Did Batman go to college?

[Yarharhar]

Umm..yeah. Did Batman go to college? I am just curious. Of course when I ask this, I mean if Bruce Wayne went to college. Since he would not go dressed as Batman.

[Fone Bone]

YAAAAY! Yarharhar's back!:anime:

Still sad that Lunchbox was banned.:(

I would think he might have. Wasn't Andrea Beaumont in college? It would make sense to see your girlfriend on campus rather than to be one of those creepy older guys who hang out around college and often teach music and sing songs like "Lesbian Seagull".

[El Zorro]

Umm..yeah. Did Batman go to college? I am just curious. Of course when I ask this, I mean if Bruce Wayne went to college. Since he would not go dressed as Batman.
I think Fone Bone is correct. I would have to check, but I recall Andrea mentioning seeing Bruce "around campus" in MOP.

I know in the Golden Age and Silver Age comics Bruce attended "Gotham University" for a few years studying (I think) criminology and law. I seem to recall a flashback scene--perhaps in the Untold Legend of the Batman--where during a class on civil law Bruce is struck by how 'law' and 'justice' are not always the same, which of course leads him to work outside the leagal system.

[Rabi~en~Rose]

speaking of how law and justice are different I wonder how Batman must feel to see thugs he caught the night before back out on the streets the next day?

[Yarharhar]

I think a big reason for his whole 'batman' motif is so that even though they do get out of jail in a day or so, they're too scared to keep commiting crimes... Doesn't always work, but then again nothing does...

[MJC]

IIRC, Bruce has several degrees.

[Phantasm]

Speaking of Bruce in College, what kind of a guy was he?

By the way Andi mentions him, he seems not so social.Not sure if he had any friends...probably drifted about alone...until he met Andi of course!:)

[TimTwoFace]

Yes, he did go to college - and many people have proven thus with their MASK OF THE PHANTASM references. What he studied there, however, remains a mystery.

I'm assuming that his college years were BEFORE his trip around the world and not after though, right?

-Tim

[Casey Mack]

Yes, he did go to college - and many people have proven thus with their MASK OF THE PHANTASM references. What he studied there, however, remains a mystery.

I'm assuming that his college years were BEFORE his trip around the world and not after though, right?

-Tim

after his trip around the world in the DC animated Universe, Bruce then went to college for like 1 or two years.
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[Harley_Quinn]

after his trip around the world in the DC animated Universe, Bruce then went to college for like 1 or two years.
I thought he graduated, didn't he?

[BonyT]

I know in the Golden Age and Silver Age comics Bruce attended "Gotham University" for a few years studying (I think) criminology and law.
Yes, he did go to college - and many people have proven thus with their MASK OF THE PHANTASM references. What he studied there, however, remains a mystery.Hmm ... Seems like studying criminology & law openly in college would be a bit of a mistake for Bruce. I mean, it's not like it's not already a little too easy for any motivated criminal "mastermind" to divine who Batman really is (Joker: "Well, let's see; with all his wonderful expensive toys, ol' Batsy must be one of Gotham's fortunate sons. Now, which poor little rich boy in this old town has some reason for a grudge AND is in really great shape? This shouldn't take too long to figure out [*insert peal of insane laughter*] ..."); so Batman already no doubt has to use some creative misdirection to establish for the public that there's "no way" Bruce Wayne could be Batman (--maybe he uses some of those skills of illusion he picked up studying with Zatanna's dad to do that?). It just seems like a criminology/law degree would be one more sloppy clue to leave behind.

I wonder if it wouldn't make more sense for Bruce to make his study of the criminal sciences through "unofficial" channels, & then, for public consumption, get his degree in Business Management (you know, just the prep you'd expect for taking over the family biz) ... and for that matter, perhaps he ought to make a point of getting kicked out of one or two Ivy League schools, just to further establish the oblivious rich playboy image.

But I don't have any evidence for any of this from either the comics or the DCAU. I'm just speculating out loud.

