"A Boy and his Hero" -- BATMAN: The CFE Reviews, Essays, Thoughts and Opinions

[CFE]

A BOY AND HIS HERO

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The CFE Reviews, Essays, Thoughts and Opinions​

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For some people it’s a famous musician…

For others it’s a Football team…

But for me…heroism seeks justice on the rain soaked streets of Gotham City…clad in the solemn armored garb of winged vengeance, striking terror into the hearts of the superstitious and the cowardly. He fights to symbolically avenge the irrational murders of the two things most coveted by any child and in spite of all the tyranny, the tragedy…the bloodshed and violence that follows in his stead, he knows that the path he has taken, while insurmountably difficult and inevitably unconquerable, is one of true bravery and hope.

The hope that maybe…just maybe…the symbol he represents can stir others to stand up, take charge…and do what is right.

But until the day that this revolution comes, he must continue to brave a battleline he himself has drawn.

No matter how often or for how long I step away from him, Batman will always remain a constant, intregral part of my life...and I always find myself being drawn back into his mythology time and again.

He’s been there since the beginning…both for me and for an entire legion of fans who continue to cheer him on in a unfathomable crusade against crime that has spanned over 70 years since his creation at the hands of Bob Kane and Bill Finger in September of 1939.

And to show my appreciation, as I often tend to do on several occasions, I’ll be taking the month of April (my birthday month) to go as in-depth with my observations, thoughts, feelings and opinions on the caped crusader and his adventures over the last 7 decades.

Every single Motion Picture Serial, Film, TV Series, Animated Series, Motion Picture Score and Motion Picture Soundtrack will be given an in-depth review. (NOTE: This will include Special Extended editions for the Joel Schumacher Bat-Films and Animated Bat-Film Reviews …as well as the debut of my ‘Batman: GOTHAM KNIGHT’ Review).

And Ranked lists for the tops in Batman will be included:

The Best Batman Stories
The Best Batman Graphic Novels
The Best Batman Writers and Artists
The Best Batman Video Games
The Best Batman Websites
The Best Batman Fan Films
The Best Batman Parodies

As well as complete dossiers on every single actor and actress who has portrayed these legendary characters.

And it’s all capped with an in-depth personal essay that FINALLY answers the one question nearly everyone in my life has asked of me:

“Why do I like Batman?”

You really want to know?

This is it.

This is MY ode to ‘Bat-Mania’...as only CFE can do it...

And it begins this April…here in 'Bat-World'

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[CFE]

Review and Essay Links Part I:

The Essays:

[post=18228695]Elemental Terrifying and Legendary: The Impact of Batman[/post]
[post=18239496]The Mock Knight: A Collection of Spoofs, Puns and Parodies[/post]

Batman in Comics:

[post=18231723]Dawn of a Hero (1939 - 1940)[/post]
[post=18233978]Origins of a Legend (1940 - 1949)[/post]
[post=18238949]To Space, Caped Crusader! (1950 - 1959)[/post]
[post=18245594]Biff! Bam!! POW!!! (1960 - 1969)[/post]
[post=18249203]A Detective's Revival (1970 - 1979)[/post]
[post=18256679]The Dark Knight Returns (1980 - 1989)[/post]
[post=18266740]The Grand Scale (1990 - 1999)[/post]
[post=18297696]Modern Myth (2000 - 2009)[/post]

 

[CFE]

Review and Essay Links Part II:

The Films (Live Action):

[post=18228992]BATMAN: The Complete Motion Picture Serial (Lambert Hillyer, 1943)[/post]
[post=18234013]Batman & Robin: The Complete Motion Picture Serial (Spencer Gordon Barret, 1949)[/post]
[post=18245716]BATMAN: The Movie (Leslie H. Martinson, 1966)[/post]
[post=18257361]BATMAN (Tim Burton, 1989)[/post]
[post=8266774]Batman Returns (Tim Burton, 1992)[/post]
[post=18269883]Batman Forever (Joel Schumacher, 1995)[/post]
[post=18272662]Batman & Robin (Joel Schumacher, 1997)[/post]

The Films (Animation):

[post=18276100]Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (Bruce W. Timm and Eric Radomski, 1993)[/post]
[post=18276170]Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub Zero (Boyd Kirkland, 1998)[/post]
[post=18276206]Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (Curt Geda, 2003)[/post]
[post=18297598]Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (Curt Geda, 2000)[/post]

The Music:

[post=18257418]BATMAN: Original Motion Picture Score (Danny Elfman, 1989)[/post]
[post=18257430]BATMAN: Original Motion Picture Conceptual Soundtrack (Prince, 1989)[/post]
[post=18266792]Batman Returns: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Danny Elfman, 1992)[/post]
[post=18276149]Batman: Mask of the Phantasm: Original Motion Picture Score (Shirley Walker, 1993)[/post]
[post=18270056]Batman Forever: Original Motion Picture Score (Elliot Goldenthal, 1995)[/post]
[post=18270078]Batman Forever: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Various Artists, 1995)[/post]
[post=18272685]Batman & Robin: Original Motion Picture Score (Elliot Goldenthal, 1997/1999)[/post]
[post=18272714]Batman & Robin: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Various Artists, 1997)[/post]
[post=18276172]Batman & Mr. Freeze: Sub Zero: Original Motion Picture Score (Michael McCuistion, 1998)[/post]
[post=18297640]Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker: Original Motion Picture Score (Kristopher Carter, 2000)[/post]

The Television (Live Action):

[post=18245628]BATMAN: The Series (William Dozier, 1966-1968)[/post]


The Television (Animation):

[post=18247251]The Adventures of Batman & Robin/The New Adventures of Batman (Filmmation, 1968/1977/1985)[/post]
[post=18275984]Batman: The Animated Series (Bruce W. Timm and Eric Radomski, 1992-1995)[/post]
[post=18276205]The New Batman Adventures (Bruce W. Timm, Paul Dini, Alan Burnett and Haven Alexander, 1997-1999)[/post]
[post=18296988]Batman Beyond (Bruce W. Timm, Paul Dini, Glen Murakami and Alan Burnett, 1999-2001)[/post]

 

[CFE]

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[CFE]

Elemental, Terrifying and Legendary
The Impact of Batman

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The year was 1939…May, to be exact…and a breath was being held.

Cartoonist Bob Kane, along with writer Bill Finger and Editor Victor Sullivan, had a chance taken by DC Comics on a creation of Kane’s own making. It was a character made by Kane in the aftermath of DC’s first giant success; a dark negative to compliment the bright picture of superhero idealism…Superman, who had been created and published the year before.

But this wasn’t a god among men…not an alien descended from the heavens adorned in the bright primary colors of patriotic optimism…in many ways it wasn’t even a superhero at all.

No.

Kane’s brainchild was simply a man…human…with nothing to salvage the day save for a honed intellect, inventive gadgetry and fierce martial arts skills.

A character inspired by pulp heroes such as the Shadow, Zorro, Sherlock Holmes and the Scarlet Pimpernel. A character visually compiled from sketches of various flying machines conceived by Leonardo DaVinci as well as golden age horror pictures such as Roland West’s 1926 silent classic “The Bat.”

This character was meant to be a man of the most noble sort…yet ironically clad in the very darkness and shadow of evil itself, striking from that darkness like a crime-fighting force of nature.

He was…simply put…the Bat-Man.

And a breath was being held…by Finger, by DC Comics but, most especially, by Kane…as the character made his first appearance in May of 1939.

The story was titled “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate.” It chronicled the case of a chemical plant and one of its managerial heads, who kills off his business partners to take over the company for his own monetary and corporate gain.

But he’s confronted and defeated by the Bat-Man…who is secretly millionaire playboy and philanthropist Bruce Wayne.

The story, which also introduced Police Commissioner James Gordon, has since become one of the single most influential tales in comic book history, giving the world a legendary icon…a dark knight, fighting to abolish crime itself.

The story was a total of 6 pages long.

And in 1939…May, to be exact…Kane gushed a sigh of relief…and the world began a process of reaping the benefits of his creation that has continued to entertain, evolve and endure for over 70 years.

Batman.

The name itself evokes a bizarre alignment of emotions, even for those that aren’t a part of his global fan base.

It’s a name that instills one with a sense of mystery…of wrath and fear and ultimately of resolve…and hope.

To know Batman as I have come to know him is to understand two things.

The imminence of evil and tragedy…and the power of determination and hope.

The world as we know it is built upon the foundations of humanities follies. Greed, murder, despair, injustice, moral ambiguity, vengeance.

Humanity, despite what you might think, is a cruel beast…prey to war, intolerance, hatred and tyranny. The world isn’t nice…no amount of sugar-coating will change that and shielding yourself from it is nothing but a sign of naivety and incompetence.

It’s not about making the world a heaven…it’s about surviving the world as the hell it is.

But it’s not that Batman represents pessimism…not at all…it’s that he presents rationality and common sense.

Wishing and Praying for things to get better won’t solve anything.

Forcing it does.

Enacting Change does.

Stirring others to take up the call does.

Hope isn’t unobtainable. All it takes is the strength…the will…of decent people to demand that hope. Or to be inspired by a symbol. Batman represents a rallying cry of people to seize control of their own destiny. Don’t stand aside for some politician or professor or parent to do it for you.

Over time, the reason behind Batman’s impact and longevity becomes clear.

He, more so than any other character, has been afforded an endless array of interpretations and incarnations.
Superman is always Superman.

Spider-Man is always Spider-Man.

Batman has been a lot of different things at a lot of different times.

He’s been everything from a mythical vigilante to a kid friendly father figure…a kooky crimefighter to a high-tech urban avenger.

In the 30s we had a man taking on the ravages of the Great Depression and the burgeoning emergence of organized crime.

The 40s saw him become a fully enlisted agent for the United States government fighting alongside Robin the Boy Wonder.

The Atomic Age of the 50s turned him into a Buck Rogers-type explorer of outer space and other planets.

He became a tired psychedelic fad as a cornball crusader of the 60s.

The 70s saw a return to his hardboiled, detective roots.

He became a haunted loner obsessed with the deaths of his parents in the 80s.

The oddity of the 90s saw him taking on larger than life adversaries as a full fledged super hero.

The turn of the 21st century transformed him into a technologically superior soldier fighting a true ‘war’ on crime.

As for the future…who knows where it could possibly go.

His incarnations cover a broad range.

