Batman franchise media

src: media.comicbook.com

Since his first appearance in 1939, Batman has been adapted into such media as film, radio, television, and video games, as well as numerous merchandising items.

Video Batman franchise media

Film

Live-action

A number of Batman theatrical films have been made. There have also been several attempted projects during the hiatus between Batman & Robin and Batman Begins.

Serials

• 1943: Batman; 15 chapters starring Lewis Wilson as Batman and Douglas Croft as Robin
• 1949: Batman and Robin; 15 chapters starring Robert Lowery as Batman and Johnny Duncan as Robin

Batman: The Movie

In 1966, Batman: The Movie feature film based on the contemporaneous Batman television series was released. It starred Adam West as Batman, Burt Ward as Robin, Cesar Romero as the Joker, Burgess Meredith as the Penguin, Frank Gorshin as the Riddler, and Lee Meriweather as Catwoman.

Burton / Schumacher eras

Dark Knight Trilogy and DC Extended Universe

Animated

Featuring Batman

• 1993: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, an animated theatrical feature tie-in for Batman: The Animated Series; starring Kevin Conroy as Batman, Mark Hamill as the Joker, and Dana Delany as Andrea Beaumont/The Phantasm
• 1998: Subzero, set in the continuity of Batman: The Animated Series, with Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
• 2000: Return of the Joker, set in the continuity of Batman Beyond, with Will Friedle and Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
• 2003: Mystery of the Batwoman, set in the continuity of The New Batman Adventures, with Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
• 2005: The Batman vs. Dracula, set in the continuity of The Batman, with Rino Romano voicing Batman
• 2010: Under the Red Hood, an adaptation of Batman: Under the Hood, with Bruce Greenwood voicing Batman
• 2011: Year One, an adaptation of Batman: Year One, with Benjamin McKenzie voicing Batman
• 2012: Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - Part 1, an adaptation of the first half of The Dark Knight Returns, with Peter Weller voicing Batman
• 2013: The Dark Knight Returns - Part 2, an adaptation of the second half of The Dark Knight Returns, with Peter Weller voicing Batman
• 2013: DC Super Heroes Unite with Troy Baker voicing Batman
• 2014: Son of Batman, a loose adaptation of Batman and Son, with Jason O'Mara voicing Batman
• 2014: Assault on Arkham, set in the continuity of Batman: Arkham, with Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
• 2015: Batman vs. Robin, a loose adaptation of Court of Owls, with Jason O'Mara voicing Batman
• 2015: Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts, with Roger Craig Smith voicing Batman
• 2015: Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem, with Roger Craig Smith voicing Batman
• 2016: Batman Unlimited: Mechs vs. Mutants, with Roger Craig Smith voicing Batman
• 2016: Batman: Bad Blood, an animated film also featuring Batwoman and Batwing with Jason O'Mara voicing Batman and Sean Maher voicing Dick Grayson/Nightwing as Batman
• 2016: Batman: The Killing Joke, an adaptation of Batman: The Killing Joke, with Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
• 2016: Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders, an animated film based on the contemporaneous Batman television series; starring Adam West as Batman, Burt Ward as Robin, and Julie Newmar as Catwoman
• 2017: Batman and Harley Quinn, an original animated film in the style of Batman: The Animated Series, with Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
• 2017: Batman vs. Two-Face, an animated film based on the contemporaneous Batman television series; starring Adam West as Batman, Burt Ward as Robin, and Julie Newmar as Catwoman
• 2018: Batman Ninja, a Japanese CG-animated film by Kamikaze Douga.

