Warning: Contains spoilers for Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War - Battle Lines #1!Batman and Bruce Wayne are inseparable, and Bruce Wayne has finally confirmed that he knows it, too. It’s a long-standing theory that Bruce Wayne is the real mask, while the Dark Knight is the real deal. Now, Batman himself has agreed by setting himself apart from his allies and family who merely become their heroic personas when they wear the costume.

In Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War - Battle Lines #1 - by Chip Zdarsky, Tini Howard, and Mike Hawthorne - Batman wakes from a long slumber, wherein he spoke with the "Pure Batman" of his mind, following the battle with the villain Insomnia. He’s quickly confronted by a new Gotham, led by Catwoman and her expertly-trained burglars. As most of the Bat Family seems willing to hear her out, Bruce immediately rejects her efforts and later laments, "They all put on their costumes, pretend to be 'Nightwing' or 'Robin'...I'm not pretending." There's no need for him to pretend when Batman is his truth.

Batman Has Been Bruce’s True Identity Since Childhood

The impact that Martha and Thomas Wayne’s death had on their young son Bruce can’t be overstated. Not only did it leave him an orphan in the care of his butler, Alfred Pennyworth, but it profoundly altered the way he views the world and his place in it. At no point in his life did he ever return to the boy he’d been prior to his parents' deaths. His life became his mission to enact justice and face down the crime that riddled Gotham (and the world). Batman is more than a symbol for Bruce and is, instead, the embodiment of everything he is. Bruce Wayne could not save his parents, and ultimately that means that he died with them, if only in spirit.

In a more literal sense, Bruce poured countless hours into training his mind and body to the absolute peak of human achievement - even seemingly going beyond it sometimes. Although he has continued to maintain the public persona expected of the only son of one of Gotham’s elite founding families, his heart and soul are in the cowl and his work as Batman. Practically everything he does is to further his mission as Batman, and he pushes himself to the brink (and beyond it) to maintain that.

Bruce Wayne’s Friends and Family Know That Batman is the Truth

His ties to Batman are so deeply held that even two of his closest allies, Wonder Woman and Superman, already know that Bruce Wayne is the mask. Early in their acquaintance, Wonder Woman catches Batman and Superman in her Lasso of Truth in Wonder Woman Annual #1 by Greg Rucka, Nicola Scott, Romulo Fajardo Jr. and Jodi Wynne. While Superman reveals his true name(s) to be both Clark Kent and Kal-El, there is no mention of Bruce Wayne. Batman is…Batman. He has skirted the effects of mind control because the false inner voice calls him Bruce, because he refers to himself as Batman in his own mind. Moreover, Batman’s relationship with his adopted family is often strained because of his commitment to the cowl, and the moments when he lets that go often pave the way for the most growth. Batman is Bruce Wayne’s true identity, not a mask to be taken off at the end of the night, but his allies and loved ones need both Bruce and Batman as one.

Batman/Catwoman: The Gotham War - Battle Lines #1 is available now from DC Comics!