150 Fun Facts About Batman

In which comic book did Batman make his debut in 1939?

Detective Comics #27 carried only Bob Kane's name: he had sold the Bat-Man to the editor without mentioning Bill Finger, who wrote that first story and went uncredited for decades.

What were the first names of Bruce Wayne's murdered parents?

Thomas and Martha Wayne died when a mugger grabbed for Martha's pearl necklace and shot them both in front of their young son.

Batman famously refuses to use which kind of weapon?

Guns have been off-limits since 1940: after a few early stories showed Batman firing a pistol, editor Whitney Ellsworth ruled that he would never again carry a gun or kill.

The Joker first appeared in which 1940 comic book issue?

Batman #1 was meant to kill the Joker off: he is stabbed in his second story there, until editor Whitney Ellsworth had a panel added to show that he had survived.

Who serves as Bruce Wayne's loyal butler, confidante, and surrogate father figure?

Alfred Pennyworth arrived in 1943 as a bumbling would-be detective played for laughs; later retellings made him the guardian who raised Bruce after the murders.

Which orphaned circus acrobat became the first Robin, Batman's vigilante partner, in 1940?

Dick Grayson was added because, as writer Bill Finger put it, Batman had no one to talk to; the boy sidekick nearly doubled the comics' sales.

In 1960 Batman was one of seven original members of which superhero team?

The Justice League revived DC's 1940s Justice Society for new readers, swapping 'Society' for 'League' to echo the baseball leagues that children followed.

In the 1960s Batman TV series, a switch hidden in a bust of which writer opens the way to the Batcave?

William Shakespeare's bust in Bruce Wayne's study hides the switch: flip it and a bookcase slides away to reveal the two Batpoles down to the cave.

Who played the Caped Crusader in the 1966–68 live-action Batman television series?

Adam West won the part after the producer saw him play a James Bond-style spy in a Nestlé Quik commercial; once the series ended he was typecast for years.

What is the psychiatric hospital that houses many of Gotham City's criminally insane villains?

Arkham Asylum is Gotham's notorious institution for the criminally insane, serving as a recurring setting and home to many of Batman's most dangerous foes.

Bob Kane first sketched Batman in 1939 after editors asked for more heroes like which runaway success?

Superman's 1938 hit in Action Comics had the editors scrambling for more costumed heroes; Kane sketched a bat-winged figure and writer Bill Finger reworked it into Batman.

Which alias does Bruce Wayne use when posing as a gangster in Gotham's underworld?

Matches Malone was a real small-time crook in the comics: when a ricochet from his own gun killed him, Batman quietly took over his name, moustache and loud suits.

The Joker's grinning look was inspired by Conrad Veidt's character in which 1928 film?

The Man Who Laughs gave the Joker his face, yet Conrad Veidt's Gwynplaine, whose grin was carved into him as a boy, is the film's tragic hero and not its villain.

In 1988 DC let readers decide by phone poll whether the Joker would kill which Robin?

Jason Todd lost the 900-number vote by just 72 calls out of more than 10,000: the Joker had already beaten him with a crowbar and left him beside a time bomb, and the poll decided whether he survived.

Damian Wayne, a later Robin, is Bruce Wayne's son with which woman?

Talia al Ghul raised Damian in secret and handed him to Batman at about ten years old, a trained killer whose existence his father had never suspected.

Alfred the butler first appeared in 1943 in which comic?

Alfred debuted in Batman #16 (April 1943), created by writer Don Cameron and artist Bob Kane as a portly, clean-shaven comic-relief butler; he was redrawn slim with a moustache within a year.

Which Joker line became the slogan of the marketing campaign for The Dark Knight (2008)?

'Why so serious?' was also the name of the alternate reality game that promoted the film, sending fans after the Joker's clues long before it opened.

Under what name did Catwoman make her 1940 debut?

The Cat wore no costume in 1940: she was a jewel thief unmasked from an old-woman disguise, and Batman seemed to let her escape by blocking Robin's leap after her.

What is the Penguin's real name?

Oswald Cobblepot carries an umbrella because, in several tellings, his mother made him after his father died of pneumonia caught in the rain; bullies supplied the bird nickname.

The Riddler was created by Bill Finger and which artist, debuting in Detective Comics #140 in 1948?

