Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na, Batman!

I apologize if you now have the theme song for the old Batman TV show rolling through your head. The funny thing is that, even if you’ve never watched one single episode of that show, you know who Batman is and that the show was more corny than the fields in our area.

 

Batman is ubiquitous. You could stop 1000 random people on the street and show them a picture of the Dark Knight, and I’m sure nearly all of them could identify him. Superman might be the only superhero who is more widely-known.

 

Batman debuted in Detective Comics #27 in March 1939. That makes him 85 years old, but he still manages to patrol Gotham and fight crime. DC Comics publishes more Batman comics every month than any other character, and it’s not a close race. You will find upwards of ten or more titles with him in them at all times.

 

Why should you care about Batman on some random day in September? Batman Day is coming up! It’s celebrated on the third Saturday of September, so September 21 is the day this year. Bookstores and comic book shops have parties and giveaways. People dress up as the Caped Crusader or one of his many colorful villains to recognize the Bob Kane and Bill Finger creation.

 

And what a rogue’s gallery of villains there are! The Joker is probably the best known, especially with another movie arriving in November. There’s also Catwoman, the Riddler, Two-Face, the Penguin, the Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Clayface, and many more. I would argue that only Spider-Man can compete with Batman in original and recognizable villains.

 

What is it about Batman that has made him so popular? A few weeks ago, I wrote about why we like bad guys. Batman is not a bad guy, but he also does live on the edge between darkness and light. He doesn’t kill, and he abhors guns since his parents were shot to death in front of him as a child. But he sometimes engages in some questionable behavior by dangling people from the tops of buildings or beating a ruffian to a pulp.

 

Batman resonates with people because he doesn’t have any super powers. Folks look at him and say, “With enough work, I could be Batman.” Bruce Wayne, Batman’s true identity, is trained in many martial arts and fighting skills. He is at peak fitness, though in recent comics, they’re recognizing that, even though comics work on sliding timelines, he’s probably in his 30s. His body has taken a beating over, probably, a ten-year span of fighting crime.

 

I was first introduced to Batman, not through comic books, but when he and Robin, his sidekick, appeared on Scooby-Doo and teamed up with the canine detective. I was enthralled by the Dynamic Duo, moreso than any other guest stars that visited the Mystery Machine crew. I was reading Marvel Comics for about a decade before I explored anything from DC, but when I did, I latched onto Batman right away. 

 

The actors who have played Batman have certainly been a varied lot. Adam West played him in the television series with all the Bam! Pow! Biff! involved. Michael Keaton stepped into the first movie role in the 80s; he also reprised that role in the recent Flash movie. Val Kilmer and George Clooney did not endear themselves by putting on the Batman costume. But Christian Bale played the role in a 2000s trilogy and was excellent.

 

Ben Affleck and Robert Pattinson have been the most recent actors to put on the spandex. Pattinson was surprisingly good. But the two actors who really stand out are Kevin Conroy and Will Arnett. If you’re scratching your head, know that Conroy provided the voice in a cartoon series in the 90s and is considered the definitive voice of Batman. Arnett is the voice of Lego Batman and is quite entertaining.

 

Batman has a new cartoon on Prime called The Caped Crusader. It’s really good and makes it out as if Batman was in the 1930s, when he was first created. The settings and characters’ dialect makes it feel like it’s in the past. Batman doesn’t really have all the gadgets we see in later decades. He swings around, investigates, and punches bad guys, with nary a batarang in sight. It’s a very enjoyable view into the original iteration of Batman.

 

So work on your deep, gravelly Batman voice. See if you can sneak up on people. Get a utility belt. Batman Day is almost here!

 

Or if that’s not your thing, you can celebrate Talk Like a Pirate day on September 19 instead. Ooh, how about a pirate Batman? Ahoy, Battie!

 

Word of the Week: This week’s word is fulgent, which means shining brightly, as in, “The Bat Signal was fulgent in the Gotham sky, calling Batman to help.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!