by Chris Ryall
Finger went on to co-create Robin, many of Batman's villains, Gotham City, and much, much more over the course of three decades and hundreds of Batman stories, but he never saw any of the fame or riches that Kane did, and died relatively unknown and penniless. Decades later, though, Kane himself admitted that he should have given Finger a byline.
IN THE BEGINNING
The first Batman story, “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate,” is a fairly standard pulp-style murder mystery, with the Batman investigating a series of murders involving a group of business partners. The story is mostly notable for Kane's simple, rough style of art and the ruthlessness of Batman himself, who knocks the murderer into a vat of acid with few compunctions.
While there's no Batmobile in evidence, Batman does tool around in a large sedan (which, surprisingly, is bright red — so much for stealth). Although the Batman's later penchant for gadgetry and equipment is absent, he does exhibit his trademark quick thinking when he saves one of the business partners from a deadly gas chamber by tying off a gas valve with a handkerchief. The Batman costume itself does not change much, only the small purple gloves and uniquely shaped cowl stand out as early variations. Commissioner Gordon is also introduced in this first story, beginning a long career of being one step behind Batman.
A better example of the early Batman plot-linecan be found in the story “The Batman Meets Doctor Death,” from Detective Comics #29 (July 1939). Many of Batman's later story conventions pop up here, including the sinister villain-type, Doctor Death (as opposed to run-of-the-mill hoodlums), and the utility belt. In the utility belt's earliest appearance, Batman loads it up with items for a specific operation, rather than the universally equipped bag of tricks it becomes in later decades.
The story also features something that would become a running theme in the Batman comics: an injury. In sharp contrast to the invulnerability of Superman, Batman takes a bullet in this story, the first of many injuries and wounds that the decidedly mortal Batman would suffer.
The early Batman appearances are entertaining if slightly out of character compared to today. In several stories written by Gardner Fox, the Batman is even more vicious than in his first appearance, carrying a sidearm and using a machine gun to shoot down innocent people who've been turned into zombie creatures, with little more than a “the poor devils are better off this way” as justification for the killings.
The classic yellow capsule utility belt worn for years by the Caped Crusader.
WHO'S WHO #2 © DC COMICS. BATMAN™ & © DC COMICS. ART BY DICK GIORDANO AND MIKE DECARLO.
BORN OF TRAGEDY
However, a mere two pages in Detective Comics #33 (November 1939) would alter the character forever, elevating Batman from just another pulp hero to a true piece of modern American mythology. Looking to develop Batman's character further and give him some motivation, Bill Finger and Bob Kane constructed a masterful origin sequence, both perfectly logical and emotionally devastating.
By now we all know the story: Thomas Wayne, his wife Martha and their young son Bruce are walking home from a movie when they're accosted by a mugger. When the criminal tries to grab Martha's necklace, Thomas interferes, and the mugger shoots him. When Martha calls out for police, the mugger shoots her as well, then runs away. Young Bruce is left alone on the pavement with the bodies of his murdered parents, and he swears an oath to avenge his parents' death by devoting his life to “warring on all criminals.” Jump ahead to an adult Bruce, who has spent the ensuing years in preparation and training, becoming a “master scientist” and training his body “to physical perfection.” Ready to begin his war on crime, Wayne ponders how exactly to go about his quest: “Criminals are a superstitious, cowardly lot, so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts.” Just then, a huge bat flies in through the open window. “A bat! That's it! It's an omen… I shall become a bat!”
The simplicity of Batman's origin can distract the reader from its psychological underpinnings. It may seem a bit of a genre cliché now — his parents were murdered by criminals, so he fights crime — but it was certainly not in 1939. American society was only beginning to see the urbanization of its cities and more common street crime. Moreover, Batman keenly taps into one of the primal fears and insecurities of children: parental abandonment.
Over the years, writers have revisited and revised the origin, but not by much. The one significant story element added in the late 1940s, the identification of Bruce Wayne's parents' gunman as Joe Chill, and his eventual confrontation with an adult Batman, has been wisely edited out of the origin again in recent years. Batman's motivations make more sense if his own personal tragedy remains unresolved.
