There are no guesses required to know who is called the caped crusader or the dark knight. Detective Comics No. 27 marked the entry of a masked vigilante, ‘a mysterious and adventurous figure fighting for righteousness and apprehending the wrong doer, in his lone battle against the evil forces of society…’ called the Bat-Man, alias millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne.
In 1939, a franchise was kick-started from the six-page ‘filler’ The Case of the Chemical Syndicate, to elaborate plots spanning to 22 pages (on an average) decades later. Then mature themes crept in post-Vietnam with extremely suggestive and politically satirical graphic novels. Batman has thus been an avenger, a savior, a clown and a critic in various eras.
Batman has been captured by countless dynamic writers and artists. His motives changed from vengeance to justice every time a storyteller felt like it, so there is no definitive account of his driving force.
Then of course, true Batman fans will be familiar with the Joker, an equally important character in this fictitious universe. According to The Original Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes Volume One featuring Batman, he is the arch-villain of the Batman chronicles. The Joker’s appearance and his arrogance go together as he unleashes the worst imaginable and unimaginable crimes ever.
First appearing in Batman No 1, Spring 1940, which has been included in Batman Chronicles Volume One, the Joker began his career by making radio announcements that a particular person would die at a particular time. The victim and his or her treasure to be stolen would be named beforehand. Although initially the listeners dismiss it, when the crime is actually committed, they realise that this man is not a clown in the real sense.
Another significant contribution of this character is in the audiovisual medium. Under the campy circumstances of the 1960s television series, Cesar Romero’s Joker had offered a performance equalled only by Adam West as Batman. In 1989, the $ 413-million-grosser Batman had Hollywood veteran Jack Nicholson portraying the villain, and unsurprisingly, this act had sent the character to the top 50 onscreen villains of all time list. Michael Keaton’s Batman had a tough time, but he emerged triumphant in two cinematic outings. Val Kilmer offered a fresh 90s James Bond wannabe-like take on the character, only to be demolished by his successor George Clooney, which sank the same year as the release of James Cameron’s Titanic (1997).
It took director Christopher Nolan and actor Christian Bale in 2005 to use some of the darkness of the original comics to revive the respect for Batman. Although he does not kill like the one Bob Kane (1915 – 1998) pencilled, the vigilante gives the impression of a potential murderer, as illustrated by the 2008 movie The Dark Knight.
The ones who made it to the big screen from the 1939-40 issues are Catwoman and the Joker. Professor Hugo Strange remained within the confines of artistic renderings. Some others died in the comic-book pages, and Batman had no sense of remorse. That led to the slow collapse of the Golden Age of Comic Books, when the impositions of censorship tamed the most lethal of characters.
Readers have a love-hate relationship with Robin, Batman’s assistant. Children may adore the Boy Wonder, but adults see him as a hindrance to his mentor’s mission. Is it because he constantly has to be rescued? If that is the case, reading the first appearance of Robin in the Batman Chronicles is recommended. Even Catwoman’s representation greatly differs from the modern version, like Batman, she has undergone several costume changes, too.
Bob Kane is reported to have drawn inspiration from Superman and Zorro to sketch the Bat-Man. Though his strokes may not be as three-dimensional as the hyperrealist art by Frank Miller, Tim Sale and Jim Lee, Kane has pioneered an era only matched by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
So whether Bruce Wayne’s parents were gunned down after a movie or an opera, whether the killer was Jack Napier (Joker) or Joe Chill, it does not matter because every writer has a say. Young Bruce was anyway destined to one day become the Batman. Every night, the streets of Gotham City are endlessly patrolled by the vigilante.
Therefore, quoting from The Dark Knight, at age 70, Batman is truly the hero the world deserves.
— Nithin D Koshy blogs at
www.atlasreborn.blogspot.com