Supporting characters of Batman

The following are supporting characters in the various Batman comic book and television series and movies:

Supporting Characters

Batman's network of proteges (particularly the current and former Robins) and comrades in the war against Gotham City's never ending wave of super-villains crimes is sometimes referred to as the "Batman Family".

Robin

• Robin: Perhaps Batman's most important allies have been several teenage sidekicks, all of whom had the title Robin (some of them advertised with the nickname "The Boy Wonder" or "The Teen Wonder").
  • Dick Grayson (1940): The original Robin, Dick Grayson has since grown up and become "Nightwing", continuing as an assistant and ally to Batman. He is now Bruce Wayne's legally adopted son. Nightwing is also the original leader of the Teen Titans (also known as the New Teen Titans, the New Titans and simply The Titans). He served as the leader of the Justice League of America during their Obsidian Age adventure, and is currently a member of the Outsiders.
  • Jason Todd (1983): As the Pre-Crisis version, he was a virtual copy of Dick Grayson (orphaned circus acrobat trained by the Batman). Todd's origin was later retconned so that he was a juvenile delinquent Batman took into his care. In 1988, Todd was murdered by the Joker in the controversial A Death in the Family storyline, beaten to death and then exploded. He was recently discovered alive under the alias of "Red Hood", the name of The Joker's first criminal persona. It was revealed that Superboy-Prime had a hand in Jason's resurrection in Batman Annual #25.
  • Tim Drake (1989): After Jason Todd's death, a boy by the name of Tim Drake used his detective skills to deduce the secret identities of Nightwing and Batman. With this feat, Batman let him join on board. Tim's time has been punctuated with his own struggle to balance his homelife and his nightly activities as Robin. Tim served through the Knightfall, Contagion, and No Man's Land storylines. He did drop the Robin identity after being found by his father, Jack Drake. Tim's father was killed in Identity Crisis by The Flash's foe Captain Boomerang. Tim serves as Robin currently.
  • Stephanie Brown (2004): Formerly the Spoiler; became the fourth Robin and the only female Robin in current DC continuity. Stephanie's time as Robin can be recalled during the War Games series. Stephanie was captured and fatally tortured by Black Mask, becoming the second Robin to perish, though she was not officially killed "on duty".
  • Carrie Kelly (1986): Although not technically part of current DC continuity, Carrie Kelly became the first female Robin (in real world chronology) in 1986's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. The Dark Knight Strikes Again, the follow up to DKR, Carrie is called Catgirl, as a call back to Catwoman.

Other superheroes

• Batgirl: Several female crime-fighters have taken the name "Batgirl". Unlike Robin, Batgirl has rarely debuted as a sanctioned member of the "Batman Family", although they have all come to be accepted by the Batman to some extent (depending on continuity).
  • In 1961, the original Bat-Girl was introduced as the sidekick to Batwoman (Kathy Kane). She is currently called Flamebird.
  • In 1967, the Silver Age Batgirl was introduced: Barbara Gordon, niece (later adoptive daughter) of James Gordon. She continued the role until an attack by the Joker left her a paraplegic during the Batman: The Killing Joke storyline. She later reinvented herself as "Oracle", an information broker for superheroes and the leader of the Birds of Prey, a female superhero team. During Identity Crisis, Oracle gained herself a foe, Calculator, who does similar activities for pay from villains.
  • In the 1997 film, Batman and Robin, Batgirl was Barbara Wilson, the niece of Alfred, played by Alicia Silverstone. She decided to suit herself up and fight alongside Batman and Robin. This version of Batgirl doesn't exist in the comics or TV shows, although she is obviously based on Barbara Gordon. Most fans were not enthused by this interpretation.
  • In 1998 and 1999, a Batgirl turned up in Gotham, at the time called No Man's Land. Initally, Oracle was very angry that Batman had sanctioned a new Batgirl, but at that time, she was not sanctioned, meerly allowed to continue. This Batgirl was shown to be Huntress. After she failed in a mission, Batman told her to stop. She did, and spent most of the rest of NML with a group of rogue Blue Boys, lead by Commander Petite.
  • In 1999, a new Batgirl, with both Batman and Oracle's blessing, came to be. Cassandra Cain, the daughter of the assassin David Cain. Cassandra had a traumatic childhood at the hands of her father, who permitted her only to "speak" through fighting and killing. When she was old enough to realized what she had done, her father simply let her go. But she was alone, illiterate, and mute. She was eventually found by Oracle and met Batman, who helped her through her guilt and employed her as Batgirl. She remained Batgirl until 2006, when she apparently retired from the role during the Infinite Crisis.