SEND IN THE SIDEKICK
The origin story was so effective in cultivating an emotional bond between Batman and young readers that it was used again in 1940, when Kane and Finger added a new character to the series, one that altered the character forever and fundamentally changed the nature of the series: Robin, the Boy Wonder. Although National editors were at first skeptical about a child character in harm's way fighting alongside Batman, sales doubled after Robin's introduction, and they quickly changed their tune.
Robin made his debut in Detective Comics #38 (April 1940) in “The Sensational Character Find of 1940… Robin, the Boy Wonder.” The story opens when young circus acrobat Dick Grayson overhears the circus owner being threatened by local gangsters demanding “protection money.” Later, at that night's performance of “The Flying Graysons,” the trapeze rope snaps and John and Mary Gray-son, Dick's parents, fall to their deaths before the eyes of their son, a shocking and deliberate echo of Batman's origin five months earlier. Dick overhears the gangsters gloating over the “accident,” and is about to go to the police when Batman stops him. The whole town is run by the organized crime kingpin, Boss Zucco, and Dick would be killed if he went to the police. When Batman explains that he was the victim of a similar circumstance, Dick insists on joining his crusade, and the duo an oath: “And swear that we two will fight together against crime and corruption and never to swerve from the path of righteousness.” Heavy stuff to ask of a ten year old, but considering Dick's recent experience, it works.
After many months of training and preparation, Dick Grayson is ready for action as Robin. His addition permanently changes the dynamic of the comic. The dark moodiness gradually lessens over time, and the days of Batman as a dark vigilante are over.
WHERE DOES HE GET THOSE WONDERFUL TOYS?
By 1941, Batman and Robin refer to their convertible roadster as the “Batmobile,” but it is still fairly indistinct, save for a small bat-shapedhood ornament. Sometimes, though, bats gotta fly, and Batman is no exception. As far back as 1939, Batman makes use of specially designed aircraft, specifically the “Batgyro,” a combination plane/helicopter introduced in Detective Comics #31.
Within a year, however, the Batgyro is abandoned for a more traditional “Batplane,” initially an open-cockpit fighter-plane design. Much like the Batmobile, the Batplane evolves over the years, becoming first what looks like a passenger plane, then shifting to a more streamlined jet fighter.
For greater flexibility, the Batcopter is introduced in the late 1950s, as is a personal favorite: the Whirly-Bats. The Whirly-Bats are collapsible, one-man helicopters, which Batman and Robin keep stored in the Batmobile's trunk, ready to bust out at a moment's notice.
As if all that isn't enough, there is also the Batboat, the Batmissile for suborbital jaunts, and even, yes, the Batmarine, first utilized to keep Batman and Robin underwater and alive while they slowly depressurize, so they don't get the bends — it's a long story.
YOU GOTTA BE JOKING
Batman has one of the most famous and well-rounded rogues' galleries in all of comics, but when it comes to Batman villains, there's just one name that tops the list: the Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker.
The Joker first appears in Batman #1 (1940), courtesy of writer Bill Finger and artists Bob Kane and Jerry Robinson
. Credit for the actual creation of the character has long been a dispute between Kane and Robinson. Robinson claimed that the inspiration came from a pack of playing cards, while Kane claimed to have come up with the character on his own. Finger, who was known for keeping an enormous reference file, rejected Kane's initial sketch for the new villain as too clown-like, and provided the artists with photo stills from the film The Man Who Laughs (1928), which starred Conrad Veidt as an English nobleman with an unsettling smile permanently carved into his face. The makeup worn by Veidt was most creepy, and a clear inspiration for the Joker's appearance, particularly the bags under the eyes, the creased brow and distinctive high hairline.
In the Joker's first appearance, he's not quite the wacky loon he later becomes; however, he's as murderous as ever. Though original plans called for the Joker to die in that issue, Kane and Finger must have realized they had a good thing on their hands, and the Joker was swiftly brought back from the dead three months later in Batman #4.
GUEST LECTURER
JUD MEYERS, owner, Earth-2 Comics
GOOFIEST SUPERHERO COMIC
World's Finest #193 (May 1970). Batman and Superman are stripped of their powers and forced to work in the “deathcamps” of Lubania. Gaunt, unshaven and starving (yet still in costume), they must stop themselves from fighting over scraps of food while painting “down with democracy” propaganda. Good stuff!
