Comparisons of the Batman comics and films

The following is an overview of the differences between how the characters were depicted in the live-action Batman films when compared to the comic books that originated them.
:For more information on the films themselves see List of characters in the Batman film series.
Batman (1989 film)
Producer Michael Uslan views the 1989 Batman film directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton as the Caped Crusader as being most representative of the earliest take of the character by Bob Kane and Bill Finger from 1939.
The success of The Dark Knight Returns and The Killing Joke prompted Warner Bros. to give the film a darker, more serious tone for the storyline. Director Tim Burton meanwhile, also claimed that The Killing Joke influenced his : "I was never a giant comic book fan, but I've always loved the image of Batman and The Joker. The reason I've never been a comic book fan - and I think it started when I was a child - is because I could never tell which box I was supposed to read. I don't know if it was dyslexia or whatever, but that's why I loved The Killing Joke, because for the first time I could tell which one to read. It's my favorite. It's the first comic I've ever loved. And the success of those graphic novels made our ideas more acceptable."
Bruce Wayne/Batman
The first Batman story, "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate," was published in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939). Finger said, "Batman was originally written in the style of the pulps," and this influence was evident with Batman showing little remorse over killing or maiming criminals. Batman proved a hit character, and he received his own solo title in 1940, while continuing to star in Detective Comics. By that time, National was the top-selling and most influential publisher in the industry; Batman and the company's other major hero, Superman, were the cornerstones of the company's success. The two characters were featured side-by-side as the stars of World's Finest Comics, which was originally titled World's Best Comics when it debuted in fall 1940. Creators including Jerry Robinson and Dick Sprang also worked on the strips during this period.
Over the course of the first few Batman strips elements were added to the character and the artistic depiction of Batman evolved. Kane noted that within six issues he drew the character's jawline more pronounced, and lengthened the ears on the costume. "About a year later he was almost the full figure, my mature Batman," Kane said. was introduced in Detective Comics #29 (July 1939), followed by the boomerang-like batarang and the first bat-themed vehicle, the Batplane, in #31 (September 1939). The character's origin was revealed in #33 (November 1939), unfolding in a two-page story that establishes the brooding persona of Batman, a character driven by the loss of his parents. Written by Finger, it depicts a young Bruce Wayne witnessing the death of his parents as part of a street robbery. Days later, at their grave, the child vows that "by the spirits of my parents avenge their deaths by spending the rest of my life warring on all criminals."
In Batman's first appearance in Detective Comics #27, he is already operating as a crime fighter. Batman's origin is first presented in Detective Comics #33 in November 1939, and is later fleshed out in Batman #47. As these comics state, Bruce Wayne is born to Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, two very wealthy and charitable Gotham City socialites. Bruce is brought up in Wayne Manor, with its wealthy splendor, and leads a happy and privileged existence until the age of eight, when his parents are killed by a small-time criminal named Joe Chill while on their way home from a movie theater. Bruce Wayne swears an oath to rid the city of the evil that had taken his parents' lives. He engages in intense intellectual and physical training; however, he realizes that these skills alone would not be enough. "Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot," Wayne remarks, "so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. I must be a creature of the night, black, terrible..." As if responding to his desires, a bat suddenly flies through the window, inspiring Bruce to assume the persona of Batman.
In early strips, Batman's career as a vigilante earns him the ire of the police.
Jack Napier/The Joker
The first origin account, Detective Comics #168 (February 1951), revealed that the Joker had once been a criminal known as the Red Hood. In the story, he is a chemical engineer looking to steal from the company that employs him and adopts the persona of Red Hood. After committing the theft, which Batman thwarts, he falls into a vat of chemical waste. He emerges with bleached white skin, red lips, green hair and a permanent grin.
In his initial dozen or so appearances, starting with Batman #1 (1940), the Joker was a straightforward homicidal maniac, with a bizarre appearance modeled after the Joker playing card. He was slated to be killed in his second appearance, but editor Whitney Ellsworth suggested that the character be spared. A hastily drawn panel, demonstrating that the Joker was still alive, was subsequently added to the comic. For the next several appearances, the Joker often escaped capture but suffered an apparent death (falling off a cliff, being caught in a burning building, etc.), from which his body was not recovered.
