Batman
Adapted from a comic book character
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Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book Detective Comics on March 30, 1939. In the DC Universe, Batman is the alias of Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American playboy, philanthropist, and industrialist who resides in the fictional Gotham City. Originally a millionaire, the character is later depicted as a billionaire. As Batman, he vows never to kill any criminal. His origin story features him swearing vengeance against criminals after witnessing the murder of his parents, Thomas and Martha, as a child, a vendetta tempered by the ideal of justice.
Adaptations (24)
Batman has been adapted 24 times, across film and television series, from 1943 to 2026. The most recent is Batman: Knightfall Part 1: Knightfall (2026).
Batman1943 · film · 260 min · dir. Lambert Hillyer · IMDb ↗IMDb6.0Japanese master spy Daka operates a covert espionage-sabotage organization located in Gotham City's now-deserted Little Tokyo, which turns American scientists into pliable zombies. The great crime-fighters Batman and Robin, with the help of their allies, are in pursuit.
Batman1966 · film · 105 min · dir. Leslie H. Martinson · IMDb ↗The arch-villains of the United Underworld - the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler and the Catwoman - combine forces to dispose of Batman and Robin as they launch their fantastic plot to control the entire world. From his submarine, Penguin and his cohorts hijack a yacht containing a dehydrator, which can extract all moisture from humans and reduce them to particles of dust. The evildoers turn the nine Security Council members in the United World Building into nine vials of multicolored crystals! Batman and Robin track the villains in their Batboat and use Batcharge missiles to force the submarine to surface.
Batman1989 · film · 126 min · dir. Tim Burton · IMDb ↗Gotham City. Crime boss Carl Grissom (Jack Palance) effectively runs the town but there's a new crime fighter in town - Batman (Michael Keaton). Grissom's right-hand man is Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson), a brutal man who is not entirely sane... After falling out between the two Grissom has Napier set up with the Police and Napier falls to his apparent death in a vat of chemicals. However, he soon reappears as The Joker and starts a reign of terror in Gotham City. Meanwhile, reporter Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) is in the city to do an article on Batman. She soon starts a relationship with Batman's everyday persona, billionaire Bruce Wayne.
Batman Returns1992 · film · 126 min · dir. Tim Burton · IMDb ↗In the sewers of gotham city to the rooftops of the gotham city the penguin wants to know where he came from well in his villain ways catwoman plans to kill rich man of gotham max shreak but as he battles with millionaire Bruce Wayne both ladies men have their own secrets Bruce Wayne is back as Bat man trying to stop the penguin Max is helping penguin steal gotham city while selina Kyle/catwoman tries to help penguin not knowing her man murder target also her murder is helping him but all four men have their goals taking gotham from crime winning gotham city assassination for two men and more money to be gotham citys number one rich man.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm1993 · film · 76 min · dir. Kevin Altieri, Boyd Kirkland, Frank Paur · IMDb ↗Batman, the costumed crime-fighter who prowls the night skies in Gotham City, soon finds there's another vigilante in town knocking off prominent mob figures. Despite the scythe-like blade for a hand, a mechanical voice and the cloud of smoke that follows the figure wherever it goes, the police and outraged officials mistake the homicidal crusader for Batman himself and demand that the city's longtime hero be brought to justice. Meanwhile, Andrea Beaumont returns to town. She is the lost love of Bruce Wayne, the billionaire playboy who is Batman's alter ego, and was an integral part of Wayne's decision ten years earlier to don the cape and cowl. Now, she is back in his life and is no less a disruption than the return of his old archenemy, The Joker, who has a stake in seeing the annihilation of this new vigilante, whoever it proves to be.
Batman Forever1995 · film · 121 min · dir. Joel Schumacher · IMDb ↗The Dark Knight of Gotham City confronts a dastardly duo: Two-Face and the Riddler. Formerly District Attorney Harvey Dent, Two-Face incorrectly believes Batman caused the courtroom accident which left him disfigured on one side; he has unleashed a reign of terror on the good people of Gotham. Edward Nygma, computer-genius and former employee of millionaire Bruce Wayne, is out to get the philanthropist; as The Riddler he perfects a device for draining information from all the brains in Gotham, including Bruce Wayne's knowledge of his other identity. Batman/Wayne is/are the love focus of Dr. Chase Meridan. Former circus acrobat Dick Grayson, his family killed by Two-Face, becomes Wayne's ward and Batman's new partner Robin the Boy Wonder.
