Batman (originally referred to as “the Bat-Man” and still referred to at times as “the Batman”) is a fictional comic book superhero co-created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger (although only Kane receives official credit) and published by DC Comics. His true identity is Bruce Wayne, a wealthy industrialist, playboy, and philanthropist. Witnessing the murder of his parents as a child leads him to train to the peak of physical and intellectual perfection and don a bat-themed costume in order to fight crime. Unlike many other superheroes, Batman does not possess any superpowers; he makes use of intellect, detective skills, technology, physical prowess, and intimidation in his war on crime. A cultural icon, Batman has been licensed and adapted into a variety of media, from radio to television and film, and appears on a variety of merchandise sold all over the world.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Batman" and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.