# It Is Just Superman, Spiderman, Ironman: But It Is "The" Batman?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [July 24, 2008, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592 "2008-07-24T06:50:30Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/1 "2008-07-24T06:50:30Z")
Maybe I just never noticed this before, but when referring to superheroes who might someday appear in my backyard, why do they call all the others just by their superhero name (Superman, Spiderman, Ironman) but it is _The_ Batman in the recent film, instead of just Batman?
Has this always been the case, or just in the most recent movie?
What is with the “The” when talking about Batman, uh, I mean The Batman?
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### Author:  [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/2 "2008-07-24T06:55:17Z")
Well the recent cartoon is called The Batman but I dunno if the ‘the’ goes back further than that.
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### Author:  [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/3 "2008-07-24T06:58:02Z")
In Nolan’s Batman universe, Batman is still very new, unfamiliar, and mysterious to the people of Gotham. The “The” adds a bit of disconnect.
That’s my interpretation anyway.
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### Author:  [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/4 "2008-07-24T07:02:42Z")
Batman was originally referred to as The Bat-Man.
The hyphen was lost, but the definite article still sticks around. Sometimes.
Calling Kal-El The Superman would put a completely different spin on his character, too, of course.
It’s not just the Bat, though. The Flashes are almost always referred to as ‘The Flash’, rather than simply Flash (unless being addressed by someone who won’t use their personal name). Ditto the Blue Beetles. And the Huntress. And The Spirit. And over at Marvel, 3/4 of the Fantastic Four get a ‘the’ - The Invisible Woman, the Thing, and the Human Torch (granted, they’re MOSTLY called by their real names). And the Phoenix. The Black Panther. The Wasp.
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### Author:  [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/5 "2008-07-24T07:15:33Z")
When he first appeared in 1939, he was “The Bat-Man”. Not so much a name, as a description for this mysterious crime fighter of the night.
As he developed throught he '40s, he became a safer, more establishment figure – avuncular, even – and “Batman” was what he was called.
From the mid-sixties onwards, there have been successive moves to “return” the character to a darker, more serious portrayal, and this is usually signified by insisting on the definate article.
Broadly speaking, “Batman” is a costumed boy scout superhero who pals around with Robin and his other Super Chums, while “The Batman” is a brooding, dark, and mysterious vigilante who lurks on midnight rooftops.
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### Author:  [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/6 "2008-07-24T10:21:09Z")
[QUOTE=Tengu]
Batman was originally referred to as The Bat-Man.
The hyphen was lost, but the definite article still sticks around. Sometimes.
Calling Kal-El The Superman would put a completely different spin on his character, too, of course.
It’s not just the Bat, though. The Flashes are almost always referred to as ‘The Flash’, rather than simply Flash (unless being addressed by someone who won’t use their personal name). Ditto the Blue Beetles. And the Huntress. And The Spirit. And over at Marvel, 3/4 of the Fantastic Four get a ‘the’ - The Invisible Woman, the Thing, and the Human Torch (granted, they’re MOSTLY called by their real names). And the Phoenix. The Black Panther. The Wasp.
[/QUOTE]
And The Hulk.
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### Author:  [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/7 "2008-07-24T10:23:48Z")
Remember the old Spidey theme song? “Here comes the Spider-Man…”? The definite article is used in his case, though not very often.
And yes, there is a hyphen in his name.
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### Author:  [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/8 "2008-07-24T11:19:58Z")
Kal-El is also known as \*\*THE \*\*Man Of Steel
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### Author:  [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/9 "2008-07-24T11:25:52Z")
[QUOTE=WotNot]
Broadly speaking, “Batman” is a costumed boy scout superhero who pals around with Robin and his other Super Chums, while “The Batman” is a brooding, dark, and mysterious vigilante who lurks on midnight rooftops.
[/QUOTE]
Judging from the recent _The Batman_ cartoon, I think someone missed the memo.
