The Darkest Knight: The Gothic Roots of Batman Comics

Abstract

Appearing in Detective Comics no. 27 (May 1939), “The Bat-Man,” as he was then called, was unlike anything seen before in comic books. With long, prominent ears that looked disturbingly like satanic horns and enormous batwings for a cape, Batman was initially as menacing as any of the villains he faced. Although Superman’s fight against injustice was based on altruistic motives, Batman’s war on crime emanated from vengeance for the murder of his parents during a robbery. Though usually unacknowledged in this way, Batman was the first major gothic superhero in comic books.