List of Batman supporting characters

Batman alongside allies. Pictured from left to right: Robin, Batman, Oracle, Commissioner Gordon, and Huntress. Art by Jim Lee.

A collective of fictional characters appear in American comic books published by DC Comics featuring the superhero Batman as the main protagonist.

Since Batman's introduction in 1939, the character has accumulated a number of recognizable supporting characters. The first Batman supporting character was Commissioner James Gordon, who first appeared in the same comic book as Batman in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939), and is Batman's ally in the Gotham City Police Department. Robin, Batman's vigilante partner, was introduced in the Spring of 1940, Alfred Pennyworth, Batman's butler, was introduced in 1943, and Barbara Gordon was introduced in 1967.

"Batman family" is the informal term for Batman's closest allies, generally masked vigilantes operating in Gotham City. Batman also forms strong bonds or close working relationships with other superheroes, including Justice League members Superman, Green Arrow, Zatanna and Wonder Woman as well as members of the Outsiders superhero team. Others such as Jason Bard, Harold, Onyx, and Toyman work for him.

In addition, Batman has perhaps the most well known collection of adversaries in fiction, commonly referred to as Batman's rogues gallery, which includes the Joker, Penguin, Riddler, and Two-Face, among others.

Batman family

"Batman family" is the informal name for Batman's closest allies, generally masked vigilantes who either have been trained by Batman or operate in Gotham City with his tacit approval.

The group consists of similarly-minded superheroes who operate in the Gotham City area and work towards achieving common goals. Batman is often the team leader or, in some cases, its dispatch. Various members of the group usually interact with one another and assist in each other's cases, even within their respective series. Although some members occasionally resent Batman’s intrusion into their lives, all respect him as a legend within the superhero community and rarely dare to challenge his authority. Most of the members also have a strong rapport with the Dark Knight due to their long and close relationships with him over the years, and consider him a close friend and ally, and acknowledge that he most likely shares that sentiment, no matter how averse he is to actually showing it. In a 2002 storyline in which Bruce Wayne is accused of murder, Batman's friends gather to prove his innocence. It has also been implied through Batman's history that this network serves as a surrogate family for Batman and keeps him from slipping too far into his ruthless vigilante persona.

Current members (DC Rebirth)

• Batman (Bruce Wayne) – The "patriarch" and leader of the team, young Bruce Wayne witnessed the brutal murder of his parents as a child, and used this trauma and his vast personal wealth to travel the world and acquire the skills needed to wage his war on crime. Recently, Wayne revealed to the public that he had been secretly funding Batman's activities for years (stopping short of admitting that he is Batman) and would use a new corporation, Batman Incorporated, to take Batman and his mission around the world. In the DC Universe, Batman is seen as something of an outlaw, although he holds a high reputation with many people due to his status as a member of the Justice League. It is also worth noting that Batman is widely considered "the world's greatest detective", possessing superior skills in observation, critical thinking and problem solving.
• Alfred Pennyworth – The Wayne family butler and father figure to the rest of the Wayne family. Alfred raised Bruce Wayne after his parents were killed and considers Bruce a son in the much the same way that he considers Bruce's adopted children his grandchildren.
• Nightwing (Richard John "Dick" Grayson) – An orphaned child acrobat who originally served as Batman’s first sidekick, Robin, and became Bruce Wayne's ward and later adopted son. Heir to the Batman title and considered The DC universe's greatest acrobat and greatest leader (he led several incarnations of the Justice League and the Teen Titans), skills in which he has surpassed his mentor. As an adult, he took up the identity of Nightwing, and served as protector of Blüdhaven, Gotham's ugly sister city to the south. During an extended absence of Bruce's, Dick temporarily served as Batman. In the New 52, Grayson returned to the identity of Nightwing. In Forever Evil, Nightwing's secret identity was exposed by the Crime Syndicate to the public, so after faking his death, with Batman being the only one who knows he is alive, he has joined the secret organization known as Spyral as Agent 37, though he has recently returned to being Nightwing.
• Red Hood (Jason Todd) – A young street orphan that Batman caught trying to steal the tires off the Batmobile. Batman recognized some skills in the kid and adopted him as his second son and the second Robin. He later gets murdered by the Joker. Six months later, he was resurrected in a damaged state after Talia al Ghul tossed him in the Lazarus Pit which healed him completely. When Jason learns that Batman never avenged his death by killing Joker, he became Red Hood, his murderer's former alias and became at odds with the Batman Family. In the New 52, he makes an uneasy truce with his mentor and wears the Bat-Symbol on his costume. He forms a team with Starfire and Arsenal to investigate a group called "The Untitled". Jason later leads a new team of Outlaws consisting of Bizarro and Artemis.
• Red Robin (Tim Drake) – The adopted son of Bruce Wayne. Another teenage crime fighter whose skill drove him to want to assist Batman after the death of Jason Todd. After his family is threatened and moved into witness protection, he is adopted as Bruce Wayne's son, becomes the third Robin, and later becomes the hero known as "Red Robin". In the New 52, Tim was offered the role of Robin by Batman but chose to be Red Robin out of respect for Jason Todd. He later leaves Gotham, and leads a new team called the "Teen Titans". But now has since been part of a new team formed by Batman and Batwoman (Kate Kane).
• The Spoiler (Stephanie Brown) – The daughter of Cluemaster who became a teenage superhero. She is Tim Drake's love interest. When Tim retired, Stephanie became the new Robin but was fired for disobeying Batman's orders. She became Spoiler again and went after Black Mask. Black Mask captured and tortured her. He then killed her. Later, Dr. Leslie Thompkins faked her death and hid it from Batman and Robin until later on. She became Spoiler again and fights by Batman's side. When Cassandra Cain left the mantle of Batgirl, Stephanie becomes the new Batgirl. She is reintroduced in the New 52 title Batman Eternal once again as Spoiler; she adopts the title after being forced on the run by her father, Cluemaster.
• Batgirl (Barbara Gordon) – The daughter of Gotham police commissioner Jim Gordon and love interest of Dick Grayson. Barbara began operating as Batgirl soon after the first appearance of Robin. After she was left paraplegic by the Joker, she became Oracle, the information broker to the DC Universe, and founded a covert team of female operatives called the Birds of Prey. Following Flashpoint, Barbara's history as Oracle is cut short; having reportedly undergone a miraculous and as-yet unknown method of recovery, Barbara began to serve as Batgirl once again, albeit with PTSD and anger issues stemming from her nearly fatal attack.
• Robin (Damian Wayne) – The biological son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul as well as the grandson of Ra’s al Ghul. Damian is raised largely by subordinates in his grandfather’s terrorist organization, the League of Assassins, and trained by his mother until he began living in Gotham with the Wayne family. After Dick Grayson takes up the mantle of Batman, he chooses Damian to be the new Robin. Damian continues to operate as Robin, actively serving with his father upon his reemergence and Grayson's reemergence as Nightwing. In eighth issue of the New 52 Batman Incorporated series, Damian gets stabbed in the stomach with a sword by his clone, The Heretic and dies. Damian is then revived from the Chaos Shard on Apokolips during the comic series Robin Rises.
• Ace the Bat-Hound – In 1955, a few months after the Superman mythos saw the introduction of Krypto, the Batman mythos introduced Ace the Bat-Hound, a German Shepherd with a black mask covering most of his head, who helped Batman and Robin on various cases. Ace later reappeared as Bruce's guard dog and companion in the television series Batman Beyond (in which Ace is portrayed as a black Danish hound), and the 2005 television series Krypto the Superdog. He also makes appearances as Batman's crime-fighting partner on the TV show Batman: The Brave and the Bold. The modern comic book version of Ace depicts him as a companion to Harold, rarely playing a role in the plotlines. In the new Batman and Robin, Bruce adopts a Great Dane for Damian. He names the dog Titus. Damian at first does not like the dog, but the two eventually bond. Bruce and Damian call the dog Ace as a nickname.
• Batwoman (Kate Kane) – A wealthy heiress and disgraced former West Point cadet who became a superhero, Kate Kane appeared after the timeline-altering Infinite Crisis in the pages of 52. for several months. For a portion of 2006-2007's 52, she fought alongside Nightwing. In the wake of Bruce Wayne's apparent death in 2009, Batwoman was the feature character in Detective Comics for a short time, which prompted the launch of a Batwoman solo series with the onset of the New 52.
• Catwoman (Selina Kyle) – One of Batman's early adversaries. In later years, she becomes his frequent love interest and defender of Gotham City's East End. One year after the events of Infinite Crisis, she retired (allowing Holly Robinson to take the mantle of Catwoman) and gave birth to a baby girl named Helena. Batman calls her out of retirement to infiltrate an Amazon sect. Following a series of kidnappings of her baby, Catwoman gives her daughter up for adoption. In the New 52, Selina is a 23-year-old thief who is in a romantic relationship with Batman. Even though she is not considered an actual member of Batman's team, she has helped Batman and his allies in various missions.
• Julia Pennyworth – A SRR agent and Alfred's daughter, Julia took Alfred's place, when she found out Batman's secret, after her father was attacked by Hush.
• Orphan (Cassandra Cain/Wayne) – A martial arts prodigy and daughter of the assassins David Cain and Lady Shiva. Batman and Oracle trained her as the next Batgirl. After abandoning this role, she briefly became leader of the League of Assassins. It is revealed later that the mercenary Deathstroke is responsible for brainwashing and influencing Cassandra's villainous activities. She has since been legally adopted by Bruce Wayne as his daughter. After the event of Batman: RIP, Cassandra ceased being Batgirl due to apparent frustration and passed her Batgirl identity to her close friend Stephanie Brown. After Bruce Wayne returns, it is revealed that Cassandra's disillusionment was a ruse, and that she had willingly handed over her Batgirl mantle to Stephanie under her mentor's request she do so in the event of his death or disappearance, so that her friend could grow as a hero even without Bruce's involvement. Tim Drake is revealed to have been in regular contact with her. She now operates as Black Bat, Batman Inc.'s representative in Hong Kong. She returned to Gotham during the events of Batman: Gates of Gotham to help stop the Architect from destroying the city. She returned to the mainstream continuity afterward in the 2015 Batman and Robin Eternal, where at the end she took her father's alias, Orphan. Moreover, a young woman, wearing a similar costume to that of Black Bat, appeared as a member of Batman Inc.
• Clayface (Basil Karlo) – A former member of Batman's rogues gallery who is recruited by Batwoman to join her and Batman's team in Detective Comics. Tim Drake invents a device for Basil Karlo to allow him to hold his human form long enough to be allowed to live a normal life as a human and then be able to switch back into Clayface to fight crime with the team. In Detective Comics issue #973, Clayface was killed by Batwoman.
• The Signal (Duke Thomas) – Batman's new daytime partner. A young boy living in Gotham who helps Bruce Wayne during Zero Year. He comes to work for Batman after his parents are made insane.
• Batwing (Luke Fox) – The latest Batwing and son of Batman associate Lucius Fox. He joined Batman's team in Detective Comics but has stepped away from the Batwing role to pursue other heroic ventures.
• Bluebird (Harper Row) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She is a supporting character of Batman. Harper Row was created by writer Scott Snyder and artist Greg Capullo, first appearing in Batman vol. 2, #7 (March 2012), before debuting as Bluebird in Batman #28 (February 2014). Harper Row's Bluebird identity was designed by artist Dustin Nguyen. Within the fictional DC Universe, Harper Row officially joins Batman's group of allies during the events of Batman Eternal, a year-long weekly maxiseries.
• Batman (Terry McGinnis) – The Batman of the future and biological son of Bruce Wayne. Debuted in Batman Beyond, in 2011 he entered the official DCU.
• Azrael (Jean-Paul Valley) – Azrael was a genetically modified assassin of the Order of St. Dumas who once replaced Bruce Wayne as Batman when he was badly injured by Bane. Valley defeated Bane, but grew increasingly paranoid and violent. Bruce was forced to reclaim the mantle of the Bat. Valley returned to the Azrael identity and attempted to regain Batman's trust. After many years, he managed to find his way back into Batman's graces and served as an "Agent of the Bat" until his death. Because his body was never found, speculation arose as to whether he had actually died, but that speculation was laid to rest when Valley's body was reanimated as a member of the Black Lantern Corps during the Blackest Night. Jean-Paul was reintroduced in the pages of Batman & Robin Eternal and recently joined Batman's team in Detective Comics.
• Harold Allnut – Harold was an aide of Batman's who helped design, make, and repair many of his gadgets. Harold was later killed by Hush. Harold does not appear in the New 52, but is alive again following DC Rebirth.
• Oracle – Gus Yale is a young man who grew up as a fan of the original Oracle, Barbara Gordon. Confronted by the Birds of Prey for trading information to the mob, it was later found he was simply donating the money back to charity. From then he was hesitantly let onto the team.

Batman Inc.

• Batman (Jiro Osamu) – formerly operated as the second Mr. Unknown, now serves as the Batman of Tokyo as a member of Batman Inc.
• Nightrunner (Bilal Asselah) – Batman Inc.'s representative in Paris, a Sunni Muslim and expert freerunner.
• El Gaucho (Santiago Vargas) – renowned crime fighter in Argentina who was inspired by Batman, former member of Club of Heroes, now operates as a member of Batman Inc.
• Knight (Beryl Hutchinson) – Formerly known as Squire, sidekick of Knight, Beryl takes on the mantle of the Knight after Cyril's death.
• The Hood (George Cross) – Maverick Special Government Agent of England, now operates as a member of Batman Inc.
• The Dark Ranger (Johnny Riley) – Following the death of the first Ranger at the hands of Wingman, his former sidekick, the Scout, has taken up the mantle as the new Dark Ranger. Now operates as a member of Batman Inc. He appears to be of Aboriginal descent.
• Batwing (David Zavimbe) – The Batman Incorporated representative from Tinasha in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A former child soldier, he now operates as a police officer in his civilian identity.
• The Outsiders – Becoming fed up with the politics and practices of the Justice League, Batman formed the Outsiders to have his own unit to perform on his terms. Drifting through various incarnations, Batman restarted the team and operated as its leader until his disappearance in Final Crisis. In the wake of his death, he charged Alfred with assembling and maintaining a new team of Outsiders in an attempt to replace all the individual skills of Batman through the various members. In Batman Incorporated, Batman forms a new Outsiders team, which acts as a black-ops wing of Batman Inc. Freight Train, Looker, Metamorpho, Katana, and Halo rejoin the team and Red Robin becomes the new leader. The new team did not last long since all the members except for Red Robin were caught in an explosion that Lord Death Man set off in Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes. The team turned up alive in the first issue of the New 52 Batman Incorporated series.
• Talon (Calvin Rose) – A former Talon of the Court of Owls who disobeys his masters and goes on the run from the Court. He is a world class escape artist and a trained assassin. He was killed by Bane, but revived by the Court with enhanced durability and strength. Rose starred in his own series after the launch of the New 52. The last issue of the series sees Rose inducted into Batman Incorporated.

