Send up the Bat-Signal: “Batman & Bill” has the inside scoop on comics king Bob Kane and his secret collaborator.
The late Kane is known the world over as the creator of Batman, one of the most successful franchises in entertainment history. The superhero first appeared in DC Comics in 1939 and has since spawned TV series, movies and an endless stream of merchandise.
But according to “Batman & Bill,” the documentary premiering on Hulu in May, Kane hardly deserved the sole credit he routinely receives in taglines. The silent partner in the creation was Bill Finger, a writer in Kane’s studio who devised many of the most familiar elements of the Batman story, from his sidekick Robin to his trademark cowl mask.
Marc Tyler Nobleman, a comics expert whose book “Bill the Boy Wonder” inspired the documentary from filmmakers Don Argott and Sheena M. Joyce, explains why Kane overshadowed Finger for decades.
“A lot of it has to do with the times,” Nobleman told reporters at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour in Pasadena on Saturday. “This was a different era where often comic strips and sometimes comic books were created by a team and one person got the credit, the person who started what we call the shop, the studio.
“Bob Kane, at the beginning, was more dominant in a business sense,” he added. “Bill was desperate to create; he was getting a chance to write for a living. Half the country was out of work, period …. So I think he was a little bit more willing to compromise in ways that we, now, look at as unacceptable.”
“We still don’t know exactly what he did,” Nobleman added. “Whatever he did, it didn’t pay off for him, because he died with nothing.” Finger died in 1974; Kane, who conceded that Finger never received the proper recognition for his work, died in 1998.
Recent years have brought some vindication. DC Comics in 2015 cut a deal with the Finger family that gave Bill Finger credits on future “Batman” films and the TV series “Gotham.”
Nobleman says that the Hulu doc is not the end of his quest to restore a rightful place in history to Finger. “There’s still Batman fans out there who do not know, so whenever I can talk about it, I will,” he said.
Ben Affleck's 'The Batman': 12 DC Villains Who Could Hire Deathstroke (Photos)
Joe Manganiello is set to play mercenary for hire Slade Wilson, a.k.a. Deathstroke, in Ben Affleck's upcoming standalone movie "The Batman." But what villain will hire Wilson to put down Bruce Wayne? We came up with 12 possibilities.
Evolution: The Cutting-Edge Guide to Breaking Down Mental Walls and Building the Body You've Always Wanted.
12. Black Mask
Roman Sionis, a former business executive who originally hated Bruce Wayne rather than Batman, wears a black wooden mask and leads the cult-like society of False Facers. Black Mask eventually became a mob boss controlling large sections of Gotham City's criminal underworld. In the Arkham video game series, Black Mask hires Deathstroke to take out Batman.
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11. Lex Luthor
Lex Luthor tried to get Superman to fight Batman in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" and was paid a visit by Batman when Lex was jailed at the end of the film. Could Lex seek revenge by hiring Deathstroke?
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10 Mystery Bad Guy Created for Movie
Could a new villain be created specifically for the movie or an amalgamation of existing DC characters as in "Batman Begins?" That is always a possibility.
9. The Joker
Batman's biggest foe has every reason to hire Deathstroke. In the Arkham video games, Joker placed a $50 million bounty on the Dark Knight's head and hired eight of the world's most deadliest assassins to take him down.
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8. Hush
Hush is the childhood best friend of Bruce Wayne, who grew up to become one of Batman's greatest enemies. He seeks to ruin Bruce's life on every level, and frequently uses other members of Batman's rogues gallery in his elaborate schemes.
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7. Harvey "Two Face" Dent
Harvey Dent was the District Attorney of Gotham City, and a close ally of Batman until a mob boss threw acidic chemicals at him during a trial, hideously scarring the left side of his face and driving him insane.
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6. Amanda Waller
The mid-credits scene of "Suicide Squad" hinted that Waller knew Bruce Wayne's secret identity as The Batman. Wayne tells Waller to shut down the Suicide Squad or he and his friends (a.k.a. the Justice League) will do it for her. She may have taken that threat seriously.
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5. Carmine Falcone
Carmine Falcone was one of the truly great crime lords of Gotham, back when it was a mafia-run town. At one point in the comics, Batman invaded Falcone's personal bedroom, assaulted him, stripped him to his underwear, and left him hogtied to his bed. Humiliated, Falcone ordered Batman killed.
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4. Sal Maroni
Salvatore "The Boss" Maroni is a leader of organized crime in Gotham City and responsible for throwing acid at DA Harvey Dent and turning him into Two-Face. Just the kind of mob boss who would want Batman out of the way.
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3. Red Hood
Could Jason Todd, the former Robin whose costume was seen in "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice," return as the Red Hood as he did in the comics -- seeking revenge on Batman for allowing the Joker to live?
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2. Poison Ivy
Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley, a.k.a. Poison Ivy, is one of the world's most prominent eco-terrorists. She has a kind of obsession with Batman after she is incarcerated in Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane.
DC Comics
1. Rupert Thorne
Thorne is the prominent head of one of Gotham City's top smuggling gangs. A fan favorite from "Batman: The Animated Series" who once hired Bane to take out the Batman. Deathstroke is right up Thorne's alley as the kind of mercenary whom Thorne would hire.
Deathstroke is confirmed to be the villain in new movie, but who hired the master assassin to take out Bruce Wayne?
Joe Manganiello is set to play mercenary for hire Slade Wilson, a.k.a. Deathstroke, in Ben Affleck's upcoming standalone movie "The Batman." But what villain will hire Wilson to put down Bruce Wayne? We came up with 12 possibilities.