For all intents and purposes, after the Zap and Pow and the ray guns that shot blasts to kill, The Batman was dead. This was no imaginary story either. Well, at least not more than every other story was. And not like when Robin had died at dawn once, only to be alive by the end of that issue, because it was all in Batman“s head. No, this time it was the main man who had bitten the bullet. And just by association, so had the Boy Wonder. And maybe this was just as well. Maybe it was the little pest who was to blame. Robin, who alternated between showing a need of rescuing from some fiendish trap one of the colorful villains had sprung and crying at the drop of a hat because Batman looked at Batwoman“s shapely body a bit too long or once too often. When Robin made his debut in the Spring of 1940, his mere appearance brought a massive change to the series. The Batman had been a brooding loner, yet very quick to snap the neck of a henchman. He would rather let the final boss die in a fire and make a pun about his demise, than extend a saving hand. And as Bruce Wayne he was a wealthy young man about town who was best buddies with Commissioner Gordon, and who even hung around crime scenes and romanced the ladies at the same time, while he never seemed to work at all. Initially, readers welcomed the teenage wonder as a foil for the adventures that played out in their imaginative minds. They themselves cast as Batman“s ward, which wasn“t such a stretch of the imagination, they“d swing on their batrope next to the big guy from building to building against the night sky and the skyline of Gotham City. Here was a perfect father and son relationship, that was full of fun adventures, and recreational time at a mansion that came with a kind old butler who always had a tray with cold milk and sandwiches on hand. But then, the dynamic of the Dynamic Duo changed as drastically as when Robin had first made the scene as “The sensational character find of 1940”“. The publication of Seduction of the Innocent, the US Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency in 1954, and the establishing of the Comics Code of America a year later, brought a new element to the series. A woman! Gasp! While the main Batbooks (Detective Comics and Batman, and World“s Finest Comics for that matter, in which the two characters appeared side-by-side with the biggest superhero of them all, namely Superman) had not been as violent as some other comics of the crime and horror variation, there was reason for concern about how their conduct might be perceived. Dr. Frederic Wertham, Seduction“s author, had not only name-dropped both characters specifically, but he took a hard, clinical look at their living situation, and thus felt that it did not pass muster to what he felt young readers should be exposed to. Wertham did more than to simply allude to the fact that here was a fully grown man sharing close and very lavishly decorated quarters with an underage boy, but he ascribed to them and their relationship the power to stimulate male readers“ minds in an, at that time, unwanted and downright criminal fashion. What Wertham saw, when looking at the panels with them together, especially in their civilian identities, was “A wish dream of two homosexuals living together.”“ Fans who had noticed this, thanked their lucky star, that the good doctor obviously hadn“t paid much if any attention to the overly wordy scroll which greeted readers on the splash page for Detective Comics No. 38 (1940) with the words “an ally”“ placed too close to each other for want of space or lack thereof.
Naturally, Batman“s publisher DC Comics could not let that stand. But instead of fighting such a claim, as outrageous as it may have sounded, they went the way of the least resistance. What if they returned the character to his old ways when there were many beautiful ladies at his side, not only when he was in his Bruce Wayne identity, who was known for playing the field, but as The Batman? As The Masked Manhunter, who had derived his origin from the pulp magazines, which by that time, slowly began to fade away, he had often been seen protecting gorgeous damsels from all kinds evildoers, of the natural and supernatural kind. Even after Robin had entered the picture, there were women around. There was Vicki Vale, who had made her debut in the late 1940s. As a journalist, who was depicted as a romantic interest for Bruce, Vicki was highly suspicious that The Dark Knight of Gotham and her wealthy beau in fact were one and the same person. But of course, Batman would be able to fool her by the end of each story. Readers could well imagine that he and Robin had a good laugh at her expense in their man cave, the Dynamic Duo had dubbed The Batcave, conveniently located right under stately Wayne Manor. A silly female, that Vicki Vale. So easily duped. In that, she was a second-stringer Lois Lane. Of course, The Batman had already met a particular lady who needn“t saving. She was The Catwoman. And while The raven-haired Princess of Plunder and The Caped Crusader had an ongoing flirtatious relationship, there was an element of danger that came part and parcel with their meet-cutes on the rooftops of the night city. A whisper of an understanding, that if these two seriously got together, the sounds these nocturnal creatures would make were to be a cacophony of pain and pleasure hand-in-hand. Still, The Catwoman did not show a moment“s