# Is Batman a super hero? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-books-manga\ **Created:** [March 19, 2022, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365 "2022-03-19T23:59:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Loggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Loggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loggins)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2022, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/1 "2022-03-19T23:59:29Z")
I watched a Batman movie the other day, and i thought “superman is a super hero, batman is just a cunning, rich, spoiled, kung fu armored tech guy” Is there a qualicifation for being a super hero. I mean in the sense of marvel and dc. What is the written worded scribed truth? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2022, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/2 "2022-03-20T00:13:02Z")
He beat Darkseid, didn’t he? I mean, how much more qualification do you need? ---
**Author:** ![Loggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Loggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loggins)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2022, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/3 "2022-03-20T00:13:37Z")
Never heard of… ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2022, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/4 "2022-03-20T00:16:45Z")
There is certainly a segment of superheroes who don’t have inherent superpowers – usually it’s a matter of having access to high-level specialized technology, and/or being exceedingly highly trained in martial arts, investigative techniques, etc. Tony Stark/Iron Man (at least in the original iterations\*) is not dissimilar to Batman, in that he’s an insanely rich dude with access to high tech (and has mental issues). The major differences are that Stark isn’t a martial artist, and his armor is a lot better, but regardless, he is certainly a superhero. In both Marvel and DC, there are definitely different “power levels” of superhero – in Marvel, for example, there are heroes like Daredevil, Black Widow, Captain America, etc. who are absolutely more capable than street-level thugs (or the police or “mundane” soldiers) – they’re sometimes referred to as “street-level superheroes.” Batman (and Spider-Man) are probably at the higher end of street-level superheroes. On the other extreme, there are heroes like Captain Marvel, Hulk, Thor, Superman, Wonder Woman etc., who have extremely high levels of ability, and in some cases, can be nearly limitless. Even so, they’re all superheroes. \*- In the comics, in recent decades, Stark implanted himself with nanites, died and was resurrected, etc., and some of his powers may be “inherent” now. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2022, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/5 "2022-03-20T00:18:44Z")
The way superhero is used today mostly implies implausible abilities and/or tools rather than just superpowers, so I think Batman qualifies. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2022, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/6 "2022-03-20T00:18:47Z")
> [@Loggins](#): > > Never heard of… Darkseid? He’s a big bad in the DC universe, a god-like being, and pretty much the DC analogue to Marvel’s Thanos. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2022, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/7 "2022-03-20T00:21:08Z")
> [@Loggins](#): > > Never heard of… Here you go 🙂 [![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/ak2e_j2Np5tfr46xwWHgyBFulyt4ub0Mxw_KKUKTThJqDCRyz-nzAV-6peQdF3yxfMdKiON3BStv=s1600) ](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/ak2e_j2Np5tfr46xwWHgyBFulyt4ub0Mxw_KKUKTThJqDCRyz-nzAV-6peQdF3yxfMdKiON3BStv=s1600) ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2022, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/8 "2022-03-20T00:23:26Z")
What I loved about Batman as a kid, is that he’s human, without any “powers”. I could never hope to be Superman (unless my folks were secretly Kryptonian… hmmm…). But I had a chance at being Batman, as long as I had decades of training, physically and mentally, and tons of money and high-tech toys. Oh, and a deep-seated psychosis from watching my parents gunned down… (sorry, mom and dad, it’s for the greater good). **So I guess I’d say he’s a super hero without being “super”.** When you talk about the meme that goes “Who wins in a fight? Batman or Superman?” “Batman, if he’s prepared.” Well, he’s always prepared… I love the fact that human detective skills and training are a match for any “super powers”. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2022, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/9 "2022-03-20T00:32:57Z")
Batman is a defining example of the category of superheroes. If he doesn’t fit your definition of “superhero”, that’s a flaw in your definition, not in Batman. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > In both Marvel and DC, there are definitely different “power levels” of superhero – in Marvel, for example, there are heroes like Daredevil, Black Widow, Captain America, etc. who are absolutely more capable than street-level thugs (or the police or “mundane” soldiers) – they’re sometimes referred to as “street-level superheroes.” Batman (and Spider-Man) are probably at the higher end of street-level superheroes. I don’t think that’s quite right… Spider-Man is unambiguously more powerful than Captain America: Cap is “peak human”, so he can lift as much as the strongest normal human, run as fast as the fastest normal human, etc. But Spider-Man can throw a bus, and can climb walls and shoot webs, things that no human can do. Despite this, however, Spider-Man is, I would say, clearly a street-level superhero, while Captain America is not: Spider-Man spends most of his time stopping muggers and the like, but Captain America is an Avenger, and faces off against threats to the entire planet. “Street-level” isn’t a statement about your powers; it’s about what you choose to do with them. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2022, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/10 "2022-03-20T00:40:02Z")