Five years in the future (Future's End)

• Batgirl (Cassandra Wayne) – a.k.a. Orphan, Black Bat. Cassandra made her debut in the New 52, five years in the future, where she is a member of the League of Batgirls, led by Barbara Gordon a.k.a. Bete Noir.
• Batgirl (Stephanie Brown) – a.k.a. Spoiler. Five years in the future, she is a member of the League of Batgirls, led by Barbara Gordon a.k.a. Bete Noir.
• Batgirl (Tiffany Fox) – The youngest daughter of Lucius Fox. Five years in the future Tiffany has joined the League of Batgirls, led by Barbara Gordon a.k.a. Bete Noir.
• Robin (Duke Thomas) – a.k.a. Signal, Lark. Five years in the future, Duke has become the new protege next to Batman.
• Batman (Baber Shah) – a.k.a. Shah, Baber. Few Years of Later in future after Batman Beyond seen as an international business tycoon that was located on the map in the Pakistani city of Karachi.

Deceased members

• Orpheus (Gavin King) – Orpheus was an agent of a shadowy organization that had outfitted him with crimefighting equipment and training. He became one of Batman's agents and posed as a crime boss, but was later killed by Black Mask. Gavin does not appear in the New 52 and he is probably still considered dead.
• Deadman (Boston Brand) – Boston Brand was murdered by a member of the League of Assassins and returned to life to ask Batman for help in solving his murder. When the organization behind it comes to light, the pair work together to topple the group. In the New 52, Deadman is a member of Justice League Dark.
• Knight (Cyril Sheldrake) – The original Knight was Percival Sheldrake who became the sidekick of Shining Knight as Squire during the World War 2 period. He became the Knight as an adult and made his son, Cyril the new Squire and teamed up with Batman. When Percy died, Cyril became the new Knight and adopted Beryl Hutchinson as his new Squire. After he joined Batman Inc., he was killed by a henchman of Leviathan.

Status unclear

New 52

• Lucius Fox: Although far less privy to Bruce Wayne's personal life than his business dealings, Lucius Fox is a trusted close associate of Wayne as his business manager responsible for both Wayne Enterprises and the Wayne Foundation. Depending on Fox's incarnation, Lucius may know nothing of Bruce's secret life; have some hints about it (such as Batman Begins), where he knows Bruce is doing something, but prefers not to know exactly what, for the purpose of deniability; or know about it entirely, as is the case in The Batman and The Dark Knight, Batman: Arkham Knight, Batman: The Enemy Within as well as his current mainstream incarnation (The New 52/DC Rebirth).
• The Birds of Prey – A covert group of heroes formed by Oracle that largely fight crime in Gotham. Prominent members have included Black Canary, Lady Blackhawk, and Helena Bertinelli as the Huntress. Following "Flashpoint", the team has been rebooted with Black Canary as the leader, Starling, Poison Ivy, Katana, and Batgirl assisting the team on occasions. The group disbanded and is inactive following a severe falling out between Canary and Batgirl in Birds of Prey Vol. 3 #34.
• Azrael (Michael Washington Lane) – The Third Ghost of Batman, one of a series of Batman impostors created by Dr. Simon Hurt, has recently become the new Azrael wearing a mystical suit of armor given to the original Batman by Talia al Ghul. In the New 52, Michael's absence from Batman's organization is explained by his choosing seclusion and daily prayer as a way of repenting for all that he did as a tool of Ra's Al Ghul and Doctor Hurt, believing himself to hold an important role in the apocalypse.
• Man-Bat (Kirk Langstrom) – alternates from being able to control his monstrous persona to giving in to its instincts. When he does control it, he uses the Man-Bat identity for good. He was recently seen as part of the Network fighting crime. In the New 52, Kirk Langstrom first appears where he and his wife Francine are escorted by Batwoman to Batman's location. Taking responsibility as the creator of the serum, he uses a sample of the serum Batman had obtained to inject himself. This creates an anti-virus which also spreads through the air. Unfortunately, Langstrom is turned into a Man-Bat (the last remaining Man-Bat) as his anti-virus cures the remaining citizens of Gotham. After reverting from the Man-Bat form, Langstrom becomes addicted to the Man-Bat serum, taking it every night. However, he apparently does not remember his actions from the night, worrying that a string of reported killings is his fault.
• The Huntress (Helena Wayne) – The daughter of the Batman and Catwoman of an alternate universe established in the early 1960s as the world where the Golden Age stories took place. As a young girl she was amazed to learn that her father was Batman and embraced Dick Grayson as her older brother and she looked up to Alfred as a second father. Under the code name "Huntress", Helena also struck up a friendship with fellow new superheroine Power Girl who was also a part of the JSA, her father's old team, and Infinity Inc. In the Post-Flashpoint Earth 2 continuity, Helena was the daughter of Bruce and Selina Kyle-Wayne. She was also the only Robin to her father's Batman identity. During an attempted Apokoliptian invasion, both her parents die and she only adopts the Huntress identity after accidentally arriving on Prime Earth through a Boom Tube, along with the Supergirl of Earth 2. The Worlds' Finest storyline explores how Helena and Kara arrived on main DC Earth and their attempts to return to their source Earth, five years after their arrival. While on Prime Earth, Helena keeps her existence a secret, using several fake aliases and avoids visiting Gotham City. Eventually, she meets both that Earth's version of Robin, Damian Wayne, who is also Batman's biological child and later on Batman himself, who according to her is nothing like her father. During the World's End storyline, Helena and Kara found their way back to Earth 2, where she was united with her thought to be dead grandfather, Thomas Wayne, who has taken over the identity of Batman.
• Hawkfire (Bette Kane) – A perky, blonde teenager and professional tennis player, Bette Kane became the original Batgirl to pursue the original Robin, Dick Grayson. Now known as Flamebird, Bette is pursuing her dream to become her cousin, Kate Kane's apprentice. In the New 52, Bette has become Batwoman's sidekick and goes by Plebe and wears a grey jumpsuit after Kate burns her Flamebird costume. She and Batwoman get into a fight and she goes out on patrol alone as Flamebird, but ends up injured in a gang fight. After she is released from the hospital, she acquires a new high-tech costume with actual pyrotechnic accents and becomes Hawkfire. She is now trying to get Kate to reconcile with her uncle, Kate's father.

Pre-New 52

• Bat-Mite – a reality altering imp from the 5th dimension Bat-Mite made many early appearances as Batman's "biggest fan". Current continuity has treated him as an apparition of Batman's imagination, most recently during Batman's psychological breakdown at the hands of the Black Glove organization. During this, Bat-Mite described imagination as the 5th dimension and described himself as, "the last fading echo of the voice of reason". Bat-Mite does not appear in the New 52, even though he appeared in one of the covers of Detective Comics #27 for the 75th anniversary of Batman.
• Creeper (Jack Ryder) – A Gotham City television personality that lost his job and became a security guard which brought him into conflict with the mob. After he was almost killed, Ryder was saved by a scientist that made him into Creeper. Early in his career, he would team up with Batman and became a frequent ally, even joining the Outsiders. In The New 52, Creeper was one of Andre Brigg's candidates for a United Nations-sanctioned Justice League; however, The Creeper was not selected to join the group. His origin is explained in Phantom Stranger #7, where Jack had recently quit his job as a talk show host at Morgan Edge's network. After intervention from the Phantom Stranger, Ryder ends up being killed by a monster's attack on Metropolis. In Katana #3, after Katana's sword is broken by Killer Croc, the spirit of the Creeper is released from the captivity of her sword. It revealed that Katana's Soultaker sword was used to kill and imprison the Creeper. In the following issue, Creeper is seen bonding to Jack Ryder's dead body. Creeper uses Jack's body to cause chaos, and after he is done, Jack Ryder stays in the crime scene so he can be the first one to report the news.
• Holly Robinson – is a former prostitute trained by Wildcat and her friend Selina Kyle, to briefly become the new Catwoman following the birth of Selina's daughter. In her civilian identity, retaining the skills she learned in training to become Catwoman, she was a primary character in Countdown. The series saw her receive extensive Amazonian training as part of Granny Goodness' scheme to acquire new Female Furies. In the series' denouement, she and former supervillain friend Harley Quinn return to civilian life in Gotham, together but later Holly decides to begin a new life elsewhere on her own with money she received after helping Selina steal Tommy Elliot's fortune. Holly does not appear in the New 52.
• Ragman (Rory Regan) – A similarly vengeful vigilante hero operating in Gotham, Ragman wears a mystical suit of living rags that functions as a kind of golem. Ragman does not appear in the New 52.
• Bat-Cow is a bovine member of the Batman Family. Rescued from the slaughterhouse during one of Batman's raids on Leviathan, it was taken as a pet by Robin, Damian Wayne. The experience also made Robin a vegetarian. Bat-Cow was created by Grant Morrison and Chris Burnham, first appearing in Batman Incorporated (Volume 2) #1.
• Simon Dark – A mysterious vigilante active in Gotham City, Simon Dark is a patchwork man constructed from the bodies of several dead children by a medical genius and a dark cult. Simon does not appear in the New 52.
• Proxy (Wendy Harris) – The daughter of the villain the Calculator was paralyzed during an attack when she served with her brother on the Teen Titans. She acts as Oracle's sidekick and assists the new Batgirl; however, her connection to the rest of the Bat Family at large is unclear. Pre-Crisis, Wendy was the niece of detective Harvey Harris, a mentor to a young Bruce Wayne. Wendy does not appear in the New 52.
• Catgirl (Kitrina Falcone) – Catgirl is Catwoman's sidekick. Kitrina is known for her abilities as an escape artist, first escaping from a locked box while tied up and thrown in the water by her uncle, Mario Falcone, and escaping from Catwoman while tied in an "inescapable knot". Kitrina does not appear in the New 52.
• Lynx – Originally seen allied with Gotham's villains, Lynx would later be seen fighting alongside its heroes. After battling Red Robin, he comes to believe she is on his side. Lynx does not appear in the New 52.

Former members (Pre-New 52)

• The Huntress (Helena Bertinelli) – The daughter of a slain mafia family. She rejected crime and took to patrolling Gotham as an antiheroine. She serves as an agent of Oracle, one of the Birds of Prey. While her relationship with Batman has been tenuous, she recently earned his respect. Following the Flashpoint event that altered DC Comics continuity, it has been revealed that Helena Bertinelli has been dead for a while, while The New 52 Huntress has been revealed as Helena Wayne. It is later revealed that Bertinelli has faked her death and works as a spy, named Matron, for the secret organization known as Spyral, alongside Dick Grayson. At the conclusion of the Grayson series, much like Dick Grayson, Bertinelli also leaves Spyral and takes up the mantle of the Huntress and starting from DC Rebirth, much like her pre-Flashpoint version, she joins the Birds of Prey.
• Talia al Ghul – is the daughter of Ra's al Ghul and is the mother of Damian. After learning of her son's intention to remain Robin, as well as his new devotion to his father's family, Talia has disowned Damian in favor of another son she will create, and put a bounty on his head as well as declared a personal war on Bruce Wayne. The clone eventually kills Damian, which Talia did not anticipate, and leaving the grieving Batman vindictive towards her and the clone. In the final issue of Batman Incorporated, Talia is killed by Kathy Kane.
• Harvey Dent – The former District Attorney, and previously known as the villain Two-Face. He was deemed cured after his facial reconstruction surgery by Dr. Thomas Elliot. Dent was requested by Batman to watch over Gotham City during his one-year absence with Robin. Dent's style of justice has been more brutal than Batman's precision-style vigilantism. Upon Batman's return to Gotham, a series of grisly murders of several members of Batman's rogues gallery points to Dent. When confronted by Batman, Dent blows up his apartment. The inner turmoil created by the situation forced Two-Face out of his psyche once again, and he is seen re-scarring his face with a scalpel and acid. In the New 52, in Batman and Robin #28 it is implied that Dent has achieved closure and that he commits suicide by shooting himself in the head.
• Bane – He would come to be an ally to Batman following their initial encounter; however, in the events surrounding Infinite Crisis, he appeared to return to his evil ways. Yet, he proves to walk a fine line as observed in the Secret Six. In the New 52, Bane has officially returned to being one of Batman's adversaries.
• Riddler (Edward Nygma) – After waking up from a coma, he has gone "legit" and formed a well-known detective agency that sometimes helps Batman. When Riddler gets caught in a bomb explosion, the explosion re-awakened his psychosis. In the New 52, Riddler has officially returned to being one of Batman's adversaries.
• Deadshot (Floyd Lawton) – He entered Gotham as what appeared to be another crimefighter. However, he would try to kill Batman to be the city's only hero. He would return later in the Suicide Squad, forced to help people but when he learned he had a daughter, he sought to wipe out gangs that threatened her home. As a member of the Secret Six, he often walks a line between cold-blooded killer and murderous saint. In the New 52, Deadshot has officially returned to his evil ways, being a member of the Suicide Squad.
• Catman (Thomas Blake) – He started his career modeled after Catwoman and Batman as a foe to the latter. Catman would also work for the Shade to help destroy remnants of Green Arrow's life as a hero after his apparent death, seemingly giving up crime and retiring. As a member of the Secret Six, Blake seems motivated to do good but is haunted by his violent, animal-like nature. Thomas reprises his established status as a core member of the Secret Six with the New 52 relaunch of the title.
• Cheyenne Freemont – A fashion designer and daughter of two metahumans, she is reluctant to use her abilities as her parents were run out of town for using theirs. Briefly involved with Dick Grayson, she creates a costume similar to Nightwing's and uses her powers to help Nightwing save Jason Todd from the Pierce brothers before retiring as the female Nightwing. Cheyenne does not appear in the New 52.
• Sasha Bordeaux – Bruce Wayne's former bodyguard. Events forced her from his side that resulted in a long journey, arriving at the government organization known as Checkmate. After being turned into a partial OMAC cyborg, she now holds the title of Black Queen in the organization. Sasha does not appear in the New 52.
• Onyx (Onyx Adams) – Orpheus' bodyguard and protector. She took up his position as gang leader after Orpheus' death. A bond developed between Onyx and Cassandra Cain. After the events of Infinite Crisis, she was not seen in Gotham until Birds of Prey #114 in 2007, which reveals she has remained an active vigilante and a contact of Oracle. In the New 52, Onyx is the leader of the Fist Clan, a part of the Outsiders, a secret society composed by various clans built around a totem weapon.
• Club of Heroes – An international group of heroes largely made up of those inspired by Batman (counting him among their number). They would later disband but would reunite when the occasion arose. Several of their number went on to join Batman Inc.
• Manhunter – The name of three associates of Batman.

Paul Kirk was a masked man during WWII that became a pawn for the Council when they genetically altered him into an assassin. When Kirk learned that the Council was using him and created clones of him as their soldiers, he joined with ninja master Asano Nitobe and Interpol agent Christine St. Clair to destroy the organization and kill his doubles. Kirk would add Batman to this group before his demise in his mission, the remaining trio continuing his work posthumously. An exception in this would be made for the clone Kirk DePaul. Neither Paul or his clone appear in the New 52.

Mark Shaw was a human infiltrator for the Manhunters that would later distance himself from the group and become the super-villain Star-Tsar, infiltrating the Justice League as the Privateer. After some time in prison, he wiped his record with service in the Suicide Squad. Afterward, he would again go by the name Manhunter as a bounty hunter working with Oracle operating largely out of New York. Shaw would take down several of Batman's rogues before the two met battling the Sportsmaster. In The New 52, Mark Shaw appears in the Forever Evil storyline as a U.S. Marshal who is assigned to find Barbara Minerva, the Cheetah. He is referred to as "one of the best manhunters" in the United States Marshals Service.

