List of Batman supporting characters

The Batman supporting characters are fictional characters that appear in the American comic books published by DC Comics featuring the superhero Batman as the main protagonist.
"Batman family" or "Bat-Family" is the informal term for Batman's closest allies, who are mainly masked vigilantes operating in Gotham City. Since the Bat-Family's introduction in 1939, Batman has accumulated a number of recognized supporting characters. The first Batman supporting character was Commissioner James "Jim" Gordon, Batman's ally in the Gotham City Police Department, who first appeared with Batman in Detective Comics #27. Some of the other allies of Batman include his vigilante partner, Robin, who was introduced in 1940; his butler, Alfred Pennyworth, who was introduced in 1943; and Barbara Gordon, who was introduced in 1967.
Batman also forms bonds and close working relationships with other superheroes, including Justice League members such as Superman, Green Arrow, Zatanna and Wonder Woman, as well as members of the Outsiders superhero team. Others such as Jason Bard, Harold Allnut, Onyx, and Toyman work for him.
In addition, Batman has a collection of adversaries in fiction that is commonly referred to as Batman's rogues gallery. The rogues gallery includes the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, and Poison Ivy. He also has several love interests, including Catwoman, Talia al Ghul, Silver St. Cloud, and Julie Madison.

Bat-Family

The Bat-Family is the informal name for Batman's closest allies collectively. It mainly consists of masked vigilantes who either have been trained by Batman or who operate in Gotham City with his tacit approval. Many of its members are also his adopted children, with the exception of Damian Wayne, the first of the Robins to be biologically related to Batman.
The group consists of similarly minded superheroes who operate in the Gotham City area and work towards achieving common goals. Batman is often the team leader or, in some cases, its dispatch. Various members of the group usually interact with one another and assist in each other's cases, even within their respective series. Although some members occasionally resent Batman's intrusion into their lives, all respect him as a part of the superhero community and rarely challenge his authority. Most of the members also have a strong rapport with Batman. In a 2002 storyline in which Bruce Wayne is accused of murder, Batman's friends gather to prove his innocence. Throughout Batman's history, it has also been implied that this network serves as a surrogate family for Batman and keeps him from slipping too far into his vigilante persona.

Current members

Batman Inc. (current members)

Batman Inc. (former/deceased members)

Five years in the future (''Futures End'')

Deceased members

Prime Earth

New Earth (Old canon)

Status unclear

Prime Earth

New Earth (Old canon)

Former members

Prime Earth

New Earth (Old canon)

Gotham City Police Department

The GCPD were featured in their own series: the limited series Batman: GCPD and the ongoing series Gotham Central, in which they investigate the unusual crimes that plague the city, in a personal effort to minimize Batman's involvement. The Gotham Central series ended its 40-issue run in 2006.

Name	Creator	First appearance	Fictional biography
James Worthington "Jim" Gordon	Bill Finger Bob Kane	Detective Comics #27	The police commissioner of Gotham City, is the most important member of the GCPD within the Batman mythos. Appearing alongside the main character in his first appearance, Gordon was the first Batman supporting character. Batman has a strong working relationship with him. Gordon, like other characters, has changed considerably over the years. Of particular note, is that in the early days of the characters, Gordon was not allied with Batman, and was more antagonistic towards him. However, he was a friend of Bruce Wayne. In "Batman: Year One", Gordon is portrayed as one of the few honest, non-corrupt Gotham cops. During "No Man's Land", Bruce offered him the knowledge of his secret identity, but Jim refused to look and find out, hinting he may already know. Jim retired several months after NML, but returned to duty in the "One Year Later" storyline.
Harvey Bullock	as Lieutenant Bullock Archie Goodwin Howard Chaykin as Detective Harvey Bullock Doug Moench Don Newton	as Lieutenant Bullock Detective Comics #441 as Detective Harvey Bullock Batman #361	He was brought in to be a pain in the side of Commissioner Gordon, but after accidentally causing a heart attack, his character repented, and has been a near constant presence since then. He is presented as being a slob and constantly suspected of corruption, but ultimately a good cop and strong ally to Gordon.
Renee Montoya	Bruce Timm Paul Dini Mitch Brian	Batman #475	A character who was added into the comics in the 1990s as a character adapted from the animated series. She later quit the GCPD when her partner Crispus Allen was murdered and the man responsible got off, in addition to her sexual orientation being unwillingly outed. Following this she became a main character in the 52 limited series. Renee, who eventually took on the mantle of the Question, occasionally fights crime with the current Batwoman, who is her on-again-off-again lover. In The New 52, Renee appears in an image viewed by Kate Kane on the GCPD's wall of honor. She made her first full appearance in Detective Comics #41.
Crispus Allen	Greg Rucka Shawn Martinbrough	Detective Comics #742	A police veteran who is transferred to Gotham and partnered with Renee Montoya. He is later killed by Jim Corrigan, with his spirit becoming the Spectre.
Jason Bard	Frank Robbins Gil Kane	Detective Comics #392	A cop from Detroit hired by Jim Gordon and put into the MCU. He later helps Batman escape from a trap of GCPD led by the corrupt new Commissioner Jack Forbes. Prior to the New 52 reboot, he was originally introduced as a private investigator; pre-Crisis and post-Crisis, he was hired to be Batman's daytime liaison in the "Face the Face" storyline, and later worked for Robin during the outbreak of a gang war in Gotham City.

