Batmonth: Earning Your Wings, Part Two

Batcave File #0002

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Welcome to another installment of Batmonth. Today we'll be continuing our look at the character's roots as he undergoes a change in order to adapt to a lighter era.

As Batman continued to gain popularity, there was more pressure to target the comics he appeared in towards a younger audience. As a result, in April of 1940, the character of Robin was introduced in the Batman comics . This was definitely a risky move, and it served to plagued the character for a long while. This wasn't because the quality of the writing was poor, or that public reception to the character wasn't warm, but that the introduction of Robin created some unintentional overtones that caused a fair bit of controversy.

In 1954, a psychologist named Fredrick Wertham published a book titled Seduction of the Innocent which insisted that not only were Batman and Robin gay, but that they were turning the youth of America gay. This, combined with a backlash against some of the violence seen in the comics, caused the '50's and '60's to adapt a lighter, friendlier style. Among the changes brought upon by this controvery were the introduction of love interests for Batman and the introduction of a Batgirl. The character of the Joker also became less of a homicidal maniac and more of a comic relief villian.

It is interesting to note the progression of these changes because it seems as though Batman always goes through darker and lighter periods. The period following whatever period you're talking about will always be an exact reverse of the previous ones. The modern Batman is as grim and dark as his original incarnation.

Also, these Silver Age stories were noted for introducing more sci-fi elements, such as aliens and time travel. Batman also had started surrounding himself with more sidekicks, such as Ace the Bat Hound and the aforementioned Batgirl. This era also brought about the Adam West Batman show, something that continues to impact the icon to this day.

But, with every sunny period comes a cloudy one. As such, tomorrow, we'll conclude our retreat into the Bat mythos by looking at the modern age. Then, we can get into reviewing that huge stack o' books!

See ya then!

Tomato