10 Things Everyone Always Gets Wrong About Batman

8. Bruce Wayne Is The Real Mask

Bruce Wayne might be a lot of things - a billionaire, a philanthropist, or even a father - but he's not a facade for something sinister. There's a clear delineation between his public persona, which primarily exists to deflect suspicion from his nightly activities and rally Gotham together, and his private one, which - although reticent - is every bit as human as the rest of us.

Throughout his history, Batman has been depicted as both a force of nature (see, Miller's Dark Knight Returns), and as a decidedly more human vigilante. Whether you see him as something supernatural, or rather natural, is irrelevant next to the character's psychology however. Bruce Wayne and Batman cohabit to be the force they are, and while attempts have been made to reappraise that dichotomy in order to marginalise Bruce's role in the character's development, it's clear as day to see that he's just as important - if not more so - than the Bat itself.

Bruce Wayne might be a man of two halves, but none is more dominant than the other. He's a civilian by day, and a crimefighter by night. You can't separate either of them, without taking something away.