Why does Batman have a secret identity?

You know Cinemaphile, it's a common trope for super heroes to have secret identities. And most of the times, it makes sense. Spider-man, Superman, and so on need to protect those they love from getting attacked by their enemies.
But why does Batman have a secret identity?
I mean, think about it. Everyone he knows and loves (Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Damien Wayne) are also super heroes who can handle themselves if attacked. Alfred spends most of the day inside of Wayne manor, which is protected as hell from intruders.
Bruce doesn't need to hold down a job or anything. Hell, he could probably but all of his money in the bank and just live off the interest or something. If he just went public, he wouldn't have to bother putting up a facade of being a playboy and could just be Batman all the time.
So why does he have a secret identity?

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  1. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Because HE'S BATMAN.

  2. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    If anything why do the X-Men wear costumes?

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      they are gay primadonnas, go look at a pride parade and see how they look like

  3. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    The same reason why everybody doesn't use their real name on Cinemaphile. It's an easy way to get doxxed, swatted or get ordered a hit on.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      What do you have to hide for not using your real name?

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        Idk anon, what’s your name?

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        Nice try FBI

    • 2 years ago
      Liam Smith

      That's stupid

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        t. king of Cinemaphile

        • 2 years ago
          Liam Smith

          You better fricking believe it

  4. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    I think it’s more of a natural practicality
    Think about it, in the original Batman comics there was no Dick nor Alfred. Even Julie Madison only appeared after a few issues.
    But he wants to be a vengeful creature of the night. If you see Batman and go “a demon himself! I’m going to die” that’s good. If you see Batman and say “Bruce Wayne in his bat costume,” thats bad

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous
      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        Like, think about it logically OP. Reread this page until you understand it. Why would he need a disguise at all if he is to have an open identity? Why call himself Batman or dress as a bat? He could just wear tactical supplies and call himself Bruce Wayne
        His disguise is to strike terror into criminals hearts, and the Batman is born. The explanation that it’s to protect those he cares about came later, as additional characters were added to the comic

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          What this thread definitely needs is a story time of The Batman Nobody Knows, the comic which was adapted into the Batman The Animated Series episode “Legends Of The Dark Knight,” and the animated movie Batman: Gotham Knight

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous
            • 2 years ago
              Anonymous
              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous
              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous
              • 2 years ago
                Anonymous
      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        I always loved that second panel of Batman looking like he's thinking "hahaha, dumb fricks."

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      Like, think about it logically OP. Reread this page until you understand it. Why would he need a disguise at all if he is to have an open identity? Why call himself Batman or dress as a bat? He could just wear tactical supplies and call himself Bruce Wayne
      His disguise is to strike terror into criminals hearts, and the Batman is born. The explanation that it’s to protect those he cares about came later, as additional characters were added to the comic

      >It's illegal
      >he has a company to protect
      >batman is supposed to be a myth not just a random guy (sometimes)
      >revealing your secret to a chick = amazing sex

      What this thread definitely needs is a story time of The Batman Nobody Knows, the comic which was adapted into the Batman The Animated Series episode “Legends Of The Dark Knight,” and the animated movie Batman: Gotham Knight

      He is literally in the Justice League.
      The Justice League existence isn't secret so what's the need to hide that?
      Unless you go in a shitty mandate like in the 90s with Bats being considered an urban legend there is no way criminals will not know how Batman looks like and that he is a member of the JL

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        >mandate like in the 90s with Bats being considered an urban legend
        That's how you do it

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        >Batman is such a powerful entity that he hangs out with the king of Atlantis and Superman and is respected by them.
        I don't know why that would make criminals not be afraid of him.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        A mandate in the 90s? You mean an essential part of the character since Detective Comics #27 (1939)

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      The urban legend thing was a post crisis addition.
      Bruce Wayne wanted you to know Batman was a man, he just didn't want you to know that Bruce Wayne was the man in that costume.
      Anybody could be Batman, but Batman wasn't just anybody.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        >the golden age comics are all fakes from the 90s! Don’t believe your lying eyes!
        Even if your schizo theory were true (it’s not, but even if it were) the 90s were 30 years ago. It’s been a part of his character for at least 30 really 83 years

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          >>the golden age comics are all fakes from the 90s! Don’t believe your lying eyes!
          that's a delusion you have to believe if you want the urban legend thing to be real.
          Tec 27 has a Batman that interacts with cops and criminals in such a way that they know he's a person and not a mothman tier cryptid

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous

            Ok I’ll never believe my lying eyes again. You’re right, Batman should be iron man because he was iron man. Happy?

  5. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Beyond any other reason, Batman specifically has a secret identity because Gotham media would question every single thing he did and he'd have to spend every waking minute in a courtroom

    That's the fallacy of Tony Stark, it was a cool moment but in reality it would be the end of Iron Man

  6. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    >Alfred spends most of his day isnide of Wayne manor which is protected as hell from intruders
    If Joker, Penguin, Deathstroke or Riddler seriously wanted to mount a assault on Wayne Manor they could do it easily. What are you on?

  7. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    >It's illegal
    >he has a company to protect
    >batman is supposed to be a myth not just a random guy (sometimes)
    >revealing your secret to a chick = amazing sex

  8. 2 years ago
    Boco

    Because Batman, for all the good he does, is still a vigilante operating outside the law. Its only because Gordon likes him that he's not being hunted like an animal 24/7.

