BATMAN HISTORY

BATMAN HISTORY Batman made his first appearance as a comic book superhero in DC Comics Detective Comics No. 27, May 1939. Bob Kane has been credited with the original creation of Batman. Kane was a twenty-two year old comic book artist creating fill-in cartoons about dogs and cats for DC Comics when he was selected to create a hero as powerful and appealing as Superman, DC Comic's year old phenomenal success. Kane's inspiration for Batman reportedly came from three sources-a Leonardo da Vinci sketch of a man trying to fly wit 22222v214w h attached bat-like wings, a 1930's silent mystery movie titled The Bat Whisperer about a bat faced villain, and the masked heroes from The Shadow and Zorro. Although Kane had skills as both a cartoon artist and writer, Kane indicated that he "didn't have the time to literally write and draw the (Batman) strip at the same time." As a result, Kane worked with writer Bill Finger, who wrote the scripts from ideas Kane and Finger collaborated on.

For those unfamiliar with the Batman story, Batman is Bruce Wayne. Teenager Bruce Wayne was traumatized by witnessing his parent's murder and vowed to avenge their deaths by bringing the criminals to justice. Bruce Wayne used his vast fortune to study criminology, to train his body to athletic perfection, and to acquire high tech vehicles and weapons to fight crime in his hometown of Gotham. One night Bruce Wayne was startled by a bat outside his window and decided to dress himself as a bat man to strike fear in the "cowardly and superstitious" hearts of criminals. From that moment forward, Bruce Wayne became "Batman" in his altered state. The first told origin of the Batman was in Detective Comics 33, November, 1939. The first detailed origin of the Batman was told in Batman 47 in June/July, 1948. The origin has been modified slightly over the years, however, the basic facts have remained the same. The character was given his own magazine in the Spring of 1940 with the publication of Batman 1. During the 1940's, 50's and early 60's, Batman appeared regularly in Detective Comics, Batman, and World's Finest Comics.

Kane introduced Batman's young sidekick, Robin the Boy Wonder in 1940 to give Batman someone to talk to. Together, Batman and Robin hit new highs in popularity ratings. Kane also created several of Batman's arch enemies, including the Joker, the Riddler, the Penguin, Two-Face and Catwoman. The Joker was inspired by a 1928 movie The Man Who Laughs and a playing card, the Penguin from the advertising mascot of Kool cigarettes, and Two-Face was inspired by characters in the movie classic, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Batman and Robin were later joined by their faithful butler, Alfred (his last name was Beagle and later changed to Pennyworth), in Batman 16 in April/May, 1943. The team of Batman, Robin and Alfred became the nucleus of the Batman stories during the 1940's, 50's and early 60's. Police Commissioner James Gordon was also a constant character in the adventures of Batman and Robin, however, he did not know that Batman and Bruce Wayne were one in the same. He first appeared in Detective Comics 27. Other regular or semi-regular characters included Vickie Vale, Batwoman (Kathy Kane), Bat-Girl(Betty Kane - golden age), Bat-Mite, Bat-Hound (Ace), and Professor Carter Nichols.

In Superman 76, May/June, 1952, Batman and Superman (Clark Kent) teamed-up for the first time and learned each others civilian identities. Starting with World's Finest Comics 71 in July/August, 1954, Batman, Robin and Superman became occasional partners and teamed-up in each issue to fight crime. The origin of the Superman-Batman team is told in World's Finest Comics 94 and in Adventure Comics 275, August, 1960.

Batman was an immediate hit, not only in comic books but also in every medium he appeared. Batman moved from comic books and his own newspaper strip-- on to radio in and to a hit live-action television show in 1966. The live-action Batman show was aired by ABC Network in 1966. ABC was in last place in the ratings and needed a boost. ABC producer, William Dozier, liked the idea of a hero with comic book origins since most adults in the 60's had recollections of reading comic books in their youth. At the time, Batman was third in comic book popularity, behind Superman and Dick Tracy. Since the latter were not available, ABC bought the television rights to Batman. ABC spent huge sums of money producing the show. One report quotes $800,000 to build the Batcave set alone. Unfortunately, the show went over budget by over a million dollars a year and ABC did not realize any profit during the original production of Batman. After three seasons and 120 episodes, ABC ended production of the show and put the show into syndication. After ABC canceled the Batman show, NBC showed an interest in purchasing the rights to the show. Unfortunately, the Batman set had already been torn down to regain needed space at ABC's studio lot. When NBC found out they would have to rebuild the costly set, they declined the offer to buy the show.

Batman made his next appearance on television as a member of the animated Superfriends, series in the 1970's. In 1986, a new Batman series called The Dark Knight Returns aired. Set in the future, the story depicts an older Bruce Wayne and a Batman who had become a "God of Vengeance". Batman made his first movie debut in the 1989 movie Batman, which fueled renewed popularity. By year 2000, Batman had provided Warner Brothers with four top grossing feature films as well as an several ongoing children's animation series, namely The New Batman/Superman and Batman Beyond on Kids Warner Brothers and Batman on Cartoon Network.

Batman also continued to star in DC comics throughout the years. Along with Superman and Wonder Woman, Batman is the only other character in continuous publication since 1940. Batman has gained popularity across the world and has appeared in almost every country in print, television, film and every form of merchandising known. Some say Batman is one of the seven fictional characters known globally, along with Superman, Mickey Mouse, Robin Hood, King Arthur, Tarzan, and Sherlock Holmes.


Other Interesting Batman Trivia:

An attorney relative of Kane reportedly gave Kane some smart advice when he sold the original Batman story and drawings to DC Comics. The advice was to insist on owning a copyrighted interest in Batman. As a result, Kane was able to reap substantial income from Batman's popularity for years.
Bob Kane was asked to analyze Batman's continuing popularity in 1995. Kane replied, " Batman is associated more with the average man than Superman. He doesn't have super powers, but that's part of the longevity of him. He's Mr. Average Guy; he could bleed and die...Couple that with the fact that he fights for the oppressed. He battles for everybody."
Comic Buyer's Guide conducted a survey to determine the best of what the last hundred years of comic books had to offer. Batman was voted the most popular comic book character of the last century, beating out Superman, Spider-Man and many more.