Batman vs. The Ppl of Gotham

[MaMiSoOfLy]

Alright,you can say that i'm only saying this because i already know that "batman" = "bruce wayne" - BUT i've thought about it and Batman leaves waaayyy too many clues that shows he has alot of money.ALOT!
How many people do you know (in Gotham) that freakin' rich?!! I mean really! He has the "Batmobile" and all those gadgets on his belt and all anyone would really have to do is follow him back to the batcave. I guess what i'm asking is how the people of Gotham couldn't see what his true ident. was?

[thethinker]

Isn't Gotham supposed to be the size of New York or Chicago? A city that size always has a LOT of rich people because of its sheer numbers.

[Super Hero Guy]

I also find it hard to believe people didn't notice that Robin appeared at the same time Dick did...

[Radical]

Alright,you can say that i'm only saying this because i already know that "batman" = "bruce wayne" - BUT i've thought about it and Batman leaves waaayyy too many clues that shows he has alot of money.ALOT!
How many people do you know (in Gotham) that freakin' rich?!! I mean really! He has the "Batmobile" and all those gadgets on his belt and all anyone would really have to do is follow him back to the batcave. I guess what i'm asking is how the people of Gotham couldn't see what his true ident. was?

Hey, that reminded me of a funny idea for a comic scene I had once:

A mysterious new vigilante moves into Gotham. He breaks into Bruce Wayne's office, and the following conversation takes place:

NEW GUY: So, Mr. Wayne...we finally meet.

BRUCE: (in a half-Bruce, half-Bats get-the-hell-out-of-my-office tone) Who the hell are you?

NEW GUY: Now that would be telling. I have secrets to keep, as do you.

BRUCE: What are you talking about?

The new guy paces as he speaks.

NEW GUY: I've been doing my homework, Mr. Wayne. First off, I know about the murder of your parents. That would be induce someone to wage a war on crime. I've also managed to take a close look at the engine used by the Batmobile. It looks strikingly similar to the jet engines produced by Wayne Industries. Oh, and Batman's gotta be loaded or something to afford all that fancy high-tech crap, and since he's a crimefighter I doubt he'd resort to stealing it even if he could...and you're one of the wealthiest folks in town.

BRUCE: Make your point.

And now the punchline:

NEW GUY: There's just one question I wanna ask...how much does the Bat-gig pay? :D

[Fallman]

Actually, I think that Batman might consider hiring the guy, assuming that he is moral and combetent enough. He's already got good qualifications for joining the Bat crew if he figured all that out.

[Guts/Batman]

I wonder myself what would happen if Commissioner Akins (or Atkins I can't remember) found out that Batman= Bruce Wayne.

I am very interested to find out what Bat family will take Batman to task publicly next month.

[Poltrgeyst]

For those in Gotham who believe there even IS a Batman, there has been some speculation that he is well funded. I believe it was once insinuated (a passing comment that was not explored) that Bruce Wayne may be funding Batman. But to most people, the idea Bruce and Bats are one and the same is ludicrous.

I mean, it's like considering Jim Brueur could be Batman.

[1HELLBOY]

For those in Gotham who believe there even IS a Batman, there has been some speculation that he is well funded. I believe it was once insinuated (a passing comment that was not explored) that Bruce Wayne may be funding Batman. But to most people, the idea Bruce and Bats are one and the same is ludicrous.

I mean, it's like considering Jim Brueur could be Batman.


Exactly. That's the whole point of the Bruce Wayne persona. He acts like a rich jackass so to distance himself from his OTHER persona.

[Guts/Batman]

Plus he has more than enough people on hand to dress up as Batman and just stand there like a shadow.

Hell, even Alfred has donned the suit before.

And with Prodigal where Bruce goes away but Batman is still there, would be further evidence that he is not Batman.

[IamtheRock3]

Going by bruce Wayner persoan

It be like thinking Paris Hilton is The Huntress


Or Ozzie Ozzborn is The Golden Age Green Lantern

[Lorendiac]

I also find it hard to believe people didn't notice that Robin appeared at the same time Dick did...

For what it's worth, in the early 70s, when Denny O'Neil invented Ra's al Ghul, he had him walk into Bruce's home and make it clear that he had already figured out who Batman and Robin really were from various available clues (including looking for the rich man in Gotham who bought for personal use everything that a well-equipped, hi-tech "Batman" crimefighter could possibly need).

Many years later, when Marv Wolfman invented Tim Drake, he likewise had Tim walk up to Dick Grayson and make it clear that he had already figured out from information that was publicly available who Batman and the first and second Robins were.

And for almost 20 years now, beginning with Miller's "Year 1" I think, there have been frequent hints that Jim Gordon developed very strong suspicions about Batman's secret identity very early on, but carefully refrained from ever confronting Bruce Wayne directly with his suspicions. (Possibly so that Gordon can, if necessary, swear in court: "No, sir, I don't know who Batman really is. I refuse to voice any unproven suspicions I may have because they might make life miserable for an innocent man - and I don't know beyond a reasonable doubt anything about Batman's personal life when he's not wearing his costume."

So some characters have actually been allowed to demonstrate to us that yes, it is possible to unravel the mystery of Batman's secret identity if you try hard enough - including the way the departures of Dick (moved to New York), Jason (died), etc., seem to coincide with the appearances and disappearances of different Robins :)

(Bane figured out Bruce was Batman after one look at Bruce, but I call that cheating on the writer's part.)

[Alan2099]

For those in Gotham who believe there even IS a Batman, there has been some speculation that he is well funded.

The idea that people don't know there's a Batman is just plain dumb. He's been on TV, his had a big shiny symbol lighting up the sky, Bane public tossed him around, Batman has been seen. People know he exists.

The whole super hero as an urban myth doesn't last long for high profile and active heroes like Batman.

[Lorendiac]

The idea that people don't know there's a Batman is just plain dumb. He's been on TV, his had a big shiny symbol lighting up the sky, Bane public tossed him around, Batman has been seen. People know he exists.

The whole super hero as an urban myth doesn't last long for high profile and active heroes like Batman.

Well, Denny O'Neil's excuse about the Bat-Signal was that it was just a propaganda device used by the cops to scare cowardly, superstitious criminals (or rather, that was what Jim Gordon sometimes claimed). But you left out the part about Batman driving around the streets of Gotham inside his fancy Batmobile. I don't know how they explained that :)

I agree with you in principle that it was a dumb idea on O'Neil's part. A year or so ago, I wrote a long post about that, and I think I expressed the opinion in it that if a writer wants to do a story arc in which Batman's existence is not publicly known to be a good, solid fact, then the writer can do what Miller did in Year 1 - have it all happen sometime in the first year or two of Batman's career, when he was just getting started and had not been a member of the JLA, had not yet been mentioned in court a zillion times as the guy who arrested one villain or another, had not yet had a Robin running around in a colorful costume that catches the eye, etc.

[Guts/Batman]

About the Batmobile, who else in Gotham has 29 foot cars? ;)

[dancj]

It be like thinking Paris Hilton is The Huntress


Isn't the Paris Hilton a hotel?

[trickster]

Isn't the Paris Hilton a hotel?

Well that's one hotel I'd want to get into :p