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Mickey Mouse
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Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white gloves. He is often depicted alongside his girlfriend Minnie Mouse, his pet dog Pluto, his friends Donald Duck and Goofy and his nemesis Pete among others (see Mickey Mouse universe).
Mickey was created as a replacement for a prior Disney character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The character was originally to be named "Mortimer Mouse", until Disney's wife, Lillian, suggested "Mickey". Mickey first appeared in two 1928 shorts "Plane Crazy" and "The Gallopin' Gaucho" (which were not picked up for distribution) before his public debut in "Steamboat Willie" (1928). The character went on to appear in over 130 films, mostly shorts as well as features such as "Fantasia" (1940). Since 1930, Mickey has been featured extensively in comic strips (including the "Mickey Mouse" comic strip, which ran for 45 years) and comic books (such as "Mickey Mouse"). The character has also been featured in television series such as "The Mickey Mouse Club" (1955–1996).
Inspired by such silent film personalities as Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, Mickey is traditionally characterized as a sympathetic underdog who gets by on pluck and ingenuity in the face of challenges bigger than himself. The character's depiction as a small mouse is personified through his diminutive stature and falsetto voice, the latter of which was originally provided by Walt Disney. Though originally characterized as a cheeky lovable rogue, Mickey was rebranded over time as a more conventionally friendly protagonist, usually seen as a spirited, yet impulsive hero.
Mickey also appears in media such as video games as well as merchandising and is a meetable character at the Disney parks. He is one of the world's most recognizable and universally acclaimed fictional characters. Ten of Mickey's cartoons were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, one of which, "Lend a Paw", won the award in 1941. In 1978, Mickey became the first cartoon character to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Creation.
Mickey Mouse was created as a replacement for Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, an earlier cartoon character that was created by the Disney studio but owned at the time by Universal Pictures. Charles Mintz served as a middleman producer between Disney and Universal through his company, Winkler Pictures, for the series of cartoons starring Oswald. In a February 1928 meeting with Mintz to renew the Oswald contract, Disney was met by a disappointing budget cut proposal, along with Mintz's revelation that several of the most important Disney animators were coming over to his studio. Among the few who stayed at the Disney studio were animator Ub Iwerks, apprentice artist Les Clark, and Wilfred Jackson.
A new character was workshopped out of necessity and in relative secret. Various myths exist of Walt Disney's inspiration for Mickey (including some which were likely ghostwritten), such as that the starving artist drew inspiration from a tame mouse (or pair of mice) at his desk at Laugh-O-Gram Studio in Kansas City, Missouri, or that he undertook a romantic search for inspiration on the train ride home from his disappointing meeting with Mintz. At Disney's behest, Iwerks sketched new character ideas based on various animals such as dogs and cats, but none of these appealed to Disney. A female cow and male horse were rejected, as was a male frog. In 1925, Hugh Harman drew some sketches of mice around a photograph of Walt Disney, reputedly based on Disney's own designs (similar to those he included on family birthday cards). These inspired Iwerks to create a new mouse character for Disney.
"Mortimer Mouse" had been Disney's original name for the character before his wife, Lillian, convinced him to change it. It has been speculated that Disney saw the name on a similarly named Performo toy. Additionally, actor Mickey Rooney claimed that during his time performing as the title character of the "Mickey McGuire" film series (1927–1934), he met Walt Disney at the Warner Bros. studio, inspiring Disney to name the character after him; however, Disney Studios was located on Hyperion Avenue at the time, with Disney conducting no business at Warner Bros.
The first feature-length movie with dialogue sequences, "The Jazz Singer" starring Al Jolson, was released on October 6, 1927. Several additional talkies followed, and movie theaters began installing the necessary equipment. Walt Disney reputedly discussed making sound cartoons in late May 1928. After composer Carl W. Stalling initially voiced Mickey for the 1929 talkie shorts "The Karnival Kid" and "Wild Waves", Disney himself provided the often-shy falsetto voice—a large part of the character's onscreen persona.
Design.
Mickey's original design strongly resembled Oswald the Rabbit, save for the ears, nose, and tail. Ub Iwerks designed Mickey's body out of circles (distinctly, the ears) to make the character easy to animate.
Upon his creation, Mickey's features shared similarities to a number of his cartoon predecessors with large eyes and mouth on a black body (e.g. Oswald and Felix the Cat). From early 1929, Mickey also wore white gloves (similar to those appearing on later characters, e.g. Bosko and Bimbo). Several sources state that this scheme evolved from blackface caricatures used in minstrel shows.
Additionally, Mickey's original black hands could not be seen if they passed in front of his torso. This limitation encouraged animators to base their poses on silhouette, much in the manner of Charlie Chaplin films.
Minnie Mouse was designed similarly to Mickey, with only superficial details being different. In the 1930s, animator Fred Moore tried giving Mickey's body more of a pear shape to increase his acting range; Walt Disney liked this adaptation and declared, "that's the way I want Mickey to be drawn from now on." Moore maintained that the character should always be drawn from a pleasing angle, ears included, as opposed to depicting Mickey as a realistic 3D character.
Mickey's eyes were originally large and white with black outlines, with the tops able to deform like eyebrows; the pupil was circular (with a triangle cut out in poster to simulate reflected light). Starting with "Steamboat Willie", the bottom portion of the black outlines was removed, often making the pupil placement look strange. The pupils began to be treated as stationary, dotlike eyes, requiring the entire head to be moved to make Mickey look around. During the production of "Fantasia" in the late 1930s, Fred Moore redesigned Mickey with small white pupilled eyes, with the redefined facial area being given a light skin color. Distinct, lined eyebrows were later added and are currently used occasionally.
Besides Mickey's gloves and shoes, he typically wears only a pair of shorts with two large buttons in the front. Before Mickey was seen regularly in color animation, Mickey's shorts were either red or a dull blue-green. With the advent of Mickey's color films, they were always red. When Mickey is not wearing his shorts, he is often still wearing red clothing. Due to budgetary limits imposed by World War II, Mickey temporarily lost his tail, e.g. in "The Little Whirlwind" (1941).
Appearances.
Film.
Debut (1928).
Mickey was first seen in a test screening of the cartoon short "Plane Crazy", on May 15, 1928, but it failed to impress the audience and Walt could not find a distributor for it. Walt went on to produce a second Mickey short, "The Gallopin' Gaucho", which was also not released for lack of a distributor.
"Steamboat Willie" was first released on November 18, 1928, in New York. It was by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. Iwerks again served as the head animator, assisted by Les Clark, Johnny Cannon, Wilfred Jackson and Dick Lundy. This short was a nod to Buster Keaton's "Steamboat Bill, Jr.", released earlier that year. Although it was the third Mickey cartoon produced, it was the first to find a distributor, and thus is considered by The Disney Company as Mickey's debut. It also featured some design refinements, and included the use of a bouncing ball on the film print to allow conductors and musicians to match the tempo of their music with the film.
The cartoon was not the first cartoon to feature a soundtrack connected to the action. Fleischer Studios, headed by brothers Dave and Max Fleischer, had already released a number of sound cartoons using the DeForest system in the mid-1920s. However, these cartoons did not keep the sound synchronized throughout the film. For "Willie", Disney had the sound recorded with a click track that kept the musicians on the beat. This precise timing is apparent during the "Turkey in the Straw" sequence when Mickey's actions exactly match the accompanying instruments. Animation historians have long debated who had served as the composer for the film's original music. This role has been variously attributed to Wilfred Jackson, Carl Stalling and Bert Lewis, but identification remains uncertain. Walt Disney himself was voice actor for both Mickey and Minnie and would remain the source of Mickey's voice through 1946 for theatrical cartoons. Jimmy MacDonald took over the role in 1946, but Walt provided Mickey's voice again from 1955 to 1959 for "The Mickey Mouse Club" television series on ABC.
Audiences at the time of "Steamboat Willie"s release were reportedly impressed by the use of sound for comedic purposes. Sound films or "talkies" were still considered innovative. Most other cartoon studios were still producing silent products and so were unable to effectively act as competition to Disney. As a result, Mickey would soon become the most prominent animated character of the time. Walt Disney soon worked on adding sound to both "Plane Crazy" and "The Gallopin' Gaucho" (which had originally been silent releases) and their new release added to Mickey's success and popularity. A fourth Mickey short, "The Barn Dance", was also put into production; however, Mickey does not actually speak until "The Karnival Kid" (1929). After "Steamboat Willie" was released, Mickey became a close competitor to Felix the Cat, and his popularity would grow as he was continuously featured in sound cartoons. By 1929, Felix would lose popularity among theater audiences, and Pat Sullivan decided to produce all future Felix cartoons in sound as a result. Audiences did not respond well to Felix's transition to sound and by 1930, Felix had faded from the screen.
Black and white films (1929–1935).
In Mickey's early films he was often characterized not as a hero, but as an ineffective young suitor to Minnie Mouse. "The Barn Dance" (March 14, 1929) is the first time in which Mickey is turned down by Minnie in favor of Pete. "The Opry House" (March 28, 1929) was the first time in which Mickey wore his white gloves. Mickey wears them in almost all of his subsequent appearances and many other characters followed suit. The three lines on the back of Mickey's gloves represent darts in the gloves' fabric extending from between the digits of the hand, typical of glove design of the era.
"When the Cat's Away" (April 18, 1929), essentially a remake of the "Alice Comedy", "Alice Rattled by Rats", was an unusual appearance for Mickey. Although Mickey and Minnie still maintained their anthropomorphic characteristics, they were depicted as the size of regular mice and living with a community of many other mice as pests in a home. Mickey and Minnie would later appear the size of regular humans in their own setting. In appearances with real humans, Mickey has been shown to be about two to three feet high. The next Mickey short was also unusual. "The Barnyard Battle" (April 25, 1929) was the only film to depict Mickey as a soldier and also the first to place him in combat. "The Karnival Kid" (1929) was the first time Mickey spoke. Before this he had only whistled, laughed, and grunted. His first words were "Hot dogs! Hot dogs!" said while trying to sell hot dogs at a carnival. "Mickey's Follies" (1929) introduced the song "Minnie's Yoo-Hoo" which would become the theme song for "Mickey Mouse" films until 1935. The same song sequence was also later reused with different background animation as its own special short shown only at the commencement of 1930s theater-based Mickey Mouse Clubs. Mickey's dog Pluto first appeared as Mickey's pet in "The Moose Hunt" (1931) after previously appearing as Minnie's dog "Rover" in "The Picnic" (1930).
"Wild Waves" was the last Mickey Mouse cartoon to be animated by Ub Iwerks. Iwerks left to start his own studio, bankrolled by Disney's then-distributor Pat Powers. Powers and Disney had a falling out over money due Disney from the distribution deal. It was in response to losing the right to distribute Disney's cartoons that Powers made the deal with Iwerks, who had long harbored a desire to head his own studio. The departure is considered a turning point in Mickey's career, as well as that of Walt Disney. Walt lost the man who served as his closest colleague and confidant since 1919. Mickey lost the man responsible for his original design and for the direction or animation of several of the shorts released till this point. Advertising for the early Mickey Mouse cartoons credited them as "A Walt Disney Comic, drawn by Ub Iwerks". Later Disney Company reissues of the early cartoons tend to credit Walt Disney alone. "Wild Waves" was also composer Carl Stalling's last film with the Walt Disney Studio. Stalling joined Iwerks at his new studio.
Disney and his remaining staff continued the production of the Mickey series, and he was able to eventually find a number of animators to replace Iwerks. As the Great Depression progressed and Felix the Cat faded from the movie screen, Mickey's popularity would rise, and by 1932 The Mickey Mouse Club would have one million members. At the 5th Academy Awards in 1932, Mickey received his first Academy Award nomination, received for "Mickey's Orphans" (1931). Walt Disney also received an honorary Academy Award for the creation of Mickey Mouse. Despite being eclipsed by the "Silly Symphony" short the "Three Little Pigs" in 1933, Mickey still maintained great popularity among theater audiences too, until 1935, when polls showed that Popeye was more popular than Mickey. By 1934, Mickey merchandise had earned $600,000 a year. In 1935, Disney began to phase out the Mickey Mouse Clubs, due to administration problems.
About this time, story artists at Disney were finding it increasingly difficult to write material for Mickey. As he had developed into a role model for children, they were limited in the types of gags they could present. This led to Mickey taking more of a secondary role in some of his next films, allowing for more emphasis on other characters. In "Orphan's Benefit" (1934), Mickey first appeared with Donald Duck who had been introduced earlier that year in the "Silly Symphony" series. The tempestuous duck would provide Disney with seemingly endless story ideas and would remain a recurring character in Mickey's cartoons.
Color films (1935–1953).
Mickey first appeared animated in color in "Parade of the Award Nominees" in 1932; however, the film strip was created for the 5th Academy Awards ceremony and was not released to the public. Mickey's official first color film came in 1935 with "The Band Concert". The Technicolor film process was used in the film production. Here Mickey conducted the "William Tell Overture", but the band is swept up by a tornado. It is said that conductor Arturo Toscanini so loved this short that, upon first seeing it, he asked the projectionist to run it again. In 1994, "The Band Concert" was voted the third-greatest cartoon of all time in a poll of animation professionals. By colorizing and partially redesigning Mickey, Walt put Mickey back on top once again. Mickey reach new heights of popularity. Also in 1935, Walt would receive a special award from the League of Nations for creating Mickey.
The second half of the 1930s saw the character Goofy reintroduced as a series regular. Together, Mickey, Donald Duck, and Goofy would go on several adventures together. Several of the films by the comic trio are some of Mickey's most critically acclaimed films, including "Mickey's Fire Brigade" (1935), "Moose Hunters" (1937), "Clock Cleaners" (1937), "Lonesome Ghosts" (1937), "Boat Builders" (1938), and "Mickey's Trailer" (1938). Also during this era, Mickey was the star in "Brave Little Tailor" (1938), an adaptation of "The Valiant Little Tailor", which was nominated for an Academy Award.
In 1939, Mickey appeared in "Mickey's Surprise Party", along with Minnie, with a new design, which included pupils. Later on, in 1940, the character appeared in his first feature-length film, "Fantasia". The film used the redesigned version of Mickey with the pupils. His screen role as The Sorcerer's Apprentice, set to the symphonic poem of the same name by Paul Dukas, is perhaps the most famous segment of the film and one of Mickey's most iconic roles. The apprentice (Mickey), not willing to do his chores, puts on the sorcerer's magic hat after the sorcerer goes to bed and casts a spell on a broom, which causes the broom to come to life and perform the most tiring chore—filling up a deep well using two buckets of water. When the well eventually overflows, Mickey finds himself unable to control the broom, leading to a near-flood. After the segment ends, Mickey is seen in silhouette shaking hands with conductor Leopold Stokowski. Mickey has often been pictured in the red robe and blue sorcerer's hat in merchandising. It was also featured into the climax of Fantasmic!, an attraction at the Disney theme parks.
After 1940, Mickey's popularity declined until his 1955 re-emergence as a daily children's television personality. Despite this, the character continued to appear regularly in animated shorts until 1943 (winning his only competitive Academy Award—with canine companion Pluto—for the short subject "Lend a Paw") and again from 1946 to 1952. In these later cartoons, Mickey was often just a supporting character in his own shorts. Pluto was instead used as the main character.
The last regular installment of the "Mickey Mouse" film series came in 1953 with "The Simple Things" in which Mickey and Pluto go fishing and are pestered by a flock of seagulls.
Television and later films.
In the 1950s, Mickey became more known for his appearances on television, particularly with "The Mickey Mouse Club". Many of his theatrical cartoon shorts were rereleased on television series such as "Ink & Paint Club", various forms of the Walt Disney anthology television series, and on home video. Mickey returned to theatrical animation in 1983 with "Mickey's Christmas Carol", an adaptation of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" in which Mickey played Bob Cratchit. This was followed up in 1990 with "The Prince and the Pauper".
Throughout the decades, Mickey Mouse competed with Warner Bros.' Bugs Bunny for animated popularity. But in 1988, the two rivals finally shared screen time in the Robert Zemeckis Disney/Amblin film "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". Disney and Warner signed an agreement stating that each character had the same amount of screen time in the scene.
Similar to his animated inclusion into a live-action film in "Roger Rabbit", Mickey made a featured cameo appearance in the 1990 television special "The Muppets at Walt Disney World" where he met Kermit the Frog. The two are established in the story as having been old friends, although they have not made any other appearance together outside of this.
His most recent theatrical cartoon short was 2013's "Get a Horse!" which was preceded by 1995's "Runaway Brain", while from 1999 to 2004, he appeared in direct-to-video features like "Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas", "" and "Mickey's Twice Upon a Christmas".
Many television series have centered on Mickey, such as the ABC shows "Mickey Mouse Works" (1999–2000), "House of Mouse" (2001–2003), Disney Channel's "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" (2006–2016), "Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures" (2017–2021) and "Mickey Mouse Funhouse" (2021–present). Prior to all these, Mickey was also featured as an unseen character in the "Bonkers" episode "You Oughta Be In Toons".
In 2013, Disney Channel started airing new 3-minute "Mickey Mouse" shorts, with animator Paul Rudish at the helm, incorporating elements of Mickey's late twenties-early thirties look with a contemporary twist. On November 10, 2020, the series was revived as "The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse" and premiered on Disney+. Furthermore, The creative team behind the 2017 "DuckTales" reboot had hoped to have Mickey Mouse in the series, but this idea was rejected by Disney executives. However, a watermelon bearing Mickey's physical likeness appears in one episode as a ventriloquist dummy companion to Donald Duck.