• Batwoman: In 1958, Kathy Kane was introduced as Batwoman, but the character was mostly dropped from the series by the appearance of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 1967. Kane has nothing to do with the Batwoman that appeared in the direct-to-video animated movie Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman in 2003.

• Azrael: Trained from birth to be the assassin and enforcer of a sinister secret society, Jean-Paul Valley was trying to forge a new destiny for himself with Bruce Wayne's help when Batman was crippled by Bane. Valley took up the Bat-mantle until Wayne recovered, but his Azrael conditioning began to take over, and he became violent and dangerous, and Batman was forced to fight him to reclaim his mantle. Valley went his own way, returning for the occasional guest appearance until his death.

• Huntress: Originally the daughter of the Batman and Catwoman of Earth-Two, Helena Wayne followed in her late father's footsteps. In current DC continuity, Helena Bertinelli, a daughter of the Bertinelli mafia family, has become a crime-fighter. She has a difficult relationship with Batman, who feels that she is too rash and violent, and she works closely with Oracle/Barbara Gordon. Bertinelli also went by the alias of Batgirl in 1999, trying to prove herself to Batman. Eventually they fell out again and the mantle was passed to Cassandra Cain.

• Ace the Bat-Hound: In 1955, a few months after the Superman mythos saw the introduction of Krypto, the Batman mythos saw the introduction and short duration of Ace, the Bat-hound, a German shepherd with a black mask covering most of his head. Ace later reappeared as Bruce's guard dog and companion in the television series Batman Beyond, and is currently seen as a character in the 2005 animated series Krypto the Superdog.

• The Justice League of America: Batman is a member of the superhero group, although is sometimes skeptical of the League's more powerful and idealistic members. In some versions, Superman (often the team's leader) is portrayed as having a strained relationship with Batman. In earlier versions, however, they are shown as "best friends" or the "World's Finest" team. This nickname derives from the long-running Superman/Batman teamups in World's Finest Comics. In current continutity, the pair are shown as friends with nonetheless different, and sometimes conflicting, crime-fighting philosophies. In the 1980s, when Superman had waning involvement in the team, Batman was portrayed as the leader of the Justice League. Batman and Superman are by far the two most iconic characters of DC Comics, with Wonder Woman a close third, thus naturally the two cross paths frequently throughout the years, which helped to establish the DC Universe in which the characters coexist. The three are often called "The Trinity", in that Superman is all a hero can be, Batman is all a man can be, and Diana all a woman can be.

