49. Testify At A Trial And Get Acid Thrown Over Half Your Face
If you're going to do this properly you should probably also be the established district attorney in a major metropolitan area that has a problem with political corruption and organised crime. We're also not endorsing this idea, since we're unsure whether this will actually turn you into an iconic supervillain, or just cause you a lot of unnecessary pain, surgery and expensive bills from the tailors stitching different halves of suits together for you. Also we probably can't endorse it for legal reasons. If you're a true Harvey Dent fan without much on today, however...
48. Start A Horrendous Exercise Regime
The tale of Bruce Wayne's training to become the Dark Knight - travelling the world, meeting masters of martial arts and driving supercars - is such a long and crazy one that it took up pretty much the whole of Batman Begins and the Year One comic book. He spent roughly a decade getting to that point, and he doesn't get to stop there, either: he's also got to remain in peak physical condition to carry on his superheroic activities which means, among other things, remaining completely teetotal and doing like a thousand crunches a day. If you want to get as buff as the Bat, you better start now - especially cos experts reckon the insane exercise regime (along with the physical abuse he suffers at the hands of supervillains) means he'd only be around for a couple of years.
47. Check Out The Shadow
Did you know that Batman is a total rip-off? He's one of the most iconic character in pop culture - duh, he's been around for 75 years and his popularity's never waned (Wayned?) in that period - but the Caped Crusader isn't the most original of creations. Bill Finger and Bob Kane have claimed a few influences in the character's DNA, but most obvious is The Shadow. Star of pulp magazines, comics, radio shows and films, this masked vigilante disguises his crime-fighting activities by living a day-to-day live as a billionaire playboy. Sound familiar? If Robert The Bruce and Mad Anthony Wayne are a little too dusty for you, we reckon checking out some old Shadow stories still counts as a history lesson. Maybe.
46. Make Your Own Bat-Suit
if you're not willing to shell out for a Bat Cave in the basement, creating your own Bat Suit is still a fine way for you to show your admiration for the Dark Knight. And for wasting a lot of time. More recent iterations of the costume have been designed to be more realistic, incorporating knee pads and kevlar armour of the sort you can easily source online or at a sporting goods store. Or you could put on a grey bodysuit, black y-fronts and make a cowl from bin bags, an outfit which would have its own homespun charm.
45. Rank The Batmobiles
The Dark Knight is mainly fuelled by a righteous quest for justice following the murder of his parents by a petty criminal, but he's probably also in it for the cool cars. We're still not sure where he gets all those wonderful toys, just that there have been some beauties over the years. From the bubble-domed sixties dragster to the tank-like tumbler from the Christopher Nolan movies, why not put your Clarkson hat on and decide which of the Batmobiles is your favourite? Jeans, receding hairline and leather jacket for dads not required.
44. Check Out The Animated Shorts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z65aq1EVGhs DC aren't stupid. They're cashing in big time on these 75th anniversary celebrations, and one of our favourite examples of those celebrations are the series of animated shorts they've been commissioning. Animated Series head honcho put together a great, retro-themed showdown between Batman and Hugo Strange, whilst veteran comic artist directed the Batman Beyond clip above. Check them out!
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