(Quick hijack, I was complaining about that series to a friend a while back in the cafeteria. “Bruce Wayne was _smiling_!” “What, is he not allowed to have a little chuckle every now and again?” Everyone at the table–“No!”)
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### Author:  [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/10 "2008-07-24T12:52:28Z")
Ahh, the definite article and superhero/supervillain names.
Some of them never use it. (Superman, Wonder Woman)
Some of them use it sometimes. (Flash, Batman)
And some of them almost ALWAYS use it. (The Creeper. The Question. The Floronic Man.)
There seems to be little rhyme or reason, other than force of habit based on how the name was introduced. The most popular characters, though, tend to never/sometimes, not always. I think that’s because writers get tired of having to write ‘THE Hulk’ every time.
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### Author:  [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/11 "2008-07-24T13:07:12Z")
In one of the older Batman films, Michelle Pfieffer (before she was turned into the Catwoman by magical kitties) asked the Michael Keaton Batman the same question – "Is it Batman or THE Batman?’
He blew her off.
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### Author:  [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/12 "2008-07-24T13:37:35Z")
Superheroes with “THE” before their names don’t do press conferences.
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### Author:  [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/13 "2008-07-24T13:41:58Z")
Hasn’t Iron Man been referred to as “THE Iron Man” in recent comics? I read a TPB of recent Iron Man comics, and Tony Stark gives an interview in which he and the interviewer both, IIRC, refer either to the suit or the man in it as “the Iron Man”.
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### Author:  [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/14 "2008-07-24T14:18:30Z")
[QUOTE=Jayn\_Newell]
(Quick hijack, I was complaining about that series to a friend a while back in the cafeteria. “Bruce Wayne was _smiling_!” “What, is he not allowed to have a little chuckle every now and again?” Everyone at the table–“No!”)
[/QUOTE]
I think JL Unlimited Batman (which is just the latest version of the DCUA Batman, obviously) is the best take on Batman to date.
He is still grim and brooding, but all that time around friends that he respects (Supes, Martian Manhunter, GL, and his sweetie WW) has actually begun the healing process.
It is ok to smile and be driven at the same time. The ability to do both is evidence of complexity. Bale shows it in the films (“I’m going to tell them that it was YOUR idea!”), but the JLU Batman really developed it nicely.
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### Author:  [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/15 "2008-07-24T14:25:07Z")
[QUOTE=cmkeller]
Hasn’t Iron Man been referred to as “THE Iron Man” in recent comics? I read a TPB of recent Iron Man comics, and Tony Stark gives an interview in which he and the interviewer both, IIRC, refer either to the suit or the man in it as “the Iron Man”.
[/QUOTE]
Yeah but Stark puts an end to it when he declares “I am Ironman!” so it doesn’t count.
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### Author:  [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/16 "2008-07-24T15:21:20Z")
The Batman has been known to smile on many occasions.
Usually when a supervillain gets caught in one of his own deathtraps. Or when a mob boss gets gunned down.
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### Author:  [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/17 "2008-07-24T15:25:00Z")
… but it’s a \*grim \* smile…
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### Author:  [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/18 "2008-07-24T15:43:02Z")
See the last couple of pages in \*The Killing Joke \*for a real Batman laugh.
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### Author:  [@Erasmus\_Darwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erasmus_Darwin)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/19 "2008-07-24T16:34:31Z")
It’s also worth noting that a number of Lee/Kirby creations used the definite article as part of a “The (Adjective) (Proper Noun)” titling scheme for the comics:
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Incredible Hulk
The Invincible Iron Man
The Uncanny X-Men
While they were the titles of the comics, they also seemed to serve as more formal titles for the characters themselves.
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### Author:  [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)
#### Post date: [July 24, 2008, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/20 "2008-07-24T16:52:28Z")
David Letterman had a “Top Ten Batman Pet Peeves” 20-some years ago, and one of them was, “Jeez, it’s _The_ Batman, OK? Get it right, would you?”
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