12 Batman Facts A Hardcore Batfan Should Know

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is out and the reviews are in. Love it or loathe it, this year's smash hit is certainly sure to score big at the box office. But what to do now? The inevitable wait for another Ben Affleck outing as the Dark Knight means years of trawling the internet rumor mill. In the meantime you can fill some time by reading these 12 lesser known Batfacts that every Batfan should know.

There already was Batman v Superman (in Russia).

Batmankoff is seen as a terrorist in Russia on Earth-30. After his parents are shot by a Soviet officer, Batmankoff is hell-bent on taking down the Soviet Union. On the way he clashes with Russia's favourite Red Son, The Comrade of Steel (Superman) and the two come to blows.

You too can be Batman (for a price).

According to Moneysupermarket.com, it costs the princely sum of $682 million to play Batman. Adding together the likes of Alfred ($80,000 a year to be a butler), several engineering degrees ($500,000) and the all important Batpod ($1,500,000) it isn't cheap to be the Caped Crusader. This was back in 2012, so expect it to have risen inline with the cost of living, but at the end of the day this is just pocket change for Bruce Wayne.

Katie Holmes saved Joffrey.

I knew there was something unsavoury about that kid! The little boy who Rachel Dawes protects in The Narrows during Batman Begins is actually Jack Gleeson. In case you haven't spotted it yet, Gleeson went on to play the tyrannical King Joffrey on HBO hit Game of Thrones... perhaps she should have left him for Scarecrow's fear gas.

Gotham was originally New York.

The original stories had Batman swooping in from a New York skyline before Gotham was ever born. Writer Bill Finger admitted that he changed the New York setting to Gotham because he didn't want too many people to identify with it:

Originally I was going to call Gotham City 'Civic City.' Then I tried 'Capital City,' then 'Coast City.' Then I flipped through the New York City phone book and spotted the name 'Gotham Jewelers' and said, 'That's it,' Gotham City.

Gotham was in fact a nickname for New York before Batman. Washington Irving nicknamed The Big Apple 'Gotham' after an English town apparently inhabited by fools.

There are two Dr. Dooms.

Predating the more famous Fantastic Four version by 12 years, Batman also did battle with a Dr. Doom, who joined the list of villains that only survived a single issue. A smuggler who attempted to take on the Dynamic Duo in the Batcave. Dr. Doom faked his own death then hid in a sarcophagus. Jumping out on the pair, Dr. Doom threw a grenade at Batman and Robin but trapped himself inside the case. Added to Batman's weird trophy collection, the sarcophagus became Dr. Doom's final resting place when he suffocated.

Australia has a 'Batman' history.

The city of Melbourne was founded by a man called John Batman. Originally called 'Batmania' the name was later changed to Melbourne. Although unrelated to the DC universe, there are still plenty of Batman memories throughout the city, such as Batman Park and The Batman Treaty.

Gotham's founding fathers have some family ties.

Gates of Gotham is a 2011, five-issue series, which establishes that the city's founding fathers were Alan Wayne, Theodore Cobblepot and Edward Elliot. This makes them the ancestors of Bruce Wayne (Batman), Oswald Cobblepot (Penguin) and Thomas Elliot (Hush). Cobblepot is one of Batman's most well known adversaries and owner of The Iceberg Lounge, whilst Elliot is the psychotic childhood friend of Bruce who tries to kill his own parents.

Bruce's Lamborghini

Keeping up Bruce Wayne's playboy persona, the car that Christian Bale drives in The Dark Knight is a Lamborghini Murcielago. Not only a fast ride that ends up on the scrapheap, the word Murcielago means 'bat' in Spanish.

Batman: The Animated Series isn't a fan of Joel Schumacher.

In the episode Legends of the Dark Knight we meet Joel in front of a stored called 'Shoemaker' (see the connection). He is an effeminate boy with a penchant for rubber. BTS was taking a pop at the openly gay director of Batman Forever and Batman & Robin.

Hey! Who's talking about Batman? I love Batman. All those muscles, the tight rubber armor and that flashy car. I heard it can drive up walls.

Sorry Joel, you probably deserve it!

Gotham's Bruce shares a Bat-Birthday.

Whilst the birthday of Bruce Wayne changes from author to author, it was established in a letter column of Detective Comics #494 that it is February 19. This is same birthday as actor David Mazouz, the boy who plays Bruce on TV's Gotham.

Batman didn't always save lives.

The Dark Knight's glimmer of light is that he doesn't kill... isn't it? The 'no kill rule' is something that has become a bit of an issue over the years, especially for Bruce's bloodthirsty son Damian Wayne. But Batman wasn't always the passive aggressive vigilante: early depictions of the character had him as a gun-toting killer. Whilst he may have holstered his weapons, it didn't stop him killing - in Batman #1 (1940), Batman hangs one of the villains from his bat shaped plane via a noose. As for the bullets though, Bob Kane said a Batman with guns "didn't feel right" and he put them away for good.

AND FINALLY!

Batman's favourite food is Mulligatawny soup.

According to Batman #701 Alfred is a dab hand at making Master Bruce's favourite meal. The English soup from an Indian recipe is translated as 'pepper-water'...mmm sounds delicious.