Artist Dick Sprang co-created the Riddler with writer Bill Finger in Detective Comics #140 (October 1948); Sprang was the defining Batman artist of the 1940s-50s, ghosting for Bob Kane.

In the comics, which mob boss threw the acid that scarred district attorney Harvey Dent?

Sal Maroni lashed out in court when the prosecutor produced his lucky two-headed silver dollar as evidence, hurling a vial of acid into his face.

Bane, who broke Batman's back in the 1993 'Knightfall' saga, gets his strength from which super-steroid?

Venom was forced on Bane as a prison test subject and made him strong enough to break Batman, yet his dependence on the drug is the weakness his enemies exploit.

Harley Quinn first appeared as a one-off henchwoman in which Batman production?

Batman: The Animated Series meant her as a walk-on; writer Paul Dini modelled her on his friend Arleen Sorkin, whom he had seen play a jester in a soap opera's dream sequence.

The Scarecrow's lanky look and civilian surname were inspired by which Washington Irving character?

Ichabod Crane, the lanky schoolmaster of 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow', haunts the villain's backstory too: young Jonathan is bullied at school for looking like him.

Ra's al Ghul has extended his life for centuries using what?

Lazarus Pits restore the dying and can even raise the dead, but each bath leaves the bather insane for a time, a price Ra's al Ghul has paid for centuries.

The 1966 TV Batmobile was built by George Barris from which decade-old concept car?

Lincoln Futura was a one-off show car that George Barris had bought from Ford for $1; given three weeks, he turned it into the Batmobile, which sold for $4.62 million in 2013.

The Batcave first appeared not in the comics but in which medium in 1943?

A film serial gave Batman 'The Bat's Cave' in 1943, entered through a grandfather clock; the comics took up the cave within months, and the clock became its usual door.

Bill Finger said he found the name Gotham where?

In the New York phone book Bill Finger spotted 'Gotham Jewelers' and said 'That's it', having already tried and dropped Civic City, Capital City and Coast City.

Arkham Asylum takes its name from the fictional Massachusetts town created by which horror writer?

H. P. Lovecraft set his horror stories in Arkham, a fictional Massachusetts town; inside the comics, though, the asylum is named for its founder's mother, Elizabeth Arkham.

Which sign-off closed the 1960s Batman TV series' cliffhanger episodes?

'Same Bat-time, same Bat-channel!' made sense because the show first aired twice a week: Wednesday's episode left the heroes in a trap and Thursday's got them out.

Which musician wrote the songs for Tim Burton's 1989 Batman, while Danny Elfman composed the score?

Prince's old hits '1999' and 'Baby I'm a Star' were only placeholders in Tim Burton's rough cut; asked for a couple of songs, he recorded a whole album of new ones instead.

The Dark Knight (2008) was the first major feature film to shoot scenes with which type of camera?

High-resolution IMAX cameras shot about 28 minutes of the film; Nolan gave them the opening bank heist so that the jump in scale from Batman Begins would register at once.

Heath Ledger posthumously won which Academy Award for playing the Joker?

Best Supporting Actor went to Ledger thirteen months after his death, only the second posthumous acting Oscar after Peter Finch's; his family accepted it for him.

In Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, a caricature of which US president wants Batman stopped?

Ronald Reagan, drawn as a caricature, sends the government's own superhero after the 55-year-old Bruce Wayne, who has just ended a ten-year retirement.

Who played Catwoman in Batman Returns (1992)?

Michelle Pfeiffer trained for months in kickboxing and with the bullwhip, and became good enough with the whip to perform many of her own stunts.

What did the producers of the 1992 animated Batman show call its noir-meets-1940s look?

Dark Deco married film-noir shadows to Art Deco design, and the artists got it by painting the show's backgrounds on black paper instead of the usual white.

Kevin Conroy based his contrasting Batman and Bruce Wayne voices on Leslie Howard in which 1934 film?

The Scarlet Pimpernel is itself a secret-identity story: Howard's Sir Percy plays a foppish aristocrat to hide a daring rescuer, the split Conroy wanted between Bruce and Batman.

Christian Bale, star of the Dark Knight trilogy, was born in which country?

Wales was only his birthplace: Bale was born in Haverfordwest to English parents, and the family left when he was two, so he grew up mostly in England.