hesitation to cause the Dynamic Duo“s demise if such an opportunity were to present itself. But true to her nature, she also loved to sadistically toy with The Batman and his youthful ward. In her appearance in Detective Comics No. 211 (cover dated September 1954), the breathtakingly beautiful, formidable Plundering Kitten hunted Batman and Robin on an tropical island with her trusted pack of fierce predators at her side, a lion, a black panther and a leopard, while the heroes were reduced to mere cavemen clad in animal furs, still masked of course. Readers already got a good idea what they were in for by just looking at the splash page for the issue. There she was, wearing her form-fitting dress which was purple of course, a color reserved for super-villains and femme fatales alike, and which came with a generously high slit on one side to even better showcase her long, shapely legs. Even more so on this splash page by Dick Sprang and Charles Paris, sitting astride a tiger several times her own size with her derriere lifted suggestively into the air and both arm stretched out in triumph while underneath the paws of the beast, its claws extended, its fangs bared, the Dynamic Duo scurried away like fearful mice. However, unbeknownst to readers and the characters alike, this was to be her final appearance. Despite her nine lives, The Catwoman would not be seen in a Batbook for the next twelve years. She was simply too much in every respect to fit into the moralistic boundaries of the Comics Code of America that was hastily established as means of appeasement by publishers whose product had come under scrutiny. It was necessary to toe the line, as companies who refused to tone down their books went under quickly.
Thus, with the exciting Catwoman so very unceremoniously excised from the four-colored world of the Batbooks, and a character like Vicki Vale, who had been made fun of once too often, and who therefore wouldn“t do, DC Comics needed a female character to take center stage. With this specter looming over Batman and Robin, the unspeakable idea that something deemed unsavory was happening right behind the walls of stately Wayne Manor, this was deemed the only recourse lest any accusation of impropriety was to persist. If DC Comics could come up with a way to show to readers, and concerned parents, that this was now a Bat-Family, one that came with not only a father, but also a mother, there would be no more doubts about the sexual preoccupation of their highly valuable Batman character. And if this girl-character helped to bump up sales, since well of course she needed to be pretty, that was even better. When Detective Comics No. 233 made it to the spinner racks in 1956 (a few months earlier even than the cover date of July would suggest), it featured a masked, black-haired woman on a motorcycle, and as conceived by artist Sheldon Moldoff (in conjunction with writer Edmond Hamilton), her bodysuit and her long flowing cape, adorned with inverted scallop edging like that of The Caped Crusader“s naturally, were of bright, primary colors. Even though she looked much friendlier than Batman, happy even, there could be no mistake. This was a female Batman alright. A Bat-Woman. Her name even appeared above the title. This was The Batwoman, and her placement on the cover, right at the front and with a bright, assured smile on her only partially concealed face, she announced to readers that she was here to stay. And immediately, The Wonder Boy got anxious about her presence. “Hurry, Batman ”“ The Bat-Woman is beating us on this mission!”“, he exclaimed, his face turned towards his ally as they sat in the Batmobile while trailing behind this new heroine with the Bat-Signal illuminating the night sky to beckon them. It was even more shocking to see what was going on once you turned to the splash page. Robin, looking like a tiny doll, was held in the iron grip of just one hand of a gigantic iron robot, with The Dark Knight at the bottom about to be crushed by one of its large flat feet. But from the left to the right, there was The Batwoman who swooped into the frame and to the rescue. And judging from the way she looked, or was drawn by Moldoff, in a skintight yellow body suit, there could be no mistake. This was a woman! But she was no wannabe. If she was to be a romantic companion for Batman, she couldn“t be a pushover like Vicki Vale had been. She needed to have chops. Hamilton and editor Jack Schiff knew exactly what they were doing. And so, the brightly garbed heroine saves The Dark Knight from certain death early on in the story. While her weapon bag, strung over one shoulder, contained the type of gadgets only men would create for a female crimefighter (as these were all based around various beauty products), Kathy Kane was also a one-time circus daredevil who knew how to handle a motorcycle and she was skilled in both, judo and karate long before any other superheroine on the scene, and prior to when the women“s liberation movement came creepin“ across the nation. And her being a wealthy heiress, not only meant that she was upward mobile and moved in the same circles socially as Batman“s alter ego; but allowed her to have her very own Batcave. But Robin would have none of it. Once he and Batman were back in the Batmobile, after Kathy had saved the big guy, he jealously stated: “A girl saving YOU? It“s ridiculous!”