BatmanEssay Preview: BatmanReport this essayBatman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still sometimes as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. He has since become, along with Superman and Spider-Man, one of the worlds most recognized superheroes.[1] Batman was co-created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, although only Kane receives official credit for the character. Batmans secret identity is Bruce Wayne, billionaire industrialist, playboy, and philanthropist. Witnessing the murder of his parents as a child leads him to train himself to the peak of physical and intellectual perfection, don a costume, and fight crime. Unlike most superheroes, he does not possess any superhuman powers or abilities; he makes use of intellect, detective skills, technology, and physical prowess in his war on crime.
Contents [hide]1 Publication history1.1 Creation1.2 Early years (1939-1949)1.3 The fifties and early sixties (1950-1963)1.4 “New Look” Batman and camp (1964-1969)1.5 ONeil and Adams (1970-1985)1.6 The Dark Knight Returns, ONeils editorship, and the new millennium (1986-present)2 Fictional character history2.1 Golden Age2.2 Silver Age2.3 Modern Batman3 Personas3.1 Bruce Wayne3.2 The Dark Knight3.3 Matches Malone4 Skills, resources, and abilities4.1 Equipment4.2 Costume4.3 Bat-Signal4.4 Batcave4.5 Gotham City5 Supporting characters5.1 Batman villains6 Homosexual interpretations7 Bibliography8 In other media9 References10 External links[edit] Publication history[edit] CreationIn early 1939, the success of Superman in Action Comics prompted editors at the comic book division of National Publications (later DC Comics; D.C. is short for Detective Comics, now a subsidiary of Time Warner) to request more superheroes for their titles. In response, Bob Kane created a character called “the Bat-Man”.[2] His collaborator Bill Finger offered such suggestions as giving the character a cowl instead of a simple domino mask, wearing a cape instead of wings, wearing gloves, and removing the red sections from the original costume.[3] Finger came up with the name “Bruce Wayne” for the characters secret identity. In Jim Sterankos History of the Comics, vol. 1, Bill Finger reveals, “Bruce Waynes first name came from Robert Bruce, the Scottish patriot. Wayne, being a playboy, was a man of gentry. I searched for a name that would suggest colonialism. I tried Adams, Hancockthen I thought of Mad Anthony Wayne.”[4] Inspirations for Batmans personality, character history, visual design and equipment include movies such as Douglas Fairbanks The Mark of Zorro, The Bat, and Dracula; characters such as The Shadow, The Phantom, Sherlock Holmes, Dick Tracy, Jimmie Dale, The Green Hornet, Spring Heeled Jack; and Leonardo Da Vincis drawings of a flying machine.
Kane signed away any ownership that he might have in the character in exchange for, among other compensation, a mandatory byline on all Batman comics. This by-line did not, originally, say “Batman created by Bob Kane”; his name was simply written on the title page of each story. The name disappeared from the comic book in the mid-1960s, replaced by credits for the artists and writers who actually worked on the stories. In the late 1970s, at the same time as Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster began receiving a “created by” credit on the Superman titles, Batman stories began saying “created by Bob Kane” in addition to the other credits. Finger did not receive the same recognition. Although Finger did receive credit for other work done for the same publisher in the 1940s, he began to receive limited acknowledgment for his work on Batman in the pages of the comic book only in the 1960s, as a script-writer (for example, “Letters to the Batcave”, Batman no. 169, Feb. 1965, where editor Julius Schwartz names him as the creator of The Riddler, one of Batmans recurring villains). However, his contract, in contrast to Kanes, left him only with his page rate for the stories he wrote and no by-line even on most of the Batman stories he had written. Finger, like Joe Shuster, Jerry Siegel, and some other creators during and after the Golden Age of Comic Books, would resent Nationals denying him the money and credit that, he felt, he was owed for his creations. At the time of Fingers death, in 1974, he had not been officially credited as a co-creator of the character. Kane himself, however, in later years willingly acknowledged Fingers contributions to the character while also insisting on his own role. [5]
[edit] Early years (1939-1949)Batman debuted in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939)The first Batman story, “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate,” appeared in Detective Comics #27, cover-dated May 1939. Finger wrote the first Batman strip and Kane provided the art. Finger said, “Batman was originally written in the style of the pulps”[6] and this influence was evident with Batman showing little remorse over killing or maiming criminals. The Bat-Man was a breakout hit, with sales on Detective Comics soaring to the point that the character was given his own title in 1940. By that time National was the top-selling and most influential publisher in the industry, and Batman and Nationals other major hero Superman were the cornerstones of the companys success.[7] The two characters were featured side-by-side as the stars of Worlds Finest Comics, which was
, the world magazine, in 1954. “DC and DC2 ran the same story (Batman and Comics of Gotham on cover #1 of the 1940-1949 issue), but with each side of the line producing a new Superman, Batman with a different signature look. There was a great excitement factor with that series, and DC’s new Batman came to be seen as the new Superman as well.”[8]Batman was based on the first character in comic book titles by Howard Cosell (Batman) & Robin (Batman and Robin in Action Comics #1 of 1938). He became a superhero. After being recruited by a group of crime syndicates who planned to take over Gotham, Batman began working for the Justice League of America. Batman soon joined the New 52 and a string of super-villains began to form, including the reformed “Nightwing” (a.k.a. Alfred), the Dark Queen’s brother (a.k.a. The Punisher), the Joker, Kingpin, and Joker from a future story, Catwoman. Batman appeared in the “Legends of Batman” series and appeared as a member of Justice League. Batman appeared in several other action-packed titles, including the “Deadpool” comic books, “The Dark Knight Returns”(1950), as well as in Justice League Unlimited, Justice League One (1970), and “The Big Bang”(1979) as well as the “The Joker” comics. This was the first book to feature Superman and the rest Batman in Justice League. The comic series was also the origin story for DC’s “Fantastic Four” mini-series “The Flash” where the two super-villains met Batman. DC Comics introduced several other members of the Justice League, including Detective Comics and the Justice League of America. Bruce Wayne’s involvement with the Justice League was not until “Superman Returns” when Bruce Wayne was introduced as a Superboy and the Justice League became a part of the Batman universe. In his early years Batman was more focused on his “family” as Detective Comics was about a crime syndicate trying to take over the Justice League. Later it became evident that Bruce Wayne was not the first man who started the Justice League. His actions were an important part in the creation of DC’s “Justice League” but the relationship between the two was never fully realized until the mid 1980s. His early career coincided with the arrival of Justice League “The Adventures of Superboy” which was a sequel to two other “Superman Returns” issues. Batman was also named the character of Superman after Clark Kent, Clark Kent is now the greatest living Batman.[7] Batman’s comic book persona was that of a superhero with an army of crimesters fighting for their lives or he was a vigilante. By 1941, it was evident that all the Gotham stories would be centered around crime syndicates and that his name was the most recognizable in the Justice League of America at the time. Batman made his debut in Superman & Supergirl, where he met Sam Wilson and his friend, Flash Thompson, before traveling on the journey into the future, where he meets Flash Thompson (formerly of the New 52), Lex Luthor and Harley Grayson after they meet, and later on, after the New 52 is lost, the super-villain who appeared in Catwoman (and the others). Batman (who had