FAQ

It's a long story so here goes....

After the success of the comic book Superhero Superman, artist Bob Kane tried to come up with his own hero "The Bat-Man", the character Kane created wore a red suit with a domino mask, blonde hair and a pair of bat wings. Kane then asked for writer Bill Finger's assistance on the project. Finger rejected several of Kane's initial ideas about the character and suggested several changes in design and characterization. His changes included changing his hair colour, a black colour scheme for the costume, adding a cape and cowl, the idea that he shouldn't have any superpowers, his civilian identity of Bruce Wayne (which Finger named after Robert the Bruce, King of Scotland and general Anthony "Mad Anthony" Wayne), the origin story about his parents being shot in an alley and the idea that he should also be a detective.

Kane marketed the "Batman" character to National Comics, and Batman's first story was published in "Detective Comics" #27 (May 1939). The script was written by an uncredited Finger, making him the first of many ghost writers to work on comics officially credited to Bob Kane. When Kane negotiated a contract about selling the rights to the "Batman" character, he claimed he was the sole creator and demanded a sole mandatory byline acknowledging him as such on all comics and adaptations. Out of fairness, Kane agreed to pay Finger his share with money out of his earnings. Unfortunately, the agreement was never put into writing, and Finger never saw a cent.

Finger would go on to ghost write Batman stories up into the mid 1960's, either with Kane or for DC Comics directly. During his writing tenure, Finger was responsible for the unaccredited creation of many key players and pieces in the Batman universe.

These included the Batmobile, the Batcave, Gotham City, and Batman's nickname "The Dark Knight". He also came up with several secondary Batman characters including, his sidekick Robin, his arch-nemesis The Joker, and his occasional love interest Catwoman, as well as Commissioner Gordon, The Riddler and The Scarecrow. Despite all of this, the only writing credit that Finger received for Batman in his lifetime were two episodes of Batman (1966), The Clock King's Crazy Crimes (1966) and The Clock King Gets Crowned (1966) which he co-wrote with friend Charles Sinclair.

Eventually, the truth did come out. Finger attended the first official New York Comic Con in 1965 and sat on a panel with other comic book creators where he revealed the role he played in Batman's creation. Finger's story gained exposure in a two-page article titled "If the truth be known, or a Finger in every plot!," written and distributed by pop culturist Jerry Bails. Kane caught wind of Finger's appearance not long after and replied in the form of a printed letter to Batman fan magazine, "Batmania," where he labeled his old friend a fraud. Finger, who by this time was deeply in debt, continued to write for various projects in and outside of comic books until his death in 1974, when he was found alone in his apartment by friend Charles Sinclair. Finger died penniless and his contributions to the character was never acknowledged in his lifetime.

However, after the popularity of Tim Burton's Batman (1989), Kane acknowledged Finger as "a contributing force" in the character's creation, and wrote in his 1989 autobiography "Batman and Me" that "Now that my long-time friend and collaborator is gone, I must admit that Bill never received the fame and recognition he deserved. He was an unsung hero ... I often tell my wife, if I could go back fifteen years, before he died, I would like to say. 'I'll put your name on it now. You deserve it.'"

Many failed attempts were made over the years by Finger's family to get him recognition for his work, including a request from his second wife Lyn Simmons to have his name listed in the credits of Tim Burton's Batman (1989).

Finger remained largely unknown, even to Batman fans, until writer Marc Tyler Nobleman began investigating the late author's life for a book being written about him called "Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman". Nobleman went in search of Finger's family to help fill in the gaps and give him credit. While Finger's autopsy report claimed no relatives were present, Nobleman discovered that Finger had a son, Fred.

Unfortunately, Fred, who was an outspoken proponent of his father, had died in 1992. Nobleman learned that Fred was also homosexual, leading him to believe that Fred had no children before his death. The trail was starting to go cold.