[Anthonynotes]

>>Hmm ... Seems like studying criminology & law openly in college would be a bit of a mistake for Bruce. I mean, it's not like it's not already a little too easy for any motivated criminal "mastermind" to divine who Batman really is (Joker: "Well, let's see; with all his wonderful expensive toys, ol' Batsy must be one of Gotham's fortunate sons. Now, which poor little rich boy in this old town has some reason for a grudge AND is in really great shape? This shouldn't take too long to figure out [*insert peal of insane laughter*] ..."); so Batman already no doubt has to use some creative misdirection to establish for the public that there's "no way" Bruce Wayne could be Batman (--maybe he uses some of those skills of illusion he picked up studying with Zatanna's dad to do that?). It just seems like a criminology/law degree would be one more sloppy clue to leave behind.
<<


Well, this *is* the same reality where one wearing a pair of glasses, combing back your hair and slouching slightly = no one recognizing your superheroic alter-ego. So, I'm quite sure that Bruce wearing a mask = extra protection on the glasses-level disguise. ;-)

>>I wonder if it wouldn't make more sense for Bruce to make his study of the criminal sciences through "unofficial" channels, & then, for public consumption, get his degree in Business Management (you know, just the prep you'd expect for taking over the family biz) ... and for that matter, perhaps he ought to make a point of getting kicked out of one or two Ivy League schools, just to further establish the oblivious rich playboy image.

But I don't have any evidence for any of this from either the comics or the DCAU. I'm just speculating out loud.<<

In the Silver/Bronze Age comics, Bruce had intended to study criminology/law in order to, IIRC, become a legitimate officer/lawyer/law-enforcement type, but got turned off by seeing the lack of justice always getting served, as noted by the poster above, and decided to find "another way" of fighting crime...

I've assumed Bruce might've either just gotten an Associate Degree (a two-year degree) or poured on the coursework to graduate early----going to school for four years might eat up too much Bat-training time/time away from running the family business, and, within the comics, the timeline they're stuck on might not allow enough time for Bruce to go to college for four years *and* have a pre-Robin Bat-career as long as it seemed...

[DerekPowers]

Yes, he did go to college - and many people have proven thus with their MASK OF THE PHANTASM references. What he studied there, however, remains a mystery.

I'm assuming that his college years were BEFORE his trip around the world and not after though, right?

-Tim
Thats what i thought too. And since he is all ready to become batman in MOTP, i never really saw him as a "college student".

Maybe he was doing graduate studies at that point. or maybe he went to college later than most people. who knows.

peace.

[BonyT]

Well, this *is* the same reality where one wearing a pair of glasses, combing back your hair and slouching slightly = no one recognizing your superheroic alter-ego. So, I'm quite sure that Bruce wearing a mask = extra protection on the glasses-level disguise. ;-)Heh, heh; good point. :)
(That actually occurred to me as well as I was typing that last post; but I figured maybe I'd be wiser to leave Supes alone & restrict myself to Batman's secret identity pitfalls for the moment. I think that's probably enough for my mind to chew on at one time, without also trying to tackle the problems a superhero would encounter whose disguise relies on his eyewear, posture & the part of his hair. ;))

It seems to me there are at least two essentials for Batman to have any chance of maintaining his secret identity: 1) He'd have to take some pains (but without going overboard, mind you) to give the appearance to anyone paying attention in the public that Bruce Wayne can't be Batman (and again, he'd probably utilize some of those misdirection skills he learned from Zatanna's master illusionist father in pre-set-up semi-public scenes to accomplish this -- which is one reason I really liked that BTAS ep as far as lending some credibility to his background story, btw), and 2) he'd HAVE to have police complicity (ala Gordon; and indeed Miller implies in TDKR that Gordon had in fact figured out Batman's secret identity some time not too long into his crime-fighting career). Without both of those, no prayer.

... And as much as the whole "urban legend" thing gets laughed at, he'd probably need to have as much of that working for him as he could get away with as well. After all, it's at least a tiny bit more plausible that the police wouldn't be pursuing (and wouldn't have already discovered) Batman's identity if they can say for the record with some level of credibility to the public that Batman doesn't exist.

