Batman's Mythology
An Inside Look Into The Origins of the Dark Knight

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Origin of Comic Origin of Character Evolution of Character

Origin of Comic

Batman was created by Bob Kane and first appeared in Detective Comics #37 in 1939. Batman was simply introduced as a character in the comic at first but later on he took over as the lead for numerous comic book series. Although Batman had a very feeble introduction into the comic book world, his character quickly rose to super-hero status because of several factors - his painful and troubled past, his conviction to protect the weak and abused, his desire to wear a costume and mask to protect his true identity.

Origin of Character

Bruce Wayne was the one and only son of billionaire industrialists Thomas and Martha Wayne. One night when the Waynes were walking through in alley in Gotham City, Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered by a common criminal, who would later come to be known as the Joker. Young Bruce witnessed the murder of his parents, a tragedy that has haunted him for all his life and also provided him with the conviction to exact revenge and justice on all of those that could not protect themselves.

Evolution of Character

After Thomas and Martha Wayne's wake service, young Bruce was running through the woods outside the family mansion to try to ease the pain of losing both of his parents. While he was running through the woods, Bruce fell into a cave, or more precisely, a bat cave. It was at this time that Bruce realized his destiny and fascination of bats. After this pointe, Bruce immensely and vigorously trained himself, both physically and mentally with one mission in mind - to exact revenge on the one that killed his parents. During his late teen/early twenties, Bruce Wayne traveled the world to seek answers for all the questions he had about life. His childhood experience, his travels and his training adequately prepared him to become Gotham City's Dark Knight. Bruce designed all of the bat gadgets and toys himself, including his suit. Batman rose to super-hero status because of his character, both as Bruce Wayne and as Batman. Bruce Wayne to most was known as a spoiled playboy blessed with family money, but was also a good citizen of society because he was actively involved in its welfare by donations to charities and programs and providing employment at Wayne Enterprises. Batman, to society was known as a protector, to most of his enemies he was known as next to invincible although they all tried to defeat and destroy him. Batman is perhaps the only super-hero who has no special super powers and endorsed by the police. Batman is called upon for help with the help of a bat signal, a bright light that is shone on Gotham City's night sky. There are only a few who know Batman's true identity - Bruce Wayne's surrogate father and butler, Alfred Pennyworth, Batman's sidekicks Robin and Batgirl and Superman, to name a few.

References

Wikipedia (2005). Batman, overview and history. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman (May 5, 2005).

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Last Update: May 10, 2005
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