Just because he’s friends with Gotham’s police commissioner doesn’t mean Batman’s always had the law on his side. Though usually seen as a hero and ally of police when Jim Gordon is in charge, there have been a number of instances where Batman’s lost favor with law enforcement, even being hunted as a criminal.

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While generally an uncommon occurrence, Batman has been chased by police and other law agencies in the main DC Universe, alternate timelines, and even in movies and television. There have also been times where the Batman on the run hasn’t been Bruce Wayne, or at least not the Bruce whom Gotham’s law officers are accustomed to.

10 When He Was Mistaken For The Phantasm (Batman: Mask of the Phantasm)

Batman cornered by police in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

Andrea Beaumont quickly caused ripples in the Gotham underworld as the Phantasm when she began killing the mobsters who murdered her father. With no witnesses actually getting a good look at the Phantasm, many assumed Batman had committed the killings… including City Councilman Arthur Reeves, who pressured Gotham’s police force to hunt the Dark Knight down. Things reached a head when Batman himself encountered the Phantasm— by the time the police arrived, the Phantasm had already fled, and Batman was relentlessly pursued by Detective Harvey Bullock and highly armed law officers. Batman was badly injured but was thankfully rescued by Beaumont in her civilian identity.

9 When He Was Hunted For Batgirl's Death (The New Batman Adventures)

Gordon holds Batgirl's (Barbara Gordon's) body while Batman looks on in The New Batman Adventures episode "Over The Edge"

In “Over the Edge,” the Scarecrow killed Batgirl by knocking her off a rooftop. Feeling Batman was complicit by condoning Barbara’s vigilante lifestyle, Commissioner Gordon pursued Batman and his allies to the full extent of the law, even cutting a deal with Bane. Yet the criminal proved unreliable and knocked Batman and Gordon off another with the Bat-Signal.

Fortunately, it was all just a dream induced by Barbara’s exposure to the Scarecrow’s fear toxin. Barbara decided to tell her father about her double life, but before she could, Jim told her she supported all her decisions… while implying he’d known the secret all along.

8 When Catwoman And The Penguin Framed Him For The Ice Princess' Murder (Batman Returns)

The Ice Princess moments before being murdered by the Penguin in Batman Returns

Gotham's latest mayoral candidate, the Penguin, concocted an elaborate scheme with Catwoman to frame the Dark Knight in Batman Returns. The Penguin kidnapped the Ice Princess of Gotham City’s Tree Lighting Ceremony, leaving behind a Batarang to incriminate Batman. Worse still, when Batman tried to rescue the Ice Princess, Catwoman led the beauty queen to a rooftop, while the Penguin made her lose her balance and fall. Batman raced toward the ledge to save her, making onlookers believe he had pushed her.

RELATED: Batman Returns: 10 Things You Missed In The 1992 Film

Batman then retreated to the Batmobile, but the Penguin had hot-wired the car, forcing Batman to hit pedestrians and squad cars while police pursued him.

7 When He Covered Up Harvey Dent's Crimes As Two-Face (The Dark Knight)

Make Your Own Luck

The Gotham City of the Dark Knight movie trilogy was one where crime and corruption ran rampant. Yet new hope arrived in the form of Batman and Jim Gordon, as well as district attorney Harvey Dent, whose trust among Gothamites had earned him the nickname of Gotham’s “White Knight.”

Unfortunately, the Joker corrupted Harvey’s sense of justice by making him Two-Face. Dent was on the verge of killing Gordon’s son when Batman tackled him off a ledge. The fall killed Harvey, but Batman decided Harvey’s reputation could not be tarnished, and let the world believe he had murdered an innocent man.

6 When He Was Framed For The Murder Of Vesper Fairchild ("Bruce Wayne: Murderer?")

Bruce Wayne holding Vesper Fairchild's body in Bruce Wayne: Murderer?

Technically it was not Batman, but Bruce Wayne who was believed to have murdered Vesper Fairchild, a reporter Bruce had once dated. Police found Vesper’s murdered body at Wayne Manor, making Bruce and his bodyguard, Sasha Bordeaux, their top suspects. Unfortunately, Bruce and Sasha were unable to reveal their alibi, as doing so would have exposed Batman’s secret identity.