From the Joker's first appearance in Batman #1, he has committed crimes both whimsical and inhumanly brutal, all with a logic and reasoning that, in Batman's words, "make sense to him alone." In his first appearance, the character leaves his victims with post-mortem smiles on their faces, a modus operandi that has been carried on throughout the decades with the concept of the character.
In Batman #1, he challenges Gotham's underworld and police department by announcing over the radio that he will kill three of Gotham's most prominent citizens: Henry Claridge, Judge Drake and Jay Wilde. Batman and Robin investigate the crimes and find the victims' bodies stricken with a perpetual grin upon their faces. The Joker traps Robin and is prepared to murder him with the same deadly Joker venom, but Batman rescues Robin and the Joker goes to prison. (This story is retold in the 2005 graphic novel Batman: The Man Who Laughs.) He escapes in his following appearance, and throughout his publication history effortlessly escapes from any imprisonment in order to plague Batman and Gotham.
Joe Chill
In the original script for 1989's Batman, written by Tom Mankiewicz, crime boss Rupert Thorne hires Joe Chill to murder Thomas Wayne, who is running against Thorne for city council. Chill is not mentioned in the final version of the film, directed by Tim Burton. In that film, a young Jack Napier, who would later become the Joker, is the Waynes' killer.
Batman's origin story is first established in a sequence of panels in Detective Comics #33 (November 1939) that is later reproduced in the comic book Batman #1 (Spring 1940), but the mugger is not given a name until Batman #47 (June-July 1948). In that issue, Batman discovers that Joe Chill, the small-time crime boss he is investigating, is none other than the man who killed his parents. Batman confronts him and reveals his secret identity. Chill, frightened, seeks protection from his henchmen. Once they learn that Chill's actions led to the hated Batman's existence, they turn on their boss and gun him down — just before they realize how valuable his knowledge is to them. Before a dying Chill has a chance to reveal Batman's identity, the Dark Knight intervenes and apprehends the goons; Chill dies in Batman's arms, addressing him by his true name.
In Detective Comics #235 (1956), Batman learns that Chill was not a mere robber, but actually a hitman who murdered the Waynes on orders from a Mafia boss named Lew Moxon.
Vicki Vale
Vicki Vale first appeared in Batman #49 (Oct/Nov 1948), in a 12-page story entitled "Scoop of the Century!", written by Bill Finger, with art by Bob Kane and Lew Schwartz. Her look is said to have been modelled by Kane on that of young model Norma Jean Mortensen, who would later become known as Marilyn Monroe. Reputedly created to mirror the success of Superman/Clark Kent's reporter colleague and love-interest Lois Lane, her role in the story consisted largely of reporting on Batman's activities for a newspaper (the Gotham Gazette). She was frequently romantically attracted to Batman (and Bruce Wayne on occasion also), and repeatedly suspected they were the same person.
Often the plot of a story featuring Vicki Vale revolved around her suspicions regarding Batman's identity. Batman would usually manage to fool her into concluding that he was not really Bruce Wayne by the end of the story, but then her suspicions would reemerge in a later story.
Carl Grissom
In the original script for the the 1989 film , written by Tom Mankiewicz, Rupert Thorne hires Joe Chill to murder Bruce Wayne's father, Thomas, who is running against Thorne for city council. He was replaced by Carl Grissom.
Thorne is introduced as a corrupt politician being blackmailed by Doctor Phosphorus into turning the city against Batman. After Phosphorus is defeated, Thorne persuades his fellow city councilors to declare Batman an outlaw. He attempts to gain complete control of Gotham City by becoming Mayor.
After failing in his campaign against Batman and spending some time in hiding, he secretly returns to Gotham. (Detective Comics #507, October 1981) He gets the corrupt Hamilton Hill elected as Mayor, and then has his puppet fire Police Commissioner James Gordon in favor of Peter Pauling, who is on Thorne's payroll. Thorne finally identifies Bruce Wayne as Batman after acquiring photos of him changing costume from reporter Vicki Vale. Thorne then hires Deadshot to kill Wayne. Deadshot is unsuccessful, however. Meanwhile, Thorne is still haunted by the ghost of Hugo Strange, who is revealed to have faked his death and tormented Thorne with experiments designed to simulate ghostly experiences. Thorne becomes convinced that Hill and Pauling are plotting against him and trying to drive him insane. Thorne kills Pauling but is eventually apprehended by Batman.