With other DC Comics heroes

• 1997: The Batman/Superman Movie: World's Finest
• 2008: Justice League: The New Frontier, based on the comic of the same name, with Jeremy Sisto voicing Batman
• 2009: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, based on the comic of the same name, with Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
• 2010: Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, a loose adaptation of various DC comics, with William Baldwin voicing Batman
• 2010: Superman/Batman: Apocalypse, based on Superman/Batman: The Supergirl from Krypton, with Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
• 2010: DC Super Friends, based on the Fisher-Price toyline, with Daran Norris voicing Batman
• 2012: Justice League: Doom, based on JLA: Tower of Babel, with Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
• 2013: Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, based on Flashpoint, with Kevin McKidd and Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
• 2014: JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time, an original story with Diedrich Bader voicing Batman
• 2014: Justice League: War, based on Justice League: Origin, with Jason O'Mara voicing Batman
• 2014: Lego DC Comics: Batman Be-Leaguered animated television special, with Troy Baker reprising his role as Batman from the Lego video games
• 2015: Justice League: Throne of Atlantis, based on Throne of Atlantis, with Jason O'Mara reprising his role
• 2015: Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League, with Troy Baker reprising his role
• 2015: Justice League: Gods and Monsters, with Michael C. Hall voicing Batman
• 2015: Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League - Attack of the Legion of Doom, with Troy Baker reprising his role
• 2016: Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Cosmic Clash, with Troy Baker reprising his role
• 2016: Justice League vs. Teen Titans, with Jason O'Mara reprising his role
• 2016: Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League: Gotham City Breakout, with Troy Baker reprising his role
• 2017: Justice League Dark, with Jason O'Mara reprising his role

Web series

• 2015: Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles, with Michael C. Hall voicing Batman
• 2015: Batman Unlimited, with Roger Craig Smith voicing Batman

Other

• 2008: Batman: Gotham Knight, a collection of original shorts, with Kevin Conroy voicing Batman
• 2014: A Lego-themed version of Batman appears in The Lego Movie, voiced by Will Arnett
• 2017: The Lego Batman Movie, with Arnett reprising his role

Maps Batman franchise media

Television

Live-action

• 1966-68: Batman starring Adam West and Burt Ward as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Dick Grayson/Robin
• 1972: "Equal pay" Public Service Announcement featuring Dick Gautier as Batman, Burt Ward as Robin, and Yvonne Craig as Batgirl
• 1979: Legends of the Superheroes by Hanna Barbera, featuring West and Ward as Batman and Robin.
• 2001: "OnStar" commercials featuring Bruce Thomas as Batman and Michael Gough as Alfred, and followed the visual style of the 1989-97 film series
• 2002: Birds of Prey, TV series that featured Batman in the first episode
• 2012 - present: Batman has been referenced throughout the CW TV series, Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl and Legends of Tomorrow.
• 2017: Powerless: Batman is seen in the opening theme, and mentioned throughout the show. One of the main characters is actually Bruce Wayne's cousin, Van Wayne.

Bruce Wayne

In 1999, Tim McCanlies wrote a pilot script and series bible for a planned series called Bruce Wayne to be produced by Tollin/Robbins Productions. Taking place in his teenage years, the series would cover his passage into young adulthood, training, and development into becoming Batman. Other characters would include Alfred, Sergeant Jim Gordon, law school student Harvey Dent, and a seductive young Selina Kyle. Planned to run for five to six seasons, it would show how he acquired his martial arts skills, his equipment, and detective abilities he would use in his war on crime. It would also focus on topics such as corruption within the board of Wayne Enterprises (an element which influenced Batman Begins and Gotham) and police affiliation with the mafia. Bruce Wayne was nearing pre-production when Warner Bros. movie division felt it would conflict with the planned Year One movie and scrapped it. The result was Batman Begins and Tollin/Robbins Productions later went to create Smallville, a series about a teenage Clark Kent.

Gotham

In 2014, Warner Bros. Television and Fox Network premiered the series Gotham with show creator Bruno Heller, which focuses on James Gordon (played by Ben McKenzie), a detective solving Thomas and Martha Wayne's murder. The pilot began filming in March 2014 and features Bruce Wayne (played by David Mazouz) at 12 years old. Fox Chairman Kevin Reilly revealed that the series has an origin story of Wayne becoming Batman in the final episode, and origin stories for Riddler, Penguin, Joker and Catwoman. The series has a similar tone to the Christopher Nolan Batman films. Danny Cannon directed the pilot and executive produces the series.

Arrow

In the sixth season of Arrow, Bruce Wayne is mentioned by Oliver Queen.

