Batman, a fictional superhero, first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in 1939. Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Richard A. Warshak, noted that the ����_�opening lines of the first Batman comic strip set the tone for a contemporary myth that has endured: The ����_�Bat-Man,����_�� a mysterious and adventurous figure fighting for righteousness and apprehending the wrong doer, in his lone battle against the evil forces of society ... his identity remains unknown.����_�_ Batman has remained a prominent figure in American popular culture for nearly 80 years.