Michael Keaton returned as Batman in which 2023 film?

The Flash brought Keaton back three decades after he walked away: he had refused Batman Forever because he disliked the direction its script took the series.

In The Batman (2022), Robert Pattinson's Bruce Wayne is in which year of his crime-fighting career?

His second year shows a Batman who is not yet an experienced crime-fighter: director Matt Reeves wanted to explore the hero before he was fully formed.

Who replaced Val Kilmer as Batman in Batman & Robin (1997)?

George Clooney has spent the years since apologising for it: he called the film 'a waste of money' and said, 'I think we might have killed the franchise.'

Which studio developed the acclaimed 2009 game Batman: Arkham Asylum?

Rocksteady was a little-known London studio with one earlier game, the shooter Urban Chaos: Riot Response, when its prototype won it the Batman licence.

Which Bat-Girl of the early 1960s, Batwoman's niece, was replaced by a new Batgirl in 1967?

Betty Kane was dropped in 1964, when a new editor cleared out the Bat-family as outdated; three years later the TV show's producer asked DC for a fresh Batgirl.

In 1984 the original Robin grew up and adopted which new identity of his own?

Nightwing was the name of a legendary Kryptonian vigilante; the former Boy Wonder borrowed it to step out of Batman's shadow as an adult hero in his own right.

In the 1960s TV series, police usually summoned Batman with what?

A red telephone, the Batphone, sat under a glass cake dome at police headquarters and rang in Bruce Wayne's study, where the butler usually answered it.

'Mad' Anthony Wayne, who lent Bruce Wayne his surname, was a general in which war?

The American Revolution's 'Mad' Anthony Wayne supplied the surname and Robert the Bruce the first name: Bill Finger wanted a hero whose name suggested old colonial gentry.

Mr. Freeze debuted in 1959 under what original name?

Mr. Zero was a gimmick villain until the 1960s TV series renamed him Mr. Freeze; a 1992 animated episode then gave him a dying wife and made him a tragic figure.

What colour were the tights in Bob Kane's very first sketch of Batman, as Bill Finger recalled it?

Red tights, stiff wings and a small domino mask: that was Kane's first sketch as Finger remembered it, before he suggested the cowl, the cape and a grey suit.

After Batman: Endgame, which Gotham figure served as Batman in a mecha-suit through 2015 and 2016?

Jim Gordon, who appeared in the very first panel of Batman's 1939 debut, took over in a mecha-suit when Bruce Wayne was believed dead after a battle with the Joker.

Which Gotham crime boss is nicknamed 'The Roman' in Batman: Year One?

Carmine Falcone's grip on Gotham was known as the Roman Empire; in Year One, Batman dumps the boss's car in the river and leaves him hogtied in his own bed.

Who played the Penguin in Batman Returns (1992)?

Danny DeVito's Penguin is no dapper gentleman thief: the film reinvented him as a deformed outcast whose parents abandon him in the sewers, where penguins raise him.

Who played Poison Ivy in Batman & Robin (1997)?

Uma Thurman won the part of Poison Ivy over Julia Roberts and Demi Moore, who had both been in the running for it.

Which actor played Bruce's mentor Henri Ducard in Batman Begins (2005)?

Liam Neeson's Ducard trains Bruce in the League of Shadows, then reveals at Bruce's birthday party that he is the real Ra's al Ghul; the man Bruce saw die was a decoy.

Who played Selina Kyle opposite Robert Pattinson in The Batman (2022)?

Zoë Kravitz plays Selina as a nightclub waitress and cat burglar searching for her missing roommate; she had already voiced the character in The Lego Batman Movie.

Who won the Best Actor Oscar for playing Arthur Fleck in Joker (2019)?

Joaquin Phoenix lost 52 pounds to play Arthur Fleck, so much that reshoots were ruled out and the director rewrote scenes during the shoot instead.

Who played Harleen 'Lee' Quinzel in Joker: Folie à Deux (2024)?

Lady Gaga also recorded Harlequin, a companion album built mostly on jazz standards, and released it a week before the film reached US cinemas.

In the 1966 Batman film, a can of Bat-repellent spray saves Batman from which creature?

A shark clamps onto Batman's leg as he hangs from a helicopter ladder; a blast of Shark Repellent Bat-Spray makes it let go, and it explodes.

