-- Monty129 Sep 29 at 14:17 4 Answers The Batman character dates back to 1939 and has had many writers since then, so this is not a simple question to answer for an absolute "first appearance" of an idea. There's just so much material to look at from comics, movies, tv shows, articles, blogs, etc. Writers of both Batman and Superman stories have often compared the two within the context of various stories, to varying conclusions. Like Superman, the prominent persona of Batman's dual identities varies with time. Modern age comics have tended to portray "Bruce Wayne" as the facade, with "Batman" as the truer representation of his personality. From your comment, I was able to trace and find the episode where you first heard of this flipped dual identity. It's Batman Beyond , episode Shriek (Season 1, episode 7-- aired Mar 14, 1999). The dialogue at the end of the episode is: Although it's been suggested by Chris Sims in the post, Batman vs Bruce Wayne , that the idea even came before Batman Beyond. Give that article a read as it's very insightful about the whole Batman vs Bruce Wayne mask duality, along with Superman. In terms of pop-culture, I first heard about this alter-ego spin on superhero mythology at the end of Kill Bill: Vol 2 , which came out in 2004. Honestly, when I read your question, my first instinct for source material was this movie as it was quite formal in addressing that a superhero