BATMAN's Gotham Gang: His 10 Best Supporting Characters

From the introduction of the original Robin, the Boy Wonder to his partnership with James Gordon and even his on-again/off-again relationship with Catwoman, Batman has a select group of people he relies on. This extended Bat-family help make Batman who he is, and help define him by their associations.

Now, Batgirl is once again stepping into the spotlight (Batsignal?) with a solo feature film reportedly in developmentwith Joss Whedon on board. All of that combined with talk of a Nightwing movie makes this the perfect time to get to know some of Batman’s best supporting cast – and not just his sidekicks.

Introduced by Dennis O'Neil and Dick Giordano back in 1976, Thompkins was revealed to be a family friend and medical colleague of Bruce Wayne's father, and was one of several stand-in parental figures after Thomas and Martha's murders. And it was that tragic event that pushed Thompkins to set up her own street clinic to help the poor and indigent of Gotham City.

And she's not afraid to stand up to Batman, taking him to task on more than one occasion for his deeds and working outside the law. She's criticized him for his penchant for bringing children such as Robin, Spoiler and Batgirl into dangerous situations, while still being an open door whenever he needed it.

Thompkins had a diminished role in the "New 52," but has seen a bit of a reinvention as a younger woman running a secret clinic in "Rebirth."

"[Tim Drake] is "the smart one" of the Bat-family, the thinker and planner, writer Fabian Nicieza told Newsarama back in 2010. I mean, of course Bruce Wayne/Batman is what he is, and Tim isn't quite there yet, but Tim at 17 has a more developed intellect than Bruce at 17 did. That's not to say Dick Grayson or Barbara Gordon are dumb, of course they're not, but Tim's level of thinking is a bit... thicker... than theirs. For me, Dick is about superior reflexive thinking, Barbara about superior operational thinking and Tim is about superior comprehensive, or all-encompassing, thinking.

Unlike his predecessors, Tim Drake's time as Robin (and currently as Red Robin) showed him as a more holistic hero, soaking up experiences and training like a sponge no matter what the source. At age nine he was able to figure out Batman's secret identity as Bruce Wayne, and as a teenager he grudgingly earned the respect of Batman arch-nemesis Ra's al Ghul.

Current continuity has established that Tim was never Robin and always Red Robin. However, he's a major part of the ongoing mystery of "Rebirth," having been taken prisoner by Mr. Oz.

Those are the kinds of questions raised by Damian Wayne. Introduced by Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert in a 2006 issue of Batman, he literally was the son that Bruce Wayne never knew he had. Conceived from a one-night tryst between Batman and Talia al Ghul and subsequently kept a secret from the world, Damian was raised by the League of Assassins to be the ultimate warrior. Impetuous and unrefined, Damian still sees the truth in his father's quest and abandons the League to fight by his father's side and try to gain his approval.

Damian is the current Robin, adventuring alongside his father, as well as forming a bond with Superman’s son in Super-Sons, and leading the Teen Titans.

Barbara Gordon was originally created back in the mid-1960s when the Adam West Batman television show was clamoring for a female perspective on being a hero. Barbara was ushered into comics continuity in 1967's Detective Comics #359 under the sizzling story title The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl, showing her as a police commissioner's daughter who dressed up as a female Batman for a costume ball and ends up halting a kidnapping attempt while in costume. Although admonished by Batman to stop her costume crime-fighting, Barbara's days as a hero were only just beginning.

Working as a librarian by day, for decades Barbara fought crime first-hand as Batgirl in both solo adventures and team-ups with Batman. In 1988's Killing Joke, she was targeted by the Joker in an attempt to punish James Gordon and left paralyzed after being shot at point-blank range. That tragic event took a while for readers and even DC's comic editors and writers to process, but a year later writer Jim Ostrander started a new chapter for Barbara as wheelchair-bound but highly capable Oracle. One part hacker, one part traffic control, Barbara became the key source of information for Batman and other heroes while adapting to her current situation and learning combat techniques she could use from her wheelchair.

In the "New 52," Barbara regained the ability to walk, and eventually moved to a new neighborhood, Burnside, where she forged her own Bat-niche. Since "Rebirth," she's also reunited the Birds of Prey, only this time she's in the field alongside Black Canary and Huntress as Batgirl.