In August 2018, ABC television announced a two-hour prime time special, "Mickey's 90th Spectacular", in honor of Mickey's 90th birthday. The program featured never-before-seen short videos and several other celebrities who wanted to share their memories about Mickey Mouse and performed some of the Disney songs to impress Mickey. The show took place at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and was produced and directed by Don Mischer on November 4, 2018. On November 18, 2018, a 90th anniversary event for the character was celebrated around the world. In December 2019, both Mickey and Minnie served as special co-hosts of "Wheel of Fortune" for two weeks while Vanna White served as the main host during Pat Sajak's absence.
Mickey is the subject of the 2022 documentary film "", directed by Jeff Malmberg. Premiering at the South by Southwest film festival prior to its premiere on the Disney+ streaming service, the documentary examines the history and cultural impact of Mickey Mouse. The feature is accompanied by an original, hand-drawn animated short film starring Mickey titled "Mickey in a Minute".
Mickey appeared in Walt Disney Animation Studios' centennial short film, "Once Upon a Studio", in which he corrals the characters of Disney's animated features to take a group picture.
Comics.
Mickey first appeared in comics after he had appeared in 15 commercially successful animated shorts and was easily recognized by the public. Walt Disney was approached by King Features Syndicate with the offer to license Mickey and his supporting characters for use in a comic strip. Disney accepted and "Mickey Mouse" made its first appearance on January 13, 1930. The comical plot was credited to Disney himself, art to Ub Iwerks and inking to Win Smith. The first week or so of the strip featured a loose adaptation of "Plane Crazy". Minnie soon became the first addition to the cast. The strips first released between January 13, 1930, and March 31, 1930, have been occasionally reprinted in comic book form under the collective title "Lost on a Desert Island". Animation historian Jim Korkis notes, "After the eighteenth strip, Iwerks left and his inker, Win Smith, continued drawing the gag-a-day format."
In early 1930, after Iwerks' departure, Disney was at first content to continue scripting the Mickey Mouse comic strip, assigning the art to Win Smith. However, Disney's focus had always been in animation and Smith was soon assigned with the scripting as well. Smith was apparently discontent at the prospect of having to script, draw, and ink a series by himself as evidenced by his sudden resignation.
Disney then searched for a replacement among the remaining staff of the Studio. He selected Floyd Gottfredson, a recently hired employee. At the time Gottfredson was reportedly eager to work in animation and somewhat reluctant to accept his new assignment. Disney had to assure him the assignment was only temporary and that he would eventually return to animation. Gottfredson accepted and ended up holding this "temporary" assignment from May 5, 1930, to November 15, 1975.
Walt Disney's last script for the strip appeared May 17, 1930. Gottfredson's first task was to finish the storyline Disney had started on April 1, 1930. The storyline was completed on September 20, 1930, and later reprinted in comic book form as "Mickey Mouse in Death Valley". This early adventure expanded the cast of the strip which to this point only included Mickey and Minnie. Among the characters who had their first comic strip appearances in this story were Clarabelle Cow, Horace Horsecollar, and Black Pete as well as the debuts of corrupted lawyer Sylvester Shyster and Minnie's uncle Mortimer Mouse. The Death Valley narrative was followed by "Mr. Slicker and the Egg Robbers", first printed between September 22 and December 26, 1930, which introduced Marcus Mouse and his wife as Minnie's parents.
Starting with these two early comic strip stories, Mickey's versions in animation and comics are considered to have diverged from each other. While Disney and his cartoon shorts would continue to focus on comedy, the comic strip effectively combined comedy and adventure. This adventurous version of Mickey would continue to appear in comic strips and later comic books throughout the 20th and into the 21st century.
Floyd Gottfredson left his mark with stories such as "Mickey Mouse Joins the Foreign Legion" (1936) and "The Gleam" (1942). He also created the Phantom Blot, Eega Beeva, Morty and Ferdie, Captain Churchmouse, and Butch. Besides Gottfredson artists for the strip over the years included Roman Arambula, Rick Hoover, Manuel Gonzales, Carson Van Osten, Jim Engel, Bill Wright, Ted Thwailes and Daan Jippes; writers included Ted Osborne, Merrill De Maris, Bill Walsh, Dick Shaw, Roy Williams, Del Connell, and Floyd Norman.
The next artist to leave his mark on the character was Paul Murry in Dell Comics. His first Mickey tale appeared in 1950 but Mickey did not become a specialty until Murry's first serial for "Walt Disney's Comics and Stories" in 1953 ("The Last Resort"). In the same period, Romano Scarpa in Italy for the magazine "Topolino" began to revitalize Mickey in stories that brought back the Phantom Blot and Eega Beeva along with new creations such as the Atomo Bleep-Bleep. While the stories at Western Publishing during the Silver Age emphasized Mickey as a detective in the style of Sherlock Holmes, in the modern era several editors and creators have consciously undertaken to depict a more vigorous Mickey in the mold of the classic Gottfredson adventures. This renaissance has been spearheaded by Byron Erickson, David Gerstein, Noel Van Horn, Michael T. Gilbert and César Ferioli.
In Europe, Mickey Mouse became the main attraction of a number of comics magazines, the most famous being "Topolino" in Italy from 1932 onward, "Le Journal de Mickey" in France from 1934 onward, "Don Miki" in Spain and the Greek "Miky Maous".
Mickey was the main character for the series "MM Mickey Mouse Mystery Magazine", published in Italy from 1999 to 2001.
In 2006, he appeared in the Italian fantasy comic saga "Wizards of Mickey".
In 1958, Mickey Mouse was introduced to the Arab world through another comic book called "Sameer". He became very popular in Egypt and got a comic book with his name. Mickey's comics in Egypt are licensed by Disney and were published since 1959 by "Dar Al-Hilal" and they were successful, however Dar Al-Hilal stopped the publication in 2003 because of problems with Disney. The comics were re-released by "Nahdat Masr" in 2004 and the first issues were sold out in less than 8 hours.
Portrayal.
Mickey is traditionally characterized as a sympathetic underdog who gets by on pluck and ingenuity in the face of challenges much bigger than himself. As a mouse, an inherently vulnerable creature, Mickey is often depicted as having minimal resources and attributes at his disposal. Consequently, he must rely on sheer wit to overcome obstacles. The character is frequently pitted against larger-than-life villains to accentuate this idea; namely the hulking cat Pegleg Pete, and numerous one-shot antagonists such as the giants of "Giantland" (1933) and "Brave Little Tailor" (1938), the king of cards in "Thru the Mirror" (1936) and Mortimer Mouse in "Mickey's Rival" (1936). These adversaries were decidedly portrayed as overbearing figures of authority, thusly painting Mickey as a rebellious hero. When not facing an opponent, Mickey is oft placed in situations where his pursuits of grandeur or simple accomplishment lead to disastrous results, typically at the hands of his own impulsivity, as was the case in "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (1940) among others. Mickey is not portrayed as a hero in the traditional sense, instead acting as a subversion of the stock archetype. He often fumbles his way through adventures; his small size and misplaced optimism serving as his dominating flaws. His manner of problem-solving is generally unorthodox to comedic effect; in "Ye Olden Days" (1933), Mickey's jousting horse was an infantile mule. In "Shanghaied" (1934), Mickey battled with a broadbill in place of a sword. The underdog nature of Mickey's character has been interpreted by historians as a symbolic reflection of Walt Disney's early struggles as a farm boy breaking into the imposing Hollywood industry in the 1920s. It has also been perceived as an allegory for the Great Depression in the United States, with Mickey's unrelenting optimism symbolizing the "American endurance to survive" in the face of economic woes.
Charlie Chaplin, known by audiences of the time for his role as the "Little Tramp", was identified by Disney as a source of inspiration for the Mickey character. Disney himself was a noted admirer of Chaplin's work, ascribing his development as a storytelling to the actor. In "The American Magazine" for March 1931, Disney explained, "I think we were rather indebted to Charlie Chaplin for the idea [of Mickey Mouse]. We wanted something appealing and we thought of a tiny bit of a mouse that would have something of the wistfulness of Chaplin... a little fellow trying to do the best he could." American journalist Alva Johnston noted the similarities between the two figures, stating, "Chaplin was a kind of godfather to Mickey Mouse. It is now and always has been the aim of Disney to graft the psychology of Chaplin upon Mickey. The two universal characters have something in common in their approach to their problems. They have the same blend of hero and coward, nitwit and genius, mug and gentleman."
Besides Chaplin, other notable figures of the silent era have been credited to Mickey's characterization. Chief among them was Douglas Fairbanks, whose swashbuckling screen adventures would inspire Mickey's animated epics. Ub Iwerks wrote in 1970, "He was the super-hero of his day, always winning, gallant and swashbuckling. Mickey's action was in that vein. He was never intended to be a sissy, he was always an adventurous character. I thought of him in that respect, and I had him do naturally the sort of thing Doug Fairbanks would do." Disney was also noted to have been influenced by Fairbanks, along with other screen personalities including Harold Lloyd and Fred Astaire.
An adaptive character, Mickey's personality lends itself to function within a multitude of situations, while retaining core elements of its design. He is not bound to a particular formula or motif, and as such, has been portrayed in a variety of settings and occupational roles. His film series, meanwhile, spans numerous genres besides the traditional musical comedy; "The Mad Doctor" (1933) and "Runaway Brain" (1995) parody the horror genre, whereas stories such as "Mickey's Good Deed" (1932) and "The Prince and the Pauper" (1990) are largely dramatic works. This versatility is said to have attributed to Mickey's popularity with audiences. As expressed by writer Chelsea Tatham, "From his beginnings, Mickey was able to appeal to a wide audience. He catered to neither the 'highbrow' nor the 'hick,' but the ordinary intelligent picturegoer."
There are a number of catchphrases and colloquialisms associated with the character. Mickey's first spoken words, "Hot dog!" from "The Karnival Kid" (1929), has endured as a recurring phrase for the character, made especially recognizable to modern audiences for its extensive use in the preschool television program "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse". Mickey's signature closing line, "See ya real soon!", is derived from the "Mickey Mouse March" reprise from the original 1955 run of "The Mickey Mouse Club" ("M-I-C; see you real soon!").
Voice actors.
Composer Carl W. Stalling was the first person to provide lines for Mickey in the 1929 shorts "The Karnival Kid" and "Wild Waves". From this point on, Mickey was voiced by Walt Disney himself, being a job in which he appeared to take great personal pride.
J. Donald Wilson and Joe Twerp provided the voice in some 1938 broadcasts of "The Mickey Mouse Theater of the Air", although Disney remained Mickey's official voice during this period. However, by 1946, Disney was becoming too busy with running the studio to do regular voice work which meant he could not do Mickey's voice on a regular basis anymore. It is also speculated that his cigarette habit had damaged his voice over the years. After recording the "Mickey and the Beanstalk" section of "Fun and Fancy Free", Mickey's voice was handed over to veteran Disney musician and actor Jimmy MacDonald. Walt would reprise Mickey's voice occasionally until his passing in 1966, such as in the introductions to the original 1955–1959 run of "The Mickey Mouse Club" TV series, the "Fourth Anniversary Show" episode of the Walt Disney's Disneyland TV series that aired on September 11, 1957, and the "Disneyland USA at Radio City Music Hall" show from 1962.
MacDonald voiced Mickey in most of the remaining theatrical shorts and for various television and publicity projects up until his retirement in 1976. However, other actors would occasionally play the role during this era. Clarence Nash, the voice of Donald Duck, provided the voice in three of Mickey's theatrical shorts, "The Dognapper", "R'coon Dawg", and "Pluto's Party". Stan Freberg voiced Mickey in the Freberg-produced record "Mickey Mouse's Birthday Party".
Alan Young voiced Mickey in the Disneyland record album "An Adaptation of Dickens' Christmas Carol, Performed by The Walt Disney Players" in 1974.
The 1983 short film "Mickey's Christmas Carol" marked the theatrical debut of Wayne Allwine as Mickey Mouse, who was the official voice of Mickey from 1977 until his death in 2009, although MacDonald returned to voice Mickey for an appearance at the 50th Academy Awards in 1978. Allwine once recounted something MacDonald had told him about voicing Mickey: "The main piece of advice that Jim gave me about Mickey helped me keep things in perspective. He said, 'Just remember kid, you're only filling in for the boss.' And that's the way he treated doing Mickey for years and years. From Walt, and now from Jimmy." In 1991, Allwine married Russi Taylor, the voice of Minnie Mouse from 1986 until her death in 2019.
Les Perkins did the voice of Mickey in two TV specials, "Down and Out with Donald Duck" and "DTV Valentine", in the mid-1980s. Peter Renaday voiced Mickey in the 1980s Disney albums "Yankee Doodle Mickey" and "Mickey Mouse Splashdance". He also provided his voice for "The Talking Mickey Mouse" toy in 1986. Quinton Flynn briefly filled in for Allwine as the voice of Mickey in a few episodes of the first season of "Mickey Mouse Works" whenever Allwine was unavailable to record.
Bret Iwan, a former Hallmark greeting card artist, has been the official voice of Mickey since 2009. Iwan was originally cast as an understudy for Allwine due to the latter's declining health, but Allwine died before Iwan could get a chance to meet him and Iwan became the new official voice of the character at the time. Iwan's early recordings in 2009 included work for the Disney Cruise Line, Mickey toys, the Disney theme parks and the Disney on Ice: Celebrations! ice show. He directly replaced Allwine as Mickey for the "Kingdom Hearts" video game series and the TV series "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse". His first video game voice-over of Mickey Mouse can be heard in '. Iwan also became the first voice actor to portray Mickey during Disney's rebranding of the character, providing the vocal effects of Mickey in "Epic Mickey" as well as his voice lines in ' and the remake of "Castle of Illusion". An openly gay man, Iwan is the character's first LGBT+ performer.
In addition to Iwan, Chris Diamantopoulos was cast as Mickey for the "Mickey Mouse" 2013 animated series developed by Paul Rudish, as the producers were looking for a voice closer to Walt Disney's portrayal of the character in order to match the vintage look of that series. Diamantopoulos is the first voice of Mickey to be nominated for two Emmy Awards and two Annie Awards for his work in the series. He has reprised the role in the 2017 "DuckTales" reboot (in the form of a watermelon that Donald uses as a ventriloquist dummy), the Walt Disney World attraction Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway, and the Disney+ revival of the series, "The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse". He voiced Mickey once again for the 2023 short film "Once Upon a Studio".
Merchandising.
Since his early years, Mickey Mouse has been licensed by Disney to appear on many different kinds of merchandise. Mickey was produced as plush toys and figurines, and Mickey's image has graced almost everything from T-shirts to lunchboxes. Largely responsible for early Disney merchandising was Kay Kamen, Disney's head of merchandise and licensing from 1932 until his death in 1949, who was called a "stickler for quality". Kamen was recognized by The Walt Disney Company as having a significant part in Mickey's rise to stardom and was named a Disney Legend in 1998. At the time of his 80th-anniversary celebration in 2008, "Time" declared Mickey Mouse one of the world's most recognized characters, even when compared against Santa Claus. Disney officials have stated that 98% of children aged 3–11 around the world are at least aware of the character. Disney expected the "Mickey Mouse & Friends" brand to make $9 billion in retail sales in 2011.
Disney parks.
As the official Walt Disney mascot, Mickey has played a central role in the Disney parks since the opening of Disneyland in 1955. As with other characters, Mickey is often portrayed by a non-speaking costumed actor. In this form, he has participated in ceremonies and countless parades, and poses for photographs with guests. As of the presidency of Barack Obama (who jokingly referred to him as "a world leader who has bigger ears than me") Mickey has met every U.S. president since Harry Truman, with the exception of Lyndon B. Johnson.
Mickey also features in several specific attractions at the Disney parks. Mickey's Toontown (Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland) is a themed land which is a recreation of Mickey's neighborhood. Buildings are built in a cartoon style and guests can visit Mickey or Minnie's houses, Donald Duck's boat, or Goofy's garage. This is a common place to meet the characters.
Mickey's PhilharMagic (Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, Hong Kong Disneyland, Disney California Adventure) is a 4D film which features Mickey in the familiar role of symphony conductor. At Main Street Cinema several of Mickey's short films are shown on a rotating basis; the sixth film is always "Steamboat Willie". Mickey plays a central role in "Fantasmic!" (Disneyland Resort, Disney's Hollywood Studios) a live nighttime show which famously features Mickey in his role as the Sorcerer's Apprentice. Mickey was also a central character in the now-defunct Mickey Mouse Revue (Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland) which was an indoor show featuring animatronic characters. Mickey's face formerly graced the Mickey's Fun Wheel (now Pixar Pal-A-Round) at Disney California Adventure Park, where a figure of him also stands on top of Silly Symphony Swings.
Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway at Disney's Hollywood Studios is a trackless dark ride themed to Mickey Mouse.
In addition to Mickey's overt presence in the parks, numerous images of him are also subtly included in sometimes unexpected places. This phenomenon is known as "Hidden Mickeys", involving hidden images in Disney films, theme parks, and merchandise.
Video games.
Like many popular characters, Mickey has starred in many video games, including "Mickey Mousecapade" on the Nintendo Entertainment System, ', "Mickey's Ultimate Challenge", and "Disney's Magical Quest" on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, "Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse" on the Mega Drive/Genesis, ' on the Game Boy, and many others. In the 2000s, the "Disney's Magical Quest" series were ported to the Game Boy Advance, while Mickey made his sixth generation era debut in "Disney's Magical Mirror Starring Mickey Mouse", a GameCube title aimed at younger audiences. Mickey plays a major role in the "Kingdom Hearts" series, as the king of Disney Castle and aided to the protagonist, Sora and his friends. King Mickey wields the Keyblade, a weapon in the form of a key that has the power to open any lock and combat darkness. "Epic Mickey", featuring a darker version of the Disney universe, was released in 2010 for the Wii. The game is part of an effort by The Walt Disney Company to re-brand the Mickey Mouse character by moving away from his current squeaky clean image and reintroducing the mischievous side of his personality. Mickey Mouse is a playable character in the mobile game Disney Heroes Battle Mode.