“ And when the guys, hot in pursuit of this mysterious stranger are once again too one-track minded, she comes through a second time, using her tear gas no. 51 on the hoodlums from earlier in the issue who are about to finish off the cornered Dynamic Duo. Whilst there was no press around this time, the next panel showed a boy hawking the evening newspaper with an appropriate click-baity slogan: “Batwoman saves Batman again!”“ The last word had to sting mightily. Of course, the two masked crimefighters had to reassert their manhood back at the Batcave, where Batman gave Robin the lowdown. The Batwoman had been lucky thus far, but he better deduced her civilian identity, and fast, so she would see the error of her ways and needed to hang up her red cape. In that, Batman had her best interest at heart, because woe was her if some lowlife managed to do what he intended to do. At least that was what he told his gullible sidekick. Next we see Batman in his alter ego all suave and swagger as he romances Kathy Kane, both unaware of the other“s secret identity, while the kid sidekick stays home alone. But then, the night sky was interrupted by the long, bright beam of the Bat-Signal, and the crimefighters sprang into action. Once on the scene, the Dynamic Duo learns that the Batwoman has already entered the premise, and just like that, The Caped Crusader relegates The Boy Wonder to guard the entrance while he goes after the raven-haired beauty, who now in her skintight catsuit and with her dashing cape attached, is surely a sight to behold as she is strutting her long-legged confidence. Since she does not yield, they both get involved in doing battle, and this time it is Batman who saves her. Of course, while he is on the ground, with Batwoman kneeling at his side to check his vital functions, Robin enters. With his eyes wide, all he manages is a stammer: “Batman, I.. oh! Maybe I“m intruding.”“ Sure, he is, but Batman assures him, that this is nonsense. Still, he wants to figure out who she is. And that he does. And just as he had predicted, she decides to give up her crimefighting career. But not so fast. Almost casually she reveals to Batman and Robin, that her Batcave is equipped with all kinds of surveillance devices, including an x-ray machine and now, just by looking at the recordings, she could find out who they are under their masks. But alas, she would never do such a thing. The last panel shows Robin who disingenuously wonders “if we“ll ever fight crime with her as the Dynamic Trio?”“ Hold that thought, Robin, and be careful what you wish for!
And wouldn“t you know it, since there had to be a companion for The Batman of the female persuasion, lest he“d spend too much time with an underage boy in shorts, scant seven months later she was back. Batman No. 105. Once again, she was on the cover, riding on her red Bat-Cycle towards the action. The issue starts with Kathy Kane who has second thoughts about ending her crimefighting career this early, because, frankly, she is bored out of her mind. But she gave Batman her word. But as luck would have it or plot conveniences, there is a masquerade ball, and soon she dashes off on her motorcycle and back in her costume. This time around Robin was on hand to let her go on believing that a man with amnesia was really Batman. What the Boy Wonder could not have foreseen though, Batwoman takes the man to her Batcave to jolt back his memory by training him, for which she uses Robin as her sparring partner. This of course does not end well for the kid sidekick who gets thrown around a lot by the older woman. And about that retirement of hers? Well, since Batman was obviously not at his best, she was ready to lend a hand. But of course, things did not go as planned. By the end of the issue the real Batman shows up, and even though he lets her know how invaluable her assistance turned out to be, she retires once again. Maybe you shouldn“t have tricked her Robin, because when she returned just a few months later, she was more than ready to turn the table on the guys. Her third appearance came in issue No. 90 of World“s Finest Comics, and if Batman and Robin (and the readers) thought the x-ray machine Kathy had hidden away in her Batcave was bad, little were they prepared for what was happening on the cover by Curt Swan for this issue. There she was, back in her skintight, yellow bodysuit, her cape flowing behind her in the night sky, while she herself was suspended in midair under her own power. But not only this, hovering in the air, her eyes were intently focused, like the ray of a laser, on a certain mountain, behind which, perhaps still hidden from her, but not from the readers, there were Batman and Robin and their pal Superman. Their looks were that of worry, as Superman, who also used his X-Ray Vison like she now did use hers, let the guys know what was up: “Great Scott! It“s Batwoman! She“s using her X-Ray Vision to find out the location of the Bat-Cave!”