Soft Toy Batman toy

Batman toy

History

Batman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Batman (disambiguation).
Batman

Batman #608. Art by Jim Lee.
Publisher DC Comics
First appearance Detective Comics #27
Created by Bob Kane
Bill Finger
Statistics
Real name Bruce Wayne
Status Active
Affiliations
Previous affiliations JLA, The Outsiders, Justice Society of America (Pre-Crisis), All-Star Squadron (Pre-Crisis)
Notable aliases The Dark Knight, The Caped Crusader, The World's Greatest Detective, "Matches" Malone
Notable relatives Dr. Thomas Wayne (father, deceased), Martha Wayne (mother, deceased), Philip Wayne (uncle, foster father, deceased), Alfred Pennyworth (butler, foster father), Dick Grayson (adopted son), Jason Todd (adopted son, deceased), Tim Drake (protégé)
Notable powers None. However, he is a genius, in peak human physical condition, and has vast personal wealth and access to custom equipment. His skills have made him a master detective and one of the greatest martial artists in the DC Universe.

The comic book character Batman is a fictional character and superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. Although the character was cocreated by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, only Kane receives official credit for the character. Batman was at first just one of several characters featured in Detective Comics, but has since become the lead or co-lead character of a number of comic book series, in addition to a "family" of titles featuring related characters (e.g. Robin, Batgirl). Batman and Superman are DC Comics' two most popular and recognizable characters.
Contents [hide]
1 Creation and publication
2 Character overview and history
2.1 Origin
2.2 The Dark Knight
2.3 Bruce Wayne
2.4 Secret identity
2.5 Gotham City
2.6 Equipment, vehicles and weapons
2.7 Costume
2.8 Also known as
2.9 Evolution of the concept
2.10 Love interests
2.11 Supporting characters
2.12 Enemies of Batman
3 Homosexual theories, Frederic Wertham and "The Code"
4 Comics that feature Batman
4.1 On-going titles
4.2 Finished series
5 Additional reading
6 Batman in other media
6.1 Newspaper
6.2 Books
6.3 Radio
6.4 Television
6.5 Movies
6.6 Musical theatre
6.7 Video games
7 See also
8 Batman parodies/references
9 External links
10 References

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Creation and publication

In early 1939, the success of Superman in Action Comics prompted editors at the comic book division of National Publications (later DC Comics, now a subsidiary of Time Warner) to request more superheroes for their titles. In response, Bob Kane created a character called "Birdman". His collaborator Bill Finger offered such suggestions as renaming the character "Batman", giving the character a cowl instead of a simple domino mask, giving him a cape instead of wings, giving him gloves, and removing bright red sections of the original costume. Finger wrote the first Batman story, while Kane provided art. Because Kane had already submitted the proposal for a Batman character to his editors at DC Comics, Kane was the only person given official credit at the time for the creation of Batman.

A number of other sources have been cited as inspirations for Batman's personality, character history, and visual design and equipment, including Zorro, Doc Savage, The Shadow, 1926's The Bat, The Phantom, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Douglas Fairbanks, Superman, Dick Tracy, and even the technical drawings of Leonardo Da Vinci.

The character was a breakout hit, with sales on Detective soaring to the point that National's comic book division was renamed "Detective Comics, Inc." Soon after, National suggested that the violence be toned down, and that the character receive a youthful sidekick whom the readers could use as an audience surrogate. Kane initially suggested an impish character like Puck, while Finger suggested a more down-to-earth character, Robin. The Batman and Robin team was a hit, and the character soon gelled into the hero that generations of readers and pop culture fans would come to recognize.

