Holy injustice! Why co-creator of Batman deserves the credit
You don’t have to be a complete comic-book geek to get hooked by Hulu’s documentary “Batman and Bill,” available to stream on Saturday, May 6.
Batman, you know. Unless you are the aforementioned comic-book geek, you probably don’t know Bill Finger, and for many years, few did. Author Marc Tyler Nobleman heard about Finger, who died in 1974, and wrote a book about him called “Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman,” which serves as the inspiration for the film.
Until only a few years ago, Bob Kane was credited as the sole creator of Batman. Kane did have an idea for a character named the Batman, but when he started working on it on commission for National Allied Publications, which became DC Comics, Kane asked Finger to help him refine the character. Initially, the Batman wore a red-and-black outfit, with a fixed-wing set of bat wings and a small eye mask. Finger created the character’s cowl, changed the color scheme to the more nocturnal black and gray, and exchanged the wings for a scalloped flowing cape. He also contributed to the creation of Gotham City, Robin, Commissioner Gordon and the Joker, among many other aspects of the franchise that launched in 1939.
Nobleman was determined to get posthumous credit for Finger, but given the value of the Batman franchise, no one was rushing to right a longstanding wrong. The best way for Nobleman to win his case would be through an heir, but Finger had only one child, a son named Fred, who was gay and died in 1992.
I won’t spoil the rest of the story, except to say that the film has as many edgeof-your seat moments as a classic DC comic book.
The film is beautifully directed by Don Argott and produced by Sheena Joyce. The one thing that’s missing is commentary from Kane’s side of the story. He could have given Finger the credit he deserved, but never did. Late in life, he did allow that Finger’s contributions were underplayed, but when Kane died in 1998, Batman was still credited solely to him.
It’s only right that a modern-day crusader, Marc Tyler Nobleman, finds overdue justice for Bill Finger.