The teenaged punk-turned-hero of “Batman Beyond.”
The goofy one-line spouting mentor of the 60s television series.
The US double agent of the 1940s film serials.
The garish leather-clad crusader of the 90s feature films.

There’s Bob Kane’s Batman.
Frank Miller’s Batman.
Dick Sprang’s Batman.
Dennis O’Neal’s Batman.
Bruce Timm’s Batman.
Kia Asamiya’s Batman.
Joel Schumacher’s Batman.
William Dozier’s Batman.
Mike Mignola’s Batman.
Brian Bolland’s Batman.
Jeph Loeb’s Batman.
Greg Rucka’s Batman.
Tim Burton’s Batman.
Alan Moore’s Batman.
Duane Capizzi’s Batman.
Christopher Nolan’s Batman.

Your Batman.

My Batman.

All of them exist…All of them are valid…and All of them add to the luster and the legacy.

No other character in the history of comics…maybe even of literature…can back up a claim like that.

The Greeks have their Gods…The Catholics have their Saints…The Druids have their Deities.

And we have our Comic Book Superheroes.

Consider this…we’ve all seen images and the like of young children, playing within the rubble of some war-torn providence on the other side of the world.

They know nothing of the freedoms and luxuries you and I take for granted.

They don’t deal with the oddities and absurdities that get shoved down our throats every single day…they don’t care about who’s going to win the next “Dancing with the Stars” or how much money the next “Twilight” movie’s going to make.

“The Hills”

Jon and Kate Gosselin

Bill O’Reilly

Miley Cyrus

“Gossip Girl”

Barack Obama

Despite any sort of good intentions, they could honestly care less.

But…have you noticed…in many of those same images, those same children can be seen in t-shirts…adorned with a symbolic Black-Winged Bat over a field of yellow.

Truly, more than anything else… Batman is universal, reaching all corners of the globe.

In a time where people are more concerned with voting for the next American Idol than they are of voting for the next President and Nobel Peace Prizes seem less like awards and more like trinkets won in a raffle…

One of the purist and truest ‘icons’ and ‘idols’ America has to offer…is a man broken by violence, having the two most important things in his life torn from him who rose from the ashes of tragedy to have vengeance clad in the blackness of winged night.

From the isolation of the Great Depression to the bleakness of World War II…from the constant conflicts between culture and counter-culture to the increasing threats of terrorism, both at home and abroad…The Dark Knight has been through it all…and he has never once wavered in his morals, his beliefs of what is right and what is wrong…

He is a contemporary example of goodness, 70+ years in the making to date, that we can all look up to.

Batman represents to the world that despite all the hardship and chaos, we must always hold onto the hope that out there waits good men ready to act on a moments notice to protect us and shelter us from evil.

Believing that goodness exists in the world is a need we all have…and this pillar of heroism, despite being a fictional representation, is clearly a respected one.

I’ve never been known for having a real man to look up to, thanks to my own falling out and disappointment with my father.

Batman was the answer to that problem for me.

An icon that not only deserves my respect…but has earned it with courageousness and bravery in the face of unbelievable odds, both in his adventures and even in reality.

A story can become legend...and a legend can become myth.

But how so, in the real world, is this done?

Simple...by allowing the story to grow and evolve. By allowing it to expand and become enriched. By allowing the characters to age, adapt and reflect on the ever changing times and climates of social issues, political and historic events and the personalities and preferences of those who thrill to the adventure.

Batman is a prime example of this.

He and his world of allies and rogues, more than any other comic book universe, has had the fortune of being afforded the aforementioned opportunies.

It goes to show how damn near indestructible Batman and his world truly is.

Through 7 decades of storytelling, Batman and his universe have continued to endure…entertaining legions of fans around the world…and instilling hope, courage and strength in us all.

Quite an impact indeed.

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[CFE]

BATMAN
The Complete Motion Picture Serial (1943)

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Directed by ... Lambert Hillyer
Screenplay by … Victor McLeod, Leslie Swabacker and Harry L. Fraser
Based on the DC Comics Character Created by ... Bob Kane and Bill Finger

Produced by ... Rudolph C. Flothow
Cinematography by … James S. Brown Jr.
Stunts by … George DeNormand, George Mabrill, Eddie Parker and George Robotham
Editing by ... Dwight Caldwell and Earl Turner
Original Score by ... Lee Zahler

Lewis Wilson ... Bruce Wayne/Batman
Douglas Croft … Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson/Robin
J. Carrol Naish … Dr. Tito Daka
Shirley Patterson … Linda Paige
William Austin … Alfred Pennyworth
George Chesebro … Brennan
Jack ingram … Klein
Gus Glassmire … Martin Warren
Karl Hackett … Wallace
Charles C. Wilson … Police Captain Arnold
Sam Flint … Dr. G.H. Borden
Frank Shannon … Dr. Hayden
John Maxwell … Sam Fletcher
Charles Middleton … Ken Colton
Knox Manning … Narrator (voice)

Batman and Robin battle Japanese spymaster Tito Daka as he operates a covert espionage organization located in Gotham City’s now-deserted Little Tokyo which turns American scientists into pliable zombies for the Third Reich.

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Chapter Titles:

1: The Electrical Brain
2: The Bat's Cave
3: The Mark of the Zombies
4: Slaves of the Rising Sun
5: The Living Corpse
6: Poison Peril
7: The Phoney Doctor
8: Lured by Radium
9: The Sign of the Sphinx
10: Flying Spies
11: A Nipponese Trap
12: Embers of Evil
13: Eight Steps Down
14: The Executioner Strikes
15: The Doom of the Rising Sun​

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1943…A period of immense patriotic resolve within the bowels of America. Following the tragic attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States entered the fray of World War II with gusto to spare…both on and off movie screens.

As the Allies continued their struggle over seas, both Hollywood and the Comic book Industry saw fit to cheer them on with exploits of Strong-Armed Patriots and American Idealists. By now, Timely Comics’ Captain America was blazing newsstands as director Michael Curtiz weaved a stirring tale of honor and love with “Casablanca.”

Provided as an outlet for younger audiences to delve into national fervor, Columbia Pictures (along with a handful of fellow studios) crafted 12 to 15 chapter Movie Serials; short films that would run at the head of a film each week to appeal to children in the audience.

As these serials paved the way for Science Fiction and Action/Adventure as we know it today with tales like “Buck Rogers” and “Flash Gordon,” they also provided the perfect vernacular for material based on comic book superheroes.

And the first prominent example of these Super-Serials appeared in theatres across the country in the form of 1943’s wartime relic…”BATMAN.”

Enlisted by Uncle Sam and the United States Government, millionaire Bruce Wayne (Lewis Wilson) keeps up his disguise as a lethargic, good for nothing playboy along with young ward Dick Grayson (Douglas Croft) while, under cover of darkness, they take to the streets of Gotham City as Batman and Robin…fighting both crime and dreaded Axis saboteurs who operate in secret within our borders.

But issue has now risen in the form of Dr. Tito Daka (J. Carrol Nash), a sinister Japanese scientist and agent in service to the Third Reich.

Equipped with a Radium powered Ray Gun, a deadly Alligator Pit and a device that can render men to do his bidding as Electronic Zombies, Daka sees fit to use Gotham as a staging area for Axis domination…with Batman and Robin standing alone as the only deterrent against this force of fascist evil.

Meant to inspire patriotism in audiences, “BATMAN” does seem like it would succeed in that regard.

Having been born in the late 80s, it’s quite a treat to see how the character was being handled closer to his inception…albeit with mixed results.

Ultimately, I love the serial. It’s just so cool to see Batman being handled in the pulp comic atmosphere that 1940s genre filmmaking prescribed to. Since the character’s world is usually made up of urban decay, mobsters and the whims of the criminal underbelly…it’s logical that Batman would work in this time frame in a similar fashion to the comics of the day.

In hindsight, I actually find “BATMAN” to be quite enjoyable when watching a chapter or so per viewing. I’d never attempt to watch all 15 chapters in one sitting and that’s probably for the best.

The action of the piece overall, thanks in large part to Lambert Hillyer’s direction, is quite impressive for the time as it would feature Batman and robin in some pretty audacious circumstances (for example, the opening of “A Nipponese Trap” follows the aftermath of Batman being caught in a plane crash…only to simply stagger out of the wreckage mostly unphased!).

But action aside, the thing can actually drag in some areas. I pin this more towards the fact that I was watching the serial post-Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher/Christopher Nolan…I’m sure had I been born into the 40s and been the right age, it would’ve blown me away as Burton’s film did.

The cliffhangers are great…a true staple of any movie serial meant to keep kids coming back for more. What attempts to edge out the effectiveness of the cliffhangers, however, are the ways they’d be resolved in the next chapter.

At the end of “The Electrical Brain,” Batman is caught in free fall after being hurled off a building…

…Only to wind up crashing safely onto a convenient window-washer rig.

Couldn’t they at least have let Batman save himself with acrobatics or a Batarang/De-Cel line combo? Oh well.

The aspect of the serial that makes it the most interesting and lends itself to frequent eyebrow-raising is the mere fact that it was produced in wartime.

While it’s cool to see Batman and Robin take on the Axis, it’s simultaneously off-putting to hear the apparent…often rampant…racial slurs that are thrown around as Batman is commented to be facing the ‘slanty-eyed Japs.’

One colorful comment is delivered in the first chapter by character Martin Warren to Dr. Daka.

“I’m an American first and always…and no amount of torture conceived by your twisted oriental brain will make me change my mind.”

Sheesh…ha ha.

The cast is fairly tame here…no huge standouts.

Lewis Wilson, providing us with our first flesh and blood Dark Knight, DOES manage to have a commanding presence…as Bruce Wayne.

But seriously…the costume is downright laughable. There’s no way around that. Although there is a cool moment in “The Bats Cave” where Batman interrogates a crook in his lair…accusing him of lying and threatening to sick the bats that roost there upon him.

Or in “The Living Corpse,” when Batman wields Daka’s own Radium Gun on top of a speeding truck (!)

But it’s a real shame that Wilson is more enjoyable to watch as Wayne. I just love his nonchalant approach to the character and the almost borderline obnoxious swagger he has about him.

Douglas Croft makes little to no impression as Robin.

Shirley Patterson fairs better as semi-love interest Linda Paige. She brings quite an air of sophistication to the ‘boys club’ cast and injects a much needed dose of feminine charm.

Aside from our heroes, the standout however clearly has to be J. Carrol Nash, who’s turn as Daka is packed with enough sufficient malaise to make him memorable. That accent is pretty strange though.

