The Batmaniacs

Cover of Batman #241

   

     "It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me" said Batman in the 2005 movie Batman Begins. From his creation in 1939, to his latest iteration in the 2022 film The Batman, Batman inspires, awes, and leaves an impression on many people worldwide. Whether it be from his actions, or his moral code, the caped crusader brings in many adoring fans. The fans show their support for the dark knight in many forms, from collectibles, to dressing up as Batman, and drawing him, there is a plethora of ways the Batman fandom can show how much of a fan they are.

The Dark Knight's Fanart

    The first big way fans show their support for Batman is through fanart. The fandom absolutely loves to draw images of Batman, from Batman himself, to anything Batman related, as long as they get to express their creativity and their love of Batman. The fandom makes fanart depicting their favorite Batman, or they draw suit designs of their own. Other fanart drawings include, fight scenes, still shots of Batman on rooftops, still shots of Batman in Gotham City, and images of Batman with his allies. They share their fanart online, DeviantArt or Reddit being big places where fanart is shared, praising other members of the fandom for the art they have created as well as getting praise for their own work. Countless hours are put into each piece because the creators want absolute perfection in their work, they want every shape, every shade, every part of their work to be a masterpiece worthy enough to be shown online.

Batman Fanart

Batman: Arkham Knight Fanart

Donning The Cowl

    The next big thing fans do to show their love for Batman is dressing up as the Batman himself. Many people cannot help themselves to dressing up as one of their favorite comic book characters. Some even take it a step further, like Keith Dinsmore. Keith, a fan from Portland Maine, decided that he was going to take his cosplay bigger than others, he decided that he wanted to break the Guiness World Record for most functional gadgets in a cosplay suit (1). The world record when Keith was attempting to break it was set in 2017 with a total of 23 working gadgets (1). Keith knocked it out of the park, setting the new record with a total of 30 working gadgets in his Batman cosplay (1). Now, not only did Keith break the record, but when he got married, his wife and him included Batman in their wedding, since they are both huge fans of Batman (1). Not only will Batman fans cosplay Batman and attempt to break world records, but they will also add Batman to their wedding, who knew!

 

Keith's Batman Cosplay

 In addition to dressing up as Batman for fun, people will cosplay as Batman and show up to the biggest comic book event, Comic Con. The Batman fandom will take the time to dress up, then travel any distance to Comic Con to meet with other individuals who share their ambition for Batman. If someone were to go to Comic Con, they would undoubtingly encounter an army of Batmen, cosplays varying from store bought costumes, to homemade cosplay, roaming around, striking up conversation and taking loads of photos. Sometimes, one might see two Batmen pretending to fight all throughout Comic Con. The Batman fandom has true dedication in their pursuit of loving Batman. 

Batman Cosplayers at Oz Comic Con

Building The Collection

    The next big aspect of the Batman fandom is their collection of Batman related items. These items tend to include things like Comic books, action figures, other types of figurines, DVDs, toy sets, posters, and pretty much anything that has Batman on it, or has to do with Batman. A great example of this is a fan in Indiana by the name of Kevin Silva, who created a collection of 3,252 Batman souvenirs over the span of 45 years (2). In fact, Silva's collection was so large, he had set a world record for having the largest collection of Batman memorabilia (2). Silva then donated his entire collection to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, so that his collection may be shared amongst more Batman fans (2). 

Kevin Silva's Batman Collection

The batmaniacs do not worry about the price or the time it will take to collect lots of Batman souvenirs and merchandise. Who knows, they might even set a new world record because of their passion for Batman memorabilia! 

The Bat Fiction

    Fans like to express their creativity and imagination in many ways. One of the ways the batmaniacs like to express their love for their favorite caped crusader is through fanfiction. The batmaniacs express many ideas from their imagination when they write fanfictions. From making Batman and Joker love each other, to Batman having a daughter, and even Batman meeting Steven Universe. These stories share much about Batman's fans, through them writing these stories, they open gateways into other fans' minds. Some stories might seem strange and out of left field, but they bring about new worlds, new side stories, new ideas that fans seem to enjoy. Most Batman fanfiction is on the online fanfiction site Wattpad. It is safe to say that the amount of Batman fanfiction will not slow down, as new people come up with new stories, or make their own version of stories that other fans have already made.

The Bat War

    Batman has been around for a while, 84 years to be exact. In those 84 years, fans have seen a plethora of people don the role of Batman. The number of people who have played Batman leads fans to debate just who exactly is the best Batman. The criteria that many fans use to determine who the best Batman is, from the voice to the quality of the movie or show, and even how good the other characters are. Many fans will say that voice actor of the animated Batman universe, Kevin Conroy, is the best. From his voice to the many great appearances of the animated Batman, fans absolutely love Kevin Conroy. Now, when it comes to live action Batmen, the discussion gets difficult. Many fans love Christian Bale's Batman. They love the Dark Knight trilogy, and the fact that Bale's Batman got to develop over the course of the trilogy. Older fans still hold that Adam West is the best Batman. They adore West since his Batman was in a tv series, so fans got to see a lot of Batman and Bruce Wayne, and the dynamic of the characters leave fans in awe. They also love how West portrayed his characters in the 60s tv series. Even though fans have trouble agreeing on who the best Batman is, they can all agree that Batman is a truly amazing hero.

    The batmaniacs are truly one of a kind when it comes to showing their support. From breaking world records, to buying tons of Batman merchandise, they know how to show their love and admiration for the Dark Knight. Even though they may get a little sidetracked by the number of portrayals of Batman, they can all come together to say that Batman is awesome.

Sources:

Adams, Neal. Batman #241. 1972.

Detroit Free Press, Kevin Silva’s Collection, March 12, 2017

(2) Diaz, Carlos. “Former world record holder for biggest Batman collection lives in Indiana.” WTHR. WTHR, 4 March 2022. Indianapolis man might be biggest Batman fan in the world | wthr.com. Accessed 25 Nov. 2023.

Elgrimlock, Batman, DeviantArt, March 12, 2012

Parawolf, Batman Cosplay Oz Comic Con, Reddit, 2022

RobDuenas, Batman: Arkham Knight, DeviantArt, June 7, 2015

(1) Stephenson, Kristen. “Cosplayer creates record breaking Batman costume with 30 working gadgets.” Guiness World Records. Guiness World Records, 16 June 2020. Cosplayer creates record-breaking Batman costume with 30 working gadgets | Guinness World Records. Accessed 25 Nov. 2023.