Batman has been keeping the citizens of Gotham safe for an incredible 80 years.
The superhero remains one of the most celebrated in the world of TV and film, a full eight decades after first appearing in a 1939 edition of Detective Comics.
Initially created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger to capitalise on the success of Superman, the Dark Knight quickly found a following all of its own.
The crime-fighting alter-ego of millionaire playboy and philanthropist Bruce Wayne, Batman has famously faced off against some of DC's greatest villains in his time, including Penguin, Two-Face, the Riddler, Mr Freeze, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Bane and his arch nemesis, the Joker.
It’s easy to forget that the character is something of an anomaly in the DC universe too, with no superhuman powers to speak of. Instead, martial arts expertise, keen intellect and unlimited resources and weaponry make him one of the most formidable crime fighters ever envisaged.
The character has, of course, undergone plenty of changes over the last 80 years. Scores of different actors and directors have put their own spins on him — from the campy 60s series with Adam West, to the brooding figure familiar to fans of the seminal Christopher Nolan trilogy. Of course, he's still on the page, too.
Scroll through the gallery above to see some of the superhero’s most memorable incarnations, from his days as a comicbook crimefighter in the '40s to his turn as a lonely Lego figurine in the 2017 animated blockbuster.
