It’s no secret that Batman suffers from multiple mental issues. After seeing his parents murdered by Joe Chill, Bruce Wayne developed an obsessive personality, one that drove him to transform his mind and body into near-perfect weapons for his war on crime. He’s also shown a degree of paranoia in the way he constantly plans for worst-case situations (which, to be fair, frequently happen to him). And then there’s that distrust and fear of intimacy that’s kept him from developing healthy relationships (although he has been making some progress there).
One mental issue that’s not often addressed in Batman comic books, however, is his tendency to collect a lot of random junk from his exploits in the Batcave. Granted, Alfred keeps Batman’s trophies well-polished and organized, but on close examination, one has to ask – does Batman have a hoarding problem?
People with hoarding disorders are said to constantly acquire unneeded items. These people also have difficulty throwing out or parting with their items since they believe they may become useful one day. Some of the items held onto by hoarders hold emotional significance for the hoarder as they remind them of special times and help the hoarder feel safe. Strangely enough, hoarders can have many seemingly conflicting characteristics, including indecisiveness, perfectionism, avoidance, procrastination, and problems with planning or organization.
So, does any of this sound like the Dark Knight? While Batman’s character has varied greatly over the years depending on his writer, a case could be made for Bruce Wayne having a hoarding disorder. The Batcave does have a large variety of items, from hundreds of different batarangs, a large stockpile of Batsuits (Batman Begins reveals Bruce Wayne ordered 20,000 Bat-cowls when he first designed his costume), and even multiple Batmobiles.
On one hand, it makes sense that Batman would keep so many spare costumes and gadgets in his cave. Crimefighting is a messy business, after all, and Bruce Wayne needs to be able to swap out his bullet-ridden armor, gear, and capes for a fresh set after each nightly patrol. He also orders excessively large amounts of cowls to avoid suspicion (although eventually he gets a personal armorer in Lucius Fox to cut down on expenses).
On the other hand, this does not explain why Batman tends to keep his old costumes after they’ve served their purpose. The Batcave has several display cases of his old costumes, as well as those of his sidekicks. While some of them are displayed as memorials (like the one for Jason Todd), it does seem strange that Batman keeps so many damaged suits. In Batman Beyond, an elderly Bruce Wayne even tells his protégé Terry McGinnis that he can’t loan him one of his old Batsuits since they all have bullet holes and acid stains. Since Bruce has been retired for decades at this point, it makes no sense that he would keep so many defective Batsuits (surely, he’s worked out a safe way to dispose of them without alerting suspicion?)
Then there are Bruce’s many trophies. Again, it makes sense that Batman would want to put some of these items in storage for safety. Penguin’s umbrellas, Mr. Freeze’s ice gun, and Joker’s lethal toxins are all dangerous materials that are probably safer in the Batcave than the GCPD evidence locker. Plus, Batman needs to study his enemies’ weapons for certain cases, so these particular trophies also function as necessary items for his crime lab.
But then, there’s that robot T-Rex Bruce put in the Batcave – a giant animatronic machine that once tried to kill Batman in Batman #35, which Bruce took as a trophy for the Batcave in 1946. A year later, in World’s Finest #30, he also brought back a giant penny from the villain Joe Coyne, the Penny Plunderer. Granted, these are pretty iconic fixtures, and a billionaire like Bruce Wayne should be granted some leeway when it comes to outlandish collectibles – but does he really need to hold onto the shroud of Batman’s forgotten villain the Mad Monk, a set of oversized bowling pins, or… Catwoman’s whip? (Considering Bruce and Selina are married these days, that last item might lead to some uncomfortable questioning).
Given the incredibly wide variety of items in the Batcave, one also needs to ask why Batman holds onto the trophies he keeps in there. Hoarders tend to imbue many of their items with some emotional significance that makes it hard for them to let them go. Certainly, many of Batman’s most treasured possessions fall into this category. Bruce has kept a bat-costume that his father, Thomas Wayne, wore at a costume party long before he was killed (and Bruce took on the mantle of Batman). In the aftermath of Flashpoint, Barry Allen/Flash delivered a heartfelt letter from an alternate version of Thomas Wayne to Batman, which Bruce kept in the Batcave. Clearly, it makes sense that Batman would want to keep these items…
Unfortunately, “emotional significance” for the Batman often means negative emotions, which may be why Bruce has such a hard time letting go of items that carry painful memories. Aside from Jason Todd’s costume (put up to partly remind Batman of how he failed to protect his sidekick), Batman also keeps the gavel of Judge Clay to remind himself of one of his other failures. (The Judge had tried to drown Robin in Detective Comics #441 to get revenge on Batman, whom he blamed for accidentally blinding his daughter). This tendency to hold onto painful memories should be a strong indication of a mental disorder.
One reason why Batman may have never been diagnosed with a hoarding disorder is because of the efforts of his butler/father figure Alfred Pennyworth. Alfred has been cleaning the Batcave tirelessly for almost eighty years, a feat even more monumental when you consider he also has to clean up after all the bats that live in the Batcave. He’s done such an amazing job of keeping the cave organized and spotless that it just doesn’t look like Batman is the type of person to leave a lot of clutter (although who knows what the cave would look like if Alfred wasn’t there?)
Another reason why Batman may have avoided the hoarder stigma is his wealth. “Regular” hoarders are identified when their inability to let go of items causes them to pile up in their living space – filling their closets, hallways, and even bathrooms. In Bruce Wayne’s case, however, his insane wealth affords him plenty of space for his items. Moreover, the Batcave is enormous and capable of holding thousands of random items while still presenting the illusion of a “spacious” headquarters. Beyond that, Batman actually has multiple other “Batcaves” and hideouts (some of which are probably bursting at the seams with old Batsuits and villain paraphernalia.)
All of this adds up to an uncomfortable truth – Batman is a hoarder, but the world will never know this thanks to his limitless space and bank account. Given that Bruce Wayne often ignores the advice of doctors and psychiatrists (who would probably go nuts if they knew he was dealing with his parents’ death by running around rooftops dressed as a bat), it’s very unlikely he’ll ever deal with his hoarding disorder. One has to wonder, however, if Batman will one day be killed not by a supervillain but by an avalanche of junk from one of the many closets he overlooked.