However, after receiving new information from Finger's nephew, Nobleman discovered Fred indeed had a daughter, Athena Finger, who was born two years after Finger's death. Nobleman met with Athena and convinced her to meet with DC about getting recognition for her grandfather. DC in turn welcomed Athena with open arms, cut her a check and invited her to the premiere of The Dark Knight (2008) with all expenses paid. It wasn't until around 2012 that DC offered her more money. This time, however, she had to sign away her rights to her grandfather's claim. With encouragement from Nobleman, Athena rejected the money and took DC to court.

It took years of litigation before a settlement was reached. A major turning point in the case was the unearthing of recorded interviews with Bob Kane during the writing of his autobiography. During one of the interviews, Tom Andrae, Kane's co-writer, asked Kane to what extent Finger contributed to Batman's creation. "Bill was responsible for 50 to 75 percent," Kane bluntly responded.

Finally, in September 2015, DC Entertainment issued a statement informing the public that Finger would be listed as co-creator on any piece of Batman media henceforth. Starting with the superhero film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and the second season of Gotham (2014), an updated acknowledgement for the character appeared as "Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger".

Finger's story was later used as the subject of the Hulu original documentary, Batman & Bill (2017).

Note: For this list only the creators of the characters first appearances are listed. As with all comic book characters, Batman and his supporting cast have had several reinventions and different contributions from different writers. Theses include different iterations in different mediums that all have added different concepts to the overall mythology of the characters.

Obviously theirs Bruce Thomas Wayne/Batman called only Bruce Wayne or Batman on screen. He made his first appearance in the comic story "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate" from Detective Comics #27 (May 1939) by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane.

Alfred the butler, in the comics he's full name is Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth, however in his first comic appearance he was original called Alfred Beagle. The Beagle version of Alfred made his first appearance in the comic story "Here Comes Alfred" from Batman #16 (April-May 1943) by writer Don Cameron and artist Bob Kane. The character was later reintroduced as Alfred Pennyworth (complete with a different appearance) in comics continuity by writer Bill Finger and artist Jerry Robinson.

Gotham City Police Department, Sergeant (then promoted to Lieutenant) Jim Gordon, in the comics his full name is James Worthington Gordon. Sr. Just like Batman he made his first appearance in the the comic story "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate" from Detective Comics #27 (May, 1939) by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane.

Lucius Fox, he made his first appearance in the comic story "Dark Messenger of Mercy" from Batman #307 (January 1979) and was created by writer Len Wein and artist John Calnan.

Ra's al Ghul, who made his first appearance in the comic story "Daughter of the Demon" from Batman #232 (June 1971) by writer Denny O'Neil, and artist Neal Adams from a concept by DC Comics "Batman" editor Julius Schwartz who also came up with the name.

Henri Ducard, who made his first appearance in the comic story "Blind Justice, Part Two: Citizen Wayne" from Detective Comics #599 (April 1989) by writer Sam Hamm and artist Denys Cowan.

Dr Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow, who made his first appearance in the comic story "Riddle of the Human Scarecrow" from World's Finest comics #3 (Fall 1941) by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane.

Carmine "The Roman" Falcone, who made his first appearance in the comic story "Batman: Year One (Part I of IV): Who I Am - How I Come to Be" from Batman #404 by writer Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli.

Commissioner Loeb is based on the character of Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb, who made is first appearance in the comic story "Batman: Year One (Part I of IV): Who I Am - How I Come to Be" from Batman #404 by writer Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli.

Detective Flass is based on the character of Detective Arnold John Flass, who made is first appearance in the comic story "Batman: Year One (Part I of IV): Who I Am - How I Come to Be" from Batman #404 by writer Frank Miller and artist David Mazzucchelli.

Joe Chill, the mugger who shot the Waynes, made his first appearance as an unnamed assailant in a flashback in the comic story "The Batman Wars Against the Dirigible of Doom" from Detective Comics #33 (November 1939). He was eventually named as Joseph "Joe Chill" Chilton in the comic story "The Origin of the Batman!" from Batman #47 by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane.