What is Poison Ivy's real name in the comics?

Pamela Isley was a shy botany student seduced by her professor, who injected her with plant poisons as an experiment; she nearly died twice and emerged as Poison Ivy.

Who wrote the 1988 one-shot graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke?

Alan Moore later called his own hit 'clumsy, misjudged', and artist Brian Bolland was unhappy too: he recoloured the whole book himself for its 2008 anniversary edition.

Players from which NFL team appear as the Gotham Rogues in The Dark Knight Rises?

Pittsburgh Steelers stars including Hines Ward suited up as the Rogues at their own Heinz Field, with ex-coach Bill Cowher on the sideline and the city's mayor as the rival kicker.

Which star of Catwoman (2004) turned up in person to accept her Worst Actress Razzie?

Halle Berry walked on stage with her Monster's Ball Oscar in hand, called Catwoman a 'god-awful movie' and joked, 'It was just what my career needed.'

Which 1960s TV Joker refused to shave his moustache, so makeup was smeared over it?

Cesar Romero would not give up his moustache, so the makeup team simply painted over it, and it shows through the white greasepaint in close-ups all through the series.

In most versions of the origin, what is the name of the mugger who kills Bruce's parents?

Joe Chill went unnamed for nine years after the 1939 origin; when Batman finally tells him who he is, Chill's own henchmen gun him down for having created their enemy.

What is the tank-like Batmobile of Batman Begins called?

The Tumbler was built, in the story, as a military bridging vehicle able to jump gaps without a ramp; its designer called it a cross between a Lamborghini and a tank.

Who replaced Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight (2008)?

Maggie Gyllenhaal stepped in when Katie Holmes chose to make the crime comedy Mad Money instead, a decision Holmes said she did not regret at all.

Which actor's John Blake is revealed to be legally named Robin in The Dark Knight Rises?

Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Blake, an orphan who has worked out who Batman is, quits the police at the end and is sent a package that leads him to the Batcave.

Joker (2019) won the Golden Lion, the top prize at which film festival?

Venice gave Joker an eight-minute standing ovation and then its top prize; its director had been best known until then for the Hangover comedies.

What is the Joker's civilian name in Tim Burton's 1989 film?

Jack Napier is set up to die for an affair with his boss's mistress and falls into a vat of chemicals instead; the film later reveals him as the mugger who shot Bruce's parents.

In DC continuity, which film had the Waynes just watched when they were murdered?

The Mark of Zorro shows a rich man who plays the fop by day and rides masked by night; Zorro is written as young Bruce's hero, and Bob Kane named him as a model for Batman.

Helena Wayne, daughter of Earth-Two's Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle, fights crime under which name?

Huntress was Helena's answer to her mother's death: a crook blackmailed Selina back into crime, it cost her life, and Helena made a costume to bring him to justice.

Which secret society of Gotham's elite was introduced in Scott Snyder's 2011 Batman run?

The Court of Owls was a nursery-rhyme bogeyman that Gotham took for a myth, until old photographs of its masked members with one of their assassins gave Batman proof.

In The Long Halloween, what nickname is given to the unseen killer who shoots a mobster every month?

Holiday strikes on each holiday for a year, Halloween to Halloween, leaving behind a .22 pistol silenced with a baby bottle's teat and a memento of the day.

What disaster, in the Cataclysm story arc, leads the US to cut Gotham off in the 1999 crossover No Man's Land?

An earthquake of magnitude 7.6 wrecks Gotham in Cataclysm; Washington evacuates most residents, destroys the bridges and blockades the city, and gangs and villains carve up what is left.

In which 2011 DC event is Bruce's father the Batman and his mother the Joker?

Flashpoint flips the origin: the mugger's bullet kills young Bruce and spares his parents. Its ending reset DC's entire line as the New 52.

What is the name of the crime-fighting dog who joined Batman in 1955?

Ace the Bat-Hound wears a hood-like mask on missions because the star-shaped mark on his forehead would give him away as Bruce Wayne's own dog.

What is the name of the nightclub the Penguin runs as a front for his crimes?

The Iceberg Lounge lets the Penguin pose as a legitimate nightclub owner while trading in stolen goods and secrets, which is why Batman keeps going there to pick up underworld gossip.