“ This was the worst that could happen to these Super-Bros and to any male reader for that matter: a girl finding out the location of their secret clubhouse! In the issue, readers learned what was going on: a dangerous criminal was hunting for a hidden capsule that granted a person superpowers for a limited time. Now, who would come up with such an awesome invention? None other than Superman“s biological father from the long-doomed planet of Krypton, naturally. This representing a dire situation, which is even broadcast on live television, Batwoman has grounds enough to come out of retirement once more. But when she shows up at the spot where the crook might have hidden the capsule, Batman is none too pleased, and he once again gives her the old spiel that any bad guy might figure out her secret identity just as easily as he did, which meant that it simply was too big a risk for her to involving herself with crimefighting. And Superman, with his muscular arms folded over his powerful chest, concurred. Yes, this simply was too dangerous a situation for a girl. The Super-Bros underestimated the highly capable heroine, however: “Hm”¦ that old abandoned chemical factory near Craig“s hideout would have lead tanks in it”¦ and ideal hiding-place for the capsule!”“ And so it is. And in the ensuing fight with the criminal, it is Batwoman who takes the capsule in her desperate attempt not to let its content fall into his grubby hands, or his mouth. The guys are stunned, naturally. Batwoman, with her newly acquired superpowers, easily flies the defeated and now imprisoned crook away, which is a sight, even the man from Krypton finds hard to believe: “Batwoman, with super-powers!”“, while a highly concerned Dark Knight is quick to remark: “Robin, this means we“ve got to do something quickly!”“ But what, Batman? When Batwoman explains her action to the guys, Batman is quick to point out that her powers will only last for twenty-four hours. What a relieve! Then, as if talking to a teenager who is in dire need of being sent off to her room, Batman once again reiterates, that Kathy better went home, since, you know, “”¦ super-powers can be dangerous! You must go home and stay safely quiet until your powers have faded away!”“ The difference being, this time, Kathy won“t have any of it: “I“m tired of you bossing me! Just because you found out my identity, you think you“re superior and keep lecturing me!”“ Angered by the constant patronizing from the boys“ club, Batwoman uses her new x-rays power to learn who is behind the cowl and the domino mask. Of course, even back in late 1950s, Batman always had a plan, and he had quickly asked The Man of Steel to fashion them masks made of lead. Superman has to rub it in, too: “Batman“s proved again that he“s too clever for you, Batwoman!”“ Clearly, his passive-aggressive comment achieves little, but to spur her on. Now, more than ever, she is determined to find out who the face behind the cowl belongs to. Thus, the Dynamic Duo finds themselves uprooted even from their much vaunted Batcave, as Robin figures anxiously: “She“s following us, Batman! We daren“t go back to the bat-cave now!”“ In the end, even though, of course, the trio manages to trick her, Batman has a change of heart. Had Batwoman not proven herself, with her “cleverness and courage”“? Thus, he wouldn“t any longer ask the heroine to drop her career as a crimefighter. Finally, the door was open to Batman having found a female companion. Why not, didn“t he already have a Bat-Hound in his life (Ace, who made the scene a year prior to Batwoman“s debut), so he surely could hang with a girl for a change.
Poor Robin would take this new development rather hard. Batman would not be helping his confidence either. When Batwoman returned just one month later in the pages of Detective Comics No. 249 (1957). When Bruce Wayne found himself in a fix, he was in prison as a matter of fact, in a wild plan cooked up by the meanwhile incapacitated Commissioner Gordon to learn about some stolen blueprints, with him now even facing the death penalty, Robin was more than willing to prove his innocence. But this time, it was The Boy Wonder who was told by Batman that this was too dangerous for a boy. To add insult to his bitterly bruised ego, Bruce requested him to seek the aid of Batwoman. Of course, Robin would lie to Kathy in regard to Batman“s absence, but he followed his guardian“s instructions, only to get humbled even further. The Batwoman would only help him if they used her Batcave as base of operations. Robin got a sense of what life would be like whenever he stayed over with the new matriarch of their family. He was now adventuring with his hot mom. Though he proves himself, Bruce lets it be known that even Batman could not have done a better job than she did. By the time World“s Finest Comics No. 104 (1959) rolled into drugstores across the country, The Batwoman had become a fixture. In this issue, Kathy even took on Lex Luthor to protect the Man of Tomorrow from his archfoe“s latest scheme to kill him. With Detective Comics No. 276 (1960) Robin got a sense of what could happen if his Bat-parents got a little brother for him, when Bat-Mite, the magical imp (who actually was from a different dimension and was using highly advanced technology), not only made a return (the character had first appeared less than a year earlier), but Bat-Mite and Kathy teamed-up. Sure, Bat-Mite vanished by the end of the issue, but he was back just a few months later in Batman No. 133, and right on the cover the pesky imp announced his intentions whilst riding on the back of not any common canine, but Ace, The Bat-Hound: “With your Help, Bat-Hound, I“ll make Batwoman the most famous crime-fighter of Gotham City!”“ And since Robin was Batman“s crimefighting partner, it was only fair if he assisted Batwoman in her endeavors. All goes sideways of course, and while Batman wants to spank the little guy just before he vanishes into thin air again, Batwoman shows her motherly feelings towards him: “Funny though”¦ I just can“t stay angry with that cute little imp! When do you suppose he“ll return again?”