Commissioner James Gordon
In the original pre-Crisis version of his history, Gordon was a police detective who initially bitterly resented the mysterious vigilante's interference in police business. Although the Batman seemed to fight on the side of justice, his methods and phenomenal track record for stopping crimes and capturing criminals embarrassed the police by comparison. Eventually, Batman met up with Gordon and persuaded the detective that they needed each other's help. Batman was deputized and worked with Gordon as an agent of the law.
Harvey Dent
When he first appears in Detective Comics #66, the character's name is Harvey Kent, but in later stories his name is changed to Harvey Dent to prevent confusion with Clark Kent. However, the original name is made reference to in the "Prodigal" storyline, where Harvey Dent walks due to a clerical error which causes him to be confused with a similarly named Harvey Kent. At 26, he is the youngest district attorney ever to serve Gotham City, and is nicknamed "Apollo" for his clean-cut image. He is elected about six months before Batman begins his war on crime, as depicted in the events of Batman: Year One.
Alfred Pennyworth
The Pre-Crisis comics (i.e., comics published by DC Comics between 1938 and 1986) established Alfred as a retired actor and intelligence agent who followed the deathbed wish of his dying father, Jarvis, to carry on the tradition of serving the Wayne family. To that end, Alfred introduced himself to Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson at Wayne Manor and insisted on becoming their butler. Although the pair did not want one, especially since they did not want to jeopardize their secret identities with a servant in the house, they did not have the heart to reject Alfred.
Initially, Alfred discovered their identities by accident. While fighting a burglar in Batman #16 (Alfred's first appearance), he accidentally hit a switch and opened a sliding panel leading to the Batcave. This was revised in Batman #110 (September 1957): during his first night at Wayne Manor, Alfred awoke to moaning and followed the sound to the secret door to the staircase to the Batcave and met his would be employers in their superhero identities (Batman had been injured while out in the field). As it turned out, the wounds were actually insignificant, but Alfred's care convinced the residents that their butler could be trusted. Since then, Alfred included the support staff duties of the Dynamic Duo on top of his regular tasks.
In the Post-Crisis comics' continuity, Alfred has been the Wayne family butler all of Bruce's life, and had helped his master establish his superhero career from the beginning. In addition he was Bruce's legal guardian following the deaths of his parents. Alfred's history has been modified several times over the years, creating assorted versions. In one such version Alfred was hired away from the British Royal Family by Bruce's parents, and he virtually raised Bruce after they were murdered.
Meanwhile another version of Alfred's Post-Crisis life was slightly more closely linked to his pre-Crisis counterpart. In this version Alfred was an actor on the English stage, who agreed to become the Waynes' butler, only so as to honor the dying wish of his father. At the time he begins working for the Waynes, Bruce is but a young child. After several months, Alfred voices the desire to quit and return home to continue his life as an actor. However, these plans are momentarily forgotten when young Bruce returns home, after getting into a fight with a school bully. Alfred teaches Bruce to handle the bully strategically, rather than using brute force. Following Alfred's advice, Bruce manages to take care of his bully problem. Upon returning home, Bruce requests that Alfred stays, and Alfred agrees without a second thought. After the Waynes' murders, Alfred raises Bruce.
Alfred would later aid Bruce in raising Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, and Tim Drake, all of whom would be adopted by Bruce Wayne and become his partner Robin. He also had close friendships with other members of the Bat-Clan including Barbara Gordon and Cassandra Cain. Alfred often acts as a father-figure to Bruce, and a grandfather to Dick, Jason, and Tim. However, due to his rather cold personality, Bruce Wayne makes sure that at least some degree of the business relationship between the two always exists.
Max Eckhardt
Prior to the 1984-85 DC maxi-series Crisis on Infinite Earths, Bullock is a crooked police detective under instructions from Gotham City's Mayor Hamilton Hill to sabotage Commissioner Gordon's career.
Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin
Born Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot, the Penguin was bullied as a child for his short stature, obesity, and beak-like nose. Several stories relate that he was forced as a child to always carry an umbrella by his over-protective mother, due to his father dying of pneumonia after being drenched in a downpour. He is an outcast in his rich, high society family; their rejection drives him to become a criminal. In keeping with his family's tradition of wealth, the Penguin lives a life of crime, yet executes it with his class and style. In keeping with his pretensions of being a refined gentleman, he also prefers to wear formal wear such as a top hat, monocle, and tuxedo during his jobs.
The Penguin received his alias from a childhood taunt, levelled by bullies who teased him because of his grotesque appearance and love of birds. Some comics suggest that he tried to abandon the nickname, which he hates, but it has been permanently brought into popularity by his high-profile criminal career. He has cashed in on its popularity with his Iceberg Lounge nightclub in Gotham City.
Unlike most of the Batman villains, the Penguin is in control of his own actions and perfectly sane, features that serve to maintain a unique relationship with his arch-enemy, Batman. This has extended into the current situation with the Penguin ceasing his direct involvement in crime, instead running a nightclub that is popular with the underworld; on one occasion he temporarily returned to active crime for the thrill of it, aware that Batman would learn about his actions but also secure in the knowledge that the Dark Knight couldn't testify in court without revealing his identity. As such, he is an excellent source of information on crime, so Batman grudgingly tolerates his operations so long as the Penguin agrees to be one of his informants. However, the entrepreneurial Penguin is often fencing stolen property or arranging early furloughs for incarcerated former criminal associates — for a hefty fee, of course — on the side.
Selena Kyle/Catwoman
Catwoman — then called "The Cat" — first appears in Batman #1 as a mysterious burglar and jewel thief, revealed at the end of the story to be a young, attractive woman (unnamed in the first story). Although the story does not have her wearing her iconic catsuit, it establishes her core personality as a femme fatale who both antagonizes and attracts Batman.
Batman #62 revealed that Catwoman (after a blow to the head jogged her memory) is an amnesiac flight attendant who had turned to crime after suffering a prior blow to the head during a plane crash she survived (although in the one of the last issues of The Brave and the Bold, she admits that she made up the amnesia story because she wanted a way out of the past life of crime). She reforms for several years, helping out Batman in Batman #65 and #69, until she decides to return to a life of crime in Detective Comics #203. Selina appears again as a criminal in Batman #84 (June 1954) and Detective Comics #211 (September 1954) for her final appearance until 1966. This was mostly due to her possible violation of the developing Comics Code Authority's rules for portrayal of female characters that started in 1954.
In the 1970s comics, a series of stories taking place on (the parallel Earth that was retroactively declared as the home of DC's Golden Age characters) reveal that on that world, Selina reformed in the 1950s (after the events of Batman #69) and had married Bruce Wayne; soon afterwards, she gave birth to the couple's only child, Helena Wayne (the Huntress). The Brave and the Bold #197 elaborates upon the Golden Age origin of Catwoman given in Batman #62, after Selina reveals that she never actually had amnesia. It is revealed that Selina Kyle had been in an abusive marriage, and eventually decides to leave her husband. However, her husband keeps her jewelry in his private vault, and she has to break into it to retrieve it. Selina enjoys this experience so much she decides to become a professional costumed cat burglar, and thus begins a career that repeatedly leads to her encountering Batman.
Max Shreck
In Batman (1989), Billy Dee Williams appears as a pre-disfigured Harvey Dent. Williams took the role specifically to guarantee his casting in a sequel, reinforced by a pay or play contract. Williams was set to reprise the role in a more villainous light in the sequel, Batman Returns, but his character was deleted and replaced with original villain Max Shreck played by Christopher Walken. Screenwriter Daniel Waters quoted, "Sam Hamm definitely planned that. I flirted with it, having Harvey start to come back and have one scene of him where he flips a coin and it's the good side of the coin, deciding not to do anything, so you had to wait for the next movie." In early scripts Max Shreck was the "golden boy" of the Cobblepot family, whereas Penguin was the deformed outsider. It turned out that Shreck would be the Penguin's long-lost brother. Max Shreck was also a reference to actor Max Schreck, known for his role as Count Orlok in Nosferatu. Robin was introduced, based on Bill Finger's suggestion Batman needed a "Watson" with whom Batman could talk. Sales nearly doubled, despite Bob Kane's preference for a solo Batman, and it sparked a proliferation of "kid sidekicks."
