10 Obscure Batman Facts That You Have Probably Never Heard Of

Did you know the original Batman occasionally favoured guns over batarangs?

Batman Year Two
DC Comics

The Caped Crusader is one of the most iconic figures in all of pop culture. For over 8 decades, Bruce Wayne and his alter ego have been keeping Gotham safe and us at the edge of our seats. With a massive volume of literature and all kinds of records and accolades to his name, you would think we know all there is to know about the Dark Knight. Except that may not necessarily be the case.

While just about everyone has heard about Bats' duals with the Joker or his team-ups with Superman, the Batcave has been witness to lots of other things that tend to evade the public eye. It is partially because of the insane amount of material the broader Batman franchise has churned out that there are still a lot of things slipping under the radar.

From wielding famous powers, to adopting unlikely individuals as his stepchildren, Batsy has done plenty of eyebrow raising things that barely get a mention. Some of these may come across as little more than mundane life facts, some of these may make you question everything you knew about Batman.

10. Bob Kane Conceived The Character, But It Was Bill Finger Who Created The Version We Know Today

Batman Year Two
Bob Kane/DC

Bob Kane is widely remembered, and rightly so, as the man behind one of the greatest comic book characters of all time. Following the crazy success of Superman, DC were eager to cash in on momentum and put more Superheroes out there. That is when they turned to Kane. And the rest is history.

But there is more to the story. Bob Kane’s original idea for the character incorporated influences from Douglas Fairbanks’ Zorro, a Leonardo Da Vinci conceptual machine, the movie Bat Whispers, and even Dracula. However, that original concept involved red clothing, a domino mask, and a cape that was less a cape and more a pair of actual bat wings. This is where Bill Finger entered the picture.

Kane originally met Finger at an event and invited him to join his team. It was Finger who later completely revamped the aesthetics of the character, and gave it the iconic look we now know. This included changing the colour scheme to black, inserting a cowl with bat ears and swapping the wings for a more practical cape.

Contributor
Contributor

After battling Galactus and pinning Hulk Hogan in the main event of Wrestlemania, I've taken a break from living in fantasy worlds, to focus on writing about them. I'm a comic book geek, a wrestling mark, a break dancer, and a scientist. One of those things may not be true.