Batfam versus Batman

When most people think of Batman they think of Christian Bale and a deep gravelly “I’m Batman” from Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. In this, Bruce Wayne is incredibly self-sufficient, denying help and support from his trusted friends. The “I work alone” mentality is the furthest interpretation from comic canon as possible. Sadly, it’s also the one most commonly associated with this 78-year-old character.

Many who have picked up a Batman comic over the past couple decades have been surprised to find characters that don’t readily exist in the public consciousness. When it comes to his allies, his family (yes, one of the world’s most famous orphans has a family), you likely have never heard of anyone outside of Robin and maybe Batgirl and Alfred.

These characters are just as, if not more, important in the grand scheme of things. They add diversity to titles dominated by men with black hair and blue eyes.

For instance, the first appearance of Robin the Boy Wonder was in April 1940, just a year after Batman’s first appearance. Dick Grayson was a circus acrobat who witnessed his parents’ death in an eerie reflection of Batman’s own origin. The writers of the comic found the addition of a second character allowed for better storytelling, in particular explaining the details of the mysteries the two solved in their title aptly named Detective Comics.

Over the years, Grayson’s character has grown and evolved. He has partnered with various heroes and teams to become the lynchpin of the DC universe, becoming a hero known as Nightwing while Robin has become a legacy. In the past few years Dick Grayson has donned the mantle of Batman himself, been an international spy a la James Bond, and been confirmed as having Romani heritage.

The most recent Robin, Damian Wayne, is the son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul. Damian is not only Bruce’s only blood son, he is also half Arabic and was raised with English as a second language. His mother helps to run the villain group the League of Assassins, and she raised Damian in a compound in the Middle East until he was eight and first introduced to Gotham.

The Batgirls each offer a sense of diversity as well. The third Batgirl, Stephanie Brown, was originally the vigilante Spoiler before being given the role of Robin by her then boyfriend Tim Drake. This makes her the only female Robin as Carrie Kelley’s Robin is not a part of the canonical timeline.

The original Batgirl, Barbara Gordon, is the daughter of the police commissioner, and thanks to that she was shot through the spine by the Joker. This paralyzed her from the waist down. The character then expressed symptoms of PTSD during and after her recovery but never let being confined to a wheelchair limit her. She used her photographic memory and computer skills to become the information broker Oracle. As Oracle she continued to train and was recognized as a highly skilled fighter.

Her successor to the Batgirl mantle was Cassandra Cain; a temporarily mute, illiterate, east-Asian girl. Cass was raised without any form of language but that of body language by an abusive father. His goal was to create the perfect assassin but her empathy outweighed her training and she ran away. Upon her introduction she was mute and could not understand spoken words, though that was eventually changed. Throughout her time as Batgirl she was illiterate and staunchly refused offers’ offers to teach her how to read.

Another amazing female character is Kate Kane, Batwoman, who is Bruce’s estranged cousin. She was kicked out of West Point for admitting she was a lesbian, but upon returning to Gotham she took up the vigilante identity and began dating GCPD detective Renee Montoya. Additionally, Kate is Jewish and is shown celebrating Hanukkah in the 2016 DC Holiday Special and kicking Nazi butt in the exceptionally pro-LGBT+ DC Comics Bombshells.

A more recent addition to both the main Detective Comics title and the Bombshells is Dr. Victoria October, a trans woman. Also featuring in both Bombshells and the current Batgirl title is another trans woman, Alysia Yeoh, who talks about her transition in the early 2011 issues as well as being misgendered in the most recent issue.

Other more recent additions to the “batfam” include Harper Row and Bluebird. Harper is an ardent supporter of LGBT+ rights, as her younger brother Cullen is gay and it was revealed last fall that she is bisexual. It has been hinted in recent issues that she may soon be in a relationship with Cassandra.

Like Harper, Duke Thomas is another character created in the controversial reboot New 52. Duke is an African American teen who led a group of other teenaged vigilantes known as the Robins during Damian’s short-lived death. Following an attack by the Joker that left his parents in the hospital, Bruce took Duke in as a ward and offered him the ability to train and fight beside Batman as well as wear a suit of his own. Though he doesn’t have an official hero name at this time, many readers have taken to calling him Lark.

Some pre-boot characters who are still an essential part to Batman’s success are the Fox Family. Lucius Fox is played by Morgan Freeman in the Christopher Nolan movies and is the most canonical element of the entire trilogy. Lucius is the backbone of Wayne Enterprises while the owners gallivant across the globe and galaxy. Two of his daughters also help keep the company running and one, Tam, helped Tim Drake in his search for Batman in the pre-New 52 Red Robin run. Lucius’s son Luke went one step farther and built a robotic suit to become the hero Batwing, on top of running his own company.

Other allies worth a google include Jason Todd/Red Hood, Tim Drake/Red Robin, Alfred Pennyworth, Jean-Paul Valley/Azrael, Selina Kyle/Catwoman, and Police Commissioner James Gordon. Also worth your time is the new Lego Batman movie.

The supporting characters of the Batman comics provide intricate familial relationships, representation, and just good stories.

This is why when anyone asks me what I like about Batman, I say his kids.