• Superman: In the early crossovers of Superman and Batman, with Robin usually tagging along, the Man of Steel and the Caped Crusader were usually depicted as good friends who cheerfully assisted one another against foes who were too big to be dealt with alone. In more recent times, their friendship has been depicted as more uneasy, but still with a deep amount of respect. In the current chronology, Batman and Superman first encounter one another early in their careers when Superman arrives in Gotham city to arrest the notorious "outlaw" known as Batman, just as Batman is investigating a murderous criminal named Magpie, aka Margaret Pye. Batman held Superman at bay by telling him that he has a bomb planted on an innocent life and would detonate it if Superman did not cooperate, but what Superman didn't know was that Batman actually had the bomb planted on himself. After listening to the Magpie situation, Superman assists Batman in apprehending her, and then the truth about the bomb is revealed. Superman was then convinced that Batman had only the best intentions at heart, although he personally did not agree with Batman's methods. As Superman flew back to Metropolis, Batman lamented to himself that Superman was a remarkable individual and that perhaps, in another lifetime, he might called the Man of Steel his friend. They have collaborated at various times over the years since then, learning each other's secret identities, recognizing that their goals are essentially the same, though they can never quite see eye-to-eye, occasionally arguing like anyone else (in an episode of the animated Justice League, Batman patronizes Superman's inner turmoil when he feels the Man of Steel is letting his vendetta against Darkseid affect his judgement just as Superman is trying to advise Batman on the extent of Darkseid's character; Superman later reprimands Batman for being arrogant, aggressively telling the Dark Knight "You know something, Bruce? You're not always right!"). In the first issue of Infinite Crisis, Batman retaliated at Superman, telling him "The last time you inspired anyone was when you were dead", a reference to the Death of Superman storyline of the early 90's. Superman has entrusted Lex Luthor's Kryptonite ring to Batman, as a weapon to be used against Superman in case the Man of Steel should ever be turned against the people of Earth. In keeping with that attitude, Batman and Superman are often depicted as being the opposite sides of the same coin, both products of their environments, as indicated in their vastly different styles of crime fighting. Superman became a hero because of the love, pride and morality his foster parents instilled in him, while Batman became a hero rather because he lost his parents and was unable to suppress the trauma of that experience. They are truly as different as day and night.

• Green Arrow: Green Arrow, as a character, began very inspired by Batman. He had a youthful ward, Speedy, much like Robin, as well as an Arrowcave, an Arrowcar, and an Arrowplane, similar to Batman's equipment. Most of these gimmicks were stripped by the time the 70's rolled around. References to this background were found in Green Arrow: Quiver, by Kevin Smith, were Batman asks "Did you do anything original back then?". Regardless of their similarities, Batman and Green Arrow have often been partners, especially during the 70's, when Batman's team up title, The Brave and the Bold, was one of the only places outside of the pages of JLA where the Emerald Archer could be found. Much like Superman, early teamups were very friendly. Later team ups, however, were less pleasant. Oliver often calls Batman "Ghoul", or more regularly in private, "That Goddamn Ghoul". Relations are currently very strained, as it has come to light that Oliver was part of a group of heroes that mindwiped several villains as well as Batman himself, to prevent the villain Dr. Light from attacking Elongated Man's wife Sue again. This sense of violation caused Batman to build the Brother I satellite that plagued heroes during the Infinite Crisis as "Brother Eye", when it was reprogramed by Alexander Luthor to create the army of OMACs robots.

Non-superheroes

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Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's butler, as seen in Justice League.

• Alfred Pennyworth: Bruce Wayne's loyal butler (in effect, Batman's batman), who knows his secret identity. Alfred is a trained combat medic in addition to an accomplished former thespian, and has used both skills in Batman's service on many occasions.

• James ("Jim") Gordon: The police commissioner of Gotham City, with whom Batman has a strong (though secret and unofficial) working relationship. Gordon, like other characters, has changed considerably over the years. Of particular note, is that in the early days of the characters, Gordon was not allied with Batman, and was more antagonistic towards him. However, he was friend of Bruce Wayne. In Batman: Year One, Gordon is portrayed as one of the few honest, non-corrupt Gotham cops. During No Man's Land, Bruce offered him the knowledge of his secret identity, but Jim (still angry for Batman's early abandonment of Gotham in the days near the beginning of NML) refused to look and find out, hinting he may already know.
  • In addition, other members of the Gotham City Police Department have played prominent roles, such as Harvey Bullock who was introduced as a subordinate secretly assigned to spy on and discredit Gordon. However, Bullock soon changed his mind and became loyal to the commissioner while having a deep suspicion of Batman. The 1990s comics added Detective Renee Montoya as a character adapted from the animated series. The GCPD are currently featured in their own series, Gotham Central, in which they investigate the unusual crimes that plague the city, in a personal effort to minimize Batman's involvement. The series ended it's 40 issue run in 2006, with Detective Crispus Allen becoming the new Spectre after his murder by corrupt cop Jim Corrigan. Renee Montoya is a major participant in DC's 52 weekly during 2006 and 2007.

