Batman is one of the most well-known heroes in the DC Universe. It's difficult to go anywhere in Gotham City without hearing his name, which is why it's so surprising that this isn't the first superhero identity that Bruce Wayne took on for himself. A long time ago, during his years of training, Bruce Wayne was known as something very different.

The first secret identity of Bruce Wayne was revealed during a flashback in Batman Confidential #54 by Marc Guggenheim and Jerry Bingham. This story revolves around the first superhero team that Batman ever ed, long before he was Batman. They were known as The Zhuguan, which roughly translates to "The League", and Bruce Wayne was convinced to them in their war against a brutal warlord.

While Bruce Wayne was a certainly skilled fighter, he was far from his peak, and he wasn't quite capable of matching the strength of this warlord. This led to Batman taking a special serum that granted him superpowers, and with those powers, came a brand-new identity. It was here that Bruce Wayne took his first steps as Hei An Wushuh, also known as Dark Night.

Dark Night Had The Powers Of Invisibility During Night

Batman Confidential #54 by Marc Guggenheim, Jerry Bingham, David Baron, Jerry Bingham, and Ken Lopez.

Bruce Wayne traveled the world for several years to learn the skills that he needed to become Batman, but the actual idea of Batman itself wasn't something Bruce had exactly thought of yet. For a long time, Bruce just presented himself as a random nobody, he didn't bother wearing a mask or anything. He just showed up to get the training he needed and then he disappeared. The Zhuguan were the first team that Bruce ed and actually tried to be a part of. This included taking on a new identity to match the other , but after he had a falling out with the team, he abandoned this identity.

Every criminal he went up against could tell he was just some guy.

Fans often don't exactly how much work went into creating the Batman identity. When Bruce returned to Gotham City, he still hadn't thought of the Batman identity, and he attempted to simply fight crime as an unknown vigilante. He wore the bare minimum of a disguise and just did his best to fight criminals. But the problem was that no one was afraid of him. Every criminal he went up against could tell he was just some guy. It wasn't until one fateful night when a bat crashed into Wayne Manor that Bruce finally had the idea of the secret identity that would stay with him for life.

Bruce Took Years To Come Up With The Identity Of Batman

While the Hei An Wushuh identity was good practice for Bruce, it was never one he was going to stay with for the long term. The superpowers he was granted came from a serum that was addictive at its core. This meant Bruce would never be able to operate in Gotham City, as he would've been dependent on the Zhuguan. While it's certainly interesting to look back on Bruce's history and see that the different identities that he once held, were all just a stepping stone to becoming Batman.