In the late 1950s, Batman stories gradually became more science fiction-oriented, an attempt at mimicking the success of other DC characters that had dabbled in the genre. New characters such as Batwoman, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Bat-Mite were introduced. Batman's adventures often involved odd transformations or bizarre space aliens. In 1960, Batman debuted as a member of the Justice League of America in The Brave and the Bold #28 (February 1960), and went on to appear in several Justice League comic series starting later that same year.
Michael Uslan considers the Joel Schumacher directed Batman Forever (1995) starring Val Kilmer taking over for Michael Keaton as being the closest in spirit of the Dick Sprang drawn, Bill Finger-written stories (featuring not only Batman, but also Robin as played by Chris O'Donnell in Batman Forever) of the .
Harvey Dent/Two-Face
The character only made three appearances in the 1940s, and appeared twice in the 1950s (not counting the impostors mentioned below). By this time, he was dropped in favor of more "kid friendly" villains, though he did appear in a 1968 issue (World's Finest Comics #173), in which Batman declared him to be the criminal he most fears. In 1971, writer Dennis O'Neil brought Two-Face back, and it was then that he became one of Batman's arch-enemies.
His campaign against crime ends tragically during the prosecution of crime boss for murder. At a climactic moment in the trial, Dent produces Maroni's good luck charm, a two-headed coin, which had been found at the murder scene with Maroni's fresh fingerprints upon it. Enraged, Maroni throws sulfuric acid in Dent's face, horribly scarring the left side of his face while leaving the other half undamaged; in some versions of the story, he is only saved from a face-full of acid by Batman's quick, but only partial, deflection of Maroni's hand. Driven insane by his hideous reflection, Dent scars one side of Maroni's coin and lets tosses of the coin decide whether he acts for good or evil in any situation. elaborates on these events, with some changes. In it, Dent, Captain (later Commissioner) James Gordon, and Batman forge an alliance to rid Gotham of crime (large elements of this story were later co-opted for the limited series Batman: The Long Halloween, and to a lesser extent in the 2008 film The Dark Knight). Mafia chieftain Sal "The Boss" Maroni is still the criminal who disfigures him with help from the corrupt Assistant District Attorney Adrian Fields (though in The Long Halloween, his name changed to Vernon Fields). Fields provides Maroni with the acid, concealed in an antacid bottle. Two-Face gets his trademark coin from his abusive father, who would employ the coin in a perverse nightly "game" that would always end with a beating. This would instill in Dent his lifelong struggle with free will and his eventual inability to make choices on his own.
Gilda Dent, who had been his fiancée back in Detective Comics #66 and 68 (1942), is instead his wife in "Eye of the Beholder," and therefore subsequently, The Long Halloween (1998). In the former, he escapes from the hospital and confronts Fields, who tries to plea bargain with Dent by offering a massive file of criminal funds, hideouts, and connections for his old boss to begin his "new life." When Batman interrupts them, Two-Face kills Fields and then, losing the coin toss, confronts his father and forces him to play the game they used to play. The coin comes up clean, so he spares his father, and is incarcerated in Arkham Asylum, where he receives experimental plastic surgery. However, in a fit of madness, he claws his face open with his bare hands.
In The Long Halloween, Harvey escapes from the hospital and hides out in the sewers for weeks, finally resurfacing as Two-Face to take revenge on the mob, killing Vernon Field and mob boss Carmine Falcone (Maroni has already been assassinated by this point by Falcone's son Alberto). By the end, Two-Face is incarcerated in Arkham.