Kate Spencer is the grand daughter of Phantom Lady that took up the title Manhunter and later joined the Birds of Prey. She is currently the district attorney for Gotham City where she at one point continued to operate alongside the Birds as Manhunter. Kate does not appear in the New 52.

• Jason Blood – A demonologist based out of Gotham. Generally when dealing with such matters, Batman has consulted Blood (and employed help from Blood's "companion", the demon Etrigan). When the Justice League was stuck in the past, Blood was recruited to form a new version of the group based on a contingency plan established by Batman. In the New 52, his past and origins are largely unchanged. Etrigan is still shown as a demon forcibly bound to a young Jason Blood in a gambit to stave off the destruction brought by the Fall of Camelot and in the revised continuity he is tied to other Dark Ages-based heroes and villains. In the present Etrigan's body lies buried in London; it is explained that he was sealed there by his own friends because of his betrayal on them, but magic emanating from it is able to possess persons above, eventually freeing the demon who promptly attacks Apollo and Midnighter. The entire Stormwatch then battles Etrigan but even after being defeated, he is able to possess a host and flees.
• Nimrod the Hunter (Dean Hunter) – He was framed for a crime he did not commit by the criminal named Chancer. Breaking out of prison, he stole a military suit of armor and sought to clear his name with Batman's help. In The New 52, a new version of Nimrod appears named Maxim Zarov, a highly skilled hunter who uses teleportation techniques and is a member of, or an associate with, the Anti-Superman Army.

Gotham City Police Department

Main article: Gotham City Police Department

The GCPD were featured in their own series: the limited series Batman: GCPD and the ongoing series Gotham Central, in which they investigate the unusual crimes that plague the city, in a personal effort to minimize Batman's involvement. Gotham Central series ended its 40 issue run in 2006.

• James "Jim" Gordon, the police commissioner of Gotham City, is the most important member of the GCPD within the Batman mythos. Appearing alongside the main character in his first appearance, Gordon was the first Batman supporting character. Batman has a strong (though secret and unofficial) working relationship with him. 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 a 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. Jim retired several months after NML, but returned to duty in the One Year Later storyline.

Other members of the Gotham City Police Department have played prominent roles in Batman's extended "family".

• Harvey Bullock was brought in to be a pain in the side of Commissioner Gordon, but after accidentally causing a heart attack, his character repented, and has been a near constant presence since then. He is presented as being a slob and constantly suspected of corruption, but ultimately a good cop and strong ally to Gordon.
• Renee Montoya, a character who was added into the comics in the 1990s as a character adapted from the animated series. She later quit the GCPD when her partner Crispus Allen was murdered and the man responsible got off, in addition to her sexual orientation being unwillingly outed. Following this she became a main character in the 52 limited series. Renee, who eventually took on the mantle of the Question, occasionally fights crime with the current Batwoman, who is her on-again-off-again lover. In The New 52, Renee appears in an image viewed by Kate Kane on the GCPD's wall of honor. She made her first full appearance in Detective Comics #41.
• Crispus Allen was a fortysomething police veteran transferred to Gotham City where he was partnered with detective Renee Montoya on the Gotham City Police Department's Major Crimes Unit. Allen had a loving wife and two teenaged sons, whom he put above his job and the safety of others when Gotham was in crisis. Allen saw Batman as a necessary evil, not wanting to deal with him but tolerating his presence. Their occasional interactions illustrated his views on Batman, notably during Brian Azzarello's "Broken City" storyline. Allen was an agnostic who doubted the existence of God in spite of his family's strong faith.
• Jason Bard is a cop from Detroit hired by Jim Gordon and put into the MCU. He later helps Batman escape from a trap of GCPD led by the corrupt new Commissioner Jack Forbes. Prior to the New 52 reboot, he was originally introduced as a private investigator; pre-Crisis and post-Crisis, he was hired to be Batman's daytime liaison in the "Face the Face" storyline, and later worked for Robin during the outbreak of a gang war in Gotham City.

Allied DC superheroes

Main article: Justice League

Batman regularly interacts with other DC superheroes in titles such as the Justice League of America. A few, however, have a marked presence in the core Batman titles:

• Superman (Clark Kent/Kal-El) – As the two earliest superheroes, Batman and Superman are frequent costars in each other's titles, and are often used to highlight differences between vigilante and lawful crimefighting. In the early crossovers, the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight 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. Superman left this encounter with Batman, believing he had the best of intentions, though disagreeing 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 call the Man of Steel his friend."

They have collaborated many times in the years since then, learning each other's secret identities, recognizing that their goals are essentially the same, and despite their frequent tense relationship, are close allies and friends. 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 he subscribed to wholesome idealism, while Batman was motivated by personal tragedy and a troubled past. Regardless, after one instance of Batman using the ring to prevent a mind-controlled Superman from wrongdoing, Superman told Batman that he knew he, "gave the ring to the right person." Batman shook his hand, and simply said, "What're friends for?"

• Green Arrow (Oliver Queen) – He began as a character very much 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 1970s, when both Batman and Green Arrow were revamped into more serious characters. Batman and Green Arrow have often been partners, especially during the 1970s, when Batman's team up title, The Brave and the Bold, was one of the few places outside of the pages of JLA where the Emerald Archer could be found. As with Superman, early teamups between Batman and Green Arrow were very friendly, but their relations became strained in more recent incarnations. Batman and Green Arrow's interactions in the 1980s were often employed as counterpoints to differing techniques and political philosophies. Queen and Batman's relationship was further strained by the involvement of Green Arrow in the mindwiping events that happened in the pages of Identity Crisis, even though Queen voted against the mindwiping of Dr. Light and Batman, but this seems to have been forgiven for reasons unknown. Today, Green Arrow is frequently depicted as one of the few superheroes willing to stand up to Batman directly.
• Zatanna (Zatanna Zatara) – A powerful sorceress, stage magician, and a former member of the Justice League of America. Her father, John Zatara, trained a young Bruce Wayne in escapology. Zatanna and Bruce have a working friendship in the comics, with Bruce calling her for assistance from time to time. Zatanna's standing with Batman after the events of Identity Crisis was initially very strained, but the pair made their peace to the point where she proposed that they start a relationship, but Bruce told her he cares too much about her to bring her into his world.
• Black Canary (Dinah Laurel Lance) – A former member of the Justice Society and of Oracle's covert team in Birds of Prey as well as being the wife of Green Arrow, a founding member of the Justice League of America, and its current chairperson. The relationship between Black Canary and Batman has not been stressed by the events of Identity Crisis, even though Black Canary was involved with the group who mindwiped Dr. Light.
• The Huntress (Helena Wayne) – The daughter of an alternate version of Bruce Wayne (Batman) and Selina Kyle (Catwoman) from Earth-2. She was also the only Robin to her father's Batman identity and a more ruthless character than previously seen at the time. Helena adopts the Huntress identity after accidentally arriving on Prime Earth through a Boom Tube, after the death of both her parents.
• Plastic Man (Eel O'Brian) – A crook that developed super powers after falling into a chemical bath, deciding afterward to change his ways. Joining the FBI and the All-Star Squadron, he would make a life for himself in Gotham. During a case where the JLA fought the Injustice Gang, Plastic Man was brought in to the League by Batman to help, shortly thereafter joining the group. During this time, O'Brian became close to Batman and came to rely on him as a close friend, often the Dark Knight being the only person able to motivate the elastic hero to action.
• The Question – Originally a Charlton Comics superhero, created by Steve Ditko, Vic Sage was revamped by Dennis O'Neil in 1987. Since the late 1990s, the Question has had a recurring supporting role in various Batman titles. Sage dies of lung cancer in 52 Week 38; former GCPD detective Renee Montoya is now the new Question.
• Richard Dragon – As one of the martial artists in the DC Universe, Denny O'Neil's Richard Dragon appears occasionally in Batman-related titles. Dragon is involved in training the modern Huntress, and allusions are made to his involvement training Batman himself.
• Toyman (Hiro Okamura) – A 13-year-old genius from Japan. He was recruited by Superboy and Robin (Tim) after he successfully created the composite Superman/Batman ship that saved Earth. He now works with Batman to create custom-equipment and weapons, replacing Harold. Hiro is revealed to be one of several robots, who fills in for the real Toyman while incarcerated, this was revealed in Action Comics #865.
• Blue Beetle (Ted Kord) – A close friend of Oracle (sometimes working with the Birds of Prey), served with Batman in the League, and an idol to Tim Drake. Before his death, his company became a subsidiary to Wayne Industries.
• Alan Scott – The Green Lantern of the Golden Age who works and lives in Gotham City.
• Justice Society of America – Since the end of WWII, the JSA was headquartered in Gotham in a brownstone.
• Nemesis (Thomas Andrew Tresser) – He sought to clear the name of his brother, brainwashed by the Council into becoming an assassin, and take down that same organization. During this, he would find an ally in Batman and the pair teamed together until Nemesis was successful in his goals.
• Katana (Tatsu Yamashiro) – Initially meeting at the formation of the Outsiders, she moved to Gotham in the penthouse that served as the group's base of operations. During her years as a member, Katana became close friends with Batman, occasionally teaming with him when he called upon her. When President Luthor formed a group of individuals led by Captain Atom to apprehend Superman and Batman, the Dark Knight entrusted Katana as his spy within.
• Wildcat (Ted Grant) – An original member of the Justice Society of America and an ex-heavyweight champion boxer, trained a young Bruce Wayne at one point. The two have remained close allies, and Batman has been quoted as saying that Grant is one of the few fighters he respects.
• Arsenal/Red Arrow (Roy Harper) – Originally, Speedy. Member of Titans, Outsiders and Outlaws, partner and friend of Green Arrow, Nightwing and Red Hood. Occasionally, has been aided by Batman himself.
• Green Arrow (Connor Hawke) – Oliver Queen's son and successor. Ally of Batman and Nightwing and Batman's agent in the ploy to take down the Injustice Gang.

Antagonists

Main article: List of Batman family enemies

Batman comics have introduced many classic villains. His rogues gallery is one of the most identifiable in modern fiction. The Joker, Two-Face, and the Penguin are some of the most recognizable foes; other notable villains include Catwoman, the Riddler, Poison Ivy, Ra's al Ghul, Mr. Freeze, Harley Quinn, the Scarecrow, Bane, Killer Croc, the Mad Hatter, and Clayface, among others. Some of Batman's rogues gallery are notable for sometimes functioning as allies as well as villains. Some examples of this are Catwoman, the Riddler, Poison Ivy, Two-Face (Harvey Dent), Red Hood, Anarky, and Talia al Ghul. Recently, emphasis on the psychological motivations of Batman villains have painted them in a much more sympathetic light than in their earlier stories, most notably Mr. Freeze and the Ventriloquist in their Batman: The Animated Series incarnations.

Antagonists from other media

• Roxy Rocket (appeared in The New Batman Adventures, Superman: The Animated Series, and Batman: Chaos in Gotham, voiced by Charity James) - Roxy Rocket is a minor supervillainess. Her first appearance was in TNBA episode "The Ultimate Thrill", where she works for the Penguin to steal valuable jewelry. Her crimes were benign, unlike other Batman villains in Gotham City. At the end, she was defeated by Batman and was taken to Arkham Asylum. Her next appearance was in Superman: TAS episode "Knight Time", where she attempts to relocate to Metropolis. She failed, as she is easily defeated by Superman. When Superman had asked her why Batman's enemies are relocating to Metropolis, she explains that Batman has been missing for some time. Her final appearance in the DCAU was in the game Chaos in Gotham, where she is one of the inmates that escaped Arkham Asylum. Her first appearance in the DC Universe was in Detective Comics #822, where she has stolen an ionic thruster from S.T.A.R. Labs' Gotham bureau, but her first comic book appearance dates back to 1994, where she appearance in The Batman Adventures Annual #1.
• Francis Gray (appeared in The Batman, voiced by Dave Foley) - Francis Gray is a villain that bears many characteristics from Green Arrow villain Clock King. In his only appearance Seconds, he is presented as failed clock maker and thief. While in prison he develops the ability to rewind time, due his increasing desire for a do-over. His crime was actually petty by stealing a pocketwatch, but he accidentally set off a chain of events that lead to deaths; he got the blame for purely circumstantial evidence. Come New Year's Eve a decade later, Batman and Batgirl attempt to stop him by bringing Grey's son to him; however, the poison he planned to detonate went off regardless. The grief allowed him to rewind all the way back to his original crime; he decided against it, resulting in a new present day where he and his son are fixing clocks together.
• Red Claw (appeared in Batman: The Animated Series, voiced by Kate Mulgrew) - In her first appearance in the series, Red Claw is revealed to be the enigmatic leader of an international terrorist organization named Red Claw, and also known as the "most ruthless terrorist alive", in Commissioner Gordon's words. Red Claw resurfaces again in the final episode of the series, this time to cause trouble for Batman himself by abducting his butler Alfred Pennyworth.
• Angel "Bird" Vallelunga (appeared in Batman: Arkham Origins, voiced by Christian Lanz) - Bird is Bane's second-in-command and closest confidant. Like his superior, Bird has no known criminal record prior to his incarceration. It is heavily rumored that Bird grew up in the same maximum security prison Bane was born and raised in Santa Prisca. In a side-mission to the game, Batman was investigating the man responsible for distributing te drug Venom throughout the streets of Gotham. Cornering Bird in one of the Penguin's nightclubs, Batman was able to stop Bird and his men from continuing to distribute the drug.
• Kabuki Twins (appeared in The Batman) - The Kabuki Twins are villains created exclusively for The Batman. They are presented to be the silent henchwomen for the Penguin. No origin or alter egos were presented to them, but Penguin explains he acquired them during his trip to Asia.
• Condiment King (appeared in Batman: The Animated Series, voiced by Stuart Pankin) - In his first and only appearance in the DCAU, he attacks the Crown Restaurant, only to end up fighting Batman. He was identified as Buddy Standler, a former stand-up comedian who was brainwashed by the Joker, who was using the Mad Hatter's mind-controlling devices. When Batman defeats the Joker and his plans were exposed, it was assumed that Standler was cleared of all charges. The Condiment King later appeared in the comics as the alias of Mitchell Mayo.
• HARDAC (appeared in Batman: The Animated Series, voiced by Jeff Bennett) - HARDAC stands for Holographic Analytical Reciprocating DigitAL Computer. In its first appearance, "Heart of Steel", it was created by Dr. Karl Rossum as a supercomputer. It later has a mind of its own by duplicating Gotham's powerful citizens and law enforcement. Rossum revealed that he created HARDAC because he wanted it to duplicate his late wife and daughter when they died under mysterious circumstances. HARDAC learns Batman and Bruce Wayne were the same person when Batman learns about HARDAC's plan. It was destroyed by the efforts of Batman and Batgirl. In its final appearance, it creates a duplicate of Batman. It was awakened when three thieves hide out in an abandoned warehouse. Using the clone, HARDAC connects to the Batcomputer, and fights the real Batman. Batman fakes his death when the duplicate pushed him off a cliff, causing the duplicate to kill itself as well. Batman begins to wonder if HARDAC was beginning to have a soul.
• Rumor (appeared in The Batman, voiced by Ron Perlman) - Rumor (real name Mario) was a villain that bears similar characteristics to Batman villain Hush. Mario is the bodyguard of a scientist and businessman, Paul Karon, who was crippled by the Joker. In order to remove his failure, he decides to kill all of Gotham City's costumed criminals. Though he could have been left to the criminals by Batman and Robin, they decided against letting an act of karma take placed, getting everyone arrested.
• D.A.V.E. (appeared in The Batman, voiced by Jeff Bennett) - D.A.V.E. (Digitally Advanced Villain Emulator) is a villain exclusive to the show. His only appearance was in the episode Gotham's Ultimate Villain Mastermind. In it, the villain Hugo Strange creates D.A.V.E., an artificial intelligence that was programmed to adapt the personalities of Gotham's supervillains. Because of the combination of insane intellects, D.A.V.E. believed himself to be a human criminal whose brain was trapped in a digital prison, which he escaped. He then accessed a technology company computer and created a robotic body for himself, stealing a lab coat from one of the scientists working there. By stealing financial data he was able to determine Batman's secret identity and invaded the Batcave, but was defeated when Batman revealed to him that he was an artificial lifeform.
• Temblor (appeared in The Batman, voiced by Jim Cummings) - Temblor is a villain created exclusively for The Batman. He was the first supervillain to face Batgirl in his only appearance Batgirl Begins, Part One. In it, he was a corporate saboteur hired by Poison Ivy (then known as Pamela Isley) to destroy a chemical processing plant. He uses specifically designed armored gauntlets to generate shock-waves.
• Carl Grissom (appeared in Batman, portrayed by Jack Palance) - Carl Grissom is Gotham's top crime boss and is the boss of Jack Napier (who would later become the Joker). While being targeted by district attorney Harvey Dent, Grissom discovers that his mistress Alicia is having an affair with Napier. Upset, Grissom hires corrupt cop Max Earnhart to have Napier killed at Ace Chemicals as the latter raids the facility to find important documents. However, he fails as Napier is attacked and disfigured by Batman and transforms into the Joker after falling into a vat of chemicals. As revenge for being set up, Joker goes to Grissom's penthouse and shoots him multiple times, killing him in the process.
• Hideto Katsu (appeared in The Batman, voiced by Keone Young) - Hideo Katsu is a corrupt businessman and the leader of a Yakuza family. He is a former victim of Catwoman's robberies. In his only appearance, The Cat and the Bat, he sets a bounty hunt for Catwoman after she unsuccessfully attempted to steal a valuable item from his possession. After she came back and stole the artifact, Katsu and his clan ambushed Catwoman, only for the latter to be saved by Batman. After defeating the Yakuza, Batman discreetly gave a mini disk that was hidden in the artifact to the police that revealed Katsu's connection to the Yakuza. It is unknown what happened to Katsu after these events, but it's more than likely he was either sent to prison or heading back to his homeland in Japan.