The effects, costuming and overall production is modest to say the least…but the atmosphere, as a priority, was pulled off successfully. There’s even some inventive camera work here and there.

Although there’s a ton of repetition throughout serial as a whole and the score material is pretty routine for matinee serials, Lee Zahler’s use of pensive high strings works well for the piece…with traces of both mystery and heroism to fuel the chapters.

On a whole and, if nothing else, “BATMAN” represents a great throwback to the days of comic book heroism during the 2nd World War…clearly indicating the longevity of Batman’s career while making a story that is, in the long run, quite enjoyable.

A definite must to see the character in the earliest film roots possible.

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edit: double post

 

[returntovoid]

Outstanding thread, CFE!

It's really well written as are your other threads of this sort.

It deserves "the thread of year" award.

 

[Team Andino]

I use to watch the 1943 Serial a lot as a kid, my dad bought me tape on on VHS back in 94 or so and for the longest time I wanted to see how Batman survived the fall down the elevator shaft. Man I love this serial. I feel if you don't watch them then your not a true hardcore Batman fan simple as that!

 

[Evil Twin]

The 1943 serial is an interesting artifact. It's not able to overcome it's limited budget, but it sticks relatively close to the Batman of that era and has a few good ideas. Alfred and the Batcave can trace their origins to the serial.

Director Lambert Hillyer has one really notable film on his resume, Dracula's Daughter, amid a ton of westerns and I suppose any bit of atmosphere probably should be credited to him.

 

[Evil Twin]

The 1943 serial is an interesting artifact. It's not able to overcome it's limited budget, but it sticks relatively close to the Batman of that era and has a few good ideas. Alfred and the Batcave can trace their origins to the serial.

Director Lambert Hillyer has one really notable film on his resume, Dracula's Daughter, amid a ton of westerns and I suppose any bit of atmosphere probably should be credited to him.

 

[TruerToTheCore]

I have to agree with CFE's review here. The second serial however... RUN WHILE YOU CAN!

BTW, it's the THIN Alfred that comes from the serial. Not Alfred in general.

 

[CFE]

Batman in Comics
Dawn of a Hero
1939 - 1940

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Batman made his debut in “Detective Comics” issue #27 in the spring of 1939…in a story titled “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate.”

The character, created by an earnest young cartoonist named Robert Kane, was visually inspired by a number of sources.

His demonic costume, with its hooded cowl and bat-winged cloak, could be traced to sketches of a bat-like flying apparatus designed by Renaissance icon Leonardo Da Vinci…as well as the 1926 silent film “The Bat,” whose antagonist wore a grotesque bat mask and cape.

The concept of a dual identity harkens back to several influences from Kane’s childhood…specifically the film character of Zorro, as portrayed by Douglas Fairbanks Sr. along with Robin Hood, the Shadow and the Scarlet Pimpernel.

The character’s keen intellect traces back to Sherlock Holmes while master illusionist Harry Houdini clearly inspires his knack for escape artistry in any situation.

Playboy by day and avenger by night, Batman’s initial conception were exceedingly inventive. Making him mortal not only makes his achievements all the more impressive as well as make him that much more relatable but it succeeded in creating a dark, more reality based parallel to the optimistic fantasy of Superman.

“Detective” #27 also introduced one of the character’s key allies with Police Commissioner James Gordon, who would become a constant staple of the books.

Initially, as many people may not be aware, Batman began fighting crime not on the streets of Gotham…but New York City! The character’s now beloved home would not be created until a few issues in…once Batman’s success truly began to gain momentum.

Another aspect to the character that was later abandoned was his being comfortable with committing murder.

In “Case of the Chemical Syndicate,” Batman consciously knocks the villain into a giant vat of acid (“A Fitting end for his kind.”). Another “Detective” issue saw Batman kick the head of a two-bit hood as he leaned out of a window…snapping his neck in the process.

And for a good collection of issues, Batman even wielded a sidearm…a pistol that he wouldn’t hesitate to fire upon criminals. This was acceptable for the time, but was quickly omitted following the first detailing of Batman’s origin (though Bruce’s run-ins with whether or not to use guns are documented on several occasions later on throughout the mythos).

Having been birthed out of a marriage of comic strips and noir and horror pulp magazines, Batman was (and continues to be) very much the one comic book hero who has most distinctly maintained a constant pulp edge of mystery and horror throughout the decades…certainly more so than Superman or Wonder Woman.

This can be clearly evidenced in the first collection of the Bat-Man’s adversaries…such as Dr. Death and especially the dreaded Monk; a vampire/werewolf hybrid with telekinetic abilities who first appeared in “Detective Comics” #31.

However his reign of terror was short lived. After rescuing his fiancée Julie Madison, the Bat-Man successfully managed to slay the undead Monk by shooting him with silver bullets.

While the pulp mentality remained an undercurrent for the character, the true motivations for Batman’s campaign against crime and evil gave our hero a more clearly defined sense of purpose with the publishing of “Detective Comics” #33 and the story “The Batman…Who He Is and How He Came To Be.”

Bruce Wayne had already been introduced as the Bat-Man’s secret alias, but “Detective” #33 introduced readers to Dr. Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne, Bruce’s parents, and first recounts their murders…at the time at the hands of a nameless gun-toting mugger. Making a bedside vow by candlelight, Bruce trains his mind and body (though its left unclear as to whether or not he travelled…or, at least, how extensively he travelled. That story would be definitively accounted in both “Batman: Year One” and “The Man who Falls” some 50 years later by Frank Miller and Dennis O’Neil respectively).

Then, sitting in the Wayne Manor study, Bruce decrees that criminals by nature are ‘a superstitious and cowardly lot.’ That superstition could lead to fear…all Bruce needed was a symbol; a catalyst to that fear.

When a bat flies outside the window, Wayne sees it as an ominous and powerful omen…a legendary hero is born, not just out of tragedy…but out of the central driving force of Batman. So central that it is universal.

One person…with the passion, the capability and the will…can make a difference.

The first collection of Bat-Man stories were drawn by Kane himself, whose style would be the central design influence as far into the history of the books as 1964.
But the unsung hero behind Batman’s success, without a doubt, has to be writer extraordinaire Bill Finger.

Writer of “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate,” it was Finger who suggested that Batman’s costume be blue and gray (according to a number of sources, Kane’s initial designs were a respective red and silver color scheme. Think Zorro, but without the hat and a pair of red bat wings on his back!).

Finger was also constantly referred to as the first great writer of comics, injecting human issue and emotional angst into Batman’s early adventures.

Despite Bob Kane’s claims that he wished he had given Bill a by-line on Batman (just as Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster shared on Superman), Kane made no such gesture…as a result, Bob Kane’s estate holds sole ownership over the property (and the annual percentage it generates) while Bill Finger essentially died penniless…even though he contributions were essential to conceiving the Batman as we know him today.

Even so, 1939 marked a momentous year for the entire industry as it gave birth to one of comics’ greatest success stories.

But even in the midst of a smashing first impression, Batman wouldn’t be enjoying the spoils of success just yet…

He was about to be enlisted.

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[CFE]

EDIT: Double Post

 

[Team Andino]

I have to agree with CFE's review here. The second serial however... RUN WHILE YOU CAN!

BTW, it's the THIN Alfred that comes from the serial. Not Alfred in general.

I had the 2nd serial on VHS as well an the more I watched it the more I hated it. I recently got it on DVD just to have in my collection an tried to watch them an I couldn't get past the first few parts. The 1943 serial however has such a soft spot in my heart that I can watch it any day of the week an smile about them. I love them that much

 

[returntovoid]

Great job on reviewing the early 1939-1940 Batman.

Keep up the good work, CFE. Can't wait to read "the best Batman Stories".

 

[CFE]

Batman in Comics
Origins of a Legend
1940 - 1949

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By 1940, with a sum total of 9 issues of "Detective Comics" under his utility belt, Batman had successfully established himself as a power player in comics...a character whose foundations had laid the groundwork for a legacy with volumes of potential.

And in this decade, much of that potential was successfully conceived as key allies, villains and concepts...concepts that remain vital even today...made their first appearances.

Following the debut of the diabolical Professor Hugo Strange in "Detective Comics" #36, April 1940 saw the introduction of young orphaned acrobat Dick Grayson in issue #38.

With the inclusion of Robin the Boy Wonder, the concept of kid sidekicks spread through the industry like wildfire. From the Sandman and Sandy to Green Arrow and Speedy, many of the books of the day attempted to emulate the sales being celebrated by Batman and Robin.

Eventually, Batman's popularity reached such an extensive degree; DC felt the time was perfect to reward the success of Kane and Finger's creation.

That reward came in the form of his own monthly title with "Batman" #1.

In his very first issue, things got off to an incredible start as the dynamic duo faced off against two new villains.

A thieving femme fatale named Catwoman.

And Batman's single greatest foe...arch nemesis the Joker, created by Jerry Robinson and mirrored after Conrad Veidt's character in the 1928 film "The Man who Laughs," adapted from Victor Hugo's novel.

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The issue also saw Batman's final use of a gun before abandoning firearms altogether (as said before, his relationship to gun-use would be touched upon in several later instances...and several issues would feature machine guns being utilized on Batman's vehicles).

Core elements fell into place soon after.

Gotham City was named in "Batman" #4.
The Batmobile in "Batman" #5 (though the dark knight had driven roadsters before hand).
The Bat-Signal in "Detective Comics" #60
And The Batcave in "Batman" #12 (it wouldn't be referred to as the "Batcave," however, until "Detective Comics" #83).

Along with Joker and Catwoman, several of Batman's biggest rogues manifested out of the fertile imaginations of Bob Kane, Bill Finger and several key contributors such as writers Jerry Robinson and Garner Fox.

The Penguin made his first impression in 1941's "Detective Comics" #58 while Gotham was first plagued by the Scarecrow in the third issue of "World's Finest," a comic that independently featured stories for Batman and Robin as well as Superman.

District Attorney Harvey Kent debuted in "Detective Comics" #66 along with his evil, dichotomous persona Two-Face (later, the characterís name would be inexplicably changed to 'Dent;' possibly to avoid confusion between he and a certain mild-mannered reporter from Metropolis).

And while the Riddler first attempted to stump Batman in 1948's "Detective" #140, the Dynamic Duo were also confronted by the Mad Hatter in "Batman" #49.

But while Batman's cast of characters was growing, priorities had begun to shift.

