Batman - SCIFIPEDIA

Batman

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Batman

Gender	Male
Publisher	DC Comics
Origin	Gotham City
First Appearance	Detective Comics #27 (May 1939)
Creator(s)	Bob Kane Bill Finger
Alter ego	Bruce Wayne
Aliases	The Dark Knight, Matches Malone
Abilities	Genius IQ, Martial Arts, High-tech equipment, unparalelled detective skills.
Affiliations	Justice League Outsiders Wayne Enterprises Wayne Foundation

Batman is a fictional comic book superhero character owned by DC Comics. After Superman’s successful launch in 1938, publishers were on the lookout for similar properties, yet Batman had distinct differences from his predecessor, and those may have helped to account for his remarkable popularity. Batman might have dressed like a super hero, but he was really a throwback to pulp characters like The Shadow and Doc Savage, mere mortals who had no fantastic powers, but relied on cunning and courage, and their ability to developed fantastic gimmicks and weaponry to defeat the forces of evil. Finger and Kane clearly used The Shadow as inspiration for the character, for both mysterious hero characters had much in common. Both characters took refuge in the identity of wealthy socialites who were personal friends of the local police commissioner. The first Batman stories were clearly derivitive of this format. It was not long, however, before Batman developed his own distinct style and mythology, becoming more enduring in the comic books than even the Shadow was in pulp novels and on the radio.

1 History
2 Character History: Origin
3 Abilities
4 Weapons/Devices
5 Other Allies
6 Enemies
7 Related Movies
8 TV Series
9 Documentaries
10 Popular Culture
11 Related Terms and Articles
12 External Links

History

Bob Kane was a journeyman cartoonist when editor Vin Sullivan suggested he try something along the lines of Superman. Kane came up with a vigilante who wore bat-like wings so he could swoop down on criminals, then took the idea to writer Bill Finger. Kane’s friend changed the stiff wings to a more practical cape, suggested a sinister cowl, and added many more colorful features. He wrote the stories that defined Batman, but Kane had the connection to DC Comics, and he alone was credited.

Batman's first appearance

Batman made his debut in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939), and Batman#1 followed in Spring 1940. Along the way Batman acquired an origin story that may have been tossed off as an afterthought but would become part of the Batman legend decades later. The premise was simple. Young Bruce Wayne watched his wealthy parents murdered by a thug, and grew up training his mind and body for a career fighting crime. He would soon team up with Robin, who was an orphaned boy named Dick Grayson, the first superhero kid sidekick. Among the villains he encountered were some of the most colorful in comics: The Joker, Catwoman, The Penguin, and Two-Face. Kane, Finger, and art assistant Jerry Robinson got the series off to a splendid start and artist Dick Sprang refined the classic look of Batman’s world over the course of two decades on the job.

But by the 1960s, the series was running out of steam. Accusations about the relationship between Batman and Robin had led to some questionable editorial changes, and a new editor, Julius Schwartz, was encouraged to get back to basics. To give Wayne Manor less of a feel of a homosexual's bachelor pad, the Aunt Harriet character was created, and came to live with Bruce and Dick. The year 1964 was the start of the "new look" Batman. This period is easily recognized by the Carmine Infantino art, the slick racing car Batmobile, and the yellow circle that suddenly appeared behind the bat symbol on Batman's chest. Schwartz began by eliminating some of the sillier aspects of the Batman series, such as Ace the Bat-Hound, Batwoman, and the magical imp Bat-Mite, as well as the wide array of outer space and science fiction adventures that became characteristic of the 1950s. This was the beginning of Batman's transition into the Silver Age of Comics. Yet he barely got started before the campy Batman TV series was launched in 1966, and America was caught in the grip of “Batmania.” Years passed before things calmed down and Schwartz was able to launch a more serious and realistic Batman with the help of writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams. This was made easier by the fact that comics in general were targeting a slightly older audience as an effect of the Bronze Age of Comics. Here, Batman developed a longer cloak-like cape, and began spending less time with Robin when Dick Grayson left for college. Aunt Harriet was long gone by this time, and Batman involved himself in more solo adventures, like he did in the very first year of his creation. He spent more time on the roof tops, and less time in the Batmobile.