In Batman Beyond, which teenager takes over the cowl from an aged Bruce Wayne?

Terry McGinnis first meets Bruce after a gang chases him onto the Wayne estate's grounds; fighting beside him, the old man's heart gives out, and Terry later takes the high-tech Batsuit.

Which Nirvana song is heard twice in The Batman (2022)?

'Something in the Way' was playing while Matt Reeves wrote the first act, and it turned his Bruce from the usual playboy into a grieving recluse; a remix scored the first teaser.

The 1964 'New Look' added what to the bat emblem on Batman's chest?

A yellow oval arrived with a 1964 revamp meant to lift falling sales; The Dark Knight Returns later explained it as an armoured target that draws enemy fire away from his head.

Which psychiatrist's 1954 book Seduction of the Innocent called Batman and Robin gay?

Fredric Wertham's attack helped bring in the Comics Code Authority, and DC answered the charge about Batman and Robin by giving Batman a love interest, Batwoman, in 1956.

Which 2002 storyline by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee introduced a bandaged villain who knows Batman's secret identity?

Hush is Tommy Elliot, Bruce Wayne's childhood friend turned gifted surgeon, who wraps his face in bandages and sets about ruining Bruce's life out of jealousy.

In Mask of the Phantasm (1993), the Phantasm turns out to be which ex-fiancée of Bruce?

Andrea Beaumont ended the engagement in a Dear John letter when her father, who had embezzled from the mob, fled with her to Europe; she comes back to hunt those gangsters.

Who played Sofia Falcone in HBO's 2024 series The Penguin?

Cristin Milioti's Sofia, long written off as a serial killer, walks out of Arkham State Hospital and fights the Penguin for Gotham's underworld; the part won her an Emmy.

Batman: The Ride, opened at Six Flags Great America in 1992, was the world's first what?

Inverted roller coaster trains hang beneath the track with riders' legs dangling; the park's own general manager dreamed it up, and the ride made its Swiss builders' name.

Who starred in the Batgirl film that Warner shelved, nearly finished, in 2022?

Leslie Grace had finished shooting and the film was in post-production when the studio cancelled its release in August 2022 as part of a cost-cutting drive.

Which mad scientist, a Batman foe since 1940, was one of the first villains to work out his secret identity?

Hugo Strange then tried to auction the secret to Gotham's crime bosses in a 1977 story; one bidder had him seized and beaten for the name, and he seemed to die without giving it.

Crime Alley, where the Waynes were shot, was previously known by what name?

Park Row is where Batman returns each year on the anniversary of the murders, to visit Dr. Leslie Thompkins, who runs a clinic in the slum it became.

Which villain, voiced by Matt Oberg in Harley Quinn, headlines the spin-off 'Hell Yeah!'?

Kite Man's 'Hell yeah!' catchphrase came from Tom King's Batman run, which turned a joke villain from 1960 into an unexpectedly tragic figure; Matt Oberg voices him in Harley Quinn and the 2024 spin-off.

Two-Face's surname was changed to Dent to distance him from which hero's alter ego?

Clark Kent already had the name: in 1942 the scarred prosecutor debuted as Harvey 'Apollo' Kent, and DC changed a single letter six years later to keep the two apart.

Who was originally cast as Catwoman in Batman Returns before withdrawing due to pregnancy?

Annette Bening's exit set off a scramble: Sean Young put on a homemade Catwoman costume and showed it off on television talk shows to demand the part, in vain.

Who replaced Julie Newmar as Catwoman in the 1966 Batman feature film?

Lee Meriwether's Catwoman spends much of the film disguised as a Soviet journalist called Kitka, charming Bruce Wayne so that the villains can kidnap him.

Who was first cast as the Joker in the 1992 animated series, before Mark Hamill took over?

Tim Curry voiced the Joker at first, until the producers replaced him: he has blamed a bout of bronchitis, while producer Bruce Timm said his Joker's laugh never sounded natural.

Who wrote the 1989 graphic novel A Serious House on Serious Earth, painted by Dave McKean?

Grant Morrison's script lures Batman into the rioting asylum on April Fools' Day and cuts between his night there and the story of its founder, Amadeus Arkham.

Batman's co-creator Bob Kane was born with which surname?

Kahn became Kane by law after high school, and the Bob Kane signature then ran for decades on Batman stories that uncredited ghost artists had drawn.

