Miller's take the Caped Crusader helped Batman return to his ruthless roots battling crime and exploring the psychological trauma that inspired him to become the dreaded "Dark Knight." The Dark Knight miniseries inspired more dark, brooding heroes that emerged in the late 1980's and later into the 1990's. Miller can be credited saving Batman from the cheesy Adam West influence and inspiring more mature comics such as Alan Moore's Watchmen and Art Spiegelman's Maus (Both which is also be covered in the future) to emerge.
Batman (A.K.A. playboy businessman Bruce Wayne) just did not emerge out of Gotham City, did he? The Dark Knight was inspired by a number of pulp fiction heroes, including Doc Savage, The Shadow and literary legend Sherlock Holmes. Batman is not considered a "super hero" because he does not possess any special powers. The Caped Crusader uses wits, knowledge, special tactics and the cover of darkness to inspire fear on his foes as opposed to simply lifting cars and tossing them at random. His "mortal" status continues to endure along with an arsenal of gadgetry, stealth/martial arts techniques and ruthlessness the Dark Knight employs on his one-man war against crime.
Batman was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, though Kane is the "official" creator. After the success of the Superman comics, another super hero was inevitable. Kane
made sketches of who would be Batman and asked Finger to take a look. Finger suggested the domino mask be replaced with a cowl and the cape resembling bat wings (Thank you very much, Mr. Finger!). He also named Batman's alter ego Bruce Wayne, Gotham City, Gotham City's police Commissioner Jim Gordon and the Catwoman.Bill Finger was significant in Batman's creation, why is he not given credit with Kane? Kane was asked by the editor to create a new super hero, with Finger serving as an unofficial aid. Studios that produced comic strips gave credit to the original creator, so Kane had the original idea and Finger made drastic improvements!
These days, Finger is more recognized (He died in 1974) and the Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Writing is featured at Comic-Con, the largest comic book convention in the world.
Batman, naturally, is not stuck in the comics. He's an American cultural icon with the bat logo and mask recognizable even to those who don't read comics. BusinessWeek once wrote that Batman was one of the top most intelligent superheroes. The Guardian once wrote:
"Batman is a figure blurred by the endless reinvention that is modern mass culture. He is at once an icon and a commodity: the perfect cultural artifact for the 21st century."
With that comment in mind, it appears Batman will not cease continuing delivering justice (and influence) to fans and comic readers overall. He will always be here, same Bat time, same Bat channel!
Okay, I couldn't resist typing that...
- Kristopher
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