That's the title that Batman has been given since the early years, probably owing to the comic book he headlines being called Detective Comics. We're still fond of the theory that Bruce Wayne, narcissist, gave himself that title (full disclosure: it's a theory we came up with), because we can't see that he would've earned it through his own actions. There are countless classic storylines that see the Caped Crusader acting like the pulp heroes he was inspired by, doing legit detective work and piecing together mysteries that are beyond the investigations of the Gotham City Police Department. You wonder where those regular cops would be were it not for the interventions of The Bat. But think about those iconic Batman moments, those celebrated graphic novels and feted collections of stand out arcs. How many of them are about Bruce Wayne putting that big brain to good use? At times he fails to reach the levels of Miss Marple, let alone Sherlock Holmes. His usual answer to solving crimes is hitting things, or shooting (non-lethal, natch) weapons out of one of his novelty Bat-Vehicles, or remember the time he put on a Kyrptonite ring and totally knocked out Superman? That was awesome! Plus he absolutely can't hold that title when Sherlock Holmes is alive and well in mainstream DC continuity. We're not sure if this has changed following the New 52 universal reboot that happened a couple of years ago (it's a massive headache, don't get us started) but there's an actual Batman comic that sees the Caped Crusader teaming up with Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous creation, who puts his surprisingly sprightly appearance down to quitting smoking.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