Suspicions toward Wayne intensified further when Bruce escaped Blackgate Penitentiary and purportedly left the country. However, all police charges against Bruce were dropped when David Cain, Vesper’s actual killer, confessed to police after losing to Batman in battle.

5 When Spellbinder Made It Look Like Batman Had Killed Mad Stan (Batman Beyond)

Mad Stan illusion in Batman Beyond's "Spellbinder"

Terry McGinnis may be a fairly different Batman than his predecessor and biological father, Bruce Wayne, but one of the things he did “inherit” was Batman’s occasional run-ins with law enforcement. In the Batman Beyond episode “Eyewitness,” Police Commissioner Barbara Gordon witnessed Terry beat bomber Mad Stan to death with a bomb, eroding Barbara’s already waning trust in him. Yet when Bruce questioned Terry, the Tomorrow Knight insisted he had only knocked Stan out with his elbow. With Bruce’s help, Terry discovered that Spellbinder had used an illusion to make Barbara think he had killed Stan, thus exonerating Terry completely.

4 When He Was Framed For Murdering A Federal Agent (Batman: Year 100)

Batman evading police while on a motorcycle in Batman: Year 100

100 years after Batman’s real-world debut in 1939, a new Batman seemingly made himself known in Gotham City, chased by members of the Federal Police Corps for allegedly killing one of their own.

RELATED: 10 Best Detectives In DC Comics, Ranked

With a new Robin and mother-daughter associates Kris and Tora Goss, however, Batman discovered that the murdered “agent” was actually a courier delivering plans for a flesh-eating virus from a terrorist group to corrupt F.P.C. higher-ups, so they could use the plans for their own nefarious purposes. What’s worse, a telepathic F.P.C. agent named Mercer had shot the courier and deliberately framed Batman for his murder.

3 When Ellen Yindel Became Police Commissioner (The Dark Knight Returns)

Batman and Robin (Carrie Kelley) face Commissioner Ellen Yindel and police in The Dark Knight Returns

In Frank Miller's Dark Knight Universe, Batman’s long friendship with Commissioner Gordon allowed him to operate with little police interference before the caped crime-fighter retired. When Bruce became Batman again, however, Gordon was on the verge of retiring himself, meaning he could only protect Batman until his replacement, Ellen Yindel, took over. Deliberately chosen for her anti-Batman stance, Yindel immediately led police after the Dark Knight, intensifying her efforts when she believed Batman had killed the Joker.

Yindel relaxed the hunt after witnessing Batman’s relief efforts during a massive blackout. Years later, she allied with Batman to stop the Kryptonians of Kandor from invading Earth.

2 When The Batmen Were From Different Universes (The Batman Who Laughs)

The Batman Who Laughs and the Grim Knight

Evil versions of Batman are surprisingly common. Two of the most infamous were the Man Who Laughs, a Bruce Wayne permanently transformed by Joker Toxin, and the gun-toting Grim Knight. Both Batmen hailed from the Dark Multiverse and planned to change everyone into their “worst selves” with a special serum.

Rather than attack the Batmen with squads of police, Commissioner Gordon instead teamed with his son, James Jr., in stopping the Grim Knight from poisoning Gotham’s water supply. Meanwhile Batman, despite being heavily infected with Joker Toxin himself, defeated the Batman Who Laughs with the Joker's help.

1 At The Start Of Batman's Career (Batman: Year One)

Branden and his forces hunt Batman in Batman #406, Part 3 of Batman: Year One

To say Batman’s debut rattled the criminals of Gotham was an understatement. In Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s Batman: Year One, however, many of those lawbreakers included members of the Gotham police force, who kept strong ties to city crime lords. After being humiliated at a dinner with mob boss Carmine “The Roman” Falcone by Batman, Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb made apprehending Batman a top priority. Despite the objections of then-Lieutenant James Gordon, Loeb sent a SWAT Team after Batman in an abandoned building but the Dark Knight escaped by using hundreds of bats he’d summoned as cover.

NEXT: Batman: 10 Times Commissioner Gordon Was Braver Than The Dark Knight