What's the key to the Joker's appeal as a villain? Let's face it: clowns are creepy. Furthermore, the escalating humor found in the numerous Joker stories perfectly counter the often serious and grim Batman stories. In addition, the Joker's chaotic nature provides a dark mirror to Batman's own tortured existence. Where as Batman is constrained by the trauma of his past, forced into a life of vengeance by his own memories, the Joker's insanity allows him to do anything his twisted heart desires.
As the years go by, the Joker loses much of his deadly edge, and his murderous extortion plots are gradually replaced by more and more outlandish criminal schemes. The Joker doesn't get an origin until Detective Comics #168 (February 1951), “The Man Behind the Red Hood!” Batman is invited to teach a criminology course at State University. (Gotham universities clearly have a less-than-stringent policy regarding faculty.) Professor Batman challenges his students to solve the case even he never cracked — the mystery of the Red Hood, a criminal who terrorized Gotham wearing a metallic red dome with no eye slits. After a series of pursuits, Batman had cornered the Red Hood in the midst of a robbery at the Monarch Playing Card Company. In a last-ditch effort to escape, the Red Hood dove into the plant's catch basin of chemical waste that empties into the river, and his body is never recovered.
BATMAN'S ROGUES' GALLERY
THE JOKER The yang to Batman's yin, the chaos to his order. Sheer insanity to match the Dark Knight's unyielding logic.
THE RIDDLER Obsessed with riddles and puzzles, Edward Nigma can't commit a crime without compulsively leaving the Batman a clue.
THE PENGUIN With his trademark umbrella and tuxedo, Oswald Cobblepot's humorous appearance belies a deadly and capable criminal interior.
CATWOMAN Master jewel thief Selina Kyle always manages to get away with one more rarity: Batman's affections.
TWO-FACE Former Gotham D.A. Harvey Dent suffers horrible facial scars after having acid thrown in his face, and becomes obsessed with duality.
RA'S AL GHUL An immortal ecoterrorist, Ra's is determined to convince Batman to inherit his empire, or else eliminate him entirely.
MR. FREEZE Cursed to life in subzero temperatures by a lab accident, Victor Fries dreams of a Gotham City shrouded in ice.
POISON IVY Immune to all poisons and irresistible to men, genius botanist Pamela Isley plots the downfall of humanity and vegetation's triumph.
When word hits the papers that Professor Batman has reopened the Red Hood case, it doesn't take long for Mr. Hood himself to come out of retirement. After a confrontation with the Red Hood, Batman and Robin analyze a hair left behind by the villain, and they determine the Red Hood's identity: the Joker himself. The Joker explains that he survived the swim through the chemical vats thanks to the oxygen tank built into the hood, but when he emerged, the chemicals had permanently dyed his skin chalk-white, his lips red and his hair green. Taking a cue from the playing card company, he renamed himself the Joker, and embarked upon his new career in crime.
The Joker appeared regularly in Batman comics in the 1940s and 1950s, and we mean regularly. With Batman and Robin appearing in Batman, Detective Comics, World's Finest and Star Spangled Comics, the Joker was making almost monthly appearances; that is, until 1956, when the Joker practically disappeared. Why? Former DC editor Mike Gold theorizes that the Joker disappeared with the rise of the Comics Code Authority (see pages 28–34), and that the Joker's clownish appearance was too offensive for either the Code or the now skittish DC editors. Thankfully, the Joker made his return to the pages of Batman the following year, but never with the regularity of his appearances in the 1940s and early 1950s. This ended up being a good thing; the Joker in smaller doses made his appearances more meaningful.
Still, by the 1970s, the Joker had become pretty much toothless, in part because of the 1966 Batman TV series based on the comic. The Joker was no longer an insane figure of fear and menace, but rather an outlandish buffoon attempting larger-than-life spectacles of crime. (An elaborate plan to use the Jokermobile to splatter enormous tubes of oil paint all over Wayne Manor? Not exactly Public Enemy No. 1.)