Following the Japanese Bombing of Pearl Harbor, Batman...along with Superman, Wonder Woman, the Justice Society and rival characters like Captain America...was enlisted into the war effort like any good soldier.

Several issues of "Batman," "Detective Comics" and "World's Finest," despite having stories that never touched upon the war (publishers felt that having their characters decimate the Nazi menace would be disrespectful to the genuine effort being made by the Allies), featured covers in which the caped crusader was engaging in numerous patriotic pastimes.

Whether he was saluting the troops, spearheading paper recycling, stepping up to the plate for a game of baseball or asking readers to buy war bonds, Batman had now been not just a dark avenger and a father figure to Robin...he had been used as war propaganda. The sight of Batman and Robin riding atop a giant bald Eagle leaves little doubt of that. But given its intent to stiff troop morale, it is to be commended in its own way.

During the book-end years of the decade , the mythology deepened with some new romantic foils for the caped crusader as Bruce met several flames in the '40s.

Following the break-off of his engagement to Julie Madison, Bruce met Linda Page in 1941's "Batman" #6. But even more notable was newspaper photojournalist Vicki Vale in 1948. Vale, second only to Catwoman, remains Batmanís longest enduring romance from 1948 to 1962 (with on-again, off-again instances still prevalent today!).

The books also gained another ally for Batman in the form of Alfred...not yet Pennyworth however.

"Batman" #16 introduced Alfred Beagle; a portly Englishman who served as butler to Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson with aspirations of becoming a detective himself! Alfred Pennyworth, the kindly gentlemen beloved by fans the world over would not appear until a few issues later, following the characterís iteration in the 1943 film serial.

After a year of artistic service, give about 6 to 7 months, Bob Kane ended his run as primary artist on the books. From there, the books were taken over for the most part by Dick Sprang, who would go on to be the quintessential Batman artist and design influence right through the middle of the 1960s.

The books of the decade are fairly tame in their story material compared to 1939.
And as the 1940s ended, Batman's universe had successfully grown.
Imagination was expansive...even infectious.

To date, no other decade has seen as much material (or, more accurately, "enduring" material) be created as several of these characters continue to thrive even today.

With a new decade, however, Batman would not be turning his attention down upon the streets of Gotham City.
But up...to the stars.

 

[CFE]

Batman & Robin
The Complete Motion Picture Serial (1949)

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Directed by ... Spencer Gordon Bennet
Screenplay by … George H. Plympton, Joseph F. Poland and Royal K. Cole
Based on the DC Comics Character Created by ... Bob Kane and Bill Finger

Produced by ... Sam Katzman
Cinematography by … Ira H. Morgan
Art Direction by … Paul Palmentola
Set Decoration by … Sidney Clifford
Editing by ... Dwight Caldwell and Earl Turner
Musical Direction by … Mischa Bakateinikoff

Robert Lowery Jr. ... Bruce Wayne/Batman
John Duncan ... Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson/Robin
Jane Adams ... Vicki Vale
Lyle Talbot ... Police Commissioner James Gordon
Eric Wilton/Alfred Pennyworth
Ralph Graves ... Winslow Harrison
Lyle Talbot … The Wizard
Don C. Harvey ... Henchman Nolan
William Fawcett ... Prof. Hammil
Leonard Penn ... Carter - Hammil's valet
Rick Vallin ... Barry Brown
Michael Whalen ... Private Investigator Dunne
Greg McClure ... Henchman Evans
House Peters Jr. ... Henchman Earl
Jim Diehl ... Henchman Jason
Rusty Wescoatt ... Henchman Ives
Knox Manning … Narrator (voice)

Antisocial Prof. Hammil's Remote Control device, which enables the user to take over any motor vehicle within 50 miles is stolen by The Wizard, Batman and Robin must now prevent the Wizard from obtaining diamonds, needed as fuel for the device, and also rescue magazine photographer Vicki Vale.

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Chapter Titles:

1: Batman Takes Over
2: Tunnel of Terror
3: Robin's Wild Ride
4: Batman Trapped
5: Robin Rescues Batman
6: Target - Robin!
7: The Fatal Blast
8: Robin Meets the Wizard
9: The Wizard Strikes Back
10: Batman's Last Chance
11: Robin's Ruse
12: Robin Rides the Wind
13: The Wizard's Challenge
14: Batman vs. Wizard
15: Batman Victorious​

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Following the immediate success of the original 43 serial, Columbia made quick work of jumping back onto the Super Hero bandwagon.

Following the first “Superman” motion picture serial starring Kirk Alyn in 1948, the studio saw fit to bring their initial success back to screens in the form of 1949’s “Batman & Robin.”

This time around, thanks to the end of the war, Batman and Robin are sent on a blazing case unabridged by the presence of Axis forces.

Batman (Robert Lowery) and his sidekick (John Duncan) come across a bizarre wheelchair bound professor named Hamill (William Fawcett) who has developed a Remote Device capable to seizing control over any car or motor-powered vehicle within a certain distance of the device’s location.

At first the dynamic duo think nothing of it…until the device is stolen by a masked evil-doer calling himself the Wizard.

Using the device to take control over Gotham City, the Wizard seeks to steal vast amounts of diamonds…the material used to power the device…to continue his stronghold over the city.

Now, with the aid of Police Commissioner Gordon (Lyle Talbot) and beautiful photojournalist Vicki Vale (Jane Adams), Batman and Robin must fight to reclaim the device, unmask their foe and put an end to the Wizard’s reign of terror once and for all.

“Batman & Robin,” for me personally, is a tad more enjoyable than the original serial out of the mere fact that it includes more of the Batman lexicon into its vocabulary.

Unlike the first serial (despite the fact that it introduced audiences to the Batcave…which later went on to become part of the comics), here we’ve got the flesh and blood introductions of Commissioner Gordon, the Bat-Signal AND Vicki Vale.

With the war over, the story also plays a bit more within the realm of comics than being manipulated into propaganda.

This was the second serial for a comic character but it was not the first time that it was done.

Flash Gordon, Don Winslow, The Spider, Tailspin Tommy, Jungle Jim, The Green Hornet and Secret Agent X9, had all had 2 or more.

Dick Tracy leads the pack with four serials.

But unlike these others, which may have had one or two changes in cast, “Batman & Robin” cleaned house, leaving no one from the original.

Veteran Robert Lowery, who referred to himself as "the King of the B's", was a fairly good choice for Bruce Wayne/Batman. His dead panning of Wayne's dialog contrasted with the so-serious speech of Batman. He possessed the build and obvious athleticism to bring a certain authenticity to the role, maybe even more so than Lewis Wilson.

John Duncan had been around doing juvenile roles for several years (including the “East Side Kids” series), and now had matured some, giving him both the youthful appearance and the gymnast-like musculature that Robin would have. As the Chapter Titles suggest, I might add, Robin gets a bit more attention this time around (also thanks in large part to being a title character now).

The most welcome addition to the cast, for me personally, is Lyle Talbot’s authoritative yet warm take on Jim Gordon. He’s a step up from “BATMAN”s Captain Arnold and it’s a great performance.

Like many serials, they did employ a hooded mystery man villain as the "brains" heavy you know, unknown but having several on screen suspects to keep the audience guessing for 15 chapters. This was okay, or at least adequate, but begs the question: Why not use one of the great colorful villains from the comics pages?

Interesting enough, the ‘Superman’ serial sequel “Atom Man vs. Superman” DID feature Luthor (also played by Lyle Talbot) so it’s odd that Batman’s rogues, which have always blown Superman’s out of the water, weren’t utilized.

In terms of the actual production, “Batman & Robin” is along the same lines as its 43 predecessor. Inevitably cheap in appearance what with its stock musical score and cliché set pieces, the serial at least catches the spirit of the comics it’s trying to emulate.

All in all, “Batman & Robin” is a fun watch here and there. In a lot of ways it improves upon “BATMAN” and, on that basis alone, fans should find it quite entertaining.

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[CFE]

Batman in Comics
To Space, Caped Crusader!
1950 - 1959

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Surviving the end of the Depression, Batman also successfully maneuvered the pitfalls of potential irrelevance following World War II.

From Commissioner Gordon to Robin to a colorful cast of nefarious villains, the dark knight and his team of writers and artists had laid down the foundations of a burgeoning mythology.

But as the 1950s dawned, Batman would soon be faced with his first official sales slump…one that almost single handedly brought “Detective Comics” to the brink of cancelled publication.

With the display of nuclear devastation that aided to and brought the end to the war, the 50s saw a creative culture whose curiosity was sufficiently piqued.

And thusly film audiences and comic book readers witnessed something truly extraordinary.

The Dawn of the Atomic Age.

The cover of “Batman” #41 had previously featured an alien character in 1947, but the explosive popularity of Science Fiction took Batman and Robin beyond the realm of planet earth with gusto.

Building a Bat-Rocket, the dynamic duo frequently travelled to other planets throughout the cosmos, encountering alien civilizations and alternate realities. One famous cover even featured the Bat-Signal being projected from Gotham onto the moon to summon Batman back to Earth!

Even when they were safely on ground, science fiction elements began to proliferate throughout Batman and Robin’s adventures.

In 1952’s “Detective Comics” #186, the caped crusader and boy wonder began using a Flying Batcave…a giant hele-carrier equipped with several of the real Cave’s computer and scientific amenities.

Several of Batman’s new foes of the decade were also very sci-fi oriented…such as Mr. Zero, first introduced in “Batman” #121 in February of 1959. Equipped with a ray gun that could flash freeze people and objects, Mr. Zero’s early designs seemed pulled right out of the pulp magazines featuring Saucer men from another planet. Mr. Zero, in subsequent appearances, would come to be known by the now-familiar name Mr. Freeze.

In the early months of the decade, attempts had been made to flesh out Batman’s supporting characters and villains…while also building the character’s ‘Bat-Family.’

Catwoman’s origin was accounted first in the 50s…two months later, “Detective Comics” #168 included the story “The Man Behind the Red Hood;” the first documented accounted of the Joker’s origin.

But while the decade began with promise, the comic book industry was given a shock.

1953, on record, remains the year of comics’ highest sales to date.

A year later, prominent psychologist Dr. Frederic Wertham published his novel “Seduction of the Innocent,” in which he attempted to shed light on the catalyst for a recent increase in juvenile delinquency in the United States.

His target? Comic Books.

In his book, Wertham labeled Superman a fascist.

He indicated that Wonder Woman, with her strength and independence, was an inappropriate role model in stark opposition to what girls were supposed to be…namely domesticated servants that should succumb to the dominance of men.