Besides Scotland and Chicago, which English city hosted filming for The Batman (2022)?

Liverpool gave Gotham two landmarks, St George's Hall and the Royal Liver Building, which plays the police headquarters; the sequel went back to film at the Hall.

Who composed the theme song for the 1966 Batman television series?

Neal Hefti's theme is a twelve-bar blues on three chords, and its cries of 'Batman!' come from eight singers, not from the horn section that a stubborn myth credits.

Batman's first aircraft, a 1939 craft with a rotor on top, was called what?

Batgyro could be 'parked' in mid-air, hovering in place until Batman came back to it; a fixed-wing Batplane replaced it within a year.

In 1964 Robin joined two other heroes' sidekicks to form which team?

The Teen Titans had no name at first: the three sidekicks simply teamed up for one 1964 adventure, and the title came a year later, when Wonder Girl joined.

Who played Batgirl in Batman & Robin (1997)?

Alicia Silverstone's Batgirl was rewritten as the butler's niece instead of the police commissioner's daughter, and the role won her both a Razzie and a Kids' Choice Award.

Who was the first actor to play Batman on screen, in Columbia's 1943 serial?

Lewis Wilson wore the cowl in Columbia's 15-chapter serial against Dr. Daka, a Japanese agent invented for wartime audiences; the serial is notorious for its racist propaganda, and Douglas Croft played Robin.

Which country has both a city and a province named Batman, near a river that shares the name?

Turkey has a city called Batman that is the capital of Batman Province. It sits on a plateau near the point where the Batman River meets the Tigris.

Which martial arts star made a window cameo as Kato in the 1960s Batman television series?

Bruce Lee leaned out of a window as Kato, beside Van Williams's Green Hornet, while Batman and Robin climbed a building. The pair returned later that season for a two-part crossover.

Which fast-food chain was criticised for its toy tie-ins with the dark sequel Batman Returns (1992)?

McDonald's had restyled 9,000 outlets as Gotham restaurants with Batman packaging. The film's violence and sexual content then alienated the family audiences the promotion was aimed at.

Backlash over The Dark Knight's 2009 snub led the Academy to expand which Oscar category?

Best Picture went from five nominees to ten for the 2010 ceremony. The change became known as 'The Dark Knight Rule'.

Which singer's 'Kiss from a Rose' topped the US charts after featuring in Batman Forever (1995)?

Seal had released the ballad a year earlier, but its 1995 reissue on the film's soundtrack took it to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. It went on to win Record of the Year at the 1996 Grammys.

Tim Burton's Batman Returns (1992) is widely seen as an alternative film for which holiday?

Christmas in Gotham is the backdrop for Batman's clash with a corrupt tycoon and the Penguin. Its winter setting, festive imagery and themes of loneliness earned the sequel its seasonal following.

Which Hanna-Barbera cartoon stars met Batman and Robin in two crossover episodes in the early 1970s?

Scooby-Doo and friends met the pair in The New Scooby-Doo Movies, the first time Batman and Robin appeared in a Hanna-Barbera cartoon. A year later the heroes joined the studio's Super Friends.

Which word begins the recurring exclamations Robin shouts to Batman in the 1960s television series?

Holy fills the first slot of the Boy Wonder's stock cry, always in the form 'Holy ________, Batman!'. Returning to the role in 2019, the same actor shouted 'Holy crimson skies of death!'

Which actor insisted on top billing over Michael Keaton to play the villain in Batman (1989)?

Jack Nicholson accepted the part on strict conditions: top billing, his own shooting schedule and a share of the film's earnings, merchandise included.

Which IDW heroes crossed into Gotham for a six-issue comic team-up with Batman announced in 2015?

The Ninja Turtles and their enemy Shredder were hurled into Batman's universe by Krang in the DC and IDW miniseries. The partnership was unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con.

Which actor played Batman only once, replacing Michael Keaton in Batman Forever (1995)?

Val Kilmer signed on by July 1994 without reading the script or even knowing who the director would be.

Which comedian played the Riddler in Batman Forever, a part Robin Williams had discussed taking?

Jim Carrey won the role after Robin Williams and John Malkovich had both been in the running. Michael Jackson also lobbied hard for the part and was turned down.

