Trailer of Batman

In 1938 DC Comics was profiting excitedly from its new phenomenon: Superman. DC publisher Vin Sullivan would tell anyone and everyone that he wanted to have another superhero for the Detective Comics series. Bob Kane was one of those who heard Sullivan’s talk. Late one night in 1939, Kane set to work and by morning he had created one of the most popular characters in American history: Batman.


In Detective Comics 33 (November 1939) his origin was fully fleshed out. The story of a boy who saw his parents murdered and then set out to ‘avenge’ them took hold of comic book readers and Batman’s popularity soared higher. In spring of 1940 he became the star of a second comic title: Batman. That spring also added an important piece of the Batman legend: Detective Comics 38 gave us the first appearance of Robin. Robin was an immediate boost to the title, lightening up the series while giving it added weight among the younger readers.
One of the most popular and important pieces of the Batman myth are the villains. Batman may have more recognizable villains than any other superhero. That first issue of Batman presented the first appearances of two of the most popular: The Joker and The Cat (who over time would become “Cat woman”). In 1941 a ‘cartooney’ version of the Penguin appeared and in 1942 Two-Face (inspired by Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) stole onto the scene.
As the 1940’s continued, Batman assisted the war effort – selling war bonds and even (in the comic books at least) visiting the US President in Washington DC. From the 1940’s and on into the 1950’sBatman became more of an amiable character, who was gradually moving out of the shadows. This was to become even more pronounced in 1954 with the publication of The Seduction of the Innocent, a book that denounced comic books and lambaste

As the 1950’s and 60’s persisted Batman became even more detached from his initial origins and the stories became more and more implausible (even by comic standards) and sales of Batman were in decline. It would appear that the 1960’s might be the one entity to defeat Batman. Consequently Batman effectively became a guest star in his own publication with the introduction of Bat-Girl, Bat-Hound and even the bizarre Scrappy-Do-segue, Bat-Mite Them for corrupting the minds and hearts of American children.

Now that The Dark Knight has crossed the magic $500 million barrier at the US box office and grossed over $900 million worldwide, Batman is once again a true cultural phenomenon. It is perhaps now relevant and interesting to look at the history of the character to see how the he has had such an enduring appeal over the last 70 years.