50 Reasons Why BATMAN Is The Greatest Superhero Ever

By Stuart W. Bedford / December 10, 2012

46. You Can't Fool Batman

D.C Super-Villainy 101: do not try to put the mind whammy on Batman. No memory-wipes, no illusionary worlds, no hallucinations and no psychic suggestions remain hidden from the Caped Crusader for long. He knows, and if he doesnt, he will. Its unclear to me whether he was trained in the mental arts, or whether his clarity of mind is just an inherent by-product of his superior will. Nevertheless its yet another notch in the Bat-post of ridiculously admirable, entirely human abilities.

47. Arkham Asylum

Batmans modern rogues gallery, unlike most others, tends to lean toward the criminally psychotic. Thats why Gotham Citys psychiatric institute is one of the most repeated locations in the Batman canon, after the Batcave and Wayne Manor of course (and maybe falling behind the GCPD too). Its a setting thats so rich in history and packed with forces of antagonism that entire stories can and have been told from within its walls. Not only does Arkham provide ready-made narrative material (a must in a long running serial that passes between writers) but the dilapidated asylum is also an image thats fairly ingrained in the horror genre, often acting in Batman as enticement for those readers with slightly more adult tastes.

48. He's As Deep Or As Shallow As You Want Him To Be

If youre a hardcore fan, and youve read from issue one then you obviously revere the Batman for a whole host of reasons. But if your only contact with the character has been a movie, animated series or a video game then chances are youll still hold him in similar esteem (unless youve only ever caught the two Joel Schumacher helmed Batman films, in which case Im amazed you even clicked this article, let alone read down this far, well done you!) Hes a deep enough character that he allows for academic study; you can go far beneath the surface and draw parallels to society, psychology and philosophy. But hes also accessible enough that he can be enjoyed just as fervently by much less interested parties.

49. Hes the Only DC Superhero that even Marvelites Struggle to Criticise

I had a conversation recently with a die-hard Marvel fan, who sneered at my preference for D.C. Comics. As is often the case in this situation, we had a little fan-boy tiff over whose label was better. In all honesty, his level of knowledge of both companies completely dwarfed my own and he made a compelling case for Marvel. He argued that D.Cs characters were flat when compared to Marvels and that in fact, many of D.Cs most popular concepts were pale, poorly interpreted imitations of Marvel originals. But surely you cant apply that to Batman? I rebutted. He shook his head, smiled and said Alright, Ill give you Batman. To me, that was close enough to victory.

50. He's The God Damned Batman

Nuff said.

So there we have at, weve scratched right to the bottom of this poor writers Bat-brain. Of course the true beauty of the Batman legacy is that it allows for so many different interpretations and each fan takes something a little different away based on what theyve read, watched or played. Well always entertain a discussion about Batman here at WhatCulture, so please do let us know if theres anything weve missed, or even if you just want to tell us that this articles rampant character bias made you vomit.