Rules Batman Has To Always Follow

It's hard to pinpoint exactly when, but at some point during the last 80 years or thereabouts, an outline vaguely resembling the planet Earth's only flying mammal — flying squirrels are technically more like gliding squirrels, you see — became more closely associated with a DC superhero franchise than, ah, well, actual bats.  

The basic elements of the Batman costume are essential to his identity in ways that don't necessarily apply to other fictional characters. For instance, Hugh Jackman plays Wolverine in multiple X-Men movies and doesn't wear his pointy mask once, and that works just fine because as long as we see Wolverine's claws, we know he's Wolverine. Additionally, attitude and mannerisms define James Bond more than any specific visual cues. But Batman needs his Batsuit, and without a big bat insignia on his chest, we wouldn't be sure if he was him or Daredevil in a black outfit and a cape, and that would leave everyone involved horribly embarrassed.

While a big bat outline is closely associated with the superhero persona often occupied by Bruce Wayne, it's not exactly the most original or distinct element of Batman's aesthetic. History tells us that Batman was created in an attempt to follow up on the success of Superman, who debuted with the now-iconic "S" on his chest about a year earlier.   

Batman routinely demonstrates impossible competency, incredible combat techniques, and unmatched talent for deduction and reasoning. An argument could be made that simply being Batman — which comes part in parcel with an awe-inducing presence and reputation — is a type of superpower. 

But when it comes to abilities of a supernatural nature or the capacity to defy the laws of physics, Batman comes up short every time. He doesn't even have scientifically enhanced athletic prowess like Steve Rogers. Batman's fitness is the exclusive result of hours upon hours sweating and toiling away in the Bat-gym. 

Whenever Batman appears as the protagonist of a story, his literal humanity becomes essential because it's just about the only thing about him that a normal person can relate to. After all, there are plenty of dumb rich kids in the world, but hardly any of their parents were ever shot in front of them. And of the few who did witness their mom and dad's violent demise, none of them wage war on superstitious and cowardly criminals. They just develop nasty substance abuse problems and hopefully go to therapy a few times a week. 

Even without the ability to shoot lasers out of his eyes or fly or throw trucks or what have you, Bruce Wayne is already an implausible individual and giving him crazy powers would just exacerbate the situation. In many ways, an omnipotent space alien who decides to help people because he feels like it is much more realistic.   

They don't call him the World's Greatest Detective because he makes a killer grilled cheese and tomato sandwich. Bruce Wayne has never prepared a meal for himself or anyone else in his life. Instead, they call him the World's Greatest Detective because he's excellent at solving mysteries. 

When Bruce Wayne devoted himself to warring against crime, he spent the following years honing his fighting prowess to virtually unmatched levels and developing a forensic and scientific mind like few others. Particularly when dealing with adversaries in the vein of the Riddler and the Joker, he's gotta have the smarts to decipher the clues they deliberately leave lying around to make their crime sprees more interesting. He also encounters many criminals who don't care if they're interesting and just want to avoid getting caught, so Batman's powers of detection come in very handy for hunting them, as well.  

Not every version of Batman has the deduction skills or access to lab equipment that the billionaire Wayne enjoys. But they all must keep their perception sharp and their thinking sophisticated for when they inevitably run into a dilemma they can't punch and kick their way through.

Batman stories come about because international corporate monoliths will them into existence, and those corporate monoliths love characters and objects they can mass-produce and sell in toy stores. Certainly, this partly explains why Batman always drives a customized car or other vehicle with a Bat-prefix attached, but let's not get too wrapped up in cynicism. After all, the Batmobile first appeared in 1939, decades before Batman action figures and accessories became a thing. Unlike Superman, Batman can't fly, and he's got to get from place to place somehow.

But the Batmobile can take many forms. The wheeled monstrosity from Batman Begins marks a departure from the sleek, stylish vehicle on display in Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns, which in turn looks far less hokey but also less practical than the Batmobile Adam West drives in the '60s TV show. 

Oddly enough, the Batmobile appears to update and change with the times to an extent that Batman doesn't need to. Batman might stop being Bruce Wayne, or we might see his adventures take place in a different historical era, but his entire appearance and functional purpose doesn't get completely overhauled once every five real-world years.   

If he's keeping it local in Gotham City, Bruce Wayne's allies could include any number of individuals formerly or currently known as Robin, multiple crimefighters currently or formerly known as Batgirl, Catwoman, a few members of the Gotham City Police Department, Lucius Fox, a handful of Fox's immediate family members, and of course, Bruce Wayne's longtime butler, Alfred Pennyworth. And if a mission requires a trip abroad or off-planet, he has the rest of the Justice League to call upon for assistance, should he need it. 

Meanwhile, Terry McGinnis' primary running buddy in his future version of Gotham happens to be Bruce Wayne. Even the Batman Who Laughs has a bunch of creepy vampire-type creatures in Robin outfits on leashes.  

Sure, in theory, Batman works alone, most likely so he can tell people, "I work alone!" and, "People who get close to me get hurt!" After all, that stuff makes him sound dangerous, which is exciting for those of us in the audience.  But in practice, the Batman works with a big ol' heap of pals. To some extent, this is true of every major superhero, but it's doubly important for Batman to have a significant social support group. Without plenty of personal connections, he could turn into a lone psycho pretty quickly. 

It could very well be that the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne have been performed on television and in films more than any other fictional characters not created and written by William Shakespeare. But there's more to the death of Bruce Wayne's parents than Hollywood's overreliance on established franchises. Batman requires a soul-annihilating trauma to kickstart his vendetta against crime. In some interpretations, his mission evolves into a war against suffering and death itself. Other times, he just winds up beating up muggers and serial killers, but either way, if nothing bad ever happens to Thomas and Martha, then Batman doesn't begin. 

Bruce Wayne is an only child, but he's not the only Batman. Dick Grayson, Kate Kane, the Flashpoint universe's Thomas Wayne, Jean-Paul Valley, Damian Wayne, and Terry McGinnis all lost immediate family members due to acts of senseless, often random violence before becoming Bat-heroes. This calls into question some of our basic assumptions about Batman as an aspirational figure. It would seem that if all your loved ones are alive and well, then you can't be a real Batman. The closest you can come is putting on a costume and fighting crime, which isn't the same thing.

But in that case, why is being Batman so great? Isn't it better to be a weirdo dressed up as a bat whose family is all still alive? We sure think so.