“ Funny, indeed. Even without Bat-Mite, still the Bat-Family continued to grow. All of sudden, Batman and Batwoman were like divorced parents who were merging their families including their respective kids from their previous relationships. It sure got crowded in the Batcave. Or in other words: readers must have thought that their eyes were clearly deceiving them when on the cover of the latest issue of Batman, No. 139 (1961) there was a cute blonde girl in a mini-skirted costume with pixie boots who not only came to the rescue of Batman, Batwoman and Robin, but who called herself Bat-Girl. And while she only appeared in the third story in this book, this character, created by legendary Batman co-creator Bill Finger and once again Sheldon Moldoff, had the whole splash page to herself, which seemed designed for one purpose only: to show how she single-handedly outwitted the bad guy of the tale. While Betty Kane wasn“t Kathy daughter, but her niece, this did not change the situation much even if she were. Having found out her aunt“s secret and donning a costume of her own creation, she insisted on being part of the family. And thus, soon after, there were the three other members of the Bat-Family discussing like any other family would, how to deal with this new development, except unlike any other family, they all wore bat-themed costumes and masks while they had their conversation on a rooftop at night. And of course, Betty made it in. While only two years prior, a dream Robin was having of Batman and Batwoman getting married had turned into a nightmare, all this was in the past. They were a real family now. The Batman got hitched. And he was married with kids. His adventures, to reflect his new status, grew lighter and brighter even. Gone was the dark city. The universe was his playground now, as he and his family were fighting all kinds of colorful alien beasts.
This was not The Batman, the original Dark Knight who set out to avenge his parents“ murder by warring on all criminals. If Batman, or any reader for that matter, wondered how he had turned from the Caped Crusader into Bat-Dad so quickly, he needn“t look any further than to his pal Superman. Over the course of the last two decades the original “Champion of the Oppressed”“ had acquired a similar family, even a whole shrunken city in a bottle. This role of a benevolent father-figure suited The Man of Steel who had even gotten a little chubby like most guys would once they had settled down and were fast approaching their comfortable middle years. But not so with Batman. Unlike Batman, Superman never had a sidekick or a ward. He was Superman, but he was Superboy, even Superbaby. His first adventure had provided readers with just a single page with eight panels to catch them up to speed on who this first superhero was. But there was a lot of backstory to explore, and as he moved through time, between his time back in Smallville and even back to Krypton on occasion, Superman lived a life. Batman was not designed for that. He had a singular focus. To avenge his parent“s death by fighting criminals. When he had appeared on a rooftop in his first story in Detective Comics No. 27, his reputation already preceded him. Criminals had heard of The Batman, and they were afraid of him. He was a killer if he needed to be. At minimum, he would not show any hesitation to throw you off a roof thereby crippling you. And you wouldn“t want to be at the receiving end of kick of one of his boots. But then came Robin, a boy who had barely seen much of life outside the circus he and his parents worked at. While he too lost his parents, Robin wasn“t anything like Batman. Still, Robin could have become like his new protector, an heir to Batman, instead he turned The Dark Knight towards the light. Which was fine, but this became cause for alarm during a time when Dr. Wertham and his ilk had the ear of many parents and the public in general. Therefore, there had to be a Batwoman, and with her there came a family very much like Superman“s. Robin could have manned-up, but he didn“t. Robin could not grow up as the readers had. Forever trapped in a four-colored world, for the time being at least, he had to stay a child. In short pants and with bare legs, very much the signifiers of a little child clutching at the apron of his mother. And his beloved Batman was a father now, a real father to a Bat-Family. And as the adventures grew sillier and further away from what The Batman“s original mission was, just so Robin could stay forever young, sheltered from time just like a prehistoric insect fossil encapsulated fully in amber, readers lost interest. Because there was a Robin, there was a need for a Bat-Family. It was The Boy Wonder, and many readers, who had begun reading these stories when they were at his age, and who now started to turn their back on these tales as they grew older, and after one outlandish space adventure too many, who ultimately did The Batman in. He was on life-support now, after this battle he could not win. And as he had always been, there was Robin at his bedside. A worried, anxious look on his face, but still smiling. Always a true optimist at heart while The Batman never was. Yet, unlike many times before, it was doubtful if the big guy would pull through.