He felt that frequent occurrences of disrespect against authority and acts of violence were impacting young minds.

Wertham even thought that kids staying indoors to read comics and not playing outside led to asthma!

For Batman and Robin, Dr. Wertham felt their partnership was nothing more than wish fulfillment for homosexual men…the idea of dressing in flamboyant costumes and leaping around together, spending their nights on the town.

Despite the utter absurdity of many of Wertham’s claims, the U.S. Senate held congressional hearings in 1956 about the doctor’s findings.

Fearing government-controlled censorship, the comic industry created the Comics Code Authority…a self-censorship institution that would only allow the books to be published once they had been approved and given the CCA stamp on its cover.

Given the fallout after Wertham’s attack, Batman’s stories began falling into what several fans have dubbed ‘The Eisenhower Era.’ Creative output was still abound, but it became bland…even gimmicky.

One story featured Batman turning into a human fish.

Another had him wearing a different colored Batsuit every night…featuring a Pink Batman, a Green Batman, an Orange Batman and so on.

Yet another featured Batman and Robin taking on an irradiated Rainbow Creature, whose aura could turn the dynamic duo into two-dimensional people.

To deal with the homo-erotic slander, 1956 not only saw the publishing of “Batman” #100, but the introduction of Kathy Kane…a circus acrobat turned crime-fighter called Batwoman meant to populate the books with a feminine presence.

The ‘Bat-Family’s ranks were also increased with the inclusion of some not-so-human members.

Batman and Robin were joined by Ace the Bathound in “Batman” #92. A loyal Great Dane with his own bat-mask, Ace became such a detective that he had deduced Batman and Robin’s identities on his own…by holding up a picture of Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson in his mouth!

Three years later, Mogo…the cape and cowled Bat-Ape (!!!) first appeared in “Batman” #114 in 1958.

The end of the 50s saw the creation of one of the comics’ most bizarre oddities, however, with “Detective Comics” #267…and the one and only Bat-Mite!

A mischievous imp from another dimension, Bat-Mite emulated his hero to such a degree that he wore his own Batsuit. The character, a pest to end all pests, would frequently pop in uninvited and interfere in the caped crusader’s work...despite Batman’s constant insistence to the contrary.

Truly, the 1950s represent one of the strangest decades for Batman’s career as the science fiction elements eventually began to fail the books in their use.

But as with all legacies…things have to get worse before they get better.

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[CFE]

THE MOCK KNIGHT
A Collection of the Spoofs, Puns and Parodies

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They say parody is the best form of flattery. If that's the case than Batman...maybe more so than any other character, gets to feel the love quite often.

From past homages of nostalgia to the current trends on the Internet, get a load of just a handful of the standout Batman Spoofs, Riffs and Parodies this side of Gotham City!

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"BATMUNK"

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Directed by … Don Spencer
Written by … Bruce Morris and William J. Thutt
Based on the DC Comics Character Created by … Bob Kane and Bill Finger

Ross Bagdasarian Jr. … Alvin Seville/Simon Seville/Dave Seville (voice)
Janice Karman … Theodore Seville/Brittany Miller (voice)
Frank Welker … Additional Voices
Thomas H. Watkins … Additional Voices

Simon Seville … Brice Wayne/Batmunk
Alvin Seville … The Jokester
Brittany Miller … Micky Male
Theodore Seville … Happy the Butler

By the late 80s, Alvin and the Chipmunks were arguably riding the peak of their success and soon enough a new cartoon series was conceived…out of a combination of desperation and a need to sustain relevance…with “Chipmunks Go to the Movies.” From “Star Wreck” to “Robomunk,” the episodes set out to playfully lampoon the box office juggernauts of the day…and Batman was no exception. Riffing on director Tim Burton’s 1989 blockbuster, “Batmunk” is one of the more coherent and charming installments of the series as it features wealthy toy inventor Brice Wayne (Simon), with the aid of faithful butler Happy (Theodore), battling both the curiosity of Chipmunk Quarterly reporter Micki Male (Brittany) and the antics of the Jokester (Alvin) as Batmunk. One of the best scenes early on features a Chipmunk rendition of Kenny Loggins’ “Danger Zone” as Batmunk has a run-in with the Jokester’s henchmen. The only genuine issue I have, knowing that the piece was meant for children, is the handling of Happy. Man or Chipmunk, there’s just no way the loyal butler would ever have aspirations to put on the costume and be the masked hero himself…that contradicts his purpose in the scheme of things and it doesn’t really hold true, even as a parody, to the character of Alfred. That bit aside, I love “Batmunk.” It’s a fun and kitschy piece of fluff that, given the right mood, can be just as thrilling to the kid in all of us today. If anything, it’s a fond morsel of nostalgia…Just so long as you can get past those damn Chipmunk voices.

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"Batman's Gonna get Shot in the Face"

WARNING: The Following contains inappropriate language. Not safe for school or work...Watch at your own discretion.

"Batman's Gonna Get Shot in the Face" Preview​

Directed by … Larry Longstreth and Jacob Drake
Written by … Larry Longstreth and Clint George

Vince Bruno - Batman
Larry Longstreth - Superman
Clarissa Paciotti - Wonder Woman
Aaron Longstreth - The Flash
Clint George - Nightwing
Larry Longstreth - Robin
Rachel Belvin - Batgirl
Andy Gasper - Hawkman
Nick D'Amico - James Gordon

A hilarious animated riot overseen by internet animation guru Larry Longstreth (also check out his “Greatest Fan Film of ALL TIME&#8221, “Batman’s Gonna Get Shot in the Face” is a crudely conceived but heartfelt gut-buster of a mockumentary that taps into the sidekick’s and Justice League’s true feelings about the caped crusader…featuring interviews with Batman himself as well as Nightwing, Robin, Oracle, Superman, Wonder Woman and most laughably outrageous…the Flash. Key moments definitely include Batman pulling a disappearing act on Commissioner Gordon…just to be found by Gordon huddled under his desk waiting for Jim to leave so he can make his exit. With its pitch-perfect voice cast and dry wit, it so perfectly encapsulates the grain of truth concerning the character…that several of his emotional hang-ups and angst are just tremendously absurd. From how long it takes to symbolically suit up in the costume to his obsession with taking in youngsters and training them to his constant need to intellectually upstage everyone, no stone in the Batcave is left unturned or unspoofed!

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"Batfollies"

"Batfollies" Fan Film​

Written and Directed by … Gary Payton

Dan Feldmeier - Batman
Dusty Westbrooke - Robin
Bob Perry - Commissioner Gordon
Gary Payton - Bane
Rick Landaluce - Nightwing
Jessica Star - Catwoman
Mandy Link - Harly Quinn
Steve Payton - Street Thug

Just like “Batman’s Gonna Get Shot in the Face,” Gary Payton’s “Batfollies” is so ridiculously brilliant in its representation of Batman…using him as the butt of several cultural and social jokes. Looking devilishly dapper with his long, scraggily goatee, an overweight and lzay-ass dark knight (wonderfully played up by Dan Feldmeier) is presented in several vignettes that poke fun at Batman’s allies, his rogues, his gadgets and the sex lives of his partners…namely Nightwing, who…let’s just say…hits the Jergen’s WAY too often. Another great scene features Selina Kyle (Jessica Star) who informs Bruce of her current plans for the day (while writing ‘Kick Halle Berry’s ASS!’ in a day planner!). Even the “Knightfall” storyline gets lampooned when Bane (the writer/director himself) rolls into town…leading to Bruce’s concern that he name a successor…the one and only Adam West! (after Martha Stewert is vigorously declined of course). Great sense of humor pandering to the stylish roots of the 1966 tv series (they even get Bat-Hombre in there for god’s sake!), “Batfollies” is just too damn funny to ignore.

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THE KEY OF AWESOME: “THE DARK KNIGHT” Music Video

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With the release of Christopher Nolan’s epic 2008 sequel, several fans felt that…for all the awesomeness and brilliance… “The Dark Knight” didn’t stand up as well as it should’ve in the plot department, and that many audiences were just too blinded by the film’s smash success to notice. In a comical semi-rap Alfred and the Joker work together to try and make sense of the film for their title character…which is put together and holds merit quite convincingly. Personally, I don’t find the film so complex that it gets confusing…but it’s complex enough to make the claims valid…and thusly, make this joint funny as hell!

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“The Dark Knight” – Interrogation Spoof

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Given with much joy and acclaim to the masses by MonkeyandApple, a popular YouTube member, his overcooked and outrageous spoof of the infamous Interrogation scene between Batman and the Joker hits the nail right on the head…with its stab at Batman actor Christian Bale’s almost borderline-obnoxious approach to the voice of the caped crusader. There’s really not much more I can say so the video’ll have to speak for itself…watch out though, it might have a very severe case of throat cancer!

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"Kid-Batman"

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Equipped with a Batman costume, young Max begins to live out the fantasy of powerful and intimidation that the dark knight gets to enjoy in the comics and films. But things quickly escalate as the costume makes him think that he really IS Batman. The production isn’t flashy or whatnot…but who cares, this stuff’s GOLD! Best moment? Easily the end…in which Max is faced with his deadliest arch-rival. HAHAHAHAHA!!!

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"Kid-Batman" The Sequel

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The Dark Knight…and Funny Max…Returns! Stalking criminals through the suburbs, Max unleashes his deadly (or is that deadly hilarious) brand of vicious justice on his poor enemy…god love that kid! And after a nice quiet break for homemade cookies…well I won’t spoil it…it’s just too fantastic for words! Literally I almost needed a new change of pants…SEE IT!

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And check out some of these doozies!

Bat-Manuelle

A hilarious spoof character from "The Tick" cartoon/live action series!

Dark Claw

What happens with you combine DC's Dark Knight Detective with Marvel's mutant death machine? This'll give you an idea...from the short lived "Amalgam Comics" stunt of the 90s...it's Dark Claw!

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I hope you enjoy these big bat laughs...on me!

 

[CFE]

Batman in Comics
Biff! Bam!! POW!!!
1960 - 1969

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The sixties.

Thinking about the decade rings echoes of the past that range from over the top and commercially digestable to fundamentally altered and extraordinarily redefined.

From the space race enacted by President John F. Kennedy to the beginning turmoils of the Vietnam war…the expansion of drug use to the stylized and bombastic approach to pop art, the decade is certainly a distinct touchstone of time in history.

