The Birth: A year after Superman entered the world, a man by the name of Bob Kane; who would later become a legend in the comic industry; created a masked superhero who personified fear and gave him the name of Batman. This new hero wore the attire potraying a bat, hence the name. Unlike Superman, the Batman was entirely human and solely relied on his fighting skills and the power of logical deduction, earning his place as a detective who'd do Sherlock Holmes proud. Batman first premiered in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939 and later in the revamped storyline in Detective Comics #407 - Batman: Year One

The Alter-Ego: When not masquerading as the Batman, he is Bruce Wayne; one of Gotham's richest men, biggest industrialists, and a great philanthropist. Handsome, young and rich, he is still single and has had many passionate women in his life.

The Legend: Since his parents untimely death in Gotham's dreaded "Crime Alley" Bruce Wayne has spent his life in pursuit of physical and mental perfection in order to wage an unrelenting war on crime. For the Batman, crimefighting is more of a crusade to avenge his parents death. After twelve years abroad, the twenty-five year old heir to the Wayne millions was sitting in the Manor one night after his first recon mission in Gotham when a bat came flying in through one of the windows. It was then he decided to take up the mantle of the bat.
Wayne later took young Dick Grayson under his wing who donned the first Robin costume.(See NightWing) The mask of Robin was later on passed on to Jason Todd and finally to Tim Drake; (See Robin) the newest Robin. Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred Pennyworth has been more of a father to him all these years and is one of Wayne's best friends. Besides his parents fortune, Wayne also inherited the Wayne Manor which stands atop a labranyth of caves. One of the caves, just below the manor is the headquarters of Batman's operations and is known as the Batcave.
When the Venom-fueled Bane (See Bane) destroyed Arkham Asylum and unleashed its inhabitants on an unwary Gotham, Bruce Wayne learned that his obsession might be more than he can endure. Driving himself past the point of exhaustion to capture Arkham's most dangerous inmates, Batman led himself right into the clutches of Bane, who had deduced his identity and invaded the sanctity of Wayne Manor and the Batcave. There, surrounded by all the trophies and weapons of his crusade, Bruce Wayne was defeated, his back broken and spirit destroyed. Crippled and wheelchair-bound, the humbled Wayne left Jean Paul Valley (see AZRAEL) his costume and began an arduous quest to regain his strength and the will to fight, including calling upon the beautiful but deadly Lady Shiva to retrain him in the fighting skills he had spent years mastering. Upon learning that Valley had become a darker, more violent version of Batman, Wayne returned to Gotham to reclaim the mantle of the Dark Knight forcibly. Shortly thereafter, Bruce Wayne departed Gotham once again, leaving the city's custodianship in the hands of his former partner Dick Grayson (See NightWing) for a time. When Wayne finally did return, it was for good, adopting a darker look and stronger arsenal to reflect the changes in body and mind Bane's attack had wrought upon him. Since that time, he has returned to the Gotham night and attempted to rebuild his life as both Bruce Wayne and Batman, in addition to reaffirming his relationships with Tim Drake (See Robin), Dick Grayson and Alfred. Make no mistake: Batman's mission is no less driven, but it is now tempered by a sense of his own fallibility and a realization that the war on Gotham's crime need not be fought alone.