Animated

Super Friends

• 1973-86: Various Super Friends series produced by Hanna-Barbera; Olan Soule again reprises his role as Batman in all but the last two Super Friends series, where he is replaced by Adam West.
  • 1973-74: Super Friends
  • 1977-78: The All-New Super Friends Hour
  • 1978-79: Challenge of the Super Friends
  • 1979-80: The World's Greatest Super Friends
  • 1980-83: Super Friends
  • 1984-85: Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show
  • 1985-86: The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians
• 1977-78: The New Adventures of Batman, produced by Filmation; while the H-B produced Super Friends ran on ABC, Adam West and Burt Ward (Robin) voiced their previously live-action roles for this CBS cartoon series; later rerun as part of The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour (the Tarzan segments had also been previously seen as their own series)

DC Animated Universe

• 1992-2006: The DC animated universe produced by Warner Bros. Animation; Batman is voiced by Kevin Conroy in all appearances
  • 1992-95: Batman: The Animated Series; the first series of the DCAU
  • 1997-99: Superman: The Animated Series; Batman guest stars in "World's Finest", "Knight Time" and "The Demon Reborn"
  • 1997-99: The New Batman Adventures; a continuation of Batman: The Animated Series
  • 1999-2001: Batman Beyond; an elderly Bruce Wayne passes the mantle of Batman onto teenager Terry McGinnis (voiced by Will Friedle)
  • 2001: The Zeta Project; the future Batman guest stars in the episode "Shadows"
  • 2001-04: Justice League; the original Batman becomes one of the founding members of the League
  • 2002-04: Static Shock; Batman guest stars in "The Big Leagues", "Hard as Nails", "A League of Their Own" and "Future Shock"; he appears in the "New Batman Adventures" for three episodes and "Justice League" appearance for one episode
  • 2004-06: Justice League Unlimited; a continuation of Justice League

Other

• 1968-69: Superman, produced by Filmation; featured Batman in Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder segments; Batman segments were later repackaged as The Adventures of Superman and Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder(voiced by Olan Soule)
• 1970: Batman appears in three animated educational shorts as part of Sesame Street's first season. Olan Soule reprises his role of Batman
• 1972: The New Scooby-Doo Movies, produced by Hanna-Barbera; Batman and Robin appeared in episodes "The Dynamic Scooby-Doo Affair" (9/16/72) and "The Caped Crusader Caper" (12/16/72), where Olan Soule again portrays the Caped Crusader
• 1990: Alvin and the Chipmunks parodied Batman in the 1990 television episode "Batmunk".
• 1997: Appeared in the Animaniacs episode "Boo Wonder"; Adam West reprises his role as the Caped Crusader
• 2004: Teen Titans; appears in silhouette in the episode "Haunted", in a flashback sequence
• 2004-08: The Batman; in this series, Bruce Wayne is a young crime fighter just three years into his career as Batman. He is voiced by Rino Romano
• 2005-06: In Krypto the Superdog, Batman himself makes no appearances, but his pet dog Ace the Bat-Hound does, although Ace prefers to refer to himself as "Batman's partner," rather than his pet
• 2008-11: Batman: The Brave and the Bold; based in part on the comic book series of the same name, the series has Batman (voiced by Diedrich Bader) team-up with several other DC Comics heroes
• 2010-13: Young Justice; the animated series of Young Justice features Justice League members as well as Batman voiced by Bruce Greenwood, who played the role in the animated film Batman: Under the Red Hood
• 2012: Mad; when their fellow heroes feel under-appreciated, they appeal to Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman about being called "Super Friends"
• 2012: New Teen Titans short, "Red X Unmasked"; a cameo appearance as one of the people under the mask of Red X and says his famous line from Batman: The Animated Series, "I am Vengeance, I am the Night, I am," but his mask comes off before he can say his name; voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson
• 2013: Teen Titans Go!; Batman makes non-speaking cameo appearances in the episodes "La Larva de Amor", "Girl's Night Out", "Books", "Sidekick", "Slumber Party", "Thanksgiving" and "Real Boy Adventures"
• 2013: Beware the Batman; a CGI animated series that features Katana as Batman's sidekick (voiced by Anthony Ruivivar)
• 2016: Justice League Action; Batman appears as one of the three lead characters in the show, with Kevin Conroy reprising his role

src: s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com

Radio

Beginning in March 1945, Batman and Robin made regular appearances on the radio drama The Adventures of Superman on the Mutual Broadcasting System. Efforts were made to launch a Batman radio series in 1943 and again in 1950, but neither came to fruition.