Love interests

Bruce Wayne's love interests

• Selina Kyle (Catwoman):
  • Catwoman is the most enduring romantic interest of Batman/Bruce Wayne. In All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder Batman's feelings towards her are based on the fact that she is sort of a female version of himself: another dark, beautiful creature that prowls in the night. In the current timeline, Batman and Catwoman became romantically involved during the Batman: Hush story arc. Batman ended the relationship because he was afraid if they had a relationship that Hush would use her to get to him and also doubted her loyalty to him questioning if she was part of the plot to destroy his life. Even when their romance rekindled later on, Batman still suspected that Selina's reformation could be a result of a personality-altering mindwipe by Zatanna. Later in Batman: Heart of Hush in an attempt to kill Bruce, Hush kidnaps Catwoman and cuts out her heart, when Bruce returns the heart he admits to Selina that she really was the only woman to have held his heart and that he would always love her.
  • 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.
  • In Tim Burton's film Batman Returns, Selina (played by Michelle Pfeiffer) 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 becomes intensely dramatic towards the end of the movie, to the point where Bruce actually implores her to abandon her vendetta against Max Shreck and come and live with him in Wayne Manor (in the movie's official comic book adaptation, during the confrontation with Shreck, they reveal that they love each other). She was set to reappear in Batman Forever, portrayed again by Pfeiffer, but Joel Schumacher scrapped the idea. However, Kyle was referenced by Chase Meridian.
  • In Christopher Nolan's film The Dark Knight Rises, Selina Kyle (never referred to as Catwoman in the film) is portrayed by actress Anne Hathaway as she is in the comics as a thief who aids Bane in hopes of obtaining the "clean slate" drive to erase her criminal record and to see the rich and selfish of Gotham suffer. She later aids Batman in stopping Bane after realizing her mistake of betraying him to the terrorist, giving up her own chance to escape Gotham and leave him behind. At the film's end, she is seen in Italy wearing Martha Wayne's necklace (which she stole earlier on in the film) and dating Bruce Wayne, who has retired from the mantle of Batman.
  • In Batman: The Animated Series, Bruce Wayne regularly dates Selina Kyle. In Batman Beyond, Bruce hints at a relationship with Selina in his past, as well as comparing that relationship with Terry's and the current Ten of the Royal Flush Gang. As in the comic books, sexual tension between their costumed characters is a major story point in Batman: The Animated Series. In the comic book adaption Batman: Gotham Adventures #33, the Phantom Stranger shows Bruce a world where he never became Batman, married Selina and had two sons.
  • In Batman: the Brave and the Bold, Batman and Catwoman marry in an alternate future and she is the mother of Damian. However this future is later revealed to have all been a story written by Alfred Pennyworth.
  • After The New 52, as it is Selina's early days as Catwoman she does not yet know Batman's identity, though it is evident they engaged in sexual intercourse.
  • In Gotham, a 14-year-old Selina Kyle witnesses the murders of Thomas and Martha Wayne. Because of that she stays at Wayne Manor in order to be protected, where she befriends the young Bruce Wayne. She saves him from a gang of hired killers, and gives him his first kiss. Since then, the young Bruce and Selina have formed a very close relationship.
• Talia al Ghul: The daughter of the supervillain, Ra's al Ghul, Talia's father has encouraged the relationship in hopes of recruiting Batman as his successor. Unlike Catwoman, Talia is more than willing to play second-fiddle to Bruce's mission.
  • The two are at odds, as Talia has been brainwashed into hating both her father and Batman; however, she claims to be the mother of his son Damian, introduced in Batman #656. However, after Damian is murdered by a clone created by her, Batman is no longer affectionate towards her as he was in the past due to her indirect involvement of their son's death, making him increasingly vengeful.
  • In the now out-of-continuity graphic novel Batman: Son of the Demon, Talia bore his son (later named Ibn al Xu'ffasch).
  • In Earth-22's Kingdom Come, Talia admires Batman in his drive, determination, and nobility, but is always torn between him and the love for her terrorist father.
  • In Christopher Nolan's film The Dark Knight Rises, Talia is played by actress Marion Cotillard. In the film she is incognito as philanthropist and socialite Miranda Tate (a ploy used by her father with his false identity of Henri Ducard), and begins an affair with Bruce Wayne as well as becoming a Wayne Enterprises executive. Talia has assumed control of the League of Shadows and plans with Bane, who saved her as a child, to kill Bruce and destroy Gotham to fulfill her father's mission and have vengeance for his death.
• Julie Madison:
  • In the earliest Batman comics, Bruce Wayne dates the often-imperiled Julie Madison, an actress and socialite. The two eventually separate and Julie weds into European royalty, much in the manner of Grace Kelly.
  • In the New 52, Julie appears in a flashback-dream sequence as Bruce's college girlfriend. She reappeared later, this time in the present time, as she has moved back to Gotham and wants to be reunited with Bruce. Alfred imagines what it would be like if Bruce and Julie got together and made a family, having a life without Batman. Unfortunately, Bruce could not meet with Julie because he was busy with crime fighting, much to Alfred's displeasure. In Batman #43, Julie is the head of a clinic for underprivileged youth that Bruce Wayne is helping to finance and manage. After the events of Batman: Endgame, Bruce Wayne has begun a relationship with Julie and works for her in the clinic.
  • In Batman & Robin, Elle Macpherson plays Julie, Bruce's girlfriend, though the character seems to have little in common with her comic book self. The character adds little to the plot, and many of her scenes were edited out of the film's final cut.
• Vicki Vale:
  • In several 1950s stories, reporter for the Gotham Gazette newspaper Vicki Vale, was shown as an occasional romantic interest of Batman. Vicki Vale returned in the early 1980s, brought back by Doug Moench.
  • Vale appeared in the second of Columbia's Batman serials, Batman and Robin, portrayed by Jane Adams.
  • Kim Basinger plays Vicki in the 1989 film Batman. In the movie, she has come to Gotham City to do a story on Batman, but she soon becomes romantically involved with Bruce Wayne, unaware that he and Batman are the same person. Eventually Vicki does learn Bruce's secret identity. At the end of the film, Alfred Pennyworth chauffeurs her to Wayne Manor to await Bruce's return once the night's crime fighting is done. In Batman Returns, it is stated that she eventually left Bruce because she could not cope with his double life. In the early scripts of Returns, she was set to reappear, but Tim Burton scrapped the idea.
  • In the animated film Batman vs. Dracula, Vale is romantically linked to Bruce Wayne, even going as far as to mention the kind of impact the death of his parents could have on him, hinting that Vicki may know he is Batman.
  • In the video game Batman: Arkham Knight, Vicky apologizes to Bruce Wayne about a news article, apparently published by Jack Ryder, and asks "Brucie" to call her back. When talking to Jack Ryder as Batman, he reveals that Vale is dating Bruce Wayne, although Wayne never mentioned this in the game itself.
• Katherine "Kathy" Webb-Kane (Batwoman)
  • In the original Pre-Crisis continuity Kathy Kane is a wealthy Gotham City heiress and former circus performer, decides to use her skills and resources to become a costumed crimefighter. This is partly out of altruism and partly to attract the romantic attentions of Batman. While Batman wished for Kane to retire from crimefighting due to the danger, she remained his ally. Kathy was romantically interested in Batman but Batman remained aloof until her death at the hands of Bronze Tiger. In the New 52's title Batman Incorporated, it was revealed that Kathy was recruited into a covert spy organization called Spyral and as part of her first assignment, Kathy was tasked with tracking down Batman and discovering his true identity. Donning a female variation of Batman's costume in order to gain his attention, she embarked on a career as a costumed crime-fighter while attempting to get close to Batman. Her plan succeeded but the two fell in love with one another, despite Kathy legally being Wayne's aunt through her marriage with his mother's brother, the late Nathan Kane. As a result, she refused to reveal his identity to her superiors at Spyral. Later, Kathy was threatened by Dr. Dedalus to expose her to Batman unless she continued her mission. Heartbroken, she broke off her relationship with Bruce in order to save him from Dedalus' plan. Kathy reappears alive in the concluding issue of Batman Incorporated, in which she shoots Talia al Ghul dead in the Batcave, saving Batman's life. Identifying herself as St Hadrian's headmistress and requesting Batman not to go looking for her, she thanks Batman for leading Talia into her trap.
  • In a pre-Crisis Earth-Two Kathy, who is a middle-aged woman, is still in love with the now-deceased Commissioner Bruce Wayne.
  • In Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman, while investigating the identity of Gotham's newest masked vigilante, Batman develops an affection to one of the suspects, Kathy Duquesne, daughter of mob boss Carlton Duquesne.
• Linda Page:
  • Linda appeared during the Golden Age of Comics after Julie broke her engagement off with Bruce. A former socialite, she dedicated her time as a nurse for the elderly, instead of falling into the stereotype that rich women were spoiled and lazy. She dated Bruce for two years, but broke up with him when he would not explain why he seemed to be wooing another woman (trying to reform a disguised Catwoman).
  • Linda appeared in the first Batman serial (1943), portrayed by Shirley Patterson.
• Silver St. Cloud: A storyline in the late 1970s featured Silver St. Cloud, who managed to deduce the secret of Bruce Wayne's alter ego, but she could not handle being involved with someone in such a dangerous line of work. The two parted ways; a 2005 mini-series Batman: Dark Detective features a return appearance of Silver St. Cloud, although the romance has not been rekindled. In Batman: The Widening Gyre, she and Bruce rekindle their romance on an island beach her family owns. Shortly after the two become engaged, Silver is murdered by the disguised villain Onomatopoeia by slicing Silver's throat and mimicking the sound of the blade.
  • In Gotham, a young Silver, the step-niece and ward of corrupt billionaire Theo Galavan, befriends and later starts dating the young Bruce Wayne, who is immediately smitten with her. Unbeknownst to him, Silver is helping Galavan in The Sacred Order of Saint Dumas' plan to kill Bruce and take over Wayne Enterprises. Bruce plans a fake abduction of Silver and himself to make her reveal everything she knows about her uncle's plan. Bruce finally sees Silver for who she is, leaving her stunned and tearful behind. Theo persuades Silver into getting Bruce to say "I love you" to her to official become a Dumas. Silver succeeds in her part by the time of the sacrifice ceremony by revealing to Bruce that she will likely be disowned or killed if she fails. Silver is brought to witness the event until it was crashed and she distracts the monks mere seconds before Bruce is murdered.
• Julia Pennyworth: The daughter of Alfred and a French Resistance fighter named Mlle Marie, Julia was brought in by Gerry Conway in Detective Comics #501 (1981) as a potential love interest for Bruce. In the New 52, Julia is a Special Reconnaissance Regiment member and first appears in Hong Kong, where she notices the Batplane and seems not too pleased, fearing that he might ruin everything she has planned. Julia later meets Batman and tries to fight him off, telling him she has planned to take down the crime lord known as Shen Fang, whom Batman is also after. During the fight, Julia is injured so Bruce takes her with him back at Gotham. Julia later learns Batman's secret and her father's involvement in it and then joins them.
• Vesper Fairchild: Fairchild's relationship with Bruce Wayne was established during Doug Moench's second run on Batman in the 1990s. A radio show host who left Gotham after the "No Man's Land" crisis, Fairchild was later killed by David Cain on orders from Lex Luthor as part of Luthor's attempt to get revenge on Bruce Wayne for his involvement in thwarting his attempt to take control of Gotham after "No Man's Land" ended.
  • Vesper Fairchild is featured in the TV shows set in the Arrowverse:
    • In the Arrow episode "Elseworlds, Part 2", Oliver Queen reveals that he slept with Vesper to persuade her into leaving Queen Consolidated out of her exposé on white-collar crime.
    • Vesper Fairchild is featured in Batwoman voiced by Rachel Maddow. In the pilot episode, Vesper is first heard talking about "Batman's return" in light of Batwoman stopping the bomb plot of the Wonderland Gang.
• Jezebel Jet: A wealthy former supermodel of African descent. She is said to own an African province. Like Bruce, she lost her parents at a young age. Though she resisted Bruce's affections at first, she ultimately began a relationship with him. As a result, she discovered that Bruce was Batman just before Batman R.I.P.. Later, she is revealed to be a member of the Black Glove, a villainous organization aimed at defeating Batman. She was apparently killed by a flock of Man-Bats created by Talia, but was later hinted to have somehow survived in Batman Inc. #8. Her death was confirmed in Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes #1.
• Lois Lane: In the pre-Flashpoint continuity, Lois knew Bruce Wayne was Batman and they still have a very close friendship. Even though she was married to Clark Kent, in order to maintain his facade of the playboy in public, as Bruce Wayne, his behavior towards her is quite flirtatious. Lois also helps him keep an eye on the "reformed" Penguin while at a party of Wayne's.
  • In an imaginary story, in Superman's Girlfriend, Lois Lane #89, Lois and Bruce not only were dating, but they eventually got married.
  • In a crossover between Superman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures, World's Finest, Bruce Wayne dates Daily Planet star reporter Lois Lane after meeting her at Metropolis Airport. However, she breaks off the relationship after she discovers that he is Batman. Bruce points out the irony to Superman that she likes Bruce Wayne and Superman, but not their respective alter egos.
• Sasha Bordeaux: Assigned as Bruce Wayne's bodyguard, Sasha deduced that Bruce was Batman. 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, but this incident has since been resolved. While Sasha and Batman kissed near the end of The OMAC Project, their relationship seems to have passed on.
• Diana of Themyscira/Diana Prince (Wonder Woman): Diana and Bruce briefly dated within the pages of the Justice League of America comics but nothing came of the relationship and the two remain friends. In Blackest Night: Wonder Woman, their past relationship is referenced when Wonder Woman is able to use her feelings, for Bruce to throw off the influence of her Black Lantern ring and join the Star Sapphires.
  • The mutual romantic interest is echoed in the Justice League animated series, but Bruce and Diana seem to grow very close in the TV show, and even Batman hints at romance between them in the episode "This Little Piggy". In the comic book adaptation of the DCAU Batman Beyond Universe, however, revealing that she marries Batman's Justice Lord counterpart, leaving him heartbroken of losing his chance with her.
• Dinah Laurel Lance (Black Canary): Although Black Canary has a relationship with Green Arrow, she has shown an attraction to the Dark Knight and she and Batman have shared kisses from time to time.
  • In Thrillkiller '62, Batman and Dinah Drake Lance share a kiss.
