November 2023

Bob Kane and Bill Finger introduced Batman in the May 1939 issue of Detective Comics. Kane had the initial idea of The Bat-Man, but his version wore a red jumpsuit, domino mask, and had two wings attached to his back. Writer Bill Finger is responsible for the revised costume, the gadgets, the conception of Bruce Wayne and Gotham City, and much more.

Sadly, Kane made sure that Finger got little credit for his contributions. Perhaps it is fitting that one of Batman’s co-creators was himself a bit of a villain, and that it took some detective work for folks to belatedly realize how important Bill Finger had been.

Batman started out pretty dark, killing people and using a gun. But then DC decided to lose the gun and had him stop killing people. His sidekick Robin was introduced, transforming Batman into a lighthearted father figure who traded wisecracks with Robin.

In the 1950s, the Batman comics became rather bizarre, with stories involving aliens, visiting other planets, and various gimmicks. Of course, the villains had long been bizarre, but so were the ones that Oklahoma’s own Chester Gould used in his Dick Tracy comics.

After the scare from Seduction of the Innocent, Batman gained a Bat-Family and the Catwoman villain, who first appeared in Batman #1 in 1940, disappeared. The comic book eventually was in danger of cancellation, but a 1966 television show revived its prospects and led to the Catwoman character being revived in the comics.

The Bright Knight

Bill Dozier, who was asked by ABC to produce the 1960s television show about Batman, had never read comic books. After reading several Batman issues, he decided the show could only work as a pop-art campy comedy. He hired Lorenzo Semple Jr. as head scriptwriter, and thankfully they cast Adam West in the title role.

Adam West‘s straight-faced portrayal of the absurd character, with the energetic Burt Ward as his sidekick Robin, was so much fun.

The silly fight scenes were a highlight, with plenty of Wham! Zap! Boff! and the like, and actors portraying the outrageous villains gleefully chewed up the scenery, including regulars Burgess Meredith as The Penguin and Cesar Romero as The Joker.

What many might not realize is that the narrator of the show, including the famous “Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!”, was Bill Dozier himself.

Recently I showed Wendy the 1966 Batman movie that featured Meredith and Romero, as well as Frank Gorshin as The Riddler and Lee Meriwether as Catwoman. Years ago, I got to see Adam West at a Tulsa convention, along with Julie Newmar. She played Catwoman in the first two seasons of the show, while Eartha Kitt took over the role for the final third season.

Adam West outlined the difference of the show from the comic books and his earnest, sincere, and unsubtle approach to the character:

I was born in the mid-1960s, so I was too young to watch the campy Batman television series of 1966-1968 until it was in syndicated reruns. In the 1970s, one of the Oklahoma City television stations ran it on weekday afternoons, and I found it hilarious.

I also saw Batman and Robin on the long-running Saturday morning cartoon Super Friends. There they weren’t played for laughs, but the show was still pretty lighthearted.

The Dark Knight

So I was shocked when as a kid I picked up a 1972 Batman comic book and found it dark, grim, and gritty. I was too young to know that campy humor had saved the character from extinction in the 1960s, but after that era faded, the comics returned to their darker tone of the 1940s.

Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns of 1986 started the era known as the Dark Age of Comic Books, but Batman was pretty dark long before that.

Detective Comics Volume 1 #428 had what appeared to be a corrupt cop involved in a dope ring. It included quite violent scenes of the cop seemingly about to kill the caped crusader, only to be stopped by the drug dealers who didn’t want the heat that act would bring.

I was particularly shocked to see Batman unconcerned when the cop gunned down the dealers.

There was no way to reconcile that portrayal with what I enjoyed on TV. The comic book wasn’t a total loss, however, as I did like the haunting atmosphere of the Hawkman story in that same issue, which at least had some clues and detective work.

Whenever my parents took me to our vacation cabin in Missouri, Mom would buy me a three-pack of comic books at a grocery store. That introduced me to the satellite-era Justice League of America, Superman, Green Lantern, and the like. Batman was in the Justice League, but I don’t recall many Batman comics in those 3-packs.

By junior high, I had stopped reading comics, but I still watched reruns of the Batman television show. One summer a neighborhood tomboy and I had great giggly fun making up our own Batgirl & Robin stories that we recorded on cassette tapes. How I wish I had saved them!

Cinematic Batmen

After junior high I didn’t think much about Batman until the late 1980s, after I had completed my undergraduate degree. Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film, with its dark and menacing Gotham City, serious portrayal of Batman by Michael Keaton, and Jack Nicholson’s over-the-top Joker, was a smash hit. As a young adult, I didn’t mind the darker tone and enjoyed Jack Nicholson’s Joker, but I hated the sequel’s disgusting Penguin and found the later Schumacher entries in that series of movies rather ridiculous. Bat-nipples were the least of their problems.

Christopher Nolan brought Batman back to cinemas with his Dark Knight trilogy from 2005-2012. They were blockbusters that I saw in theaters, but the only reason I would watch any of those dark tales again would be to relish Heath Ledger’s standout portrayal of The Joker.

One final Batman experience came about a decade ago, when Rifftrax released their takes on the 1949 Batman and Robin serial. That 15-chapter sequel to another serial from 1943 was of course ridiculous, with the dynamic duo confronted by the Wizard, a hooded villain who had a device to remotely control vehicles. What made it great fun was having Mystery Science 3000 veterans Mike Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy making wisecracks throughout the episodes.

I haven’t seen the Zack Snyder movies where Ben Affleck played Batman. While I liked Snyder’s 2009 Watchmen movie, suffering through 2013’s Man of Steel made it clear that the Snyderverse was not for me. I’ve also not been tempted to sample Jared Leto’s or Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayals of the Joker.

If I’m going to watch a superhero movie, give me something with lower stakes and a strong sense of humor, such as when Billy Batson tests his powers in the 2019 Shazam!

I have no idea what the reboot of the DC Extended Universe will mean for Batman. Maybe the character will eventually evolve into something I would like to see, but superheroes are such absurd characters that for me camp is the best way to go. We lost Adam West in 2017, but long live the Bright Knight.