History

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This is the History of Batman

Batman UK

YEAR	THE GOLDEN AGE
39	Detective Comics #27 - First appearance of the Bat-Man and Commissioner Gordon Detective Comics #29 - The Bat-Man meets Dr. Karl Hellfern, alias Dr. Death, the first Batman super-villain. The Bat-Man kills Hellfern's Indian henchman Jabah by snapping his neck with his silken rope. The first items from the utility belt: a vial of choking gas and suction cups that Batman uses to scale a building. Detective Comics #30 - 1939 A rematch with Dr. Death and Batman kills another henchman, Mikhail. Detective Comics #31 - First appearance of Bruce Wayne's fiancee Julie Madison, and of the Batarang and Bat-Gyro (the forerunner of the Batplane) Detective Comics #33 - Bat-Man's origins are revealaed
40	Detective Comics #36 - Batman meets Professor Hugo Strange Detective Comics #38 - First appearance of Robin Batman #1 - First appearance of the Joker (with Joker Venom) and Catwoman and the first Batplane Batman #2 - The Joker and the Catwoman first meet Batman #3 - The first time the Catwoman wears a costume All Star Comics #3 - Batman is named an honorary member of the Justice Society of America
41	Detective Comics #48 - First references to the Batmobile and the Batcave Batman #5 - Bruce Wayne gets a new girlfriend, Linda Page. Queenie, the Joker's henchwoman, deduces that Batman is Bruce Wayne. She dies when she saves Batman from the Joker's bullets. Queenie would appear years later in an episode of the TV series. Batman #7 - Commissioner Gordon names Batman an honorary member of the Gotham City Police Department Detective Comics #58 - First appearance of the Penguin Worlds Finest Comics #3 - First appearance of the Scarecrow All Star Comics #7 - Batman and Robin make a cameo appearance at a Justice Society meeting along with Superman-their first appearance in the same comic book story
42	Detective Comics #60 - First appearance of the Bat Signal Batman #12 - First appearance of Batman's underground laboratory, hanger, and the Hall of Trophies Batman #14 - The last time the Penguin commits murder until the 1970s Detective Comics #66 - First appearance of Two-Face
43	Batman #16 - First appearance of Alfred The Adventures of Batman - Batman and Robin debut on the movie screen in a 15-part serial. The serial debuts the 'skinny' Alfred (first seen in the comics in Detective #83) Batman & Robin - a newspaper strip started by Kane and Finger (runs until 1946)
44	Batman #24 - Professor Carter Nichols sends Batman and Robin on their first trip through time, back to ancient Rome Batman #25 - The Joker and the Penguin first meet The Batcave appears for the first time as part of the newspaper strip
45	Batman and Robin make their first of many guest appearances on the ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN radio show on the Mutual network
46	Detective Comics #110 - The Bat-boat is introduced
47	All Star Comics #36 - Batman and Superman join the JSA for their only Golden Age adventure with the group
	THE BAT GADGET YEARS
48	Batman #47 - Batman's origin is retold and Batman meets Joey Chill, the man who killed his parents Batman #48 - "1000 Secrets of the Batcave" Batman #49 - First appearance of the Mad Hatter and Batman meets reporter Vicki Vale
49	Batman and Robin appear in their second 15-chapter serial, BATMAN AND ROBIN
50	Detective Comics #156 - Batman unveils a brand-new Batmobile Batman #61 - The Batplane is replaced by the high-tech Batplane II Batman #62 - The Catwoman claims she turned to crime while suffering from amnesia, and reforms
51	Detective Comics #168 - The Joker's origin is revealed for the first time
52	Superman #52 - Batman (Robin also) meets Superman and they discover each other's identities
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55	Ace the bathound is introduced
56	Detective Comics #233 - Kathy Kane becomes Batwoman Detective Comics #235 - Batman encounters Lew Moxon, the man who hired Joey Chill to kill Thomas and Martha Wayne, and learns that Thomas Wayne was the first 'bat-man'
	THE SCI-FI YEARS
57	Batman #105 - Batwoman appears for the first time Detective Comics #250 - Batman battles an alien criminal
58	Detective Comics #257 - Introduction of the Whirly-Bat one-man helicopters Detective Comics #267 - First appearance of Bat-Mite
59	Batman #121 - Introduction of Mr. Zero, later called Mr. Freeze
60	Brave and the Bold #28 - Batman joins the Justice League
61	Batman #139 - Betty Kane (neice of Batwoman) becomes the first Batgirl
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	THE CAMP YEARS