  • In All-Star Batman and Robin #7, the two show more of an attraction to one another. As she watches Batman in action, she gets exhilarated. As the fight concludes, she leaps down and begins kissing Batman. The two maintain their passion for a short time until Batman decides it is time to leave. He offers to give Black Canary a lift home.
• Zatanna Zatara: In Detective Comics #843 and #844, Zatanna and Bruce talk about the possibility of having a more meaningful relationship. But later they both understand that Bruce could not give the relationship she wishes for.
  • In Batman: The Animated Series, while a young Bruce Wayne studies escape artistry under Zatara the Magician, he has a relationship with Zatara's daughter. When she later becomes the magician crimefighter, Zatanna, she and Batman maintain a working relationship.
• Bekka: Orion's wife, she and Batman had a strong attraction to each other after she rescued him from Darkseid's forces on the planet Tartarus. She was later murdered.
  • In Justice League Beyond, when the new Batman, Terry McGinnis, visits Apokolips and meets Queen Bekka, she makes a pass at him and it is alluded that Bruce and Bekka had a fling, with a now older Bruce not wanting to talk about it and Superman saying "it's complicated".
• Pamela Lillian Isley (Poison Ivy): Although Poison Ivy has been historically portrayed as a supervillainess, Batman and Poison Ivy have worked together in achieving common goals and are frequently depicted as having a romantic relationship. Batman's attraction to Ivy is present in some way in several mediums in which the characters appear. There has always been a sexual tension between the two, most notably in their canonical earlier encounters. In her first appearance, Poison Ivy is established as having an attraction to Batman, and tries to convince Batman to join her side and creates love potions that ensnare him. In the 1997 story Batman: Poison Ivy, Christopher DeJardin tries to kill Ivy, and Batman takes the bullet. Batman, who was wearing body armor, knocks him out. Ivy considers his saving her from death as proof he loves her, though he responds that she doesn't know the meaning of the word. Her attraction is confirmed in Widening Gyre. At first, Ivy's infatuation with Batman was one-sided; later stories presented the attraction as more mutual, but hindered by reluctance on Batman's part. She later kisses Bruce during a robbery, poisoning him. But when she subsequently kisses a dying Batman, she unknowingly cures her intended victim and establishes a budding romantic tension between them. During the "No Man's Land" arc, Batman comes to her rescue while she is held captive by Clayface, with Ivy remarking that she knew he would. In Batman: Pavane (1989), while being interviewed as a potential candidate for the Suicide Squad, Pamela reveals to Inspector Stuart on how she became Poison Ivy. When she heard about Batman, she instantly fell in love with him—believing him to be the “perfect man”; going so far as to make a love shrine of him. With her goal set, she moved to Gotham, created a costume and renamed herself “Poison Ivy”; she then began committing crimes for the purpose of getting his attention in the hopes of them becoming the #1 crime couple. Unfortunately for Pamela, it didn't work out the way she wanted it to, and so she was apprehended and sent to Arkham Asylum. In Batman: Hothouse (1992), Batman gains an obsession with Isley. Later, she kisses him. Now completely deranged, Ivy thinks herself "Titania, Queen of the May", and Batman her Oberon - as Batman struggles with the hallucinations induced by the kiss, she pins him down and prepares to unmask him. With his last burst of strength, Batman kicks the greenhouse's sprinklers on, washing away Ivy's pheromones. The sobered Batman chases an increasingly desperate Ivy onto the greenhouse's catwalks, where he barely manages to save Ivy from falling to her death. Subsequently, Ivy is returned to Arkham Asylum, her twisted love for Batman stronger than ever. In one of the annuals of Batman: Shadow of the Bat, a mutual attraction between Poison Ivy and the Batman is obvious right from the start. Ivy considers Batman "the perfect man", and in a conversation with his butler, Alfred Pennyworth, he admits to finding her attractive and more appealing than Catwoman. In the Batman Chronicles (1995) story Passion's Fruit (1997), Ivy is depicted as feeling lonely and deeply missing Batman while at Arkham Asylum. She hatches a scheme to unleash some of her plant creations to cause havoc in Gotham, multiplying at contact with water, until Batman finally pays her a visit at the asylum. In exchange for the visit and a kiss, she morphs her creations into harmless strawberry plants. At the end of the story she is seen to be in improved spirits. In the 2004 story Poison Ivy: Cast Shadows, Batman and Ivy work together to find a killer carrying out a series of Ivy-like murders at Arkham. His butler, Alfred Pennyworth, notes that Batman has been poisoned by the flowers. Batman tells Alfred he must kiss Poison Ivy for the cure, and that if he fails Alfred must kill him. Ivy and Batman confront each other, where Batman warns Ivy that he'll have to knock her out to kiss her to make sure that she doesn't kill him when he passes out after being cured. Ivy insists for him to trust her, despite Batman's doubts. Batman at first decides to punch her, hesitates, then they embrace and kiss passionately instead. Upon being cured, he falls, but saves himself, and saves Ivy as Gotham Tower collapses when — assuming Batman dead — Poison Ivy tries to kill herself, once more insinuating that it is more than just lust she feels for him. Ivy and Batman share a moment together speaking, watching her plant creations create light, and Batman compliments her on her talent. Batman takes Ivy back to Arkham Asylum, so that Ivy can finish her rehabilitation. Discouraged, Ivy complains to Batman about the lack of light in her cell, and Batman responds that there is nothing he can do about it, before departing. Transferred to a new cell the next morning, Ivy is stunned when she discovers that someone has had her room moved to a special cell where she can be in the sunlight, and has been filled with flowers as a gift. Upon being told some "anonymous benefactor" wanted to make sure her time isn't as daunting as it might have been, a touched Ivy smiles and thanks Batman. In Gothtopia, Batman comes to her rescue when he realizes she was telling him the truth, even though he put her in Arkham. First she punches him for not believing her claims, and then she kisses him for coming to her rescue, poisoning him with her mind control toxin. Resisting it, he warns that they would be best off helping each other for now. Thanks to her own resistance and the kiss he received, both Batman and Ivy become immune to Scarecrow's gas effect. The relationship even briefly deviated from the Batman/Ivy relationship into a Bruce/Pamela one when, in the comic series Batman: Gotham Knights, he helps her return to normal.
  • She is portrayed in the 1997 film Batman & Robin by Uma Thurman. At a charity ball, she unexpectedly appears in order to get the Heart of Isis diamond necklace. Blowing around a wisp of pheromone dust in order for the males to feel attraction to her, she offers the auctioneers present a night with her. Batman and Robin, also hit by the pheromone dust, get in on the auctioning action themselves.
• Natalia Knight (Nocturna): Nocturna aka Natalia Knight. Created by Doug Moench in the early 1980s. She was a jewel thief who briefly adopted Jason Todd and knew that Bruce Wayne was Batman. What made her remarkable was that she suffered from a rare "light sensitivity" disease and her skin was bleached white. She disappeared during the last days of pre-Crisis Batman after being stabbed by her brother Charles, floating into the crimson sky of the Crisis in her balloon.
• April Clarkson (Midnight): A Lieutenant of the Gotham PD, who was against Batman and was taking credit for his work. April was working on the same case as Batman did, searching for the murderous villain, Midnight. During her investigation, she gets a visit from Batman and both are surprised by an unexpected attraction. In his civilian identity, Bruce begins to flirt with April, though being aware that she is working on the same case. She initially rejects him but he becomes more attracted to her. Batman's attraction towards April is noticed by his closest allies, who warn him to be careful. At the end April is revealed to be the psychopathic murderer.
• Jaina "Jai" Hudson (White Rabbit): The daughter of an American diplomat and a Bollywood actress, a charity fundraiser organizer who meets Bruce Wayne at one of her charity functions to raise funds for relief in Pakistan. During the event there was a flirtatious exchange between the two. They later began dating. During that time, Batman encountered a mysterious criminal called White Rabbit. Batman first meets her during the breakout of Arkham Asylum, where she teased Batman and the Gotham City Police Department before running off into the corridors. He later finds the alluring White Rabbit, responding to a tip off about the location of the Joker, but she only continues to tease him and asks him to chase her. Batman chases her for answers but when he finally finds her in a compartment, White Rabbit is seen lounging over the Joker (Clayface in disguise). After his fight with Clayface, White Rabbit sensually strokes Batman's face as she prepares to inject him with an unknown substance but is interrupted by the Flash. Later, White Rabbit leads Batman to a confrontation with Scarecrow and Bane. Escaping, White Rabbit returns to Jaina's home and they combine into a single person.
• Mio (Penumbra): A young assassin, working for Ra's al Ghul, who fell in love with Bruce Wayne during his training to become Batman.
• Madolyn Corbett: A close associate of Bruce Wayne, who was obsessed with him. Her fascination with him led her to begin stalking him outside his house. After he rejected her offer of marriage, she soon killed herself and tried to frame Bruce for it.
• Erin and Shannon McKillen: Erin McKillen and her twin sister Shannon were born into the McKillen crime family. When they were little, they attended school with Bruce Wayne and Erin used to steal kisses from him but Bruce was fonder of Shannon as they were very close and she also was the first person to make him talk about his parents after their deaths. Upon the death of their father, the two sisters took control of the McKillen family and with the pass of time they did not keep in touch with Bruce. They were eventually arrested and sent to Blackgate Penitentiary, betrayed by their defense attorney, Harvey Dent. With their escape from prison resulting in the death of Shannon, Erin decided to leave Gotham, but not before taking her revenge on Dent. When she returned to Gotham years later she confronts Batman who after a fight merely welcomes her back to Gotham, putting her in jail once again. In the jail Erin calls Bruce, who is unsure of why she called him at all. Erin responds that she had wanted to reach out to one of her oldest friends. Later Bruce moves Erin to the Wayne Manor to protect her from Two Face and anyone else who wants her dead. Recalling back to their childhood, Erin wonders which of the McKillen sisters Bruce liked more with him admitting it was Shannon. Before leaving the Manor, Bruce offers her a moral lesson of Cherokee origin as there is still hope for Erin, in his eyes. Later having saved her from both Two Face and the crime families who are after her, Batman asks her help in locating Dent who is in danger but she leads him on so he cannot prevent Dent's execution. Batman decides to eject Erin from the car, leaving her for the cops.
• Shondra Kinsolving: Shondra is a psychic and the half-sister of Benedict Asp. She had a brief love affair with Batman, having been brought in to help him when he broke his back. Before Bruce could officially commit to her, Benedict kidnapped her and turned her abilities to evil use. Batman eventually defeated Benedict, but the damage to Shondra's mind was too great. As she healed Bruce's lingering injuries, Shondra's psyche regressed back into childhood. However, she recently made a cameo in Batman: Hush as one of the doctors assisting in Bruce Wayne's operation.
• Jillian Maxwell: In Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Special #1, (reprinted in the trade paperback Batman: Haunted Knight) during the beginning of his career, Bruce finds himself attracted to a woman who called herself Jillian Maxwell after meeting her at a costume party. However, Alfred's suspicion of her led him to checking her background, discovering a criminal record of a woman, whose description matches Jillian's, who used the aliases of Kathryn Cole, Christine Gherard, Diana Lopez, Pamela Weisman, and many other identities to seduce young wealthy men for their fortunes, then later arrange events that led to their deaths so she can have their wealth. After Alfred told Bruce of this, he was heartbroken, but Bruce kept an eye on the woman. When she used the identity Audrey Marguerite in Brazil, Bruce, as Batman, sent her a note, telling her to confess all her crimes.
• Rachel Caspian: In a 1987 storyline "Batman: Year Two", Bruce Wayne falls in love with Rachel. Unfortunately, Rachel'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 and breaking off her engagement with Bruce Wayne, who had prepared himself to end his crime fighting career to marry her.
• Lorna Shore: In Batman Confidential - Lovers & Madmen, Bruce met a museum curator Lorna Shore during the beginning of his career. It was love at first sight as Bruce was able to find peace when he was with her for the first time since he was 8 years old after his parents' murder. However, after his encounter with the Joker and realizing that there will be more enemies like him, he broke off their relationship to protect Lorna. Lorna later left the city, feeling that Gotham is not safe anymore because of Batman and the Joker.
• Mallory Moxon: Mallory became involved in Bruce's life when Philo Zeiss wanted revenge on her father, Lew Moxon. Bruce has spent as a child a happy summer with her before his parents were killed. He meets her again years later in a reception to honor Moxon's return to Gotham City. The next night he dines with the Moxons, partly to renew his friendship with Mallory. However, he discovers that Mallory is as much a part of the criminal world as her father. She falls in love with Bruce and is protected by Batman. Mallory was still with her father during Bruce's conviction of being a murderer even though she knew what kind of man her father was.
• Amina Franklin: A doctor in Leslie Thompkins' clinic in Gotham City, she dated Bruce Wayne for a short time before she ends things with him. A Russian mobster targeted Amina as a means of avenging himself against her allegedly deceased brother Wayne but Batman arrived in time to prevent him from harming Amina. She was killed by her deranged brother Grotesk, who was revealed to be alive.
• Dawn Golden: One time girlfriend, fiancé and childhood friend of Bruce Wayne. When they first met, Bruce did not like Dawn too much but the two eventually grew closer and ended up dating until she apparently broke Bruce's heart in college. Years later, Dawn would grow into a Gotham socialite but mysteriously go missing. She was actually kidnapped by Killer Croc, hired by a vengeful Penguin whom she had humiliated along with her friends when she invited him in a dance where unattractive men would be their dancing partners. Dawn was eventually found by Batman, she was revealed to be placed in some sort of heating room, awaiting her death. Batman would also protect her from demons sent by her father, Aleister, to kidnap her. Dawn finally dies when her father stabbed her with a knife, completing a ritual that would grant him eternal life.
• Charlotte Rivers: A TV anchorwoman who's visiting Gotham City to cover gruesome slayings and has a romantic relation with Bruce Wayne.
• Natalya Trusevich: A Ukrainian accomplished pianist, and girlfriend to Bruce Wayne. She was killed by Mad Hatter after she refused to reveal Batman's identity, thrown from a helicopter with her body crashed into the Bat-Signal.