DC superhero allies

Batman regularly interacts with other DC superheroes in titles such as Justice League of America. A few, however, have had a marked presence in the core Batman titles:

Name	Creator	First appearance	Fictional biography
Clark Joseph Kent / Kal-El of Krypton / Superman	Jerry Siegel Joe Shuster	Action Comics #1	As the two earliest superheroes, Batman and Superman are frequent costars in each other's titles, and are often used to highlight differences between vigilantism and lawful crimefighting. In the early crossovers, the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight were usually depicted as good friends who cheerfully assisted one another against foes who were too big to be dealt with alone. In more recent times, their friendship has been depicted as more uneasy, but still with a deep amount of respect. In the current chronology, Batman and Superman first encounter one another early in their careers when Superman arrives in Gotham City to arrest the notorious "outlaw" known as Batman, just as Batman is investigating a murderous criminal named Magpie. Superman left this encounter with Batman, believing he had the best of intentions, though disagreeing with Batman's methods. As Superman flew back to Metropolis, Batman lamented to himself that Superman was a remarkable individual and that "perhaps, in another lifetime, he might call the Man of Steel his friend". They have collaborated many times in the years since then, learning each other's secret identities, recognizing that their goals are essentially the same, and despite their frequent tense relationship, are close allies and friends. Superman has entrusted Lex Luthor's Kryptonite ring to Batman, as a weapon to be used against Superman in case the Man of Steel should ever be turned against the people of Earth. In keeping with that attitude, Batman and Superman are often depicted as being the opposite sides of the same coin, both products of their environments, as indicated in their vastly different styles of crime-fighting. Superman became a hero because he subscribed to wholesome idealism, while Batman was motivated by personal tragedy and a troubled past. Regardless, after one instance of Batman using the ring to prevent a mind-controlled Superman from wrongdoing, Superman told Batman that he knew he "gave the ring to the right person". Batman shook his hand, and simply said, "What're friends for?"
Oliver Queen / Green Arrow	Mort Weisinger George Papp	More Fun Comics #73	He began as a character very much inspired by Batman. He had a youthful ward, Speedy, much like Robin, as well as an Arrowcave, an Arrowcar, and an Arrowplane, similar to Batman's equipment. Most of these gimmicks were stripped away by the 1970s, when both Batman and the Green Arrow were revamped into more serious characters. Batman and the Green Arrow have often been partners, especially during the 1970s, when Batman's team-up title, The Brave and the Bold, was one of the few places outside of the pages of JLA where the Emerald Archer could be found. As with Superman, early team-ups between Batman and the Green Arrow were very friendly, but their relations became strained in more recent incarnations. Batman and the Green Arrow's interactions in the 1980s were often employed as counterpoints to differing techniques and political philosophies. Queen and Batman's relationship was further strained by the involvement of the Green Arrow in the mindwiping events that happened in the pages of Identity Crisis, even though Queen voted against the mindwiping of Dr. Light and Batman, but this seems to have been forgiven for reasons still unknown. Today, the Green Arrow is frequently depicted as one of the few superheroes willing to stand up to Batman directly.
Zatanna Zatara	Gardner Fox Murphy Anderson	Hawkman #4	A powerful sorceress, stage magician, and a former member of the Justice League of America. Her father, John Zatara, trained a young Bruce Wayne in escapology. Zatanna and Bruce have a working friendship in the comics, with Bruce calling her for assistance from time to time. Zatanna's standing with Batman after the events of Identity Crisis was initially very strained, but the pair made their peace to the point where she proposed that they start a relationship, but Bruce told her he cares too much about her to bring her into his world.
Dinah Laurel Lance / The Black Canary	Dennis O'Neil Dick Dillin	Justice League of America #220	A former member of the Justice Society and of Oracle's covert team in Birds of Prey as well as being the wife of the Green Arrow, a founding member of the Justice League of America, and its current chairperson. The relationship between Black Canary and Batman has not been stressed by the events of Identity Crisis, even though Black Canary was involved with the group who mindwiped Dr. Light.
