Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-man, and still sometimes as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional character and superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. He has since become, along with Superman and Spider-Man, one of the world's 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.
Batman's 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 many other superheroes, he does not possess superhuman powers or abilities; he makes use of intellect, detective skills, technology, and physical prowess in his war on crime.
In 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". 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. Finger came up with name "Bruce Wayne" for the character's secret identity.
In Jim Steranko's History of the Comics, vol. 1, Bill Finger reveals, "Bruce Wayne's 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, Hancock...then I thought of Mad Anthony Wayne."[2]
Finger wrote the first Batman story and Kane provided the art. The Batman was a breakout hit, with sales on Detective Comics soaring to the point that National's comic book division was renamed "Detective Comics, Inc." Seen nowadays as having been one of the first examples of a classic comic book superhero archetype, Batman has been considered by some to have been the first comic book anti-hero, though Namor the Sub-Mariner, who debuted in the same year, is also a contender for that title.
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 stating "Batman created by Bob Kane". At the time, no comic books and few company-owned comic strips were explicitly credited to their creative teams. Bill Finger's contract, by comparison, left him with little money and without a byline, even on comics he had written. Finger, like Joe Shuster, Jerry Siegel, and many other creators during and after the Golden Age of Comic Books, would resent National for denying him money and credit he felt he was owed for his creations. By the time Finger died in 1974, he had never been officially credited for his work. Kane himself, however, willingly acknowledged Finger's contributions to the character. Though drawings of a "Batman" character by an artist named Frank Foster have been suggested by some as predating the creation of Kane and Finger by about seven years, this is more than likely a case of parallel evolution (as in DC's Catman and Holyoke's Cat-Man, or DC's Swamp Thing and Marvel's Man-Thing) rather than plagiarism, as it is unlikely that either Kane or Finger had seen the obscure drawings. Bela Lugosi's 1931 Dracula film was very influential and spawned several bat-like men in pulp magazines and serials (such as Bat-Men of Joba) before the close of the decade.
[edit]
Evolution of the character
Inspirations for Batman's 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, Sherlock Holmes, Dick Tracy, the Green Hornet, and Spring Heeled Jack; and even Leonardo Da Vinci.
Early Batman stories frequently use the grim tone of the film noir and gothic horror films of the day; a few stories even show Batman making use of firearms, and the vigilante shows little remorse over his enemies' deaths. Unsurprisingly, the body count in the first dozen or so published Batman stories is quite high.
Batman #1 (Spring 1940). Art by Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson.This interpretation of Batman softens in Detective Comics #38[3] in 1940. Dick Grayson/Robin (named after Robin Hood) [citation needed] is introduced based on Finger's suggestion to Kane that Batman needed a "Watson". Kane, partly inspired by the Junior character from Dick Tracy, [citation needed] made the sidekick a young boy. The decision was controversial at first but proved revolutionary, and it led to a number of "boy wonders" in other superhero comics. In Batman #7, (1941) Batman is made an honorary member of Gotham City's police department, moving him even farther from his dark, vigilante roots. Batman's tone continues to stay light for the next several decades.
In Superman #76 (1952), Batman first teams up with Superman and learns his secret identity; following the success of this story, the separate Batman and Superman features that had been running in World's Finest Comics instead featured both together; this series of stories ran until the book's cancellation in 1986. The stories feature the two as close friends and allies, tackling threats that require both of their talents.
Starting in the mid-1950s, Batman's stories gradually become more science fiction-oriented, an attempt at mimicking the success of the top-selling Superman comics of the time. New characters such as Batwoman, Ace the Bat-Hound, and Bat-Mite (the latter two paralleling Krypto the Superdog and Mr. Mxyzptlk of the Superman titles) appear. Batman has adventures involving either odd transformations or dealing with bizarre space aliens. Batman is a highly public figure during the stories of the 1950s, regularly appearing at such events as charity functions and frequently appearing in broad daylight. In 1960, Batman becomes a member of the Justice League of America, which debuts in The Brave and the Bold #28.
Batman #227 (December 1970). An example of Batman's return to a more gothic atmosphere during the 1970s. Art by Neal Adams.Editor Julius Schwartz presided over drastic changes made to a number of DC's comic book characters, including Batman in 1964's Detective Comics #327. Schwartz introduced changes designed to make Batman more contemporary and return him to more detective stories, including a redesign of Batman's equipment, the Batmobile, and his costume (introducing the yellow ellipse behind the costume's bat-insignia), and brought in artist Carmine Infantino to help in this makeover. The space aliens and characters of the 1950s such as Batwoman, Ace, and Bat-Mite were retired. This makeover soon became known as the "New Look" Batman. Julius Schwartz created Aunt Harriet to live with Bruce and Dick. This influenced the campy Adam West Batman parody TV series in 1966, which ran until 1968.
Writer Denny O'Neil and artist Neal Adams made additional changes to Batman when they started working on the comic, reintroducing some of Batman's earlier grimmer elements, starting with Detective Comics #395's "The Secret of the Waiting Graves" (1970). Dick Grayson is sent off to college, making Batman a loner once again. O'Neil's tone influenced Batman's comics through the rest of the 1970s and into the 1980s; 1977 and 1978's stories in Detective Comics written by Steve Englehart (with art by Marshall Rogers) are held by many as a high point of this era.