In alternate universes

• Laura Avian: In Batman: Masque, Laura is a young and upcoming ballerina who is caught between her two loves. Bruce Wayne and the mysterious Phantom.
• Jessica Dent: In Batman: Earth-1, Jessica is Harvey Dent's twin sister and childhood sweetheart of Bruce Wayne. She was President of the Board of Supervisors who, along with her brother, investigated the rumored illicit activities of Mayor Oswald Cobblepot. She was appointed the new Mayor of Gotham City after Cobblepot's death. Jessica and Bruce grew closer and closer through the years and eventually begun dating, ignoring Harvey's dismay. After Harvey's death, Jessica's face was burned with acid and she began losing her mind.
• Glenda Mark: In Batman/Demon: A Tragedy, Glenda was romantically involved with the wealthy eccentric Bruce Wayne in Gotham City. Unbeknownst to either of them, he was a human cage for the evil bat-demon Etrigan. Glenda worked to find a cure for Bruce's fake "allergy to moonlight". Glenda was disturbed that her research showed no record of Bruce Wayne's parents, and every portrait of his ancestors looked identical to Bruce. Etrigan threatens to kill Glenda, and Bruce has his memory wiped to protect her. Despite this, Glenda still dies and Bruce has no memory of ever loving her.
• Janifer St. Cyr: In Batman: Reign of Terror, Janifer is the wife of Captain Bruce Wayne, the revolutionary masked defender of Paris.

In other media

Film

• Dr. Chase Meridian (Nicole Kidman): Appears only in Batman Forever as the female lead. Kidman described the character as a "criminal psychologist who dresses like Jessica Rabbit." Rene Russo was originally cast by Tim Burton for this role whilst he was still the director of the film and when Michael Keaton was still set to play Batman. However, when Burton was fired as Director and rehired as Producer, Keaton quit in disgust. Joel Schumacher, who Burton brought on board in his role as producer, decided to cast a younger Batman, eventually Val Kilmer, and decided Russo was too old to play opposite a younger Batman. During recasting, Robin Wright turned down the role while Jeanne Tripplehorn and Linda Hamilton were also both considered. Chase is a psychologist working with the Gotham City police and falls in love with both Batman and Bruce Wayne. She assists Bruce in analyzing a series of befuddling threats sent to him by the Riddler and also witnesses the death of Robin's parents by Two-Face. Later, she learns Bruce is Batman after he invites her and tells her how he found the cave and is kidnapped by the Riddler and Two-Face in a trap designed to make Batman choose between her and Robin. In the Riddler's lair, she is chained to the sofa before Batman arrives, and when she says Batman will come for her, to which Riddler states that he is "counting on it". She and Robin are both placed in glass jars, bound and gagged, over a pit of water and metal spikes, with the Riddler able to release them at the touch of a button. He plans to determine whether Batman and Bruce Wayne can co-exist, will Batman save Bruce's love, or the Dark Knight's partner. Batman saves them both after distracting the Riddler by giving him a riddle and breaking the device and Chase promises to keep his identity secret. She visits the Riddler after he screams in the asylum he knows Batman's identity, but when she asks him, he says "I am" and shows himself to have made bat-like wings from his clothes. Her name is a play on words; as a psychologist in love with Batman/Bruce Wayne, she is constantly "chasing" the psychological "middle" of her lover, Bruce Wayne/Batman, seeking to reconcile his two halves into one complete lover.
• Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes/Maggie Gyllenhaal): In Batman Begins, Bruce hopes to become romantically involved with his childhood friend, now an assistant district attorney. He saves her from an attack by a criminal sent to kill her to prevent her prosecuting. She tells him that she cannot be with him until the time Gotham no longer needs the Batman. In The Dark Knight, Rachel is in a relationship with Harvey Dent. She is about to agree to marry Dent, and writes a note to Bruce Wayne telling him of her choice, reflecting that, while she believes there might come a day when Gotham will no longer need Batman, she no longer believes there will be a time that Bruce will not need Batman. However, the mob kidnaps both Rachel and Harvey, resulting in Rachel's death in an explosion while Harvey is accidentally rescued by Batman, as The Joker lies by switching the addresses for Rachel and Harvey, and Harvey's transformation to Two-Face after part of his face is burnt. Alfred later burns the note so that Bruce will believe Rachel would have chosen him, reflecting that sometimes people need to believe that their faith will be rewarded, though in The Dark Knight Rises, which is set eight years later, Alfred reveals the truth to a still-grieving Bruce in an attempt to get him to move on from Batman. Rachel is said to be loosely based on Julie Madison.

Animation

• Andrea Beaumont (The Phantasm): In the animated film Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, most of the relationship between Bruce and Andrea is told through flashbacks. Andrea was a major factor during Bruce's struggle into becoming Batman. Bruce admitted that the pain of his parents' death had lifted due to Andrea. Bruce decided to abandon his oath and proposed to Andrea. However, Andrea gave back the ring the next day and went to Europe. Bruce meets Andrea again in the film and is crushed by the discovery of her being the Phantasm. She would return decades later, being hired by Amanda Waller to help create a new Batman. She initially agreed but backed down later on, citing that doing so would dishonor all the Batman stood for. She was based on Rachel Caspian.
• Cheetah: In Justice League, Cheetah was a member in a group of villains formed by Lex Luthor that has captured Batman. She was left alone to watch Batman and she told him her origin, and how she sees herself as a freak. Batman told her that he sees a determined woman who's willing to lose everything for a cause she believes in; they then share a kiss. Batman was actually seducing her only to avoid the explosion of a bomb planted there by the villains, the bomb was exploded outside the station and for that Luthor accused her to be a traitor, showing to the rest of the group a tape of the holding cell with Cheetah and Batman kissing. Lex orders Solomon Grundy to take care of Cheetah and he dragged her out of the room.
• Susan Maguire: In the Batman: The Animated Series episode Chemistry, Susan was first seen at Bruce's friend's wedding. Bruce quickly fell for her and he proposed. After the wedding, on the honeymoon cruise, Bruce realized that Susan was "too" perfect and it turned out she was a plant-hybrid created by Poison Ivy to inherit Wayne's fortune after Ivy sank the cruise ship, killing Wayne and other rich company owner who had the perfect counterparts created for them as well. When Susan attacked him he locked her in their room, she most likely drowned after Ivy's plants sank the ship.
• Margaret Sorrow (Magpie): In Beware the Batman, Magpie attacks a scientist and successfully wipes his memories, catching the attention of Batman. Magpie attempts to goad Batman, declaring that they're very much alike due to the dark design of their costumes. Eventually, she is subdued and arrested by Batman. Magpie is revealed to have developed a romantic obsession with Batman, due to Batman secretly visiting her at Blackgate. Unknown to her, Batman empathized with how Magpie never received the psychiatric help she needed. Upon seeing Katana at Batman's side, Magpie believes that the two are romantically involved and resolves to kill Katana, so she can have Batman all to herself. Magpie is angered when Batman rebuffs her advances but she is later defeated by the duo.
• Dr. Bethanie Ravencroft: In Beware the Batman, Bethanie was a psychologist who formerly experimented on rehabilitating criminals. Bruce Wayne became her patient, when he was trying to find information about a former patient of hers, Magpie, who abducted Bethanie but fortunately Batman saved her. Not being his psychologist anymore they began dating. She later lured Wayne into a trap by the League of Assassins and she was revealed to be in league with Silver Monkey. Lady Shiva drained her soul and imprisoned it within the Soultaker Sword, leaving her alive, but a husk.
• Ava Kirk: In Beware the Batman, a childhood friend of Bruce Wayne, Ava comes back to his life when an army of cloned super soldiers, the Manhunters, controlled by a mysterious organization called The Council, try to abduct her to force her thought to be dead father, Paul Kirk, who was the original Manhunter, to return to The Council, so they can create more clones. After saving her from the first attack, Bruce asks Ava to stay at his home for the night so she can be safe but later the Manhunters succeed into abducting her from the Wayne Manor. Batman, Katana and Paul save Ava and later Paul says goodbye to his daughter as he leaves to find and stop the rest of the members of The Council. Paul asks Batman to take care of Ava and protect her while he will be away. Later, Ava says to Bruce that he kept his promise to her father of being there for her when she was in need and that she is happy they found each other again as she believes Bruce is a unique person. Ava and Bruce begin dating and in one of their dates while they are ready to dance a group of thugs breaks in the restaurant but they are saved by a new masked vigilante, Deathstroke. Later, Bruce as Batman, asks Ava's help to secretly treat a wounded Katana, in the clinic she is working in.
• Samantha Vanaver: In Batman vs. Robin, Samantha is a wealthy woman whose family, like the Waynes, had positions of influence in Gotham for hundreds of years. She dates Bruce Wayne and while they have dinner, Bruce shows to her his plans to make Gotham City a better place. After their dinner, Samantha meets Bruce's son, Damian. On the way to another date with Samantha, Bruce is attacked by white owl-masked people and brought before the Court of Owls, who offer Bruce a chance to join them as a member of one of Gotham's wealthiest families. Later, Talon is revealed to be in a relationship with Samantha, who is secretly the Grandmaster of the Court of Owls. Despite their social class divide, Samantha wants to spare Talon from the ritual of being killed and later be revived as an undead assassin, much like the other Talons. Together they plan to have Robin instead, take his place in the ritual to become the Court's new Talon, which is also part of their plan to destroy Batman, while he will stand by Samantha's side leading the Court. When Talon introduces Robin to the Court of Owls and Damian reveals himself to the Grandmaster, Samantha realizes that if Robin is Bruce's son, then Bruce must be Batman. Ordering Talon to kill Damian and promising they will find a replacement for the ritual, Talon instead turns against the Court of Owls, murdering every member, including Samantha. After he kills her, Talon says he was never one of them, and that Samantha would eventually have done the same to him.
• Barbara Gordon: In the animated adaptation of The Killing Joke, Batgirl has an unrequited crush on Batman that turns physical after a frustrated Batgirl initiates a minor altercation between the two (note that this is a mutually accepted interaction, as Batman reciprocates by kissing her back). It was also implied in Batman Beyond that the two had briefly dated some time after The New Batman Adventures.