But as it begain with aspirations of reaching a new frontier, the assassination of President Kennedy left the country disallusioned…and placed a perpetual cloud over the decade. The tragic loss marred the 1960s…and primed all aspects of government, society and art for radical change.

Counter culture emerged…authority was questioned…and Batman’s legacy was caught up right in the middle along with everything else.

As determined by “Batman” film producer and collegiate comics authority Michael Uslan, Batman comics in the 60s could be divided into two separate classifications.

1960-1964…and 1964 post.

The first collection fits right in alongside the 50s books…featuring aliens and science fiction elements that continued to degenerate Batman’s sales.

One gimmicky and clichéd story came after another.

For instance, 1960’s “Batman” #131 featured an imaginary tale in which Batman is domesticated by marriage to Batwoman…while their some became Robin and Dick Grayson became Batman! WHEW!

Later, May 1962’s “Batman” #147 declared on its cover that it had “The Story of the year”…in which Batman was reverted back into infancy. That’s right…a Bat-Baby!

As a result of the overblown storytelling, DC Comics had to make a decision.

Cancel “Detective Comics,” Batman’s long-running flagship title…or save it with the same radical redefinition that the rest of pop culture was enduring.

Turning to prominent editor Julius Schwartz, who had previously revamped old 40s characters such as Green Lantern, Flash, Hawkman, Spectre and the Atom, DC made the latter choice…retaining confidence in the Batman character given his 20 years of successful publication.

Schwartz started with a gimmick that stuck. Combining DC characters both new and old, his inventiveness led to the formation and creation of the Justice League. The idea of putting your leading heroes together in one book (in turn to create yet another comic to sell) was a game-changer for the day…and this is what inspired Timely Comics (later to be known and beloved as Marvel) editor Martin Goodman to ask for a team book of his own. The result? “The Fantastic Four,” created by Jack Kirby…and Stanley Martin Lieber, who would go on to be known under the pen name Stan Lee.

From that point, Schwartz felt that the key to sustaining Batman’s sales was to ground him more in reality…at least more so than the 50s had.

By 1964, the Space adventures of the so-called ‘Interplanetary’ Batman were over and done with.

In its place, Batman became Gotham City’s leading citizen. No longer a brooding vigilante or a soldier campaigning against the Axis Forces, the caped crusader was now a fully deputized law man…an officer in a unique uniform carrying a platinum badge and answering to Commissioner Gordon.

Frequently Batman and his boy wonder sidekick would walk down the street…in full daylight AND costume…greeting the citizens of Gotham with hearty waves and dazzling smiles.

Batman’s new status in Gotham was most likely the continuous result of the Comics Code fallout of the 50s. While it was necessary to abort the sci-fi excentricities to better ground the stories in authentic, albeit heightened reality…there was still a mentality of moral responsibility to the readers that kept scarier and more violent aspects out of the comics.

Even so, Batman’s universe continued to broaden as the dynamic duo’s allies and enemies grew in their numbers.

1966 saw the debut of the bedazzling Poison Ivy in “Batman” #181 as she put a slight riff between Batman and Robin. The first villainous Spellbinder was also introduced that same year in “Detective Comics” #358, using his bizarre sorcery to menace Batman. A possible statement on drug use? I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest.

But the cavalry was introduced soon enough in the form of Barbara Gordon…daughter of Commissioner Gordon (NOTE: Barbara’s ties to the Commissioner have changed frequently in the books. Sometimes she’s his niece…others she’s adopted. But core continuity counts her as his biological daughter).

Barbara made her first appearance in January 1967’s “Detective Comics” #359 as did her alter ego…Batgirl…who, despite being nothing more than an invention of Barbara’s for a Policeman’s Costume Ball, became a crimefighter in her own right after aiding Batman and Robin in thwarting a scheme from the evil but pathetic Killer Moth.

Several of these issues, under Schwartz’s editing direction, revitalized Batman with earnest.

The cartoony style courtesy of artist/co-creator Bob Kane and Dick Sprang was abandoned as Julius turned to artist Carmine Infantino to lend his draftsmanship to the books…determining at the time that it would appear more reality based in a pop art milieau. Infantino’s approach to the angles and action-sequencing was far and away different from what had come before.

Batman’s ‘new look’ made its debut in 1964’s “Detective Comics” #327, in which his famous bat-insignia was displayed for the very first time encircled in an oval of yellow.

It was this approach to Batman that inspired producer William Dozier to bring “Batman” to the small screen with the 1966 television series…in turn the mentality and storytelling of the books were directed accordingly to cash in on the show’s success.

By the end of the 60s, Batman had celebrated his bicentinnial with the release of “Batman” #200 in March of 1968 as well as his 30th anniversary with “Detective Comics” #387.

But fans and readers had had enough of their hero being played for the laughs.

The camp fad had outwarn its welcome…and the comics had to find some way of surviving.

Fortunately, the thing about icons…is their knack for durability.

And after surviving 30 years filled with Economic Depression, War, Atomic Fantasy and Campe Counter Culture…

Batman was about to be granted an astounding resurrection.

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[CFE]

BATMAN
The Series
(1966 - 1968)

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Episodes Directed by …

Oscar Rudolph (37 episodes)
James B. Clark (15 episodes)
George Waggner (10 episodes)
Sam Strangis (8 episodes)
Robert Butler (6 episodes)
Murray Golden (6 episodes)
Larry Peerce (6 episodes)
Norman Foster (4 episodes)
Tom Gries (4 episodes)
Charles R. Rondeau (4 episodes)
Don Weis (4 episodes)
William A. Graham (2 episodes)
Jeffrey Hayden (2 episodes)
Sherman Marks (2 episodes)
Leslie H. Martinson (2 episodes)
James Neilson (2 episodes)
Richard C. Sarafian (2 episodes)
James Sheldon (2 episodes)
Robert Sparr (2 episodes)

Episodes Written by …

Bob Kane (109 episodes)
Stanley Ralph Ross (27 episodes)
Charles Hoffman (22 episodes)
Stanford Sherman (18 episodes)
Lorenzo Semple Jr. (16 episodes)
Jerry Robinson (11 episodes)
Stephen Kandel (5 episodes)
Earl Barret (4 episodes)
Francis M. Cockrell (4 episodes)
Marian B. Cockrell (4 episodes)
Fred De Gorter (4 episodes)
Robert C. Dennis (4 episodes)
Max Hodge (4 episodes)
Elkan Allan (3 episodes)
John Cardwell (2 episodes)
Richard Carr (2 episodes)
Robert Dozier (2 episodes)
Bill Finger (2 episodes)
Lee Orgel (2 episodes)
Jack Paritz (2 episodes)
Bob Rodgers (2 episodes)
Edwin Self (2 episodes)
Charles Sinclair (2 episodes)
Henry Slesar (2 episodes)
Sheldon Stark (2 episodes)
Ellis St. Joseph (2 episodes)
Jay Thompson (2 episodes)
Hendrik Vollaerts (2 episodes)
William P. D'Angelo (2 episodes)
Robert Mintz (2 episodes)
Peter Rabe (2 episodes)
Leo Townsend (2 episodes)
Pauline Townsend (2 episodes)

Based on the DC Comics Character Created by ... Bob Kane and Bill Finger

Series Executive Produced by …

William Dozier

Series Produced by ...

Howie Horwitz
William P. D'Angelo

Series Cinematography by …

Howard Schwartz (51 episodes, 1966-1967)
Meredith M. Nicholson (28 episodes, 1966-1967)
Ralph Woolsey (10 episodes, 1966)
Jack A. Marta (7 episodes, 1966)
Charles Straumer (5 episodes, 1967-1968)
Sam Leavitt (2 episodes, 1966)

Series Art Direction by …

Jack Martin Smith (104 episodes, 1966-1968)
Serge Krizman (79 episodes, 1966-1967)
Jack T. Collis (10 episodes, 1966)
Russell C. Menzer (8 episodes, 1966)
Frank T. Smith (5 episodes, 1967-1968)
Franz Bachelin (2 episodes, 1966)
Ed Graves (2 episodes, 1966)

Series Set Decoration by ...

Walter M. Scott (104 episodes, 1966-1968)
Chester L. Bayhi (76 episodes, 1966-1967)
Warren Welch (14 episodes, 1966)
Bert Allen (12 episodes, 1967)
Robert De Vestel (6 episodes, 1967-1968)

Series Costume Design by …

Andrew Pallack

Series Editing by …

Hugh Chaloupka (26 episodes, 1966-1968)
Homer Powell (25 episodes, 1966-1967)
J. Frank O'Neill (15 episodes, 1966-1967)
Ronald J. Fagan (10 episodes, 1966)
James Blakeley (10 episodes, 1967-1968)
Bill Murphy (7 episodes, 1966-1967)
Byron Chudnow (5 episodes, 1966)
Harry Coswick (3 episodes, 1966)
Newell P. Kimlin (2 episodes, 1966)
Leon Selditz (2 episodes, 1966)

Original Theme Composed by ...

Neal Hefti

Original Television Soundtrack Composed by …

Neal Hefti
Nelson Riddle
Billy May
Warren Barker

Adam West ... Bruce Wayne/Batman
Burt Ward … Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson/Robin
Neil Hamilton … Police Commissioner James Gordon
Stafford Repp … Police Chief O’Hara
Alan Napier ... Alfred Pennyworth
Madge Blake … Aunt Harriet Cooper
Yvonne Craig … Barbara Gordon/Batgirl
Cesar Romero … The Joker
Burgess Meredith … The Penguin
Frank Gorshin … The Riddler
John Astin … The Riddler II
Julie Newmar … Catwoman
Eartha Kitt … Catwoman II
Vincent Price … Egghead
Eli Wallach … Mr. Freeze
George Sanders … Mr. Freeze II
Otto Preminger … Mr. Freeze III
Victor Bruno … King Tut
Cliff Robertson … Shame
Roddy McDowell … Bookworm
David Wayne … The Mad Hatter
Rudy Vallee … Lord Marmaduke Ffogg
Glynis Johns … Lady Penelope Peasoup
Edward Everett Horton … Chief Screaming Chicken
Van Johnson … The Minstrel
Byron Keith … Mayor Linseed
Walter Slezak … The Clock King
Jill St. John … Molly
Kathleen Crowley … Sophia Starr
Liberace … Chandell
Joan Collins … The Siren
Sid Haig … Royal Apothecary
Zsa Zsa Gabor … Minerva
Reginald Denny … King Boris
Bill Williams … Multimillionaire

The Dark Knight battles crime in Gotham City with occasional help from Robin and Batgirl.