... Oh yeah -- and to relate this back to the topic of the thread :p , I think a business degree (and some pre-planned behavior problems in school) would behoove Bruce as far as cultivating that "relatively-unconcerned-playboy-inheriting-the-business-his-father-built" image he wants, hopefully deflecting some of the suspicion from him possibly being Batman.

[Mynd Hed]

I suppose he could've gotten mail-order degrees in criminology under an alias while breezing through a C-average college career in Business for appearances. It seems pretty apparent in the DCAU at least that he was set on being Batman (as opposed to a "legit" law enforcement career) by the time his college years rolled around.
Or maybe a year or two at a police academy under an assumed identity was part of his pre-Bats "world tour." Would've made an interesting flashback episode a la "Night of the Ninja" or "Zatanna." With the resources of Wayne Enterprises behind him, a fake birth certificate, SSN, etc. probably wouldn't be too hard to come by.

[lostrune]

He took online courses while traveling around the world? :)

Heck, Wayne Enterprises probably has its own college, or deeply affiliated with some. They'd be able to arrange professors to home-tutor him.

[El Zorro]

Two thoughts on Bruce Wayne's secret ID and his having a degree in criminology.

1) In the golden/silver age comics I was referencing I seem to recall it being implied that he had not decided to become a vigilante until after he left school. So it would not have occured to him at the time that having a criminology degree would hurt his secret because he didn't have one yet.

2) In the early stories Bruce was portrayed as a friend of Comissioner Gordon's who had an interest in crime solving and mysteries--this was how Bruce managed to hang around Gordon so much in his cilvilian ID. So, if it was well known that Wayne had an interest in criminology it might not appear so odd that he had a degree, or had attended some classes in the subject.

[Grimlock]

Wow, all of these replies and no one has the official response yet??

In many histories of batman it's stated he went around the world studying at different universities (while learning fighting styles, escape artistry, etc. in those places), and took tons of classes but never wanted any college credit for them.

Bruce wanted to learn all he could, but he didn't care if he had a degree or not. The only thing he had to prove was to himself, and he proves it all the time by using all the stuff he learned as Batman.

Hmm, that sounded kind of dramatic, sorry...

Not to mention the fact that Bruce didn't want people knowing he was getting degrees in all of these subjects. As another poster stated, people would have gotten suspicious...why would a billionaire playboy need a degree in astro-physics?

[Spectre]

I like to think that Bruce's 'official' college education was in the field of Business; heck, he might've even gotten an MBA if he could manage it.

I mean, how else do you reasonably explain his taking back Wayne Enterprises upon returning to Gotham? Having your name on the side of the corporate headquarters doesn't mean you automatically have a voice in its affairs, and certainly doesn't give you complete control- just ask the Fords, Firestones, Bells, etc.

Bruce would've needed to show considerable grooming in the areas of management and economics to even land a seat on the board, much less become the kind of active CEO he appears to be by the time of TNBA.

[slackermonkey]

Your mom goes to college.

Sorry, I was just watching Napoleon Dynamite, and I couldn't resist answering with that. :p

[shoujoaifan]

Some people already said he could've taken a couple years of college and then traveled the world, or finished college early. But why not public school as well? :p He could have concievably been 18 in MoTP when meeting Andi ;) , BUUUT potentially near the end of his studies in business and ready to get a degree in it.

IF we wnet by the comics...I haven't read mnay comics lately, and before I was more a Marvel fan, so I don't CURRENTLY. In a novel based on Knightfall that I checked out of my library awhile back :sweat: , supposedly he makes his identity a real loser :eek: Alfred told Tim that he thinks "Master Bruce" probably gets an unintentioanl but welcome kick out of fooling people.

OF COURSE not many people liked Bruce being replaced as Batman back then, AND many people note that being one of the reasons why Comic Batman is such a jerk, due to the over-emphasis on being a dark character, with Bruce Wayne being a "disguise" and Batman being real :rollseyes:

[90'sCartoonMan]

I know in the Golden Age and Silver Age comics Bruce attended "Gotham University" for a few years studying (I think) criminology and law. I seem to recall a flashback scene--perhaps in the Untold Legend of the Batman--where during a class on civil law Bruce is struck by how 'law' and 'justice' are not always the same, which of course leads him to work outside the leagal system.
Wow, now that sheds new light to Tim's view that the legal system is bogus in TNBA.

