Why Is Batman Called Batman? The Origin of the Dark Knight’s Name Explained

We all know that Bruce Wayne is best known by his alter ego Batman. The Dark Knight of Gotham City is certainly one of the most famous superheroes ever, and his adventures have been adapted in other media as well. And although everyone knows the name – Batman – I realized many might not know how and why Batman is called like he is. So, in this article, I am going to dwell on the origins of Batman’s name.

Batman is called Batman because his appearance resembles that of a large, humanoid bat. He took on that role because he himself was afraid of bats, and his fear inspired him to become a source of fear for Gotham’s criminals.

Now that we’ve given you a short answer to the question, let us discuss the topic of this article in more detail. We will go over Batman’s history and see the full story behind Bruce Wayne’s superhero name!

Here’s why Batman is called Batman When Batman started out with his crime-fighting endeavors, he wasn’t known as Batman. He was just a regular guy in a mask trying to fight crime. Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One does a great job portraying Batman’s early crime-fighting career. But, at one point, Batman realized that a regular mask won’t be enough, and one night, while pondering his plans, a bat flew in front of him.

This was a truly important scene in Batman’s development, as the bat symbolized fear. Batman already perceived criminals as being a “superstitious, cowardly lot” and the bat appeared to him as a symbol of that fear. Namely, due to a childhood incident, Bruce Wayne has been afraid of bats, and when the bat appeared and frightened him, he saw it as a perfect symbol of his future career, saying: “I shall become a bat.”

And he did become one. He created a costume that resembled a bat, and he became Batman, both an actual vigilante, but also a symbol of fear among Gotham’s criminals.

But why is Batman called the Dark Knight? Batman is, like a lot of other superheroes, known for his nicknames. He has several of them, and we will talk about two of them and explain why he has them.

Batman’s most famous nickname is, without a doubt, the Dark Knight. The nickname has been popularised by Frank Miller in his comic book The Dark Knight Returns, and was also used in the title of two of Christopher Nolan’s live-action movies – The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises.

The Dark Knight is a rather obvious nickname for Batman. He is perceived as a knight-protector of Gotham City, and he mostly works at night, which is why he is called the Dark Knight. Likewise, his costume is either black or (dark) grey, which additionally contributed to his nickname. There is no exact story behind this nickname, but the Dark (or Black) Knight is an Arthurian archetype and Batman is, in a way, an embodiment of that famous literary archetype.

And what about the Caped Crusader nickname? Another one of Batman’s famous nicknames is the Caped Crusader. This nickname also doesn’t have a specific backstory, but is rather a reference to Batman’s design and his roles in the stories.

Namely, as a Gotham-based vigilante, Batman is on a mission to rid Gotham City of crime. In that aspect, his crime-fighting career can easily be interpreted as a crusade against crime, but without the literal meaning of the word, as his mission is not related to the medieval Crusades fought by the Christians. Batman is a crusader in the sense of his determination to rid the city of crime.

As for the caped part, that one is pretty much logical, is it not? Batman’s costume usually contains a cape, and it always did when the nickname was coined. So, Batman is called the Caped Crusader because he is on a crusade against crime and has a costume with a cape – it’s that simple!