In 1989, an original radio drama, Batman: The Lazarus Syndrome, was produced by Dirk Maggs for BBC Radio 4.

A second Maggs production aired on BBC Radio 1 in 1994, this time adapting the comic book storyline Batman: Knightfall. It was adapted, produced and directed by Maggs--with music composed by Mark Russell--who had also made Superman: Doomsday & Beyond on BBC Radio 5. This show, however was not commissioned of its own, but rather to be three-minute episodes on the Mark Goodier Show. This meant it was written with a sense of immediacy; having to make an instant effect and each three-minute segment contains a major plot development or sound effect stunt and ends on a cliffhanger. DC acknowledged the effort in an issue Shadow of The Bat by having villains jump past a sign reading "Dirk Maggs Radio". Michael Gough reprised the role of Alfred Pennyworth from the Burton/Schumacher film series.

src: media.comicbook.com

Newspaper

From 1943 to 1946, Batman and Robin appeared in a syndicated daily newspaper comic strip produced by the McClure Syndicate. Other versions appeared in 1953, 1966, and 1989. The original run is collected in the book Batman: The Dailies. One more comic strip series ran briefly after the success of the 1989 film.

src: media.comicbook.com

Books

Batman appears in a novel by cyberpunk/horror novelist John Shirley, titled Batman: Dead White from Del Rey. Many other novels and short story collections featuring Batman have been published over the years, including novelizations of each of the recent movies (such as Batman and The Dark Knight Rises) and many of the comic book arcs.

There are also several more scholarly works, aimed at either Batman's history or art, such as Les Daniels' Batman: The Complete History, Will Brooker's Batman Unmasked: Analysing a Cultural Icon and compilations such as Batman: Cover to Cover: The Greatest Comic Book Covers of the Dark Knight. In 2004, The Batman Handbook: The Ultimate Training Manual, written by Scott Beatty was published by Quirk Books (ISBN 1-59474-023-2). Written in the same style as The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook series, the book explained the basics on how to be Batman. Amongst the skills included in the book are "How to Train a Sidekick", "How to Execute a Backflip", "How to Throw a Grappling Hook", and "How to Survive a Poison Gas Attack". Finally, there are of course countless sticker, coloring, activity, and other children's books featuring the Dark Knight.

src: media.comicbook.com

Foreign comics

• Batman: Child of Dreams by Kia Asamiya--manga
• Batman: Death Mask by Yoshinori Natsume--manga
• Batman by Jiro Kuwata--manga
• Batman trong H?t? Th?n by Nguy?n Th--Vietnamese comics

Novelty singles

Several musical singles featuring cast members of the television show singing in-character were released in 1966: Burgess Meredith as the Penguin in "The Capture" and "The Escape", Frank Gorshin as the Riddler in "The Riddler", and Adam West as Batman in "Miranda". In 1976 West performed a pair of novelty songs, "The Story of Batman" and "Batman and Robin", for Target Records. All six of these recordings (sans the b-sides to Gorshin and West's singles) were later included on the 1997 compilation, Batmania: Songs Inspired by Batman TV Series.

In 1966, Burt Ward also recorded a limited "disc jokey only" release with Frank Zappa called "Boy Wonder, I Love You".

Also in 1966, British novelty group The Scaffold produced a single called "Goodbat Nightman" (lyrics by Roger McGough, who "has written several poems" about Batman and Robin).

