Caped Crusader The Latest ‘Batman’ Movie Tries To Remain True To Its Original Comic-Book Roots
With a new star under the hood and chest plate, the irrepressible Batman is back. George Clooney stars as millionaire socialite Bruce Wayne by day and Caped Crusader by night as “Batman and Robin” flies into movie theaters on Friday.
It’s the fourth edition in the hugely successful series that has already grossed $598 million in the U.S. - and millions more in videos, merchandise, foreign releases and comic books.
Where are Batman’s roots? Actually, illustrator Bob Kane’s foreboding character is the “Energizer Bunny” of the comic books. He just keeps going and going.
Since his first appearance in Detective Comics 27 in 1939 ($140,000 a copy, if you’re shopping - one was auctioned June 14 for $68,500), the dour do-gooder has had more makeovers than Madonna. He’s guested on the Superman radio hour during the 1940s, in two film serials in 1943 and 1949, and kerpowed his way through a campy TV show (1966-68) - as well as three previous Warner Bros. flicks.
The DC comic book continues to be the most successful comic book, surpassing even the super-successful Superman series. There are currently nine monthly titles by DC Comics featuring Batman characters.
Clooney, the superhunk from TV’s “ER,” is the third actor of late to portray Batman on the silver screen. Michael Keaton originated the role in 1989’s “Batman,” and followed it up with “Batman Returns” in 1992. Val Kilmer starred in “Batman Forever,” the 1995 film that introduced Robin to the series.
Batman, of course, is not the same to all people. And depending on the venue, he’s prone to some pretty disparate personality traits. In the comic book, for example, Batman’s not a killer; whether his aversion to bloodshed is philosophical or not, it allows his villains to return again and again to terrorize anew.
“Batman would never kill anybody, especially after what happened to his parents,” says Ryan Roman, a 22-year-old Batfan, artist and employee at Jim Hanley’s Universe, a comicbook store in Manhattan.
In the past three Batman films, however, the Joker falls to his death from an abandoned cathedral tower, the Penguin drowns in an underground lake, and Two-Face gets toasted in a secret electrical plant.
(These movie deaths haven’t stopped the same villains from wreaking havoc on Gotham City in the comic books, with Joker and company usually being hauled off in the end to the Arkham Asylum).
But aficionados say the latest film attempts to remain true to its comic-book roots. In the official comic of the movie (written by Dennis O’Neil, who has been writing and editing comics for more than 30 years), the characters are definitely closer to Kane’s original creations.
O’Neil is the “Bat-Guru” at DC Comics and has been a comic writer for 31 years and is the group editor for all of the Batman books.
“Virtually every comics creator I know is a movie freak. Anytime a big movie opens, we head for the Ziegfield,” says O’Neil.
He has adapted all four Batman movies. For the latest he has done an amazing job - try cramming a 120-page screenplay into a 64-page comic, pumped up with new heroes and villains.
The new characters joining Clooney had their own curious paths to the screen. Batgirl, played by Alicia Silverstone, debuted as a character on the TV show (played by Yvonne Craig) during the 1967-68 season and became a comic-book fixture that same year. Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) made his debut as Mr. Zero in a 1959 comic and then as Mr. Freeze on the TV show in 1966.
Uma Thurman’s Poison Ivy first showed up in a comic in June 1966 but was never a character on the TV program. She has continued to be used as a minor villain in the comic series since, and has a role in the current animated series.
As Robin might put it, “Holy soap opera, Batman!”
xxxx New characters By Ed Tahaney New York Daily News Here are the new characters in the “Batman and Robin” movie: Character: Batgirl Played by: Alicia Silverstone AKA: Barbara Gordon Occupation: Librarian Marital Status: single Superpowers: none, daughter of Police Commisioner Gordon Good/Bad: Good First Comic Book Appearance: Detective Comics 359, Jan. 1967 Current market value: $60.
Character: Mr. Freeze Played by: Arnold Schwarzenegger Alias: Mr. Zero, Victor Fries Occupation: Former cryogenics expert Marital Status: Widowed Superpowers: He aims to freeze and needs lasers to keep cool. Good/Bad: Bad First Comic Book Appearance: Batman 121, Feb. 1959 Current Market Value: $200.
Character: Poison Ivy Played by: Uma Thurman Alias: Pamela Isley Occupation: Botanist Marital Status: single Superpowers: Poisonous touch, itchin’ for revenge. Good/Bad: Bad First Comic Book Appearance: Batman No. 181, 1967 Current Market Value: $95