One of the reasons we love superheroes so much is because they come packaged with incredible stories. Batman is no exception. It’s his story— the origins of the man in the making, the enemies he faces, his personal struggles— that keep us coming back for more.
Here’s the synopsis of one of our favorite hero’s stories:
Origins
Bored billionaire, Bruce Wayne, probably garnered quite a few eye rolls from readers in the early days. That’s because his tragic backstory wasn’t introduced until about six months after his story began. Until then, he was just a bored guy with a hankering to hunt down some bad guys. There’s only so much love we can bestow on this kind of character.
When Batman’s backstory was introduced, though, we all found love in our hearts for Gotham’s leading dark superhero.
The gist: while walking home from a movie when Wayne was a little boy, both of his parents were robbed and murdered by a mugger. This scene is played out several times on the big and small screens, and each time, our hearts broke a little more. We were hooked though, and Batman will forever be our number one.
Villians
Gotham’s keeper has fought his share of adversaries, that’s for sure. From The Joker to Bane and Two-Face to Poison Ivy, these evil masterminds have shaped and molded the bat into the superhero he is today. This is just a small sampling of the villains Wayne faced in the night. For a full list, check out this page.
Powers
Unlike some of our other favorite superheroes like Wonder Woman and Aquaman, Batman has no innate powers to pull from, which means he had to get creative. Luckily for Gotham, Wayne had the brains, the team, and the money to pull together some of the greatest weapons, devices, and vehicles we’ve ever seen.
The Batmobile is, of course, an all-time favorite. The Batwing and the Tumbler were pretty awesome as well. Each of these vehicles had special features that had us gawking, especially when we saw them on the big screen.
Wayne was king of gadgets as well. Who can forget the Batarang in all of its incarnations gracing the comics, small screen, and the big screen? And then, there’s the EMP rifle, which was a new-to-fans gadget that debuted in The Dark Knight Rises. That thing was pretty stellar. There are a ton of gadgets we love, but we could go on all day about them. Instead, check out this article and pick your favorite(s).
Love Interests
Thanks to the most recent trilogy, everyone knows the sad story of Bruce Wayne and Rachel Dawes, but in the comics, Batman had several other love interests. They include Catwoman, the world’s best thief; Talia al Ghul, the daughter of one of the bat’s many adversaries; and Dawn Golden, a childhood friend turned love interest. There’s also that longstanding rumor that Batman and Wonder Woman had a thing! This is by no means a definitive list of the women who caught Bruce Wayne’s affection, but it’s enough to get you started.
Well, there you have it: a brief outline of Batman’s story. Bet it makes you want to put on all your bat gear and relish in a movie binge session, huh? Not to worry, we have a ton of officially licensed graphic tees for you to choose from if you want to add something new to your collection.