During the same period, Two-Face is revealed to have murdered Jason Todd's father, who had been one of his henchmen. Todd later has Two-Face at his mercy and chooses not to kill him, embracing Batman's ideal of justice. This storyline has been mirrored in other media, with other Robins taking Todd's place: in the animated series of the late 1990s with Tim Drake substituting for Todd Elements such as the character of Batgirl and the show's campy nature were introduced into the comics; the series also initiated the return of Alfred. Although both the comics and TV show were successful for a time, the camp approach eventually wore thin and the show was canceled in 1968. In the aftermath, the Batman comics themselves lost popularity once again. As Julius Schwartz noted, "When the television show was a success, I was asked to be campy, and of course when the show faded, so did the comic books."
Michael Uslan sees the second Joel Schumacher directed Batman film (this time, starring George Clooney as the Dark Knight instead of Val Kilmer or Michael Keaton), Batman & Robin (1997) as being most representative of the Batman of the (à la the campy TV series starring Adam West).
Dick Grayson/Robin
In the film Batman Forever Dick Grayson (Chris O'Donnell) suggests "Batboy, Nightwing..." as a name for himself. In the next film Batman & Robin, the costume Robin wears closely resembles the costume in the Nightwing comic books, except the main symbol across his chest and arms is red instead of blue; the movie costume also includes a small cape.
Dick continues his adventures with Batman, and begins studying law at Hudson University. However, Robin loses interest in his studies and starts to take on solo missions, and finds himself to be a capable crime-fighter. Shortly afterward, the mysterious Raven summons Dick Grayson and several other young heroes to form a new group of Titans. Robin assumes leadership, and moves out of the shadow of his mentor.
Dick, now 19, realizes at that point that he has grown up: he no longer relies on Batman, and he and the Dark Knight disagree on crime-fighting methodology. Robin's newfound independence and Titans' duties in New York leave less time for his former commitments in Gotham. He also drops out of Hudson after only one semester. Dick also rediscovers his self-worth among the Titans. Batman, however, is less than pleased. He informs Grayson that if he no longer wants to be his partner, then Dick would have to retire as Robin. Furious, hurt, resigned, and confused, Dick Grayson left Wayne Manor—but not for the last time. Helping him through this difficult time are his fellow Titans, including Starfire, a beautiful alien that Dick eventually falls in love with. He hands over leadership of the Titans to Wonder Girl, and takes a leave of absence from the team.
(In pre-Crisis continuity, the "parting" between Dick and Batman is entirely amicable. Dick passes the mantle of Robin over to Jason Todd voluntarily, in a memorable scene wherein he states that "Robin will always be the second part of Batman and..." Bruce gives every impression of being pleased with his ward's coming of age, and maintains this attitude until the post-Crisis retcon that rewrites the origin of Jason Todd and the circumstances of Dick's departure from the role.)
In pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths continuity, the maturing Dick Grayson grows weary of his role as Batman's young sidekick. He renames himself Nightwing, recalling his adventure in the Kryptonian city of Kandor, where he and Batman meet the local hero of the same name.

Nightwing: Secret Files & Origins #1 and Nightwing: Year One tell the full post-Crisis version of how Dick Grayson gives up his identity as Robin (having been "fired" by Batman). Uncertain what to do with his new-found independence, Dick considers giving up fighting crime to study law, but he couldn't imagine his life in any other way. Turning to someone that he knows would understand, Dick asks Superman what he should be, if not Robin. In reply, Superman tells a tale of long ago on Krypton, about a man who was cast out of his family, just like Dick. He dreamt of a world ruled by justice, and set out to protect the helpless and victimized as Nightwing. Dick then decides to honor the legendary Kryptonian by renaming himself Nightwing. This tale retroactively erases the notion that anyone else before Grayson and Bette Kane ever held the titles of Nightwing and Flamebird, except for the birds and the legendary figures named after them.
Victor Fries/Mr. Freeze
From the time of his first appearance in 1958 onward, Mr. Freeze was portrayed as one of many "joke" villains (see also Killer Moth, The Mad Hatter) cast as stock enemies of Batman. Originally called Mr. Zero, This version of Mr. Freeze was enthusiastically accepted by fans, and has become the standard portrayal for the character in most forms of media, including the comic book series itself, which previously had the character casually killed off by the Joker. Freeze was resurrected in the comic after the episode aired.