Dick Grayson's love interests

• Barbara Gordon (Batgirl/Oracle): When Barbara started her career as Batgirl working with Batman and Robin, she and Dick began to grow closer time by time and eventually they began a romantic relationship. This relationship became a longtime on-and-off relationship continued even after Barbara's retirement and even after she was paralyzed in The Killing Joke. The two grew closer after the events of "No Man's Land", and became engaged before Infinite Crisis, but they later broke it off when Dick left to help Batman rediscover himself, with Barbara telling him they were not ready for marriage. Both still show feelings towards each other, but are no longer together. Barbara reacted jealously when seeing Dick and Helena Bertinelli kiss, but later kept an eye on Dick while he recovered from Penguin's control and being shot by the new Black Mask (Jeremiah Arkham). In Convergence they got married
  • In the movie Batman and Robin, Dick meets Barbara Wilson, Alfred's niece, who later becomes Batgirl. In the film they have the same relationship that Dick has with Barbara Gordon in the comics.
  • In the cartoon series Batman: the Animated Series, Dick meets Barbara Gordon, as Batgirl. Both were shown to have similar history as their comic versions. The two have an on/off again relationship. In Batman Beyond 2.0, which a continuation of the DCAU, it is revealed that Dick and Barbara were in a relationship and Dick was going to propose to her.
  • In Young Justice, the two are childhood friends, with Barbara having a crush on Dick as a teenager. The tie-in comic series shows that they have a mutual romantic interest (and implied sexual relationship) with each other. However, Barbara does not believe that Dick is ready for a serious relationship yet.
  • In the Batman: Arkham Unhinged comic tie-in for Batman: Arkham City, it is mentioned that she and Dick had secretly dated. In promotional screenshots for Batman: Arkham Knight, she is seen wearing a Flying Graysons necklace. However, in the game, she is romantically involved with Tim Drake.
  • In the Earth 2 comics, Dick and Barbara are married with a son, Johnny, in Chicago. It is implied, however, that neither have any association with Batman.
  • In the Smallville tie-in comics, Barbara Gordon (who is Nightwing) tells Bruce about her acrobat boyfriend "Richie". Later on, she arranges a meeting between Bruce and Dick.
  • In Batman: Nine Lives, Barbara is private detective Dick Grayson's secretary. She has a romantic crush on him, though Dick says he does not like to date his employees.
• Koriand'r (Starfire): Dick Grayson's longest lasting relationship was with the alien princess, Starfire. They dated for 12 years (or 5 years, in comics time). They were also engaged to be married, but their teammate Raven, who had recently turned evil, blew up the priest before he could announce them husband and wife. The relationship was already on unsteady ground, with Kory fearing Dick was rushing into marriage. They eventually broke up. They remained best friends with a few tense moments and kisses in between. It is clearly stated that they still have feelings for each other, but do not want to risk messing it up again.
  • In "Titans Tomorrow", a storyline of a potential future, Batwoman (Bette Kane) stated that Starfire would have a wonderful future with Nightwing. However, it is later implied during Infinite Crisis that Dick Grayson is deceased in this timeline.
  • The half-blood Mar'i Grayson (Nightstar) was born from their marriage in the Kingdom Come timeline.
  • In the Teen Titans cartoon series the two of them are in a relationship.
• Bette Kane (Bat-Girl/Flamebird/Hawkfire): Bette has appeared many times as a love interest for Dick Grayson both in comics and in other media.
  • During the Silver Age when Dick was Robin and Bette was Bat-Girl, sidekick to her aunt Batwoman (Kathy Kane), Bette developed a crush on the Boy Wonder.
  • In the comic book tie-in of the TV show Young Justice, Bette spent a night with Dick, whose name she had forgotten. Dick revealed to her that not only he was a little younger than her but in fact they both went to Gotham Academy. Bette said that she wanted to stay with him longer, but she had to go to work.
• Alia (Agent 8): In the comic book Grayson, Dick shares a one-night stand with fellow Spyral agent Alia.
• Bridget Clancy: Bridget Clancy was Dick Grayson's superintendent when he moved to Blüdhaven. The two of them shared a romantic interest, but it never developed into anything. She is Asian in appearance, but has an Irish accent.
• Catwoman: In the Batman Beyond universe, the new Catwoman of Neo-Gotham has teamed up with Dick and Terry McGinnis (Batman) several times. She is last seen in Dick Grayson's bed. While Dick chooses to re-enter the superhero life, she does not.
• Cheyenne Freemont (Nightwing): Cheyenne was a famous fashion designer and at some time a model with an equally famous reputation for her romantic liaisons who first met Dick when they had a one-night stand together. The two formed a purely casual and sexual relationship with her with a "no strings attached" agreement for a while. The relationship did not last long due to Cheyenne wanting to start life for herself and to avoid the metahuman brothers tracking her. She is a closet metahuman who can discharge a mysterious blue energy from her hands.
• Daphne Pennyworth: Alfred's niece, Daphne is an actress and was used by the Old Avon Players to gain the trust of the residents of Wayne Manor and the affections of Dick Grayson in order to obtain an original copy of Romeo & Juliet which was in Wayne's possession.
• Deborah Poulos: A librarian working at the Museum of the City of New York, Dick meets Deborah while doing research as a museum curator. They have a healthy relationship that ends on friendly terms when Deborah decides to move to San Jose to get away from the violent events that had been occurring in New York.
• Donna Troy (Wonder Girl/Troia): Dick grew up alongside Donna as fellow members of the Teen Titans, with her serving as his second-in-command. While the two are best friends and confidantes, and express that they love each other, their relationship has been portrayed as that of brother and sister. Dick gave Donna away at her wedding to her former husband Terry, and she in turn hosted his own (failed) wedding to Starfire. She even died (albeit not permanently) saving his life. Donna personally recruited Dick (now Batman) into the latest incarnation of the Justice League. Though she angrily criticized his decision to follow Bruce in distancing himself from others, she trusts him completely as their new leader.
  • Marv Wolfman, creator of the Nightwing persona and longtime Titans writer, indicated that there was once a Dick and Donna romance planned, but the idea was quashed by editorial mandate.
• Emily Washburn: Emily was a young woman in Gotham City who in three years time had lost three husbands to freak accidents. Nightwing believed she was a black widow and decided to stop her from killing any more men. Thinking he could be her next target, he approached her in his civilian identity of Dick Grayson. They pair became close and Dick proposed. The two were wed in a fake ceremony that Dick staged. During their honeymoon in Hawaii, Dick and Emily ran into Emily's best friend Annelise. Annelise attempted to kill Dick but he was able to overpower her. It turned out that Annelise was attempting to punish Emily by killing any man she fell in love with. Dick learned that Emily's father had gotten Annelise's father arrested and she was trying to get revenge. After Annelise's arrest, Dick revealed his plan to Emily. She was upset that Dick deceived her but grateful that he had cleared her name. Dick then offered to make a life with Emily and her son but she declined stating that Dick had other secrets he could not share with her.
• Helena Bertinelli (Huntress): Dick and Helena had a one-night stand while out patrolling together, to solve the murder of an undercover cop. Dick wanted to start a serious relationship but Helena refused, since then the two have maintained a personal and professional friendship together. Helena reveals that she initially slept with Dick in order to get closer to learning some of the Batman Family's secrets, but had begun developing feelings for him. After Dick became Batman, the two kissed to blend in at a party while following Thomas Elliot (Hush), resulting in an awkward silence. In the New 52, Helena is considered to be dead in the public while she has been working as a spy in the secret organization known as Spyral. She recruits Dick in the organization too, after he also faked his death, and becomes his partner. During the time the two work together Helena often flirts with Dick, even though it is not permitted by Spyral for its members to become too involved with each other. In the Future's End tie-in issue of Grayson (which occurs five years later), the two are in a romantic relationship.
• Huntress (Helena Wayne): The daughter of Bruce Wayne in the Earth-Two parallel universe. She and Dick become partners after her father's death, with them sharing a seemingly platonic relationship. Later, however, it is revealed that she has been secretly in love with him.
• Jesse Chambers (Jesse Quick): Introduced to the Titans team by Wally West, Dick and Jesse share several flirtations early on. When teased by Wally however, Dick states that there is nothing going on between him and Jesse. They do continue to work together, and Dick helps train her.
• Liu: One of Dick's earliest relationships was with a slightly older woman named Liu. The romance was cut short, when she destroyed him emotionally when he found out that she was just using him to get to Bruce.
• Kara Zor-El (Supergirl): Supergirl has been shown to have a strong one-sided crush on Dick, both as Nightwing and Batman, even going as far as kissing him out of surprise. Dick, however, seems to view their relationship more as platonic.
  • In Justice League of America vol. 2 #52, a black kryptonite infected version of Kara, called Dark Supergirl, when confronted by Dick, as Batman, who tells her to choose a side between the Justice League or the Crime Syndicate, Kara responds by kissing him.
• Kate Spencer (Manhunter): In the backup story to Batman: Streets of Gotham, she flirts with, and agrees to go out on a date with Dick Grayson.
• Lori Elton: As a student at Hudson University, he had a relationship with fellow undergraduate Lori Elton, the daughter of a police chief. But when she saw his cold reaction to a classmate's murder, she stopped the tension.
• Rachel Roth (Raven): Dick shared a brief romance with his Teen Titans teammate Raven, going as far as kissing her passionately. It was revealed that Raven (who was experiencing her own emotions for the first time) mistakenly believed she was in love with Nightwing and had unintentionally used her powers to make him reciprocate. Their relationship ended after Starfire explained to Raven the difference between romantic and platonic love.
• Raya Vestri: Raya was a childhood friend to Dick, a trapeze artist at Haly's Circus as well as his first crush, the two began dating even though Raya at first wanted only a sexual relationship. Later, Raya allied with Saiko to kill Dick at a Haly Circus tribute to the Flying Graysons (Dick was present there for a memorial speech), but when she found out Saiko was trying to kill every member and audience of the circus, she betrayed him and turned herself over to the police. Later, the Joker freed Raya from her cell in Blackgate Penitentiary, poisoned her with Joker venom, and forced her to fight Nightwing. Dick injected her with the antidote and Raya died in Dick's arms, telling him she was sorry for everything she had done.
• Selina Kyle (Catwoman):
  • In Nightwing #52, Nightwing and Catwoman run into one another when Catwoman is attempting to steal a rare diamond. In the process, she kisses him, and flirtatiously suggests that they do not tell Batman. Nightwing deduces that she is trying to make Batman jealous, and has a laugh out of it.
  • They had a flirtatious team-up in the Batman: The Animated Series episode, "You Scratch My Back", where Catwoman tried, unsuccessfully, to get Nightwing to run away with her after stealing a famed emerald from Argentina. This episode marks one of the few times in Batman history where Catwoman and Nightwing have shared a kiss.
• Shawn Tsang (Defacer): A former graffiti artist and supervillain in Gotham City, Shawn Tsang later relocated to Blüdhaven and became romantically involved with Dick Grayson in the DC Rebirth run of Nightwing.
• Sonia Zucco: Sonia is the estranged daughter of Tony Zucco, the mobster who murdered Dick Grayson's parents. Trying to step out of her father's shadow by being a legitimate businesswoman, she heads the GGM bank. She was personally involved in the process of approving a GGM loan to Dick Grayson and during their business discussions, Sonia and Dick began a relationship. However, this relationship was strained when Sonia revealed to Dick that her father is still alive. Eventually, Dick shows an interest to re-connecting with her, but is captured by the Crime Syndicate in Forever Evil.

In other media

• Pamela Isley (Poison Ivy): In the live-action film Batman and Robin, at a charity ball Poison Ivy unexpectedly appears in order to get the Heart of Isis diamond necklace. Blowing around a wisp of pheromone dust in order for the males to feel attraction to her, she offers the auctioneers present a night with her. Batman and Robin, also hit by the pheromone dust, get in on the auctioning action themselves. Later on, Poison Ivy focuses on Robin, who is easily swayed by her charms. Batman tries to get Robin to come to his senses about what Poison Ivy is doing to the both of them, but Robin refuses to listen, believing that Batman is jealous and just wants Ivy for himself. Robin later shows up at Poison Ivy's hideout, where she lures him to her private plant-like throne to kiss her. When Ivy tells him of her and Mr. Freeze's plan, Robin realizes he has to stop them but Ivy gets him to kiss her before he takes off, assuming that he will die. Unfortunately, the kiss has no effect, as Robin wore a protective sheath on his lips. Then Batman shows up, ready to take Poison Ivy in.
• Zatanna Zatara: In the TV series Young Justice, Dick flirts with Zatanna when they go on a mission to rescue Red Tornado after she is introduced to the team by her father Zatara. In a later episode Dick explains how he got a magical necklace from Zatanna without her asking questions saying "we have a history". The tie-in comic shows that they had dated, and broken up in the five-year time gap between the two seasons. However, they remain on very friendly (and flirtatious) terms.
• Raquel Ervin (Rocket): In the tie-in comic for Young Justice, Raquel gives Dick a birthday kiss. Zatanna comments on how Dick manages to stay friends with all of his ex-girlfriends, implying that Raquel is one of them.

Terry McGinnis' love interests

• Dana Tan: A student at Hamilton Hill High School, Dana was Terry McGinnis' girlfriend, and later his fiancée. She was often annoyed by his many disappearing acts and that was the main reason for breaking up several times during the time they have been together. The two continued dating for fifteen years after they left high school, and at some point she learned of his identity as Batman but accepted it. She revealed to Terry that she actually was aware of his double life soon after the death of her brother, Doug, who became the King of the Jokerz. A year after her brother's death, Terry broke up with Dana but at some point they eventually got back together. He constantly warned her that she would be in danger if anyone ever discovered his secret, but, being committed to him, she refused to leave him. When Terry discovered his true lineage, he became disillusioned with his identity and imagined himself breaking up with Dana at last, seeing himself as "cursed". After he came to grips with his past he decided to take care of the people he loves, planning to propose to Dana.
• Melanie Walker (Ten): Melanie is the youngest member of the futuristic Royal Flush Gang. She first met Terry outside of a club where they talked and arranged a date on the next night, at the same place. Much to her dissatisfaction, the Royal Flush Gang had planned to rob a museum that night, during which they were intercepted by Batman. Unaware of his real identity, Ten tackled him, proving to be a capable combatant, but she was eventually overpowered by Batman's superior strength. Eventually Terry found out about her identity and after he saved her life he handed her over to the authorities. Terry saw that she was someone that could be saved from the career in crime that her family had decided on for her. At some point, Melanie got estranged from her family, leaving her criminal career in the past and leading an honest life. Melanie never found out that Terry and Batman were the same person. When Terry asks Bruce if he ever faced a situation like his complicated relationship with Melanie, Wayne good-naturedly alludes to his relationship with Selina Kyle. More than a year later, Terry finds out that Melanie is taking classes at Neo-Gotham University, as he does. They meet and Melanie confesses to him that she saw him a few weeks ago but she was not sure whether to say hi. Terry asks her if she has reunited with her criminal family and she responds that she has been on her own for a while now but Terry seems not to truly believe her because of their history. Later, Terry, as Batman, who is watching Melanie as she walks alone, helps her defeat some thugs who attempt to attack her in the street. After that Terry has begun seeing Melanie again.
  • In the parallel Earth of the Justice Lords, Terry McGinnis is in a relationship with Melanie and they are both members of the Jokerz.
• Mareena/Marina (Aquagirl): Mareena was the only member of the Justice League, who was friendly to Terry, when he was first introduced to the team, as after they met she invited him for a swim. During the swimming session, the tank was sabotaged with the water's temperature been raised, so Mareena was trapped inside, but fortunately Batman blasted the door freeing Aquagirl and saving her life. After that, Mareena grew even fonder of him. Through the years the two grew much closer and they were several hints at some kind of attraction between the two. When Batman refused to join the League, Aquagirl proposed to visit Neo-Gotham and make a personal appeal herself, indicating that Terry is closer to Aquagirl than anyone else on the League. When Terry is forced to fight the Justice League, Bruce Wayne tells him to attack Aquagirl, referring to her as the one Terry likes. Terry hesitates so Aquagirl, who is surprised by his behavior, attacks him first but later she is the one who calms everyone down and proposes to listen to Batman as she believes he has a reason for his doings. Later Terry thanks Mareena for her help and she says to him that if he ever needs a person he can trust she hopes he will consider her. Initially Mareena's relationship with Terry was platonic but it developed into a good friendship, as she is now Warhawk's love interest.
• Catwoman: A new Catwoman, not related to Selina Kyle, has come to Neo-Gotham, hired by the new Hush to spy on Batman, Terry McGinnis. When Terry first meets her, while pursuing her, he seems very excited and states that he wanted a Catwoman his whole career and that Batman and Catwoman are supposed to be a thing but she quickly discards him saying she is too much for him to handle. Hush betrays her and then attempts to murder her but fortunately Batman prevents him from doing so. After Terry gets hurt, she helps patch up Batman's wounds, while being guided by Bruce Wayne. Terry later thanks her for saving his life by giving her a kiss. Though originally at odds with Batman, the new Catwoman eventually develops a soft spot for him. She later teams up with Terry and Dick Grayson against the Jokerz. Her real name is not mentioned but she reveals that she is the daughter of the villain, Multiplex, explaining her ability to create up to nine physical copies of herself.

Tim Drake's love interests

• Ariana Dzerchenko is an immigrant from Russia who moved to Gotham City with her family, making their home in the Little Odessa neighborhood. She met Tim when he rescued her father, who owned a printer shop, from a gang. A second attack on her father was successful and resulted in his death at the hands of KGBeast, and she moves in with her uncle Vari and aunt Natalie. Tim's relationship with Ariana is one aspect of his life that is normal for a teenager, but his secrecy and preoccupation frustrates her repeatedly. Ariana is forced to break up with Tim after her uncle finds them in a compromising position and transfers her to an all-girl school, but they later get back together. Tim becomes involved with Stephanie Brown during their relationship, and he decides to break up with Ariana to be with Stephanie, only for Ariana to break up with him first because she thinks they're too young for a serious relationship.
• Spoiler (Stephanie Brown):

Stephanie adopts the moniker of Spoiler in order to capture her criminal father the Cluemaster, and she assists Batman and Robin in his arrest. Spoiler later helps Robin out during several missions, saving his life once and, in thanks, he gives her a kiss. After that, she begins to regularly patrol the city with Robin, and they develop a mutual crush even though he is dating Ariana (which Stephanie does not know). They start dating after Tim breaks up with Ariana, but he doesn't reveal his real identity to her. Batman ultimately reveals Tim's real identity to Stephanie, which upsets Tim, who storms out on them when he finds out. Regardless, they continue dating until she fakes her death at the end of Batman: War Games. Later, when they're Red Robin and Batgirl, Tim tries to restart their relationship, but Stephanie rejects him because he wasn't good for her. During Batgirl: Convergence, the pre-"Flashpoint" versions of Tim and Stephanie get back together. In the DC Rebirth continuity, they are in a relationship once again.

