You may not know the name Bill Finger, but you should, as he’s arguably the man more responsible than anybody for creating Batman, Gotham City, and its many colorful inhabitants.
Finger was with Batman right from the beginning, giving vital suggestions like “Give him a cowl instead of a domino mask” and “Why the hell is his costume red?” to original Batman artist Bob Kane. Finger wrote almost all the early Batman adventures, crafting Batman’s origin story, and creating or co-creating Robin, the Batmobile, as well as The Joker, Penguin, Catwoman and any number of other villains.
He would continue to work with DC Comics well into the ’60s, writing for both Batman and Superman, and creating the original wartime-era Green Lantern. Despite his incalculable contributions to Batman and DC Comics as a whole, Finger has never been credited as Batman’s co-creator due to a agreement DC and Bob Kane signed that stated only he would be credited as Batman’s creator, apparently in perpetuity. Like so many influential creators from the Golden Age of Comics, Bill Finger died broke and largely forgotten.
Thankfully, Finger hasn’t remained forgotten, and fans have been pushing for years for him to get his proper recognition. Well, whatever legal hurdles were standing in DC’s way seem to have been surpassed, because Finger will now be credited as Batman’s co-creator in all future movie and TV adaptations…
“DC Entertainment and the family of Bill Finger are pleased to announce that they have reached an agreement that recognizes Mr. Finger’s significant contributions to the Batman family of characters. ‘Bill Finger was instrumental in developing many of the key creative elements that enrich the Batman universe, and we look forward to building on our acknowledgment of his significant role in DC Comics’ history,’ stated Diane Nelson, President of DC Entertainment. ‘As part of our acknowledgment of those contributions, we are pleased to confirm today that Bill Finger will be receiving credit in the Warner Bros. television series Gotham beginning later this season, and in the forthcoming motion picture Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.”
Good to see some real justice in time for Dawn of Justice.
(via The Hollywood Reporter)
