# It Is Just Superman, Spiderman, Ironman: But It Is "The" Batman? **URL:** \ **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:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/21 "2008-07-24T17:26:03Z")
They mostly use the definite article at night. mostly ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/22 "2008-07-24T17:53:14Z")
You also have the Green Arrow, the Green Lantern, and the Black Canary. All of whose names work perfectly well without the definite article. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/23 "2008-07-24T18:26:26Z")
and yet, it’s never The Squirrel-Girl. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/24 "2008-07-24T18:33:26Z")
It’s only “The” Batman if he’s prepared… ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/25 "2008-07-24T18:56:20Z")
I had to consider this question at length for the Wiki for the online DCU RPG I’m involved in. Ultimately, the character pages with definite articles were : The Body Doubles The Demons Three The Royal Flush Gang - groups, not individuals. Don’t really count. The Calculator The Creeper The Eel The Fadeaway Man The Fiddler The Fisherman The Flash I The Flash III The Floronic Man The Joker The Mad Hatter The Penguin The Phantom Stranger The Question The Ray II The Riddler The Scarecrow The Shade The Spectre The Top Interestingly, the only true A-listers for whom I felt the definite article needed to be included are the two Flashes and the Joker. A notice a lot of B and C-list villains with definite articles, including a large subgroup of Batman rogues. I think my personal guideline is the sentence : “Of course he/she did. He’s/She’s \_\_\_\_\_\_\_.” Try plugging in the names to see if they feel right with and without the definite article. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2008, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/26 "2008-07-24T19:06:01Z")
[QUOTE=CandidGamera] …“Of course he/she did. He’s/She’s \_\_\_\_\_\_\_.” … [/QUOTE] **The 10-eyed Man** Yeah, you’re right. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/27 "2008-07-25T00:52:19Z")
[QUOTE=Erasmus Darwin] 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. [/QUOTE] Although they are of course not superheroes, most Harvey Comics characters also have a routine naming system for their characters/comic titles: (character name) the (adjective) (noun). Casper the Friendly Ghost, Richie Rich the Poor Little Rich Kid, Wendy the Good Little Witch, Spooky the Tuff Little Ghost, Hot Stuff the Li’l Devil, etc. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2008, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592/28 "2008-07-25T12:31:59Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] Although they are of course not superheroes, most Harvey Comics characters also have a routine naming system for their characters/comic titles: (character name) the (adjective) (noun). Casper the Friendly Ghost, Richie Rich the Poor Little Rich Kid, Wendy the Good Little Witch, Spooky the Tuff Little Ghost, Hot Stuff the Li’l Devil, etc. [/QUOTE] **Twinkles, the Trailer-Park Skank** That one didn’t do so well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-just-superman-spiderman-ironman-but-it-is-the-batman/457592.md?page=1)