And here was the grocery clerk to collect the bill. When tallied up, sales did not merit the continuation of Batman or Detective Comics any longer. His name was Julius Schwartz. His biography up to that point read like a who-is-who of early 20th century science fiction pulps. Once he had started the first fanzine for scifi with two of his friends (one of which, Mort Weisinger, would go on to become the Superman editor in 1946). Later, Schwartz co-founded a literary agency representing clients such as H.P. Lovecraft and a young Ray Bradbury. When in 1944 the market for this kind of material dropped considerably, he had started to work as an editor for All-American Publications, a subsidiary of DC Comics. But soon, this market was also marching towards the ash heap of history. After the war, many publishers folded, but especially once Dr. Wertham appeared on the scene, and the hysteria towards comic books took hold in the society at large, comics no longer were a healthy industry. DC Comics still seemed a safe bet since with Superman they had a paragon of the right kind of morals, which meant the American way. And the Last Son of Krypton knew how to sell comic books. But long gone were the days, when kids and soldiers alike read comic whenever the former caught them on a spinner rack at a drugstore, and the latter at a PX whenever they picked up the letters sent by their loved ones, or maybe even actively went looking for those books. Superheroes had their own radio shows and movie serials even, and for a while general audiences went crazy for the guys and gals in tights. And as practically every new day seemingly brought a new type of superhero, some shrewd business men, most of which came from hunger, like his future bosses at the company that would eventually become DC Comics, switched from putting out titillating pulp magazines with the most lurid cover artwork imaginable and titles with a word like “spicy”“ in them, to the much cleaner endeavor of publishing comic books for the kiddies. With demand rising fast, clever creators would set-up their own “shops”“, to have an army of pencilers, inkers, even letterers sweating over their drawing boards while they made deals for completely packaged titles with publishers who welcomed them with open arms. By the mid-1950s however, this initial boom was a thing of a past long gone. So, where to go from here? Schwartz turned out to become the man closest to a savior superhero comic books had ever known. On his behest, creators at DC went back to the drawing board to re-invent Golden Age heroes who had long since fallen out of favor with young readers. But not all superheroes got this kind of treatment. Both, Superman and Batman simply carried on like they always had. But they needed changing as well. While Jack Schiff, once an editor on Superman, did for Batman what had also worked for The Man from Metropolis, giving him a family and turning him soft in the process, this clearly wasn“t working for The Batman. Thus, when Julius Schwartz took over as the editor for the books related to The Cape Crusaders and his ancillary characters, he had to make a decision. Either chancel the series outright or give him a new lease on life. He decided to try the latter. In control of Batman“s destiny, he summoned two men into his office in the Spring of 1964. Each man made up half of the teams that had successful re-imagined The Flash and Green Lantern, under his careful stewardship of course. Again, he tasked writer John Broom and artist Carmine Infantino with re-inventing a character, The Batman. Both men were up to the challenge, and the mission they had chosen to accept, was understood. Were they to fail, this would be it for The Batman. Something radically different was needed. Any reader who had read Detective Comics No. 326 or seen its cover on a newsstand, only to pass up on the book due to its silly depiction of the Dynamic Duo as prisoners of some goofy alien zoo, might have had a hard time to figure out what was going on. This was Batman alright, but he was on the ground, almost crawling. The cover by Infantino and inker Joe Giella consisted of three panels, each grimmer than the other. There was a real sense of danger. And a caption informed readers, that this was “The New Look”“ Batman. And so it was. Not only did the famous Bat-Symbol on his chest now come with a yellow circle, the story felt like a breath of fresh air. The Gotham City in which these characters moved looked modern and hip and Bruce Wayne and Robin and the young girl they met all wore mod clothes. They were in what was called “Gotham Village”“, clearly DC“s version of New York City“s famous Greenwich Village which happened to be the center of counterculture movement of the 1960s. Stoner Broome even threw in a shot of artistic looking hippie-types in a coffeehouse, who looked like they had just been smoking some pot to get their chi and their creative juices going. And The Batman himself not only looked and moved differently now. During one battle sequence, The Caped Crusader picked up a gun, only to point it directly at the crooks. Batwoman and Bat-Girl had vanished. Ace, The Bat-Hound and Bat-Mite were nowhere to be seen. And with the next issue, neither was Alfred. While this issue was scripted by Bill Finger with art by long time Batman artist Sheldon Moldoff (who would soon switch over to the Batman title), it featured a most shocking death. Alfred, Batman“s trusted butler was killed off, as if to signal to readers that no character was safe in this world of the “New Look”“ Batman. Anyone could be replaced like he was by Aunt Harriet. There were still the shades of Seduction of the Innocent to content with. But she wouldn“t stay the only female in the lives of these characters. After some gruesome covers by Joe Kubert (the kind he did best), it was time to introduce a female villain, something the series had not seen in a long time, not since the Catwoman had been shoved to the sidelines. And this new villainess was ready for some action, as she appeared not only on the cover for Batman No. 181 (1966) but she was seen embracing and even kissing The Batman on the splash page of the issue, with art by Moldoff once again. Poison Ivy was as beautiful as she was formidable. Sheldon Moldoff made the most of her and her female assistants. Ivy was clearly popular with readers, because only two issues later, she was back. And so was the Catwoman very soon.
