By Zack Quaintance — DC Comics superheroes are getting ready to return to the big screen one month from today with the new Hollywood film, The Batman.

While there have actually been movies about this character in the past, it has been several full months, potentially leaving audiences unprepared. As it turns out, The Batman (sometimes referred to simply as Batman) actually has a long and semi-interesting history in comics, dating all the way back to 1939. With that much history, even the most ardent comics fan might be a bit baffled. It’s a lot, but today we look at the important questions viewers might have before seeing The Batman.

Who is he? Where did he come from? Where might he fit in with other DC Comics superheroes? You have questions; we have answers.

Who Is THE BATMAN?

Okay, I’ll bite, who is The Batman? Batman is actually wealthy playboy Bruce Wayne, heir to the vast Wayne fortune and now the head of Wayne Enterprises.

Where does Batman live? Batman (again, aka Bruce Wayne) lives in Gotham City. Gotham, however, is not a real place (sorry tourists), but it is inspired largely by New York City, with occasional touches of Chicago.

What does Batman do? Batman fights crime, but he does not do so within the system. Despite being the hero of the new film, Batman is actually a vigilante.

Slow down, why is this guy called The Batman? Batman is called The Batman (or just Batman) because he dresses like a bat. He even has bat symbols on his clothes and equipment.

Where does Batman hangout? He hangs out in the Batcave, which is just a regular cave that he has put some things in, including a computer. I know your next question, and I’ll stop you there — the processing power of his computer is unknown.

That all sounds like a ton of fun. It’s not. There is also some darkness to The Batman — when Bruce was young, his parents were murdered in a robbery in an alley after the family had just watched a movie. Bruce was so upset by this that it directly led to him later becoming The Batman (thus the title of the film).

Does Batman have any friends? His best friend is named Jim and his other best friend is named Alfred.

Does Batman use guns, kill people, or invest his money in social service programs to overhaul the community? Nobody really knows for sure, and, quite frankly, none of these topics have ever come up among fans of the character.

I’m out of questions, I think. Here’s a fun fact, Batman has actually starred in multiple cartoons over the years and even appeared on merchandise at times.

What if I want to read about Batman in comics after the movie? That’s a great idea, someone really should put Batman in some new comics.

Anyway…I’m sorry about all of this. But please check back to the site throughout the month for actual posts about Batman leading up to the release of The Batman on March 4, starring Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, and Colin Farrell.

And read more Very Important features about comics in the Comics Bookcase Features section!

Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.