8 Times Marvel And DC Screwed Over Comic Book Creators

8. It Took Decades For DC To Recognise Batman's ACTUAL Creator

Bill Finger
Charlesbridge

For 75 years, if you read, watched or experienced any kind of Batman-related media, you'd probably encounter the familiar opening-credits of "Batman created by Bob Kane."

For decades, Kane was recognised as the sole creator of DC's most successful comic book character. To the general public, he was the man who created the Caped Crusader, his costume, his personality, his world - everything. And yet, for those who actually worked on Detective Comics #27 and the very first Batman comics, they all knew that Kane wasn't a pivotal force in the character's creation.

The real hero responsible for Batman's creation was a man called Bill Finger. Finger created Batman's secret identity, the iconic grey and black costume and pretty much every iconic foundation that allowed Batman to become such a towering figure in modern mythology. Kane spent his entire life reaping the benefits of DC's ignorance, having signed a clause that recognised him as the character's sole creator, and only recognised his old collaborator after his death in 1974.

It was only in 2016, after years of pressure, that DC officially recognised Finger as the Dark Knight's co-creator. Now, you'll find his name at the front of all Bat-related media. But it shouldn't have taken that long.

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Content Producer/Presenter

WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.