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Key Episodes:

“Hi Diddle Riddle”
“Smack in the Middle”
“Fine Feathered Finks”
“The Penguin’s a Jinx”
“The Joker is Wild”
“Batman is Riled”
“Instant Freeze”
“Rats Like Cheese”
“The Thirteenth Hat”
“Batman Stands Pat”
“The Purr-Fect Crime”
“Better Luck Next Time”
“The Curse of Tut”
“The Pharoah’s in a Rut”
“Fine Finny Fiends”
“Batman Makes the Scenes”
“Green Ice”
“Deep Freeze”
“The Contaminated Cowl”
“The Mad Hatter Runs Afoul”
“The Zodiac Crimes”
“The Joker’s Hard Times”
“The Penguin Declines”
“Batman’s Anniversary”
“A Riddling Controversy”
“A Piece of the Action”
“Batman’s Satisfaction”
“Enter Batgirl, Exit Penguin”
“Ring Around the Riddler”
“Surf’s Up! Joker’s Under!”
“The Londinium Larcenies”
“The Foggiest Notion”
“The Bloody Tower”
“The Great Escape”
“The Great Train Robbery”
“The Joker’s Flying Saucer”
“the Entrancing Dr. Cassandra”
“Minerva, Mayhem and Millionaires”​

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The 1960s…a tumultuous decade defined by the emergence of counter culture, the exponential increase of narcotic experimentation and sexual promiscuity and an abysmal failure in the Vietnam War that left America disillusioned and radically altered.

We traveled to the moon…we questioned authority for the first definitive account…and as the world grew more grim, with the concepts of black and white turning to gray…the art scene felt there was only one thing it could do to breathe life into the nation again.

Go pop.

From Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Can to the zany antics of a cartoon canine named Scooby Doo to the phenomenon known simply as the Beatles, the creative output of the 60s was big, bold, bright and bombastic.

And arguably no other trend…no other craze…touched so delicately the nerve and hunger for pop culture then producer Bill Dozier’s over-the-top, colorful and hyper-kitsch take on the caped crusader and the boy wonder with 1966’s “BATMAN” television series.

Keeping vigil from their mansion on the outskirts of Gotham City, philanthropist Bruce Wayne (Adam West) and his earnest ward Dick Grayson (Burt Ward) fight the forces of crime and evil respectively as Batman and Robin…fully deputized agents of the Gotham Police Department who, with the aid of Police Commissioner Gordon (Neil Hamilton), Police Chief O’Hara (Stafford Repp), faithful butler Alfred (Alan Napier) and doting Aunt Harriet (Madge Blake) wage a never ending battle against the most nefarious villains imagined…such as the Riddler (Frank Gorshin), the Penguin (Burgess Meredith), The Joker (Cesar Romero) and Catwoman (Julie Newmar/Eartha Kitt/Lee Meriwether).

This is the one…the show that defined Batman for an entire new generation of Batman fans. It’s the one that everyone refers to, that every knows and that is usually the butt of everyone’s jokes…most unfortunately.

Because first things first, there’s always a tinge on Batman that is going to be the colorful crime fighter with all of the gadgets and wit…fighting cornball foes and righting wrongs throughout Gotham City.

The series, as star Adam West has said on multiple occasions, was a slice of the cultural pie. Meant not to be taken deathly serious the show was full of parody, adventure, high comedy and charm that its fans, myself included, can clearly identify.

Of course there are aspects that you just refuse to give credence to…most obviously that of Batman and Robin being deputized by the police (Frank Miller calls foul on that one all the time).

But people tend to forget that that’s exactly what was going on with Batman in the comics throughout the 50s and 60s. The caped crusader was Gotham’s leading citizen…making public appearances and walking down the streets in broad daylight.

If anything…and for all it’s “Biff”s, “Bam”s and “Pow”s…The “BATMAN” TV Series was pretty damn accurate to the character’s portrayal at the time. It was being true to the comics of the day…if not exactly the character’s psychological underpinnings from his inception in 1939. The series is a four-color comic book farce made flesh.

But just like incarnations such as “The Batman” or “Batman & Robin,” the character can be interpreted into a fun heroic crime fighter for kids when you leave the murder of his parents out of the story. He’s so versatile; he can afford to have his driving motivation left out in order to make way for stories that are simply fun adventures…with all the gadgetry and panache.

The cast of the series is a wonderful collection…with all the humor and theatrics one would need to perform in this particular portrait of Gotham.

Adam has a wonderful sense of authority in the role, which in turn gives him real presence on screen. His chemistry with Burt Ward is just infectious and you can really tell they had so much fun making the show.

Burt’s take on Robin has become legendary in its own right with his character trait of spewing camp one-liners…all beginning with the notorious ‘Holy’ gag.

“Holy Missing Relatives!”
“Holy Zorro!”
“Holy Pin Cushions!”
“Holy Safari!”
“Holy Molars!”
“Holy Hollywood!”
“Holy Ten Toes!”
“Holy Uncanny Photographic Mental Processes!”
“Holy Robert Louis Stevenson!”
“Holy Karate!”
“Holy Contributing to the Delinquency of Minors!”

(just so you know…those are all real!)

Aside from our dynamic duo, we also got a very sexy Batgirl courtesy of Yvonne Craig…complete with a dazzling purple costume (although her dainty kicks as the result of producers feeling it wouldn’t be right to have her slug anyone are a bit of a let down in the battle for feminist equality).

We also get some memorable turns from the supports for our heroes.

I love Neil Hamilton’s grandfatherly approach to Commissioner Gordon…that made the character very admirable and a joy to watch whenever he was on screen. And the ever-loyal Alfred delivered by Alan Napier has a similar quality that truly makes you feel that there’s a sense of love and family within the halls of Wayne Manor.

But who could ever forget Stafford Repp and his insistently goofy, overtly Irish Police Chief O’Hara!? I just LOVE that character and it’s amazing to see that he’s still around in some aspects of the mythology (O’Hara makes a cameo appearance in Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s “Batman: Dark Victory” graphic novel…and plays a major role in John Fiorella’s “GRAYSON” Fan Trailer).

As with several incarnations of Batman, some of the greatest casting was left in the hands of the villains…and “BATMAN” is no exception.

Making his debut in the pilot two-parter, Frank Gorshin gave a wonderfully kinetic rendition of the Riddler throughout the show until he left (he was replaced by the impressively mustached John Astin for the show’s third season) and made a lasting impression that continues even today (most people make note of Jim Carrey’s take on the character in “Batman Forever” being inspired by Frank).

There’s also Burgess Meredith as a very dapper and comedic Penguin, possibly my 2nd favorite villain from the show…he went on to co-star in the original “Clash of the Titans” and it’s tremendous to see his range going from the comedy of “BATMAN” to the drama of later performances.

Of course no one can forget Cesar Romero…the Latin Lover himself…taking on a manic and kooky depiction of the Clown Prince of Crime. One of the funnier aspects of Romero taking on the role was that he was so attached to his moustache (being that it was the trademark that identified him with his fans) that he refused to shave it for the Joker. You can even see it poking out from the white make up!

But my favorite villain…or should I say villainess…has to be Catwoman.

Initially, she was portrayed by Julie Newmar…easily one of the most statuesque women ever and she gave Catwoman a sense of uncanny eroticism despite the child-like atmosphere.

There was also Eartha Kitt and she was probably the most iconic in the role for her trademark ‘purr.’ That voice, y’know…oh wow!

Aside from the known rogues, the show made the decision to incorporate its own adversaries to challenge Batman…especially by the show’s third season.

There was the dastardly Shame…played by Cliff Robertson (who portrayed Uncle Ben in the “Spider-Man” films!) and the notorious King Tut. How about the Egg-themed criminal Egghead, portrayed by the one and only Vincent Price (!!!) or the nefarious Queen of Hearts.

“Batman” was also revered for its laundry list of sensational guest stars…who would appear in a window as Batman and robin ritualistically climbed up the side of some Gotham Skyscraper.

Rob Reiner, Terri Garr, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Liberace…even ole’ Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra…all made cameos on the series.

The show is ultimately best known for its dry wit and sense of farcical humor…as evidenced on several occasions.

One of the most notorious HAS to be the epic…the dreadful…and the controversial “Bat-Tusi” dance, as performed by Adam himself while attending a bar as part of a case investigation trying to track down the Riddler. Of course this is NOT before he asks to stand at the bar in costume so he wont “attract attention” (!) and orders himself a tall glass of drugged OJ!

“you shake a pretty mean cape, Batman!”

Oy jeez…Double jeez haha.

Even worse…the Bat-Tusi makes an encore appearance when King Tut drives Batman to insanity…or so he thinks (take it from me, how Batman explains his retaining of rational thought? PRICELESS!).

At least fellow TV heroes Green Hornet and Kato made a handful of appearances. To think…Bruce Lee himself was involved with “Batman” in some way. FANTASTIC!

The series was also known for its trademark opening theme song composed by Neal Hefti…so much so that the theme has gone on to be mocked constantly whenever Batman comes up as a subject. Even so, it’s quite the catchy tune!

And how about the clever idea to make the comic book come to life with the use of cartoon sound effect balloons?

True, many of the episode scenarios are just laughably ridiculous (The Joker wants to become the king of surfing! The Riddler challenges Batman to a Boxing match! Mr. Freeze steals Diamonds!…oh wait…) but y’know what? I can never get enough. Watching the 60s “BATMAN” show is just too much FUN!

Besides…who says you have to be dark and grim all the time? Every so often the sight of Adam and Burt in satin capes running around the docks in daylight or cruising the boulevard in, what I still believe, is arguably the greatest Batmobile EVER can be just as enjoyable when it’s seen as it should be…nothing more than a presentation of another side to Batman.

Just as valid…just as enjoyable.

This TV show was 60 Pop Art at its zenith, pure and simple.

It’s fun…it’s campy…and yet it’s still Batman.

A wonderfully nostalgic footnote in the dark knight’s history, “BATMAN” will (or at least should) hold a special place in the hearts of fans for generations to come.