Originally introduced in the '80s as a replacement for Dick Grayson (moving on to his current Nightwing identity), Todd first met Batman when he was caught trying to steal the wheels off the Batmobile. Admiring that spunk, Batman took in the indigent Jason Todd and groomed him to become the second Robin. Although less acrobatic than his predecessor, Todd had more of a fighter's spirit having grown up on the street. But at the end of the day, Todd could never be the original Robin and fans voted via 1-900 number to have him killed off by the Joker.

But Jason Todd wouldn't stay dead, and the character returned to life post-Infinite Crisis. Since then, Todd has been the prodigal son of the Bat-family that never came home, fighting on his own as a violent antihero and never quite fitting into the mold of the traditional Batman supporting cast.

Recently, DC gave Jason Todd space to breath on his own as the leader of a team in Red Hood and the Outlaws, one of the few "New 52" staples that made it to "Rebirth."

Originally inspired by actress Jean Harlow, Catwoman has grown from skirted Betty Page type to be a modern-day Robin Hood of sorts, using her full arsenal of skills to stomp out injustice through frequently less-than-legal methods.

As far as Bruce and Selina's relationship goes, it's complicated. Frankly, they're not on defined terms. We've seen them fall into each others arms as many times as we've seen them come to blows, making for one of the most unique dynamics in comic book history.

The Earth 2 Selina and Bruce, however, married and had a child - some versions of which have taken on the identity of the Huntress.

Catwoman has been somewhat scaled back with "Rebirth," but recent encounters with Batman may have the spark they share rekindling.

Originally introduced in 1940 as a pint-sized injection of youth into the often dour Detective Comics, Dick Grayson was the first Robin and, to many, the best. Far from being a simple junior version of Batman the way some sidekicks are, Dick Grayson-as-Robin was a spry and energetic soul with tremendous athletic ability.

Through the years as Grayson discarded the Robin guise for the more adult Nightwing, he showed he learned from the guidance of Batman but wasn't afraid of being his own man. Although he's had adventures on his own and with the Teen Titans, Nightwing's best place remains at the side of Batman as more than a sidekick but as a partner.

After a short stint as a secret agent in the "New 52," Dick took back his Nightwing identity and is flying solo once again in "Rebirth."

Introduced way back in Batman's first appearance, 1939's Detective Comics #27, Gordon is one of the Caped Crusader's oldest confidantes and allies. Much like Inspector Lestrade to Sherlock Holmes, he's Batman's man inside the system whether he likes it or not. On most occasions it is Gordon who calls Batman in via his trusty Bat-signal to consult on a case the police can't solve on their own, but on several occasions Gordon has served as a surprising back-up just when Batman needed him.

The best example of this was one of the final "New 52" Batman arcs, in which Bruce Wayne is presumed dead and Gordon actually takes his place as Batman - complete with mechanized Bat-armor.

Although originally introduced as a comedic funnyman to offset Batman, Alfred grew to become a multi-faceted and stabilizing force for Master Bruce. And of all the people we've listed so far, he's one of the only ones who are unafraid for disagreeing with Batman, providing a cynical view on Batman's high-minded goals and providing some much needed grounding when he needs it.

Back in 2005, a review of Batman Begins by The Guardian's Rob Mackie characterized Alfred as Batman's batman, underlining just how essential Alfred is to both Bruce and to Batman himself. Although he'll like never don a costume and go out crime-fighting on his own, Alfred confronts injustice in his own way and makes Batman as good as he is.

Thomas Wayne was a gifted surgeon and one of the foremost philanthropists in Gotham City. With Martha, they were one of Gotham's de facto royalty. Their deaths outside a crowded movie house set Bruce down a path that would eventually lead to becoming Batman. In Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Batman: Dark Victory, the duo proposed that the murder of such a prominent family set off a chain of events that led Gotham to become the dark city that we know today, showing criminals what that no crime was off-limits and showing cops that they couldn't solve everything.

In several outside-continuity stories they've shown that perhaps Bruce got a bit of his costumed crusader-y way from his father, as Thomas Wayne is shown to have dressed up and fought crime in Flashpoint and The Untold Tales of the Batman, and even in the "New 52's" Earth 2.