Summary
Since his creation by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in the pages ofDetective Comics#27,Batmanhas become the de facto face of DC Comics. Alongside Superman and Spider-Man, few superheroes have achieved the level of recognition, commercial success and popularity as the Caped Crusader. Famously, the Golden Age Dark Knight was inspired by a long line of protagonists from pulp magazines and comic strips, which dominated the medium before superheroes found success.
The Golden Age of superhero comics notoriously drew from the ideas, names, abilities and designs of the heroes of the early and mid-1930s. Some of the most glaring examples of this can be found in Superman, who shares the first name, hideout name and oddly-similar nickname as Man of Bronze, Clark “Doc” Savage Jr, and his Fortress of Solitude.Batman, however, takes inspiration from heroes dating as far back as Sherlock Holmes– though his pulp pedigree is even more pronounced.
7Tarzan
Created by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Tarzan may not be the first character readers think of when imagining the precursors of Batman, but the tale of Lord Greystroke shares something key with Batman: both are wealthy orphans. While a lesser shared trait, both characters were also raised and, to some extent, trained by a surrogate family, even if Tarzan’s is far more unconventional. The hero of the jungle typically fights poachers, looters, pirates and other threats common to both the period and the setting.
Despite being set in the jungles of Africa, rather than the big city,Tarzan’s steadfast commitment to his home closely resembles the same dedication Bruce Wayne has towards Gotham. Neither character enjoys being away from their native lands for long, even though both are willing to leave when the situation calls for it. The crossover seriesBatman/Tarzan: Claws of the Catwoman(with artists Igor Kordey and Dave Dorman) was written by Ron Marz as an exploration of the overlapping themes between the two heroes.
6The Spider
Created by Harry Steeger and R.T.M. Scott
The Spider was created by Harry Steeger to serve as a direct competitor to The Shadow. to avoid legal disputes, he turned to writer R.T.M. Scott, hiring him to transform his own detective hero, Aurelius Smith, into the Spider. A veteran of the First World War, the Spider is better known in his world as Richard Wentworth, a millionaire who adopts the same playboy persona commonly associated with Bruce Wayne.
The Spider has a few things in common with Bruce Wayne, namely the idea of the hero as the last surviving member of a wealthy familyand having some of the deadliest and most creative villains in print. However, he differs from the Caped Crusader in one key way: Violence. Whereas Batman will take every measure to ensure he doesn’t take a life, his pulp counterpart wasn’t just ok with killing, he would do so preemptively if he felt it necessary. That being said, when it comes to Golden Age Batman, he was no stranger to lethal force.
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5The Green Hornet
Created by George W. Trendle
The Green Hornet was initially created by George W. Trendle as a serialized radio hero, a 1930s crime-fighting vigilante based in Central City. By day, the hero is Britt Reid, a wealthy bachelor and the owner of the Daily Sentinel, a prestigious newspaper. Along with his sidekick, Kato, he focuses on organized crime, corruption and deadly conspiracies.Debuting just three years prior to Batman, the character’s obvious overlap with the Caped Crusader became abundantly obviouswhen the pair shared the small screen during the crossover oftheir respective 1966 live-action shows.
The Green Hornet was effectively a modernized amalgamation of the Lone Ranger (to whom he is related) and Zorro, and his status as a wealthy business owner alter ego is pure Bruce Wayne. The most obvious effect the character had on Batman was that of Robin, clearly borrowing the idea that the hero should be aided by a younger sidekick. In addition, he is one of the heroes most likely responsible for The Dark Knight’s nocturnal lifestyle, something that wasn’t the norm in vigilante comics until the late ’30s.
4Doc Savage
Created by Henry W. Ralston, Lester Dent and John L. Nanovic
When it comes to prominent superheroes, it’s hard to avoidthe influence of Doc Savage, either on the characters or the genre itself. Created for his own ‘gentleman’s magazine’ in 1933, the hero was a source of action and adventure, typically accompanied by his companions, the Fabulous Five, as he travels the world. Typically, some of the more outlandish threats in his stories would be revealed as having a grounded explanation, one that would highlight the hero’s skills as a detective – something key Bruce Wayne.
AlthoughDoc Savage’s most obvious influence can be found in Superman, the hero himself is basically Bruce Wayne, from his detective skills to his almost perfect physique. Both heroes serve as their universe’s idea of the pinnacle of what a man can be, in mind, body and spirit. The key difference is that, where Savage was basically shaped into the human he is by scientists, Batman got there by his will, seeking out teachers after the death of his parents. When it comes to the Caped Crusader’s scientific acumen and sharp investigative skills, that’s pure Savage.
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3Zorro
Created by Johnson McCulley
Zorro, also known as Don Diego de la Vega, is the champion of the oppressed in the Old West, particularly California. The character would typically fight corrupt authorities, exploitative land barons and ruthless industrialists, ensuring the people had a defense against tyranny. Disguised by his mask and all-black costume, his expertise with a sword are without equal. The character has since inspired a variety of characters, the most obvious being the Dread Pirate Roberts in The Princess Bride – however, core elements of his formula also went into Batman.
Zorro was among the first heroes of the pulp fiction age, and stands out as one of the earliest protagonists to have a distinct alter ego, something borrowed from The Scarlet Pimpernel. In order to avoid suspicion, he would feign incompetence or clumsiness, ensuring nobody would associate him with the master sword fighter. Although this had a more obvious effect on the Superman/Clark Kent distinction, it’s also something Bruce Wayne has adopted as a way of avoiding suspicion himself.
2The Phantom
Created by Lee Falk
Created by Lee Falk as a newspaper strip, the Phantom is the guardian of the fictional African nation of Bengalla. Passed down between father and son, the best-known version of the character is Kit Walker, the twenty-first man to bear the mantle. Driven by duty and responsibility, the Ghost That Walks is a character without powers, instead relying on physical prowess, intelligence and combat training to maintain the advantage.
The Phantom holds a special place in comic book history as the first classically costumed hero. Although Zorro used a mask and cape to don an early “costume,” the hero’s purple suit firmly ushered in the idea that a costume should be more than just a mask. In the decades since, far more superheroes resemble Falk’s protagonist than they do the likes of Doc Savage, and Batman was among the first to do so.
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1The Shadow
Created by Walter B. Gibson
Of every pulp hero of the 1930s, Batman is most closely tied with Walter Gibson’s Shadow for one key reason. When Bob Kane and Bill Finger created The Dark KnightinDetective Comics#27, they almost directly plagiarized a story from a Shadow magazine, with Kane even tracing some scenes from the story. Both tales follow a similar plot, and it’s almost impossible to see past the characters' similarities once acquainted with Lamont Cranston. Both men are wealthy bachelors who don a black costume to fight crime, and both maintain an extended network of allies, even if their relationship is different.
While not every element of Shadow’s story has made its way to Gotham, the basic premise behind Batman is clearly taken from Shadow’s success. In fact, when it comes to the pulp fiction genre, it’s hard to find a character who wasn’t in some way inspired by or created to compete with Gibson’s iconic vigilante. Just as all cosmic superheroes today take their cues from Superman,virtually all the crime-fighting vigilantes of the 1940s took theirs from the Shadow – including Batman.
Batman
One of DC’s most iconic heroes, Batman is the vigilante superhero persona of billionaire Bruce Wayne. Forged by tragedy with the death of his parents, Bruce dedicated his life to becoming the world’s leading martial artist, detective, and tactician. Recruiting an entire family of allies and sidekicks, Bruce wages war on evil as the dark knight of his hometown, Gotham City.