Watches and clock.
Mickey was famously featured on wristwatches and alarm clocks, typically utilizing his hands as the actual hands on the face of the clock. The first Mickey Mouse watches were manufactured in 1933 by the Ingersoll Watch Company. The seconds were indicated by a turning disk below Mickey. The first Mickey watch was sold at the Century of Progress in Chicago, 1933 for $3.75 (). Mickey Mouse watches have been sold by other companies and designers throughout the years, including Timex, Elgin, Helbros, Bradley, Lorus, and Gérald Genta. The fictional character Robert Langdon from Dan Brown's novels was said to wear a Mickey Mouse watch as a reminder "to stay young at heart."
Other products.
In 1989, Milton Bradley released the electronic talking game titled "Mickey Says", with three modes featuring Mickey Mouse as its host. Mickey also appeared in other toys and games, including the Worlds of Wonder released "The Talking Mickey Mouse".
Fisher-Price has produced a line of talking animatronic Mickey dolls including "Dance Star Mickey" (2010) and "Rock Star Mickey" (2011).
In total, approximately 40% of Disney's revenues for consumer products are derived from Mickey Mouse merchandise, with revenues peaking in 1997.
Social impact.
Use in protest votes.
In the United States, protest votes are often made in order to indicate dissatisfaction with the slate of candidates presented on a particular ballot or to highlight the inadequacies of a particular voting procedure. Since most states' electoral systems do not provide for blank balloting or a choice of "None of the Above", most protest votes take the form of a clearly non-serious candidate's name entered as a write-in vote. Mickey Mouse is often selected for this purpose. As an election supervisor in Georgia observed, "If Mickey Mouse doesn't get votes in our election, it's a bad election." The earliest known mention of Mickey Mouse as a write-in candidate dates back to the 1932 New York City mayoral elections.
Mickey Mouse's name has also been known to appear fraudulently on voter registration lists, such as in the 2008 U.S. presidential election.
Pejorative use of Mickey's name.
"Mickey Mouse" is a slang expression meaning small-time, amateurish or trivial. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, it also means poor quality or counterfeit. In Poland the phrase "mały Miki", which translates to "small Mickey", means something very simple and trivial – usually used in the comparison between two things. However, in parts of Australia it can mean excellent or very good (rhyming slang for "grouse"). Examples of the negative usages include the following:
Additionally, the term "Mickey Mousing" refers to the exact synching of a film score to each action depicted onscreen, in reference to the early cartoons that used this technique. Although not inherently a pejorative term, the technique itself has long fallen out of fashion, and the term has taken on a secondary meaning indicating material interpreted as being too simplistic for its target audience.
Parodies and criticism.
Mickey Mouse's global fame has made him both a symbol of The Walt Disney Company and of the United States itself. For this reason, Mickey has been used frequently in anti-establishment or anti-American satire, such as the infamous underground cartoon "Mickey Mouse in Vietnam" (1969) and the Palestinian children's propaganda series "Tomorrow's Pioneers" where a Mickey Mouse-esque character named Farfour is used to promote Islamic extremism. There have been numerous parodies of Mickey Mouse, such as the two-page parody "Mickey Rodent" by Will Elder (published in "Mad" #19, 1955) in which the mouse walks around unshaven and jails Donald Duck out of jealousy over the duck's larger popularity. In "The Simpsons Movie", Bart Simpson puts a black bra on his head to mimic Mickey Mouse and says: "I'm the mascot of an evil corporation!" "The Simpsons" would later become Disney property as its distributor Fox was acquired by Disney. In the Comedy Central series "South Park", Mickey (voiced by Trey Parker) serves as one of the recurring antagonists, and is depicted as the sadistic, greedy, foul-mouthed boss of The Walt Disney Company, only interested in money. He also appears briefly with Donald Duck in the comic "Squeak the Mouse" by the Italian cartoonist Massimo Mattioli.
Mickey Mouse has also been particularly commented upon in the context of fascism and antisemitism in Nazi Germany. A pro-Nazi newspaper in the mid-1930s denounced Disney's use of "the greatest bacteria carrier in the animal kingdom" as evidence of the "Jewish brutalization of the people". Artist Horst Rosenthal created a comic book, "Mickey au Camp de Gurs" ("Mickey Mouse in the Gurs Internment Camp") while detained in the Gurs internment camp, subtitled "Publié Sans Autorisation de Walt Disney" ("Published without Walt Disney's Permission"); Rosenthal's Mickey names Walt Disney as his father, but is sorted into the camps as a Jew after being unable to name a mother, a seeming parody of both Disney's pronounced antisemitism and of the American public's ignorance around racial divisions in Europe. Cartoonist Art Spiegelman adapted Nazi descriptions of Jews as rodents and vermin for his graphic novel "Maus"; The original three-page strip uses a young Mickey Mouse as a stand-in for Spiegelman, listening to tales of "Mauschwitz" and the Holocaust told by his father, Vladek. The full 1991 adaptation of the strip uses a comparatively direct anthropomorphization of Spiegelman, but otherwise continues to use Mickey Mouse imagery to connect contemporary America to the genocide.
In the 1969 parody novel "Bored of the Rings", Mickey Mouse is satirized as Dickey Dragon.
Legal issues.
Although Mickey Mouse entered the public domain in 2024, the character, like all major Disney characters, remains trademarked. The trademark lasts in perpetuity, as long as it continues to be used commercially by its owner. So, whether or not a particular Disney cartoon goes into the public domain, the characters themselves may not be used as trademarks without authorization.
Due to the Copyright Term Extension Act of the United States (sometimes called the "Mickey Mouse Protection Act" because of extensive lobbying by the Disney corporation) and similar legislation within the European Union and other jurisdictions where copyright terms have been extended, the early Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse cartoons remained under copyright until the end of 2023 but since 2024 are in the U.S. public domain.
Copyright scholars have argued that Disney's copyright on the earliest version of the character may have been invalid due to ambiguity in the copyright notice for "Steamboat Willie".
The Walt Disney Company is well known for zealously protecting its trademark on the Mickey Mouse character—whose likeness is synonymous and closely associated with the company. In 1989, Disney threatened legal action against three daycare centers in the Orlando, Florida region (where Walt Disney World is a dominant employer) for having Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters painted on their walls. The characters were removed, and the newly opened rival Universal Studios Florida allowed the centers to use their own cartoon characters with their blessing, to build community goodwill.
"Walt Disney Productions v. Air Pirates".
In 1971, a group of underground cartoonists calling themselves the Air Pirates, after a group of villains from early Mickey Mouse films, produced a comic called "Air Pirates Funnies". In the first issue, cartoonist Dan O'Neill depicted Mickey and Minnie Mouse engaging in explicit sexual behavior and consuming drugs. As O'Neill explained, "The air pirates were...some sort of bizarre concept to steal the air, pirate the air, steal the media...Since we were cartoonists, the logical thing was Disney." Rather than change the appearance or name of the character, which O'Neill felt would dilute the parody, the mouse depicted in "Air Pirates Funnies" looks like and is named "Mickey Mouse". Disney sued for copyright infringement, and after a series of appeals, O'Neill eventually lost and was ordered to pay Disney $1.9 million. The outcome of the case remains controversial among free-speech advocates. New York Law School professor Edward Samuels said, "The Air Pirates set parody back twenty years."
Copyright status.
Prior to 2024, there here had been multiple attempts to argue that certain versions of Mickey Mouse were in fact in the public domain. In the 1980s, archivist George S. Brown attempted to recreate and sell cels from the 1933 short "The Mad Doctor", on the theory that they were in the public domain because Disney had failed to renew the copyright as required by current law. However, Disney successfully sued Brown to prevent such sale, arguing that the lapse in copyright for "The Mad Doctor" did not put Mickey Mouse in the public domain because of the copyright in the earlier films. Brown attempted to appeal, noting imperfections in the earlier copyright claims, but the court dismissed his argument as untimely.
In 1999, Lauren Vanpelt, a law student at Arizona State University, wrote a paper making a similar argument. Vanpelt points out that copyright law at the time required a copyright notice specify the year of the copyright and the copyright owner's name. The title cards to early Mickey Mouse films "Steamboat Willie", "Plane Crazy", and "Gallopin' Gaucho" do not clearly identify the copyright owner, and also misidentify the copyright year. However, Vanpelt notes that copyright cards in other early films may have been done correctly, which could make Mickey Mouse "protected as a component part of the larger copyrighted films".
A 2003 article by Douglas A. Hedenkamp in the "Virginia Sports and Entertainment Law Journal" analyzed Vanpelt's arguments, and concluded that she is likely correct. Hedenkamp provided additional arguments, and identified some errors in Vanpelt's paper, but still found that due to imperfections in the copyright notice on the title cards, Walt Disney forfeited his copyright in Mickey Mouse. He concluded: "The forfeiture occurred at the moment of publication, and the law of that time was clear: publication without proper notice irrevocably forfeited copyright protection." Disney threatened to sue Hedenkamp for slander of title, but did not follow through. The claims in Vanpelt and Hedenkamp's articles have not been tested in court.
In a 2023 episode of "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver", John Oliver suggested that without copyright protection to stop the unauthorized use of Mickey Mouse, the Walt Disney Company would likely use trademark law to achieve the same results, potentially arguing that Mickey Mouse is so closely associated with their brand that any unauthorized use would cause consumer confusion. Oliver then revealed that "Last Week Tonight"s opening titles had been using an image from "Steamboat Willie" since the start of the season and that he would begin to use his own version of Mickey Mouse as a mascot of the show. He stated:
On January 1, 2024, the copyrights of the first three animated Mickey Mouse cartoons and their portrayal of Mickey Mouse expired, and they entered the public domain. They are the silent versions of the cartoons "Plane Crazy" and "The Gallopin' Gaucho", as well as the sound cartoon "Steamboat Willie". Newer versions of Mickey Mouse will remain copyright protected.
Quinton Hoover, a YouTube user who uploaded a copy of "Steamboat Willie" after its copyright expired on January 1, 2024, noted that three attempts to upload the short to the service triggered copyright claims from Disney, including one that claimed a copyright on the short's soundtrack. Users of Twitch noted similar behavior in that attempts to stream "Steamboat Willie" would end up with the audio muted. Disney withdrew a separate copyright strike from a different uploader shortly after it was challenged.
Censorship.
In 1930, the German Board of Film Censors prohibited any presentations of the 1929 Mickey Mouse cartoon "The Barnyard Battle". The animated short, which features the mouse as a kepi-wearing soldier fighting cat enemies in German-style helmets, was viewed by censors as a negative portrayal of Germany. It was claimed by the board that the film would "reawaken the latest anti-German feeling existing abroad since the War". The "Barnyard Battle" incident did not incite wider anti-Mickey sentiment in Germany in 1930; however, after Adolf Hitler came to power several years later, the Nazi regime unambiguously propagandized against Disney. A mid-1930s German newspaper article read:
American cartoonist and writer Art Spiegelman would later use this quote on the opening page of the second volume of his graphic novel "Maus".
In 1935, Romanian authorities also banned Mickey Mouse films from cinemas, purportedly fearing that children would be "scared to see a ten-foot mouse in the movie theatre". In 1938, based on the Ministry of Popular Culture's recommendation that a reform was necessary "to raise children in the firm and imperialist spirit of the Fascist revolution", the Italian Government banned foreign children's literature except Mickey; Disney characters were exempted from the decree for the "acknowledged artistic merit" of Disney's work. Actually, Mussolini's children were fond of Mickey Mouse, so they managed to delay his ban as long as possible. In 1942, after Italy declared war on the United States, Italian publishers were forced to stop printing any Disney stories. Mickey's stories were replaced by the adventures of "Tuffolino", a new human character that looked like Mickey, created by Federico Pedrocchi (script) and Pier Lorenzo De Vita (art). After the downfall of Italy's fascist government in 1945, the ban was removed.
Awards and honors.
Mickey Mouse has received ten nominations for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. These are "Mickey's Orphans" (1931), "Building a Building" (1933), "Brave Little Tailor" (1938), "The Pointer" (1939), "Lend a Paw" (1941), "Squatter's Rights" (1946), "Mickey and the Seal" (1948), "Mickey's Christmas Carol" (1983), "Runaway Brain" (1995), and "Get a Horse!" (2013). Among these, "Lend a Paw" was the only film to actually win the award. Additionally, in 1932 Walt Disney received an honorary Academy Award in recognition of Mickey's creation.
In 1994, four of Mickey's cartoons were included in the book "The 50 Greatest Cartoons" which listed the greatest cartoons of all time as voted by members of the animation field. The films were "The Band Concert" (#3), "Steamboat Willie" (#13), "Brave Little Tailor" (#26), and "Clock Cleaners" (#27).
On November 18, 1978, in honor of his 50th anniversary, Mickey became the first cartoon character to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star is located on 6925 Hollywood Blvd.
Melbourne (Australia) runs the annual Moomba festival street procession and appointed Mickey Mouse as their "King of Moomba" (1977). Although immensely popular with children, there was controversy with the appointment: some Melburnians wanted a "home-grown" choice, e.g. Blinky Bill; when it was revealed that Patricia O'Carroll (from Disneyland's Disney on Parade show) was performing the mouse, Australian newspapers reported "Mickey Mouse is really a girl!"
Mickey was the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year's Day 2005. He was the first cartoon character to receive the honor and only the second fictional character after Kermit the Frog in 1996.
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Superman
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Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book "Action Comics" #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and published April 18, 1938). Superman has been adapted to several other media including radio serials, novels, films, television shows, theater, and video games.
Superman was born Kal-El, on the fictional planet Krypton. As a baby, his parents Jor-El and Lara sent him to Earth in a small spaceship shortly before Krypton was destroyed in a natural cataclysm. His ship landed in the American countryside near the fictional town of Smallville, Kansas. He was found and adopted by farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent, who named him Clark Kent. Clark began developing superhuman abilities, such as incredible strength and impervious skin. His adoptive parents advised him to use his powers to benefit of humanity, and he decided to fight crime as a vigilante. To protect his personal life, he changes into a colorful costume and uses the alias "Superman" when fighting crime. Clark resides in the fictional American city of Metropolis, where he works as a journalist for the "Daily Planet". Superman's supporting characters include his love interest and fellow journalist Lois Lane, "Daily Planet" photographer Jimmy Olsen, and editor-in-chief Perry White, and his enemies include Brainiac, General Zod, and archenemy Lex Luthor.
Superman is the archetypal superhero: he wears an outlandish costume, uses a codename, is unfailingly good and honest, and fights evil with the aid of extraordinary abilities. Although there are earlier characters who arguably fit this definition, Superman popularized the superhero genre and established its conventions. He was the best-selling superhero in American comic books up until the 1980s.
Development.
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster met in 1932 while attending Glenville High School in Cleveland and bonded over their admiration of fiction. Siegel aspired to become a writer and Shuster aspired to become an illustrator. Siegel wrote amateur science fiction stories, which he self-published as a magazine called "Science Fiction: The Advance Guard of Future Civilization". His friend Shuster often provided illustrations for his work. In January 1933, Siegel published a short story in his magazine titled "The Reign of the Superman". The titular character is a homeless man named Bill Dunn who is tricked by an evil scientist into consuming an experimental drug. The drug gives Dunn the powers of mind-reading, mind-control, and clairvoyance. He uses these powers maliciously for profit and amusement, but then the drug wears off, leaving him a powerless vagrant again. Shuster provided illustrations, depicting Dunn as a bald man.
Siegel and Shuster shifted to making comic strips, with a focus on adventure and comedy. They wanted to become syndicated newspaper strip authors, so they showed their ideas to various newspaper editors. However, the newspaper editors were not impressed, and told them that if they wanted to make a successful comic strip, it had to be something more sensational than anything else on the market. This prompted Siegel to revisit Superman as a comic strip character. Siegel modified Superman's powers to make him even more sensational. Like Bill Dunn, the second prototype of Superman is given powers against his will by an unscrupulous scientist, but instead of psychic abilities, he acquires superhuman strength and bullet-proof skin. Additionally, this new Superman was a crime-fighting hero instead of a villain, because Siegel noted that comic strips with heroic protagonists tended to be more successful. In later years, Siegel once recalled that this Superman wore a "bat-like" cape in some panels, but typically he and Shuster agreed there was no costume yet, and there is none apparent in the surviving artwork.
Siegel and Shuster showed this second concept of Superman to Consolidated Book Publishers, based in Chicago. In May 1933, Consolidated had published a proto-comic book titled "Detective Dan: Secret Operative 48". It contained all-original stories as opposed to reprints of newspaper strips, which was a novelty at the time. Siegel and Shuster put together a comic book in a similar format called "The Superman". A delegation from Consolidated visited Cleveland that summer on a business trip and Siegel and Shuster took the opportunity to present their work in person. Although Consolidated expressed interest, they later pulled out of the comics business without ever offering a book deal because the sales of "Detective Dan" were disappointing.
Siegel believed publishers kept rejecting them because he and Shuster were young and unknown, so he looked for an established artist to replace Shuster. When Siegel told Shuster what he was doing, Shuster reacted by burning their rejected Superman comic, sparing only the cover. They continued collaborating on other projects, but for the time being Shuster was through with Superman.
