Meet the Batman Characters and Villains

Batman (Black)

Batman (Grey)

Batman is a fictional comic book superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. He's also been known as The Caped Crusader, The Dark Knight, and The World's Greatest Detective. Soon after hitting the scene Batman became very popular and ended up with his own comic book in 1940.

Batcycle - LEGO Batman Vehicle (No Stickers)

DC Super Friends Batmobile with Lights

Batman's secret identity is billionaire playboy, industrialist, and philanthropist Bruce Wayne who resides in the fictional city called Gotham City. For the basics of all the Batman movies, comic books and even animation, the stories have been basically all the same as to how he came about. He witnessed the death of his parents while in the middle of a robbery and he swore revenge on all criminals. So over the years Batman fought many villains with the assistant of others as well and his Batsuit for protection. If you read further in this lens you'll learn who the other characters are in Batman along with his different Batsuits, Batmobiles and all the different Batman weapons he's used to help him. You'll also learn who the top Villains have been too.

Robin

Robin is the sidekick of Batman, he's also known as The Boy Wonder and together they've been call The Dynamic Duo or the Caped Crusaders. There's been several fictional characters to appear as Robin in the comic books. Robin's first appearance was as Dick Grayson in Detective Comics #38 in April 1940 which lasted until the 80s when they reinvented him to be an independent Superhero as Nightwing.

Nightwing

After Dick Grayson moved on from being Robin, a new version of the character Jason Todd debuted in Batman #357 (1983). The new character made regular appearances in Batman related comic books until 1988, when the character is murdered by the Joker in A Death in the Family (1989). If you read further in the Comic Book Character Robin you'll see who else has played as Robin but only in the comic books and the animated versions, since the only Robin to play in any of the movies was Dick Grayson. For the most part though, all of Dick Grayson's version have been pretty much the same. His parents were murdered by one of the Villains and he's decided to get revenge the same as Bruce Wayne.

Batgirl

There has been many different characters to play Batgirl in the comic books and if you look at The Comic Book Character Batgirl you'll see all the many ones. Each has had their own reason for wanting to be Batgirl as well. But in the tv series and movies there's only been two different Batgirls. Check out The Actresses Who Played Batgirl and you'll see which ones. However, Batgirl was originally created by Bob Kane and Sheldon Moldoff, the "Bat-Girl" Betty Kane, debuted in Batman #139 (1961) as the sidekick to Batwoman. Both women were introduced into publication as a deliberate attempt to avoid further allegations of homosexuality between Batman and Robin.

Betty Kane's Bat-Girl was primarily interested in vigilantism in order to develop a relationship with the original Robin, Dick Grayson, that Seduction of the Innocent presented to the public. Depicted as the niece of Batwoman, Bat-Girl had developed a crush on Robin after arriving in Gotham City and decided to fashion her own superhero persona based on Robin's costume. Her appearance in comic books primarily displayed her character attempting to develop a romantic relationship with Robin, despite his embarrassment or lack of interest.

Batman Hush Series 3: Alfred Action Figure

Alfred was the butler to the Wayne family and after the death of Mr and Mrs Wayne, he takes guardianship of young Bruce and becomes more then just the butler, he becomes Batman's assistant, confidante, and surrogate father figure. The Alfred character first appears in Batman #16 (1943) and was a overweight, clean shaven little man. It was after the tv series started and the appearance of William Austin that they changed him to a trim man sporting a mustache. The only time I recall anyone talking about how he ended up being butler to the Wayne's is in Batman Forever when Batgirl shows up, so have a look through The Actors Who Played Alfred and see who else has been "keeper of the batcave".

Joker

The Joker's appearance was in Batman #1 (Spring 1940). Many of his background stories has always been basically the same but the truth be told, not even the Joker remembers his true background story. His first origin account was in Detective Comics 158 where it was revealed the Joker had been a chemical engineer trying to steal from his former company, during the robbery he was thwarted by Batman and he falls

Harley Quinn - LEGO Batman Figure

into a vat of chemical waste. When he gets out his skin is bleached white, his lips are red , his hair is green and he has a permanent grin making him look like a clown.

Through-out the Joker's rain as one of Batman's most psychotic villains, the Joker has been directly responsible for numerous tragedies in Batman's life, including the paralysis of Barbara Gordon and the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin. Read further and you'll see who's made this Comic Book Villain into a real life Batman movie villain.

Catwoman

Catwoman is one of the more popular Batman Villains, probably because she's always portrayed by one hot vixen after another, check out the Actresses Who Played Catwoman to see what I mean. She was originally brought in was a whip-carrying burglar with a taste for high-stake thefts who was also a possible love interest for Batman, someone he could "fix" and from time to time Catwoman does walk the straight and narrow, but only for short periods of time. There have been many versions of Catwoman's origins and back story seen in the comic books over the decades. But overall, Catwoman or Selina Kyle still remains as the most popular female character in the Batman Universe.

The Penguin

The Penguin made his debut in Detective Comics #58 in December 1941. He's a short rotund man who loves birds and his specialized high-tech umbrellas. Born into a rich family and in some stories he was coddled by his mother while in others he was abandoned by his parents. The Penguin was bullied by the other kids because of his physical deformities, getting him the nickname of Penguin, which was the reason he turned to a life of crime. A mobster and thief, he fancies himself a "gentleman of crime;" his nightclub business provides a cover for more low-key criminal activity, which Batman tolerates as a source of criminal underworld information. Plus the fact that Penguin seems to be a little more sane then most of the other Villains that Batmam comes up against., scary thought isn't it? Well you can read further on who it was that made this Comic Book Character popular in both movies and cartoons.

Lego Penguin Submarine 7885- LEGO Batman Minifigure Vehicle

The Riddler

The Riddler character, obsessed with riddles, puzzles and word games, first appeared in Detective Comics #140 (1948). The Riddler is not a psychopathic murderer; rather, he is a malignant narcissist with an ego and is typically portrayed as a smooth-talking, yet quirky, victim of an intense obsessive compulsion. When the Riddler was young he cheated to win a contest at school and was rewarded with a puzzle book for it since no one knew how he did it. After that he became obsessed with riddles. After joining the carnival and cheating customers with his puzzles and mind games he decided he needed more of a challenge, hence the birth of the Riddler and his games with Batman and the police. Although he's tried to refrain from leaving these clues, it's just not possible for him not to.

Two-Face

The character Two-Face first appeared in Detective Comics #66 in 1944 and was actually first inspired by the 1931 movie Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Over the years Harvey Dent has had many different background stories ranging from schizophrenia, bipolar and multiple personality disorders, and a history of child abuse from an alcoholic father. Two-Face makes all his decisions based on the flip of a coin which has a couple of different stories behind it too. If you want to find out what they are, read The Actors Who Played Two-Face and you'll find out.