But there was something else going on with Batman No. 183, a curious thing. On its cover, by Infantino and Giella, direct mention was made of a real-life TV show starring none other than Batman and Robin. And while the Batman on that particular cover was an imposter, as the second story in the issue would reveal, the show itself was indeed a real thing as every reader could tell you, and likely their parents as well. ABC, the perennial last placed among the television networks, had been in need for a show as mid-season replacement for early in 1966. Why not one that was similar to Adventures of Superman which had been a huge success for CBS? And while this show was still in re-runs, CBS was interested in putting together another comic show with a comic book hero at its center. When talks between the network and the producer who had sold them on the idea and who had optioned the TV rights for Batman, didn“t go anywhere, DC Comics very readily provided ABC with a license instead. This came after the network“s own failed attempts to secure the rights to Superman and Dick Tracy, only to find out that both weren“t available due prior agreements made. Batman was still a viable option since “The New Look”“ approach had brought some of his old fans back and he had also gained precious new readers along the way. ABC, which had nothing to lose really, took the gamble and they charged 20th Century Fox with setting up a pilot, even fully committing to a first season almost right away. The studio in turn brought on a producer they felt was ideally suited for the task. William Dozier, who had never read a comic in his life and who felt ashamed buying a few just now. Still he figured out a way to get the show off the ground, simply by playing up its more outlandish elements. And while the script for the pilot by Lorenzo Semple Jr. clearly had its fair shake of darker elements, a female assistant of The Riddler, who at one point had taken on the guise of Robin, found her violent death in the Batcave, with Batman ready to make a joke of it, any writer who came later, focused in on the more laughable aspects. Surprisingly, the show took off right away like sliced bread. Batmania with its trademarked tie-in products was everywhere in 1966. And this in turned helped the sales of the Batman comics. The Statement of Ownership in Batman No. 183, likely printed just a month or two after the show had started airing, revealed total sales of about half a million issues on average per month in 1965. For the next two years these would nearly double, only to fall to the mark of around half a million in 1968, to then further decline in future, just like the TV ratings would.