Audio drama

Following the popularity of the Adam West television series, a pair of LPs were released in 1966 on MGM's "Leo the Lion" label. Each contained three dramatizations, including stories adapted from Batman comic books:

• The Official Adventures Of Batman And Robin:
  • The Legend of Batman and Robin
  • The Penguin's Plunder
  • The Joker's Revenge
• More Official Adventures of Batman & Robin:
  • The Marriage of Batman and Batwoman
  • The Fake Boy Wonder
  • When Batman Became a Coward

Throughout the 1970s Batman was the subject of a number of Power Records Book-and-record sets, as well as records unaccompanied by books:

45 rpm book and record sets:

• Batman: Stacked Cards
• Batman: Robin Meets Man-Bat

7" 33¹/₃ rpm records no comic:

• Batman: If Music be the Food of Death
• Batman: The Scarecrow's Mirages
• Batman: Catwoman's Revenge

33¹/₃ rpm 12 book and record sets:

• Batman: Gorilla City & Mystery of the Scarecrow Corpse
• Batman (Collects Stacked Cards, The Scarecrow's Mirage, Challenge of the Catwoman, If Music Be the Food of Death)
• Batman (Collects Robin Meets Man Bat, Gorilla City, Mystery of the Scarecrow Corpse, The Catwoman's Revenge)
• A Super Hero Christmas (segment Batman: Christmas Carol Caper)

The 1980 mini-series, The Untold Legend of the Batman was available in a special "MPI Audio Edition." Each of the three issues were accompanied by an audio cassette containing a performance of the text of the issue, with musical cues.

As part of its DC Superheroes collection, in 1982 Fisher-Price released Batman: The Case of the Laughing Sphinx, an audio cassette accompanied by a hard back illustrated book.

In 2007, the audiobook publisher GraphicAudio licensed DC Comics properties to adapt as audiodramas. They have produced three adaptations of Batman novels: Batman: Dead White by John Shirley, Batman: Inferno by Alex Irvine, and Alan Grant's Batman: The Stone King. Batman also appears as a supporting cast member in the GraphicAudio's adaptations of Crisis on Infinite Earths, Infinite Crisis and JLA: Exterminators.

Video games

Video games featuring Batman include:

• Batman (1986) for the ZX Spectrum, MSX and Amstrad PCW; now known as Batman 3D
• Batman: The Caped Crusader (1988) for various 8-bit and 16-bit platforms
• Batman (1989) for Mega Drive/Genesis, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Atari Lynx, Commodore Amiga, Sinclair ZX Spectrum and other platforms. (In October 1989, the Amiga 500 was bundled with this game as part of the Batman Pack, which was sold in the United Kingdom and was a phenomenal success)
• Batman: Return of the Joker (1991) for Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Game Boy
• Batman Returns (1993) for Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super NES, Mega Drive/Genesis, Mega CD/Sega CD, Game Gear, and Atari Lynx
• Batman: The Animated Series (1993) for Game Boy
• Batman & Robin: The Animated Series (1993) for Game Gear
• The Adventures of Batman & Robin (1994) for Super NES, Mega Drive/Genesis, Mega CD/Sega CD, and Game Gear
• Batman Forever (1996) for Super NES, Game Boy, Mega Drive/Genesis, and Game Gear
• Batman Forever: The Arcade Game (1996) for Arcade, PlayStation and Sega Saturn
• Batman & Robin (1997) for the Game.com and the PlayStation
• Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000) for the Nintendo 64 and the PlayStation
• Batman: Chaos in Gotham (2001) for Game Boy Color
• Batman: Gotham City Racer (2001) A racing game for the PlayStation
• Batman: Vengeance (2001) for the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, PC, Game Boy Advance and Xbox
• Batman: Dark Tomorrow (2003) for Xbox and Nintendo GameCube (voiced by Julian Fletcher)
• Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu (2004) for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, the Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance
• Batman Begins (2005) for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube and Game Boy Advance (2005)
• Batman: The Brave and the Bold - The Videogame (2010) for the Wii and Nintendo DS: Based on the television series of the same name (voiced by Diedrich Bader)
• Gotham City Impostors (2012) A downloadable multi-player first-person shooter game via PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade and Games for Windows Live; a "team deathmatch" game, with one team dressed like Batman and the other dressed like The Joker
• Injustice: Gods Among Us (2013) for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Wii U, and Windows PC: A fighting game featuring several DC superheroes (voiced by Kevin Conroy)
• Injustice 2 (2017) for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One: the sequel to Injustice: Gods Among Us (voiced by Kevin Conroy)

The Revenge of Shinobi features a non-authorized Batman as a boss. The 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System game Final Fantasy features "Badman", a character with strong resemblances to Batman, as one of the enemies of the final area.