Siegel wrote to numerous artists. The first response came in July 1933 from Leo O'Mealia, who drew the "Fu Manchu" strip for the Bell Syndicate. In the script that Siegel sent to O'Mealia, Superman's origin story changes: He is a "scientist-adventurer" from the far future when humanity has naturally evolved "superpowers". Just before the Earth explodes, he escapes in a time-machine to the modern era, whereupon he immediately begins using his superpowers to fight crime. O'Mealia produced a few strips and showed them to his newspaper syndicate, but they were rejected. O'Mealia did not send to Siegel any copies of his strips, and they have been lost.
In June 1934, Siegel found another partner, an artist in Chicago named Russell Keaton. Keaton drew the "Buck Rogers" and "Skyroads" comic strips. In the script that Siegel sent Keaton in June, Superman's origin story further evolved: In the distant future, when Earth is on the verge of exploding due to "giant cataclysms", the last surviving man sends his three-year-old son back in time to the year 1935. The time-machine appears on a road where it is discovered by motorists Sam and Molly Kent. They leave the boy in an orphanage, but the staff struggle to control him because he has superhuman strength and impenetrable skin. The Kents adopt the boy and name him Clark, and teach him that he must use his fantastic natural gifts for the benefit of humanity. In November, Siegel sent Keaton an extension of his script: an adventure where Superman foils a conspiracy to kidnap a star football player. The extended script mentions that Clark puts on a special "uniform" when assuming the identity of Superman, but it is not described. Keaton produced two weeks' worth of strips based on Siegel's script. In November, Keaton showed his strips to a newspaper syndicate, but they too were rejected, and he abandoned the project.
Siegel and Shuster reconciled and resumed developing Superman together. The character became an alien from the planet Krypton. Shuster designed the now-familiar costume: tights with an "S" on the chest, over-shorts, and a cape. They made Clark Kent a journalist who pretends to be timid, and conceived his colleague Lois Lane, who is attracted to the bold and mighty Superman but does not realize that he and Kent are the same person.
In June 1935 Siegel and Shuster finally found work with National Allied Publications, a comic magazine publishing company in New York owned by Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson. Wheeler-Nicholson published two of their strips in "New Fun Comics" #6 (1935): "Henri Duval" and "Doctor Occult". Siegel and Shuster also showed him Superman and asked him to market Superman to the newspapers on their behalf. In October, Wheeler-Nicholson offered to publish Superman in one of his own magazines. Siegel and Shuster refused his offer because Wheeler-Nicholson had demonstrated himself to be an irresponsible businessman. He had been slow to respond to their letters and had not paid them for their work in "New Fun Comics" #6. They chose to keep marketing Superman to newspaper syndicates themselves. Despite the erratic pay, Siegel and Shuster kept working for Wheeler-Nicholson because he was the only publisher who was buying their work, and over the years they produced other adventure strips for his magazines.
Wheeler-Nicholson's financial difficulties continued to mount. In 1936, he formed a joint corporation with Harry Donenfeld and Jack Liebowitz called Detective Comics, Inc. in order to release his third magazine, which was titled "Detective Comics". Siegel and Shuster produced stories for "Detective Comics" too, such as "Slam Bradley". Wheeler-Nicholson fell into deep debt to Donenfeld and Liebowitz, and in early January 1938, Donenfeld and Liebowitz petitioned Wheeler-Nicholson's company into bankruptcy and seized it.
In early December 1937, Siegel visited Liebowitz in New York, and Liebowitz asked Siegel to produce some comics for an upcoming comic anthology magazine called "Action Comics". Siegel proposed some new stories, but not Superman. Siegel and Shuster were, at the time, negotiating a deal with the McClure Newspaper Syndicate for Superman. In early January 1938, Siegel had a three-way telephone conversation with Liebowitz and an employee of McClure named Max Gaines. Gaines informed Siegel that McClure had rejected Superman, and asked if he could forward their Superman strips to Liebowitz so that Liebowitz could consider them for "Action Comics". Siegel agreed. Liebowitz and his colleagues were impressed by the strips, and they asked Siegel and Shuster to develop the strips into 13 pages for "Action Comics". Having grown tired of rejections, Siegel and Shuster accepted the offer. At least now they would see Superman published. Siegel and Shuster submitted their work in late February and were paid for their work ($10 per page). In early March they signed a contract at Liebowitz's request in which they gave away the copyright for Superman to Detective Comics, Inc. This was normal practice in the business, and Siegel and Shuster had given away the copyrights to their previous works as well.
The duo's revised version of Superman appeared in the first issue of "Action Comics", which was published on April 18, 1938. The issue was a huge success thanks to Superman's feature.
Influences.
Siegel and Shuster read pulp science-fiction and adventure magazines, and many stories featured characters with fantastical abilities such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and superhuman strength. One character in particular was John Carter of Mars from the novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs. John Carter is a human who is transported to Mars, where the lower gravity makes him stronger than the natives and allows him to leap great distances. Another influence was Philip Wylie's 1930 novel "Gladiator", featuring a protagonist named Hugo Danner who had similar powers.
Superman's stance and devil-may-care attitude were influenced by the characters of Douglas Fairbanks, who starred in adventure films such as "The Mark of Zorro" and "Robin Hood". The name of Superman's home city, Metropolis, was taken from the 1927 film of the same name. Popeye cartoons were also an influence.
Clark Kent's harmless facade and dual identity were inspired by the protagonists of such movies as Don Diego de la Vega in "The Mark of Zorro" and Sir Percy Blakeney in "The Scarlet Pimpernel". Siegel thought this would make for interesting dramatic contrast and good humor. Another inspiration was slapstick comedian Harold Lloyd. The archetypal Lloyd character was a mild-mannered man who finds himself abused by bullies but later in the story snaps and fights back furiously.
Kent is a journalist because Siegel often imagined himself becoming one after leaving school. The love triangle between Lois Lane, Clark, and Superman was inspired by Siegel's own awkwardness with girls.
The pair collected comic strips in their youth, with a favorite being Winsor McCay's fantastical "Little Nemo". Shuster remarked on the artists who played an important part in the development of his own style: "Alex Raymond and Burne Hogarth were my idols – also Milt Caniff, Hal Foster, and Roy Crane." Shuster taught himself to draw by tracing over the art in the strips and magazines they collected.
As a boy, Shuster was interested in fitness culture and a fan of strongmen such as Siegmund Breitbart and Joseph Greenstein. He collected fitness magazines and manuals and used their photographs as visual references for his art.
The visual design of Superman came from multiple influences. The tight-fitting suit and shorts were inspired by the costumes of wrestlers, boxers, and strongmen. In early concept art, Shuster gave Superman laced sandals like those of strongmen and classical heroes, but these were eventually changed to red boots. The costumes of Douglas Fairbanks were also an influence. The emblem on his chest was inspired by heraldic crests. Many pulp action heroes such as swashbucklers wore capes. Superman's face was based on Johnny Weissmuller with touches derived from the comic-strip character Dick Tracy and from the work of cartoonist Roy Crane.
The word "superman" was commonly used in the 1920s and 1930s to describe men of great ability, most often athletes and politicians. It occasionally appeared in pulp fiction stories as well, such as "The Superman of Dr. Jukes". It is unclear whether Siegel and Shuster were influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of the "Übermensch"; they never acknowledged as much.
Comics.
Comic books.
Since 1938, Superman stories have been regularly published in periodical comic books published by DC Comics. The first and oldest of these is "Action Comics", which began in April 1938. "Action Comics" was initially an anthology magazine, but it eventually became dedicated to Superman stories. The second oldest periodical is "Superman", which began in June 1939. "Action Comics" and "Superman" have been published without interruption (ignoring changes to the title and numbering scheme). Several other shorter-lived Superman periodicals have been published over the years. Superman is part of the DC Universe, which is a shared setting of superhero characters owned by DC Comics, and consequently he frequently appears in stories alongside the likes of Batman, Wonder Woman, and others.
More Superman comic books have been sold in publication history than any other American superhero character. Exact sales figures for the early decades of Superman comic books are hard to find because, like most publishers at the time, DC Comics concealed this data from its competitors and thereby the general public, but given the general market trends at the time, sales of "Action Comics" and "Superman" probably peaked in the mid-1940s and thereafter steadily declined. Sales data first became public in 1960, and showed that Superman was the best-selling comic book character of the 1960s and 1970s. Sales rose again starting in 1987. "Superman" #75 (Nov 1992) had over 23 million copies sold, making it the best-selling issue of a comic book of all time, due to a media sensation over The Death of Superman in that issue. Sales declined from that point on. In March 2018, "Action Comics" sold just 51,534 copies, although such low figures are normal for superhero comic books in general (for comparison, "Amazing Spider-Man" #797 sold only 128,189 copies). The comic books have become a niche aspect of the "Superman" franchise due to low readership, though they remain influential as creative engines for the movies and television shows. Comic book stories can be produced quickly and cheaply, and are thus an ideal medium for experimentation.
Whereas comic books in the 1950s were read by children, since the 1990s the average reader has been an adult. A major reason for this shift was DC Comics' decision in the 1970s to sell its comic books to specialty stores instead of traditional magazine retailers (supermarkets, newsstands, etc.) — a model called "direct distribution". This made comic books less accessible to children.
Newspaper strips.
Beginning in January 1939, a "Superman" daily comic strip appeared in newspapers, syndicated through the McClure Syndicate. A color Sunday version was added that November. Jerry Siegel wrote most of the strips until he was conscripted into the United States Army in 1943. The Sunday strips had a narrative continuity separate from the daily strips, possibly because Siegel had to delegate the Sunday strips to ghostwriters. By 1941, the newspaper strips had an estimated readership of 20 million. Joe Shuster drew the early strips, then passed the job to Wayne Boring. From 1949 to 1956, the newspaper strips were drawn by Win Mortimer. The strip ended in May 1966, but was revived from 1977 to 1983 to coincide with a series of movies released by Warner Bros.
Editors.
Initially, Siegel was allowed to write Superman more or less as he saw fit because nobody had anticipated the success and rapid expansion of the franchise. But soon Siegel and Shuster's work was put under careful oversight for fear of trouble with censors. Siegel was forced to tone down the violence and social crusading that characterized his early stories. Editor Whitney Ellsworth, hired in 1940, dictated that Superman not kill. Sexuality was banned, and colorfully outlandish villains such as Ultra-Humanite and Toyman were thought to be less nightmarish for young readers.
Mort Weisinger was the editor on Superman comics from 1941 to 1970, his tenure briefly interrupted by military service. Siegel and his fellow writers had developed the character with little thought of building a coherent mythology, but as the number of Superman titles and the pool of writers grew, Weisinger demanded a more disciplined approach. Weisinger assigned story ideas, and the logic of Superman's powers, his origin, the locales, and his relationships with his growing cast of supporting characters were carefully planned. Elements such as Bizarro, his cousin Supergirl, the Phantom Zone, the Fortress of Solitude, alternate varieties of kryptonite, robot doppelgangers, and Krypto were introduced during this era. The complicated universe built under Weisinger was beguiling to devoted readers but alienating to casuals. Weisinger favored lighthearted stories over serious drama, and avoided sensitive subjects such as the Vietnam War and the American civil rights movement because he feared his right-wing views would alienate his left-leaning writers and readers. Weisinger also introduced letters columns in 1958 to encourage feedback and build intimacy with readers.
Weisinger retired in 1970 and Julius Schwartz took over. By his own admission, Weisinger had grown out of touch with newer readers. Starting with The Sandman Saga, Schwartz updated Superman by making Clark Kent a television anchor, and he retired overused plot elements such as kryptonite and robot doppelgangers. Schwartz also scaled Superman's powers down to a level closer to Siegel's original. These changes would eventually be reversed by later writers. Schwartz allowed stories with serious drama such as "For the Man Who Has Everything" ("Superman Annual" #11), in which the villain Mongul torments Superman with an illusion of happy family life on a living Krypton.
Schwartz retired from DC Comics in 1986 and was succeeded by Mike Carlin as an editor on Superman comics. His retirement coincided with DC Comics' decision to reboot the DC Universe with the companywide-crossover storyline "Crisis on Infinite Earths". In The Man of Steel writer John Byrne rewrote the Superman mythos, again reducing Superman's powers, which writers had slowly re-strengthened, and revised many supporting characters, such as making Lex Luthor a billionaire industrialist rather than a mad scientist, and making Supergirl an artificial shapeshifting organism because DC wanted Superman to be the sole surviving Kryptonian.
Carlin was promoted to Executive Editor for the DC Universe books in 1996, a position he held until 2002. K.C. Carlson took his place as editor of the Superman comics.
Aesthetic style.
In the earlier decades of Superman comics, artists were expected to conform to a certain "house style". Joe Shuster defined the aesthetic style of Superman in the 1940s. After Shuster left National, Wayne Boring succeeded him as the principal artist on Superman comic books. He redrew Superman taller and more detailed. Around 1955, Curt Swan in turn succeeded Boring. The 1980s saw a boom in the diversity of comic book art and now there is no single "house style" in Superman comics.
In other media.
Radio.
The first adaptation of Superman beyond comic books was a radio show, "The Adventures of Superman", which ran from 1940 to 1951 for 2,088 episodes, most of which were aimed at children. The episodes were initially 15 minutes long, but after 1949 they were lengthened to 30 minutes. Most episodes were done live. Bud Collyer was the voice actor for Superman in most episodes. The show was produced by Robert Maxwell and Allen Ducovny, who were employees of Superman, Inc. and Detective Comics, Inc. respectively.
Stage.
In 1966 Superman had a Tony-nominated musical play produced on Broadway. "It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman" featured music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Lee Adams and book by David Newman and Robert Benton. Actor Bob Holiday performed as Clark Kent/Superman and actress Patricia Marand performed as Lois Lane.
Merchandising.
DC Comics trademarked the Superman chest logo in August 1938. Jack Liebowitz established Superman, Inc. in October 1939 to develop the franchise beyond the comic books. Superman, Inc. merged with DC Comics in October 1946. After DC Comics merged with Warner Communications in 1967, licensing for Superman was handled by the Licensing Corporation of America.
The Licensing Letter (an American market research firm) estimated that Superman licensed merchandise made $634 million in sales globally in 2018 (43.3% of this revenue came from the North American market). For comparison, in the same year, Spider-Man merchandise made $1.075 billion and Star Wars merchandise made $1.923 billion globally.
The earliest paraphernalia appeared in 1939: a button proclaiming membership in the Supermen of America club. The first toy was a wooden doll in 1939 made by the Ideal Novelty and Toy Company. "Superman" #5 (May 1940) carried an advertisement for a "Krypto-Raygun", which was a gun-shaped device that could project images on a wall. The majority of Superman merchandise is targeted at children, but since the 1970s, adults have been increasingly targeted because the comic book readership has gotten older.
During World War II, Superman was used to support the war effort. "Action Comics" and "Superman" carried messages urging readers to buy war bonds and participate in scrap drives. Other superheroes became patriots who went to fight: Batman, Wonder Woman and Captain America.
Copyright issues.
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
In a contract dated March 1, 1938, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster gave away the copyright to Superman to their employer, DC Comics (then known as Detective Comics, Inc.) prior to Superman's first publication in April. Contrary to popular perception, the $130 that DC Comics paid them was for their first Superman story, not the copyright to the character — that, they gave away for free. This was normal practice in the comic magazine industry and they had done the same with their previous published works (Slam Bradley, Doctor Occult, etc.), but Superman became far more popular and valuable than they anticipated and they much regretted giving him away. DC Comics retained Siegel and Shuster, and they were paid well because they were popular with the readers. Between 1938 and 1947, DC Comics paid them together at least $401,194.85 (equivalent to $ in ).
Siegel wrote most of the magazine and daily newspaper stories until he was conscripted into the United States Army in 1943, whereupon the task was passed to ghostwriters. While Siegel was serving in Hawaii, DC Comics published a story featuring a child version of Superman called "Superboy", which was based on a script Siegel had submitted several years before. Siegel was furious because DC Comics did this without having bought the character.
After Siegel's discharge from the Army, he and Shuster sued DC Comics in 1947 for the rights to Superman and Superboy. The judge ruled that Superman belonged to DC Comics, but that Superboy was a separate entity that belonged to Siegel. Siegel and Shuster settled out-of-court with DC Comics, which paid the pair $94,013.16 () in exchange for the full rights to both Superman and Superboy. DC Comics then fired Siegel and Shuster.
DC Comics rehired Jerry Siegel as a writer in 1959.
In 1965, Siegel and Shuster attempted to regain rights to Superman using the renewal option in the Copyright Act of 1909, but the court ruled Siegel and Shuster had transferred the renewal rights to DC Comics in 1938. Siegel and Shuster appealed, but the appeals court upheld this decision. DC Comics fired Siegel once again, when he filed this second lawsuit.
In 1975, Siegel and several other comic book writers and artists launched a public campaign for better compensation and treatment of comic creators. Warner Brothers agreed to give Siegel and Shuster a yearly stipend, full medical benefits, and credit their names in all future Superman productions in exchange for never contesting ownership of Superman. Siegel and Shuster upheld this bargain.
Shuster died in 1992. DC Comics offered Shuster's heirs a stipend in exchange for never challenging ownership of Superman, which they accepted for some years.