• Lucius Fox: Although far less privy to his personal life, Lucius Fox is a trusted close associate of Wayne as his business manager responsible for both Wayne Enterprises and Wayne Foundation. Lucius does not know of Batman's secret identity, but in Batman Begins, it is hinted he knows Bruce is doing something, but prefers not to know exactly for the purpose of deniability.

• Dr. Leslie Thompkins: A physician who runs a small clinic in Crime Alley for Gotham's poor. A friend and colleague of Bruce Wayne's father, she is one of the few people Batman has entrusted with his identity. She is devoted to pacifism, and while she does not approve of Batman's methods, she frequently lends him aid and has treated his wounds on numerous occasions. She has occasionally been romantically linked with Alfred. Dr. Tompkins has left Gotham after the War Games storyline, out of shame that she let Stephanie Brown die.

Love interests

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Catwoman kisses Batman in Batman: The Animated Series

Batman has had many romantic relationships with various female characters throughout his years fighting crime. The following characters do not include the various female hangers-on that Bruce has employed to maintain his image as a playboy.

In the earliest Batman comics, Bruce Wayne dates the often-imperiled Julie Madison. The two eventually separate and Julie weds into European royalty, much in the manner of Grace Kelly. In Batman and Robin, Elle MacPherson plays Julie, though the character seems to have little in common with her comic book self. The character adds little to the plot, though many of her scenes were edited out of the film's final cut.

In several 1950s stories, Vicki Vale, a reporter for the Gotham Gazette newspaper, was shown as an occasional romantic interest of Batman. Vale appeared as a character in Tim Burton's first Batman feature film, portrayed by Kim Basinger, and also appeared in the recent animated feature The Batman vs. Dracula.

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Bruce and Selina dance in Batman Returns.

His most well known romance is with Selina Kyle, aka Catwoman, who has come to represent a sort of gray area in Batman's otherwise black and white life where the line between good and evil blurs. Catwoman has fought Batman on various occasions, yet the two share a mutual attraction to each other. Formerly a jewel thief, Catwoman is now an antihero who defends Gotham City's East End with the help of Dr. Leslie Thompkins. In pre-Crisis continuity, the Earth-Two versions of Batman and Catwoman were shown to have married in the 1950s, and later Selina gave birth to a daughter, Helena Wayne (alias Huntress) in 1957. Batman and Catwoman became romantically involved during the Batman: Hush story arc. Batman ended the relationship because he was unsure if Catwoman had been a willing participant in Hush's plot. Even when the spark between them rekindled in the Justice League arc Crisis of Conscience, the Dark Knight couldn't be sure of Selina's love for him, because of his suspicions that Selina's reformation could be a result of a personality-altering mindwipe by Zatanna. In most versions of the character, the attraction Batman feels towards her is based on the fact that she's sort of a female version of himself: another dark, beautiful creature that prowls in the night. In some of these versions, actually, such as the Burton/Schumacher film continuity - specifically Batman Returns, where Selina was played by Michelle Pfeiffer - she even seems to be the true love of Bruce's life, as not only their costumed identities but also their disturbed psyches are described as similar, their relationship becoming intensely dramatic towards the end of the movie.

A storyline in the late 1970s featured Silver St. Cloud, who managed to deduce the secret of Bruce Wayne's alter ego, but she couldn't handle being involved with someone in such a dangerous line of work. The two parted ways; a 2005 miniseries features a return appearance of Silver St. Cloud.

Another major woman in Batman's life is Talia al Ghul, the daughter of the supervillain, Ra's al Ghul. The villain has encouraged the relationship in hopes of recruiting Batman as his successor, and in the out-of-continuity graphic novel, Batman: Son of the Demon, the romance progressed to the bed and Talia bore his son (later named Ibn al Xu'ffasch in another out-of-continuity 4-part series Kingdom Come).

