May 2024 will mark the 85th anniversary of the world’s most popular superhero, Batman. Superman may have debuted a year earlier, but writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane caught lighting in a bottle with their very first Batman story in Detective Comics No. 27 in 1939. Since then, there have been more movies, TV shows, animated series, video games and comics starring Batman than there have been for any other comic book character.
In honor of the Dark Knight’s 85th anniversary, we’re taking a look at the 50 best Batman quotes of all time, from the comics to the various media adaptations that followed. Unlike some other lists, quotes from the Joker, or any other villain, were left out. Everything below was said by either Batman or Bruce Wayne. And that’s the way it should be.
50. “And until we meet again, boys and girls, know that wherever evil lurks, in all its myriad forms, I’ll be there with the Hammers of Justice to fight for decency and defend the innocent. Good night.” – Batman: The Brave and the Bold
49. “I’m the goddamn Batman.” – All-Star Batman and Robin
48. “You wanna get nuts? Come on! Let’s get nuts!” – Batman (1989)
47. “Some days you just can’t get rid of a bomb …” – Batman (1966 film)
46. “Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Ross. But I’ve got a few punch lines of my own I’d like to try out. Penguin, they should call you The Nail, because you’re always getting pounded by the Hammers of Justice. I try not to hit your good side, Two-Face, but you don’t have one. Riddler, the answer to all your riddles is this.” [punches him] – Batman: The Brave and the Bold
45. “A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a little boy’s shoulders to let him know that the world hadn’t ended.” – The Dark Knight Rises
44. “I thought I’d found an opponent to match wits with, but you’re just another lunatic in a costume.” – Beware the Batman
43. “Alfred, who do you see when you look at me? The boy whose shoes you used to tie every morning, the teenager you drove to his first date? While you are here every night, I am out there … the only thing between the innocent and the predatory.” – Batman: Arkham Origins
42. “He’s young. He’ll probably walk again. But he’ll stay scared … Won’t you punk?” – Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
41. “While my parents were still alive, I fell through a hole and tumbled down into the cave. Terrified, a dark world was opened to me, filled with bats and other horrible shadows. But after tonight, the cave … seems a little less cold.” – Batman: Hush
40. “I had a bad day too, once.” – Batman: The Animated Series
39. “Sorry. Crime doesn’t take dinner breaks and neither do I.” – Batman: The Brave and the Bold
38. “Selina, don’t you see? We’re the same. We’re the same … Split right down the center.” – Batman Returns
37. “I’m Batman.” – Batman (1989)
36. “Do you want to know something funny? Even after everything you’ve done, I would have saved you.” – Batman: Arkham City
35. “You have to know your enemy, Alfred. I’d never use one, but even I can appreciate the attraction of a gun. The heft. The sleekness. The cool steel. The precision. And the power. The power to change lives, history. The power of God.” – Batman: Gotham Knight
34. “Everyone looks up to you. They listen to you. If you tell them to fight, they’ll fight. But they need to be inspired. And let’s face it ‘Superman’ … the last time you really inspired anyone — was when you were dead.” – Infinite Crisis
33. “Terry. I’ve been thinking about something you once told me. And you were wrong. It’s not Batman that makes you worthwhile; it’s the other way around. Never tell yourself anything different.” – Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
32. “She almost had me, you know. Arms and legs chained, dizzy from the blood rushing to my head — I had no way out other than convincing her to call you. I knew your massive ego would never allow anyone else the honor of killing me. Though I have to admit, she came a lot closer than you ever did … ‘puddin.’” – The New Batman Adventures
31. “Afraid? Batman’s not afraid of anything. It’s me, I’m afraid. I’m afraid that the Joker may be right about me. Sometimes I… question the rationality of my actions. And I’m afraid that when I walk through those Asylum gates … When I walk into Arkham and the doors close behind me … it’ll be just like coming home.” – Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth
30. “There are seven working defenses from this position. Three of them disarm with minimal contact. Three of them kill. The other … hurts. “ – Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
29. “There are two things in life everyone’s powerless against. Love and revenge.” – Beware the Batman
28. “You know how many times I’ve heard that? ‘Rest in peace, Batman!’ ‘There’s no escape, Batman!’ ‘Time to die, Batman!’ Every night. Over, and over, and over. For so many years. ‘This is the end, Batman!’ Every. Damn. Night. And yet … I’m still here.” – Batman (2016) #20
27. “’You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. I can do those things, because I’m not a hero, not like Dent. I killed those people. That’s what I can be.” – The Dark Knight
26. “I smiled. Not out of happiness. But because I knew … that one day, I wouldn’t have to do this anymore. One day, I could stop fighting. Because one day … I would win. One day, there will be no pain, no loss, no crime. Because of me, because I fight. For you. One day, I will win.” – Batman (1940) No. 625
25. “No miracles. No mercy. No redemption. No heaven. No hell. No Higher Power. Just life, just … us.” – Batman: Absolution
24. “Batman may die, but Bruce Wayne … never.” – Batman: The Brave and the Bold
23. “Sometimes it’s only madness that makes us what we are.” – Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth
22. “You prefer to call me Batman. But the reason you can never escape me … is that my name is fear. And I live within you.” – Batman: Ego
21. “The Batman doesn’t compromise. I keep the city safe … even if it’s safer by just one person.. And I do not ever give in or give up.” – Batman: Whatever Happened To the Caped Crusader?
