Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. Batman was co-created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, although only Kane receives official credit. Batman has since become one of the world's most recognized superheroes.

Batman's secret identity is Bruce Wayne, a billionaire industrialist, playboy, and philanthropist. Witnessing the murder of his parents as a child leads him to train himself to the peak of physical and intellectual perfection, don a bat-themed costume, and fight crime. Unlike most superheroes, he does not possess superhuman powers or abilities; he makes use of intellect, detective skills, science and technology, wealth, physical prowess, and intimidation in his war on crime.

Batman is physically at the peak of human ability in dozens of areas, notably martial arts, acrobatics, strength, and escape artistry. Intellectually, he is just as peerless; Batman is one of the world's greatest scientists, criminologists, and tacticians, as well as a master of disguise. He is regarded as one of the DC Universe's greatest detectives. Rather than simply outfighting his opponents, Batman often uses cunning and planning to outwit them. In his identity as Bruce Wayne, he is also one of the world's foremost businessmen, making Wayne Industries into one of the wealthiest companies in the world.

He also abstains entirely from drinking alcohol, though he presents Bruce Wayne, his alter ego, as a borderline alcoholic (he creates this illusion by drinking ginger ale and pretending it is champagne). Batman's refusal to drink is directly linked to keeping his body in its absolute best physical condition.

Equipment

Batman designs or modifies the majority of costumes, equipment, and vehicles he uses as Batman, producing them through various divisions of Wayne Enterprises, including Kordtronics. At various times, characters such as Oracle, Harold, and Toyman III create, modify, or repair Batman's equipment. Additionally, sometimes Batman adapts or reverse-engineers the technology of other villains and heroes, such as Mister Terrific's T-spheres.

Over the years, Batman accumulates a large arsenal of specialized gadgets (compare with the later James Bond), the designs of which usually share a common theme of dark coloration and a bat motif. A notable example is Batman's primary vehicle, the Batmobile, usually depicted as an imposing black car with large tailfins that suggest a bat's wings; another is his chief throwing weapon, the batarang, a bat-shaped boomerang/throwing star. Batman's other vehicles include the Batplane (aka the Batwing), Batboat, Bat-Sub, and Batcycle.

In proper practice, the "bat" prefix (as in batmobile or batarang) is rarely used by Batman himself when referring to his equipment, particularly after some portrayals (primarily the 1960s Batman live-action television show and the Super Friends animated series) stretched the practice to camp proportions. The 1960s television series Batman has an arsenal that includes such ridiculous, satirical "bat-" names as the bat-computer, bat-scanner, bat-radar, bat-cuffs, bat-pontoons, bat-drinking water dispenser, bat-camera with polarized bat-filter, shark repellent bat-spray, and bat-rope. The storyline "A Death in the Family" suggests that given Batman's grim nature, he is unlikely to have adopted the "bat" prefix on his own.

Batman keeps most of his field equipment in a signature piece of apparel, a utility belt. Over the years it is shown to contain a virtually limitless variety of crimefighting tools. Different versions of the belt have these items stored in either pouches or hard cylinders attached evenly around it.

< In some of his early appearances, Batman uses side arms (see especially Detective Comics #32, September 1939), but he uses them less over time, later eschewing their use because a gun was used to murder his parents. Some stories relax this rule, allowing Batman to arm his vehicles for the purpose of disabling other vehicles or removing inanimate obstacles. In two stories, The Dark Knight Returns and The Cult, Batman used machine guns loaded with rubber bullets rather than live ammunition. In the 1989 Batman film, firearms figure more prominently in the Dark Knight's arsenal; machine guns and grenades are mounted on the Batmobile, and missiles and machine cannons on the Batwing.