It’s no secret that Batman doesn’t get along well with many people. He’s considered to be one of the biggest loners in the pantheon of classic superheroes.
Most of the movies depict him as having no one in his life besides Alfred. However, in the comics, despite his isolationist tendencies, Batman has many friends and allies within the DC Universe.
As a member of the Justice League, he interacts with most of the heroes of that universe on a regular basis. He also, in Gotham alone, has the classic Bat-Family of many allies and protégés, most of whom he trained himself.
While Batman has all of these allies and has made all of these team-ups, however, that doesn’t mean that every single one of these characters is his friend.
There are some superheroes who have never warmed to the dark knight, calling out his ego, his isolationist attitude, and sometimes just his personality in general.
Some of these heroes are just incredibly different people than Batman, and they were never meant to get along. Others are reckless, something that Batman has never really proved to have much tolerance for.
Then there are characters who are a little too close to Batman himself. They share similarities that make it almost impossible to get along.
Whether they be regular interactions in the DC Universe or licensed crossovers that have happened with other properties, here are the 10 Heroes Batman Is Close To (And 10 He Can’t Stand).
20. Close to: Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is one of Batman’s closest allies within the Justice League.
While they are often at odds, they have each other’s backs and, more than that, have a genuine understanding of each other.
Their friendship is so close that they are often even portrayed as romantic partners in the comics and animated series.
Even though Wonder Woman seems to be at odds with Batman idealistically, they do share many similarities.
Diana is a warrior first and foremost and probably the most tactically minded hero in the League outside of Batman himself.
The Justice League movie, more for the sake of having already introduced both characters, also attempted to establish a very close professional relationship between Bruce and Diana.
19. Can’t stand: Guy Gardner
Batman has a sometimes strained relationship with most of the Green Lantern Corps, partially because he is more idealistically aligned with Sinestro in terms of the concept of weaponizing fear.
Most of the time, though, it comes down to a personality clash.
Of all of the Green Lanterns, Batman clashes with Guy Gardner the most.
Gardner is far more impulsive and brash than the other major Green Lanterns that have served in the Justice League. This is a case of two people with completely different personalities.
Gardner is so loud and obnoxious that it really is impossible for he and Batman to get along.
To Batman, he’s just an idiot acting like a child, and though the dark knight has certainly worked with children in the past, Gardner constantly tests his patience.
18. Close to: Flash
Flash is another character who’s more outgoing than Batman.
Even the Barry Allen version, who’s a little more straight-laced than Wally, has a deep connection with Batman.
He might have infinitely more superhuman abilities than the caped crusader and they might seem completely different on paper, but there are definitely things that bind them.
First and foremost, there’s the fact that they’re both devoted not only to justice, but working alongside the justice system specifically.
Both heroes respect that system even when they work largely outside of it. One of Batman’s greatest allies is a police commissioner, after all, and Flash is CSI.
They’re both detectives in their own way and both of them were initially pushed into the lifestyle they chose by events that wound up defining them as children.
17. Can’t stand: Azrael
Azrael came about during the 1990s, when the need for extreme, gritty heroes was at its peak.
Independent characters like Hellboy and Spawn had become extremely successful and that edge and attitude was applied to every hero across both of the big two companies, with varying results.
Azrael was created to essentially be a version of Batman, who did all of the things that Batman would not do because of his apparent moral code.
He was basically a Batman who took lives. This character even took over for Bruce during the events of Knightfall.
It completely makes sense why Bruce would not want anything to do with him. Azrael is reckless and, in Batman’s eyes, not really much of a hero at all.
16. Close to: Batgirl
Barbara Gordon is one of Batman’s oldest allies, next to Dick Grayson’s original Robin. They’ve fought together for years.
Even though they’ve not always seen eye to eye, Batgirl has always been quick to point out a flaw in the dark knight’s plan when she sees one.
While Batman certainly doesn’t have a small ego, he’s always appeared to admire that quality in Batgirl and in her ability to think like he does, even outthink him at times, without always agreeing with what he’s doing.
After she became Oracle, Barbara still retained that close relationship with Batman and became an extra pair of eyes and ears from the Batcave, as seen in the Arkham games.
15. Can’t stand: John Constantine
Constantine doesn’t make friends easily and Batman is definitely no exception.
While Batman’s world is exaggerated, he likes to work within realistic parameters. For someone as tactical as Batman, the unpredictability of the magical world causes a lot of problems.
More than that, though, Constantine is selfish and arrogant and ultimately untrustworthy.
He’s not afraid to stab someone in the back if it means winning. It’s hard for Batman to get on that level, but at the same time, he’s also done all of those things before.