Siegel died in 1996. His heirs attempted to take the rights to Superman using the termination provision of the Copyright Act of 1976. DC Comics negotiated an agreement wherein it would pay the Siegel heirs several million dollars and a yearly stipend of $500,000 in exchange for permanently granting DC the rights to Superman. DC Comics also agreed to insert the line "By Special Arrangement with the Jerry Siegel Family" in all future Superman productions. The Siegels accepted DC's offer in an October 2001 letter.
Copyright lawyer and movie producer Marc Toberoff then struck a deal with the heirs of both Siegel and Shuster to help them get the rights to Superman in exchange for signing the rights over to his production company, Pacific Pictures. Both groups accepted. The Siegel heirs called off their deal with DC Comics and in 2004 sued DC for the rights to Superman and Superboy. In 2008, the judge ruled in favor of the Siegels. DC Comics appealed the decision, and the appeals court ruled in favor of DC, arguing that the October 2001 letter was binding. In 2003, the Shuster heirs served a termination notice for Shuster's grant of his half of the copyright to Superman. DC Comics sued the Shuster heirs in 2010, and the court ruled in DC's favor on the grounds that the 1992 agreement with the Shuster heirs barred them from terminating the grant.
Under current US copyright law, Superman is due to enter the public domain on January 1, 2034. However, this will only apply (at first) to the character as he is depicted in "Action Comics" #1, which was published in 1938. Versions of him with later developments, such as his power of "heat vision", may persist under copyright until the works they were introduced in enter the public domain. Lois Lane, who also debuted in "Action Comics" #1, is expected to enter public domain in 2034, but supporting characters introduced in later publications, such as Jimmy Olsen and Supergirl, will pass into the public domain at later dates.
Captain Marvel.
Superman's success immediately begat a wave of imitations. The most successful is Captain Marvel, first published by Fawcett Comics in December 1939. Captain Marvel had many similarities to Superman: Herculean strength, invulnerability, the ability to fly, a cape, a secret identity, and a job as a journalist. DC Comics filed a lawsuit against Fawcett Comics for copyright infringement.
The trial began in March 1948 after seven years of discovery. The judge ruled that Fawcett had indeed infringed on Superman. However, the judge also found that the copyright notices that appeared with the Superman newspaper strips did not meet the technical standards of the Copyright Act of 1909 and were therefore invalid. Furthermore, since the newspaper strips carried stories adapted from "Action Comics", the judge ruled that DC Comics had effectively abandoned the copyright to the "Action Comics" stories and Superman, and therefore forfeited its right to sue Fawcett for copyright infringement.
DC Comics appealed this decision. The appeals court ruled that unintentional mistakes in the copyright notices of the newspaper strips did not invalidate the copyrights. Furthermore, Fawcett knew that DC Comics never intended to abandon the copyrights, and therefore Fawcett's infringement was not an innocent misunderstanding, and therefore Fawcett owed damages to DC Comics. The appeals court remanded the case back to the lower court to determine how much Fawcett owed in damages.
At that point, Fawcett Comics decided to settle out of court with DC Comics. Fawcett paid DC Comics and agreed to stop publishing Captain Marvel. The last Captain Marvel story from Fawcett Comics was published in September 1953.
DC Comics licensed Captain Marvel in 1972 and published crossover stories with Superman. By 1991, DC Comics had purchased Fawcett Comics and with it the full rights to Captain Marvel. DC eventually renamed the character "Shazam" to prevent disputes with Marvel Comics, who had created a character of their own named "Captain Marvel" back when the Fawcett character had lingered in limbo.
Character overview.
Several elements of the "Superman" narrative have remained consistent in the myriad stories published since 1938.
Superman.
In "Action Comics" #1 (1938), Superman is born on an alien world to a technologically advanced species that resembles humans. Shortly after he is born, his planet is destroyed in a natural cataclysm, but his scientist father foresaw the calamity and saves his baby son by sending him to Earth in a small spaceship. The ship is too small to carry anyone else, so Superman's parents stay behind and die. The earliest newspaper strips name the planet Krypton, the baby Kal-L, and his biological parents Jor-L and Lora; their names were changed to Jor-el, and Lara in a 1942 spinoff novel by George Lowther. The ship lands in the American countryside, where the baby is discovered by the Kents, a farming couple.
The Kents name the boy Clark and raise him in a farming community. A 1947 episode of the radio serial places this yet unnamed community in Iowa. It is named Smallville in "Superboy" #2 (June 1949). The 1978 Superman movie placed it in Kansas, as have most Superman stories since. "New Adventures of Superboy" #22 (Oct. 1981) places it in Maryland.
In "Action Comics" #1 and most stories published before 1986, Superman's powers begin developing in infancy. From 1944 to 1986, DC Comics regularly published stories of Superman's childhood and adolescent adventures, when he called himself "Superboy". From 1986 on (beginning with "Man of Steel" #1), Superman's powers emerged more slowly and he began his superhero career as an adult.
The Kents teach Clark he must conceal his otherworldly origins and use his fantastic powers to do good. Clark creates the costumed identity of Superman so as to protect his personal privacy and the safety of his loved ones. As Clark Kent, he wears eyeglasses to disguise his face and wears his Superman costume underneath his clothes so that he can change at a moment's notice. To complete this disguise, Clark avoids violent confrontation, preferring to slip away and change into Superman when danger arises, and in older stories he would suffer occasional ridicule for his apparent cowardice.
In "Superboy" #78 (1960), Superboy makes his costume out of the indestructible blankets found in the ship he came to Earth in. In "Man of Steel" #1 (1986), Martha Kent makes the costume from human-manufactured cloth, and it is rendered indestructible by an aura that Superman projects. The "S" on Superman's chest at first was simply an initial for "Superman". When writing the script for the 1978 movie, Tom Mankiewicz made it the crest of Superman's Kryptonian family, the House of El. This was carried over into some comic book stories and later movies, such as "Man of Steel". In the comic story "", the crest is described as an old Kryptonian symbol for hope.
Clark works as a newspaper journalist. In the earliest stories, he worked for "The Daily Star", but the second episode of the radio serial changed this to the "Daily Planet". In comics from the early 1970s, Clark worked as a television journalist, which was an attempt to modernize the character. However, for the 1978 movie, the producers chose to make Clark a newspaper journalist again because that was how most people outside of comic book readers knew him.
The first story in which Superman dies was published in "Superman" #149 (1961), in which he is murdered by Lex Luthor by means of kryptonite. This story was "imaginary" and therefore was ignored in subsequent books. In "Superman" #188 (April 1966), Superman is killed by kryptonite radiation but is revived in the same issue by one of his android doppelgangers. In the 1990s "The Death and Return of Superman" story arc, after a deadly battle with Doomsday, Superman died in "Superman" #75 (Jan. 1993). He was later revived by the Eradicator using Kryptonian technology. In "Superman" #52 (May 2016) Superman is killed by kryptonite poisoning, and this time he is not resurrected, but replaced by the Superman of an alternate timeline.
Superman maintains a secret hideout called the "Fortress of Solitude", which is located somewhere in the Arctic. Here, Superman keeps a collection of mementos and a laboratory for science experiments. "Action Comics" #241 (1958) depicts the Fortress of Solitude as a cave in a mountain, sealed with a very heavy door that is opened with a gigantic key too heavy for anyone but Superman to use. In the 1978 movie, the Fortress of Solitude is a structure made of white crystal.
Clark Kent.
Superman's secret identity is Clark Joseph Kent, a reporter for the "Daily Planet". Although his name and history originate from his early life with his adoptive Earth parents, everything about Clark was staged for the benefit of his alternate identity: as a reporter for the "Daily Planet", he receives late-breaking news before the general public, always has a plausible reason to be present at crime scenes, and need not strictly account for his whereabouts as long as he makes his publication deadlines. He sees his job as a journalist as an extension of his Superman responsibilities—bringing truth to the forefront and fighting for the little guy. He believes that everybody has the right to know what is going on in the world, regardless of who is involved. In the Bronze Age of Comic Books, Clark Kent was featured in a series that appeared primarily in "The Superman Family", "The Private Life of Clark Kent" where Superman dealt with various situations subtly while remaining Clark.
To deflect suspicion that he is Superman, Clark Kent adopted a mainly passive and introverted personality with conservative mannerisms, a higher-pitched voice, and a slight slouch. This personality is typically described as "mild-mannered", as in the opening narration of Max Fleischer's "Superman" animated theatrical shorts. These traits extended into Clark's wardrobe, which typically consists of a bland-colored business suit, a red necktie, black-rimmed glasses, combed-back hair, and occasionally a fedora. Clark wears his Superman costume underneath his street clothes, allowing easy changes between the two personae and the dramatic gesture of ripping open his shirt to reveal the familiar "S" emblem when called into action. His hair also changes with the clothing change, with Superman sporting a small curl or spit curl on his forehead. Superman usually stores his Clark Kent clothing compressed in a secret pouch within his cape, though some stories have shown him leaving his clothes in some covert location (such as the "Daily Planet" storeroom) for later retrieval.
As Superman's alter ego, the personality, concept, and name of Clark Kent have become synonymous with secret identities and innocuous fronts for ulterior motives and activities. In 1992, Superman co-creator Joe Shuster told the "Toronto Star" that the name derived from 1930s cinematic leading men Clark Gable and Kent Taylor, but the persona from bespectacled silent film comic Harold Lloyd and himself. Clark's middle name is given variously as either Joseph, Jerome, or Jonathan, all being allusions to creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.
Personality.
In the original Siegel and Shuster stories, Superman's personality is rough and aggressive. He often uses excessive force and terror against criminals, on some occasions even killing them. This came to an end in late 1940 when new editor Whitney Ellsworth instituted a code of conduct for his characters to follow, banning Superman from ever killing. The character was softened and given a sense of humanitarianism. Ellsworth's code, however, is not to be confused with "the Comics Code", which was created in 1954 by the Comics Code Authority and ultimately abandoned by every major comic book publisher by the early 21st century.
In his first appearances, Superman was considered a vigilante by the authorities, being fired upon by the National Guard as he razed a slum so that the government would create better housing conditions for the poor. By 1942, however, Superman was working side-by-side with the police. Today, Superman is commonly seen as a brave and kind-hearted hero with a strong sense of justice, morality, and righteousness. He adheres to an unwavering moral code instilled in him by his adoptive parents. His commitment to operating within the law has been an example to many citizens and other heroes, but has stirred resentment and criticism among others, who refer to him as the "big blue boy scout". Superman can be rather rigid in this trait, causing tensions in the superhero community. This was most notable with Wonder Woman, one of his closest friends, after she killed Maxwell Lord. Booster Gold initially had an icy relationship with the Man of Steel but grew to respect him.
Having lost his home world of Krypton, Superman is very protective of Earth, and especially of Clark Kent's family and friends. This same loss, combined with the pressure of using his powers responsibly, has caused Superman to feel lonely on Earth, despite having his friends and parents. Previous encounters with people he thought to be fellow Kryptonians, Power Girl and Mon-El, have led to disappointment. The arrival of Supergirl, who has been confirmed to be his cousin from Krypton, relieved this loneliness somewhat. Superman's Fortress of Solitude acts as a place of solace for him in times of loneliness and despair.
Abilities and weaknesses.
The catalog of Superman's abilities and his strength has varied considerably over the vast body of Superman fiction released since 1938.
Since "Action Comics" #1 (1938), Superman has superhuman strength. The cover of "Action Comics" #1 shows him effortlessly lifting a car over his head. Another classic feat of strength on Superman's part is breaking steel chains. In some stories, he is strong enough to shift the orbits of planets and crush coal into diamond with his hands.
Since "Action Comics" #1 (1938), Superman has a highly durable body, invulnerable for most practical purposes. At the very least, bullets bounce harmlessly off his body. In some stories, such as "Kingdom Come", not even a nuclear bomb can harm him.
In the earliest stories, Superman's costume is made out of exotic materials that are as tough as he is, which is why it typically does not tear up when he performs superhuman feats. In later stories, beginning with "Man of Steel" #1 (1986), Superman's body is said to project an aura that renders invulnerable any tight-fitting clothes he wears, and hence his costume is as durable as he is even if made of common cloth.
In "Action Comics" #1, Superman could not fly. He traveled by running and leaping, which he could do to a prodigious degree thanks to his strength. Superman gained the ability to fly in the second episode of the radio serial in 1940. Superman can fly faster than sound and in some stories, he can even fly faster than the speed of light to travel to distant galaxies.
Superman can project and perceive X-rays via his eyes, which allows him to see through objects. He first uses this power in "Action Comics" #11 (1939). Certain materials such as lead can block his X-ray vision.
Superman can project beams of heat from his eyes which are hot enough to melt steel. He first used this power in "Superman" #59 (1949) by applying his X-ray vision at its highest intensity. In later stories, this ability is simply called "heat vision".
Superman can hear sounds that are too faint for a human to hear, and at frequencies outside the human hearing range. This ability was introduced in "Action Comics" #11 (1939).
Since "Action Comics" #20 (1940), Superman possesses superhuman breath, which enables him to inhale or blow huge amounts of air, as well as holding his breath indefinitely to remain underwater or space without adverse effects. He has a significant focus of his breath's intensity to the point of freezing targets by blowing on them. The "freeze breath" was first demonstrated in "Superman" #129 (1959).
"Action Comics" #1 (1938) explained that Superman's strength was common to all Kryptonians because they were a species "millions of years advanced of our own". In the first newspaper strips, Jor-El is shown running and leaping like Superman, and his wife survives a building collapsing on her. Later stories explained they evolved superhuman strength simply because of Krypton's higher gravity. "Superman" #146 (1961) established that Superman's abilities other than strength (flight, durability, etc.) are activated by the light of Earth's yellow sun. In "Action Comics" #300 (1963), all of his powers including strength are activated by yellow sunlight and can be deactivated by red sunlight similar to that of Krypton's sun.
Exposure to green kryptonite radiation nullifies Superman's powers and incapacitates him with pain and nausea; prolonged exposure will eventually kill him. Although green kryptonite is the most commonly seen form, writers have introduced other forms over the years: such as red, gold, blue, white, and black, each with peculiar effects. Gold kryptonite, for instance, nullifies Superman's powers but otherwise does not harm him. Kryptonite first appeared in a 1943 episode of the radio serial. It first appeared in comics in "Superman" #61 (Dec. 1949).
Superman is also vulnerable to magic. Enchanted weapons and magical spells affect Superman as easily as they would a normal human. This weakness was established in "Superman" #171 (1964).
Like all Kryptonians, Kal-El is also highly susceptible to psychokinetic phenomena ranging along Telekinesis, Illusion casting, Mind control, etc., as shown in "Wonder Woman" Vol 2 # 219 (Sept. 2005). A powerful enough psionic can affect either the psyche or microbiology of Superman to induce strokes or mangle his internal organs, as well as disrupt his mind and perceptions of the world, something a young power-amped Gene-Bomb meta showcased in "Superman" #48 (Oct. 1990).
Supporting characters.
Superman's first and most famous supporting character is Lois Lane, introduced in "Action Comics" #1. She is a fellow journalist at the "Daily Planet". As Jerry Siegel conceived her, Lois considers Clark Kent to be a wimp, but she is infatuated with the bold and mighty Superman, not knowing that Kent and Superman are the same person. Siegel objected to any proposal that Lois discover that Clark is Superman because he felt that, as implausible as Clark's disguise is, the love triangle was too important to the book's appeal. However, Siegel wrote stories in which Lois suspects Clark is Superman and tries to prove it, with Superman always duping her in the end; the first such story was in "Superman" #17 (July–August 1942). This was a common plot in comic book stories prior to the 1970s. In a story in "Action Comics" #484 (June 1978), Clark Kent admits to Lois that he is Superman, and they marry. This was the first story in which Superman and Lois marry that was not an "imaginary tale." Many Superman stories since then have depicted Superman and Lois as a married couple, but about as many depict them in the classic love triangle. In modern era comic books, Superman and Lois are a stable married couple, and the "Superman" supporting cast was further expanded with the introduction of their son, Jonathan Kent.
Other supporting characters include Jimmy Olsen, a photographer at the "Daily Planet", who is friends with both Superman and Clark Kent, though in most stories he does not know that Clark is Superman. Jimmy is frequently described as "Superman's pal", and was conceived to give young male readers a relatable character through which they could fantasize being friends with Superman.
In the earliest comic book stories, Clark Kent's employer is George Taylor of "The Daily Star", but the second episode of the radio serial changed this to Perry White of the "Daily Planet".
Clark Kent's foster parents are Ma and Pa Kent. In many stories, one or both of them have died by the time Clark becomes Superman. Clark's parents taught him that he should use his abilities for altruistic means, but that he should also find some way to safeguard his private life.
Antagonists.
The villains Superman faced in the earliest stories were ordinary humans, such as gangsters, corrupt politicians, and violent husbands; but they soon grew more colorful and outlandish so as to avoid offending censors or scaring children. The mad scientist Ultra-Humanite, introduced in "Action Comics" #13 (June 1939), was Superman's first recurring villain. Superman's best-known nemesis, Lex Luthor, was introduced in "Action Comics" #23 (April 1940) and has been depicted as either a mad scientist or a wealthy businessman (sometimes both). In 1944, the magical imp Mister Mxyzptlk, Superman's first recurring super-powered adversary, was introduced. Superman's first alien villain, Brainiac, debuted in "Action Comics" #242 (July 1958). The monstrous Doomsday, introduced in " #17–18 (Nov.-Dec. 1992), was the first villain to evidently kill Superman in physical combat without exploiting Superman's critical weaknesses such as kryptonite and magic.
Alternative depictions.