Man, this is making me wish I owned Mask of the Phantasm...

[LadyM]

Yes, I remember that. I think the example was something like the professor explaining that if one man shot another and then made a getaway in a car driven by another man, both men were equally responsible in the eyes of the law. Something to that effect. And Bruce was like, "Well, that's stupid; the one who actually shot someone should be held more responsible."

~LM~

[Casey Mack]

Yes, I remember that. I think the example was something like the professor explaining that if one man shot another and then made a getaway in a car driven by another man, both men were equally responsible in the eyes of the law. Something to that effect. And Bruce was like, "Well, that's stupid; the one who actually shot someone should be held more responsible."

~LM~


okay according to my observation, I believe Bruce went to colllege ofcourse. But, it took him only 2 years to finish it, because of his intelligence. Superman only needed 2 years to finish college to.
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[El Zorro]

Yes, I remember that. I think the example was something like the professor explaining that if one man shot another and then made a getaway in a car driven by another man, both men were equally responsible in the eyes of the law. Something to that effect. And Bruce was like, "Well, that's stupid; the one who actually shot someone should be held more responsible."

~LM~

That's exactly the scene I was thinking of. The Prof explains the legal reasoning, Bruce says "that's not justice" and the Prof says "No, Mr Wayne, that's the law."

I always saw that as a defining moment for Batman. Its a shame it seems to be excluded from the latter retellings of his origins. Ah well.

[Anthonynotes]

okay according to my observation, I believe Bruce went to colllege ofcourse. But, it took him only 2 years to finish it, because of his intelligence. Superman only needed 2 years to finish college to.

(Can't resist adding my two irrelevent cents about Supes... :-) )

If going by the comics:
Pre-Crisis: Clark moved to Metropolis at age 18, after graduating from high school, to attend Metropolis University for a four-year (bachelor's) degree in journalism. Around age 20-21, he changed his name from "Superboy" to "Superman" (with three different stories told over the years explaining how the change was made---a late 50's one where it's a "got to hide my secret identity" gimmick involving one of his professors using a lie detector; another from an early 70's "relevant comics" story about a social worker he knew who died(?), but not before suggesting that it's high time Superboy "became a Super*man*" when she was urging him to do more about Metropolis' social ills; the third story's a four-part miniseries drawn in the mid-80's [with Frank Miller doing the covers] where we see various events in his junior year of college---including changing his name after a battle with Luthor/experiencing the various events of the story). After college, he gets hired at the Daily Planet, and the rest is (pre-Crisis) history...

Post-Crisis (and probably pre-"Birthright"):
Clark left Smallville at age 18 after graduating high school, explored the world for several years, and then settled in Metropolis, where he enrolled at Metropolis Univ. for a journalism degree. He apparently (from Zero Hour's timeline-thingy) only spent 2-3 years there, though (probably two, thanks to the time-compression issues involved). After graduating, he saves an experimental spacecraft from crashing, adopts the identity of Superman, gets a job at the Daily Planet, and the rest is (post-Crisis, pre-Birthright) history...

Post-Crisis, Supes probably had to finish as fast as he did due to timeline/time-compression issues not allowing him to take his time spending four years there, like his pre-Crisis counterpart did (plus, his pre-Crisis version didn't travel the world after college---he went straight to Metropolis after high school for college and spent four years there, much like most college-bound high school graduates). Thus, I'd assume either Clark rushed through four years of coursework in 2-3 years, or he earned an associate's degree (a degree given for two years' worth of study, offered for some fields of study by universities) instead of a bachelor's degree. Same excuse I offer for Bruce not being in school for four years, granted, but there you go...

I have no idea what the Animated version of Clark was doing between finishing high school and starting work at the Daily Planet, but I'd assume something like the pre- or post-Crisis scenarios above probably fits...

-B.