The feeling is mutual as well. As someone working in the shadows as well, Constantine has never bought into Batman’s over-the-top theatrics.
They’ve always had a strenuous relationship when working together.
14. Close to: Robin
Robin is the most obvious hero on this list, no matter which Robin is being discussed.
This is not just the dark knight’s sidekick, but also a partner and protégé, all rolled into one.
The original Robin, Dick Grayson, remains one of Batman’s closest allies ever, maybe next to only Alfred himself.
Tim Drake is also one of the closest relationship’s Batman has ever had. Even when Jason Todd was Robin, while they got on each other’s nerves, there was a genuine admiration for the younger hero.
The same is also true of Damien Wayne.
Dick Grayson and Tim Drake especially are among the closest relationships Batman has ever had and he genuinely became a better person by allowing both of those young men to stand beside him in his war on crime.
13. Can’t stand: Booster Gold
This one shouldn’t be shocking at all. Batman and Booster Gold have extremely different personalities.
Batman doesn’t like to be in the spotlight. His whole persona is based on working within the shadows and staying largely out of sight.
Booster Gold, meanwhile, is everything people think of when they think of the fame and fortune that must come with being a superhero.
At least, he thinks that’s who he is. In reality, he’s always been someone trying to achieve the ultimate goal of superstardom through heroism, though he has proven to have a genuine core behind his massive ego.
Batman’s ego is great as well, but it manifests itself in an entirely different way.
In the end, its their entirely separate styles that have kept these two from ever really seeing eye to eye.
12. Close to: Elongated Man
In this instance, these two heroes grew incredibly close despite their wholly different personalities.
When first introduced, Elongated Man worked almost exclusively alongside the Flash, just like his TV show counterpart.
However, overtime, he was introduced to more and more iconic heroes and eventually became an integral member of the Justice League.
During the tragic events of Identity Crisis, Batman becomes obsessed with solving the mystery of who took the life of Elongated Man’s wife. That series, more than any other, truly establishes the emotional bond between these two characters.
Identity Crisis also held dozens of other surprises for the dark knight, but that closeness to Elongated Man was the crux of the entire story.
11. Can’t stand: Red Hood
Batman and Red Hood have a tragic relationship, as the Jason Todd incarnation of Red Hood was once Robin.
While on a mission, he was beaten within an inch of his life by the Joker, who then detonated a bomb.
For years, it was assumed that Jason had met a permanent end before he returned as the vigilante known as Red Hood.
Batman’s relationship has been strained ever since that return, as Jason represents the dark knight’s greatest failure even to this day.
There’s still a respect there and the two do care for each other. Much of that pain has mended over time, but there’s still an uneasiness.
What Joker did to Jason didn’t just change the former Robin, it completely changed his relationship with Batman forever.
10. Close to: Zatanna
While she operates in exactly the same world as John Constantine, Zatanna Zatarra is a much closer ally to Batman than Constantine could ever dream of being.
Her magical skill is extraordinary, but it doesn’t ever appear to frighten Batman, as there is always a sense of control to her.
Zatanna always appears to know exactly what she’s doing, which is necessary in a field like magic where everything can and usually does go wrong.
Batman has always shown a clear respect for both her skill and her discipline.
She operates in a world that he barely understands, and Batman is a character who always tries to understand everything around him, but he puts his trust in her at every turn and that makes it easier for a character like Batman to accept the supernatural elements of the DC Universe.
9. Can’t stand: Spider-Man
They might hail from different universes, but Batman and Spider-Man have interacted before, even in an official capacity.
Crossovers between Marvel and DC used to be a semi-regular occurrence, with perhaps the most well known being the massive Marvel vs. DC event of the 1990s.
However. there was another ‘90s crossover that got to have a bit more fun with putting these wildly different characters together, and that was the combination of Batman and Spider-Man.
Not only did these heroes meet, but they were forced to work together.
These heroes weren’t the only team-up, either. Joker and Carnage teamed up to take on the crime fighters, only for Joker to immediately regret the decision.
For Batman specifically, Spider-Man is just too loud and obnoxious.
Even the emotional edge that Spidey brings to the table is something that Batman seems to be at odds with.
8. Close to: Catwoman
Catwoman is such a close ally of Batman that they almost got married incredibly recently.
Obviously it didn’t work out, but the sentiment is still there.
The love between Catwoman and Batman is incredibly genuine. They see the absolute best in each other, even though they are completely different people.
Catwoman is, in general, a terrific character, as she started out as a clear-cut villain and very gradually evolved into an antihero.