The details of Superman's origin story and supporting cast vary across his large body of fiction released since 1938, but most versions conform to the basic template described above. A few stories feature radically altered versions of Superman. An example is the graphic novel ", which depicts a communist Superman who rules the Soviet Union. DC Comics has on some occasions published crossover stories where different versions of Superman interact with each other using the plot device of parallel universes. For instance, in the 1960s, the Superman of "Earth-One" would occasionally feature in stories alongside the Superman of "Earth-Two", the latter of whom resembled Superman as he was portrayed in the 1940s. DC Comics has not developed a consistent and universal system to classify all versions of Superman.
Impact and legacy.
The superhero archetype.
Superman is often considered the first superhero. This point can be debated: Ogon Bat, the Phantom, Zorro, and Mandrake the Magician arguably fit the definition of the superhero yet predate Superman. Nevertheless, Superman popularized this kind of character and established the conventions: a costume, a codename, extraordinary abilities, and an altruistic mission. Superman's success in 1938 begat a wave of imitations, which include Batman, Captain America, and Captain Marvel. This flourishing is today referred to as America's Golden Age of Comic Books, which lasted from 1938 to about 1950. The Golden Age ended when American superhero book sales declined, leading to the cancellation of many characters; but Superman was one of the few superhero franchises that survived this decline, and his sustained popularity into the late 1950s led to a revival in the Silver Age of Comic Books, when characters such as Spider-Man, Iron Man, and The X-Men were created.
After World War II, American superhero fiction entered Japanese culture. Astro Boy, first published in 1952, was inspired by Mighty Mouse, which in turn was a parody of Superman. The "Superman" animated shorts from the 1940s were first broadcast on Japanese television in 1955, and they were followed in 1956 by the TV show "Adventures of Superman" starring George Reeves. These shows were popular with the Japanese and inspired Japan's own prolific genre of superheroes. The first Japanese superhero movie, "Super Giant", was released in 1957. The first Japanese superhero TV show was "Moonlight Mask" in 1958. Other notable Japanese superheroes include Ultraman, Kamen Rider, and Sailor Moon.
Fine art.
Since the Pop Art period and the 1960s, the character of Superman has been "appropriated" by multiple visual artists and incorporated into contemporary artwork, most notably by Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Mel Ramos, Dulce Pinzon, Mr. Brainwash, Raymond Pettibon, Peter Saul, Giuseppe Veneziano, F. Lennox Campello, and others.
Literary analysis.
Superman has been interpreted and discussed in many forms, with Umberto Eco noting that "he can be seen as the representative of all his similars". Writing in "Time" in 1971, Gerald Clarke stated: "Superman's enormous popularity might be looked upon as signaling the beginning of the end for the Horatio Alger myth of the self-made man." Clarke viewed the comics characters as having to continuously update in order to maintain relevance and thus representing the mood of the nation. He regarded Superman's character in the early seventies as a comment on the modern world, which he saw as a place in which "only the man with superpowers can survive and prosper." Andrew Arnold, writing in the early 21st century, has noted Superman's partial role in exploring assimilation, the character's alien status allowing the reader to explore attempts to fit in on a somewhat superficial level.
A.C. Grayling, writing in "The Spectator", traces Superman's stances through the decades, from his 1930s campaign against crime being relevant to a nation under the influence of Al Capone, through the 1940s and World War II, a period in which Superman helped sell war bonds, and into the 1950s, where Superman explored the new technological threats. Grayling notes the period after the Cold War as being one where "matters become merely personal: the task of pitting his brawn against the brains of Lex Luthor and Brainiac appeared to be independent of bigger questions", and discusses events post 9/11, stating that as a nation "caught between the terrifying George W. Bush and the terrorist Osama bin Laden, America is in earnest need of a Saviour for everything from the minor inconveniences to the major horrors of world catastrophe. And here he is, the down-home clean-cut boy in the blue tights and red cape".
An influence on early Superman stories is the context of the Great Depression. Superman took on the role of social activist, fighting crooked businessmen and politicians and demolishing run-down tenements. Comics scholar Roger Sabin sees this as a reflection of "the liberal idealism of Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal", with Shuster and Siegel initially portraying Superman as champion to a variety of social causes. In later Superman radio programs the character continued to take on such issues, tackling a version of the Ku Klux Klan in a 1946 broadcast, as well as combating anti-semitism and veteran discrimination.
Scott Bukatman has discussed Superman, and the superhero in general, noting the ways in which they humanize large urban areas through their use of the space, especially in Superman's ability to soar over the large skyscrapers of Metropolis. He writes that the character "represented, in 1938, a kind of Corbusierian ideal. Superman has X-ray vision: walls become permeable, transparent. Through his benign, controlled authority, Superman renders the city open, modernist and democratic; he furthers a sense that Le Corbusier described in 1925, namely, that 'Everything is known to us'."
Jules Feiffer has argued that Superman's real innovation lay in the creation of the Clark Kent persona, noting that what "made Superman extraordinary was his point of origin: Clark Kent." Feiffer develops the theme to establish Superman's popularity in simple wish fulfillment, a point Siegel and Shuster themselves supported, Siegel commenting that "If you're interested in what made Superman what it is, here's one of the keys to what made it universally acceptable. Joe and I had certain inhibitions… which led to wish-fulfillment which we expressed through our interest in science fiction and our comic strip. That's where the dual-identity concept came from" and Shuster supporting that as being "why so many people could relate to it".
Ian Gordon suggests that the many incarnations of Superman across media use nostalgia to link the character to an ideology of the American Way. He defines this ideology as a means of associating individualism, consumerism, and democracy and as something that took shape around WWII and underpinned the war effort. Superman, he notes was very much part of that effort.
An allegory for immigrants.
Superman's immigrant status is a key aspect of his appeal. Aldo Regalado saw the character as pushing the boundaries of acceptance in America. The extraterrestrial origin was seen by Regalado as challenging the notion that Anglo-Saxon ancestry was the source of all might. Gary Engle saw the "myth of Superman [asserting] with total confidence and a childlike innocence the value of the immigrant in American culture". He argues that Superman allowed the superhero genre to take over from the Western as the expression of immigrant sensibilities. Through the use of a dual identity, Superman allowed immigrants to identify with both of their cultures. Clark Kent represents the assimilated individual, allowing Superman to express the immigrants' cultural heritage for the greater good. David Jenemann has offered a contrasting view. He argues that Superman's early stories portray a threat: "the possibility that the exile would overwhelm the country". David Rooney, a theater critic for "The New York Times", in his evaluation of the play "Year Zero" considers Superman to be the "quintessential immigrant story [...] [b]orn on an alien planet, he grows stronger on Earth, but maintains a secret identity tied to a homeland that continues to exert a powerful hold on him even as his every contact with those origins does him harm".
Religious themes.
It is popularly believed that Superman took inspiration from Judaic mythology. The British rabbi Simcha Weinstein notes that Superman's story has some parallels to that of Moses. For example, Moses as a baby was sent away by his parents in a reed basket to escape death and was adopted by a foreign culture. Weinstein also posits that Superman's Kryptonian name, "Kal-El", resembles the Hebrew phrase "qōl ʾēl" (קוֹל-אֵל) which can be taken to mean "voice of God". The historian Larry Tye suggests that this "Voice of God" is an allusion to Moses' role as a prophet. The suffix "el", meaning "god", is also found in the name of angels (e.g. Gabriel, Ariel), who are airborne humanoid agents of good with superhuman powers. The Nazis also thought Superman was a Jew and in 1940 Joseph Goebbels publicly denounced Superman and his creator Jerry Siegel.
All that said, historians such as Martin Lund and Les Daniels argue that the evidence for Judaic influence in Siegel and Shuster's stories is merely circumstantial. Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were not practicing Jews and never acknowledged the influence of Judaism in any memoir or interview.
Superman stories have occasionally exhibited Christian themes as well. Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz consciously made Superman an allegory for Jesus Christ in the 1978 movie starring Christopher Reeve: baby Kal-El's ship resembles the Star of Bethlehem, and Jor-El gives his son a messianic mission to lead humanity into a brighter future.
This messianic theme was revisited in the 2013 movie "Man of Steel", wherein Jor-El asks Superman to redeem the Kryptonian race, which corrupted itself through eugenics, by guiding humanity down a wiser path.
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Batman
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Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book "Detective Comics" on March 30, 1939. In the DC Universe, Batman is the alias of Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American playboy, philanthropist, and industrialist who resides in Gotham City. His origin story features him swearing vengeance against criminals after witnessing the murder of his parents, Thomas and Martha, as a child, a vendetta tempered by the ideal of justice. He trains himself physically and intellectually, crafts a bat-inspired persona, and monitors the Gotham streets at night. Kane, Finger, and other creators accompanied Batman with supporting characters, including his sidekicks Robin and Batgirl; allies Alfred Pennyworth and James Gordon; love interest Catwoman; and foes such as the Penguin, the Riddler, Two-Face, and his archenemy, the Joker.
Kane conceived Batman in early 1939 to capitalize on the popularity of Superman; although Kane frequently claimed sole creation credit, Finger substantially developed the concept from a generic superhero into something more bat-like. They drew inspiration from pulp fiction characters like the Shadow and Sherlock Holmes. Batman received a spin-off publication, "Batman", in 1940. Kane and Finger introduced Batman as a ruthless vigilante who frequently killed or maimed criminals, but he evolved into a just, tempered superhero with a stringent moral code that prohibits killing during the 1940s. Unlike most superheroes, Batman does not possess any superpowers, instead relying on his intellect, fighting skills, and wealth. The 1960s "Batman" television series used a camp aesthetic, which continued to be associated with Batman for years after it ended. Various creators worked to return Batman to his darker roots in the 1970s and 1980s, culminating with the 1986 miniseries "The Dark Knight Returns" by Frank Miller.
DC has featured Batman in many comic books, including comics published under its imprints such as Vertigo and Black Label; he has been considered DC's flagship character since the 1990s. The longest-running Batman comic, "Detective Comics", is the longest-running comic book in the United States. Batman is frequently depicted alongside other DC superheroes, such as Superman and Wonder Woman, as a member of organizations such as the Justice League and the Outsiders. In addition to Bruce Wayne, other characters used the Batman persona, such as Jean-Paul Valley / Azrael in the 1993–1994 "" story arc; Dick Grayson, the first Robin, from 2009 to 2011; and Jace Fox, the son of Wayne's ally Lucius, since 2021. DC has also published comics featuring alternate versions of Batman, including the incarnation seen in "The Dark Knight Returns" and its successors, the incarnation from the "Flashpoint" (2011) event, and numerous interpretations in comics published under the Elseworlds label.
Batman is one of the most iconic characters in popular culture and has been listed among the greatest comic book superheroes and characters ever created. He is one of the most commercially successful superheroes, and his likeness has been licensed and featured in various media and merchandise sold around the world; this includes toy lines such as "Lego Batman" and video games such as the "" series. Batman has been adapted in many live-action and animated television series and films. Adam West portrayed him in the 1960s "Batman" television series, and he has been portrayed in film by Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, and Robert Pattinson. Many actors, most prolifically Kevin Conroy, have provided Batman's voice in animation and video games. In September 2024, Batman was given the first star to a superhero on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Publication history.
Creation and early history.
In early 1939, following the success of Superman, DC Comics' editors requested more superheroes. Bob Kane created Batman, initially drawing a character with red tights, bat wings, and a domino mask. Bill Finger, a collaborator, made significant contributions by suggesting a cowl, cape, gloves, and a darker costume. The character's alter ego, Bruce Wayne, was inspired by historical figures Robert the Bruce and Mad Anthony Wayne. Batman's early adventures drew inspiration from contemporary pulp fiction and characters like Zorro and the Shadow, establishing Batman as a master detective with a dark, brooding persona driven by the murder of his parents.
Golden, Silver and Bronze Ages.
Batman debuted in "Detective Comics" #27 in 1939. Early stories were dark, featuring a Batman who did not shy away from killing. The character quickly became popular, leading to his own solo title in 1940. Robin, Batman's sidekick, was introduced in 1940, lightening the tone and boosting sales. Over the next few years, Batman's rogues' gallery expanded with iconic villains like the Joker and Catwoman.
The 1950s saw Batman in lighter, science fiction-influenced stories. However, declining sales led to a 1964 revamp by editor Julius Schwartz, who returned Batman to his detective roots and updated his appearance. The 1966 Batman TV series introduced a campy, humorous tone, which was reflected in the comics until its cancellation in 1968. In the 1970s, writers Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams restored Batman's dark, gritty nature, a trend that continued despite fluctuating sales.
Modern Age and reboots.
In the Modern Age of Comic Books Batman comics have undergone significant transformations, reflecting changing storytelling trends and audience interests. Beginning with seminal works like "The Dark Knight Returns" in the 1980s, which reintroduced Batman in a grittier, more mature context, the character's narrative evolved to explore deeper themes and darker tones. This period also saw the exploration of Batman's origins and psyche through works like ",""" and ', which delved into the complexities of heroism and villainy. In the 1990s, storylines such as "" introduced new adversaries like Bane, who physically and mentally challenged Batman, leading to a temporary replacement by Jean-Paul Valley. The aftermath of an earthquake in "No Man's Land" depicted Gotham City in chaos, further pushing Batman to new limits of heroism and survival. Entering the 21st century, Grant Morrison's influential run introduced Damian Wayne as Batman's son and heir, bringing familial dynamics and a new generation of challenges to the forefront. Morrison's storytelling also delved into surreal and existential themes, such as in "Batman R.I.P." and "Final Crisis", which tested Batman's resolve and sanity against cosmic threats and personal demons. The New 52 reboot in 2011 refreshed Batman's continuity while preserving core elements of his character. This era introduced modern interpretations of classic storylines, like ', where Batman confronts the Court of Owls, a clandestine society controlling Gotham for centuries. The chilling return of the Joker in "Death of the Family" explored the intricate relationships within Batman's extended family of allies and adversaries. More recent developments under DC Rebirth and Infinite Frontier have continued to evolve Batman's universe, exploring new characters like Gotham and Gotham Girl, and tackling contemporary issues within the context of Gotham City's ever-evolving landscape of crime and heroism.
Characterization.
Bruce Wayne.
Batman's secret identity is Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American industrialist. As a child, Bruce witnessed the murder of his parents, Dr. Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne, which ultimately led him to craft the Batman persona and seek justice against criminals. He resides on the outskirts of Gotham City in his personal residence, Wayne Manor. Wayne averts suspicion by acting the part of a superficial playboy idly living off his family's fortune and the profits of Wayne Enterprises, his inherited conglomerate. He supports philanthropic causes through his nonprofit Wayne Foundation, which in part addresses social issues encouraging crime as well as assisting victims of it, but is more widely known as a celebrity socialite. In public, he frequently appears in the company of high-status women, which encourages tabloid gossip while feigning near-drunkenness with consuming large quantities of disguised ginger ale since Wayne is actually a strict teetotaler to maintain his physical and mental prowess. Although Bruce Wayne leads an active romantic life, his vigilante activities as Batman account for most of his time.
Various modern stories have portrayed the extravagant, playboy image of Bruce Wayne as a facade. This is in contrast to the Post-"Crisis" Superman, whose Clark Kent persona is the true identity, while the Superman persona is the facade. In "Batman Unmasked", a television documentary about the psychology of the character, behavioral scientist Benjamin Karney notes that Batman's personality is driven by Bruce Wayne's inherent humanity; that "Batman, for all its benefits and for all of the time Bruce Wayne devotes to it, is ultimately a tool for Bruce Wayne's efforts to make the world better". Bruce Wayne's principles include the desire to prevent future harm and a vow not to kill. Bruce Wayne believes that our actions define us, we fail for a reason, and anything is possible.
Writers of Batman and Superman stories have often compared and contrasted the two. Interpretations vary depending on the writer, the story, and the timing. Grant Morrison notes that both heroes "believe in the same kind of things" despite the day/night contrast their heroic roles display. Morrison notes an equally stark contrast in their real identities. Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent belong to different social classes: "Bruce has a butler, Clark has a boss." T. James Musler's book "Unleashing the Superhero in Us All" explores the extent to which Bruce Wayne's vast personal wealth is important in his life story, and the crucial role it plays in his efforts as Batman.
Will Brooker notes in his book "Batman Unmasked" that "the confirmation of the Batman's identity lies with the young audience ...he doesn't have to be Bruce Wayne; he just needs the suit and gadgets, the abilities, and most importantly the morality, the humanity. There's just a sense about him: 'they trust him ...and they're never wrong."
Personality.
Batman's primary character traits can be summarized as "wealth; physical prowess; deductive abilities and obsession". The details and tone of Batman comic books have varied over the years with different creative teams. Dennis O'Neil noted that character consistency was not a major concern during early editorial regimes: "Julie Schwartz did a Batman in "Batman" and "Detective" and Murray Boltinoff did a Batman in the "Brave and the Bold" and apart from the costume they bore very little resemblance to each other. Julie and Murray did not want to coordinate their efforts, nor were they asked to do so. Continuity was not important in those days."
The driving force behind Bruce Wayne's character is his parents' murder and their absence. Bob Kane and Bill Finger discussed Batman's background and decided that "there's nothing more traumatic than having your parents murdered before your eyes". Despite his trauma, he sets his mind on studying to become a scientist and to train his body into physical perfection to fight crime in Gotham City as Batman, an inspired idea from Wayne's insight into the criminal mind. He also speaks over 40 languages.
Another of Batman's characterizations is that of a vigilante; in order to stop evil that started with the death of his parents, he must sometimes break the law himself. Although manifested differently by being re-told by different artists, it is nevertheless that the details and the prime components of Batman's origin have never varied at all in the comic books, the "reiteration of the basic origin events holds together otherwise divergent expressions". The origin is the source of the character's traits and attributes, which play out in many of the character's adventures.
