Batman

Batman is a fictional comic-book superhero created by artist Bob Kane who first appeared in DC Comics in 1939.

Batman's secret identity is Bruce Wayne, a billionaire industrialist, playboy, and philanthropist from Gotham City whos parents were killed by gangsters lead by The Joker, Batmans arch enemy.

Bruce Wayne inherited his parent's huge fortune and then channeled all his money and effort into creating Batman to combat the, still at large, Joker and his unsavory gang of cronies. Unlike most other Super Heroes Batman has no special power's he is simply a human being with very hi-tech crime fighting equipment and knowledge. Maybe the human element is what has given Batman such a lasting appeal and in future films and graphic novels the weaknesses of such a human super hero have been fully examined.

In the late 1960s Batman appeared in his own television series with side kick Robin. The 1986 Frank Miller graphic novel Batman: The Dark Knight Returns re-launched the media's interest in the character and Tim Burton's 1989 motion picture was a huge success.