As such, she’s done a tremendous job, even if she’s relapsed into the occasional heist.
Of all of Batman’s rogues, it made sense to turn Catwoman into a hero, given that even as a criminal she had never considered hurting people to be a part of the job.
7. Can’t stand: Spawn
Not only did Batman cross over with Spider-Man, but he also met this Image icon as well.
When he was first created in the ‘90s, Spawn seemed to be the even darker version of Batman. He brooded more, he was edgier, sadder, more resigned to his place within the shadows.
Both of these characters are grouchy loners with no shortage of attitude. Those things immediately come into play in the Batman/Spawn crossover written by Frank Miller.
While there was potential for huge crossover between these worlds, the meeting between these icons by a superstar writer really boils down to nothing more than a turf war.
Batman comes to New York and Spawn simply does not want the dark knight in his city.
This is also proof that it doesn’t take much of anything for these two to set each other off.
6. Close to: Orphan
Cassandra Cain has gone by many names. Most notably, she served as Batgirl for a lengthy period of time and was hand picked for that role by the former Batgirl Oracle and by Batman himself.
Her latest superhero name, Orphan, clearly indicates at least one connection she and Batman share in that they’re obviously both orphans.
While this is still a puzzling new name for a hero, it does nothing to negate what a strong and complicated character Cassandra is.
Though she has a harder edge than the original Batgirl, Orphan is almost as tactical as Batman himself.
She was essentially trained as the ultimate ninja and taking lives came easy to her before she was showed another path.
5. Can’t stand: Huntress
Unlike virtually every other vigilante in Gotham, Batman has never been close with Huntress.
For him, her methods always went a little too far. He was critical of her at virtually every turn and Huntress would tend to act very much like a daughter trying to win her dad’s approval, but she never got it.
The two always had a strained relationship, no matter what.
Even when Huntress became a member of the Birds of Prey and worked alongside trusted allies of Batman like Oracle and Black Canary, he never warmed up to her.
Huntress doesn’t see the world the way Batman does and has never been able to adapt to his worldview, which has always strengthened the rift between the two characters.
4. Close to: Superman
Even though there was an entire movie based around the two of them fighting, Superman is one of Batman’s closest friends and strongest allies in the DC Universe.
Batman and Superman are literally from completely different worlds. They are entirely different people and sometimes Batman doesn’t always gel with that.
However, Superman inspires Batman in a way no other hero really does.
The two have complete and total respect for one another and always have each other’s backs no matter what.
The Justice League movie looked like it was trying to get these characters to that point, but given the events of Batman v Superman, it was a friendship formed out of Batman’s guilt more than anything else.
3. Can’t stand: Lobo
Batman, like most DC heroes, cannot tolerate the main man. Lobo is too much to handle. He’s reckless and is basically the personification of ego, caring about nothing whatsoever aside from making himself happy.
Lobo only happens to align with the side of good just barely often enough to even be called a hero in the loosest definition.
However, Batman sees him as nothing more than a dangerous and unpredictable element that could and usually does jeopardize virtually any mission he partakes in.
Lobo doesn’t seem to care much for Batman either, or for really any other hero for that matter.
They don’t see eye to eye and they’re never really after the same things. They’re just characters who are forced to work together sometimes and even then, they usually end up fighting.
2. Close to: Nightwing
Dick Grayson is and will always be Batman’s closest superhero ally. They’ve been through everything together.
Their relationship dates back to Batman’s early days in Gotham, when Dick Grayson was just a scared boy who lost his family and was taken in by a man who’d been through exactly the same thing.
Batman trained Dick not as a sidekick, but as a protégé, to continue on beyond his own time as a crime fighter and even to be better than him.
As Nightwing, Dick went off on his own but still remained one of Batman’s closest allies.
He is his own hero now and Batman has worked with other Robins, but that initial relationship is still incredibly strong.
1. Can’t Stand: Hal Jordan
While Batman is close to virtually every member of the Justice League, the only mainstay hero that he has never really gotten along with has been Hal Jordan.
Generally seen as the “main” Green Lantern of the DC Universe, Hal and Batman have never totally seen eye to eye.
While Hal’s work is cosmic, naturally, he is still a cop and Batman is a vigilante. Hal also calls Batman out on certain things, something that Batman is used to doing for other heroes.
Batman’s not a character who likes to think of himself as flawed, so Hal’s reminders of those flaws only tend to make him mad.
Batman also tries to prepare for heroes turning evil, but the one time Hal was taken over by Parallax, no one was prepared to stop it, so that uneasiness might still remain for Batman.
Can you think of any other heroes who Batman gets along with or despises? Sound off in the comments!