The Joker would soon return to his previous murderous glory, however, thanks to Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams, who had been revamping the Batman comics, working toward restoring the Dark Knight to his moody, noirish origins. Batman #251 (September 1973) featured “The Joker's Five-Way Revenge!” and starred a truly frightening, intimidating Clown Prince of Crime for the first time in decades. The Joker's on a murder spree, killing five of his former henchmen, to get revenge on whichever one of them betrayed him to the police. He takes utter glee in the murder of his former goons, with none of the harmless whimsy he'd been saddled with in years past — now he is far more dangerous and unpredictable. In one sequence, he agrees to release his final target in exchange for Batman's taking his place in the shark tank, only he immediately reneges and drops the hostage to the tank anyway. Simple rule, Bats. Never, never, never trust the Joker. Neal Adams's stark, slightly more realistic art style was a perfect complement to O'Neil's new and edgier Batman and Joker.
In recent years, DC creatives have ratcheted up his profile by having him murder the second Robin, Jason Todd, and permanently cripple Batgirl. In addition, the Joker also murders Commissioner Gordon's second wife, Sarah, at the climax of the “No Man's Land” storyline. While these heinous crimes do effectively make the Joker Batman's most hated and feared foe, there's a real danger of harming the Batman's character in the process: there comes a point where any reasonable man, even one as morally principled as Bruce Wayne, will strike back with lethal force against anyone who causes so much harm and pain to his extended family. For Batman not to do so somewhat weakens him. Perhaps this is why we prefer the 1990s animated version of the Joker. In the cartoons the Joker does not cross the line and harm any members of Bruce Wayne's family, and it's easier to accept Batman's mercy in allowing him to live.
GUEST LECTURER
PAUL DINI, Emmy Award-winning writer, Batman: The Animated Series; Detective Comics
THE FIRST ISSUE OF DETECTIVE I EVER READ
That would be Detective Comics #365 (July 1967), “The House the Joker Built.” I may have glanced through earlier issues of ‘Tec at the barbershop or at the drugstore, but #365 was the first issue I remember buying with my own money. As for the plot, Gotham crooks shell out big bucks to watch Joker humiliate Batman and Robin on a special pay-per-view closed-circuit channel. Mr. J proves he is an entertainment visionary by beating HBO and Showtime to the punch by almost fifteen years.
THE BEST CREATIVE TIME ON THE TITLE
It
's awfully hard to beat Steve Englehart's and Marshall Rogers's ‘Tec run in the late '70s. Hugo Strange, Silver St. Cloud, the Laughing Fish, unforgettable stories and characters. A perfect distillation of Batman and his world up until that time.
THE BEST COVER
I have to go with Detective #40 (June 1940). Yes, there are more colorful, visually arresting covers, but this early one deftly captures the mixture of the pulp thrills, wish-fulfillment heroism and cheery sadism that defined Batman's debut years.
THE GOOFIEST STORYLINE/ISSUE
I don't know if it's the goofiest story, but it certainly has the goofiest cover — Detective #314 (April 1963), “Murder in Movieland.” While investigating a crime on a movie set, Batman and Robin are terrorized by a giant mechanical version of Moby Dick. It isn't often that I personally identify with Batman and his menaces, but when I was a kid, I was traumatized by the same thing. It's probably the only parallel I can draw to the Dark Knight.
3 Wonder Woman
Enter DianaM.C. Gaines was no dummy.
According to Les Daniels's book Wonder Woman: The Complete History, Gaines, the publisher of All-American Comics, read an admonishing opinion article, “Don't Laugh at the Comics,” in the October 25, 1940, issue of Family Circle magazine. While it didn't outright attack comic books, it did imply that they weren't exactly good for kids. In the article, prominent psychologist William Moulton Marston suggested that the overwhelming dominance of male heroic figures in superhero comics needed to be balanced by a strong female hero. The savvy Gaines understood that the best way to quiet a critic was to get him on the payroll, so he dispatched his editor, Sheldon Mayer, to meet Marston and get him on board as an advisor.
Little did Gaines and Mayer know that their attempt to get a little positive press would instead net them arguably the third great archetype character in comic books, as well as give one of America's earliest feminists a monthly platform for his most unusual agenda, in the pages of his creation — Wonder Woman.