For any superhero to battle crime anonymously and preserve their family members protected, they need to cover their civilian identities from the world. Few heroes perceive that higher than Batman. Together with his huge wealth and years within the artwork of stealth and deception, the Darkish Knight places a variety of effort into ensuring that nobody figures out that he’s actually the rich billionaire and playboy Bruce Wayne. Sadly, all this preparation usually falls flat as a result of Batman’s worst enemies have repeatedly found his secret id and used it in opposition to him. With this data, these villains have the facility to wreck Batman’s life eternally.
Most individuals can’t put collectively that the richest man in Gotham is the one individual with the cash required to be Batman. Nonetheless, when DC villains do determine Batman’s day job, they out of the blue turn into among the Darkish Knight’s most harmful enemies.
7) Hush
When the prison mastermind Hush made his debut, one in every of his defining traits was that he knew Bruce Wayne was Batman and exploited this data to harm the Darkish Knight and everybody he cherished. Hush finally revealed himself to be Thomas Elliot, a childhood buddy of Bruce Wayne. When Thomas Wayne thwarted Elliot’s plans to kill his abusive dad and mom, he swore vengeance on all the Wayne household, together with Bruce. With the assistance of the Riddler, Elliot found that Bruce is Batman and sought to destroy him. Not solely does Hush know Batman’s secret id, however he’s truly tried to steal it for himself. In one in every of his most insane schemes, Hush obtained cosmetic surgery to appear like Bruce Wayne in order that he may infiltrate and dismantle his former childhood buddy’s life. With their private historical past, Hush is aware of Batman higher than most of Gotham’s rogues, making him a real menace to the Caped Crusader.
6) Riddler
For many years, the Riddler was all the time attempting to unravel probably the most tough riddle of all of them: who’s the Batman? The Riddler lastly obtained his reply after bathing within the Lazarus Pit to treatment his most cancers. As the magical pit rejuvenated the Riddler’s physique, it additionally quickly enhanced his thoughts, which allowed him to place the items collectively that Gotham’s wealthiest man, Bruce Wayne, was Batman. The Riddler then gave this data to Hush. When Batman confronted the Riddler, the villain gleefully boasted that he would inform everybody the hero’s secret id. Nonetheless, Batman performed into the Riddler’s pathological should be the neatest and his love of puzzles by stating {that a} riddle recognized by everyone seems to be nugatory. Additionally, Batman threatened to inform Ra’s Al Ghul concerning the Riddler’s unauthorized use of his Lazarus Pit, one thing which the chief of the League of Assassins undoubtedly wouldn’t have been pleased about. So, the Riddler stored his mouth shut. Later, the Riddler suffered a concussion that conveniently brought about him to overlook the reply to the world’s best riddle.
5) Lex Luthor
Paradoxically, Luthor found Batman’s secret id earlier than Superman’s, regardless that the Man of Tomorrow doesn’t even put on a masks. Throughout the storyline Endlessly Evil, the Crime Syndicate unmasked Nightwing to the world. When the DC heroes and villains labored collectively to cease the Syndicate and rescue Nightwing, they discovered that he had a bomb strapped to his chest that was linked to his coronary heart price. When Luthor quickly made Nightwing flatline to disarm the bomb, Batman noticed pink and almost strangled the villain to demise. Recognizing that solely a father or mother believing that they misplaced their son may expertise such rage, Luthor deduced that Batman was Dick Grayson’s adoptive father, Bruce Wayne. Fortunately for Batman, Luthor had no real interest in exposing the hero’s secret id as a result of he was going by means of a redemption arc. Even when Luthor went again to his villainous methods, he by no means uncovered Batman’s secret id as a result of he’s so busy attempting to kill Superman.
4) Hugo Unusual
Considered one of Batman’s earliest villains, Dr. Hugo Unusual lacks superpowers and colourful gimmicks, however he greater than makes up for it together with his intelligence. A mad psychiatrist obsessive about turning into Batman himself, Unusual is notorious for continually attempting and in the end succeeding at uncovering the Darkish Knight’s secret id. Whereas below a false id, Unusual handled Bruce Wayne for radiation burns he obtained after combating Physician Phosphorus. These wounds, together with psychological deduction, led Unusual to comprehend that Bruce was actually Batman. Initially, Unusual tried to public sale off the data to the very best bidder, however this effort ended when some gangsters almost killed him attempting to get the data out of him. Nonetheless, Unusual used his information of Bruce’s id to steal the hero’s riches and superhero id. Fortunately, Batman managed to make use of some psychological warfare of his personal to gaslight everybody, together with Unusual, into pondering that he isn’t Bruce. Even when within the present DC continuity Unusual isn’t conscious of Batman’s id, it’s solely a matter of time till he learns it.
3) Bane
Bane could oftentimes be considered as merely a muscle-bound brute, however his skill to infer Batman’s secret id mere months after shifting to Gotham reveals that his best power is his thoughts. Bane’s debut storyline “Knightfall” noticed him stalking Batman to determine his weaknesses. By finding out Batman’s physique language, Bane managed to determine fairly shortly that he’s Bruce Wayne. With this data, Bane ambushed Batman in his own residence earlier than shattering the hero’s backbone and leaving him for useless. Since that fateful first encounter, Bane has exploited the information of Batman’s secret id greater than another villain, making him one of many Darkish Knight’s best threats. Bane will often assault Batman and his family members when and the place they’re most weak. A few of Bane’s most notorious acts embody leaving three brutally crushed Robins within the Bat Cave, breaking Flashpoint Batman’s again, and even murdering Alfred. With the information of who Batman actually is, Bane can extra completely break him.
2) Ra’s Al Ghul
The chief of the League of Assassins, Ra’s Al Ghul has entry to loads of top-secret data, together with Batman’s secret id. In his debut story, Ra’s confirmed simply how a lot energy he had over the Caped Crusader by revealing that he knew the masked vigilante was Bruce Wayne. For Ra’s, it was a easy matter of deducing that somebody with the variety of devices and automobiles that Batman has would should be exceptionally rich to fund his crime-fighting marketing campaign. Some continuities even have it that Ra’s was one in every of Bruce’s lecturers when he was coaching to turn into Batman. Since that fateful first assembly, Ra’s has sought to make Batman his successor because the chief of the League of Shadows. Their relationship is additional sophisticated by the truth that Ra’s daughter, Talia, had a romantic curiosity in Batman and even sired his son, Damian Wayne. Whether or not by attacking his Batman or Bruce Wayne persona, Ra’s received’t cease till the Darkish Knight turns into the brand new head of the League of Assassins.
1) Joker
As Batman’s archenemy, the thought of the Joker realizing the Darkish Knight’s greatest secret is a terrifying idea. Whereas we by no means get a transparent reply as to how the Joker found that Bruce Wayne is Batman, storylines like “Endgame,” “Joker Battle,” Three Jokers, and even the present Batman run all make it clear that the Clown Prince of Crime is aware of the reality. Nonetheless, the Joker not often makes use of this important reality to his benefit or tells anybody about it. The reason being that the Joker finds Bruce to be boring, whereas Batman, the mysterious creature of the night time, is way extra entertaining of a rival. Whereas the Joker could steal Bruce Wayne’s fortune, he’d by no means reveal the hero’s secret id as a result of it’ll take all of the enjoyable out of his dynamic with the Caped Crusader. The Joker as soon as even arrange a state of affairs wherein Batman would forgive his dad and mom’ assassin, Joe Chill, in order that the hero may divert all his time and hatred in the direction of his archenemy. For the Joker, the one factor that issues is his everlasting struggle with Batman, not Bruce Wayne.