversary of Batman.

Batman Begins

In Batman Begins, which was released in 2005, Ra's Al-Ghul trained a young Bruce Wayne in martial arts.

Films

Title	Developer	Release	Platform	Notes
Batman Begins	Warner Bros. Pictures	2005	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD, HD DVD
The Dark Knight	Warner Bros. Pictures	2008	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD
The Dark Knight Rises	Warner Bros. Pictures	2012	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD

Lego Batman

Lego Batman was introduced in 2006. Although he still has the same tragic backstory, thie version of Bruce Wayne is more comedic than most of his other incarnations.

Video games

Title	Developer	Release	System	Notes
Lego Batman: The Videogame	Traveller's Tales	2008	Windows
Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes	Traveller's Tales	2012	Windows
Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham	Traveller's Tales	2014	Windows
The Lego Movie Videogame	Traveller's Tales	2014	Windows
Lego Dimensions	Traveller's Tales	2015	Xbox 360 Wii U
Lego DC Super-Villains	Traveller's Tales	2018	Windows	The first game in the series to not feature Batman as a primary protagonist.
The Lego Movie 2 Videogame	Traveller's Tales	2019	Windows

Films

Title	Developer	Release	Platform	Notes
Lego Batman: The Movie - DC Superheroes Unite	Warner Premiere	2013	Blu-ray
The Lego Movie	Warner Animation Group	2014	Blu-ray
The Lego Batman Movie	Warner Animation Group	2017	Blu-ray
The Lego Movie 2	Warner Animation Group	2019	Blu-ray

Batman: Arkham

Batman: Arkham was introduced in 2009. This version of Batman is close to the DC comics version. The main difference is that Arkham Asylum, which was later expanded into much of Gotham City as Arkham City, is a much more prominent fixture of his tenure as a vigilante.

Video games

Title	Developer	Release	System	Notes
Batman: Arkham Asylum	Rocksteady Studios	2009	Windows, Xbox One
Batman: Arkham City	Rocksteady Studios	2011	Windows, Xbox One
Batman: Arkham City Lockdown	NetherRealm Studios	2013	Android
Batman: Arkham Origins	WB Games Montréal	2013	Windows
Batman: Arkham Knight	Rocksteady Studios	2015	Windows
Batman: Arkham VR	Rocksteady Studios	2016	PS4
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League	Rocksteady Studios Unbroken Studios	2024	Windows	First game in the series to not feature Batman as a protagonist. The protagonists are four members of Amanda Waller's Suicide Squad: Harley Quinn, Deadshot, Captain Boomerang, and King Shark.

Films

Title	Developer	Release	Platform	Notes
Batman: Assault on Arkham	Warner Bros. Animation	2014	Blu-ray, Digital, DVD

New 52

New 52 was a DC Comics event that was introduced in 2011. Flash goes back in time to save his mother but ends up in a present where he is no longer the Flash. He manages to recreate the accident that gave him his powers, which allowed him to make sure his mother died, but when he arrived at the present, some things still were changed including previously deceased heroes that were now alive.

Films

Title	Studio	Release	Format	Notes
Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox	Warner Bros. Animation	2013	Blu-ray
Batman vs. Robin	Warner Bros. Animation	2015	Blu-ray

Batman: The Telltale Series

Batman: The Telltale Series was introduced in 2016. This version of Batman discovers that his parents weren't the altruistic billionaires of which that they portrayed themselves, and were instead a huge part of Gotham City's underworld.

Video games

Title	Developer	Release	System	Notes
Batman: The Telltale Series	Telltale	2016	Windows, Xbox 360
Batman: The Enemy Within	Telltale	2017-2018	Windows

Comics

Title	Publisher	Release	Notes
Batman: Sins of the Father	DC Comics	2018	Set between Batman: The Telltale Series and The Enemy Within.

Figures

Title	Publisher	Release	Notes
Bane, Batman, Catwoman, Harley Quinn, The Joker (and John Doe), Mr. Freeze, and The Riddler	Pogo	2019	Lego bootlegs