Batman & Robin1997 · film · 125 min · dir. Joel Schumacher · IMDb ↗Batman and Robin are back working side-by-side to stop the villains of Gotham City, but is there tension appearing between them, especially when one villainess who calls herself Poison Ivy can make anyone fall in love with her...literally. Along with Poison Ivy, the icy Mr. Freeze is freezing anything which gets in his way from achieving his goal.
Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero1998 · film · 70 min · dir. Boyd Kirkland · IMDb ↗IMDb7.292%Mr. Freeze is living in the arctic with his cryogenically-frozen wife. When a submarine destroys her containment capsule, he has to find someone to "donate" a new heart for her. His search turns up one donor with the right blood type: Barbara (Batgirl) Gordon. Her kidnapping sends Batman and Robin on a hurried chase to free her in time.
Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman2003 · film · 75 min · dir. Jennifer Graves, Tim Maltby, Curt Geda · IMDb ↗IMDb6.760%A ruthless destructive vigilante posing as Batwoman is wreaking havoc in Gotham City. While she sets her sights on thwarting Penguin's evil plans, Batman concentrates on discovering this mysterious imposter's true identity. But when she's captured by the vicious Bane, it falls upon the caped crusader to rescue her, defeat Bane and foil the Penguin's devious plot himself.
Batman Begins2005 · film · 140 min · dir. Christopher Nolan · IMDb ↗When his parents are killed, billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne relocates to Asia, where he is mentored by Henri Ducard and Ra's Al Ghul in how to fight evil. When learning about the plan to wipe out evil in Gotham City by Ducard, Bruce prevents this plan from getting any further and heads back to his home. Back in his original surroundings, Bruce adopts the image of a bat to strike fear into the criminals and the corrupt as the icon known as "Batman". But it doesn't stay quiet for long.
The Dark Knight2008 · film · 152 min · dir. Christopher Nolan · IMDb ↗Set within a year after the events of Batman Begins (2005), Batman, Lieutenant James Gordon, and new District Attorney Harvey Dent successfully begin to round up the criminals that plague Gotham City, until a mysterious and sadistic criminal mastermind known only as "The Joker" appears in Gotham, creating a new wave of chaos. Batman's struggle against The Joker becomes deeply personal, forcing him to "confront everything he believes" and improve his technology to stop him. A love triangle develops between Bruce Wayne, Dent, and Rachel Dawes.
Batman: Gotham Knight2008 · film · 75 min · dir. Yasuhiro Aoki, Futoshi Higashide, Toshiyuki Kubooka, Hiroshi Morioka, Jong-Sik Nam, Shôjirô Nishimi, Yûichirô Hayashi(co-director) · IMDb ↗IMDb6.775%In this 6-story anthology collection, Batman faces new villains and old ones in a time-line after Batman Begins. In "Have I Got A Story For You", 3 kids tell wildly different stories about Batman during a fight through Gotham. "Crossfire" focuses on two policemen who end up getting in the middle of a crime battle. "Field Test" has Lucius Fox creating a new technology for Batman, but is it too powerful? "In Darkness Dwells" features Killer Croc and Scarecrow, who have kidnapped a priest. "Working Through Pain" goes through flashbacks of Bruce Wayne's training while Batman finds his way through the sewers. Finally, "Deadshot" focuses on the titular sniper, who has a new target in Gotham.
Batman: Year One2011 · film · 64 min · dir. Sam Liu, Lauren Montgomery · IMDb ↗IMDb7.489%Two men come to Gotham City: Bruce Wayne after years abroad feeding his lifelong obsession for justice and Jim Gordon after being too honest a cop with the wrong people elsewhere. After learning painful lessons about the city's corruption on its streets and police department respectively, this pair learn how to fight back their own way. With that, Gotham's evildoers from top to bottom are terrorized by the mysterious Batman and the equally heroic Gordon is assigned to catch him by comrades who both hate and fear him themselves. In the ensuing manhunt, both find much in common as the seeds of an unexpected friendship are laid with additional friends and rivals helping to start the legend.
