12 Times Batman Had To Get Saved By Another Person

When Bruce Wayne is just learning how to be the best Batman he can be, he turns a blind eye to Henri Ducard, otherwise known as Ra's al Ghul. Wayne feels he owes Ducard his life after the League of Shadows leader saved him from prison (more on that later), so he doesn't notice when Ducard is busy smuggling a high-powered microwave emitter out of Wayne Enterprises. 

Ducard pops in for Wayne's birthday bash to drop off a present that's actually more like one of those "experience" gifts rather than something he picked up at the mall. The League of Shadows big man reveals his true identity and informs the billionaire that he's going to kill him before destroying Gotham's water supply. Oh, and he's going to burn Wayne Manor to the ground. After Ducard leaves to go about his business, a very tired Alfred makes his way through the burning building to pull a fiery beam off of Wayne and usher him to the basement through a freight elevator. Maybe Alfred should be the actual Batman here.

Lucius Fox shoulders a lot of responsibility for Bruce Wayne and Batman. Not only does he take care of the finances for Wayne Enterprises, but he also helps create vehicles and weapons for Batman to use while he's out on the prowl. It's honestly crazy that Fox doesn't get his own superhero name.

Theoretically, Fox has saved Batman's life a ton of times through handling his finances, but he saves the Dark Knight in a very literal sense after Mr. Wayne gets a circulatory system full of fear toxin while investigating Scarecrow. The toxin doesn't just induce a person's worst fear - it can drive them crazy and, worst-case scenario, kill them. While all of this is happening, Fox develops an antidote to the fear toxin by analyzing his boss's blood. If he didn't have the smarts to create the antidote, then Batman would be up a fear toxin creek without a paddle.

In The Dark Knight, all of Gotham's heroes are stretched to the limit when the ol' agent of chaos himself sends the city into a tailspin of anarchy. Batman does his best to save the city, but he needs a lot of help, and in this instance, Jim Gordon lays out an ultra-layered plan to save Bruce's bacon.

First, Gordon fakes his own demise while saving the mayor's life, then as part of a convoy that's transporting Harvey Dent to prison, Gordon pretends to be a police guard to keep the DA safe. So how does he save Batman? The convoy is a ploy meant to pull the Joker out of hiding, which totally works, but when Batman and the Clown Prince of Crime come face-to-face, the psychotic villain nearly stomps the Dark Knight into next week. Or he would have if Gordon hadn't rolled up and stuck a shotgun in his neck.

Does Christopher Nolan hate Batman? Not the property, but the actual character. The director seems to really enjoy putting Batman in mortal danger, only to have him rescued by whoever's around - be it an octogenarian butler, a police captain, or a jewel thief.

In The Dark Knight Rises, Batman has had his spirit and his back broken, and he's had to pull himself out of a secret desert jail, but he's still not strong enough to beat asthmatic tough guy Bane. Back in Gotham, Batman is getting his keister handed to him when Catwoman shows up and straight-up pops a cap in Bane. Why didn't someone think of that before?

Batman never really needs help until, you know, he really needs help. In Tim Burton's classic take on the Gotham City Crusader, Batman runs into a small problem when he goes head-to-head with a bunch of the Joker's henchmen. They manage to subdue him, but rather than stomp him to dust or blow him up, they decide they want to get a look at the man beneath the mask.

Before they have a chance to remove his cowl, intrepid reporter Vicki Vale takes a photo of the crew, and the flash on her camera diverts their interest long enough for Batman to collect his wits. Thank goodness for oversized flashbulbs.

In Batman Forever, the last thing Bruce Wayne wants is a sidekick, especially if it's former trapeze artist Dick Grayson. Batman seems to be the one person who doesn't realize just how helpful a former carnival boy can be in the superhero game - especially if you're the kind of superhero who needs to be lifted out of tricky situations on the reg.

After facing off with Two-Face at a party hosted by Edward Nygma, Batman ends up trapped under a pile of rubble. How was he to expect that Two-Face would have a rocket launcher? Anyway, Batman is all but ready to give up the ghost when Grayson reaches a grubby mitt into the debris and fishes out the leather-clad billionaire. Aside from living to fight another day, Batman learns the value of friendship.