Which action star was paid a $25 million salary to play Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin (1997)?

Arnold Schwarzenegger's villain is a molecular biologist forced to live in a diamond-powered refrigerated suit after an accident while trying to preserve his terminally ill wife.

Which actor plays Lucius Fox, the supplier of Batman's gear, in the Dark Knight trilogy?

Morgan Freeman's character has been demoted to Wayne Enterprises' Applied Science Division, where its prototype defence technology sits unused until Bruce comes asking.

Which English actor gained 30 pounds to play the masked villain Bane in The Dark Knight Rises?

Tom Hardy bulked up to 200 pounds for the part. He based Bane's voice partly on Bartley Gorman, a bare-knuckle boxer.

Which actress auditioned without knowing the role, then played Selina Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises?

Anne Hathaway trained extensively in martial arts for the part. She looked to Hedy Lamarr, the film star who first inspired the comic-book character, in shaping her performance.

Which actor debuted as an older, world-weary Batman in Zack Snyder's 2016 film Dawn of Justice?

Ben Affleck called his version 'a little older' and 'a little more world-weary' than earlier screen Batmen. The film set his seasoned crime fighter against Henry Cavill's Man of Steel.

Which Arrested Development actor voices the gravelly hero of The Lego Batman Movie (2017)?

Will Arnett first voiced the character in The Lego Movie. His Arrested Development co-star Michael Cera joined him here as Robin.

Which actress played Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad (2016) and later produced Birds of Prey?

Margot Robbie pitched Birds of Prey to Warner Bros. in 2015 as an R-rated girl gang film, reasoning that 'Harley needs friends'.

Which composer scored all three Dark Knight trilogy films, the first two with James Newton Howard?

Hans Zimmer wanted the Joker's theme to be one note that 'starts off slightly agitated' and ends in fury. He wrote for Batman and the Joker while his partner handled Harvey Dent.

Which English actor plays the Wayne family's trusted butler in all three Dark Knight trilogy films?

Michael Caine's butler warns Bruce in the second film that 'some men just want to watch the world burn'. The character had served the boy's parents before their deaths.

Which actor stayed in character throughout filming as the Joker in Suicide Squad (2016)?

Jared Leto stayed in character so thoroughly that co-star Will Smith said he never actually met him. Ryan Gosling had originally been sought for the role.

Which Irish actor wore hours of prosthetics to play the Penguin in The Batman (2022)?

Colin Farrell was made unrecognisable by a fat suit and heavy prosthetics from makeup artist Mike Marino, which took two to four hours to apply.

Which actor plays the Riddler as a forensic accountant turned serial killer in The Batman (2022)?

Paul Dano's villain, Edward Nashton, takes Batman himself as the inspiration for his murders.

Which director of two Planet of the Apes sequels wrote and directed The Batman (2022)?

Matt Reeves reworked the story to follow a younger hero early in his vigilante career. His earlier films include the vampire drama Let Me In.

The director of The Batman (2022) likened its Riddler to which cipher-sending California murderer?

The Zodiac Killer communicated through ciphers and riddles, the habit that prompted the comparison with Gotham's puzzle-setting murderer.

The Batman (2022), whose hero learns to inspire hope, was filmed under which one-word working title?

Vengeance was the working title when shooting began in London in January 2020. It is also the creed the hero has to outgrow, since the story is about learning to inspire hope instead.

Which Irish actor auditioned for Batman in Batman Begins (2005) but was cast as the Scarecrow?

Cillian Murphy tried out in a sonar suit left over from Batman Forever, donated for the screen tests but missing its cape, which had been lost.

Which director of the Hangover trilogy made Joker (2019), drawing on Martin Scorsese's 1970s films?

Todd Phillips and co-writer Scott Silver took their cues from character studies such as Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy. Scorsese himself was initially attached as a producer.

Which actor plays talk-show host Murray Franklin in Joker (2019), echoing his King of Comedy role?

Robert De Niro saw the part as a homage to Rupert Pupkin, the comedian obsessed with a talk-show host whom he played in 1982.

What name was given to the go-go dance Batman performs in the 1960s television series premiere?

The Batusi has the dancer draw V-signs sideways across the eyes with both hands. John Travolta borrows the move in Pulp Fiction, though with his palms facing out.

