The thing is, the urban legend aspect works perfectly in a more modest DCU, more similar to the one that existed back in the '40s. In that world, or a world like Burton's or Nolan's, the urban legend aspect is by far the most believable approach to take towards a super-power-less superhero. But in this day and comics age, with tons and tons of characters that have met him and Batman appearing in front of millions of people, the urban legend thing just doesn't work.
As far as my personal view of what his notoriety is up and down his timeline should be: Batman is believable as an urban legend until the moment he dropped Jack into that vat of chemicals. After that, he should be a known entity, yet still not a public figure appearing at press conferences and galas and such.
The thing is, the urban legend aspect works perfectly in a more modest DCU, more similar to the one that existed back in the '40s. In that world, or a world like Burton's or Nolan's, the urban legend aspect is by far the most believable approach to take towards a super-power-less superhero. But in this day and comics age, with tons and tons of characters that have met him and Batman appearing in front of millions of people, the urban legend thing just doesn't work.
As far as my personal view of what his notoriety up and down his timeline should be: Batman is believable as an urban legend until the moment he dropped Jack into that vat of chemicals. After that, he should be a known entity, yet still not a public figure appearing at press conferences and galas and such. And as far as his enemies awareness of his abilities go, I don't think they should know whether or not he has powers. They might think it suspicious when he comes in on a Batwing instead of just flying in like he did when Ra's Al Ghul attempted to gas the city. You might say: "but he was using memory cloth to glide a few hundred yards, not flying!", but all the eye-witness stories won't indicate that at all. He also has combat skills that might make the thugs he fights think he's somehow superhuman. You and I both know that's the result of over ten years of intense combat training, genetic luck, and an incredible willpower, but the thugs at the receiving end of the ass-whoopings he's handed out over the years might not think so. Besides, most people in the DCU, like our Earth, don't even know the technology he has even exists. Sure, people know bullet-proof vests exist, but do they know that there's technology out there that can take several powerful rounds without the wearer even needing immediate medical attention? Batman does. And in all logical scenarios (by logical, I mean the ones that don't include him wearing gray skin-tight pajamas), he wears it.