The first issue of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, which redefined Batman in the 1980s. Art by Frank Miller.Writer Frank Miller grounded Batman further in his grim and gritty roots with the limited series Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986), which takes place in a possible future, and 1987's four-issue "Batman: Year One". Batman: The Dark Knight Returns' popularity was nothing short of phenomenal and raised sales for comics across the board. Alan Moore and Brian Bolland continued this dark trend with 1988's Batman: The Killing Joke, in which the Joker, attempting to drive Commissioner Gordon insane, cripples his daughter Barbara Gordon, kidnaps him, and tortures him physically and mentally. These stories and others like them helped to raise the image of comic books beyond mere children's entertainment. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and stories following it (such as John Byrne's Superman revamp) also severed the close friendship of Batman and Superman, replacing it with a more antagonistic relationship.
Stories like these, in turn, have set the tone for the last two decades of Batman comics. Tim Burton's Batman movies, Warner Bros' Batman and Batman Returns features a darker, more Gothic Batman; the popularity of those movies in turn led to the noir-ish Batman: The Animated Series. The ongoing comic book series, meanwhile, has continued in this gritty trend, and this tone inspired imitators in other comic books and films.
Batman: Year One is significant in that it is set in, and significantly revises, Batman's early days. Since the original publication of Year One, many creators have set their stories in Batman's formative years, and the Batman title Legends of the Dark Knight in particular often features stories that take place in Batman's early days. Many of the stylistic notes of Year One, specifically text captions designed to look handwritten on note paper, have also been used quite successfully by other authors. In addition the general concept of a Year One book, taking a fresh look at the origins of an older character, as well as showing their learning process, has been embraced by the comics industry as a whole. Other comics which have since gotten a "Year One" treatment include Spider-Man and the Justice League.
This post was meant for the Royal Family. However, I thought it applied to us all, so Im posting in the team threads (And for once, lets not let it be about "teams" if your going to do something, follow the rules I gave out) This would be much appreciated by ALL of the Comic vs Forum:
I make a call to arms. We go to war. Not chaotic war (yea Im looking at you King KAM)
I do NOT want cursing, badmouthing or unintelligent replies. I want for once to show people that we too can be the Lords of Order that we proclaim be.
For now we are the Lords of Order in this respect. We go into passive aggressive warfare.
I give you the thread:
Vote keep them. Add a comment if you wish. But do not under any circumstance give them the ability to use our words against us, to say "see I told those Comic vs fools were nothing but idiots"
So be warned. Do this with intelligence, dignity, and for the sake of all VS forums. Im getting tired of the views others hold for us. The contempt they see us in. Go and prove them wrong. Vote Keep them
Be aware of it, but don't feel like you have to contribute. There will be those that dislike vs. forums no matter what. Much of our breathe in that thread is probably wasted on those whose opinions won't change, and simply ignoring it is probably just as good a policy. Still, if you feel so called, we're already dominating that thread, and more is never a bad thing.
Stay Windy 🤘
Originally posted by Blair Wind
This post was meant for the Royal Family. However, I thought it applied to us all, so Im posting in the team threads (And for once, lets not let it be about "teams" if your going to do something, follow the rules I gave out) This would be much appreciated by ALL of the Comic vs Forum:I make a call to arms. We go to war. Not chaotic war (yea Im looking at you King KAM)
I do NOT want cursing, badmouthing or unintelligent replies. I want for once to show people that we too can be the Lords of Order that we proclaim be.
For now we are the Lords of Order in this respect. We go into passive aggressive warfare.
I give you the thread:
Vote keep them. Add a comment if you wish. But do not under any circumstance give them the ability to use our words against us, to say "see I told those Comic vs fools were nothing but idiots"
So be warned. Do this with intelligence, dignity, and for the sake of all VS forums. Im getting tired of the views others hold for us. The contempt they see us in. Go and prove them wrong. Vote Keep them
Be aware of it, but don't feel like you have to contribute. There will be those that dislike vs. forums no matter what. Much of our breathe in that thread is probably wasted on those whose opinions won't change, and simply ignoring it is probably just as good a policy. Still, if you feel so called, we're already dominating that thread, and more is never a bad thing.
Stay Windy 🤘
I posted a pretty good sized arguement in there and I also voted "keep them." 😉
Originally posted by batdude123
This thread is for a group of people who are interested in representing the one, the only... BATMAN! I will represent the regular Bruce Wayne Batman, while other people can represent other forms of Batman. People can also choose to be one of his sidekicks ie Nightwing, Robin, Batgirl, etc... If members so desire, they can also be a Batman villain ie Joker, Two Face, Clay Face, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, etc...Our main purpose is to restore order and balance to the KMC. Though Batman may not have any specific powers, his greatest power is a commitment in a belief that one person can make a difference in the world. That's his greatest power. Like Batman, we will fight for justice all around KMC, against anybody who bad mouths the Dark Knight, and to represent your character on another thread.
So sign up and be a member of the Dark Knights!!!!!!!!!!
Originally posted by batdude123
If you want to join, you won't have to leave or disband from your respected groups. (This is a general statement to everybody)