20. “Everyone gets scared. And that’s fine. Be scared. But remember, all that means is everyone gets the opportunity to fight that fear. Everyone gets the chance to be brave.” – Batman (2016) No. 24
19. “People think it’s an obsession. A compulsion. As if there were an irresistible impulse to act. It’s never been like that. I chose this life. I know what I’m doing. And on any given day, I could stop doing it. Today, however, isn’t that day. And tomorrow won’t be either.” – Identity Crisis
18. “We could have changed the world. Now look at us. I’ve become a political liability … and… you… you’re a joke. I want you to remember, Clark, in all the years to come, in your most private moments. I want you to remember my hand at your throat. I want you to remember the one man who beat you.” – Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
17. “Without warning, it comes … crashing through the window of your study, and mine … I have seen it before … somewhere. It frightened me as a boy … frightened me. Yes, father. I shall become a bat.” – Batman: Year One
16. “It was just like that night in the alley, Alfred … the closeness of the walls, the gunfire. It seems I’ve been trying to stop those two bullets all my life.” – Batman: Gotham Knight
15. “You don’t get it boy … this isn’t a mudhole … it’s an operating table. And I’m the surgeon.” – Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
14. “I’ve been thinking a lot lately. About you and me. About what’s going to happen to us, in the end. We’re going to kill each other, aren’t we? Perhaps you’ll kill me. Perhaps I’ll kill you. Perhaps sooner, perhaps later. I just wanted to know that I’d made a genuine attempt to talk things over and avert that outcome. Just once.” – Batman: The Killing Joke
13. “What are you dreaming tonight, Harvey? Peaceful dreams? Nightmares? Maybe both at once. Sleep well, my friend. Whether you are, whatever you’ve become … I will save you. I swear.” – Batman: The Animated Series
12. “It’s not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me.” – Batman Begins
11. “Then I’ll see you in your nightmares!” – Batman: The Animated Series
10. “This should be agony. I should be a mass of aching muscle — broken, spent, unable to move. And, were I an older man, I surely would … But I am a man of thirty — of twenty again. The rain on my chest is a baptism — I’m born again.” – Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
9. “Sometimes the truth isn’t good enough, sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded.” – The Dark Knight
8. “You can never escape me. Bullets don’t harm me. Nothing harms me. But I know pain.” – Batman: Year One
7. “There is a difference between you and me. We both looked into the abyss, but when it looked back at us, you blinked.” – Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
6. “As a man; I am flesh and blood; I can be ignored, I can be destroyed. But as a symbol, I can be incorruptible. I can be everlasting.” – Batman Begins
5. “All men have limits. They learn what they are and learn not to exceed them. I ignore mine.” – Detective Comics (1937) No. 663
4. “Criminals are a superstitious cowardly lot. So my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. I must be a creature of the night, black, terrible.” – Detective Comics (1937) No. 33
3. “Ladies. Gentlemen. You have eaten well. You’ve eaten Gotham’s wealth. Its spirit. Your feast is nearly over. From this moment on … none of you are safe.” – Batman: Year One
2. “I’ve put out a few fires, yes. Won a few battles. But the war goes on, Alfred. On and on …” – Batman: The Animated Series
1. “I am vengeance, I am the night! I am Batman!” – Batman: The Animated Series