Kane, the more business-savvy of the Kane-Finger creative team, negotiated a contract with National, signing away any ownership that he might have in the character in exchange for, among other compensations, a mandatory byline on all Batman comics stating "Batman created by Bob Kane", regardless of whether or not Kane had been involved with that story. 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 a monetary pittance and no credit even on the stories that he wrote without Kane. Finger, like Joe Shuster, Jerry Siegel, and many other creators during and after the Golden Age of Comic Books, would resent National for cheating him of the money and dignity that he was owed for his creation. By the time Finger died in 1974, he had never once been officially credited for his work. In comparison, Kane parlayed his official sole creator status into a low level of celebrity, enjoying a post-comic book career as a painter. Ironically, much of Kane's later comics work, and even some of his non-comics art, was written or illustrated by other, uncredited writers or artists, ghosting under Kane's name.
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Character overview and history

Batman. Art by Jim Lee.
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Origin

In the Batman mythos, Batman is the alter-ego of Bruce Wayne, a billionaire industrialist and philanthropist who was driven to fight crime after his parents, the physician Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha Wayne, were murdered before his eyes at the age of eight. The identity of the mugger traditionally is known as the small-time criminal Joe Chill, though some versions have deviated from that (the 1989 Tim Burton movie Batman presented the Joker as the killer of Wayne's parents, while Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins sticks with Joe Chill). In the present comics continuity, the killer's identity was never found. In the comics and animated series, medical doctor and social worker Leslie Thompkins was there to give loving comfort to the traumatized Bruce. Depending on the adaptation, he was then raised on the Wayne Manor estate by uncle Philip Wayne and/or wise and loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth.

Bruce Wayne swore an oath to rid the city of the evil that had taken his parents' lives. He spent his youth traveling the world, training himself to intellectual and physical perfection and learning a variety of crime-fighting skills, including criminology, forensics, martial arts, gymnastics, and disguise. At age 14, Bruce Wayne began his global sojourn, attending courses at Cambridge, the Sorbonne, and other European universities. Beyond academia, Bruce acquired more "practical" skills. While abroad, Bruce learned all 127 major styles of combat, from Aikido to Yaw-Yan. Frenchman Henri Ducard made him an apprentice in manhunting. The ninja Kirigi schooled Bruce in stealth and the ways of the shadow warrior. African Bushmen taught hunting techniques, while Nepalese monks revealed healing arts. (In the film Batman Begins, he conducted his studies at Princeton University in New Jersey as a young adult, and learns jujitsu, ninjitsu, and multiple forms of kung-fu from Henri Ducard, who is depicted as Ra's al Ghul's right-hand man.) He even studied ventriloquism from practitioners of the art. And so it went for 12 years as Bruce matured into manhood. His knowledge of so many varied disciplines has made Bruce an unconventional and unpredictable opponent. After returning to Gotham in his mid-twenties, Wayne made several harrowing and near-fatal forays into the world of crime-fighting before donning his now familiar costume that was in part inspired by another tragic accident of his life that would have a profound impact on who he would become — at the age of six, he fell down a cavern, located beneath Wayne Manor (later to become the Batcave), that was swarming with bats, nocturnal creatures, wherein he was forever haunted by the event despite the timely arrival of his father.
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The Dark Knight

In keeping with the "dark" theme of the comics and the nature of bats, Batman is usually presented as operating only at night. In recent comics, the idea was introduced of Batman being an urban legend and not believed by the denizens of Gotham City to actually exist; however, this notion is contradicted by various previous stories that indicate otherwise. Whenever he is needed, the Gotham City police activate a "Bat-Signal" (a searchlight with a bat-shaped insignia over the lens) that shines into the night sky (in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, the Bat-Signal is used as much to enhance the terror effect of Batman on criminal elements as a signal). He operates out of the Batcave located at Wayne Manor, which contains all of his gadgets, weapons, and other paraphernalia.

An important part of the mythos is that although Batman is commonly referred to as a Superhero; unlike Superman and most other costumed heroes; he is a normal human being who does not possess any superhuman abilities. However, he has elevated himself to near-superhuman status through years of rigorous training - eventually he became an exceptional escape artist, master of martial arts, acrobatics, science, technology, boxing, disguises, criminology and detective skills. Batman is typically portrayed as a brilliant tactician and peerless martial-artist, possessed with a stoic personality and a strong desire for justice. In recent comics, Batman has often been presented as having an obsessive, humorless personality. Like Superman, the prominent persona of his dual identities has varied with time. Present comics seem to favor portraying the decadent playboy aspect of his character as the facade, while the masked and particularly dark, grim vigilante is marked as the "true" man. Usually, Batman is further separated from Bruce Wayne by the raspy voice he usually assumes while costumed. (Except for Adam West's smooth baritone from the TV series.)