Bruce Wayne's parent's father, Dr. Thomas Wayne and mother Martha Wayne, who made their first comic appearance in a flashback in the comic story "The Batman Wars Against the Dirigible of Doom" from Detective Comics #33 (November 1939). Although listed as being created by writers Bill Finger & Gardner Fox and artists Bill Finger & Jerry Robinson, it's hard to tell who contribute which attributes to the characters.

Victor Zsasz, made his first appearance in the comic story "The Last Arkham (Part I of IV)" from Batman: Shadow of the Bat #1 (June 1992) by .writer Alan Grant and artist Norm Breyfogle.

All other characters were created just for the film by the film's writers.

Batman Begins harkens back to Batman's origins, when young Bruce witnessed his parents brutally murdered by mugger Joe Chill (Richard Brake). After studying martial arts in Asia with Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson), second in command to Râ's al Ghûl (Ken Watanabe), leader of the secret assassins society, the League of Shadows, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) returns to Gotham and transforms himself, with the help of Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), head of the Applied Sciences Department at Wayne Enterprises, into his crime-fighting persona - Batman. Overrun with corruption, Gotham City has become rife with criminals such as Mafia Don Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson) and sinister Doctor Jonathan "The Scarecrow" Crane (Cillian Murphy).

The movie is based on characters created by American comic book artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger for DC Comics, first appearing in Detective Comics #27 in May of 1939. However, it is said to draw inspiration from several classic comic book storylines such as "The Man Who Falls", "Batman: Year One", and "Batman: The Long Halloween." The screenplay was written by American screenwriter David S. Goyer and British filmmaker Christopher Nolan. It is the first installment in The Dark Knight trilogy, Nolan's Batman trilogy, and it is followed by The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012).

It is recommended that Batman Begins be viewed before watching The Dark Knight or The Dark Knight Rises. Note: Batman Begins is not connected to any of the theatrical incarnations of Batman that came before it. It is a reboot, the beginning of a new series with its own internal continuity, and has no ties to the previous films: neither Tim Burton's—Batman (1989) (1989) and Batman Returns (1992) (1992)—nor Joel Schumacher's films—Batman Forever (1995) (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997) (1997). This is made clear by apparent contradictions between the films, such as having Joe Chill, instead of the Joker, kill Bruce Wayne's parents, the new origin of the Bat-Signal, the use of the Joker at the end of the film, and Batman's relationship with Lt. Gordon. However, it is loosely connected to the 2008 direct-to-video, animated movie Batman: Gotham Knight (2008).

Gotham City is a fictional U.S. port city located on the north-eastern Atlantic coast. It was originally a stand-in for New York City, but has also resembled other crime-ridden urban centers such as Chicago and Detroit. Some sources, including Mayfair Games' authorized (but now out-of-print) Atlas of the DC Universe, have placed Gotham City in the state of New Jersey. Christopher Nolan's Gotham City is located in the middle of the estuary of the Liberty River, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The river separates most of Gotham from the mainland. The River Merchant divides Uptown from Midtown, while Midtown is separated from Downtown by the Gotham River. The Narrows is a small island in the Gotham River. A creek divides the district of South Hinkley from the rest of Gotham City. Gotham International Airport is in Pettsburg, to the north of the Liberty River estuary. The current DC Universe version of Gotham City is separated from the mainland by the Gotham River, bridged by a series of bridges and tunnels. The east and south sides of Gotham face the Atlantic Ocean. The city is further divided by the Sprang River (named for Dick Sprang) on the northern end and the Finger River (for Bill Finger) to the south. Tiny Blackgate Isle to the south-east is home to Blackgate Maximum Security Penitentiary. (Blackgate is replaced by Stonegate Penitentiary in the animated series Batman (1992-1995) and its spin-offs.)