64	Detective Comics #327 - Julius Schwartz takes over as Batman editor, ushering in the 'New Look.' Aliens, monsters, Bat-Mite, Batwoman, Bat-Girl, Bat-Hound, and Vicki Vale are banished; Batman gets a yellow circle on his chest emblem Detective Comics #328 - Alfred is killed; Bruce Wayne starts the Alfred Foundation in his memory, and Aunt Harriet arrives at Wayne Manor Detective Comics #334 - First appearance of the mysterious villain the Outsider World's Finest #144 - Batman reveals to Jimmy Olsen that he's Bruce Wayne Batman #164 - Elevator leading to the Batcave is added Brave and the Bold #54 - the first teaming of Aqualad, Robin, and Kid Flash, who would later call themselves the Teen Titans
65	Brave and the Bold #60 - First appearance of the Teen Titans, using that name and adding Wonder Girl to the ranks
66	Batman - TV Series - January 12th - Starring Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin. Villains from comics that make the transition to the TV series: The Joker, the Catwoman, the Penguin, the Riddler, the Mad Hatter, Mr. Freeze (name originally Mr. Zero, changed by the show's writers), False Face, Evol Ekdol (male cohort Carnado rewritten as female Zelda), the Molehill Mob, and Queenie (The Joker's henchwoman). Batman #181 - First appearance of Poison Ivy Detective Comics #347 - The 'Golden Age' Batman of Earth-Two appears for the first time (in an Imaginary Story) Brace and the Bold #67 - Batman begins teaming with other heroes in each issue of Brave and the Bold Detective Comics #356 - The Outsider is revealed to be a revived Alfred, who's quickly restored to normal; the Alfred Foundation is renamed the Wayne Foundation Batman Viewmaster - The classic toy features images from the TV episode: "The Purr-fect Crime". Lois Lane #70 - The Catwoman returns after a 12-year absence
67	Detective Comics #359 - Barbara Gordon appears as the second Batgirl Justice League of America #55 - The adult 'Golden Age' Robin of Earth-Two appears, joining the Justice Society of America; the Golden Age Batman is said to be in "semi-retirement" World's Finest #169 - Batgirl meets Supergirl Batman #197 - The Catwoman now wears a costume similar to the one in the TV series, but colored green. She and Batgirl first meet JLA #55 - The Earth-Two Golden-Age Robin now wearing an altered Batman costume.
68	Batman # 208 - First appearance of Mrs. Chilton (in Silver-Age telling of Batman's origin), she was Philip Wayne's housekeeper who helped him raise Bruce. Unknown to Bruce, she was the mother of Joe Chill. JLA #60 - Batgirl meets the Justice League of America Brave and the Bold #79 - First and last appearance (he dies) of Max Chill, Joe Chill's brother
69	Batman # 216 - Alfred's last name Pennyworth is introduced. Introduction of his brother Wilfred and niece Daphne. JLA # 77 - The Joker learns the location of the Justice League's mountain sanctuary. Batman # 217 - Dick Grayson leaves Wayne Manor for college, Bruce closes down the Manor and he and Alfred move to the penthouse above the Wayne Foundation building. Bruce is determined to return Batman to his early creature of the night persona (complete with him again being referred to as "The Batman".)
70	Detective Comics #395 - First Batman story by Denny O'Neil and Neal Adams: "Secret of the Waiting Graves" Detective Comics #400 - Kirk Langstrom becomes Man-Bat Justice League of America #82 - First actual appearance of the Golden Age Batman, now said to be on Earth-Two
	THE DETECTIVE YEARS
71	Detective#411 - First appearance of Talia Batman #232 - First appearance of Ra's Al Ghul JLA # 91 - The Earth-Two Golden-Age Robin and the Earth-One Silver-Age Robin first meet.
72	Detective Comics #422/424 - Barbara Gordon runs for Congress and wins Wonder Woman #201 - The Catwoman meets Diana Prince (Wonder Woman)
73	Batman #251 - The Joker returns, once more a ruthless killer in "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge" Batman #253 - Batman meets pulp adventurer The Shadow
74	Batman #258 - Arkham Asylum appears for the first time in a Two-Face story, "Threat of the Two-Headed Coin!" by Denny O'Neil and Irv Novick. The Arkham name obviously is an intentional homage to the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft's Arkham was a fictional city in Massachusetts, a ficitionalized version of Salem, home of Miskatonic University and the Witch-House. Arkham Asylum as it was depicted in later stories bears no small resemblance to the Witch-House, a cursed boarding house whose architecture was supernatural geometry designed to contact Things Man Was Not Meant To Know! (Grant Morrison riffed on this very heavily in his 1989 ARKHAM ASYLUM graphic novel.)
	THE BAT-FAMILY YEARS
75	The Batman Family #1 - a new book launches The Joker #1 - The Joker's own short-lived comic begins
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77	Batman Family #10 - Batwoman and the original Bat-Girl return to action Detective Comics #469 - Batman creates a new Batcave in an abandoned subway tunnel beneath the Wayne Foundation; Bruce Wayne meets Silver St. Cloud All Star Comics #66 - The Earth-Two Bruce Wayne becomes police commissioner of Gotham City after Earth-Two's Jim Gordon dies All-Star Comics #69/DC Super-Stars #17 - The Huntress (Helena Wayne), daughter of Earth-Two's Batman and Catwoman debuts; her parents are revealed to have married in 1955
78	Batman Spectacular - Ra's al Ghul 'marries' Batman and Talia, against Batman's wishes
79	Adventure Comics #462 - The Earth-Two Batman dies defending Gotham City Detective Comics #485 - Kathy Kane, the former Batwoman, is slain by the League of Assassins
80	Detective Comics #495 - Dick Grayson leaves Hudson University to work full-time with the Teen Titans DC Comics Presents #26 - The New Teen Titans debuted in the preview insert to this book
81	Detective Comics #501 - Batman meets Alfred's daughter, Julia Remarque
82	Batman #348 - Bruce Wayne moves back to Wayne Manor and the original Batcave Batman Annual #8 - The first original Batman Annual pits Batman and Robin against Ra's Al Ghul
83	Batman #357 - First appearance of Jason Todd Batman and the Outsiders #1 - Batman quits the Justice League to found the Outsiders Brave and the Bold #200 - BRAVE AND THE BOLD ends its run with #200
84	Batman #368 - Jason Todd officially becomes Robin Tales of the Teen Titans #44 - Dick Grayson becomes Nightwing. This was actually a couple of months (real time -- in the comics it was only a couple of weeks) after he handed over the Robin costume to Jason Todd
85	The Crisis on Infinite Earths - We find out that there is only one earth and Earth 1 and Earth 2 never existed - ie - "lets wipe the slate clean and start again".
	THE BAT NOIR YEARS (POST CRISIS)
86	Batman and the Outsiders #32 - Batman leaves the Outsiders JLA #250 - Batman rejoins the JLA Batman #386 - Debut of Black Mask The Dark Knight Returns is published changing Batman's image forever
87	Justice League #1 - Batman becomes a charter member of the reorganized Justice League, later the Justice League International Batman Year One - redefines Batman's origins
88	Batman Year Two - Joe Chill is found by Batman and killed by the Reaper A Death in the Family - Jason Todd is killed by the Joker The Killing Joke- Barbara Gordon is paralised by the Joker Detective Comics #583 - First appearance of the Ventriloquist
89	Batman by Tim Burton is released bringing the darker knight the mainstream Batman Year Three Huntress #1 - Re-appearance of the Huntress Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #1 is published
90	A Lonely Place of Dying - Tim Drake becomes the third Robin
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92	Batman Returns and Batman the Animated Series are released Sword of Azrael - Jean Paul Valley is introduced and becomes Azrael Vengeance of Bane - First appearance of Bane Detective #647 - First appearance of the Spoiler Batman Shadow of the Bat #1 is published
93	Knightfall - Bane breaks Batman's back and Jean Paul Valley takes on the mantle of the bat and brings Bane down. Knightquest - Jean Paul Valley starts to loose control and Batman becomes an evil anti-hero
	THE NEW BATMAN YEARS
94	Knightsend - Bruce Wayne heals and regains the mantle of the bat We find out post Zero Hour that Joe Chill could not have killed Wayne's parents
95	Batman Forever is released
96	Contagion - A plague invades Gotham City Legacy - Ra's al Ghul reveals that Bane is to become his heir Batman the Long Halloween begins it's 13 part run
97	Batman and Robin is released almost killing the Batman movie franchise Batman the Animated Series is revived with a new look
98	Cataclysm - An earthquake destroys most of Gotham City
99	No Mans Land - Gotham becomes a lawless dead land Cassandra Cain becomes the third Batgirl Batman Beyond begins, a new animated series as the old one ends Harley Quinn makes it into the Batman comics
00	Gotham is rebuilt and reinhabited as the Bat-books take on a dramatic new look. Batman's chest logo is returned to a simple black bat without the yellow
01	The Dark Knight Strikes Again - A sequel to the Dark Knight Returns Officer Down - Jim Gordon is shot and eventually retires from his duty Batman stars in the new Justice League cartoon on Cartoon Network
02	Bruce Wayne Murderer? - Bruce Wayne is accused of murdering Vesper Fairchild Bruce Wayne Fugitive - Bruce dissappears while Batman solves the mystery Birds of Prey - A television based on the comic-book of the same name begins on WB and is cancelled after half a season Hush - Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale come on board the bat-books for a year long story arc.
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