Lego: Batman

• Lego Batman: The Video Game (2008): a video game in the style of Lego Star Wars based on the LEGO Batman toyline (vocals by Steven Blum)
• Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes (2012): the sequel to Lego Batman: The Video Game (voiced by Troy Baker)
• Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham (2014): the sequel to Lego Batman 2: DC Superheroes (voiced by Troy Baker)
• Lego Dimensions (2015): Troy Baker reprises Batman in this multi-franchise game. The Lego Movie version also appears in this version voiced by Will Arnett. Batman is one of the three main heroes alongside The Lego Movie's Wyldstyle and Gandalf of Lord of the Rings as he works with them to rescue Robin from Lord Vortech. Additional content also includes an adaptation of The Lego Batman Movie.

Batman appears in the Justice League Task Force Super NES fighting game, a pair of Justice League games for Game Boy Advance, and an arcade game based on the Tim Burton film. He appears in the Justice League Heroes game for PS2, Xbox, and PSP and has appeared in the crossover game Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. Batman has also appeared as a non-player character in the MMORPG DC Universe Online. He is one of the three available "mentors" for the player, choosing him as a mentor will open an exclusive storyline and exclusive missions. Batman can be unlocked to use in Legends PVP matches with two available appearances: the normal Batman or Future Batman, wearing a grey plated armor instead of a suit, and a helmet instead of just a cowl.

Batman Arkham

• Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009) for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Windows PC (voiced by Kevin Conroy)
• Batman: Arkham City (2011) for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows PC and Wii U: The sequel to Batman: Arkham Asylum (voiced by Kevin Conroy)
• Batman: Arkham City Lockdown (2011): spin-off to Arkham City
• Batman: Arkham Origins (2013) for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows PC and Wii U: Prequel to Arkham Asylum and Arkham City (voiced by Roger Craig Smith)
• Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate (2013) for Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita: 2.5D platform game set between Arkham Origins and Arkham Asylum.
• Batman: Arkham Knight (2015): the sequel to Arkham City and the final game in the Arkham series, for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows (voiced by Kevin Conroy)

Musical theatre

While a parody of a Batman musical was featured in one of the most recent series' comics, in 2002, Jim Steinman, David Ives, and Tim Burton had worked on a theatre production called Batman: The Musical although it was ultimately cancelled. Steinman has revealed five songs from the musical. The first is the opening theme for "Gotham City" and the entry of Batman with his tortured solo "The Graveyard Shift"; followed by "The Joker's Song (Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?)", "The Catwoman's Song (I Need All The Love I Can Get)", "We're Still The Children We Once Were" (the climactic sequence) and "In The Land Of The Pig The Butcher Is King", sung by the corrupt blood-suckers ruling Gotham, covered on the Meat Loaf album Bat Out of Hell III: The Monster Is Loose. These songs can be heard at the Batman: The Musical memorial site, Dark Knight of the Soul.

A Batman musical is also parodied in the animated series Batman Beyond. The episode "Out of the Past", (first aired October 21, 2000) opens with Bruce Wayne and Terry McGinnis attending a performance of (a fictional) Batman: The Musical, featuring caricatures of prominent members of the Rogues Gallery (the Joker, the Penguin, Two-Face, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn). Series creator Paul Dini, who wrote the episode in question, also wrote a song for the fictitious musical entitled Superstitious and Cowardly Lot.

An episode of the sketch comedy show MADtv also featured a Batman: The Musical parody called Batman V: Out of the Cave which starred Tommy Tune as Batman, and Ben Vereen as Robin.

A live stage show was also created, called Batman Live: World Tour. The show is a unique fusion of live action theatre, magic, stunts, digital projection and music from an 85-piece orchestra and choir. The tour began at Manchester, UK in Summer 2011 and visited arenas throughout the UK and Europe before arriving in North America in Summer 2012.

In 2012, the Internet theatre troupe StarKid Productions created a musical titled Holy Musical B@man!, which went on YouTube on April 13. It was performed in Chicago from March 16-25, and because of copyright laws, tickets were free. Batman is portrayed by Joseph (Joe) Walker.

