The Batman Scenes That Confirm What We Suspected All Along About His Secret Identity
"The Batman," which will be the latest film to bring the beloved superhero to life in live-action form, is nearly ready to release in theaters for fans to see. It will be Robert Pattinson's first time donning the cowl, and the film will be completely separate from the DCEU (per the Toronto Sun) that has been established thus far. The early response had been very good, with "The Batman" currently sitting at an impressive 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, which continues the positive reception streak for solo "Batman" films a decade after Christopher Nolan's well-regarded trilogy ended.
However, when talking about the character of Batman, it's important not to forget the storied history that has been presented to fans throughout the decades, in both comic book form and in the various other mediums that he's appeared in. In fact, one of the most interesting aspects of Batman and Bruce Wayne is how he deals with his secret identity. Going even deeper, it's fascinating how Wayne distinguishes the two parts of himself. With that in mind, there are certain scenes featuring the character that confirm certain facts about his identity that makes him different from other DC superheroes.
Batman doesn't consider Bruce Wayne his secret identity
Over on the r/batman subreddit, u/PR3DA7oR posted a screencap of a comic image of Wonder Woman, Superman, and Batman all gripping her Lasso of Truth and revealing their identities to each other. Naturally, the former two reveal their names — Diana and Clark Kent — but when it comes time for Batman to do so, he doesn't say Bruce Wayne. He says "Batman." It's an interesting moment that nails home just how much Batman views not only his identity but himself as a person.
For him, Batman is who he truly is while Bruce Wayne is the mask he's forced to put on. u/FunkyTown313 elaborates on this point well, writing, "Thus confirming what we've always known. Bruce Wayne is the disguise." This has been a staple of his appearances in movies and animated shows, as well, where Wayne's playboy, rich kid persona is a far cry from how he actually sees himself. Batman is only ever truly himself when he's donning the cape and the cowl and taking his crime-fighting mission to the streets of Gotham. His Wayne persona has mainly been used to fund his mission as Batman, and to get into places that the Caped Crusader could not.
Batman keeps this belief even late into his life
On the aforementioned Reddit post, u/MissyBear2 posted a clip from "Batman Beyond" in which an older Bruce Wayne tells new Batman Terry McGinnis (Will Friedle) that he knew a voice couldn't be coming from his head because it kept calling him "Bruce." But in his own mind, he never calls himself that; he calls himself "Batman." Even after he's gotten older and was forced to retire because of old age, this version of the character still only sees himself as Batman and never as Bruce Wayne.
Even in the more humorous representations of the Batman character, this logic remains. In "The LEGO Batman Movie," Dick Grayson (Michael Cera) asks if Batman lives in Bruce Wayne's basement, but Batman (Will Arnett) says that Wayne lives in Batman's attic. While one could argue that this is merely an attempt at some light-hearted humor, it does nail down the recurring theme of Batman being closer to who he is than his public persona of Bruce Wayne.
Batman's perception of his identity makes him unique
The way Batman, and by extension, Bruce Wayne views his own identity makes him unique in the DC universe. In fact, u/Ninjacobra5 references a well-regarded monologue from "Kill Bill Vol. 2" to make just this point. "There's this great monologue from David Carradine in 'Kill Bill 2' where he says that Superman stands alone in that he is really Superman and Clark Kent is the alter ego," they said. "I love that scene, but I don't really agree with it. I think Superman would be perfectly happy being just Clark Kent... Being Batman is more of who he is than being Superman is for Kal-El."
Indeed, this is also proven in various incarnations of the "Justice League," especially the animated shows, when Batman is often more hesitant than others to reveal himself as Bruce Wayne. Sure, one could say that this is because he's a lot more cautious and paranoid than the other, more light-hearted superheroes in DC, but it's just as arguable that he sees it as a pointless revelation. Batman is who Wayne is because it's where he's able to make the most change for the good. On the other hand, Superman and characters like The Flash often view their status as superheroes as roles they were thrust into.