In a 1987 series Batman: Year Two, Bruce Wayne falls in love with a woman named Rachel Caspian. Unfortunately Rachel Caspian's father moonlighted as a murderous vigilante who committed suicide once losing a battle against a gun-wielding Batman. Discovery of her father's evils drove Rachel to pay her father's penance on his behalf by enrolling in a nunnery . As a result, she broke off her engagement with Bruce Wayne who had prepared himself to end his crime-fighting career to marry her.

Doug Moench had several love interests vying for Bruce Waynes attention during his first run in the early 80s. They included the returned Vicki Vale, Julia Pennyworth, the daughter of Alfred Pennyworth and a French Resistance fighter named Mlle Marie. The most remarkable of his love interests at the time was Nocturna aka Natasha Knight. She was a jewel thief who briefly adopted Jason Todd and knew that Bruce Wayne was Batman. The thing that made her remarkable was that she suffered from a rare "light sensitivity" disease and her skin was blanched white. She disappeared during the last days of pre-crisis Batman after being stabbed by her brother Charles and floating into the crimson sky of the crisis in her balloon.

During Doug Moench's second run on Batman in the 90s, Batman developed a relationship with Vesper Fairchild, a radio show host but left Gotham after the No Man's Land crisis. She was later killed by David Cain on orders from Lex Luthor.

Another woman Batman dated during Greg Rucka's Detective run was Sasha Bordeaux, Bruce Wayne's bodyguard who discovered his secret. She was framed for Fairchild's murder and later joined Maxwell Lord's Checkmate organization. During The OMAC Project, Bordeaux was turned into a cyborg OMAC and is no longer completely human.

In Batman Forever, Bruce/Batman has a relationship with psychiatrist Chase Meridian, played by Nicole Kidman. She is kidnapped by Two-Face and the Riddler, leading to the climactic showdown.

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Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes and Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne from Batman Begins

In Batman Begins, Bruce/Batman is romantically involved with Rachel Dawes, an assistant district attorney who was a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne. She ends the relationship with him when she finds out he is really Batman. Dawes was played by Katie Holmes.

Wonder Woman and Batman briefly dated within the pages of the recent Justice League of America comics, but nothing came of the relationship and the two remain friends. This is echoed in the Justice League animated series (see below). A few fans have objected to this, insisting that the pairing made no sense and felt extremely forced. But quite a few other fans recognized what a natural pairing these characters were, bringing the forces of dark and light together.

In the comic series Batman: Gotham Knights, "The Human Nature" story arc, Bruce and Poison Ivy are involved, after he helps her return to normal. She has special abilities in this comic through a chemical drug.

In other media, Batman was shown in Batman: The Animated Series as having had a relationship of some sort with Zatanna, the daughter of Zatara the Magician, the man who had taught Bruce Wayne everything he knew about escape artistry. While this relationship didn't last, the two have remained friends, with Bruce contacting her from time to time for help.

He had a brief relationship with Lois Lane during Batman's crossover in the "World's Finest" three part Episode of Superman: The Animated Series. She ended it after learning Bruce Wayne was Batman.

In Batman Beyond, Barbara Gordon reveals that she had a romantic relationship with Wayne. However, when he became too obsessed with crime fighting, the relationship ended. This was also hinted at in the direct-to-video animated movie Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman.

Bruce himself also hints at a relationship with Catwoman, Selina Kyle, in the past of Batman Beyond. At that time, Bruce Wayne is unattached, and does not seem to have ever married.

Probably the most well-known relationship he had in an animated series was to Andrea Beaumont in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Though all of their relationship is told in flashback, it seems to hint that in the DCAU continuity Andrea was the true love of Bruce's life. It also hinted that had their relationship continued, there probably would not be a Batman in the animated series continuity as he was deeply in love with her.

However, in the original live action series starring Adam West, Batman's relationships with women were somewhat more liberal. In many episodes, the Dark Knight would find himself in a night club, often with a far-fetched name such as the "What-a-Way-to-Go-Go", where he would dance his infamous (and often embarrassing) dance, the "Batusi". A similar dance (thought to be a parody, by some) was attempted by actor John Travolta in the film Pulp Fiction.