Dennis O'Neil noted that character consistency was not a major concern during early editorial regimes: "Julie Schwartz did a Batman in Batman and Detective and Murray Boltinoff did a Batman in the Brave and the Bold and apart from the costume they bore very little resemblance to each other.
In his memoir, Back to the Batcave, West notes his dislike for the term 'camp' as it was applied to the 1960s series, opining that the show was instead a farce or lampoon, and a deliberate one, at that.
[167] That same year the character was adapted in the 15-part serial Batman, with Lewis Wilson becoming the first actor to portray Batman on screen. However, Bruce Wayne is soon revealed to be alive, albeit now suffering almost total amnesia of his life as Batman and only remembering his life as Bruce Wayne through what he has learned from Alfred.
[221], Mayfair released a simplified version of DC Heroes called The Batman Role-Playing Game in 1989 to coincide with the Batman film. Despite having the potential to harm his enemies, Batman's most defining characteristic is his strong commitment to justice and his reluctance to take a life.
In an interview with IGN, Morrison detailed that having Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian Wayne as Robin represented a "reverse" of the normal dynamic between Batman and Robin, with, "a more light-hearted and spontaneous Batman and a scowling, badass Robin". During this period, Bruce Wayne has a fiancée named Julie Madison. The final storyline before the "Convergence" (2015) storyline was "Endgame", depicting the supposed final battle between Batman and the Joker when he unleashes the deadly Endgame virus onto Gotham City. In pre-Crisis continuity, the two are depicted as close friends; however, in current continuity, they are still close friends but an uneasy relationship, with an emphasis on their differing views on crime-fighting and justice. Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent belong to different social classes: "Bruce has a butler, Clark has a boss." She examined the possibility of several mental health issues, including dissociative identity disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder, and several others.
... That was one thing I would never forgive Bob for, was not to take care of Bill or recognize his vital role in the creation of Batman. He is sometimes portrayed as a sidekick to Batman and the only other resident of Wayne Manor aside from Bruce. The character's origin was revealed in #33 (Nov. 1939), unfolding in a two-page story that establishes the brooding persona of Batman, a character driven by the death of his parents. Wertham's thesis was that children imitated crimes committed in comic books, and that these works corrupted the morals of the youth. [56] The series also sparked a major resurgence in the character's popularity.[57]. Frank Miller retold Batman's origin in the storyline "Year One" from Batman #404–407, which emphasizes a grittier tone in the character. Batman is also frequently described as a "peak human,"[123][unreliable source?]
and it has been revealed that he has (mostly unintentionally) bathed in Lazarus Pits in the past, which may or may not attribute some of his more meta-human feats.
He does, however, possess a genius-level intellect and is a peerless martial artist, and his vast wealth affords him an extraordinary arsenal of weaponry and equipment. On several occasions former Robin Dick Grayson has served as Batman; most notably in 2009 while Wayne was believed dead, and served as a second Batman even after Wayne returned in 2010.
[138][139] In 1980, then-editor Paul Levitz commissioned the Untold Legend of the Batman miniseries to thoroughly chronicle Batman's origin and history. [22], Although Kane initially rebutted Finger's claims at having created the character, writing in a 1965 open letter to fans that "it seemed to me that Bill Finger has given out the impression that he and not myself created the ''Batman, t' [sic] as well as Robin and all the other leading villains and characters.
[142], Many of the major Batman storylines since the 1990s have been intertitle crossovers that run for a number of issues.
Bruce Wayne has been portrayed as being romantically linked with many women throughout his various incarnations. It is also a trophy room and storage facility for Batman's unique memorabilia collected over the years from various cases he has worked on.
Voters decided in favor of Jason's death by a narrow margin of 28 votes (see Batman: A Death in the Family).
[168] A second movie serial, Batman and Robin, followed in 1949, with Robert Lowery taking over the role of Batman. [152] However, though Batman is shown to possibly perish at the end of the arc, the two-issue arc "Last Rites", which leads into the crossover storyline "Final Crisis", shows that Batman survives his helicopter crash into the Gotham City River and returns to the Batcave, only to be summoned to the Hall of Justice by the JLA to help investigate the New God Orion's death. In Batman and Psychology: A Dark and Stormy Knight, Travis Langley argues that the concept of archetypes as described by psychologists Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell is present in the Batman mythos, such that the character represents the "shadow archetype". [40] The team-up of the characters was "a financial success in an era when those were few and far between";[41] this series of stories ran until the book's cancellation in 1986.
The two have a daughter, Helena Wayne, who becomes the Huntress. [87] He also speaks over 40 different languages.
"Introduction. Dick and Batman's other friends conclude that Bruce is alive.[160][161].
[116], Batman has no inherent superhuman powers; he relies on "his own scientific knowledge, detective skills, and athletic prowess". The Batcave is Batman's secret headquarters, consisting of a series of caves beneath his mansion, Wayne Manor.
We use cookies. In The Dark Knight Returns, Batman tells Carrie Kelley that the original Robin came up with the name "Batmobile" when he was young, since that is what a kid would call Batman's vehicle.
[36], By 1942, the writers and artists behind the Batman comics had established most of the basic elements of the Batman mythos. Batman is at times a member of superhero teams such as the Justice League of America and the Outsiders. [141] Though the Earth-Two Batman is erased from history, many stories of Batman's silver-age/Earth-One career (along with an amount of golden-age ones) remain canonical in the post-Crisis universe, with his origins remaining the same in essence, despite alteration. [126] The overall look of the character, particularly the length of the cowl's ears and of the cape, varies greatly depending on the artist. In the late 1970s, when Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster began receiving a "created by" credit on the Superman titles, along with William Moulton Marston being given the byline for creating Wonder Woman, Batman stories began saying "Created by Bob Kane" in addition to the other credits. They include: Barbara Gordon, Commissioner Gordon's daughter, who has fought crime under the vigilante identity of Batgirl and, during a period in which she was confined to a wheelchair due to a gunshot wound inflicted by the Joker, the computer hacker Oracle; Helena Bertinelli, the sole surviving member of a mob family turned vigilante, who has worked with Batman on occasion, primarily as the Huntress and as Batgirl for a brief stint; Cassandra Cain, the daughter of professional assassins David Cain, and Lady Shiva, who succeeded Bertinelli as Batgirl.
He returns and helps Jim Gordon defeat Mr. Bloom and shut down the reactor.
[125] Hence, the costume's colors have appeared in the comics as dark blue and grey;[125] as well as black and grey. The character's presence has extended beyond his comic book origins; events such as the release of the 1989 Batman film and its accompanying merchandising "brought the Batman to the forefront of public consciousness".
That year Dennis O'Neil took over as editor of the Batman titles and set the template for the portrayal of Batman following DC's status quo-altering miniseries Crisis on Infinite Earths. Finger did not receive the same recognition.