In the Pre-Crisis continuity series, it is explained that Mr. Freeze is a rogue scientist whose design for an "ice gun" backfires when he inadvertently spills cryogenic chemicals on himself, resulting in his needing subzero temperatures to survive.
His first act as a costumed criminal is to take revenge upon Boyle, a plan with which Batman interferes.
Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy
Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley, a promising botanist from Seattle, is seduced by Marc LeGrande into assisting him with the theft of an Egyptian artifact containing ancient herbs. Fearing she would implicate him in the theft, he attempts to poison her with the herbs, which are deadly and untraceable. She survives this murder attempt and discovers she has acquired an immunity to all natural toxins and diseases.
Her origins were revised in Shadow of the Bat Annual #3. Pamela Isley grows up wealthy with emotionally distant parents. She later studies advanced botanical biochemistry at a university with Alec Holland under Dr. Jason Woodrue. Isley, a timid, shy girl, is easily seduced by her professor. Woodrue injects Isley with poisons and toxins as an experiment, causing her transformation. She nearly dies twice as a result from these poisonings, driving her insane. Later Woodrue flees from the authorities, leaving Isley in the hospital for six months. Enraged at the betrayal, she suffers from violent mood swings, being sweet one moment and like poison the next. When her boyfriend has a car accident after mysteriously suffering from a massive fungal overgrowth, Isley drops out of school and leaves Seattle, eventually settling in Gotham City.
She begins her criminal career by threatening to release her suffocating spores into the air unless the city meets her demands. Batman, who appears in Gotham that very same year, thwarts her scheme, and she is incarcerated in Arkham Asylum. From this point on, she has a kind of obsession with Batman, he being the only person she could not control. Over the years, she develops plant-like superpowers, the most noticeable being a lethal toxin in her lips; she is able to literally kill with a kiss.
In subsequent issues, she states that she only started a life of crime to attain sufficient funds to find a location to be alone with her plants, undisturbed by humanity.
Jason Woodrue
The 1988 Neil Gaiman/Dave McKean miniseries Black Orchid recasts Dr. Jason Woodrue as a University professor who taught botany to Philip Sylvian, Alec & Linda Holland, and Pamela Isley. The character Philip Sylvian, apparently unaware of Woodrue's transformation, refers to him as a "poor old guy" and states: "Last I heard he was in Arkham Insane Asylum..."
Woodrue is the one who transformed Pamela Isely into Poison Ivy.
Barbara Wilson/Batgirl
Batgirl, portrayed by actress Alicia Silverstone, appears in the 1997 movie Batman & Robin. The film's "Barbara Wilson" somewhat resembles the comics' Barbara Gordon. In the movie, Barbara is the niece of Alfred Pennyworth rather than the daughter of Commissioner Gordon. Her costume varies significantly from traditional versions, with no yellow coloring and a domino mask, also like Robin's. However, during the film's climax where she, Batman and Robin wear silver riding costumes to protect them from Mister Freeze's ice. This costume features a full skull cap that more closely resembles Barbara Gordon's traditional mask, though she tosses it away a few seconds later and reverts back to the domino mask.
Barbara Gordon and alter ego Batgirl debuted in Detective Comics #359 (cover-dated 1967, although the comic was actually released in late 1966) as the daughter of Gotham City's Police Commissioner James Gordon. Barbara Gordon’s Batgirl had been preceded by an earlier Bat-Girl character, who was depicted as niece and sidekick to Batwoman.
Batgirl became a lighthearted departure from the tortured characters of Batman and Robin, each depicted as fighting crime to avenge the death of their parents. Gordon's motivation for crime fighting was written as being completely altruistic and, unlike Batwoman and Bat-Girl, independent of a male superhero. In her civilian identity, Dr. Barbara Gordon Ph.D. is not only depicted as an independent woman with a doctorate in library science, she is head of Gotham City public library; "presumably one of the largest public libraries in the DC Comics version of reality."
In her debut story, while driving to a costume ball dressed as a female version of Batman, Barbara Gordon intervenes in a kidnapping attempt on Bruce Wayne by the villainous Killer Moth, attracting the Dark Knight's attention and leading to a crime-fighting career.