A further dramatic updating of Batman's style took place with writer-artist Frank Miller’s futuristic mini-series The Dark Knight Returns (1986). Batman became even more of a creature of the night, and much less the easy going friendly superhero type that he was in the 1950s and in the camp 1966 TV show. This Batman would not stop at beating up a criminal type to extract information, and seemed to have less and less in common with his friend Superman as time went on. And the nation was shocked in 1988 when O’Neil, now editor, took a poll of fans who decided that Jason Todd, the second Robin (a different kid than the original) would be better off dead. The readers voted "yes", and Jason's death at the hands of the Joker would plunge Batman into an even darker period.

Feature films and a clever animated show have kept Batman in the spotlight in recent years, and stunts like an earthquake destroying the hero’s home base have enlivened the comics. Few characters of any kind have remained hot commercial properties for so many years.

Character History: Origin

Young Bruce Wayne attends a revival of the old movie "The Mark of Zorro" with his parents, the wealthy Dr. Thomas and Martha Wayne, in downtown Gotham City. On the way home, a young stick-up man by the name of Joe Chill comes out of a dark alley and confronts the family with a loaded gun. When he pulls the pearl necklace off Martha Wayne, the poor woman panics and begins to scream. The father steps forward to defend his wife, Chill's gun goes off, and soon both parents are lying dead at the feet of their young son. The boy's eyes stare silently at the criminal. "Kid...don't look at me that way," the new murderer mutters. Inexplicably unnerved by the boy's stare, Chill runs off.

Bruce returns home to Wayne Manor, his ancestral estate. He is looked after by Alfred Pennyworth, the family butler, to whom the parent's will appoints guardianship. After the funeral, Bruce kneels at his parent's grave, and makes the oath that will shape his life. "I swear to dedicate my life and my inheritance to bringing your murderer, and all criminals, to justice. I swear it."

Bruce makes good on his oath. He begins training, learning, and mastering all criminal sciences and martial arts, forging himself into the perfect crime-fighting machine. As a young man, he travels the world, studying under the greatest detectives and martial arts masters of the world. Finally, he returns to Wayne Manor, and considers his future. He had decided he could make the biggest difference working outside the law as a vigilante. His research indicates that "criminals are a cowardly and superstitious lot". He decides to wear a costume which would "strike fear into their hearts". But what? At that moment a bat from the network of caves below the manor flies in through the window, circles the room, and leaves by the same window. "That's it!," he cries. "It's an omen. A bat. I shall become a bat." And so the Batman is born.

Abilities

Batman is an accomplished martial artist, acrobat, master chemist, criminologist, scientist, weapons designer, strategist, escape artist, and the world's greatest detective. It's important to remember that Batman has no superpowers.

Weapons/Devices

Batarang, Batrope, utility belt, zip line, smoke and gas pellets. Batman has his headquarters in a network of caves under Wayne Manor called the Batcave. In the cave, Batman keeps a huge computer system that is state of the art. Batman employs various transportation devices (helicopters, boats, large kites, etc.), among which is the famous Batmobile. Batman can control the Batmobile using a remote control device. There have been many incarnations of the Batmobile over the years. The Batmobile is always fast, armored, has a communication system, and links to the computers in the Batcave. Batman NEVER uses a gun.

Other Allies

Robin, Nightwing, Alfred Pennyworth, Police Commissioner James Gordon, Lucius Fox, Oracle, Batgirl, The Huntress, and sometimes Catwoman, Outside the inner circle characters like Alfred, Robin, and Nightwing, Superman is his best super-hero friend, as different as the two of them are. Batman is highly regarded and respected (if not always liked) by his Justice League colleagues.