# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/61 "2022-03-22T10:28:48Z")
I should have mentioned the name (sorry!) ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/62 "2022-03-22T12:35:38Z")
But as the article also says (in the answer to the third “Q”), you can use the word “superhero” to refer to a super-powered character _within the story_. So your hero can call himself a superhero, and other characters can refer to him as a superhero. You just can’t use the word “superhero” in the title of the comic book. So all those costumed super-powered characters published by companies like Image and Malibu and Dark Horse and Valiant and so forth are superheroes. Which makes sense, because what else would they be? The various companies just can’t publish them in books whose titles contain the word “superhero.” ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/63 "2022-03-22T14:26:05Z")
That’s even weirder than the “Captain Marvel”/“Shazam” issue. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/64 "2022-03-22T15:01:38Z")
I always looked at it like this- “superhero” is basically a catch-all term for the protagonists of comic books, cartoons and other media, regardless of what some copyright says. I mean, people will call “The Punisher” a superhero, just like they will Tony Stark, Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, or Arthur Curry. There probably needs to be a subdivision of the category for superheroes with and without super powers, as there’s a clear difference between Superman/Clark Kent, and Batman/Bruce Wayne in their capability and methods. ---
**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 22, 2022, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/65 "2022-03-22T16:25:25Z")
> [@bump](#): > > There probably needs to be a subdivision of the category for superheroes with and without super powers, as there’s a clear difference between Superman/Clark Kent, and Batman/Bruce Wayne in their capability and methods. The part that intrigues me, though, is that Daredevil built his costumed persona around acting like he has no superpowers while physically doing stuff that, say, Dick Grayson could do — moving like a circus acrobat, and hitting like some kind of ninja prizefighter, and, well, that’s about it — even as The Phantom pointedly carries on the family business as The Man Who Cannot Die: terrifying criminals with the ‘Ghost Who Walks’ act just like his father and grandfather and great-grandfather and so on have for centuries. So the superpowered one presents himself as a do-gooder with the capability and methods of a masked athlete, while the opposite does the opposite… ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/66 "2022-03-22T16:33:03Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > So the superpowered one presents himself as a do-gooder with the capability and methods of a masked athlete, while the opposite does the opposite… Reminds me of something I read on Twitter a while back > > if i was new and you told me that theres a superhero who’s blind and uses echolocation to fight and one who’s an adrenaline junkie who flies around using gadgets and that one is called batman and one is called daredevil i would punch you in the face if i found out which was which ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/67 "2022-03-22T17:11:57Z")
I personally think that characters who have actually powers are Super Heroes. Unfortunately characters like Batman have the secret power of plot armor. Let’s be honest here, even the most well trained athlete in the world wouldn’t be able to do what Batman does. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/68 "2022-03-22T17:27:18Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > But as the article also says (in the answer to the third “Q”), you can use the word “superhero” to refer to a super-powered character _within the story_ . So your hero can call himself a superhero, and other characters can refer to him as a superhero. You just can’t use the word “superhero” in the title of the comic book. It’s not a Superhero if it doesn’t come from DC or Marvel region of comic publishing. Otherwise, it’s just a sparkling pulp character. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/69 "2022-03-22T17:35:29Z")
Is nobody going to say Mystery Men? > **[Mystery Men (1999) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0132347/)** > > Mystery Men: Directed by Kinka Usher. With Hank Azaria, Janeane Garofalo, William H. Macy, Kel Mitchell. A group of inept amateur superheroes must try to save the day when a supervillain threatens to destroy a major superhero and the city. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/70 "2022-03-22T21:43:18Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > I personally think that characters who have actually powers are Super Heroes. Unfortunately characters like Batman have the secret power of plot armor. Let’s be honest here, even the most well trained athlete in the world wouldn’t be able to do what Batman does. That’s why Superman is a more believable character than Batman. As Oscar Wilde said, “Man can believe the impossible, but man can never believe the improbable.” ---
**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 22, 2022, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/71 "2022-03-22T22:22:35Z")
The MMORPG City of Heroes makes it nice and simple: If you’re registered with the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs, then you’re a hero (they don’t use the word “superhero”, presumably because of the silly trademark), and so are allowed to act under the Citizen Crimefighters Act. And every hero has an origin, one of Technology, Science, Mutation, Magic, or Natural. That angsty rich guy whose parents were murdered and who’s super-highly-trained, and whose company funded R&D for all of his crimefighting gadgets (because of COURSE there’s a dude meeting that description)? He’s a Natural Hero. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/72 "2022-03-22T22:58:13Z")
I love that movie. A terrific example of lampooning and being serious at the same time. ---
**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 22, 2022, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/73 "2022-03-22T23:23:37Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And every hero has an origin, one of Technology, Science, Mutation, Magic, or Natural. That angsty rich guy whose parents were murdered and who’s super-highly-trained, and whose company funded R&D for all of his crimefighting gadgets (because of COURSE there’s a dude meeting that description)? He’s a Natural Hero. And that strange visitor from another planet, who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men — I take it he’s a Natural Hero, too? ---
**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 22, 2022, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/74 "2022-03-22T23:41:13Z")
That’s something of a point of contention in the game canon-- On the one hand, the description of the “Natural” origin explicitly states that natural heroes have no powers beyond those of normal humans, but on the other hand, there’s a whole large class of heroes (which is an option for players) that get their powers from symbiosis with an alien, and when they were first introduced, those heroes couldn’t choose any origin other than “natural”. Of course, the game also lets you create a character who’s constantly spewing radioactive fire all around them, and assign them the “natural” origin, so maybe it’s best just to not ask such questions. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2022, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/75 "2022-03-22T23:50:50Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > And that strange visitor from another planet, who came to Earth with powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men — I take it he’s a Natural Hero, too? 'Cause you make me feel You make me feel You make me feel like a natural hero (hero!) ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/76 "2022-03-23T00:26:33Z")
Isn’t Batman supernaturally smart, or at least supernaturally prepared? Brian ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/77 "2022-03-23T00:34:47Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > Isn’t Batman supernaturally smart, or at least supernaturally prepared? No on both counts. He’s very smart, even genius level, but it’s more of a Sherlock Holmes thing than a Tony Stark thing. He’s good at observation and deduction, but is not a super scientist, and doesn’t build his own gadgets. As far as preparedness goes, while some stories admittedly show him with a level of preparation that should be impossible without some sort of precognition, that’s just bad writing, and not an officially enumerated super power. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/78 "2022-03-23T00:53:05Z")
Should have added a 😉 after prepared, as I was referencing the meme “who would win Batman or [insert name]”, Batman if he’s prepared. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/79 "2022-03-23T01:16:11Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > doesn’t build his own gadgets That’s modern, because for the first several decades he definitely built his own gadgets. DC used to build whole issues around him coming up with a new batmobile or batplane or batarang or utility belt. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2022, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365/80 "2022-03-23T01:23:18Z")
For certain definitions of “modern,” maybe. Lucius Fox has been Batman’s tech guy since the '80s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-batman-a-super-hero/961365.md?page=5)