According the the movie novelization by Batman writer and editor Dennis O'Neil, Bruce spent his first several weeks being beaten on the freighter that he boarded in Gotham City. The ship's bosun provided practical lessons in dirty fighting. Eighteen months after leaving Gotham, Bruce was starving in the African market where he first steals for food. The next day, Bruce got himself hired by a tramp steamer and in the following months saw a lot of Africa and some of Asia. He jumped ship in Marrakesh, slept under a bridge for a couple of nights, and signed onto a tanker bound for the United Kingdom.

He hung around London long enough to learn something about stealing cars from the ship's cook, then shipped out on a freighter and found himself in Shanghai. One of the deckhands from his last ship had a way to make some quick, easy money, and Bruce was interested. The hijacking in the movie took place in Shanghai. However, according to the novelization, Bruce was actually sent to prison for something else, an unspecified illegal operation in Bhutan. This is where Bruce was imprisoned when he met Ducard. Bruce then trained with the League of Shadows for almost one year (again, according to the movie novelization): "Later, [Bruce] reckoned that he had been at the monastery just under a year and that, after the initial period of adjustment, he was happy in the rambling building above the glacier."

No. The buildings were miniatures, and the Batmobile (aka the Tumbler) was a real, working prototype. The film had very few CG shots, because the director does not like the use of computer animation in movies. In the DVD, however, it is shown that some shots of Gotham were augmented using CGI, such as the exteriors of the monorail, and the wide-establishing shot of a distant Gotham City was a rendered effect. In addition, there were several miniature models of the Tumbler made for the rooftop chase sequence. The bonus disc of the 2-disc DVD set shows the various stages of production for the Tumbler.

There are two possibilities:

1. It's stated in the film that the device uses "focused microwaves" to vaporize an enemy's "water supply." No additional information is given, but apparently the device has a sensing/targeting system of some kind, or was aimed at the underground pipes by its users. If the latter is the case, it might well have killed anyone below the train as it moved across town, though this is never shown.

2. Water inside the human body is not simply liquid stored in a continuous pool; it is compartmentalized and contains a plethora of organic substances, such as large molecules, complex proteins and even entire cells (red blood cells, immune cells, etc.). Perhaps these, as well as cell membranes/organs protect the water in the body from evaporating by absorbing the microwaves, or in some way increasing the bonds between the water molecules strong enough to prevent them from evaporating. In any way, the device would then only affect pools of water with relatively low osmotic pressure, such as water supplies and sewers.

There were no indications that Loeb was corrupt, although his comic book counterpart was. The subsequent installment in the series, The Dark Knight, also shows him to be an honest if somewhat ineffectual civil servant.

While Flass is the only member of the GCPD actually depicted in the movie as corrupt, a conversation he has with Gordon, where he implies that the other cops are suspicious of him for not being "on the take", certainly indicates that corruption may be rampant in the GCPD. Gordon's dialogue in that scene indicates that there is no point in him reporting Flass anyway, at least suggesting that corruption within the department goes all the way to the top, i.e.: to Commissioner Loeb. However, since Loeb is still the Commissioner in The Dark Knight, and is never actually depicted as being corrupt, this may simply mean that he either turns a blind eye to the corruption of others or refuses to accept the extent of corruption in the department for political reasons. Gordon being partnered with Flass would also suggest that corruption is rife within the GCPD, since Gordon apparently sees no point in switching one corrupt partner for another. However, in his conversation with Bruce Wayne early in the film, Carmine Falcone explicitly states that the mob actually rules Gotham by intimidation, so perhaps the average GCPD officer is simply afraid to carry out his duties properly. This fits the depiction of Gotham's cops in The Dark Knight, most of whom are uncommitted time servers, more interested in going home alive at the end of their shifts than potentially sacrificing themselves in the line of duty.

He refused to speak with an English accent while promoting this film, as he wouldn't want fans, especially kids, picturing Batman with a foreign accent while watching the film. This was however not the case with his interviews for The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, he was comfortable enough at that point speaking in his native accent.