Holy diploma! Is Batman a Yale Law School alumnus?

Bruce Wayne, a.k.a. Batman, just might be a graduate of Yale Law School. On page 16 of Detective Comics no. 439 (March 1974), one can see a framed “Diploma of Law” from Yale University on the wall of Bruce Wayne’s study, on the right side of the panel:

Here is an enlarged detail of the diploma:

The diploma seems to have been granted by “Yale University at Gotham.”

You can judge for yourself, by visiting our exhibit, “Superheroes in Court! Lawyers, Law and Comic Books.” We have acquired a copy of Detective Comics no. 439 and added it to the exhibit, along with an enlargement of the diploma. We welcome your theories on Bruce Wayne’s alma mater.

Thanks to the Hon. Mark Dwyer, Judge of the Court of Claims (Supreme Court of the State of New York) and a 1975 graduate of the Yale Law School, for bringing this to our attention.

 ”Superheroes in Court! Lawyers, Law and Comic Books”, curated by Mark S. Zaid, Esq., is on display Sept. 4-Dec, 16, 2010 in the Rare Book Exhibition Gallery, Level L2, Lillian Goldman Law Library, Yale Law School.