Batman: Assault on Arkham2014 · film · 76 min · dir. Jay Oliva, Ethan Spaulding · IMDb ↗IMDb7.578%In Gotham City, the Riddler has secret information on the top secret Task Force X that he threatens to make public, but before Amanda Waller can have him killed, he is captured by Batman. Now with Riddler imprisoned in Arkham Asylum, Amanda Waller reassembles the Suicide Squad of captured supervillains with the mission to infiltrate the forensic mental hospital to retrieve Riddler's information. Led by Deadshot, this black ops team makes their way into the facility, only to face complications from within and without the team with secret agendas and double crosses all around. Meanwhile, Batman has his own concerns with an urgent search for The Joker's deadly bomb that threatens Gotham City. Eventually, all these players converge on Arkham Asylum for a showdown that few are going to escape alive.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice2016 · film · 151 min · dir. Zack Snyder · IMDb ↗The general public is concerned over having Superman on their planet and letting the "Dark Knight" - Batman - pursue the streets of Gotham. While this is happening, a power-phobic Batman tries to attack Superman. Meanwhile, Superman tries to settle on a decision, and Lex Luthor, the criminal mastermind and millionaire, tries to use his own advantages to fight the "Man of Steel".
The Lego Batman Movie2017 · film · 104 min · dir. Chris McKay · IMDb ↗There are big changes brewing in Gotham City, and if he wants to save the city from The Joker's hostile takeover, Batman may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others and maybe, just maybe, learn to lighten up.
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight2018 · film · 78 min · dir. Sam Liu · IMDb ↗IMDb6.775%In an age of mystery and superstition, how would the people of Gotham react to a weird creature of the night, a bat-garbed vigilante feared by the guilty and the innocent alike? The very first Elseworlds tale re-imagines the Dark Knight detective in Victorian times and pits him against the infamous murderer Jack the Ripper.
The Batman2022 · film · 176 min · dir. Matt Reeves · IMDb ↗Two years of nights have turned Bruce Wayne into a nocturnal animal. But as he continues to find his way as Gotham's dark knight, Bruce is forced into a game of cat and mouse with his biggest threat so far, a manic killer known as "The Riddler" who is filled with rage and determined to expose the corrupt system whilst picking off all of Gotham's key political figures. Working with both established and new allies, Bruce must track down the killer and see him brought to justice, while investigating his father's true legacy and questioning the effect that he has had on Gotham so far as "The Batman."
Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham2023 · film · 86 min · dir. Christopher Berkeley, Sam Liu · IMDb ↗IMDb6.1After a 20-year absence, Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham City. He discovers a doomsday cult planning to unleash ancient magic and demonic forces upon the city. Forced to become Batman once more, he battles these supernatural threats while struggling to resist the corrupting influence of the Old Gods. The film explores themes of sanity, fear, and the darkness that lurks within Gotham itself.
Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires2025 · film · 89 min · dir. Juan Jose Meza-Leon · IMDb ↗IMDb5.3A young Aztec boy experiences tragedy when his father is murdered by Spanish Conquistadors. Yohualli escapes to Tenochtitlan to warn King Moctezuma and his high priest, Yoka, of imminent danger.
The Adventures of Batman? · television series · 60 min · IMDb ↗IMDb7.3Bruce Wayne and his ward Dick Grayson become the dynamic duo Batman and Robin as they see the bat signal flash in the sky. Together, they help protect Gothem City from villains such as the Joker, Penguin, and Riddler.
Batman? · television series · 25 min · IMDb ↗IMDb7.5Wealthy entrepreneur Bruce Wayne (Adam West) and his ward Dick Grayson (Burt Ward) lead a double life: they are actually the crime-fighting duo Batman and Robin. A secret Batpole in the Wayne mansion leads to the Batcave, where Police Commissioner Gordon (Neil Hamilton) summons the Dynamic Duo on the Batphone with the latest emergency threatening Gotham City. Racing to the scene of the crime in the jet-powered Batmobile, Batman and Robin must (with the help of their trusty utility-belts) thwart the efforts of a rogues gallery of flamboyant archvillains, including The Joker (Cesar Romero), The Penguin (Burgess Meredith), The Riddler (Frank Gorshin) and the Catwoman (Julie Newmar and Eartha Kitt).
