Why Batman Will Always Be the Greatest Superhero

My earliest memory of Batman isn’t in a comic shop or on some late night binge.

It’s me as a toddler, perched on my father’s lap, watching reruns of the Adam West Batman show. Campy? Absolutely. But when you’re two or three, it’s the greatest thing in the world… colorful villains, gadgets, a “Bam!” and “Pow!” with every punch. Most importantly, it was time with my dad, sharing a hero from his childhood while I discovered mine.

Fast forward a few years and my first theater experience was Batman (1989). Different parent’s lap, same wide eyes, same realization… Batman wasn’t just a character. He was my hero.

From there, the Bat never left my orbit.

Batman: The Animated Series, the rollercoaster of movies, those terrible 90s video games, comics I’d catch spinning on racks at grocery stores. Every version, good or bad, kept feeding that fascination.

And I get it… Batman has no powers.

As a kid, I didn’t fully wrap my head around the trauma of losing his parents even after losing my own father at 4 years old.

What I did understand was simple though… he’s just a man. A man who decided to turn his pain into purpose. He stood for what was right when the world made it easy to fall into wrong.

That’s a lesson kids don’t always hear loud enough and Batman screamed it through the darkness.

Now, let’s not mince words. Batman is the man, and Bruce Wayne is the mask. That duality is what makes him endlessly fascinating. He isn’t pretending to be Batman… he’s pretending to be “Bruce.”

People love to talk about the Joker, and yeah, he’s a top tier villain.

But after years of over saturation, I’ve come to realize Batman’s greatest enemy isn’t Joker, Riddler, or Bane… it’s actually himself.

His inability to let go of the past, his refusal to find peace. That’s the real tragedy of the Dark Knight. He’s on a mission he won’t allow to end.

And then there’s Gotham. Did Gotham create Batman, or did Batman create Gotham? Tough call. Crime was always bad, but the true rogues… the larger than life nightmares seemed to arrive only after the Bat took flight.

Without Batman, is Gotham just another broken city, or is Gotham incomplete without its Dark Knight? It’s the chicken and egg question of comic book lore.

But what makes Batman transcendent is his determination?

He does what’s right, no matter the consequences, even when it costs him his happiness. It’s inspiring and heartbreaking at the same time. His mission is heroic, but it’s also tragic, because he never gives himself permission to stop.

For me, Batman shines brightest as a mentor. His bond with Dick Grayson is my favorite version of the character. Batman alone is compelling. Batman with Robin is something else entirely… a reminder that even the darkest hero needs light beside him.

So why does Batman endure after 85 years when so many heroes fade?

Simple really!

Adaptability. From Adam West’s camp to Burton’s gothic vision, Schumacher’s neon fever dream, Nolan’s gritty realism, and even Snyder’s bruiser Bat. Batman evolves with the times. He reflects whatever era he inhabits while still feeling timeless. That’s why generations keep rediscovering him.

And if you need one final argument why Batman is the greatest superhero?

Look at his pop culture footprint. Comics, multi-hundred million dollar movies, Saturday morning cartoons, Halloween costumes, kids clutching Bat figures like it’s gospel.

Sure, Superman, Spider-Man, and Iron Man have their moments at the top. But none of them have the staying power, the cultural dominance, or the raw mythic energy of the Dark Knight.

Batman isn’t just a hero he’s a phenomenon.

That’s why he’ll always be the greatest.