Julie Madison
Julie Madison first appears in Detective Comics #31 ( 1939) only four issues after Batman's own debut. She makes her last appearance in the Golden Age of Comics in Detective Comics #49 ( 1941).
She is originally portrayed an oft-imperiled socialite/actress who dates Bruce Wayne when not being rescued by Batman. Most significantly, Julie is used as a pawn in the vampiric battle with the Dark Knight. Julie is engaged to Bruce Wayne for a while, until she ends the relationship because he wouldn't find a serious career; of course, she did not know about his secret identity.
She is revealed to have been an actress in Detective Comics #40. She made her last appearance in the early series in Detective Comics #49, where she is targeted for revenge by Basil Karlo, the original Clayface, because she starred in the remake of one of Karlo's films. It is later revealed that she becomes a star under the stage name "Portia Storme." In the same story she ends her engagement to Bruce Wayne and dresses as Robin in a plan to fool Clayface, becoming the first female to don the costume.
Antonio Diego/Bane
Bane was born in the fictional Caribbean Republic of Santa Prisca, in a prison called Peña Duro ("Hard Rock"). His father had been a revolutionary and had escaped Santa Prisca's court system. The corrupt government however decreed that his young son would serve out the man's life sentence, and thus Bane's childhood and early adult life are spent in the amoral penitentiary environment. Though imprisoned, his natural abilities allow him to develop extraordinary skills within the prison's walls. He reads as many books as he can get his hands on, builds up his body in the prison's gym, and learns to fight in the merciless school of prison life. Despite his circumstances, he finds teachers of various sorts during his incarceration, ranging from hardened convicts to an elderly Jesuit priest, under whose tutelage he apparently receives a classical education. Bane murders this priest upon his return to Santa Prisca years later. However, he commits his first murder at the age of eight, stabbing a criminal who wanted to use him to gain information about the prison.<ref name="Broken"/> During his years in prison, Bane carries a teddy bear he calls Osito (Spanish for "little bear"), whom he considers his only friend.<ref name="dc-ency"/> It is revealed that Osito has a hole in his back to hold a knife that Bane uses against anyone who bullies him.<ref name="UGO - Bane"/><ref name="Broken"/>
Bane ultimately establishes himself as the "king" of Peña Duro prison. The prison's controllers take note and eventually force him to become a test subject for a mysterious drug known as Venom<ref name="Broken"/>, which had killed all other subjects. It nearly kills him at first, but he survives and finds the drug vastly increases his physical strength, although he needs to take it every 12 hours (via a system of tubes pumped directly into his brain) or he would suffer debilitating side-effects.<ref name="UGO - Bane"/><ref name="Broken"/>
Years later, Bane escapes Peña Duro, along with several accomplices based on the Fabulous Five (his friends Trogg, Zombie, and Bird, all of whom are named after 1960s rock bands: The Troggs, The Zombies, and The Byrds, and were designed to mimic three of Doc Savage's assistants Monk, Ham, and Renny).<ref name="UGO - Bane"/><ref name="Broken"/> His ambition turns to destroying Batman, whom he had heard tales of while serving his sentence. He is fascinated with Gotham City because, like the prison, it is a place where fear rules: in this case, fear of Batman. Bane is convinced that the demonic bat that haunted his dreams since childhood is a representation of the Batman.<ref name="UGO - Bane"/><ref name="Broken"/>
Aware that a direct assault on Batman would be foolish, Bane destroys the walls of Arkham Asylum, allowing its deranged inmates (including the Joker, the Scarecrow, the Mad Hatter, the Ventriloquist, Firefly, Cavalier, and Victor Zsasz) to escape into Gotham City, where Batman spends three months rounding them up. Running himself to exhaustion, Batman returns to Wayne Manor, where Bane awaits him, having determined Batman's secret identity. He fights Batman in the Batcave, defeats him and delivers the final blow: he breaks Batman's back and leaves him paraplegic, thereby having been the only man to have "Broken the Bat".<ref name="UGO - Bane"/><ref name="Broken"/>

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