The 1960s Batman narrator ended cliffhangers with 'Tune in tomorrow – same Bat-time, same' what?

Bat-channel finished the line, which was intoned by executive producer William Dozier. He narrated the show without a screen credit.

Which actor played the Penguin in the 1960s Batman series and Rocky's trainer, Mickey Goldmill?

Burgess Meredith improvised his Penguin's quacking laugh to hide the coughing fits brought on by the cigarette the part required.

Which 'Santa Baby' singer took over as Catwoman for the third season of the 1960s Batman series?

Eartha Kitt stepped into the role after Julie Newmar left the show in 1967. Her signature novelty hit had been recorded back in 1953.

Which horror film star played Egghead, a villain invented for the 1960s Batman television series?

Vincent Price's Egghead is recognisable by his pale bald head and white and yellow suit. He was one of several villains created for television, alongside King Tut and the Bookworm.

In the 1966 Batman film, what does the hero carry around the docks, unable to dispose of it safely?

A bomb, already smoking, sends Batman rushing all over the docks in search of a safe spot. He finds one only in the nick of time.

Batman's Batarangs are collapsible so that a large number of them can fit inside what?

His utility belt holds a stack of the folded throwing weapons. Their name blends 'bat' and 'boomerang' and was first spelled 'baterang'.

In Gotham by Gaslight, a 19th-century Batman makes his debut just as which real killer arrives?

Jack the Ripper reaches Gotham just as a Victorian Bruce Wayne first puts on the cowl. The one-shot by Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola is regarded as DC's first Elseworlds story.

Which superhero team, with Batman in its first lineup, debuted in The Brave and the Bold #28?

Justice League of America launched with seven heroes, among them Aquaman, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman. After three try-out issues the team won its own best-selling series.

In The Dark Knight (2008), the Joker rigs two of what with explosives to test Gotham's citizens?

Ferries carrying civilians and prisoners are set to blow at midnight unless one group sacrifices the other. To the Joker's disbelief, the passengers refuse to kill one another.

Harley Quinn was modelled on which Days of Our Lives actress, a college friend of Paul Dini?

Arleen Sorkin played a jester in a dream sequence on the soap, which gave Dini the idea. He also borrowed her snappy, wisecracking manner for the character.

Which artist, working with writer Dennis O'Neil, returned Batman to his gothic roots in the early 1970s?

Neal Adams and his writing partner set their brooding hero against the camp of the 1960s television series. Adams also co-created Man-Bat and Ra's al Ghul.

Which Hammer horror veteran played the Wayne butler in all four Batman films from 1989 to 1997?

Michael Gough served three different Batmen across the Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher films. His first Hammer role was Arthur Holmwood in Dracula (1958).

Which Vermont senator made cameos in several Batman films, starting with Batman Forever (1995)?

Patrick Leahy, a devoted comics fan, also faces down the Joker as a party guest in The Dark Knight. He wrote the foreword to a 1992 collection of the earliest Batman comic books.

Which studio behind The Walking Dead adventure series released an episodic Batman title in 2016?

Telltale Games built the point-and-click series around branching choices that change later events. The studio shut down in 2018, two years after the first episode.

Which imp from the fifth dimension idolises Batman and wears an ill-fitting copy of his costume?

Bat-Mite stages odd, ridiculous events just to watch his hero in action. His seeming magic is really technology too advanced for three-dimensional minds to grasp.

Jean-Paul Valley, better known as which character, became a more brutal Batman after Bane broke the hero's back?

Azrael comes from a long hereditary line of assassins serving a secret order. He debuted in a 1992 miniseries by Denny O'Neil and Joe Quesada.

Which impressionist earned an Emmy nomination for playing the Riddler in the 1960s Batman series?

Frank Gorshin was a Las Vegas favourite, the first impressionist to headline the main showrooms there. He played the villain in the show's first and third seasons.

Which former Ballet Russe dancer joined the 1960s Batman series as Batgirl for its final season?

Yvonne Craig had joined the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo at 17 as its youngest corps de ballet member. She later played the green-skinned Marta in Star Trek.

Which famous pianist played both Chandell and his criminal twin in the 1960s Batman series?

Liberace took the dual role in the second season, as the concert pianist Chandell and his cigar-chomping twin Harry. Harry tries to have Batman and Robin punched into player-piano rolls.