After a stellar first season ratings-wise, and even a movie shot on the quick during its off-time between seasons, the writing was on the wall for the Batman TV show as well. Still there was a card they had not played yet. The guest appearances by Julie Newmar as the Catwoman had been standouts for sure. Clad in a skintight black catsuit, the former model and dancer had done her share to attract not only kids to the TV screens across the nation, while she also pushed the content of each episode she was in, towards more adult-leaning scenarios. So why not have a female heroine who could share the spotlight with the Dynamic Duo on a regular basis? Since Julius Schwartz had already been asked to develop a new female Batman for the comic books, Dozier suggested that maybe she could be the daughter of Commissioner Gordon. Once the new Batgirl had her “Million Dollar Debut”“ in Detective Comics No. 359 early in 1967, the executive producer quickly snatched her up as an addition to the regular cast for the season he was putting together. As envisioned by Infantino, the new superheroine was definitely a sight to behold on the cover for her debut issue with her tall, athletic figure taking center stage. While she was prominently featured in the issue by Gardner Fox, Infantino and Sid Greene, both artists who were master craftsmen, especially where the female form was concerned, this wouldn“t do for television. Not if they wanted to get viewers back. But first, they had to get ABC to sign off on their plan. William Dozier cast ballet dancer and actress Yvonne Craig as Batgirl who, on the show, would retain her natural brown hair, cut short to better reflect the latest trend, while as Batgirl she would be wearing a wig of beautiful long, red hair, in keeping with the style she sported in her comic book appearances. Next, they shot a promotional Batgirl short. This episode not only got the approval of the network executives, but also found its way to media outlets to create the right kind of excitement. From the start, Dozier knew that if the series ever hoped to justify its comparatively high budget, a wider appeal was needed to not only reach an audience made up of young children. The camp elements, he had his writers introduce, complete with animated sound effects, had achieved this, for a time at least, somewhat to his own surprise. And while the kids still had fun, mainstream audiences had grown tired of this colorful world and earnest deliveries they perceived as a joke. The adults had gotten the punchline by now and they were done with it. Dozier realized that a different hook was needed, like three years prior, Schwartz, to spare him from the embarrassment of cancellation, had asked his new creative team to give the character a brand-new look. To save the show, Dozier felt that simply bringing on a female character wasn“t just enough. He needed the adults back. Thus, their addition had to make the right kind impression. For this to work, Batgirl simply had to knock it out of the park. Dozier wanted the media to spread the word prior the season premiere on September 14, 1967 that she did just that. And the media went along. Since ostensibly, Batgirl was brought onto the show to not only get young viewers to tune in, which they already did, but to have their fathers find reasons to watch the show along with their kids, and even get some of the older boys to join in, he had a suit designed for the TV incarnation of Batgirl that left as little to the imagination as he could get away with on public television. Since this came in the guise of a kids show, hardly anyone was paying attention to at this point, Dozier and his team got away with a lot, all things considered. While the kiddies could still focus on Batman and Robin, now their fathers had a babe whose own title song asked whose baby she was, or as one of those earlier reviewers Dozier enlisted would put it: “Hey, all you little kiddies out there in television land, look who“s joined the Dynamic Duo in their fight against crime in Gotham City! You over-age kids better take a peek, too, because Yvonne Craig looks to us like something for adults only ”“ and only highly-sexed adults at that. Have you checked out this chick as Batgirl in a metallic purple stretch suit? Wow! [”¦] Holy Balloons, Batman! Don“t you think you ought to take a closer look?”“ It did not matter much, that this piece was written for a publication called Modern Man, or that its title, “Too Torrid For Tots!”“, would create expectations that the Batman show could not fulfill. Or that the article was accompanied with full-body shot of the beautiful actress in her overly tight bodysuit, with her cowl mask on, which had been made smaller since the promo short, resting one hand seductively on her hip, the other arm raised high into the air, her fingers holding up one end of her scalloped cape which was decidedly shorter than Batman“s cape. Whereas the addition of Batgirl did attract new viewers, it didn“t matter. Budgets were further slashed, and the art design on the show began to resemble that of an art department production of a local high school. On March 14, 1968 the final episode hit the air. It almost seems ironic in hindsight, that while NBC had shown initial interest in taking over the show, they now balked at the cost of rebuilding the costly sets which had already been destroyed. The Batman was dead now. While in 1964 he had survived the grocery clerk who came calling because of low sales, this time it was curtains for the big guy, at least where television was concerned. Sure, he would live on for many years to come in reruns, but these were old radio signals received here on Earth from an alien world, a planet such as the ones he had so many adventures on when he was a joke in comics as well. And what about the comics and his fate in the four-colored world? Who was reading Batman now? What about The Batman of the comics? Would he survive? And more importantly, should he? Looking at the sales numbers for the Batman title alone, these fell, on a monthly average, by nearly 200,000 units per month from 1968 to 1969, by which time they even fell far below the important mark of half a million. Clearly, one would have to answer the question with no. But then again, had he not escaped every trap and by doing so, had he not always foiled the most fiendish plans any of his opponents could throw at him? To find out why alas, The Batman lived, and how he pulled this off, be here in seven days. Same Bat-Time!
Author Profile
Chris Buse (RIP)
A comic book reader since 1972. When he is not reading or writing about the books he loves or is listening to The Twilight Sad, you can find Chris at his consulting company in Germany... drinking damn good coffee. Also a proud member of the ICC (International Comics Collective) Podcast with Al Mega and Dave Elliott.