  9. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    >Everyone he knows and loves
    This also includes villains. All his enemies know his identity.

  10. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Because it lets him work a case from multiple angles. Bruce Wayne can easily get in certain places to gather information that the Batman can later use.

  11. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    >why does Batman have a secret identity?
    Because vigilantism is ILLEGAL

  12. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    if you don't know who Batman is, then anyone could be Batman
    and you can't count on Batman not showing up because Bruce Wayne is doing something

  13. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    There's a handful of reasons.
    1) He wanted the Batman to have an air of mystique. He wanted to become a boogeyman of the night. As long as no one knows who Batman is under the mask, he can still sort of maintain that air. The moment everyone knows he's Bruce Wayne, he stops being "The Batman" and is just downgraded to being "Billionaire Bruce Wayne in a Bat Costume".
    2) He needs Wayne Enterprises running smoothly. The revelation that Bruce Wayne is a vigilante would cause problems to crop up everywhere and things would start getting fricked up hard. It would impact his ability to fund his own activities, it would impact all the people under his employ, it would impact his charity efforts.
    3) If everyone knows where he lives, all his enemies know where he is. What's to stop everyone from getting together and bombing the shit out of his house?

    There is NO practical reason for Batman to willingly reveal his identity.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      >1) He wanted the Batman to have an air of mystique. He wanted to become a boogeyman of the night. As long as no one knows who Batman is under the mask, he can still sort of maintain that air. The moment everyone knows he's Bruce Wayne, he stops being "The Batman" and is just downgraded to being "Billionaire Bruce Wayne in a Bat Costume".
      >2) He needs Wayne Enterprises running smoothly. The revelation that Bruce Wayne is a vigilante would cause problems to crop up everywhere and things would start getting fricked up hard. It would impact his ability to fund his own activities, it would impact all the people under his employ, it would impact his charity efforts.
      >3) If everyone knows where he lives, all his enemies know where he is. What's to stop everyone from getting together and bombing the shit out of his house?
      Iron Man proved that it wouldn't be the case

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        How many times has avengers mansion been targeted? Or which ever stark company he's running at the time? And Tony didn't reveal his identity till the 2000s.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        If you like iron man read iron man, this is Batman, a different character with a different story

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          Iron Man does what Batman does better, he can build a machine, saves the world and challenge gods.
          Bruce can't even fix a shithole city in the middle of america, what a moron

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous

            If you like iron man read iron man, this is Batman, a different character with a different story

  14. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    I'd always kinda figured that Batman would actually prefer to stay out of the limelight, so he'd avoid group photos and prohibit people making statues of him in the Hall of Justice and shit. He'd also probably keep his name out of the official records so it's hard to verify that he's an actual member of the League.

    In fact, if you think about it, Batman has no real reason to be out there in the thick of things alongside Superman or the Flash. He'd be better off coordinating things from the Watch Tower or something. I mean, I'm not saying he CAN'T be on the field if his presence is somehow necessary, but it generally shouldn't be necessary.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      See this makes sense to me, bats showing up in a dark room as a scary dude "the guy they don't talk about" to get answers about the fricked up science experiment/alien that broke containment

  15. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Secret identities in general don't make any sense in a world where the internet and facial recognition cameras exist.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      You can defeat a facial recognition camera by drawing eyes under your eyes or just by being a Black person.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      How the hell is facial recognition gonna penetrate a Batman mask? Especially cause you’re not gonna get video/photo in great lighting show off the details of his lower jaw

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        Okay then. What's Superman and Wonder Womans excuse then?

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          Their excuse is “I don’t care about heroes who aren’t Batman”

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          Nobody believes that superman would have a secret identity and I think Wonder Woman is already a public figure, being an ambassador and all

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          Does wonder woman even have a Secret identity anymore?
          And for Superman, Superman vibrates his molecules (like the Flash) so that his face always looks blurry

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          >Wonder Woman
          Last time she had a secret identity was during Simone run more than a decade ago.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        They wouldn't need facial recognition some sperg on Cinemaphile or /misc/ would recognise his chin from their 8000 picture strong folder entitled BrucewayneJew?

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          What clear picture are people getting of Batman for you to compare them?

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous

            Batman has been on tv multiple times and it has even happened in his own comic

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous

            If Batman was real, Gotham would be full of paparazzi, amateur photographers, journalists, nerds and cctv constantly trying to get pictures or footage, there would be some niche team filming discovery type tv shows "in search of the batman" plus potential for villains to film fights etc, that's plenty of opportunities for pictures.

  16. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Because he employs thousands of people. If he reveals himself, any and all Wayne Enterprises employees and their families are easy targets for Batman's enemies.

  17. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    >So why does he have a secret identity?

    The Joker in this panel provides a good example of why he has one. Batman has a lot of enemies and those enemies have the intelligence and resources to destroy him utterly if they ever discovered his secret identity.

  18. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    >Why does Batman have a secret identity?
    >Joker finds out who Batman is
    >Finds where he parks his car
    >Lays a deuce on his windshield
    >???????????
    >Profit

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