Helena Wayne / Huntress	Paul Levitz Joe Staton Joe Orlando Bob Layton	DC Super Stars #17	The daughter of an alternate version of Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle from Earth-Two. She was also the only Robin to her father's Batman identity and a more ruthless character than was previously seen at the time. Helena adopts the Huntress identity after accidentally arriving on Prime Earth through a Boom Tube, after the death of both her parents.
Patrick "Eel" O'Brian / Plastic Man	Jack Cole	Police Comics #1	A crook who developed superpowers after falling into a chemical bath, deciding afterward to change his ways. Joining the FBI and the All-Star Squadron, he would make a life for himself in Gotham. During a case where the JLA fought the Injustice Gang, Plastic Man was brought into the League by Batman to help, shortly thereafter joining the group. During this time, O'Brian became close to Batman and came to rely on him as a close friend, often the Dark Knight being the only person able to motivate the elastic hero to action.
Vic Sage / The Question	Steve Ditko	Blue Beetle #1	Originally a Charlton Comics superhero, created by Steve Ditko, Vic Sage was revamped by Dennis O'Neil in 1987. Since the late 1990s, the Question has had a recurring supporting role in various Batman titles. Sage died of lung cancer in 52 Week 38; former GCPD detective Renee Montoya is now the new Question.
Richard Dragon	Dennis O'Neil Jim Berry	Dragon's Fists novel	As one of the martial artists in the DC Universe, Denny O'Neil's Richard Dragon appears occasionally in Batman-related titles. Dragon is involved in training the modern Huntress, and allusions are made to his involvement training Batman himself.
Hiro Okamura / Toyman	Jeph Loeb Ed McGuinness	Superman #127	A 13-year-old genius from Japan. He was recruited by Superboy and Robin after he successfully created the composite Superman/Batman ship that saved Earth. He now works with Batman to create customized equipment and weapons, replacing Harold. Hiro is later discovered to be one of several robots who fills in for the real Toyman while he is incarcerated; this was revealed in Action Comics #865.
Theodore Stephen "Ted" Kord / The Blue Beetle	Steve Ditko	Captain Atom #83	A close friend of Oracle, served with Batman in the League, and an idol to Tim Drake. Before his death, his company became a subsidiary to Wayne Industries.
Alan Scott / Green Lantern	Martin Nodell	All-American Comics #16	The Green Lantern of the Golden Age who lives and works in Gotham City.
The Justice Society of America	Gardner Fox Everett E. Hibbard Sheldon Mayer	All Star Comics #3	Since the end of World War II, the JSA was headquartered in Gotham in a brownstone.
Thomas Tresser / Nemesis	Cary Burkett Dan Spiegle	The Brave and the Bold #166	He sought to clear the name of his brother; brainwashed by the Council into becoming an assassin and taking down that same organization. During this, he would find an ally in Batman and the pair teamed together until Nemesis was successful in his goals.
Tatsu Yamashiro / Katana	Mike W. Barr Jim Aparo	The Brave and the Bold #200	Initially meeting at the formation of the Outsiders, she moved to Gotham in the penthouse that served as the group's base of operations. During her years as a member, Katana became close friends with Batman, occasionally teaming with him when he called upon her. When President Luthor formed a group of individuals led by Captain Atom to apprehend Superman and Batman, the Dark Knight entrusted Katana as his spy within.
Ted Grant / Wildcat	Bill Finger Irwin Hasen	Sensation Comics #1	An original member of the Justice Society of America and an ex-heavyweight champion boxer, trained a young Bruce Wayne at one point. The two have remained close allies, and Batman has been quoted as saying that Grant is one of the few fighters he respects.
Roy Harper / Arsenal / Red Arrow	As Roy Harper / Speedy: Mort Weisinger George Papp As Arsenal: Marv Wolfman Tom Grummett As Red Arrow: Mark Waid Alex Ross	As Roy Harper / Speedy: More Fun Comics #73 As Arsenal: The New Titans #99 As Red Arrow: Justice League of America #7	Originally known as Speedy. Member of the Titans, the Outsiders and the Outlaws, partner and friend of the Green Arrow, Nightwing and the Red Hood. Occasionally has been aided by Batman himself.
Connor Hawke / Green Arrow II	Kelley Puckett Jim Aparo	Green Arrow #0	Oliver Queen's son and successor. Ally of Batman and Nightwing and Batman's agent in the ploy to take down the Injustice Gang.
Gotham and Gotham Girl	Tom King and David Finch	DC Rebirth	Claire and Henry Clover Jr. operate as twins with Superman-like powers, having bought them through their family's money, trading in their lives for them as the powers would affect their life-span. The two would assist Batman against Solomon Grundy and the Kobra Cult. Henry was killed by the Psycho Pirate while an unstable Claire later joined Thomas Wayne/Batman.
Aquaman	Mort Weisenger and Paul Norris	The Brave and the Bold	They also appear several times together in the series.