Batman is often treated as a vigilante by other characters in his stories. Frank Miller views the character as "a dionysian figure, a force for anarchy that imposes an individual order". Dressed as a bat, Batman deliberately cultivates a frightening persona in order to aid him in crime-fighting, a fear that originates from the criminals' own guilty conscience. Miller is often credited with reintroducing anti-heroic traits into Batman's characterization, such as his brooding personality, willingness to use violence and torture, and increasingly alienated behavior. Batman, shortly a year after his debut and the introduction of Robin, was changed in 1940 after DC editor Whitney Ellsworth felt the character would be tainted by his lethal methods and DC established their own ethical code, subsequently he was retconned to have a stringent moral code, which has stayed with the character of Batman ever since. Miller's Batman was closer to the original pre-Robin version, who was willing to kill criminals if necessary.
Others.
On several occasions former Robin Dick Grayson has served as Batman; most notably in 2009 while Wayne was believed dead, and served as a second Batman even after Wayne returned in 2010. As part of DC's 2011 continuity relaunch, Grayson returned to being Nightwing following the "Flashpoint" crossover event.
In an interview with IGN, Morrison detailed that having Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian Wayne as Robin represented a "reverse" of the normal dynamic between Batman and Robin, with, "a more light-hearted and spontaneous Batman and a scowling, badass Robin". Morrison explained their intentions for the new characterization of Batman: "Dick Grayson is kind of this consummate superhero. The guy has been Batman's partner since he was a kid, he's led the Teen Titans, and he's trained with everybody in the DC Universe. So he's a very different kind of Batman. He's a lot easier; a lot looser and more relaxed."
Over the years, there have been numerous others to assume the name of Batman, or to officially take over for Bruce during his leaves of absence. Jean-Paul Valley, also known as Azrael, assumed the cowl after the events of the ' saga. Jim Gordon donned a mecha-suit after the events of ', and served as Batman in 2015 and 2016. In 2021, as part of the "Fear State" crossover event, Lucius Fox's son Jace Fox succeeds Bruce as Batman in a 2021 storyline, depicted in the series "I Am Batman", after Batman was declared dead.
Additionally, members of the group Batman Incorporated, Bruce Wayne's experiment at franchising his brand of vigilantism, have at times stood in as the official Batman in cities around the world. Various others have also taken up the role of Batman in stories set in alternative universes and possible futures, including, among them, various former proteges of Bruce Wayne.
Supporting characters.
Batman's interactions with both villains and cohorts have, over time, developed a strong supporting cast of characters.
Enemies.
Batman faces a variety of foes ranging from common criminals to outlandish supervillains. Many of them mirror aspects of the Batman's character and development, often having tragic origin stories that lead them to a life of crime. These foes are commonly referred to as Batman's "rogues gallery". Batman's "most implacable foe" is the Joker, a homicidal maniac with a clown-like appearance. The Joker is considered by critics to be his perfect adversary, since he is the antithesis of Batman in personality and appearance; the Joker has a maniacal demeanor with a colorful appearance, while Batman has a serious and resolute demeanor with a dark appearance. As a "personification of the irrational", the Joker represents "everything Batman [opposes]". Other long-time recurring foes that are part of Batman's rogues gallery include Catwoman (a cat burglar anti-heroine who is variously an ally and romantic interest), the Penguin, Ra's al Ghul, Two-Face (Harvey Dent), the Riddler, the Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Bane, Clayface, and Killer Croc, among others. Many of Batman's adversaries are often psychiatric patients at Arkham Asylum.
Allies.
Alfred Pennyworth, Batman's loyal butler and father figure, first appeared in "Batman" #16 (1943). After Bruce Wayne's parents were killed, Alfred raised Bruce and became one of the few people to know his secret identity. He is often portrayed as a steadying presence in Bruce's life, offering both emotional support and practical assistance in Batman's crime-fighting endeavors. More than just a caretaker, Alfred is a trusted ally and sometimes sidekick, sharing Wayne Manor with Bruce and contributing to Batman's mission.
One of Batman's most crucial allies is Commissioner James Gordon. Their relationship is built on mutual respect and a shared commitment to justice in Gotham City. In "", Gordon and Batman learn to trust each other, which transforms their efforts against crime into a more effective partnership. Gordon's perspective as a police officer complements Batman's vigilantism, allowing them to tackle Gotham's challenges together. Another important ally is the Justice League, which further emphasizes the importance of collaboration. Batman's relationship with Superman showcases how their contrasting ideologies can complement each other. In stories like "World's Finest", their friendship highlights how Batman's methods benefit from Superman's optimism and strength.
Sidekicks.
Robin, Batman's vigilante partner, has been a widely recognized supporting character for many years; each iteration of the Robin character, of which there have been five in the mainstream continuity, function as members of the Batman family, but additionally, as Batman's "central" sidekick in various media. Bill Finger stated that he wanted to include Robin because "Batman didn't have anyone to talk to, and it got a little tiresome always having him thinking." The first Robin, Dick Grayson, was introduced in 1940. In the 1970s he finally grew up, went off to college and became the hero Nightwing. A second Robin, Jason Todd was introduced in the 1980s, following Dick Grayson's departure from the role. Initially impulsive and rebellious, Jason's tenure as Robin was controversial among fans. In 1988, DC held a fan vote to determine his fate in the iconic "A Death in the Family" storyline, where the Joker brutally beat Jason with a crowbar and left him to die in an explosion. The fans voted for his death. However, Jason was later resurrected and returned as the antihero Red Hood.
The third Robin in the mainstream comics is Tim Drake, who first appeared in 1989. He went on to star in his own comic series, and goes by the name Red Robin, a variation on the traditional Robin persona. In the first decade of the new millennium, Stephanie Brown served as the fourth in-universe Robin between stints as her self-made vigilante identity the Spoiler, and later as Batgirl. After Brown's apparent death, Drake resumed the role of Robin for a time. The role eventually passed to Damian Wayne, the 10-year-old son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, in the late 2000s. Damian's tenure as "du jour" Robin ended when the character was killed off in the pages of "Batman Incorporated" in 2013. Batman's next young sidekick is Harper Row, a streetwise young woman who avoids the name Robin but followed the ornithological theme nonetheless; she debuted the codename and identity of the Bluebird in 2014. Unlike the Robins, the Bluebird is willing and permitted to use a gun, albeit non-lethal; her weapon of choice is a modified rifle that fires taser rounds. In 2015, a new series began titled "We Are...Robin," focused on a group of teenagers using the Robin persona to fight crime in Gotham City. The most prominent of these, Duke Thomas, later becomes Batman's crimefighting partner as The Signal.
Romantic interests.
Batman's romantic history spans decades, filled with relationships that reflect his struggle between personal happiness and his duty as Gotham's protector. His first love interest was Julie Madison, introduced in "Detective Comics" #31 (1939). Though engaged to Bruce Wayne, she left due to his distant and playboy persona, highlighting the conflict between Bruce's dual life and his desire for a normal relationship.
Selina Kyle, also known as Catwoman, is perhaps the most notable figure in Batman's romantic history. Debuting in "Batman" #1 (1940), their relationship is characterized by a blend of romance and rivalry. Over the years, they have shared intense connections, often navigating the fine line between love and conflict. Their relationship culminated in an engagement during the "Rebirth era."
Another important figure is Vicki Vale, a journalist introduced in "Batman" #49 (1948). Vicki's attempts to uncover Batman's true identity lead to a complicated romantic involvement that waxed and waned over the years, especially during the early 1980s when their relationship became more serious.
Talia al Ghul, introduced in "Detective Comics" #411 (1971), is another key player in Batman's love life. Their relationship is fraught with conflict due to her father, Ra's al Ghul, and his criminal ambitions. Despite the challenges, their love story resulted in the birth of Damian Wayne, who would grow to become the latest Robin and add a new layer of complexity to Batman's character.
Additionally, Batman's relationship with Wonder Woman has been explored in various storylines, including a passionate kiss in "JLA" (2003) during a moment of crisis. However, their relationship remains largely unexplored, often overshadowed by their respective commitments.
One of the most controversial romantic pairings emerged from the animated adaptation of "" (2016), which depicted a brief romantic involvement between Batman and Batgirl (Barbara Gordon). This portrayal sparked significant criticism among fans, reflecting the challenges and complexities of Batman's romantic entanglements over the years.
Abilities.
Skills and training.
Batman has no inherent superhuman powers; he relies on "his own scientific knowledge, detective skills, and athletic prowess". Batman's inexhaustible wealth gives him access to advanced technologies, and as a proficient scientist, he is able to use and modify these technologies to his advantage. In the stories, Batman is regarded as one of the world's greatest detectives, if not the world's greatest crime solver. Batman has been repeatedly described as having a genius-level intellect, being one of the greatest martial artists in the DC Universe, and having peak human physical and mental conditioning. As a polymath, his knowledge and expertise in countless disciplines is nearly unparalleled by any other character in the DC Universe. He has shown prowess in assorted fields such as mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, and several levels of engineering. He has traveled the world acquiring the skills needed to aid him in his endeavors as Batman. In the "" story arc, Superman considers Batman to be one of the most brilliant minds on the planet.
Batman has trained extensively in various fighting styles, making him one of the best hand-to-hand fighters in the DC Universe. He possesses a photographic memory, and has fully utilized his photographic memory to master a total of 127 forms of martial arts. In terms of his physical condition, Batman is described as peak human and far beyond an Olympic-athlete-level condition, able to perform feats such as easily running across rooftops in a Parkour-esque fashion, pressing thousands of pounds regularly, and even bench pressing six hundred pounds of soil and coffin in a poisoned and starved state. Superman describes Batman as "the most dangerous man on Earth", able to defeat an entire team of superpowered extraterrestrials by himself in order to rescue his imprisoned teammates in Grant Morrison's first storyline in "JLA".
Batman is strongly disciplined, and he has the ability to function under great physical pain and resist most forms of telepathy and mind control. He is a master of disguise, multilingual, and an expert in espionage, often gathering information under the identity of a notorious gangster named Matches Malone. Batman is highly skilled in stealth movement and escapology, which allows him to appear and disappear at will and to break free of nearly inescapable deathtraps with little to no harm. He is also a master strategist, considered DC's greatest tactician, with numerous plans in preparation for almost any eventuality.
Batman is an expert in interrogation techniques and his intimidating and frightening appearance alone is often all that is needed in getting information from suspects. Despite having the potential to harm his enemies, Batman's most defining characteristic is his strong commitment to justice and his reluctance to take a life. This unyielding moral rectitude has earned him the respect of several heroes in the DC Universe, most notably that of Superman and Wonder Woman.
Among physical and other crime fighting related training, he is also proficient at other types of skills. Some of these include being a licensed pilot (in order to operate the Batplane), as well as being able to operate other types of machinery. In some publications, he even underwent some magician training.
Technology.
Batman utilizes a vast arsenal of specialized, high-tech vehicles and gadgets in his war against crime, the designs of which usually share a bat motif. Batman historian Les Daniels credits Gardner Fox with creating the concept of Batman's arsenal with the introduction of the utility belt in "Detective Comics" #29 (July 1939) and the first bat-themed weapons the batarang and the "Batgyro" in "Detective Comics" #31 and 32 (Sept. and October 1939).
Batman's batsuit aids in his combat against enemies, having the properties of both Kevlar and Nomex. It protects him from gunfire and other significant impacts, and incorporates the imagery of a bat in order to frighten criminals.
The details of the Batman costume change repeatedly through various decades, stories, media and artists' interpretations, but the most distinctive elements remain consistent: a scallop-hem cape; a cowl covering most of the face; a pair of bat-like ears; a stylized bat emblem on the chest; and the ever-present utility belt. His gloves typically feature three scallops that protrude from long, gauntlet-like cuffs, although in his earliest appearances he wore short, plain gloves without the scallops. The overall look of the character, particularly the length of the cowl's ears and of the cape, varies greatly depending on the artist. Dennis O'Neil said, "We now say that Batman has two hundred suits hanging in the Batcave so they don't have to look the same ...Everybody loves to draw Batman, and everybody wants to put their own spin on it."
Finger and Kane originally conceptualized Batman as having a black cape and cowl and grey suit, but conventions in coloring called for black to be highlighted with blue. Hence, the costume's colors have appeared in the comics as dark blue and grey; as well as black and grey. In the Tim Burton's "Batman" and "Batman Returns" films, Batman has been depicted as completely black with a bat in the middle surrounded by a yellow background. Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Trilogy" depicted Batman wearing high-tech gear painted completely black with a black bat in the middle. Ben Affleck's Batman in the DC Extended Universe films wears a suit grey in color with a black cowl, cape, and bat symbol. Seemingly following the suit of the DC Extended Universe outfit, Robert Pattinson's uniform in "The Batman" restores the more traditional gray bodysuit and black appendage design, notably different from prior iterations by mostly utilizing real world armor and apparel pieces from modern military and motorcycle gear.
Batman's primary vehicle is the Batmobile, which is usually depicted as an imposing black car, often with tailfins that suggest a bat's wings.
Batman also has an aircraft called the Batplane (originally a relatively traditionally, but bat-motifed plane, later seen as the much more unique "Batwing" starting in the 1989 film), along with various other means of transportation.
In proper practice, the "bat" prefix (as in Batmobile or batarang) is rarely used by Batman himself when referring to his equipment, particularly after some portrayals (primarily the 1960s "Batman" live-action television show and the "Super Friends" animated series) stretched the practice to campy proportions. For example, the 1960s television show depicted a Batboat, Bat-Sub, and Batcycle, among other bat-themed vehicles. The 1960s television series Batman has an arsenal that includes such "bat-" names as the Bat-computer, Bat-scanner, bat-radar, bat-cuffs, bat-pontoons, bat-drinking water dispenser, bat-camera with polarized bat-filter, bat-shark repellent bat-spray, and Bat-rope. The storyline "A Death in the Family" suggests that given Batman's grim nature, he is unlikely to have adopted the "bat" prefix on his own. In "The Dark Knight Returns", Batman tells Carrie Kelley that the original Robin came up with the name "Batmobile" when he was young, since that is what a kid would call Batman's vehicle.
The Batmobile, which was before frequently depicted to resemble a sports car, was redesigned in 2011 when DC Comics relaunched its entire line of comic books, with the Batmobile being given heavier armor and new aesthetics.
Batman keeps most of his field equipment in his utility belt. Over the years it has shown to contain an assortment of crime-fighting tools, weapons, and investigative and technological instruments. Different versions of the belt have these items stored in compartments, often as pouches or hard cylinders attached evenly around it.
Since the 1989 film, Batman is often depicted as carrying a projectile which shoots a retractable grappling hook attached to a cable (before this, a he employed a traditionally thrown grappling hook.) This allows him to attach to distant objects, be propelled into the air, and thus swing from the rooftops of Gotham City.
An exception to the range of Batman's equipment are hand guns, which he refuses to use on principle, since a gun was used in his parents' murder. In modern stories in terms of his vehicles, Batman compromises on that principle to install weapon systems on them for the purpose of non-lethally disabling other vehicles, forcing entry into locations and attacking dangerous targets too large to defeat by other means.
When Batman is needed, the Gotham City police activate a searchlight with a bat-shaped insignia over the lens called the Bat-Signal, which shines into the night sky, creating a bat-symbol on a passing cloud which can be seen from any point in Gotham. The origin of the signal varies, depending on the continuity and medium.
In various incarnations, most notably the 1960s "Batman" TV series, Commissioner Gordon also has a dedicated phone line, dubbed the Bat-Phone, connected to a bright red telephone (in the TV series) which sits on a wooden base and has a transparent top. The line connects directly to Batman's residence, Wayne Manor, specifically both to a similar phone sitting on the desk in Bruce Wayne's study and the extension phone in the Batcave.
The Batcave is Batman's secret headquarters, consisting of a series of caves beneath his mansion, Wayne Manor. As his command center, the Batcave serves multiple purposes; supercomputer, surveillance, redundant power-generators, forensics lab, medical infirmary, private study, training dojo, fabrication workshop, arsenal, hangar and garage. It houses the vehicles and equipment Batman uses in his campaign to fight crime. It is also a trophy room and storage facility for Batman's unique memorabilia collected over the years from various cases he has worked on.
In both the comic book "" #45 and the 2005 film "Batman Begins", the cave is said to have been part of the Underground Railroad.
Fictional character biography.
Batman's history has undergone many retroactive continuity revisions, both minor and major. Elements of the character's history have varied greatly. Scholars William Uricchio and Roberta E. Pearson noted in the early 1990s, "Unlike some fictional characters, the Batman has no primary urtext set in a specific period, but has rather existed in a plethora of equally valid texts constantly appearing over more than five decades."
20th century.
Origin.
The central fixed event in the Batman stories is the character's origin story. As a young boy, Bruce Wayne was horrified and traumatized when he watched his parents, the physician Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, murdered with a gun by a mugger named Joe Chill. Batman refuses to utilize any sort of gun on the principle that a gun was used to murder his parents. This event drove him to train his body to its peak condition and fight crime in Gotham City as Batman. Pearson and Uricchio also noted beyond the origin story and such events as the introduction of Robin, "Until recently, the fixed and accruing and hence, canonized, events have been few in number", a situation altered by an increased effort by later Batman editors such as Dennis O'Neil to ensure consistency and continuity between stories.
Golden Age.
