Since the the new movie is fast upon us, I’d thought I’d revisit the above question. This was something that Ben Cohen posed at our old blog, The World’s Fair.

Basically, he referenced a great Simpson’s episode (Marge v. the Monorail), which has the corresponding dialogue:

Marge: Homer?
Homer: Yelloh?
Marge: There’s a man here who thinks he can help you.
Homer: Batman?
Marge: No, he’s a scientist.
Homer: Batman’s a scientist.

In any event, back then (this was in 2008), we got some great responses. It would be lovely to hear some more, especially with the Batman iconography maturing so much during the last 4 years, but for now, I’ve reprinted all the responses we were able to get the first time around.

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(From 2008) Scienceblogger responses below:

Afarensis
Obviously, he is a forensic scientist…

The World’s Fair (Dave Ng Ed Note: a.k.a my response)
I’m gonna go out on a limb here, and suggest that Batman is (amongst other things) a “bat scientist.” This, I think, would make him a chiropterist, since Bats belong to the family Chiroptera (greek for “hand-wing”). I can imagine Mr. Wayne going to his fancy cocktail parties and providing all manner of banter and trivia on bats, all the while chuckling to himself and thinking, “the fools.” Anyway, whatever discipline he falls under, at the very least he could do with some counseling – that dude has issues.
Note: There’s actually a North American Symposium on Bat Research in North Carolina coming up in October. Maybe, Mr. Wayne is a keynote?

Discovering Biology in a Digital World
Holy Moly! What kind of scientist are you, Batman? This important question, posed by Benjamin Cohen of The World’s Fair, is one that cannot be ignored. And, most importantly, can be quickly answered…. (more)

Adventures in Ethics and Science
“That’s Dr. Batman to you, evil doer!” Ben at The World’s Fair asks what kind of scientist Batman is. (Of course, he does this after producing something like reliable testimony that Batman is a scientist to begin with.) Sandra Porter makes the case that he’s a geneticist,… (more)

Pharyngula
The “What kind of scientist is Batman” problem. This new strange question is sweeping the scienceblogs: “what kind of scientist is Batman?” The answer is obvious…. (more)

Respectful Insolence
Batman’s no scientist.
Now Reed Richards, there’s a scientist. 

Uncertain Principles
Ask a ScienceBlogger: Cartoon Edition What sort of scientist is Batman? (more)

Scienceblogs.com (Tim)
OT: I don’t know what kind of scientist Batman is, but his religious affiliation is Episcopalian/Catholic (lapsed). http://www.adherents.com/lit/comics/comic_book_religion.html

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Over 100 comments to be found at Pharyngula, The World’s Fair, Uncertain Principles, and thisComic Book Forum.