Batman (franchise)
Since his first appearance in 1939, Batman has been adapted into various media such as film, radio, television, and video games, as well as numerous merchandising items. The Batman franchise has become one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.
Film[edit]
Early films and serials[edit]
Live-action[edit]
A number of Batman theatrical films have been made. There have also been several attempted projects during the hiatus between Batman & Robin and Batman Begins.
Serials[edit]
- 1943: Batman; 15 chapters starring Lewis Wilson as Batman and Douglas Croft as Robin
- 1949: Batman and Robin; 15 chapters starring Robert Lowery as Batman and Johnny Duncan as Robin
Batman Dracula[edit]
In 1964, a Batman Dracula black and white American superhero film, was produced and directed by Andy Warhol. Few scenes survive to this day, as it was an unauthorized production, simply known because of Warhol's fame.
Batman[edit]
In 1966, a Batman feature film based on the contemporaneous Batman television series was released. It starred Adam West as Batman, Burt Ward as Robin, Cesar Romero as the Joker, Burgess Meredith as the Penguin, Frank Gorshin as the Riddler, and Lee Meriwether as Catwoman.
Tim Burton series[edit]
|Occupation||Films|
|Batman||Batman Returns|
|Director||Tim Burton|
|Producer(s)||Jon Peters||Denise Di Novi|
|Screenwriter(s)||Sam Hamm||Wesley Strick|
|Story by||Sam Hamm||Daniel Waters|
|Cinematographer||Roger Pratt||Stefan Czapsky|
|Composer||Danny Elfman|
|Editor(s)||Ray Lovejoy||Chris Lebenzon|
|Batman portrayer||Michael Keaton|
(1989)
(1992)
Peter Guber
Tim Burton
Warren Skaaren
Joel Schumacher series[edit]
|Occupation||Films|
|Batman Forever||Batman & Robin|
|Director||Joel Schumacher|
|Producer(s)||Tim Burton||Peter MacGregor-Scott|
|Screenwriter(s)||Akiva Goldsman||Akiva Goldsman|
|Story by||Lee Batchler|
|Cinematographer||Stefan Czapsky||Stephen Goldblatt|
|Composer||Elliot Goldenthal|
|Editor(s)||Dennis Virkler||Dennis Virkler|
|Batman portrayer||Val Kilmer||George Clooney|
(1995)
(1997)
Peter MacGregor-Scott
Janet Scott Batchler
Mark Stevens
The Dark Knight Trilogy[edit]
|Occupation||Films|
|Batman Begins||The Dark Knight||The Dark Knight Rises|
|Director||Christopher Nolan|
|Producers||Charles Roven||Emma Thomas|
|Screenwriter(s)||Christopher Nolan||Jonathan Nolan|
|Story by||David S. Goyer||Christopher Nolan|
|Composer(s)||Hans Zimmer||Hans Zimmer|
|Cinematographer||Wally Pfister|
|Editor(s)||Lee Smith|
|Batman portrayer||Christian Bale|
(2005)
(2008)
(2012)
Emma Thomas
Larry Franco
Charles Roven
Christopher Nolan
David S. Goyer
Christopher Nolan
David S. Goyer
James Newton Howard
DC Extended Universe and DC Black[edit]
|Occupation||DCEU Films||DC Black Films|
|Batman v Superman:||Suicide Squad||Justice League||Zack Snyder's||The Flash||Joker[1][2]|
|Director||Zack Snyder||David Ayer||Zack Snyder/Joss Whedon||Andrés Muschietti||Todd Phillips|
|Producers||Charles Roven||Charles Roven||Charles Roven||Charles Roven||Michael Disco||Todd Phillips|
|Screenwriter(s)||Chris Terrio||David Ayer||Chris Terrio||Chris Terrio||Christina Hodson||Todd Phillips|
|Story by||Chris Terrio and Zack Snyder|
|Composer(s)||Hans Zimmer||Steven Price||Danny Elfman||Junkie XL||TBA||Hildur Guðnadóttir|
|Cinematographer||Larry Fong||Roman Vasyanov||Fabian Wagner||TBA||Lawrence Sher|
|Editor(s)||David Brenner||John Gilroy||David Brenner||TBA||TBA||Jeff Groth|
|Batman portrayer||Ben Affleck||Ben Affleck & Michael Keaton||Dante Pereira-Olson|
Dawn of Justice
(2016)
(2016)
(2017)
Justice League
(2021)
(2022)
(2019)
Deborah Snyder
Richard Suckle
Deborah Snyder
Jon Berg
Geoff Johns
Deborah Snyder
Bradley Cooper
Emma Tillinger Koskoff
David S. Goyer
Joss Whedon
Scott Silver
Junkie XL
Richard Pearson
Martin Walsh
Animated[edit]
Featuring Batman[edit]
- 1993: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, an animated theatrical feature tie-in for Batman: The Animated Series; starring Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as the Joker, and Dana Delany as Andrea Beaumont/The Phantasm
- 1998: Subzero, set in the continuity of Batman: The Animated Series, with Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
- 2000: Return of the Joker, set in the continuity of Batman Beyond, with Will Friedle and Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
- 2003: Mystery of the Batwoman, set in the continuity of The New Batman Adventures, with Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
- 2005: The Batman vs. Dracula, set in the continuity of The Batman, with Rino Romano voicing Batman
- 2008: Batman: Gotham Knight, a collection of 6 original shorts with different animation styles, with Kevin Conroy voicing Batman.
- 2010: Under the Red Hood, an adaptation of Batman: Under the Hood, with Bruce Greenwood voicing Batman
- 2011: Year One, an adaptation of Batman: Year One, with Benjamin McKenzie voicing Batman
- 2012: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - Part 1, an adaptation of the first half of The Dark Knight Returns, with Peter Weller voicing Batman
- 2013: The Dark Knight Returns - Part 2, an adaptation of the second half of The Dark Knight Returns, with Peter Weller voicing Batman
- 2013: DC Super Heroes Unite with Troy Baker voicing Batman
- 2014: Son of Batman, a loose adaptation of Batman and Son, with Jason O'Mara voicing Batman
- 2014: Assault on Arkham, set in the continuity of Batman: Arkham, with Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
- 2015: Batman vs. Robin, a loose adaptation of Court of Owls,[3] with Jason O'Mara voicing Batman
- 2015: Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts, with Roger Craig Smith voicing Batman
- 2015: Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem, with Roger Craig Smith voicing Batman
- 2016: Batman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants, with Roger Craig Smith voicing Batman
- 2016: Batman: Bad Blood, an animated film also featuring Batwoman and Batwing with Jason O'Mara voicing Batman and Sean Maher voicing Dick Grayson/Nightwing as Batman
- 2016: Batman: The Killing Joke, an adaptation of Batman: The Killing Joke, with Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
- 2016: Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders, an animated film based on the contemporaneous Batman television series; starring Adam West as Batman, Burt Ward as Robin, and Julie Newmar as Catwoman
- 2017: Batman and Harley Quinn, an original animated film in the style of Batman: The Animated Series, with Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
- 2017: Batman vs. Two-Face, an animated film based on the 1960s Batman television series; starring Adam West as Batman, Burt Ward as Robin, and Julie Newmar as Catwoman
- 2018: Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, an animated film based on the graphic novel, with Bruce Greenwood voicing Batman.
- 2018: Batman Ninja, a Japanese CG-animated film by Kamikaze Douga,[4] with Kōichi Yamadera and Roger Craig Smith voicing Batman in Japanese and English respectively.
- 2019: Batman: Hush, an animated film based on the Batman: Hush comic book story arc, with Jason O'Mara voicing Batman
- 2019: Lego DC Batman: Family Matters, with Troy Baker reprising his role.
- 2020: Batman: Death in the Family, with Bruce Greenwood reprising his role.
- 2021: Batman: Soul of the Dragon, an original story with David Giuntoli voicing Batman
- 2021: Batman: The Long Halloween - Part 1, with Troy Baker reprising his role
- 2021: Batman: The Long Halloween - Part 2, with Troy Baker reprising his role
Team-Ups[edit]
- 1997: The Batman/Superman Movie: World's Finest
- 2008: Justice League: The New Frontier, based on the comic of the same name, with Jeremy Sisto voicing Batman
- 2009: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, based on the comic of the same name, with Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
- 2010: Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, a loose adaptation of various DC comics, with William Baldwin voicing Batman
- 2010: Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, based on Superman/Batman: The Supergirl from Krypton, with Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
- 2010: DC Super Friends, based on the Fisher-Price toyline, with Daran Norris voicing Batman
- 2012: Justice League: Doom, based on JLA: Tower of Babel, with Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
- 2013: Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, based on Flashpoint, with Kevin McKidd and Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
- 2014: JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time, an original story with Diedrich Bader voicing Batman
- 2014: Justice League: War, based on Justice League: Origin, with Jason O'Mara voicing Batman
- 2014: Lego DC Comics: Batman Be-Leaguered animated television special, with Troy Baker reprising his role as Batman from the Lego video games
- 2015: Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, based on Throne of Atlantis, with Jason O'Mara reprising his role
- 2015: Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League, with Troy Baker reprising his role
- 2015: Justice League: Gods and Monsters, with Michael C. Hall voicing Batman
- 2015: Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League – Attack of the Legion of Doom, with Troy Baker reprising his role
- 2016: Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Cosmic Clash, with Troy Baker reprising his role
- 2016: Justice League vs. Teen Titans, with Jason O'Mara reprising his role
- 2016: Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Gotham City Breakout, with Troy Baker reprising his role
- 2017: Justice League Dark, with Jason O'Mara reprising his role
- 2017: DC Super Heroes vs. Eagle Talon, with Takayuki Yamada voicing Batman.[5]
- 2018: Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash, with Troy Baker reprising his role
- 2018: Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Aquaman: Rage of Atlantis, with Troy Baker reprising his role
- 2018: Scooby-Doo! & Batman: The Brave and the Bold, with Diedrich Bader reprising his role
- 2018: Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, based on Teen Titans Go!, with Jimmy Kimmel voicing Batman
- 2018: The Death of Superman, with Jason O'Mara reprising his role
- 2019: Reign of the Supermen, with Jason O'Mara reprising his role
- 2019: Justice League vs. the Fatal Five, set in the DCAU, with Kevin Conroy reprising his role
- 2019: Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, with Troy Baker reprising his role
- 2020: Lego DC: Shazam!: Magic and Monsters, with Troy Baker reprising his role
- 2020: Superman: Red Son, with Roger Craig Smith voicing Batman
- 2020: Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, with Jason O'Mara reprising his role
Web series[edit]
- 2015: Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles, with Michael C. Hall voicing Batman
- 2015: Batman Unlimited, with Roger Craig Smith voicing Batman
Other[edit]
- 2014: A Lego-themed version of Batman appears in The Lego Movie, voiced by Will Arnett
- 2017: The Lego Batman Movie, with Arnett reprising his role
- 2018: Ready Player One includes a scene set in the OASIS virtual world which has an animated Batman climbing Mount Everest. In another scene, the 1966 TV series' Batmobile participates in a car race inside the OASIS.
- 2019: The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, with Will Arnett reprising his role.
Television[edit]
Live-action[edit]
Batman (TV series)[edit]
The series premiered January 12, 1966 on ABC and ended March 14, 1968 starring Adam West as Bruce Wayne / Batman and Burt Ward as Dick Grayson / Robin. West and Ward later reprise their roles in Legends of the Superheroes.
Gotham[edit]
The series premiered September 22, 2014 on FOX and ended April 25, 2019 starring David Mazouz as a young Bruce Wayne. The series depicts young Bruce Wayne following the death of his parents. Also Bruce is 12 years old when his parents die, unlike his traditional age being 7 or 8 years old.
Titans[edit]
Batman is mentioned several times in the series before appearing in the first season finale in a dream sequence created by Trigon. Alain Moussi and Maxim Savarias portray stunt doubles. Batman's alter ego Bruce makes his full appearance in the second season, portrayed by Iain Glen.
Batwoman[edit]
Batman appears in The CW's Batwoman, portrayed by Warren Christie.
Abandoned projects[edit]
Animation[edit]
Super Friends[edit]
- 1973–86: Various Super Friends series produced by Hanna-Barbera; Olan Soule again reprises his role as Batman in all but the last two Super Friends series, where he is replaced by Adam West.1973–74: Super Friends1977–78: The All-New Super Friends Hour1978–79: Challenge of the Super Friends1979–80: The World's Greatest Super Friends1980–83: Super Friends1984–85: Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show1985–86: The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians
- 1977–78: The New Adventures of Batman, produced by Filmation; while the H-B produced Super Friends ran on ABC, Adam West and Burt Ward (Robin) voiced their previously live-action roles for this CBS cartoon series; later rerun as part of The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour (the Tarzan segments had also been previously seen as their own series)
DC Animated Universe[edit]
- 1992–2006: In The DC animated universe produced by Warner Bros. Animation; Batman is a major character and is voiced by Kevin Conroy in all appearances:1992–95: Batman: The Animated Series; the first series of the DCAU. Batman is approximately in the ninth year of his crime-fighting career, he spends much of his time fighting crime solo, as Dick Grayson/Robin by then is in college and therefore works with him semi regularly. He is also shown regularly dating Selina Kyle as Bruce Wayne. He is shown to also have a very close relationship with Commissioner James Gordon viewing him like a father figure and becomes extremely worried for him in one episode and quits for a while after he is badly injured and nearly dies after being shot by a criminal, though he comes to his senses later on.1996–99: Superman: The Animated Series; Batman first guest stars in "World's Finest", he comes to Metropolis to stop Joker, who being bankrupt allies with Lex Luthor to kill Superman for a million dollars. He also dates Lois Lane briefly much to the chagrin of Clark Kent /Superman, though they put aside their differences and work to stop Joker. He next appears in "Knight Time", where he is revealed to have gone missing leading to Superman and Robin working together to find him, and when they do find out he is under Brainiac's control, the latter wanting a secret weapon to help control the planet though he is eventually stopped. He then appears in "The Demon Reborn" where he rescues Superman from Ra's al Ghul who wanted the former's strength for immortality after the Lazarus Pits began failing due to his continuous usage. The duo then team up to stop him and the League of Shadows.1997–99: The New Batman Adventures; a continuation of Batman: The Animated Series, Bruce now works with Barbara Gordon/Batgirl and Tim Drake/Robin, the former of whose secret identity he figured out in the interim between the two shows. Dick Grayson left Gotham after an argument with Batman over knowing but not telling him Barbara's secret and his increased ruthlessness as revealed in "Old Wounds", though he eventually returns and occasionally works with him as Nightwing and despite forgiving him, does not fully reconcile with his former mentor.1999–2001: Batman Beyond; a middle-aged Batman retired from crime-fighting, after he suffered a mild heart attack during a rescue mission that forced him to use a gun in self defense, something he highly detests, though he didn't kill his attacker. Twenty years later, though initially reluctant, Bruce passes the mantle of Batman onto teenager Terry McGinnis (voiced by Will Friedle) after the latter experiences a similar tragedy to his own, the loss of a parent, thus becoming his mentor from that point onwards.2001: The Zeta Project; the future Batman guest stars in the episode "Shadows".2001–04: Justice League; the original Batman becomes one of the founding members of the League, though does not officially join them, claiming not to be a "people" person. He plays a pivotal role in stopping the Imperium Invasion in the premiere three parter episode. Meets an alternate version of himself who has become a dictator on his earth alongside his fellow lords and succeeds in convincing the latter that he is wrong and sets him on the right path, and in the three part season finale, risks his life in stopping the Thanagarian invasion. He is also shown having a mutual attraction to Wonder Woman as they flirt frequently evidenced in the episodes, "The Brave and the Bold", "Maid of Honor" and the finale where they share a kiss, while hiding from Thanagarian troops.2002–04: Static Shock; Batman guest stars in "The Big Leagues" where he and Robin help Static stop Joker and his new gang of metahumans, "Hard as Nails" where he helps Static thwart Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn's plans to use new bang baby Nails and rescue her, "A League of Their Own" where he, the Justice League, Static and Gear fight Brainiac and "Future Shock" where both he and his older self from Batman Beyond appear with the former playing a minor role alongside Robin in stopping a villain Timecode and the latter a bigger one as he helps Static and his successor Terry rescue Static's future self; he appears in his "New Batman Adventures" attire for three episodes and in his "Justice League" outfit for one episode.2004–06: Justice League Unlimited; a continuation of Justice League, he again plays instrumental roles in helping his allies, such as recruiting Green Arrow to the Justice League in "Initiation", saves Wonder Woman with help from Zatanna after she is transformed into a pig by Circe in "This Little Piggy", in that episode he reveals that though he may have feelings for Diana, does not want to enter a relationship with her as he fears that it could cause problems in the team. He demonstrates to Amanda Waller, that she is only a tool in Lex Luthor's plot to discredit the League. He also meets an alternate version of his older self and his successor Terry, in the episode "The Once and Future Thing Part Two: Time Warped" and along with Green Lantern are the only two leaguers to remember the events of the mission and here his feelings for Diana are briefly stressed here again. The episode "Epilogue", which is intended to serve as a true finale and conclusion to Batman Beyond, reveals that he is Terry's biological father, due to Waller's machinations. She came to admire and respect Batman over time after becoming a government liaison to the Justice League and seeing him save the day with his intelligence, tact and grit, despite their initially mutual hostility and thought a world without him and his skillset was unacceptable. She then created Project Batman Beyond to ensure he would have a successor, first by rewriting Warren McGinnis' DNA with a copy of Bruce's in the guise of a flu shot and then hired Bruce's former fiancée Andrea Beaumont a.k.a Phantasm, to kill Terry's parents when he was 8 years old and under the same circumstances to trigger a trauma in the boy much like his biological father, though Beaumont out of respect for Bruce and his code did not go through with it leading to Waller shutting down the project, this allowed Mary McGinnis to give birth to another son and Terry's brother Matt, who is also Wayne's biological son. Though partially complete she would eventually succeed by fate's hands after Terry's father's murder compels him to become the new Dark Knight.
Other[edit]
- 1968–69: Superman, produced by Filmation; featured Batman in Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder segments; Batman segments were later repackaged as The Adventures of Superman and Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder (voiced by Olan Soule)
- 1970: Batman appears in three animated educational shorts as part of Sesame Street's first season. Olan Soule reprises his role of Batman
- 1972: The New Scooby-Doo Movies, produced by Hanna-Barbera; Batman and Robin appeared in episodes "The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair" (9/16/72) and "The Caped Crusader Caper" (12/16/72), where Olan Soule again portrays the Caped Crusader
- 1997: Appeared in the Animaniacs episode "Boo Wonder"; Adam West reprises his role as the Caped Crusader
- 2004: Teen Titans; appears in silhouette in the episode "Haunted", in a flashback sequence
- 2004–08: The Batman; in this series, Bruce Wayne is a young crime fighter just three years into his career as Batman. He is voiced by Rino Romano
- 2005–06: In Krypto the Superdog, Batman himself makes no appearances, but his pet dog Ace the Bat-Hound does, although Ace prefers to refer to himself as "Batman's partner", rather than his pet
- 2008–11: Batman: The Brave and the Bold; based in part on the comic book series of the same name, the series has Batman (voiced by Diedrich Bader) team-up with several other DC Comics heroes
- 2010–13: Young Justice; the animated series of Young Justice features Justice League members as well as Batman voiced by Bruce Greenwood, who played the role in the animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood[6]
- 2012: Mad; when their fellow heroes feel under-appreciated, they appeal to Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman about being called "Super Friends"
- 2012–2015: Robot Chicken DC Comics Specials, featuring Seth Green as Batman
- 2012: New Teen Titans short, "Red X Unmasked"; a cameo appearance as one of the people under the mask of Red X and says his famous line from Batman: The Animated Series, "I am Vengeance, I am the Night, I am," but his mask comes off before he can say his name; voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson
- 2013–: Teen Titans Go!; Batman makes non-speaking cameo appearances in the episodes "La Larva de Amor", "Girl's Night Out", "Books", "Sidekick", "Slumber Party", "Thanksgiving" and "Real Boy Adventures". In the season five episode "Real Orangins", he is seen in a flashback to Robin's time before the Titans, explaining in a comedic fashion how Batman and Robin parted ways, Kevin Conroy reprised his role.
- 2013: Beware the Batman; a CGI animated series that features Katana as Batman's sidekick[7] (voiced by Anthony Ruivivar)
- 2016–18: Justice League Action; Batman appears as one of the three lead characters in the show, with Kevin Conroy reprising his role.[8] He has claws in his gloves in an attempt to look more slender than most other incarnations of the character. His child-self is voiced by Tara Strong.
- 2019: Unikitty!; The Lego Movie incarnation of Batman appears in the episode BatKitty with Will Arnett reprising his role.
- 2019–: DC Super Hero Girls; Batman makes occasional appearances on the series. He is voiced by Keith Ferguson.
- 2019–: Harley Quinn; Batman appears in this DC Universe animated series based on Harley Quinn, with Diedrich Bader reprising his role.
- 2019: Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?; For the fifth time, the World's Greatest Detective will team up with Mystery Inc. in the season finale of the series, with Conroy once again providing his voice.
- 2019: Young Justice: Outsiders; A continuation of Young Justice, it focuses on the events that take place directly after Young Justice.
Radio[edit]
Beginning in March 1945, Batman and Robin made regular appearances on the radio drama The Adventures of Superman on the Mutual Broadcasting System, including solo stories when series star, Bud Collyer had time off. Batman was voiced by Matt Crowley, Stacy Harris and Gary Merrill, with Ronald Liss as Robin.
Efforts were later made to launch a Batman radio series in 1943 and again in 1950, but neither came to fruition.
In 1989, an original radio drama, Batman: The Lazarus Syndrome, was produced by Dirk Maggs for BBC Radio 4. Bob Sessions was the voice of Batman.
A second Maggs production aired on BBC Radio 1 in 1994, this time adapting the comic book storyline Batman: Knightfall. It was adapted, produced and directed by Maggs—with music composed by Mark Russell—who had also made Superman: Doomsday & Beyond on BBC Radio 5. This show, however was not commissioned of its own, but rather to be three-minute episodes on the Mark Goodier Show. This meant it was written with a sense of immediacy; having to make an instant effect and each three-minute segment contains a major plot development or sound effect stunt and ends on a cliffhanger. DC acknowledged the effort in an issue Shadow of The Bat by having villains jump past a sign reading "Dirk Maggs Radio". Michael Gough reprised the role of Alfred Pennyworth from the Burton/Schumacher film series.
Newspaper[edit]
From 1943 to 1946, Batman and Robin appeared in a syndicated daily newspaper comic strip produced by the McClure Syndicate. Other versions appeared in 1953, 1966, and 1989. The original run is collected in the book Batman: The Dailies. One more comic strip series ran briefly after the success of the 1989 film.
Books[edit]
Batman appears in a novel by cyberpunk/horror novelist John Shirley, titled Batman: Dead White from Del Rey. Many other novels and short story collections featuring Batman have been published over the years, including novelizations of each of the recent movies (such as Batman and The Dark Knight Rises) and many of the comic book arcs.
There are also several more scholarly works, aimed at either Batman's history or art, such as Les Daniels' Batman: The Complete History, Will Brooker's Batman Unmasked: Analysing a Cultural Icon and compilations such as Batman: Cover to Cover: The Greatest Comic Book Covers of the Dark Knight. In 2004, The Batman Handbook: The Ultimate Training Manual, written by Scott Beatty was published by Quirk Books (ISBN 1-59474-023-2). Written in the same style as The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook series, the book explained the basics on how to be Batman. Amongst the skills included in the book are "How to Train a Sidekick", "How to Execute a Backflip", "How to Throw a Grappling Hook", and "How to Survive a Poison Gas Attack". Finally, there are of course countless sticker, coloring, activity, and other children's books featuring the Dark Knight.[9]
Foreign comics[edit]
- Batman: Child of Dreams by Kia Asamiya—manga
- Batman: Death Mask by Yoshinori Natsume—manga
- Batman by Jiro Kuwata—manga
- Batman trong Hőtữ Thần by Nguyễn Th—Vietnamese comics
Novelty singles[edit]
Several musical singles featuring cast members of the television show singing in-character were released in 1966: Burgess Meredith as the Penguin in "The Capture" and "The Escape", Frank Gorshin as the Riddler in "The Riddler", and Adam West as Batman in "Miranda". In 1976 West performed a pair of novelty songs, "The Story of Batman" and "Batman and Robin", for Target Records. All six of these recordings (sans the b-sides to Gorshin and West's singles) were later included on the 1997 compilation, Batmania: Songs Inspired by Batman TV Series.
In 1966, Burt Ward also recorded a limited "disc jokey only" release with Frank Zappa called "Boy Wonder, I Love You".
Also in 1966, British novelty group The Scaffold produced a single called "Goodbat Nightman" (lyrics by Roger McGough, who "has written several poems" about Batman and Robin).[10]
Audio drama[edit]
Following the popularity of the Adam West television series, a pair of LPs were released in 1966 on MGM's "Leo the Lion" label. Each contained three dramatizations, including stories adapted from Batman comic books:
- The Official Adventures Of Batman And Robin:The Legend of Batman and RobinThe Penguin's PlunderThe Joker's Revenge
- More Official Adventures of Batman & Robin:The Marriage of Batman and BatwomanThe Fake Boy WonderWhen Batman Became a Coward
Throughout the 1970s Batman was the subject of a number of Power Records Book-and-record sets, as well as records unaccompanied by books:[11]
45 rpm book and record sets:
- Batman: Stacked Cards
- Batman: Robin Meets Man-Bat
7" 331⁄3 rpm records no comic:
- Batman: If Music be the Food of Death
- Batman: The Scarecrow's Mirages
- Batman: Catwoman's Revenge
331⁄3 rpm 12 book and record sets:
- Batman: Gorilla City & Mystery of the Scarecrow Corpse
- Batman (Collects Stacked Cards, The Scarecrow's Mirage, Challenge of the Catwoman, If Music Be the Food of Death)
- Batman (Collects Robin Meets Man Bat, Gorilla City, Mystery of the Scarecrow Corpse, The Catwoman's Revenge)
- A Super Hero Christmas (segment Batman: Christmas Carol Caper)
The 1980 mini-series, The Untold Legend of the Batman was available in a special "MPI Audio Edition." Each of the three issues were accompanied by an audio cassette containing a performance of the text of the issue, with musical cues.
As part of its DC Superheroes collection, in 1982 Fisher-Price released Batman: The Case of the Laughing Sphinx, an audio cassette accompanied by a hard back illustrated book.
In 2007, the audiobook publisher GraphicAudio licensed DC Comics properties to adapt as audiodramas. They have produced three adaptations of Batman novels: Batman: Dead White by John Shirley, Batman: Inferno by Alex Irvine, and Alan Grant's Batman: The Stone King. Batman also appears as a supporting cast member in the GraphicAudio's adaptations of Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis and JLA: Exterminators.
Video games[edit]
Video games featuring Batman include:
- Batman (1986) for the ZX Spectrum, MSX and Amstrad PCW; now known as Batman 3D
- Batman: The Caped Crusader (1988) for various 8-bit and 16-bit platforms
- Batman (1989) for Mega Drive/Genesis, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Atari Lynx, Commodore Amiga, Sinclair ZX Spectrum and other platforms. (In October 1989, the Amiga 500 was bundled with this game as part of the Batman Pack,[12] which was sold in the United Kingdom and was a phenomenal success)
- Batman (1990) for Arcade: Based on the 1989 film
- Batman: Return of the Joker (1991) for Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Game Boy
- Batman Returns (1993) for Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super NES, Mega Drive/Genesis, Mega CD/Sega CD, Game Gear, and Atari Lynx
- Batman: The Animated Series (1993) for Game Boy
- Batman & Robin: The Animated Series (1993) for Game Gear
- The Adventures of Batman & Robin (1994) for Super NES, Mega Drive/Genesis, Mega CD/Sega CD, and Game Gear
- Batman Forever (1996) for Super NES, Game Boy, Mega Drive/Genesis, and Game Gear
- Batman Forever: The Arcade Game (1996) for Arcade, PlayStation and Sega Saturn
- Batman & Robin (1997) for Game.com and the PlayStation
- Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000) for Nintendo 64 and the PlayStation
- Batman: Chaos in Gotham (2001) for Game Boy Color
- Batman: Gotham City Racer (2001) A racing game for PlayStation
- Batman: Vengeance (2001) for Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, PC, Game Boy Advance and Xbox
- Batman: Dark Tomorrow (2003) for Xbox and Nintendo GameCube (voiced by Julian Fletcher)
- Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (2004) for PlayStation 2, Xbox, the Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance
- Batman Begins (2005) for PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance (2005)
- Batman: The Brave and the Bold – The Videogame (2010) for Wii and Nintendo DS: Based on the television series of the same name (voiced by Diedrich Bader)
- Gotham City Impostors (2012) for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Windows PC: A downloadable multi-player first-person shooter game via PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and Games for Windows Live; a "team deathmatch" game, with one team dressed like Batman and the other dressed like The Joker
- Batman: The Telltale Series (2016) for Windows PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, iOS, Android, and Nintendo Switch: An episodic adventure game (voiced by Troy Baker)
- Batman: The Enemy Within (2017) for Windows PC, MacOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iOS, Android, and Nintendo Switch: The sequel to Batman: The Telltale Series (voiced by Troy Baker)
Lego: Batman[edit]
- Lego Batman: The Video Game (2008): a video game in the style of Lego Star Wars based on the LEGO Batman toyline[13] (vocals by Steve Blum)
- Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes (2012): the sequel to Lego Batman: The Video Game (voiced by Troy Baker)
- The Lego Movie Videogame (2014): A Lego-themed version of Batman appears, voiced by Will Arnett
- Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (2014): the sequel to Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes (voiced by Troy Baker)
- Lego Dimensions (2015): Troy Baker reprises Batman in this multi-franchise game. The Lego Movie version also appears in this version voiced by Will Arnett. Batman is one of the three main heroes alongside The Lego Movie's Wyldstyle and Gandalf of Lord of the Rings as he works with them to rescue Robin from Lord Vortech. Additional content also includes an adaptation of The Lego Batman Movie.
- Lego DC Super-Villains (2018): Batman appears as a playable character, with Kevin Conroy now assuming his reprisal from Baker.
- The Lego Movie 2 Videogame (2019): A Lego-themed version of Batman appears, with Will Arnett reprising his role
Batman Arkham[edit]
- Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009) for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows PC (voiced by Kevin Conroy)
- Batman: Arkham City (2011) for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows PC and Wii U: The sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum (voiced by Kevin Conroy)
- Batman: Arkham City Lockdown (2011): spin-off to Arkham City
- Batman: Arkham Origins (2013) for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows PC and Wii U: Prequel to Arkham Asylum and Arkham City (voiced by Roger Craig Smith)
- Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate (2013) for Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita: 2.5D platform game set between Arkham Origins and Arkham Asylum.
- Batman: Arkham Knight (2015): the sequel to Arkham City and the final game in the Arkham series, for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows[14] (voiced by Kevin Conroy)[15]
Other DC Games[edit]
- Justice League Task Force (1995) for Super NES and Mega Drive/Genesis: A fighting game featuring several DC characters, including Batman.
- Justice League Heroes (2006) for Xbox, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS (voiced by Ron Perlman)
- Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe (2008) for PlayStation 3 Xbox 360: A crossover fighting game featuring characters from DC Comics and Mortal Kombat (voiced by David Gazanna)[16]
- DC Universe Online for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One: A MMORPG where Batman, among others, trains new player-controlled heroes (voiced by Kevin Conroy)
- Injustice: Gods Among Us (2013) for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, and Windows PC: A fighting game featuring several DC characters, including Batman (voiced by Kevin Conroy)
- Injustice 2 (2017) for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One: the sequel to Injustice: Gods Among Us (voiced by Kevin Conroy)
- DC Unchained (2018) for Android: A fighting game featuring several DC characters, including Batman.
- Gotham Knights (2021) for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One and PC: A videogame based on Batman's closest allies. Bruce Wayne appears in the announcement trailer for the game, voiced by Michael Antonakos.
LittleBigPlanet[edit]
LittleBigPlanet 2 (2011) for PlayStation 3 and LittleBigPlanet PS Vita (2012) for PlayStation Vita are puzzle-platform games with several DC characters, including Batman (voiced by Gary Martin).
Other video games[edit]
- The Revenge of Shinobi features a non-authorized Batman as a boss.
- The 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System game Final Fantasy features "Badman", a character with strong resemblances to Batman, as one of the enemies of the final area.
- The 2017 game Fortnite has Batman-themed merchandise such as Catwoman and Batman outfits and a Gotham City location in the map. This was added in honour Of Batman's 80th anniversary.
Musical theatre[edit]
While a parody of a Batman musical was featured in one of the most recent series' comics, in 2002, Jim Steinman, David Ives, and Tim Burton had worked on a theatre production called Batman: The Musical although it was ultimately cancelled. Steinman has revealed five songs from the musical. The first is the opening theme for "Gotham City" and the entry of Batman with his tortured solo "The Graveyard Shift"; followed by "The Joker's Song (Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?)", "The Catwoman's Song (I Need All The Love I Can Get)", "We're Still The Children We Once Were" (the climactic sequence) and "In The Land Of The Pig The Butcher Is King", sung by the corrupt blood-suckers ruling Gotham, covered on the Meat Loaf album Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose. These songs can be heard at the Batman: The Musical memorial site, Dark Knight of the Soul.
A Batman musical is also parodied in the animated series Batman Beyond. The episode "Out of the Past", (first aired October 21, 2000) opens with Bruce Wayne and Terry McGinnis attending a performance of (a fictional) Batman: The Musical, featuring caricatures of prominent members of the Rogues Gallery (the Joker, the Penguin, Two-Face, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn). Series creator Paul Dini, who wrote the episode in question, also wrote a song for the fictitious musical entitled Superstitious and Cowardly Lot.
An episode of the sketch comedy show MADtv also featured a Batman: The Musical parody called Batman V: Out of the Cave which starred Tommy Tune as Batman, and Ben Vereen as Robin.
A live stage show was also created, called Batman Live: World Tour. The show is a unique fusion of live action theatre, magic, stunts, digital projection and music from an 85-piece orchestra and choir. The tour began at Manchester, UK in Summer 2011 and visited arenas throughout the UK and Europe before arriving in North America in Summer 2012.
In 2012, the Internet theatre troupe StarKid Productions created a musical titled Holy Musical B@man!, which went on YouTube on April 13. It was performed in Chicago from March 16–25, and because of copyright laws, tickets were free. Batman is portrayed by Joseph (Joe) Walker.
Music[edit]
The album Knightfall by multinational Swedish band Silent Images, is based on the Batman: Knightfall story arc, with Batman serving as a central character, the "Nightly Priest". The album explores the underlying sociopolitical themes in the Batman universe, and his struggle against "The Venomous One", which is the album's interpretation of Bane.[17][18][19]
Fine arts[edit]
Starting with the Pop Art period, and on a continuing basis, since the 1960s, the character of Batman has been "appropriated" by multiple visual artists and incorporated into contemporary artwork, most notably by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Mel Ramos, Dulce Pinzon, Mr. Brainwash, Raymond Pettibon, Peter Saul, and others.[20][21][22][23][24][25][26]
Games, action figures, and other toys[edit]
Hundreds of Batman action figures, die-cast models, and other items have been released. Many companies have acquired the rights to make Batman merchandise, including:
- Ideal—Captain Action
- Mego—Action figures and dolls
- Corgi—Die-cast metal vehicles
- Remco—Playsets and roleplaying toys
- Toy Biz—Action figures
- Ertl—Die-cast figures & vehicles and model kits
- Applause—PVC figures and dolls
- Hasbro—Action figures
- Monogram—Bobble heads
- Mattel—Action figures and jigsaw puzzles
- Lego—Building bricks and minifigures
- Bandai Japan—SH Figuarts
Batman has appeared as a HeroClix figure, along with other Batman characters, in the following HeroClix sets:
- Hypertime
- Cosmic Justice
- Unleashed
- Legacy
- Icons
For April 2006, Lego introduced a Batman line which also includes characters such as the Joker and Two-Face, at American International Toy Fair.
Postage stamps[edit]
In 2006, the United States Postal Service (USPS) issued a DC Comics Superheroes pane of 20 stamps which included a stamp of Batman.[27]
To celebrate the 75th anniversary of Batman, USPS released a limited edition stamp series on October 9, 2014.[28] Four versions of the superhero were depicted from the four eras of comic book history: Golden, Silver, Bronze and Modern. In addition, it included four versions of the Bat-Signal.
Theme park attractions[edit]
Several Six Flags theme parks, formerly owned by Warner Bros., opened live-action "Batman Stunt Shows" as the movies increased in popularity. The now closed Six Flags Astroworld in Houston, Texas was home to a standing roller coaster known as Batman: The Escape. Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas is home to two roller coasters called Mr. Freeze, and Batman: The Ride. Six Flags México in Mexico City, Mexico has also a looping, suspended roller coaster named Batman: The Ride (Six Flags St. Louis has the same ride, as does Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois) as well as twin roller coasters named Batman and Robin: The Chiller. On the latter attraction, riders may ride on either the Batman or Robin versions of the coaster. But unfortunately in the 2007 off-season, the ride was removed after a long history of technical difficulties and occasionally breaking down. Six Flags Over Georgia contains a Gotham City area that contains the same Batman: The Ride and also features a looping coaster called The Mindbender that was adapted to fit the color tone of the Riddler after Batman Forever came out to fit the Gotham City section of the park it shares with Batman: The Ride. Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California has two Batman-themed coasters, the suspended coaster Batman: The Ride, and The Riddler's Revenge, a stand-up type roller coaster. This Six Flags park also features an entire themed area called "Gotham City" complete with architecture to match that of the fictional Gotham City. Warner Bros. Movie World in the Gold Coast, Australia, also has two Batman-themed rides. Batman Adventure – The Ride, revamped in 2001, is a motion simulator style simulator ride while Batwing Spaceshot is a vertical free-fall ride.
In 2008, The Dark Knight Coaster opened in Six Flags Great Adventure and Six Flags Great America. Based on The Dark Knight film, they are Wild Mouse roller coasters, indoors, heavily themed, and give riders a feeling that they are being stalked by the Joker. Six Flags New England was originally going to receive this roller coaster; however, due to problems with building permits, the park scratched the project and then sent the coaster to Six Flags México.
See also[edit]
- Batman (disambiguation)
- Robin in other media
- Barbara Gordon in other media
- Joker in other media
- Bane in other media
References[edit]
- ^ Davis, Brandon (October 23, 2018). "'Joker': Dante Pereira-Olson Cast as Young Bruce Wayne". ComicBook.com. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ^ Couch, Aaron (October 23, 2018). "Joker' Finds Its Young Bruce Wayne and Alfred Pennyworth". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ^ "Court of Owls will fly in 'Batman vs. Robin'". USA Today. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
- ^ Ashcraft, Brian (December 1, 2017). "First Look At The Batman Ninja Anime". Kotaku. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
- ^ "サイト名". dc-taka.com (in Japanese). Retrieved April 13, 2018.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Kevin (July 23, 2010). "Comic-Con 2010: Young Justice Goes Under Cover". UGO Networks. Archived from the original on July 26, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2010.
- ^ Harvey, James (October 4, 2011). ""Beware The Batman" CGI Animated Series Coming For 2013, "DC Nation" Updates". Worldsfinestonline.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
- ^ "Cartoon Network announces Justice League Action". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com.
- ^ "Fansite For Batman Comics, Toys, Figures, News and more!". Batman YTB. June 23, 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
- ^ Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry, page 1359; edited by Richard Ellman and Robert O'Clair; published 1973 by W.W. Norton and co.
- ^ "The Power Records Pages • Discography". Runstop.de. September 30, 2006. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
- ^ Knight, Gareth (June 17, 2002). "A500 Batman Bundle". Amigahistory.co.uk. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
- ^ Game Informer features a two-page gallery of the many heroes and villains who appear in the game with a picture for each character and a descriptive paragraph. See "LEGO Batman: Character Gallery", Game Informer 186 (October 2008): 92.
- ^ Moriarty, Colin (March 4, 2014). "The New Batman Game is Batman: Arkham Knight". IGN. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
- ^ Dyer, Mitch (March 4, 2014). "Arkham Knight Has No Multiplayer, Kevin Conroy Returns as Batman". IGN. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
- ^ "News: Batman in new Mortal Kombat - fatalities OUT". ComputerAndVideoGames.com. April 18, 2008. Retrieved June 30, 2010.
- ^ "SILENT IMAGES: Reveal cover, title and tracklist". Metal Temple. February 24, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
- ^ Cavier, Jaro (May 2016). ""Brutal, Melodico y Eclectico" - Interview with Silent Images". Metal Hammer Spain, No 342, Pg 34-35. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
- ^ Muerte, Hermanas (April 10, 2016). "Interview with Silent Images (Sweden)". Metal Girls In Action. Archived from the original on June 23, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
- ^ Martin, Deborah (June 19, 2019). "Crystal Bridges exhibit 'Men of Steel, Women of Wonder' lands in San Antonio". ExpressNews.com. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ "Men of Steel, Women of Wonder Debuts at San Antonio Museum of Art". San Antonio Magazine. June 20, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ Gural, Natasha. "Quickly To The Whitney, And Back Again To San Francisco, Chicago For Andy Warhol Beyond Superstardom". Forbes. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ Sante, Luc (May 3, 2020). "Andy Warhol, Superstar". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ Genzlinger, Neil (October 31, 2018). "Mel Ramos, Painter of Female Nudes and Comic Heroes, Dies at 83". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ Jesus, Carlos Suarez De (January 31, 2008). "Immigrants Are Superheroes". Miami New Times. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ "Mr. Brainwash will convert a Richard Meier-designed building into a Beverly Hills art museum". The Architect’s Newspaper. February 18, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ "Batman stamp, 2006". Smithsonian. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
- ^ "Exclusive! Batman 75 Stamp Set Collection Unveiled". DC Comics. September 29, 2014. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
External links[edit]
- Warner Bros. official website
- Warner Bros. official Batman Shop
- Batman Begins official site
- The New Batman Adventures—Official Warner Bros. site
- Batman: The Animated Series—Official site
- Batman Beyond—Official site
- Dark Knight of the Soul (Batman: The Musical Memorial)—Collects all known information about this canceled project, as well as Steinman's demo recordings
- Batman Films and TV series at the Internet Movie Database
- Encyclopedia of Television