Supporting characters

• Joe Chill: The mugger who killed Bruce's parents.
• Carrie Kelley: Debuted as Robin in The Dark Knight Returns, entered the DCU in 2013 in Batman and Robin as Damian Wayne's acting insctructor.
• Robin (Matt McGinnis): Terry McGinnis' younger brother and Bruce Wayne's other biological son. Featured in Batman Beyond and it's comics versions. Currently a part of the Future DCU, knows that Bruce Wayne was Batman and under Wayne's personal tutelage became the next Robin.
• Aunt Harriet Cooper, the maternal aunt of Dick Grayson, who appeared in the Batman comics and TV series in the 1960s.
• Henri Ducard: Ducard is one of Wayne's few teachers who has had a continuing presence in the comics, having taught a young Bruce Wayne the art of the manhunt. Ducard's moral ambiguity led to future conflicts with Batman. In the movie Batman Begins, Ducard appears as Wayne's mentor in crime fighting, but it later turns out that he was actually Ra's al Ghul in disguise.
• Dr. Thomas Elliot: A surgeon introduced in the Hush storyline, Thomas Elliot is a childhood friend of the Wayne family. Elliot and Wayne parted ways at a young age, after the death of Elliot's father. Dr. Elliot is later revealed to be secretly insane since childhood and leading a double life as the criminal mastermind Hush.
• Legs: A homeless Vietnam veteran, and resident of the streets of Gotham City. The character was frequently featured in cameo appearances in various Batman comics during the 1980s and 1990s. The character has not been utilized in published material since the late 1990s and has fallen into obscurity.
• Professor Carter Nichols, a hypnotist who developed a form of "time travel hypnosis" that led into many time travel adventures for Batman, Robin and even Superman in the 1940s and 1950s.
• Daphne Pennyworth, niece of Alfred Pennyworth and daughter of Wilfred Pennyworth, briefly appeared in the late 1960s/early 1970s.
• Lady Shiva: One of the most feared assassins in the world, Lady Shiva has often been a foe of Batman. However, after Batman broke his back fighting Bane, he went to Lady Shiva for training.
• Bronze Tiger trained under Batman's ninja master Kirigi and was a member of the Sensei's League of Assassins (albeit brainwashed), at one point teaching Cassandra Cain. Tiger would best Batman in a battle during his mission leading members of the League to slay Kathy Kane. Thanks to Amanda Waller, he would be freed of the Sensei's programming and would return as an ally to Batman.
• Dr. Leslie Thompkins: A lifelong friend of Thomas Wayne and Bruce's godmother. She is a strict pacifist and used to run a rehabilitation clinic for criminals and drug addicts. She had a falling out with the Dark Knight after Stephanie Brown's apparent death.
• Alice Chilton: Bruce Wayne's nanny after the loss of his parents. She was Joe Chill's mother, a fact only Alfred was aware of.
• Slam Bradley: A private detective that largely operates out of Gotham, Bradley became good friends with Catwoman. Bradley's son, called Slam Bradley Jr., is a cop in Gotham and the father of Catwoman's daughter.
• Vigilante (Dorian Chase): Brother of Adrian Chase and a murderous crimefighter that first troubled Nightwing and proved to be a formidable fighter before crossing swords with Batman.
• Lock-Up: Initially an overzealous vigilante, Lock-Up would be tolerated during the events of No Man's Land as he controlled Blackgate Prison. However, he was seen acting alongside villains during Infinite Crisis.
• Kirigi: Batman's instructor in ninjutsu who would also train several members of the League of Assassins.
• David Cain: World-renowned assassin who trained Bruce Wayne.
• Tsunemoto: An assassin for the Yakuza who trained Bruce Wayne.
• Chu Chin Li: A master of kung fu who trained Bruce Wayne.

Wayne family

This section lists the ancestors and relatives of Bruce Wayne:

• Agatha Wayne - The aunt of Bruce Wayne.
• Alan Wayne - The son of Solomon Wayne and the great-great-grandfather of Bruce Wayne. Alan Wayne was the founder of Wayne Shipping. In "The New 52", Alan Wayne was one of the victims of the Court of Owls.
• Catherine van Dern - The wife of Alan Wayne and the great-great-grandmother of Bruce Wayne. She died giving birth to Kenneth Wayne.
• Darius Wayne - An ancestor of Bruce Wayne and the fictional brother of Anthony Wayne who fought in the American Revolutionary War. He was the architect behind Wayne Manor.
• Dorothea Wayne - The wife of Solomon Wayne and the great-great-great-grandmother of Bruce Wayne.
• Joshua Wayne - The brother of Solomon Wayne, the uncle of Alan Wayne, and the great-great-great-uncle of Bruce Wayne.
• Martha Wayne - The mother of Bruce Wayne. She was killed by Joe Chill during a mugging.
• Mordecai Wayne - A Puritan ancestor of Bruce Wayne whose portrait hangs in Wayne Manor.
• Nathaniel Wayne - He was an ancestor of Bruce Wayne from the first generation of the Wayne family. Under the alias of Brother Malleus, Nathaniel was the leader of Gotham's people who hunted and killed witches. It was because of this that the Wayne family was cursed upon him burning a supposed witch named Annie.
• Philip Wayne - The uncle of Bruce Wayne and the brother of Thomas Wayne. He would raise Bruce for a while after the loss of his parents. In The New 52, Philip is the brother of Martha Wayne. He later gave his life to protect Batman from Red Hood I during their fight at Ace Chemicals.
• Silas Wayne - A silversmith who is an ancestor of Bruce Wayne from 1787. He was used by Henry to take the blame for Henry's highwayman activities since Silas loved Henry's sister Martha as a way to protect Martha's mother. Benjamin Franklin gives Silas Wayne a letter which proves his innocence to be used after Martha's mother dies. However, Silas dies first. Bruce later finds the letter hidden inside Silas Wayne 's portrait and Silas is finally cleared one hundred years later.
• Solomon Wayne - The father of Alan Wayne, the brother of Joshua Wayne, the husband of Dorothea Wayne, and the great-great-great-grandfather of Bruce Wayne. During the 19th Century, he worked as a judge in Gotham City. He died at the age of 104.
• Thomas Wayne - The father of Bruce Wayne. He was killed by Joe Chill during a mugging.
• Thomas Wayne, Jr.: Bruce Wayne's older brother. It has been said Thomas suffered brain injuries in infancy and was relegated to a life of care. However, one story tells of him being left catatonic after the death of their parents and institutionalized. The brothers' uncle had told Bruce his brother had in fact died. Thomas would recover and choose to live a reculsive existence as an acrobat in a traveling circus. However, he would be brainwashed into becoming an assassin. The hero Deadman learned of this and decided to take over his life. Batman would later learn these facts and try to reclaim his brother. While Thomas was free of Deadman, he gave his life to save Batman by diving in front of a hail of bullets from his criminal companions.
• Van Wayne - is the spoiled rich cousin of Bruce Wayne.

Supporting characters in other media

• Detective Ethan Bennett (appeared in The Batman, voiced by Steve Harris) - Bennett is a detective at the GCPD and is one of the three officers that interact with Batman. Unlike Chief Angel Rojas and Detective Ellen Yin, he supports Batman's motives and is Bruce Wayne's best friend. He appeared in the majority of season one. At the end of the first season, he becomes Clayface after being exposed to the Joker's "Joker Putty". He attempts to kill both Chief Rojas and the Joker, but is stopped and defeated by the efforts of Batman and Detective Yin. He reappeared in the season two episode "Meltdown", where he attempts to reform, but he fails and goes on a crime spree as Clayface. He is defeated again by Batman. In "Grundy's Night", he impersonated Solomon Grundy to get revenge on Batman, but fails. In his final appearance, "Clayfaces", he breaks out of prison and he helps Batman and Robin battle another Clayface, Basil Karlo. In the end, he and Karlo are cured, and Bennett tries again to restore his image. However, it seems Karlo's powers were returning at the final scene, so it is unknown if Bennett's powers were restored as well.
• Detective Ellen Yin (appeared in The Batman, voiced by Ming-Na) - Yin is a new transfer to the GCPD since she left Metropolis. During the first season, she opposed Batman as a vigilante and tries to capture and unmask him. After she helps Batman fight Clayface at the first season's finale, she grudgily accepts Batman as a vigilante and goes from being his enemy to his ally. Her final appearance was in the season two finale.
• Chief Angel Rojas (appeared in The Batman, voiced by Edward James Olmos in his first appearance, voiced by Jesse Corti in other appearances) - Chief Rojas is the head of the GCPD and does things by the book. Unlike Detective Bennett, who sees Batman as a hero, Rojas distrusts Batman and sees him as a potential threat to all of Gotham.
• Alexander Knox (appeared in Batman, portrayed by Robert Wuhl) - Alexander Knox is a reporter for the Gotham Globe. In the film, he works with Vicki Vale to investigate Batman's actions. When Vicki becomes suspicious of Bruce's actions, she asked Knox to show footage of the alley where Bruce's parents were killed. During the climax, Knox is nearly killed after being exposed to the Joker's gas. At the end of the film, he recovers from his injuries. In the early scripts of the film, Knox was set to die in the parade, but the producers convinced Tim Burton not to kill Knox. His name is a reference to Alexander Knox.
• Lieutenant Maxwell "Max" Eckhardt (appeared in Batman, portrayed by William Hootkins) - Eckhardt is a corrupt police officer who works for crime boss Carl Grissom and criminal Jack Napier (who will later become the Joker in the film). He is later betrayed and killed by Napier before Napier becomes the Joker.
• Fred Stickley (appeared in Batman Forever, portrayed by Ed Begley, Jr.)- Stickley is Edward Nygma's ill-tempered supervisor at Wayne Enterprises. At the beginning of the film, he terminated Edward Nygma's invention when he feared it would cause Wayne Enterprises to go bankrupt. When he learned about Nygma's true intention of the invention, Nygma killed him in retaliation and used computer forgery to make it look like Stickley killed himself.
• Dr. Lee (appeared in Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, portrayed by Michael Paul Chan) - Dr. Lee is a research scientist at Wayne Enterprises. He made a cameo appearance in Forever, where he comforted Edward Nygma. He had a more important role in the sequel, where he and another research scientist were kidnapped by Mr. Freeze. They were rescued by the efforts of Batman, Robin, and Batgirl.
• Dr. Penelope "Penny" Young (appeared in Batman: Arkham Asylum, voiced by Cree Summer) - Dr. Penny Young was one of Arkham Asylum's more prominent employees and serves as an aide to Batman in quest to stop the Joker from taking over the institute. Shortly before the events of the game, Young performed experiments on Bane to create a drug known as Titan, a much more powerful version of the drug Venom that is designed for the Asylum's patients to survive gruesome therapies. During the events of Arkham Asylum, after saving Dr. Young from the Joker's goons and defeating Bane, Batman deduces that the Joker planned the assault on Arkham for months and that Young knew that Joker was using her research to create an army of super soldiers; her denial had forced the Joker to return to the Asylum. Fighting off the Scarecrow's fear toxin, Batman destroys the remainder of Young's Titan formula, but as Dr. Young arrives to the Warden'a office to recover the rest of the formula in a safe, she was held captive by serial killer Victor Zsasz. Batman manages to save her from Zsasz. As she attempts to recover the formula from the safe, she discovers it is booby-trapped, and an explosion occurs, killing Young in the process. Posthumously, she is mentioned in a side mission in Batman: Arkham City, where Bane and Batman forms an uneasy alliance to destroy what was left of the Titan formula that was hidden across Arkham City.
• Special Agent Iman Avesta (appeared in Batman: The Enemy Within, voiced by Emily O'Brien) - Special Agent Iman Avesta is an employee of Amanda Waller, a field agent of the Agency and a Gotham native. Avesta is a fan of Batman and serves as an aide to Batman when she was selected to help find and dismantle a criminal organization called the Pact. Later, Avesta joined other Agency operatives in an attempt to capture the Riddler, wanting to impress Batman but was captured by the Riddler. Held in death traps, Riddler taunted and tortured the group until Batman arrived and rescued Avesta. As Iman thanked Batman, the floor beneath them dropped and a giant cage closed around them. The Riddler then tries to force Batman into an unfair game, forcing him to solve riddles to save the other agents, but at the cost of Avesta's hearing. Avesta urged Batman to save her comrades instead of herself, asking Batman to go along with the Riddler's twisted game, so she can sacrifice her hearing even though it meant that she would likely die in the process. If Batman solved the riddles, Avesta distracts the criminal long enough for Batman to figure out a way to escape the cage. Avesta shows her gratitude but is rendered deaf, leading the vigilante to embrace her in comfort. Avesta would later wear hearing aids to restore her lost sense. It is later revealed that she already knew his true identity of Bruce Wayne, and had passed this information to Waller. She is later willing to work with him and give information about Waller's most private of information. She would also help him during either Waller's manhunt for him or the Joker's reign of terror. After the incident, Bruce can offer her a job at Wayne Enterprises, which she would accept.
• Tiffany Fox (appeared in Batman: The Enemy Within, voiced by Valarie Rae Miller) - The daughter of Lucius Fox and an employee at Wayne Enterprises.

Characters from alternate continuities

Several characters featured outside of modern Batman canon are of note:

• Batman (Terry McGinnis) is the lead character on the animated series Batman Beyond. Set in Earth-12, one of 52 parallel Earths to the original Earth-1, the series depicts the adventures of a new, younger Batman mentored by Bruce Wayne. In this continuity, Batman treats Terry similarly to the way Bruce treated Dick Grayson and Tim Drake in the main continuity. Bruce has a respect for him and has found him to be a worthy person to wear the mask and that he is the one that makes Batman a good person. In the Justice League Unlimited episode "Epilogue", it is revealed that Terry is the biological son of Bruce due to Amanda Waller's involvement in creating a new Dark Knight under Project Cadmus' final project, Project: Batman Beyond. In 2011 he entered the official DCU.
• Batman (Tlano) is an alien that brought Batman to his world Zur-En-Arrh to help him become his planet's hero and to battle robot invaders piloted by an unnamed alien race.
• Harvey Harris: Harvey Harris was a detective from Gotham City (Earth-One continuity). He trained young Bruce Wayne in the art of criminal detection and provided the young boy with his first costumed identity - Robin. Bruce helped his mentor try to stop the KKK in Detective Comics Annual in 1989. Harris is good in combat, claims to have a black belt and uses a gun.
• Carrie Kelley: Carrie Kelly became the first female Robin (chronologically though not canonically) in 1986's Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. In Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, the follow-up to DKR, Carrie is called Catgirl, as an homage to Catwoman. In The Dark Knight III: The Master Race she became Batwoman. In 2013 she entered the official DCU.
• Huntress (Helena Wayne): Pre-Crisis, the Huntress was Helena Wayne, daughter to Earth-Two's Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle (Catwoman). In 2011 she entered the official DCU. Another Huntress (Helena Bertinelli) has no biological relations to Catwoman or Batman.
• Blackwing (Charlie Bullock) was a lawyer that become a hero patterned after Batman (after the hero's death) on Earth-2. He would team with that Earth's Huntress.
• The Ninja (Kyodai Ken) was Bruce Wayne's rival in the way of the samurai under Yoru in Batman: The Animated Series. He would later return as an enemy in the series.
• Bat-Ape was the masked identity of Mogo, a circus gorilla that helped Batman.
• Proto-Bot was a prototype Bat-Bot introduced in Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
• Bat-Horse was the steed of Bat-Hombre, who turned out to be an agent of El Papagayo. So, Batman took on the identity of Bat-Hombre and rode Bat-Horse in his stead.

See also

• List of Green Arrow supporting characters
• List of Superman supporting characters
• List of Wonder Woman supporting characters
• List of Green Lantern supporting characters
• List of Aquaman supporting characters