Editing Batman (section)

==Allies==
Despite usually being portrayed as a socially awkward and bitter loner, Batman ironically has the largest "family" of trainees and spin-off heroes in DC comics, if not in comics as a whole:

* '''Alfred Pennyworth:''' Bruce Wayne's butler, ala Zorro's Bernardo but capable of hearing and speech. At first just a butler with a vague background in intelligence who figured out the secret himself, post-Crisis he raised Bruce after Thomas and Martha's death. His past has gradually been expanded since to the point he might as well be a retired James Bond. Occasionally plays Batman when Bruce needs to in two places at once, and often the voice of reason due to ''not'' being motivated by childhood trauma. Whenever Robin isn't part of the story, Alfred plays a much larger role so that Batman has a "Watson" figure to talk to for the benefit of the audience.

* '''Robin:''' The original Kid Sidekick, a brightly colored and cheerful youth who was introduced to add some contrast to the dark and brooding Batman. There have been at least ''five'' official Robins in mainstream continuity. While child sidekicks that aren't a character's biological child have largely gone away, Batman gets to keep his due how ancient and iconic Robin is.
** ''Dick Grayson:'' The original and for most people the most iconic Robin. Orphaned son of a circus acrobat family called the Flying Graysons, adopted by Batman and then became the first Robin. Eventually split to become an adult superhero named ''Nightwing''. Founder of the Teen Titans. The greatest acrobat in the "Batfamily", fan-favorite and bigger ladies' man than Batman proving "charm > money".
** ''Jason Todd:'' The second Robin, a former teen delinquent with a vicious streak who flirted with killing more than once. Fans found him unlikable and Batman writer Jim Starlin found the kid-sidekick idea absurd, so they had Joker beat him to a pulp with a crowbar and staged a call-in vote (inspired by an SNL sketch of all things) so the fans would take the heat. ("Kill" won by just 72 votes, and anyone who's been on 4chan long enough knows how easy polls are to rig.) Then he was brought back from the dead as a vengeful vigilante called the ''Red Hood'', who is kind of like DC's Punisher, except he doesn't have anybody on the staff trying to push him as a [[Humanity Fuck Yeah]] badass like Punisher does.
** ''Tim Drake:'' The third Robin, who originally was ''not'' an orphan and instead saw his Robin-ing as a part-time thing to snap Batman out of his funk after Jason Todd was killed. Then his parents were killed and he became Batman's ward and permanent Robin. Founder of the Young Justice team. Was rebooted slightly in the New 52, where the biggest change was that he always called himself by the seperate identity of ''Red Robin'' ([[Derp|yumm]]) whilst sidekicking for Batman before going independent to ''Drake''. Voted most likely to inherit the role of "World's Greatest Detective", able to deduce Batman's secret identity from his introduction.
** ''Stephanie Brown:'' Notable as the only female teen sidekick of Batman to go by Robin instead of Batgirl. Highly controversial becase she was treated with incredible unfairness by Batman, including literally only being recruited in an attempt to make Tim Drake jealous and return to being Robin, and then seemingly killed off.
** ''Damian Wayne:'' The most recent Robin, and Batman's biological son conceived with long time antagonist/love interest Talia al'Ghul, causing him to be raised by the murderous League of Assassins. Has a much more brutal attitude as a result, and is basically Jason 2.0 albiet with a much better excuse for being an asshole. You either love or hate the little shit.

* '''Batwoman:''' A female counterpart to Batman introduced in the Silver Age after some schmuck famously accused Batman and Robin of promoting homosexuality and pedophilia (though the way "ambiguously gay duo" has been memed up in more recent years suggests it was closer than some of his other crackpot claims). Katherine "Kathy" Kane was introduced as a woman so in love with Bruce Wayne that, having figured out he was Batman, she created her own female counterpart persona to his to try and woo him. Got killed off in the Bronze Age, practically as a footnote, and now the name is mostly known from the animated movie ''Mystery of the Batwoman''. Was brought back in 2006, reinvented as a lesbian soldier who was dishonorably discharged for her sexuality (which dates her immediately, since "don't ask, don't tell" was only US Army policy for around 20 years) and took up crime-fighting.

* '''Batgirl:''' Almost as long-running as the Robins have been the Batgirls, which are teenage female sidekicks of the Bat-family.
** ''Betty Kane:'' The original Batgirl (or "Bat-Girl", as she was called), she was the niece of Kathy Kane, aka Batwoman, and was introduced as DicK Grayson's would-be love interest. Dropped in the Bronze Age alongside her aunt, and hasn't really come back since.
** ''Barbara Gordon:'' The second Batgirl, the first to use the name without the hyphen, and the one everybody actually remembers. Daughter (sometimes niece) of Batman's ally, Police Commissioner James Gordon; created her own parody of Batman's costume for a masquerade ball, ended up using it and her acrobatic & judo training to take down a bunch of crooks who had attacked it. Thrilled by it all, she took up vigilantism herself. Had the longest run of any Batgirl, but was crippled by being shot in the back by the Joker in the 80s and became the heroic hacker and information broker ''Oracle''. Took up the cowl again after getting her spine healed in 2011 in one of the rare examples of comic book science ''not'' being ignored outside of the conflict of the issue.
** ''Helena Bertinelli:'' A mobster's daughter turned Punisher-style vigilante known as the ''Huntress''. She briefly took up the Batgirl mantle during the "No Man's Land" event, before Batman forced her to go back to being Huntress because he couldn't stomach her willingness to use lethal force.
** ''Cassandra Cain:'' Generally considered the second "real" Batgirl after Barbara Gordon. A mute assassin's daughter whose father brought her up to read body language with unparalleled skill, only for this to cause her first kill to so traumatize her that she foreswore killing ever again. Batman took her under his wing out of sympathy, making her the most Robin-like of the Batgirls.

*'''Commissioner Gordon:''' Gotham Police Chief, and one of the few people from the general public that Batman regularly interacts with (as Batman, anyway). Gordon's one of the few competent and noncorrupt detectives in the city, though his actual abilities tend to vary; in some cases guessing Batman's true identity but keeping it to himself since he knows how much the city needs him. Usually he's unaware that Barbara is Batgirl.

*'''Lucius Fox''': CEO of Wayne Enterprises, who takes care of the day-to-day business dealings to free up Bruce for his caped crusades. Depending on the story, Lucius is also actively involved in the Batman side of things, usually acting as Batman's version of Q and providing him with many of his gadgets.
[[File:Detective_Batman.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Their relationship summed up...]]
*'''[[Superman]]''': Even in pre-JLA stories, Batman and Superman would collaborate (and sometimes fought each other) several times, representing the two extremes of superhero; one who's an all-powerful superhuman, the other who's just an ordinary human but highly skilled with incredible intellect. Batman and Superman usually figure out each other's identities pretty quickly on their first meeting, and tackle problems that neither can handle on their own; they usually have a good personal relationship despite their obvious differences. In stories where the two share spotlight, Batman takes on more of a "detective" role so as not to strain disbelief by having him fighting the same things as Superman.