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[CFE]

BATMAN: The Movie (1966)

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Directed by ... Leslie H. Martinson
Written by ... Lorenzo Semple Jr.
Based on the DC Comics Characters Created by ... Bob Kane and Bill Finger

Produced by ... William Dozier and Charles B. Fitzsimons
Cinematography by … Howard Schwartz
Set Decoration by … Chester L. Bayhi and Walter M. Scott
Art Direction by … Serge Krizman and Jack Martin Smith
Costume Design by …
Editing by ... Harry W. Gerstad
Original ‘BATMAN’ Theme Composed by … Neal Hefti
Original Motion Picture Score Composed by ... Nelson Riddle

Adam West ... Bruce Wayne/Batman
Burt Ward ... Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson/Robin
Lee Meriwether ... Ms. Kitka/Catwoman
Cesar Romero ... The Joker
Burgess Meredith ... The Penguin
Frank Gorshin ... The Riddler
Alan Napier ... Alfred
Neil Hamilton ... Commissioner Gordon
Stafford Repp ... Chief O'Hara
Madge Blake ... Aunt Harriet Cooper
Reginald Denny ... Commodore Schmidlapp
Milton Frome ... Vice Admiral Fangschliester
Gil Perkins ... Bluebeard
Dick Crockett ... Morgan
George Sawaya ... Quetch
William Dozier ... Narrator (voice)​

The Dynamic Duo faces four super-villains who plan to hold the world for ransom with the help of a secret invention that instantly dehydrates people.

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Having, losing, gaining... despite my literally being born into the Bat-Mania of 1989, I know that to a generation of kids this WAS Batman. Only when Tim Burton reinvented the big screen perception of the "caped crusader" did it become outdated.

But no amount of contemporary interpretations will ever change the fact that the 60s "Batman" Series and Film is still as bombastic and fun as ever. This is a fantastic movie, how could anyone not love it? It's funny, it's memorable...It's a pure gem.

When Batman and Robin (Adam West and Burt Ward) are sent on a wild goose chase that acts as a cover for the kidnapping of Commodore Schmidlapp (Reginald Denny) and his yacht they try to work out which super criminal could have masterminded such a fiendish ploy. Investigating the tools used to stage the diversion, Batman and the boy wonder find themselves under attack and narrowly escape death due to the fearless sacrifice of a passing porpoise. As they gather the clues together they come to a terrifying conclusion – that several of Gotham's top super criminals…The Joker (Cesar Romero), The Penguin (Burgess Meredith), The Riddler (Frank Gorshin) and Catwoman (Lee Meriwether) have come together for one attempt to bring the city to its knees.

Now of course, if you're not the biggest fan of the television show, then it goes without saying that you're not going to be pleased with the film, which in essence is a big-budget elongated episode.

The film benefits from having quite high production values (it never feels or looks cheap) and having a script that gets the mood right.

Personally I found it all very funny and felt that it included several bang-on set pieces, the most enjoyable of which being Batman's attempts to get rid of a bomb without harming nuns, young lovers or ducks.

As he rightly notes…"Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb!”

And of course, who could forget the now infamous opening sequence that finds Batman delivering stomach punches and heel-kicks to a Shark (!), Robin setting the Bat-Copter on Auto Pilot so he can properly deliver Batman a can of Shark-Repellent Bat Spray (!!) and the Shark eventually falling back into the ocean and exploding (!!!).

In fact, "Batman: The Movie" is another one of those infinitely quotable Comic Book Films.

A personal favorite, courtesy of Commissioner Gordon:

"Penguin, Joker, Riddler...and Catwoman to...the sum of the angles of that rectangle is too monstrous to contemplate!"

The cast is also great and the film is the better for having so many of the villains all in the one vehicle (literally – a submarine!). West is great – very dry delivery of even the silliest material and he is well supported by Ward's Robin who has some hilarious lines as always. The villains are good even if they spend more time trying to out-ham one another than working together to make a large impression. Romero and Gorshin are good but not as well used as Meredith, but I was a little disappointed in Meriwether's Catwoman because I didn't find her as feline or as feminine as I should have done. Napier does his part as a noble Alfred and, as always, it was very nice to see Neil Hamilton's grandfatherly take on Commissioner Gordon and the lovably bumbling Chief O'Hara portrayed by Stafford Repp.

Some of the material in "Batman: The Movie" is so silly it almost goes too far. If you put your tongue into your cheek you may choke, and seeing a Pentagon head playing tiddlywinks eggs the joke a little, though the whole thing is so well-meaning that you simply can't hold it against the movie. The plot, though, really isn't up to much at all, something I never noticed as a child (but then I never realized it was a comedy when I was a child, either).

A repetitious sequence of events that sees the villains constantly trying to destroy Batman and Robin from afar, the heroes trying to locate their secret base.

It goes round in circles, but a glorious "Biff! Pow!" fight on a submarine and a sideways swipe at eugenics make sure it all ends in style.

Overall, some viewers may find this annoying and tiring in its unrelenting silliness but for my money it was pitched just right with its only real flaw being the fact that it could have been a little shorter. The film looks great, the score is infectious, the script is full of very droll and silly lines that you'll either find hilarious or stupid, and a cast that manages to deliver the silliest material with a dry wit that is practically the same as winking at the audience.

Even though it may not be the Batman character as I think of him, it is still a 'Batman' that I recognize...and a great fun film if you're in the mood.

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The Adventures of Batman & Robin
The New Adventures of Batman
The Filmmation Series
(1968/1977/1985)

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Episodes Directed by …

Filmmation Studios

Episodes Written by …

Len Janson (6 episodes)
Chuck Menville (6 episodes)
Mark Fink (3 episodes)
Arthur H. Nadel (2 episodes)

Based on the DC Comics Character Created by ... Bob Kane and Bill Finger

Series Executive Produced by …

Norm Prescott
Lou Scheimer

Series Produced by ...

Don Christensen

Series Art Direction by …

Alberto De Mello
Herb Hazelton

Series Editing by …

Jim Blodgett
Doreen A. Dixon

Original Television Soundtrack Composed by …

Ray Ellis
Norm Prescott

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Olan Soule … Bruce Wayne/Batman '68
Adam West ... Bruce Wayne/Batman '77
Casey Kasem … Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson/Robin '68
Burt Ward … Richard ‘Dick’ Grayson/Robin '77
Olan Soule ... Alfred Pennyworth '68
Jane Webb … Barbara Gordon/Batgirl '68
Melendy Britt … Barbara Gordon/Batgirl '77
Ted Knight ... Police Commissioner James Gordon '68
Lennie Weinrib … Police Commissioner James Gordon '77
Larry Storch ... The Joker
Lou Scheimer … Bat-Computer/Bat-Mite

With the frequent aid of Batgirl and Bat-Mite, Batman and Robin fight crime to protect peaceful Gotham City.

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Key Episodes:

“The Joke’s on Robin”
"It's a Mad, Mad, Mad Tea Party"
"Two Penguins Too Many"
“The 1001 Faces of the Riddler”
"The Cool Cruel Mr. Freeze"
"Your Crime is My Crime"
“The Crime Computer”
"Will the Real Robin please Stand Up"
“The Pest”
“True Identity”
“Curses! Oiled Again!”
“Bite-Sized”
“He Who Laughs Last”
“The Deep Freeze”
“Have an Evil Day” Part I
“Have an Evil Day” Part II
“This Looks Like a Job for Bat-Mite!”​

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At the height of Saturday Morning glory, you’d be hard pressed to find a more suitable and worthwhile character than Batman.

A perfectly cartoonish example of this is 1968/1977/1985’s “The (New) Adventures of Batman.”

Following the example set by Bill Dozier’s campy live action endeavor, “The New Adventures of Batman” set out to create a show that was even MORE over the top…even MORE farcical…even MORE entertaining. In some ways, given the liberties of animation, it succeeded.

In this incarnation, Batman and Robin continue on in their battle against crime in Gotham City with the occasional help from Commissioner Gordon, Batgirl…and a mischievous inter-dimensional imp named Bat-Mite!

Together, the dynamic duo tackle old foes like The Joker, The Penguin, Catwoman and Clayface…as well as some new dastardly evil-doers like the Moonman, Zarbor, Sweet Tooth and Professor Bubbles! All with the aid of the reliable Bat-Computer as well as an array of Bat-Gadgets and Bat-Vehicles!

Running a handful of episodes on and off from 1968, 1977 and 1985 on ABC and CBS, “The New Adventures of Batman” is campy, kid friendly Batman at its zaniest, its grooviest and its most innocent.

No murdered parents…no tortured souls.

This is pure sugar…popcorn…bubble gum, pure and simple.

But that’s Batman for you. No other character in the history of comic books could possibly endure battling a villain like Professor Bubbles and making it through to see today.

The cast is wonderful considering what little they’re given as far as motivation and what not.

Olan Soule and Casey Kasem (if Kasem sounds familiar he should…he’s the voice of Shaggy from “Scooby Doo.&#8221 respectively began the show as Batman and Robin and I always loved their voices. Later on in the ’77 version, the ever faithful Adam West and Burt Ward returned to their characters for the first time in almost ten years and THAT was a rare treat!

Aside from Batman and Robin themselves, everyone else…from the villains to Commissioner Gordon…are pretty standard.

One of the standout characters, however, HAD to be Bat-Mite. A staple from the 50s comics more akin to the science fiction oriented stories from that decade, Bat-Mite is pretty much Batman’s answer to the Great Gazoo from “The Flintstones”…except not all his Bats are in the Belfry (Ba Da BUMP!). More often than not, Bat-Mite’s interference would lead to the criminal getting away or keep Batman and Robin from doing their job.

The series is most well known for the fact that, being animation, it was able to take the ‘theatre of the absurd’ approach of the 60s television series and heighten it ten fold.

Adam and Burt couldn’t be shown going to space or the depths of the ocean…but in animation, well…the sky was the limit. In fact there WAS no limit!

Some of the episodes DID actually manage to inject some characterization where possible however…such as the 1968 episode “The Joke’s on Robin,” where Robin’s failed attempts to catch the Joker lead to emotional anxiety that forces Robin to temporarily sit the case out so Batman can do his job properly…at least until Robin gains his confidence back.

But for the most part, it’s candy-floss.

Some of the villains created from the show are just flat out ridiculous.

Case in point…the diabolical Sweet Tooth. He (you guessed it) uses candy and other sweets in schemes to rot the teeth of Gotham City’s children.

I’m being completely serious.

The art direction for the show is pretty nice…the fimmation technique of minimal animation always has a nostalgic charm when you watch it.

In the end, “The New Adventures of Batman” is genuinely harmless…which probably makes it the single BEST way to introduce toddlers and little children into the Batman universe.

And there’s certainly nothing wrong with that.

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