Batman

Batman was a costumed comic book superhero on Earth.

According to Maxwell Collins, Batman was "the world's greatest detective", and despite having no powers, he could beat "anyone". The Twelfth Doctor didn't believe that "solving crimes after they happen[ed]" made him clever, let alone cleverer than Captain America, and thought that Batman was a bored billionaire with "too much time on his hands". Batman wielded "a batarang" [sic], and fought what the Doctor referred to as "an idiot in clown make-up". Batman protected Gotham City and avenged his deceased parents. Maxwell thought that Batman would win in a fight between Batman and Captain America, while the Doctor favoured Captain America. (COMIC: Moving In)

In one issue of a comic, he was faced up against Superman, and, as the cover promised, "only one can survive!" (PROSE: Curiosity)

During a visit to London in 1889, the Fourth Doctor, when turning out his pockets, produced odds and ends including a toy Batmobile. (TV: The Talons of Weng-Chiang)

During a visit to Shoreditch in November 1963, Ace was wearing a Batman earring in her left ear. (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks)

In the 1970s at the Inferno Project, when Greg Sutton expressed surprise at the appearance of the Third Doctor's TARDIS console, the Doctor sarcastically asked Sutton whether he'd expected "some kind of space rocket with Batman at the controls" instead. (TV: Inferno)

Stuart Hyde playfully referred to Dr Ruth Ingram as "Batman". (TV: The Time Monster)

Ace once called the Seventh Doctor "Batman." (AUDIO: Night Thoughts)

In the far future, Miranda Dawkins occasionally wore a Batman T-shirt. (COMIC: Miranda)

Clyde Langer jokingly referred to Sarah Jane's attic at 13 Bannerman Road as "the Batcave", after Batman's secret base of operations. (TV: Sky)

Upon completing his own superhero comic book, The Silver Bullet, Clyde declared, "Step aside, Batman!" (TV: The Curse of Clyde Langer)

Behind the scenes

 * David Tennant has expressed interest in playing the Riddler in a future Batman film.
 * , who played several roles in , was considered for both the Eighth Doctor and the Master in the 1996 TV movie. He was also considered for the role of Sharaz Jek in the 1984 story The Caves of Androzani.
 * , who played the Riddler in , was considered for the role of the Master in the 1996 TV movie.
 * At a charity stage show in Hollywood, Matt Smith played a spoof Batman in Gotham Autopsy, a comedy sketch written the night before.
 * A persistent rumour states that Jim Carrey, who played the Riddler in Batman Forever, turned down the role of the Eighth Doctor as he had never heard of Doctor Who and thought that it would cause outrage amongst fans if the role were played by a non-fan.
 * Batman appears as one of the main characters in LEGO Dimensions.