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To learn HOW to get them, there is a video in the description that outlines six ways
that you can get an entry and you can do all of them, if you're really a diehard.
Now let's get onto the video.
Welcome to IAYTD and welcome to this week’s What Is, focused on one of the most iconic
superheroes of all time: Batman.
We’re going to dive into the history of the character, what makes him such an interesting
character, and some ways that he’s woven into pop culture.
It all began in 1939 when Batman first appeared in an issue of Detective Comics.
This singular issue is so popular that a copy sold in an auction in 2010… for over a million
dollars.
The character was created for this issue by two men, Bob Kane and Bill Finger.
There’s a bit of controversy here, as only Bob Kane was credited with Batman’s creation
until 2015.
That was part of the contract supposedly, but more and more details have been coming
to light about Bill Finger’s contributions, which included turning the red-tight wearing
Batman into the much darker visual aesthetic that we’re used to.
Finger also came up with the real name of Batman: Bruce Wayne, as well as the name Gotham
City, and many of Batman’s supporting characters including Robin and the Joker.
But he was supposedly content with just having a job so didn’t fight for his name to be
included in the contract.
Only recently through research and interviews about this, did DC Comics finally start to
include Bill Finger’s name as the co-creator of the character.
Batman and his story arcs in Detective Comics took hold and had a steady popularity, even
through the 50s when general interest in comics was starting to lessen.
It was really slumping until a risk paid off when the Batman television show in 1966 really
took off and increased comic book sales tremendously.
This show embraced the campy nature of the time, including large text on the screen to
resemble the look of the comic books.
While often looked back on with nostalgia, the show only lasted three seasons but managed
a surprising 120 episodes.
When the show was eventually cancelled, the comic book also took a dive.
Throughout the 70s and 80s, circulation was still low, hitting an all-time low in 1985.
Time to take another risk.
Along came The Dark Knight Returns, written by Frank Miller.
This story featured an older Batman, one who was retired from crimefighting.
It was a dark story and one that highly inspired the 2016 film Batman v Superman, at least
in tone and some aspects of the story.
This arc not only reinvigorated the franchise once again but is still considered one of
the best Batman stories out there.
This led to a series of stories that would push the boundaries of what was acceptable
in comic books, including major characters going through traumatic experiences, torture,
and even death.
This shift in tone made its way to the big screen with a Batman feature film in 1989,
starring Michael Keaton and directed by Tim Burton.
The first two Batman films in this series are generally well-regarded but the last two
made a dramatic shift almost back in the campy nature of the original TV series, including
a punny Arnold Scwarchzengerr as Mr. Freeze and a whacky Jim Carrey as the Riddler.
"Alright everyone, chill."
"Chill!
Chill!"
With these last two movies almost universally disliked, the films took a hiatus.
Batman found more success on the smallscreen at this time too, with Batman the Animated
Series in 1992.
During this time, we’d get some of the most iconic performances for some of these characters
including voice actor Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hammil, Luke Skywalker from Star
Wars, as the Joker.
"Sherlock Holmes has his Professor Moriarty.
Batman has his Joker.
That's why the Joker's endured for so long.
Most people would just go out and commit the crime.
He likes to announce that he's going to do things and challenge you to stop him."
To this day, these actors are still performing as these characters including video games
and animated movies.
The next big leap for Batman came in 2005 when the Christopher Nolan trilogy kicked
off, with the highlight being the middle film The Dark Knight, featuring an incredible performance
by Heath Ledger, which won him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, unfortunately just
months after he passed away.
These movies were known for being dark and gritty and even influenced other film franchises
to take that turn and make superheroes more grounded.
The reason this grounded approach works for Batman, and not so much with other heroes,
is that Batman is grounded.
He’s one of the few superheroes in mainstream pop culture that has zero powers.
He’s a guy and this makes him as a character extremely relatable.
When he faces off against Superman, an alien that is nearly unstoppable, you’re rooting
for the underdog.
His lack of powers also translates to his villains, known as his rogues gallery.
While some of his villains might have strange powers or weapons, most of them are just insane.
These make for extremely dangerous and often intriguing villains.
Batman as a character is also known for his detective skills, harkening way back to his
origins in Detective Comics.
He has to use his brain and technology to figure out creative solutions to difficult
situations.
Most notably, Batman is known for figuring out ways to stop all of his superpowered allies,
in case he ever needs to stop them.
This happened in the comics in a story arc called Tower of Babel and was somewhat translated
to an animated movie called Justice League: Doom.
Another aspect that really deserves an entire video, is Batman’s constant sidekick, a
character named Robin.
Casual fans may not know that there have been quite a few Robins since the creation of Batman.
Most of them have grown up and taken on new titles, such as Nightwing and the Red Hood.
His dynamics with the various Robins often serve a central role in his stories.
Let's talk for a second about Batman's origin...
When he was just a kid, the poor guy saw both of his parents killed in front of him.
He grew up looking for vengeance against the guy who committed the crime, as well as wanting
to stop other senseless acts of violence in the city.
His origin has been explored greatly, in most of his movie and animated outings, so I'm
not going to go into too much depth.
So let's flash forward to today.
Currently, we’re seeing a new iteration of the character on the big screen, in the
DC Cinematic Universe, played by Ben Affleck.
He is set to appear not only in future solo Batman movies, but also Justice League group
movies and even a small role in the upcoming Suicide Squad film, focused on various villains
from the DC universe.
So those are the basics.
I know we missed a lot of variations of TV shows and moments from the comics, but this
character has too much rich history to really cover in just a few minutes.
This is a fascinating character that has managed to survive and adapt through many iterations
and is continuing to do so.
In the comments, let me know your favorite things about Batman.
It could be movies, comics, shows, anything.
Let’s celebrate the Dark Knight.
JOKER: Come on Bruce, you can't die.
I didn't kill you!