Among the huge number of superheroes, Batman has always stood out. Indeed, unlike Superman and Spiderman, he did not possess superhuman abilities and, in fighting crime, he had to rely only on his human strength. Perhaps that is why it is so popular.
A significant contribution to the popularization of Batman was made by cinema. However, it is often difficult not to get confused in the events of numerous adaptations of the franchise called "Batman". The chronology of events, as well as the motivation of the main characters, as well as their background, change quite often, depending on the script of the movie or television series. Therefore, to understand them, you need to learn about all the adaptations in order.
The cult hero Batman
Batman as a character first appeared in Detective Comics at the very end of the thirties. Soon this hero was very fond of the public, and he was given a separate series of comics. And in 1943, a whole television series was dedicated to this character.
So, who is Gotham Batman the Dark Knight? Under the mask of a bat is a billionaire, philanthropist and playboy named Bruce Wayne. A child’s psychological trauma pushed the double life of this secured person in all concepts. The fact is that the parents of little Bruce were killed, and right before his eyes. Heavily worried about what happened, he decides to devote his life to the fight against crime. That's just, knowing firsthand about the imperfection of the justice system, Wayne decides to become a police officer, a judge, and sometimes an executioner.
The fact that Wayne is Batman, few people close to him know. Among them, Wayne's faithful butler, Alfred Pennyworth. In fact, replacing the orphaned Bruce parents, over the years, Alfred became his assistant, mentor and confidant (sometimes he is positioned as a guardian).
At various times, various heroes were hiding under the guise of Batman's assistant Robin. In most cases (although there were exceptions) Batman himself chose candidates for the role of Robin. The timeline of Robins is only in comics, in films, only one hero acts in the role of Robin.
Another “Batman man” is policeman James Gordon, who often helps and covers the Dark Knight.
At one time, the creators of the comics tried to use the female version of the duet Batman and Robin: Batumen and Batgerl, but they were not so popular.
TV series about Batman 1943 and 1949
By 1942, when Batman was “knocked” for three years, his image was already fully registered as he is known and loved today. By that time, the character’s motivation, character, relationship with other people, as well as helpers and enemies, were clearly defined.
The following year, a small black and white television series called “Batman” was filmed about a cult hero. The chronology of the series, and most importantly, the plot was largely changed. Wayne was left with Robin, as well as the transformed Alfred (in the early comics, he looked like a stout lover of Bavarian beer, and with the release of the television series he began to look like a typical British butler and got a mustache). At the same time, the hero himself was made a secret agent of the US leadership, who for fifteen episodes fought with a Japanese spy.
Six years later, another television series dedicated to the Dark Knight, entitled “Batman and Robin,” was shot. In this movie adaptation of the Batman franchise, the chronology of events was closer to comics, although the creators did not protect themselves from the numerous "grand pianos in the bushes." Fortunately, most viewers did not pay attention to it and enjoyed the sight with pleasure.
Batman in the sixties
Despite the popularity of the hero, the next attempt to transfer his adventures to the screen was made in 1966. It was then that the new Batman television series was launched. The chronology of events in this project and most of the characters were very close to canonical and much better than the last movie adaptation. At the same time, the tone of the television series itself was more comical and differed from the original gloomy atmosphere of the comics.
It is noteworthy that at that time it was Batman's most successful film version, and the series lasted on the air for three whole seasons, and in parallel a full-length film was shot with the same actors. The lead actor, Adam West, became Batman for many people for many years.
A series of films about Batman in the nineties
Once again, they attempted to revive the popular franchise only in 1989 by releasing the movie Batman. The chronology of events was largely consistent with the original comics.
At the same time, the main character was left loyal Alfred and the crazy opponent of the Joker, but Robin and most of the other assistants were taken away. The film has become one of the most successful adaptations of Batman stories. Starters Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson contributed a lot to this.
Three years later, a sequel was shot under the title “Batman Returns”. Here, Keaton again played the main role, and Catwoman and the villain Penguin became his opponents. This film adaptation was inferior to the previous one, but it was still warmly received by the audience.
In 1995, the third film of the series, Batman Forever, was released.
The main role this time went to Val Kilmer, in addition, the director changed (the first two parts were shot by Tim Burton, and the third - Joel Schumacher). The film played a whole galaxy of great actors (in particular, Jim Carrey perfectly played the role of the villain of the Riddler), but this did not help the film surpass the 1989 film adaptation. It is also noteworthy that Robin appears in this part.
Two years later, the fourth part titled "Batman and Robin" was released.
Here the main role was entrusted to the charming ambulance doctor George Clooney. Despite the fact that Batgerl appeared in this film, and Arnold Schwarzenegger also starred, this did not save the film from failure.
At that, in the nineties they stopped making films of the Batman brand. The chronology of the cinema in this series (before the restart) totaled as many as four adaptations. A fifth and separate film about Robin was also planned, but due to the failure of the Batman and Robin tape, all of these projects were never completed.
Three films about Batman Christopher Nolan
Only eight years later, the new film about the Dark Knight was finally released, and it was called "Batman: The Beginning." The director was Christopher Nolan, and the main role was assigned to Christian Bale. It was a restart of the whole Batman story.
The new film adaptation turned out to be more than successful. Christian Bale was able to perfectly play the role of Batman, so he was invited to star in the second film called The Dark Knight. His screen opponent was the Joker in the brilliant performance of Heath Ledger. This film has become a cult, and shots from it with funny inscriptions and comments have become classics. Moreover, according to the unanimous opinion of the audience, this film adaptation is recognized as the best in the history of Batman.
The phenomenal success of The Dark Knight meant that there would be a sequel, and it was removed four years later. The third film of the new series, The Dark Knight: The Revival of the Legend, was called. Bale in the role of Batman, Gary Oldman in the role of James Gordon and many other famous actors helped the film earn more at the box office than the previous one, but this screen version did not reach the quality of the Dark Knight.
Batman in the new DC universe
After successfully filming the superhero stories that the Marvel comic empire carried out, their DC rivals, owning Superman and Batman, decided to create their own movie universe. At first, they restarted the Superman franchise by making the movie Man of Steel.
However, in their next film project, DC decided to use two superheroes at once, moreover, pushing them together. So the 2016 film Batman vs. Superman: At the Dawn of Justice appeared. Unfortunately, Christian Bale refused to play the role of The Dark Knight in this film adaptation, so actor Ben Affleck became the new Batman.
DC also plans to continue making films about their favorite superheroes, in particular about a character named Batman. The chronology of films that are due to appear on the screens soon is as follows: “Suicide Squad” (2016), “Justice League” consists of two parts, the first was announced in 2017, and the second is not available. Also, the audience is promised a solo film about Batman in 2019.
The new series "Gotham"
Not so long ago, a series about Batman's youth called “Gotham” was released.
Here, the role of the thirteen-year-old hero was played by David Mazous. This television series is mainly devoted to attempts to investigate the murder of Batman's parents, as well as the formation of the hero's personality. We can say that “Gotham” is a peculiar analogue of the Superman series “Smallville” about the youth.
Despite the many films about the man-bat, the audience does not get tired of them and look forward to new meetings on the screen with their favorite character named Batman. The chronology of films, despite several restarts, tries not to deviate very much from events in the original source, especially in recent times, which has been enthusiastically received by fans around the world.