Music

The album Knightfall by multinational Swedish band Silent Images, is based on the Batman:Knightfall story arc, with Batman serving as a central character, the "Nightly Priest". The album explores the underlying sociopolitical themes in the Batman universe, and his struggle against "The Venomous One", which is the album´s interpretation of Bane.

Games, action figures, and other toys

Hundreds of Batman action figures, die-cast models, and other items have been released. Many companies have acquired the rights to make Batman merchandise, including:

• Ideal--Captain Action
• Mego--Action figures and dolls
• Corgi--Die-cast metal vehicles
• Remco--Playsets and roleplaying toys
• Toy Biz--Action figures
• Ertl--Die-cast figures & vehicles and model kits
• Applause--PVC figures and dolls
• Hasbro--Action figures
• Monogram--Bobble heads
• Mattel--Action figures and jigsaw puzzles
• Lego--Building bricks and minifigures
• Bandai Japan--SH Figuarts

Batman has appeared as a HeroClix figure, along with other Batman characters, in the following HeroClix sets:

• Hypertime
• Cosmic Justice
• Unleashed
• Legacy
• Icons

For April 2006, Lego introduced a Batman line which also includes characters such as the Joker and Two-Face, at American International Toy Fair.

Postage stamps

In 2006, the United States Postal Service (USPS) issued a DC Comics Superheroes pane of 20 stamps which included a stamp of Batman.

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of Batman, USPS released a limited edition stamp series on October 9, 2014. Four versions of the superhero were depicted from the four eras of comic book history: Golden, Silver, Bronze and Modern. In addition, it included four versions of the Bat-Signal.

Theme park attractions

Several Six Flags theme parks, formerly owned by Warner Bros., opened live-action "Batman Stunt Shows" as the movies increased in popularity. The now closed Six Flags Astroworld in Houston, Texas was home to a standing roller coaster known as Batman: The Escape. Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas is home to two roller coasters called Mr. Freeze, and Batman: The Ride. Six Flags México in Mexico City, Mexico has also a looping, suspended roller coaster named Batman: The Ride (Six Flags St. Louis has the same ride, as does Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois) as well as twin roller coasters named Batman and Robin: The Chiller. On the latter attraction, riders may ride on either the Batman or Robin versions of the coaster. But unfortunately in the 2007 off-season, the ride was removed after a long history of technical difficulties and occasionally breaking down. Six Flags Over Georgia contains a Gotham City area that contains the same Batman: The Ride and also features a looping coaster called The Mindbender that was adapted to fit the color tone of the Riddler after Batman Forever came out to fit the Gotham City section of the park it shares with Batman: The Ride. Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California has two Batman-themed coasters, the suspended coaster Batman: The Ride, and The Riddler's Revenge, a stand-up type roller coaster. This Six Flags park also features an entire themed area called "Gotham City" complete with architecture to match that of the fictional Gotham City. Warner Bros. Movie World in the Gold Coast, Australia, also has two Batman-themed rides. Batman Adventure - The Ride, revamped in 2001, is a motion simulator style simulator ride while Batwing Spaceshot is a vertical free-fall ride.

In 2008, The Dark Knight Coaster opened in Six Flags Great Adventure and Six Flags Great America. Based on The Dark Knight film, they are Wild Mouse roller coasters, indoors, heavily themed, and give riders a feeling that they are being stalked by the Joker. Six Flags New England was originally going to receive this roller coaster; however, due to problems with building permits, the park scratched the project and then sent the coaster to Six Flags México.

See also

• Batman (disambiguation)
• Robin in other media
• Barbara Gordon in other media
• Joker in other media
• Bane in other media

References

External links

• Warner Bros. official website
• Warner Bros. official Batman Shop
• Batman Begins official site
• The New Batman Adventures--Official Warner Bros. site
• Batman: The Animated Series--Official site
• Batman Beyond--Official site
• Dark Knight of the Soul (Batman: The Musical Memorial)--Collects all known information about this canceled project, as well as Steinman's demo recordings
• Batman Films and TV series at the Internet Movie Database
• Encyclopedia of Television

Source of the article : Wikipedia