> [@digs](#): > > What I loved about Batman as a kid, is that he’s human, without any “powers”. Yep – Batman is both physically and mentally a highly able and trained (and badly damaged) normal human, with access to resources most people don’t have, but not _inherently_ (either by birth, mutation or direct augmentation) superhuman. Go back to Golden/Silver Age and the costume was a costume, not a battlesuit. Old Time Batman stayed towards the masked palladin/costumed crimefighter end of the spectrum, with the Lone Ranger, Phantom or Zorro, or maybe the Green Hornet. With time, Bats began getting a lot of face time by the side of the superhumans and the schtick became that he was so clever that even the superhumans could not beat him “if he’s prepared”, so he became their peer. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2022, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/11 "2022-03-20T00:43:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > “Street-level” isn’t a statement about your powers; it’s about what you choose to do with them. Yeah. Street-level essentially means vigilante. Other superheroes are either souped up versions of James Bond or messiah-like saviors. And some are just admirable monsters. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2022, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/12 "2022-03-20T00:46:09Z")
> [@Loggins](#): > > “superman is a super hero, batman is just a cunning, rich, spoiled, kung fu armored tech guy” That’s kind of what “Kick-Ass” was all about wasn’t it? Here were a bunch of people who had the outfits, they had the concept, they had the attitude, they just didn’t have the superpowers. The only real superpower anyone had was being rich and being able to afford weapons and tech and henchmen, and of course only the bad guy had that. What made one group heroes and another villains was merely their motivation. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2022, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/13 "2022-03-20T01:38:16Z")
“Superhero”, BTW, as a term has be jointly trademarked by DC and Marvel, so Spawn, Invincible and the Flaming Carrot are not superheroes. In my understanding, “superhero” means a good guy with either superpowers or abilities/equipment/knowledge beyond the realm of the average man. Batman’s money, training and equipment qualify him. Even Lois Lane-Kent and Jimmy Olsen qualify if the writer’s putting the emphasis on their experiences. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2022, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/14 "2022-03-20T01:49:31Z")
[Homer weighs in 😄 :](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfwFrXcMU9w&ab_channel=1992CityChamps) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2022, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/15 "2022-03-20T02:21:24Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > “Superhero”, BTW, as a term has be jointly trademarked by DC and Marvel, so Spawn, Invincible and the Flaming Carrot are not superheroes. I have a (non-DC, non-Marvel) collection of Mandrake The Magician comics, published with a big notice that he’s “THE COMIC WORLD’S FIRST CRIME-FIGHTING SUPER-HERO!” Is the hyphen a separate hair-splitting question? ---
**Author:** ![Loggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Loggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loggins)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2022, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/16 "2022-03-20T09:51:18Z")
Hehe, there’s always Bartman 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2022, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/17 "2022-03-20T13:22:32Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > > [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > > > “Superhero”, BTW, as a term has be jointly trademarked by DC and Marvel, so Spawn, Invincible and the Flaming Carrot are not superheroes. > > I have a (non-DC, non-Marvel) collection of Mandrake The Magician comics, published with a big notice that he’s “THE COMIC WORLD’S FIRST CRIME-FIGHTING SUPER-HERO!” > > Is the hyphen a separate hair-splitting question? The legislating copyrighting “Superhero” as a trademark happened in 1979. If your collection was made earlier than that, it wasn’t a problem. If later, then it would be in violation, but if Mandrake is owned by Time-Warner or Disney (I haven’t looked), then the parent company wouldn’t press charges. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2022, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/18 "2022-03-20T13:28:34Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > The legislating copyrighting “Superhero” as a trademark happened in 1979. If your collection was made earlier than that, it wasn’t a problem. If later, then it would be in violation, but if Mandrake is owned by Time-Warner or Disney (I haven’t looked), then the parent company wouldn’t press charges Later — it’s a 2016 collection of comics from the 1930s — and AFAICT it mentions being published by Titan Comics while attributing Mandrake’s copyright to King Features. So maybe the hyphen _is_ doing all the work? ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2022, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/19 "2022-03-20T13:50:43Z")
No, the legislation makes it clear that “super-hero” and variant spellings are not considered legally distinct from “superhero”. If they got away with it, it’s probably because the comics are reprints from a time before the trademark went into effect. I am not a copyright lawyer, though, so it could be something else. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2022, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/20 "2022-03-20T15:40:21Z")
If you fired a grappling hook and swung from rooftop to rooftop you would dislocate both your shoulders. Batman did that three times this morning just to make a board meeting. He’s a superhero. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365.md?page=2)