why would anyone suspect a young billionaire is BATMAN?

I notice every story has this idea

Gotham is a big city...lot's of vengeful ex-cops/military/vigilantes/ect

So BATS has fancy gadgets...BRUCE isn't the only rich guy in town

I think it's silly he has to act like a womanizing idiot

If he acted like how he actually felt, dark and broody and showed his natural body posture people will be able to tell that he's Batman right away.

agree....if he leaves the house...Alfred gets the groceries/ect

Of course he does. Bruce Wayne cannot be a recluse. The Wayne legacy is important to Gotham and so are his contributions to Wayne Enterprises. Sometimes not every problem can be solved by punching a thug in the face.

He does in actuality. It's not to look fun and play boyish, but his company still has public events, charities, and just general stockholders and others involved that would need to see Bruce himself.

as Batman, he should never be too close or talk to Gordon too long/ect.

I'm sure he would prefer that lifestyle than to act the playboy douche

Beyond the above, why would anyone suspect a young billionare is Batman? You mean why would anyone suspect that a person whose figure upon close inspection is similar to Batman's, whose parents were gunned down in analley way with the murderer never being caught, who disappeared to no-one knows where for years, and who has more than enough money to bankroll a private army of being Batman? Is that actually a serious question? There aren't actually many people in Gotham that Batman could be or could be suspected of being, due to lacking the motive and the money required for all those gadgets he has (And the need for money already narrows the suspect list down by a very wide margin). Furthermore he has to make sure that the company is actually being run properly or he risks it taking part in actions that he doesn't approve of, criminal actions, which then only serves to counter his overall goals as Batman and to tarnish the memory of his parents. He also relies on said company for money so him having a direct hand in it further serves to ensure that he can continue to have the funds to not only support himself as a civilian, but as Batmn as well. Finally, Bruce Wayne is more than a womanizing idiot. Anyone who thinks he is has clearly never read the comics, watched the Animated Series, or even the majority of the films.

@nathaniel_christopher: You know, I realized something - A lot of people, in Gotham at least, don't believe Batman is even a man so that probably helps keep his identity secret. In Year One, when Flask was recounting his encounter, he described him as a supernatural creature. Sure, some people wouldn't believe this, but others who caught a glimpse of him might.

Yep. From era to era there are stretches of time where some people don't even believe Batman exists at all, like he's an urban myth. This then plays into things like him not being human, which his use of shadows and fear tactics would only aid in. He typically doesn't go out of his way to be seen after all, unlike say Superman or Wonder Woman.

@nathaniel_christopher: There's a column I read that addresses Batman's status as an urban myth. Give it a read.

http://comicsalliance.com/ask-chris-265-the-untold-urban-legend-of-the-batman/

Thanks for the link, I love articles like that and i've read a bunch of others on that site before, but never come across this one. The writer hits a lot of the most important points on the head in terms of why the idea works and why it doesn't. For me, as soon as you have Batman working with the Justice League on a regular basis which is, and needs to be, a very public group then the idea of him as an urban myth goes out the window. In general I only think that idea can last for so long before some kid would get off a picture with an Iphone and be uploading it to the internet or some major event would be taking place that would make it impossible for people to not know he existed. But as the writer points out thats kind of why you have us moving on from that urban myth thing into him being more well known again. And in a few years or so, after Snyder's moved on, we'll probably move back. Thats how comics go.

the time wasted on pretending...could be spent saving

womanizing is the stupidest term of all time. Like they're doing something bad by easily convincing dumb hoes to get with them

womanizer

guy who makes zillions of women think he is in love with them and that he is the best guy in the universe but never know he is making 12774763836543 other women think that too

DOES THAT SOUND LIKE SOMETHING A HERO WOULD DO?

Considering he spends his time as Bruce Wayne keeping a company running that ends up donating plenty of money back to the city and improving the lives of various citizens that "pretending" as you call it is saving lives.

Bruce also doesn't actually date or sleep with that many women on a regular basis. No one in the Bat Family does for that matter.

this