Batman has been fighting crime for a long time but how long exactly? Let’s follow the clues and deduce just how long Gotham has had its Dark Knight.
How long has Batman really been around? Robert Pattinson’s Caped Crusader may only be in his second year in The Batman but the Dark Knight of the comics has been around a lot longer. Although the character has been fighting crime for over 80 years, comics don’t occur in real-time. Otherwise, Batman would be around 100 years old by now. So how does this fictional timescale work? How long has the Dark Knight really been the Dark Knight? Finding the answer may be tricky but it involves looking closely at how the characters have evolved over the years, as well as paying attention to some special details.
The New 52 reboot tried to put a definitive number on the years Batman had been active. When it first launched back in 2011, it stated that Batman, and the rest of the Justice League, had been around for five years. During this time, the Dark Knight had apparently had four Robins, and Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne had taken over from him for almost a year during this period too. That would have meant each Robin spent less than a year in the role. It also would have placed Batman as being in his late-twenties. So, obviously, that timeline was a little hopeful.
Now, with Infinite Frontier restoring all of DC’s history, so too has the Dark Knight’s illustrious career been restored in full. That means that Batman has been active for a long time, especially with how large the Bat-Family has grown since his solo introduction. Actually, thanks to them, we can figure out that Batman has been active in Gotham City for approximately 20 years.
So how does the Bat-Family factor into this equation? The answer lies with the Robins. Dick Grayson was adopted by Bruce Wayne when he was eight years old (though some stories say ten or twelve) and, thanks to Batman: Year Three (by Marv Wolfman and Pat Broderick), we can already deduce that the Caped Crusader had been active for two years beforehand. Although Nightwing’s specific age hasn’t been stated recently, it can be assumed that he’s in his mid-to-late-twenties.
Dick would have been, at the very least, twenty when he became Batman alongside Damian’s Robin. Since Damian was around eight when he was introduced, he would most likely have been nine when he became Robin. Damian’s current solo Robin series (by Joshua Willaimson and Gleb Melnikov) showed Damian’s birthday and, since he turned 13 in the DC Rebirth one-shot, he must be 14 now. That would make Dick 24 at the very least but it’s more than likely he’s older, especially considering both Jason Todd and Tim Drake became Robin after he left at 18.
If that isn’t convincing enough though, perhaps the most accurate way to measure how long Batman has been active is through Tim Drake. Tim debuted during the previously mentioned Year Three storyline. He met a young Dick the day the Flying Graysons died, as a toddler. He wasn’t even three years old at that point. That means that Batman must have been active slightly longer than the third Robin has been alive. Rebirth’s Detective Comics mentioned Tim was accepted into college whilst his coming out story in Batman: Urban Legends mentioned he didn’t go, having turned it down. If Tim was around 18 when he was accepted, and a year has passed for Damian between then and now, then that would make Tim Drake… 19 years old.
Therefore, if Batman has been active longer than Tim has been alive then, currently, he must have been active in the DC Universe for approximately 20 years. This fits with the overall growth of the Bat-Family, as shown by Dick and Damian. However, Tim became Robin at 13 and stayed in the role for a while. Something which doesn’t entirely line up with Damian’s crimefighting timescale. That would suggest Tim might actually be older than 19 — perhaps even 20 or 21. If that’s the case, then the Dark Knight may have been active for a few years longer than estimated.
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