Really, Wombat?
Batman is the greatest character in all of American literature? I understand you stand behind your statement so I would love to hear you back that up. I love Batman as much as the next guy; he is definitely my favorite superhero, but I don't think I would go as far as to say that he is the single greatest literary character ever created in the United States.
For one thing, I don't think it's fair to pick one single character from such a broad field. What makes Batman a better character than Huckelberry Finn? What makes Captain Ahab a better character than Blanche DuBois? Or vice versa? Yes Batman is a great character, but I have to respectfully disagree with your statement simply because it is far too subjective and vague.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcvCgoelIsQ
Second, I noticed how you qualified your statement by limiting it to American literature because, I think, you know Batman can't compete with the likes of Sherlock Holmes, Hamlet, Oedipus Rex, or even Pinocchio.
Those kind of superlative comments make people sound like tweens trying to justify their favorite pastimes as legitimate academic endeavors.
That being said, in my opinion, the best character ever in the history of American television is Gibby from iCarly. :bow: