Batman (franchise): Difference between revisions

Columbia Pictures released two 15-chapter, live-action movie serials, The Batman starring Lewis Wilson as Batman and Douglas Croft as Robin, (1943) and Batman and Robin starring Robert Lowery and Johnny Duncan (1949).
Batman (1966), the first feature-length adaptation, based on the TV series with Adam West and Burt Ward.
Batman (1989), directed by Tim Burton, and starring Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as the Joker. This movie introduces Batman as a brooding vigilante and dispenses with campy overtones. It relied heavily on the dark atmosphere set by the Frank Miller graphic novel: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and the comic run, Batman: Year One.
Batman Returns (1992), also directed by Burton and starring Keaton, with Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman and Danny DeVito as the Penguin.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) feature-length spinoff of Batman: The Animated Series
Batman Forever (1995), produced by Burton, directed by Joel Schumacher, and starring Val Kilmer as Batman, Chris O'Donnell as Robin, Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face, and Jim Carrey as the Riddler. The decision to continue the franchise without Burton or Keaton was controversial and opinions of the movie's quality were mixed.
Batman and Robin (1997), directed by Joel Schumacher, starring George Clooney as Batman, Chris O'Donnell as Robin, Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze, Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl, and Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy. A critical and box office embarrassment, many believe it all but destroyed the Batman film franchise and superhero films in general. It is consistently near the top in lists of "the worst movie ever made".
Batman Begins (2005), directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale as Batman, Michael Caine as Alfred, Gary Oldman as James Gordon, Liam Neeson as Ducard, Ken Watanabe as Ra's al Ghul and Cillian Murphy as the Scarecrow. An origin story that reboots the film franchise independently from the previous films. One of the few DC Comics film adaptations to have reached the IMDb.com Top 250 list. The film's critical and box office success has opened the window to an expected sequel.

Several low-budget, unauthorized Batman movies have also been made, including Batman Dracula (1964) by Andy Warhol; Batman Fights Dracula (1967), made in the Philippines; and a second Filipino movie called Alyas Batman en Robin (1993). (Critics who have seen this movie say it is very poor quality.)

Additionally, an independently funded self-promo fan film titled Batman: Dead End was produced by Sandy Collora in 2003, starring Clark Bartram as Batman. The film featured not only Batman but also Aliens and Predators from the popular 20th Century Fox film franchises, and generated considerable buzz. Another self-promo by Collora, a mock trailer for a World's Finest (movie) film also featuring Superman and several other DC superheroes, followed in 2004.

In addition to Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, a number of movies based on the animated series have been released direct-to-video: Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, and Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman. World's Finest is feature-length but made for TV, and currently available as The Batman/Superman Movie. The Batman Vs. Dracula is a spin-off movie from the 2004 animated series The Batman.

In 2003, comic book writer Mark Millar wrote an article claiming Orson Welles had once begun to make a Batman movie. The article was widely disseminated, but was later discovered to be a fraud perpetrated by Millar.

Television

In the late 1960s, the ABC Network aired a Batman television series with Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin. The series aired for 120 episodes from January 12, 1966 to March 14, 1968. It was a parody of the Batman Movie Serial starring Lewis Wilson and the comic books under the strict Comics Code Authority with high camp. It continues to be the version some associate with the Batman character, despite its being a parody and the least representative of his depiction in comics; although some comic book stories were adapted to the TV series. Although it has been disliked and denounced by some, the live-action TV show was extraordinarily popular; at the height of its popularity, it was the only prime-time TV show besides Peyton Place to be broadcast twice each week as part of its regular schedule. (This was, however, inherent in its format, typically splitting full-hour stories into two half-hour episodes to be aired different nights of the same week.)

In 2001 Onstar, DC Comics, and Warner Bros. teamed up to promote the new Onstar onboard guiding system. The comercials featured Batman using Onstar to aid him against vilians such as Joker, Riddler, and Penguin. There were six commercials which premired from 2001 to the beginning of 2002. The Actor that played Batman (Bruce Thomas) in these comercials, also played Batman in the Birds Of Prey Pilot. The Batmobile used is the one from Batman and Batman Returns. Also Michael Gough reprised the role of Alfred one last time in one of the commercials.

The character also had a cameo appearance in the short lived 2002-2003 TV series, Birds of Prey.

There have also been several TV animated series starring Batman, produced by at least three different TV animation studios. The treatment of the character has varied with the decade; the 1990s and later series have had a darker, more sincere tone which has appealed to adult viewers, while still being accessible and entertaining to children. These cartoons include:

1960s - Batman/Superman Adventure Hour by Filmation
1970s - Super Friends by Hanna-Barbera Productions
1970s - The New Adventures Of Batman by Filmation
1980s - Super Powers: Galactic Guardians by Hanna-Barbera
1990s - Batman: The Animated Series by Warner Bros.
1990s - Batman: Gotham Knights by Warner Bros.
2000s - Batman Beyond (a.k.a. Batman of the Future in Europe and Latin America) by Warner Bros.
2000s - Justice League animated series by Warner Bros.
2000s - The Batman by Warner Bros.

He also appeared in the episodes of Superman: The Animated Series Knight Time and The Demon Reborn, although in Knight Time he appeared only as Bruce Wayne.

Since 1997, Warner Bros. has released the entire run of Batman: The Animated Series on video (both VHS and DVD) in which Kevin Conroy provides the voice of Batman in what many have called an iconic portrayal. There are four volumes total, covering both Batman: The Animated Series and Batman: Gotham Knights. Two volumes cover the Superman animated series, and several stand-alone Justice League discs have been released, though no complete season collections yet.

As a side note, in the Justice League animated series' fourth season finale, it is revealed that Terry McGuinness, the Batman in the Batman Beyond animated series is actually Bruce Wayne's son, unbeknownst to either, by way of genetic manipulation.

Newspaper

From 1943 to 1946, Batman and Robin appeared in a syndicated daily and Sunday newspaper comic strip distributed by the McClure Syndicate. Other newspaper comic versions appeared in 1953, 1966, and 1989. The original run is collected in the book Batman: The Dailies.

Books

Many of the major Batman story arcs have been collected into book format, including Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns and Year One, Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Long Halloween and Dark Victory, the more recent Hush, Jim Starlin's A Death In the Family, and dozens more.

Batman is also slated to appear in a novel by cyberpunk/horror novelist John Shirley, entitled Batman: Dead White from Del Rey books. Many other novels and short story collections featuring Batman have been published over the years, including novelizations of each of the recent movies and several of the more popular 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 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 1-59-474023-2). 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 childrens' books featuring the Dark Knight.

Radio

Beginning in March 1945, Batman and Robin made regular appearances on the Superman radio drama on the Mutual Broadcasting System. Efforts were made to launch a Batman radio series in 1943 and again in 1950, but neither came to fruition.

Musical theatre

A parody of a Batman musical was featured in one of the most recent series' comics, but little did anyone know that there was some truth to the matter. As of 2005, Jim Steinman, David Ives, and Tim Burton have begun work on Batman: The Musical, set to premiere late this year. A Batman musical is also parodied in Batman Beyond. The episode "Out of the Past," (first aired October 21st, 2000) opens with Bruce and Terry attending a performance of Batman: The Musical, featuring caricatures of prominent members of the Rogues Gallery. This was in response to plans for a Batman musical which had been in place for several years, but was never produced. Series creator Paul Dini, who wrote the episode in question, also wrote a song for the fictitious musical entitled "Superstitious and Cowardly Lot."

Video games

Several Batman video games were created:

Batman for the Amstrad PCW in 1985. Now known as Batman 3D.
Batman: The Caped Crusader for various 8-bit and 16-bit platforms.
Batman for Sega 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 [1], which was sold in the United Kingdom and was a phenomenal success).
Batman: Return of the Joker for Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Game Boy.
Batman Returns for Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo (Super NES),Sega Genesis, Sega CD, Sega Game Gear, and Atari Lynx.
Batman: The Animated Series for Game Boy.
Batman & Robin: The Animated Series for Game Gear.
The Adventures of Batman & Robin for Super Nintendo (Super NES), Sega Genesis, Sega CD, and Game Gear.
Batman Forever for Super Nintendo (Super NES), Game Boy, Sega Genesis, and Sega Game Gear.
Batman Forever: The Arcade Game for Arcade, Sony Playstation and Sega Saturn.
Batman and Robin for the Tiger Game.com and the Sony Playstation.
Batman: Total Chaos for Game Boy Color.

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker for the Nintendo 64 and the PlayStation.
Batman: Vengeance for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, PC, and the Xbox.
Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu for the PlayStation 2, PC, Xbox, the GameCube and Game Boy Advance.
Batman: Dark Tomorrow for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and GameCube
Batman Begins for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube and GameBoy Advance (2005).

Batman also appears in the Justice League Task Force Super Nintendo fighting game, a couple of Justice League games for Game Boy Advance, and an arcade game based on Tim Burton's original movie. Also, the Sega Genesis game The Revenge of Shinobi features a (non-authorized) Batman as boss.

Theme park attractions

Several Six Flags theme parks, owned by Warner Brothers, opened live-action "Batman Stunt Shows" as the movies increased in popularity.

Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey is home to a looping, suspended roller coaster named "Batman: The Ride" 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.

Six Flags Over Georgia contains the same "Batman: The Ride" and also features a basic looping coaster called "The Riddle" named after one of Batman's nemeses.

Batman parodies/references

Blue Falcon and Dynomutt from Dynomutt, Dog Wonder parody Batman and Robin.

Knight Watchman (based on Batman) & Galahad the Kid Whiz (based on Robin) are Big Bang Comics recreate the golden age and silver age of comics superhero.

Midnighter from Stormwatch and The Authority is cast in the Batman mold, but with superpowers and in a homosexual relatyionship with Apollo, a Superman analogue.

Bart's favorite cartoon character in The Simpsons, Radioactive Man, and his sidekick Fallout Boy, are a clear Batman parody. Bart is also known for occasionally wearing a dark mask and cape while calling himself "Bartman."

The Tick's Die Fledermaus (German for "The Bat") is a Batman parody, with a smooth-talking, but craven personality substituted for that of Batman. In Fox's live action adaptation of The Tick, the character of Die Fledermaus was changed to "Batmanuel" and depicted as a phoney Latin lover.

Filmmaker Kevin Smith's character of Silent Bob parodied Batman in his films Mallrats and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, even going so far as to don a cape and pointed helmet. Smith continued his Batman references in his 2004 film Jersey Girl, wherein Ben Affleck's character referred to the construction vehicle he drove as the "Batmobile."

There are five versions of Nighthawk from four different dimensions in the Marvel Universe:
- The version of Nighthawk that had the most character development was arguably the second Nighthawk, due to his integration into the mainstream Marvel continuity.
- Yet, the version that the rebooted version of Nighthawk from Supreme Power is based upon is actually the version who was a member of the Squadron Supreme, who was replaced by his adopted son Neil Richmond, after his death.
- The version depicted in The Ultimates is a rebooted version of the second Nighthawk, as he is the leader of that reality's Defenders.

Darkwing Duck has various references to Batman. Several of his enemies resemble Batman's villains, much of Darkwing's gadgets resemble Batman's, and he has an alter-ego similar to Bruce Wayne.

Image Comics have several pastiches of Batman such as:
- Shadowhawk
- Rising Stars' Ravenshadow.
- Invincible's Darkwing (no relation to the duck).

Astro City contains The Confessor and Altar Boy, a riff on Batman and Robin.

Powers by Brian Michael Bendis introduced The Red Hawk and Wing, a play off of Batman and Robin. Wing is a homosexual (a reference to the accusations of Batman and Robin being gay) who, after making a pass at the Red Hawk, is beaten half to death and fired. Red Hawk is a sexual deviant who has alienated his partners in Unity (a Justice League analogue and is killed by a crazed Super-Shock, a Superman analogue.

Hawk-Owl/Jack Danner - A Batman archetype, complete with secret lair ("the Nest") and crime-fighting gadgets. Unlike Bruce Wayne, he's a socially inept middle-aged billionaire with a rather dangerous and expensive hobby who also lacks the traumatic murder experience of his DC counterpart, making him less 'severe' in some respects.

The flash series Homestar Runner has a lot of references to Batman, specifically the "No Loafing" sign in Strong Bad's Computer room. For one of the Halloween cartoons, Strong Bad dressed as Cesar Romero as the Joker, complete with powdered-over moustache.

Rat Pfink and Boo Boo, the title characters of Ray Dennis Steckler's 1966 movie, are rough parodies of the 1960s television Batman & Robin.

Spongebob Squarepants's favorite heros are Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, clearly a reference to Batman and Robin.

@@ Line 48: / Line 48: @@
 He also appeared in the episodes of [[Superman: The Animated Series]] ''Knight Time'' and ''The Demon Reborn,''  although in ''Knight Time'' he appeared only as Bruce Wayne.
-Since 1997, [[Warner Bros.]] has released the entire run of [[Batman: The Animated Series]] on video (both [[VHS]] and [[DVD]]) in which [[Kevin Conroy]] gives an iconic portrayal of Batman. There are four volumes total, covering both Batman: The Animated Series and Batman: Gotham Knights. Two volumes cover the Superman animated series, and several stand-alone Justice League discs have been released, though no complete season collections yet.
+Since 1997, [[Warner Bros.]] has released the entire run of [[Batman: The Animated Series]] on video (both [[VHS]] and [[DVD]]) in which [[Kevin Conroy]] provides the voice of Batman in what many have called an iconic portrayal. There are four volumes total, covering both Batman: The Animated Series and Batman: Gotham Knights. Two volumes cover the Superman animated series, and several stand-alone Justice League discs have been released, though no complete season collections yet.
 As a side note, in the Justice League animated series' fourth season finale, it is revealed that Terry McGuinness, the Batman in the Batman Beyond animated series is actually Bruce Wayne's son, unbeknownst to either, by way of genetic manipulation.