Chapter Text
Why this guide?
The purpose of this guide is NOT to restrict people to canon. The purpose of this guide is NOT to attack fanon. Far from it! This guide is intended to EXPAND the possibilities, by connecting you readers to resources to find the Batman lore that you want.
If being a Batman fan is like being on a cooking show, then my goal is to provide a wide selection of ingredients. It's up to you to decide what you want to cook and eat!
Maybe you want to make a hearty soup. Maybe you want to make an ice cream monstrosity. Maybe you don't like the ingredients in canon, so you bring your own ingredients from home.
In this guide
- Intro + Some Helpful Appendices (YOU ARE HERE)
- Why this guide?
- In this guide
- Adaptations recommendations
- Intro to comics
- Timelines
- Fanon vs canon
- Other stuff
- Metatext and tagging — how to tag your fan works
- Character profiles
- Comics and adaptations recommendations
- Recommendations are generally listed in suggested order--however, you may pick up your preferred stories in your preferred order! Skip whatever you find unenjoyable.
- Biographies + official profiles
- Writing tips
- Quotes
- Trivia
- Birthdays
- Comics and adaptations recommendations
- Locations + maps
- Wayne Manor
- Batcave
- Gotham neighborhoods
- Wayne Tower
- Iceberg Longue
- East End
- Park Row (also known as "Crime Alley")
- Brideshead
- The Bowery
- Ace Chemicals
- Coventry
- The Hill
- The Narrows
- Arkham Asylum
- Blackgate Penitentiary
- Hall of Justice
- Justice League Watchtower
- Other stuff
- Nicknames
- [more to be added]
*Note
This guide is under construction. This guide is biased and abridged, not an exhaustive or impartial resource. The chapters may be shuffled into different orders.
If there is something you'd like to see, leave questions or suggestions in the comments. A kind soul might help to connect us with resources, or I might update this guide with the relevant information.
Adaptations: solid, focused, beginner-friendly stories
"Eh, I don't want to read the comics." Cool! There is PLENTY of other stuff for you to enjoy!
Batman movie, cartoon, and video game adaptations are very beginner-friendly, and often have more polished stories than the comics. The drawback is that Batman's protégés do not appear as frequently. Also: some characters (such as Damian Wayne and Tim Drake) tend to be so drastically changed that they barely resemble their original comics selves.
- Batman (1966) - Pure corny comedy goodness, starring Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson. The character Barbara Gordon was created for this show.
- The Batman (2004 animated series)
- The Lego Batman Movie - Yes. Features Batman, Alfred, Robin the first, and Barbara Gordon as both Commissioner Gordon II and Batgirl.
- Batman: The Animated Series - Amazing. Starring Batman, extensively featuring the rogues gallery, and also featuring Nightwing, Batgirl (Barbara Gordon), and Robin II. Also check out the rest of the DC Animated Universe, including Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, and Batman Beyond. Helena Bertinelli (Huntress) gets a good spotlight episode.
- Teen Titans (2003 animated series) - A preteen-oriented anime-inspired adaptation of the New Teen Titans comics, starring Dick Grayson and friends. A lot of fans like to speculate that a certain character is Jason Todd in disguise, though this most likely was not the creators' intentions.
- Batman Beyond, sequel to Batman: The Animated Series - Often called Batman meets Spider-Man meets cyberpunk. Stars Terry McGinnis as Batman II, with old man Bruce Wayne and Ace the Bat-hound as his support team.
- Batman: The Brave and the Bold - Series of team-ups between Batman and his friends from the rest of the DC universe. Fun introduction to Batman's superhero pals outside Gotham. Silver Age campy goodness, with the inclusion of modern characters like Ryan Choi and Jaime Reyes. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
- Batman: Arkham video game series - Awesome games. Streamlines a lot of Batman lore into one cohesive setting, and really nails the dark deco Gotham atmosphere. If you don't want to play the game yourself, you can find a Let's Play series on YouTube, Twitch, etc.
- Batman: Under the Red Hood - Starring Batman and Red Hood, also featuring Alfred Pennyworth, Nightwing, and Ra's al Ghul.
- Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Gotham City Breakout - Features Batman, Nightwing, Batgirl (Barbara Gordon), and Robin (Damian Wayne as a chipper average child)
- Lego Batman: Family Matters - sequel, adding Red Hood and (briefly) Batwoman to the cast
- Batman Ninja - This is the stupidest Batman thing I've ever seen. An anime-overdosed fever dream distilled into 85 minutes. Features Batman, Catwoman, Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, and Robin AS NINJA. Very goofy, extremely anime. Please watch this, if possible without any spoilers. It's... bananas.
Intro to Bat comics
- Getting into DC Comics (It's easier than you think) by anonymous
- Characters of the Month: The Bat Family feature by beary_good
- Guide to the BatfamArchived from the original by comic-commentary (2016)
- justiceleaque’s Batman Reading Guide by justiceleaque
- Use your free library card to access Hoopla Digital, to legally borrow digital comics for free.
- Your local comics shop (LCS)
Timelines
- Timeline: Batman by CrimeAlley1048
- Modern Age Batman Timeline (Pre-Flashpoint) by samiralula01
- "DC Comics Eras: Which Earth, Again?", written by anonymous."The Ages of Super Hero Comics" on All the Tropes
- Post-Crisis Batfamily timeline, Post-Crisis Batkid Canon Ages/Age Differences, and First pass at a timeline of New 52 Batfamily backstory and ages by bitimdrake
- DC Timeline Powerpoint by sohotthateveryonedied
- Re: "I wish that people would remember that Jason is supposed to be a couple months younger than Cass and less than two years older than Tim" by thebatmanfiles
Fanon vs canon
- Fanlore
- Masterlist of Comic Knowledge PostsArchived by sohotthateveryonedied
- Re: "What are in your opinion the biggest difference between the comic and the fanon versions of the other Batfamily members?"Archived from the original by theflyingwonder
- Re: "Have you ever done a canon vs fanon post for the batfam? you're very insightful and I would love to see your take on it."Archived from the original by bat-lings
- Re: "How do fandom tropes compare to actual canon characterization for the robins " by thebatmanfiles
- Fanon vs canon by bitimdrake
- These are some facts that are easy to miss if you mostly read fanfiction instead of 20 year old comics. (Slightly Tim-centric, of course.) by kiragecko
Other helpful resources
- List of Bat sibling interactions (pre-Flashpoint) by kiragecko
- random writing tips for Jason, Steph, Alfred by lanternwisp