Being only human, Batman doesn't have any unusual personal physical strengths or weaknesses, like Superman's weakness to kryptonite, but has character flaws that can be exploited by enemies. In recent comics, Batman is shown as being vastly paranoid by nature and tending to not trust other heroes beyond those he has known for years, like Superman or Robin. Batman, also in recent comics in particular, has a deep mistrust in metahumans, similar to that of Lex Luthor, and is very suspicious of Supergirl and Hal Jordan (Green Lantern) especially. This often causes conflicts among his peers, who wonder what measures he has taken against them (eg. the recently discovered OMAC project). Some enemies have used this to isolate him and play games with him. Batman (as recent comics portray him) is also very arrogant and treats many of his allies with a hint of disrespect, being that he is often the smartest person involved. He also sometimes overestimates his own abilities and allows foes to take advantage of that. All of these traits are a reversal of more traditional (pre-1990s) portrayals of Batman, which usually tend to show him as more willing to work with others, much less paranoid, and more trustful/respectful of his allies.

Batman is indeed a brilliant detective, criminal scientist, tactician, and commander; he is widely regarded as the keenest analytical mind on the planet and possesses an eidetic memory. His most lasting and popular stories have almost without exception been ones where he has displayed intelligence, cunning, and planning to outwit his foes, rather than merely out-fighting them. His deductive skills put him on par with Sherlock Holmes, and in several stories he has even met the "Great Detective" himself, proving himself to be a worthy successor to Holmes. Batman is the mastermind behind the Justice League of America, offering brains and tactical skills to guide the raw power of the other members of the team. In this capacity, he is often seen as the antithesis of Superman as aforementioned; in older comics, the two were close friends, while in current comics, the two share an uneasy friendship. At the start of Grant Morrison's run on the Justice League, it is revealed that Superman considers Batman "the most dangerous man on Earth". He has also been briefly affiliated with other superhero teams, including a short-lived team he founded in the 1980s called "The Outsiders".

Detective Comics #27, May 1939. The first appearance of Batman. Art by Bob Kane.
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Bruce Wayne

To the world at large, Bruce Wayne is an irresponsible, superficial playboy who lives off his family's personal fortune and the profits of Wayne Enterprises, a major private technological firm that he has inherited. However, Wayne is also known for his contributions to charity, notably through the Wayne Foundation, a foundation devoted to helping the victims of crime and preventing people from turning to it.
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Secret identity

Wayne guards his secret identity well, as only a handful of individuals know of his superhero alter-ego, including Superman (Clark Kent), Wonder Woman (Diana), The Flash III (Wally West), Green Lanterns John Stewart, Kyle Rayner, and Alan Scott, Plastic Man (Patrick "Eel" O'Brien), Aquaman (Orin/Arthur Curry), Green Arrow (Oliver "Ollie" Queen), Nightwing (Dick Grayson), Robin III (Tim Drake), Oracle (Barbara Gordon), and his butler Alfred. In the films, the female lead usually learns of Batman's identity, because more often than not, she likes both of them. However, several villains have discovered his true identity over the years, most notably eco-terrorist Ra's Al Ghul, Hugo Strange, the Riddler, Catwoman and Bane. Of recent, the villain Hush has been mostly driven on revenge on both sides of the Batman/Bruce Wayne persona, and is noted throughout his run as a villain as having personal ties to Bruce Wayne and/or Batman; yet it is not yet clear who Hush is, therefore it is is unclear who else knows of Bruce's other identity. Fortunately, most of Batman's enemies have dismissed the notion of Bruce Wayne as Batman because of Wayne's apparent dim-wittedness and self-absorption while the ones who do know prefer to keep the information to themselves for their own reasons. The Joker has had opportunities to learn himself, but refused them since it would personally rob the mystique of his enemy.
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Gotham City

Batman's base of operations is Gotham City, a fictional city modeled primarily after New York City; In some of the early comics it is called New York. It specifically emphasizes a "dark side," in contrast to the modern, futuristic feel of Superman's Metropolis.


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