Does Batman belong in the "fictional detective" category?

[sonak]

Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Nero Wolfe, ... Batman?


So is Batman considered a fictional detective? Ras al' ghul calls him "detective," he stars in "detective comics," but I get the feeling he's not seriously considered to be in the category of fictional detectives. Some of the comics and graphic novels though have gone pretty far into noirish territory and whodunit territory, but he's also in JL and Superman type of stuff. I think he's more in the "superhero" category than fictional detective one myself.

 

[Trekker4747]

He doesn't do a whole lot of detective work, at last not in Holmesian or other manner. Mostly Batman works with his fists with "some" detective work being done in order to figure out what better ways to hit things with his fists.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Nero Wolfe, ... Batman?


So is Batman considered a fictional detective? Ras al' ghul calls him "detective," he stars in "detective comics," but I get the feeling he's not seriously considered to be in the category of fictional detectives. Some of the comics and graphic novels though have gone pretty far into noirish territory and whodunit territory, but he's also in JL and Superman type of stuff. I think he's more in the "superhero" category than fictional detective one myself.

Is there a reason he has to be in one or the other? He's a superhero and a detective. He's also a martial artist and a master of disguise.

 

[scotpens]

Technically speaking, Batman, the Green Hornet, the Phantom et al. aren't "superheroes" because they possess no special or superhuman powers. If you prick them, they bleed.

I'd say Batman belongs more to the tradition of Zorro and the Scarlet Pimpernel -- wealthy aristocrats who don a disguise and go out to fight crime and injustice while keeping their true identity a secret.

 

[Trekker4747]

Technically speaking, Batman, the Green Hornet, the Phantom et al. aren't "superheroes" because they possess no special or superhuman powers. If you prick them, they bleed.

They're not super-human but they're still super-heroes as they do heroic things above and beyond normal heroic things. A hero might jump in front of a bullet to save a life, or run into a burning building to save a dog. But Batman goes around fighting crime on a city-wide scale, stopping super villains and foes reserved for entire police forces and armies. He runs into that building to save the dog AND he punches the arsonist in the face with his fists.

 

[Thestral]

Is there a reason he has to be in one or the other? He's a superhero and a detective. He's also a martial artist and a master of disguise.

This.

 

[Christopher]

He doesn't do a whole lot of detective work, at last not in Holmesian or other manner. Mostly Batman works with his fists with "some" detective work being done in order to figure out what better ways to hit things with his fists.

A lot of fictional detectives are also fighters, like Mike Hammer.

How much detective work Batman does depends on what particular stories you're reading or watching. A lot of his adventures over the decades have been mysteries. The Detective Comics title over the decades has often lived up to its name by focusing more on stories in which Batman engaged in detective work and mystery-solving than he did in other titles. The current Beware the Batman TV series has also chosen to emphasize his detective side more than the past few animated series have done.

Heck, the Batman of the '66 series did a lot of detective work. In effect, he and Robin were the Gotham City Police Department's de facto CSI unit, collecting evidence from crime scenes and conducting scientific analysis of it in the Batcave. That's the same kind of scientific crimesolving that was pioneered by Sherlock Holmes, even if it was comically depicted.

So yes. While the detective side of Batman may not be his primary defining attribute, it's an integral part of who he is and what makes him distinct from other superheroes.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Before he was the "Dark Knight" he was the "Darknight Detective"

 

[Professor Zoom]

Technically speaking, Batman, the Green Hornet, the Phantom et al. aren't "superheroes" because they possess no special or superhuman powers. If you prick them, they bleed.

Not Batman. Not if he's prepared.