In Batman's first appearance in "Detective Comics" #27, he is already operating as a crime-fighter. Batman's origin is first presented in "Detective Comics" #33 (November 1939) and is later expanded upon in "Batman" #47. As these comics state, Bruce Wayne is born to Dr. Thomas Wayne and his wife Martha, two very wealthy and charitable Gotham City socialites. Bruce is brought up in Wayne Manor, and leads a happy and privileged existence until the age of 8, when his parents are killed by a small-time criminal named Joe Chill while on their way home from a movie theater. That night, Bruce Wayne swears an oath to spend his life fighting crime. He engages in intense intellectual and physical training; however, he realizes that these skills alone would not be enough. "Criminals are a superstitious cowardly lot", Wayne remarks, "so my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. I must be a creature of the night, black, terrible ..." As if responding to his desires, a bat suddenly flies through the window, inspiring Bruce to craft the Batman persona.
In early strips, Batman's career as a vigilante earns him the ire of the police. During this period, Bruce Wayne has a fiancé named Julie Madison. In "Detective Comics" #38, Wayne takes in an orphaned circus acrobat, Dick Grayson, who becomes his vigilante partner, Robin. Batman also becomes a founding member of the Justice Society of America, although he, like Superman, is an honorary member, and thus only participates occasionally. Batman's relationship with the law thaws quickly, and he is made an honorary member of Gotham City's police department. During this time, Alfred Pennyworth arrives at Wayne Manor, and after deducing the Dynamic Duo's secret identities, joins their service as their butler.
Silver Age.
The Silver Age of Comic Books in DC Comics is sometimes held to have begun in 1956 when the publisher introduced Barry Allen as a new, updated version of the Flash. Batman is not significantly changed by the late 1950s for the continuity which would be later referred to as Earth-One. The lighter tone Batman had taken in the period between the Golden and Silver Ages led to the stories of the late 1950s and early 1960s that often feature many science-fiction elements, and Batman is not significantly updated in the manner of other characters until "Detective Comics" #327 (May 1964), in which Batman reverts to his detective roots, with most science-fiction elements jettisoned from the series.
After the introduction of DC Comics' Multiverse in the 1960s, DC established that stories from the Golden Age star the Earth-Two Batman, a character from a parallel world. This version of Batman partners with and marries the reformed Earth-Two Catwoman (Selina Kyle). The two have a daughter, Helena Wayne, who becomes the Huntress. She assumes the position as Gotham's protector along with Dick Grayson, the Earth-Two Robin, once Bruce Wayne retires to become police commissioner. Wayne holds the position of police commissioner until he is killed during one final adventure as Batman. Batman titles, however, often ignored that a distinction had been made between the pre-revamp and post-revamp Batmen (since unlike the Flash or Green Lantern, Batman comics had been published without interruption through the 1950s) and would occasionally make reference to stories from the Golden Age. Nevertheless, details of Batman's history were altered or expanded upon through the decades. Additions include meetings with a future Superman during his youth, his upbringing by his uncle Philip Wayne (introduced in "Batman" #208 (February 1969)) after his parents' death, and appearances of his father and himself as prototypical versions of Batman and Robin, respectively. In 1980, then-editor Paul Levitz commissioned the "Untold Legend of the Batman" miniseries to thoroughly chronicle Batman's origin and history.
Batman meets and regularly works with other heroes during the Silver Age, most notably Superman, whom he began regularly working alongside in a series of team-ups in "World's Finest Comics", starting in 1954 and continuing through the series' cancellation in 1986. Batman and Superman are usually depicted as close friends. As a founding member of the Justice League of America, Batman appears in its first story, in 1960's "The Brave and the Bold" #28. In the 1970s and 1980s, "The Brave and the Bold" became a Batman title, in which Batman teams up with a different DC Universe superhero each month.
Bronze Age.
In 1969, Dick Grayson attends college as part of DC Comics' effort to revise the Batman comics. Additionally, Batman also moves from his mansion, Wayne Manor into a penthouse apartment atop the Wayne Foundation building in downtown Gotham City, in order to be closer to Gotham City's crime. In 1974's "Night of the Stalker" storyline, a diploma on the wall reveals Bruce Wayne as a graduate of Yale Law School. Batman spends the 1970s and early 1980s mainly working solo, with occasional team-ups with Robin and/or Batgirl. Batman's adventures also become somewhat darker and more grim during this period, depicting increasingly violent crimes, including the first appearance (since the early Golden Age) of the Joker as a homicidal psychopath, and the arrival of Ra's al Ghul, a centuries-old terrorist who knows Batman's secret identity. In the 1980s, Dick Grayson becomes Nightwing.
In the final issue of "The Brave and the Bold" in 1983, Batman quits the Justice League and forms a new group called the Outsiders. He serves as the team's leader until "Batman and the Outsiders" #32 (1986) and the comic subsequently changed its title.
Modern Age.
After the 12-issue miniseries "Crisis on Infinite Earths", DC Comics retconned the histories of some major characters in an attempt at updating them for contemporary audiences. Frank Miller retold Batman's origin in the storyline "" from "Batman" #404–407, which emphasizes a grittier tone in the character. Though the Earth-Two Batman is erased from history, many stories of Batman's Silver Age/Earth-One career (along with an amount of Golden Age ones) remain canonical in the Post-"Crisis" universe, with his origins remaining the same in essence, despite alteration. For example, Gotham's police are mostly corrupt, setting up further need for Batman's existence. The guardian Phillip Wayne is removed, leaving young Bruce to be raised by Alfred Pennyworth. Additionally, Batman is no longer a founding member of the Justice League of America, although he becomes leader for a short time of a new incarnation of the team launched in 1987. To help fill in the revised backstory for Batman following "Crisis", DC launched a new Batman title called "Legends of the Dark Knight" in 1989 and has published various miniseries and one-shot stories since then that largely take place during the "Year One" period.
Subsequently, Batman begins exhibiting an excessive, reckless approach to his crimefighting, a result of the pain of losing Jason Todd. Batman works solo until the decade's close, when Tim Drake becomes the new Robin.
Many of the major Batman storylines since the 1990s have been intertitle crossovers that run for a number of issues. In 1993, DC published "". During the storyline's first phase, the new villain Bane paralyzes Batman, leading Wayne to ask Azrael to take on the role. After the end of "Knightfall", the storylines split in two directions, following both the Azrael-Batman's adventures, and Bruce Wayne's quest to become Batman once more. The story arcs realign in "KnightsEnd", as Azrael becomes increasingly violent and is defeated by a healed Bruce Wayne. Wayne hands the Batman mantle to Dick Grayson (then Nightwing) for an interim period, while Wayne trains for a return to the role.
The 1994 company-wide crossover storyline "" changes aspects of DC continuity again, including those of Batman. Noteworthy among these changes is that the general populace and the criminal element now consider Batman an urban legend rather than a known force.
Batman once again becomes a member of the Justice League during Grant Morrison's 1996 relaunch of the series, titled "JLA". During this time, Gotham City faces catastrophe in the decade's closing crossover arc. In 1998's "" storyline, Gotham City is devastated by an earthquake and ultimately cut off from the United States. Deprived of many of his technological resources, Batman fights to reclaim the city from legions of gangs during 1999's "No Man's Land".
Meanwhile, Batman's relationship with the Gotham City Police Department changed for the worse with the events of "Batman: Officer Down" and "Batman: War Games/War Crimes"; Batman's long-time law enforcement allies Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock are forced out of the police department in "Officer Down", while "War Games" and "War Crimes" saw Batman become a wanted fugitive after a contingency plan of his to neutralize Gotham City's criminal underworld is accidentally triggered, resulting in a massive gang war that ends with the sadistic Black Mask the undisputed ruler of the city's criminal gangs. Lex Luthor arranges for the murder of Batman's on-again, off-again love interest Vesper Lynd (introduced in the mid-1990s) during the "Bruce Wayne: Murderer?" and "" story arcs. Though Batman is able to clear his name, he loses another ally in the form of his new bodyguard Sasha, who is recruited into the organization known as "Checkmate" while stuck in prison due to her refusal to turn state's evidence against her employer. While he was unable to prove that Luthor was behind the murder of Vesper, Batman does get his revenge with help from Talia al Ghul in "Superman/Batman" #1–6.
21st century.
2000s.
DC Comics' 2005 miniseries "Identity Crisis" reveals that JLA member Zatanna had edited Batman's memories to prevent him from stopping the Justice League from lobotomizing Dr. Light after he raped Sue Dibny. Batman later creates the Brother I satellite surveillance system to watch over and, if necessary, kill the other heroes after he remembered. The revelation of Batman's creation and his tacit responsibility for the Blue Beetle's death becomes a driving force in the lead-up to the "Infinite Crisis" miniseries, which again restructures DC continuity. Batman and a team of superheroes destroy Brother EYE and the OMACs, though, at the very end, Batman reaches his apparent breaking point when Alexander Luthor Jr. seriously wounds Nightwing. Picking up a gun, Batman nearly shoots Luthor in order to avenge his former sidekick, until Wonder Woman convinces him to not pull the trigger.
Following "Infinite Crisis", Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson (having recovered from his wounds), and Tim Drake retrace the steps Bruce had taken when he originally left Gotham City, to "rebuild Batman". In the ' storyline, Batman and Robin return to Gotham City after their year-long absence. Part of this absence is captured during Week 30 of the "52" series, which shows Batman fighting his inner demons. Later on in "52", Batman is shown undergoing an intense meditation ritual in Nanda Parbat. This becomes an important part of the regular "Batman" title, which reveals that Batman is reborn as a more effective crime fighter while undergoing this ritual, having "hunted down and ate" the last traces of fear in his mind. At the end of the "Face the Face" story arc, Bruce officially adopts Tim (who had lost both of his parents at various points in the character's history) as his son. The follow-up story arc in "Batman", "Batman and Son", introduces Damian Wayne, who is Batman's son with Talia al Ghul. Although originally, in ', Bruce's coupling with Talia was implied to be consensual, this arc retconned it into Talia forcing herself on Bruce.
Batman, along with Superman and Wonder Woman, reforms the Justice League in the new "Justice League of America" series, and is leading the newest incarnation of the Outsiders.
Grant Morrison's 2008 storyline, "Batman R.I.P." featured Batman being physically and mentally broken by the enigmatic villain Doctor Hurt and attracted news coverage in advance of its highly promoted conclusion, which would speculated to feature the death of Bruce Wayne. However, though Batman is shown to possibly perish at the end of the arc, the two-issue arc "Last Rites", which leads into the crossover storyline "Final Crisis", shows that Batman survives his helicopter crash into the Gotham City River and returns to the Batcave, only to be summoned to the Hall of Justice by the JLA to help investigate the New God Orion's death. The story ends with Batman retrieving the god-killing bullet used to kill Orion, setting up its use in "Final Crisis". In the pages of "Final Crisis" Batman is reduced to a charred skeleton. In "Final Crisis" #7, Wayne is shown witnessing the passing of the first man, Anthro. Wayne's "death" sets up the three-issue "" miniseries in which Wayne's ex-proteges compete for the "right" to assume the role of Batman, which concludes with Grayson becoming Batman, while Tim Drake takes on the identity of the Red Robin. Dick and Damian continue as Batman and Robin, and in the crossover storyline "Blackest Night", what appears to be Bruce's corpse is reanimated as a Black Lantern zombie, but is later shown that Bruce's corpse is one of Darkseid's failed Batman clones. Dick and Batman's other friends conclude that Bruce is alive.
2010s.
Bruce subsequently returned in Morrison's miniseries "", which depicted his travels through time from prehistory to present-day Gotham. Bruce's return set up "Batman Incorporated", an ongoing series which focused on Wayne franchising the Batman identity across the globe, allowing Dick and Damian to continue as Gotham's Dynamic Duo. Bruce publicly announced that Wayne Enterprises will aid Batman on his mission, known as "Batman, Incorporated". However, due to rebooted continuity that occurred as part of DC Comics' 2011 relaunch of all of its comic books, "The New 52", Dick Grayson was restored as Nightwing with Wayne serving as the sole Batman once again. The relaunch also interrupted the publication of "Batman, Incorporated", which resumed its story in 2012–2013 with changes to suit the new status quo.
The New 52.
During "The New 52", all of DC's continuity was reset and the timeline was changed, making Batman the first superhero to emerge. This emergence took place during "Zero Year", where Bruce Wayne returns to Gotham and becomes Batman, fighting the original Red Hood and the Riddler. In the present day, Batman discovers the Court of Owls, a secret organization operating in Gotham for decades. Batman somewhat defeats the Court by defeating Owlman, although the Court continues to operate on a smaller scale. The Joker returns after losing the skin on his face (as shown in the opening issue of the second volume of "Detective Comics") and attempts to kill the Batman's allies, though he is stopped by Batman. After some time, Joker returns again, and both he and Batman die while fighting each other. Jim Gordon temporarily becomes Batman, using a high-tech suit, while it is revealed that an amnesiac Bruce Wayne is still alive. Gordon attempts to fight a new villain called Mr. Bloom, while Wayne, regains his memories with the help of Alfred Pennyworth and Julie Madison. Once with his memories, Wayne becomes Batman again and defeats Mr. Bloom with the help of Gordon.
DC Rebirth.
The timeline was reset again during "Rebirth", although no significant changes were made to the Batman mythos. Batman meets two new superheroes operating in Gotham named Gotham and Gotham Girl. Psycho-Pirate gets into Gotham's head and turns against Batman, and is finally defeated when he is killed. This event is very traumatic for Gotham Girl and she begins to lose her sanity.
Batman forms his own Suicide Squad, including Catwoman, and attempts to take down Bane. The mission is successful, and Batman breaks Bane's back. Batman proposes to Catwoman.
After healing from his wounds, an angry Bane travels to Gotham, where he fights Batman and loses. Batman then tells Catwoman about the War of Jokes and Riddles, and she agrees to marry him. Bane takes control of Arkham Asylum and manipulates Catwoman into leaving Wayne before the wedding. This causes Wayne to become very angry, and, as Batman, lashes out against criminals, nearly killing Mr. Freeze.
Batman learns of Bane's control over Arkham and teams up with the Penguin to stop him. Bane captures Batman, and Scarecrow causes him to hallucinate, although he eventually breaks free. Batman escapes and reunites with Catwoman, while Bane captures and kills Alfred Pennyworth. Batman returns and defeats Bane, although too late to save Alfred. Gotham Girl prompts him to marry Catwoman.
It is revealed that the Joker who was working for Bane was really Clayface in disguise. The real Joker has been plotting a master plan to take over Gotham. This plan comes to fruition during "The Joker War", in which Joker takes over the city. Batman defeats the Joker who vanishes after an explosion. Ghost-Maker, an enemy from Batman's past, appears in Gotham, and, after a battle, becomes a sort of ally to Batman. A new group called the Magistrate rises up in Gotham, led by Simon Saint, whose goal is to outlaw vigilantes such as Batman. At the same time, Scarecrow returns, fighting Batman. During "Fear State", Batman battles and defeats both Scarecrow and the Magistrate's Peacekeepers.
Other versions.
The character of Batman has been portrayed in numerous alternative versions across various media since his debut in 1939. These adaptations explore different facets and interpretations of the character.
In the "Smallville" a television series, Bruce Wayne adopts the Batman persona in 2001, later teaming up with Superman and other superheroes. Frank Miller's influential series, "The Dark Knight Returns," reimagines Batman as an older, more hardened vigilante, coming out of retirement to fight crime in a dystopian future.
In the "" universe, Batman leads a resistance against a tyrannical Superman who has taken control of Earth.
The "DC Bombshells" series sets Batman in a World War II-era context, with Bruce Wayne taking inspiration from Batwoman to become the masked hero. The "Dark Multiverse" introduces various twisted versions of Batman, such as the Batman Who Laughs, a hybrid of Batman and the Joker, and Red Death, a fusion of Batman and the Flash.
Other notable reimaginings include "JLA/Avengers", where Batman appears in a crossover with Marvel's Avengers; Stan Lee's "Just Imagine", which offers a completely different origin for Batman; and "Kingdom Come," where an older Batman operates in a dystopian future alongside other aged superheroes.
In "Superman: American Alien," Bruce Wayne's journey is retold with significant differences, and "Batman: White Knight" explores a reality where the Joker is cured of his insanity and seeks to expose Batman as the true villain of Gotham. These various adaptations and reinterpretations highlight the versatility and enduring appeal of Batman as a character, allowing for a rich exploration of his mythology across different narratives and settings.
In popular culture.
Batman has ascended to the status of a global pop culture phenomenon, transcending his origins in comic books. His influence expanded notably with the release of the 1989 film, which propelled him to the forefront of public consciousness through widespread merchandising. "The Guardian" describes Batman as emblematic of the constant reinvention characteristic of modern mass culture, embodying both iconic status and commercial appeal, making him a quintessential cultural artifact of the 21st century.
Media appearances.
Apart from comics, Batman's presence spans various mediums, including newspapers, radio dramas, television, stage, and film. From the 1940s serials to contemporary TV shows like "Gotham" and "Titans," Batman's legacy endures. Celebrating the character's 75th anniversary, Warner Bros released "Batman: Strange Days," showcasing his timeless appeal.
In September 2024, Batman become the first superhero to be given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It was the 2,790th star.
Different interpretations.
Gay interpretations of Batman have been studied academically since psychologist Fredric Wertham's claims in 1954. Andy Medhurst and Will Brooker have explored Batman's appeal to gay audiences and the validity of a queer reading. Meanwhile, in psychological interpretations, Dr. Travis Langley sees Batman as representing the "shadow archetype," confronting inner darkness to fight evil, according to Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell's theories. Langley's analysis adds depth to Batman's psychological complexity.
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