Batman and Bill

It’s no secret that nerd culture sits at the center of much of our larger pop culture right now. Superhero movies are the biggest tentpoles in the cinematic industry, and actors who play big comic book roles are among the highest paid in the world. But even beyond that, you see everyone from suburban dads to five year olds wearing Star Wars t-shirts and discussing which version of the Joker is their favorite. While there are certainly downsides to this cultural development, one advantage is a new interest in the little-known, behind-the-scenes stories surrounding sci fi, fantasy, and superheroes. 

One of the latest additions to the growing body of nerd studies is the 2017 documentary, Batman and Bill. Of course, everyone knows Batman. He’s the dark, broody hero with dead parents who dresses like a bat to scare criminals who are a “superstitious and cowardly lot.” But who created this figure that is an internationally known icon and a billion-dollar enterprise? Even the freshest noob to the comic book world can probably tell you that it was a guy named Bob Kane. Kane supposedly invented Batman over a weekend in 1939 after he saw how much money Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were making. He was a rare early creator who had it written into his contract that he would get name credit every time Batman appeared. This is the standard story, but according to Batman and Bill, there is another, entirely different version to be told. 

 

Batman and Bill primarily follows author Marc Tyler Nobleman who wrote a children’s non-fiction book about the Caped Crusader’s other, perhaps more important creator, a guy named Bill Finger. Finger was Bob Kane’s silent partner who, according to Nobleman’s research, not only wrote most of the stories and invented most of Batman’s indelible gallery of villains but also designed the main components of the costume we all recognize today – complete with the pointy bat ears, scalloped black cape, and bat symbol on the chest. Kane, apparently a slick salesman and self-promoter, did all the talking and was the public face of Batman while Finger was the uncredited idea man who shaped much of the mythology the world knows, loves, and pays millions of dollars to read and see every year. Kane died a wealthy, prominent man with millions of fans while Finger died penniless and alone in a New York apartment that was behind on rent.

Nobleman spends the documentary detailing his efforts to track down a biological heir of Finger’s in order to get him credit on Batman products. The story is a fascinating one, complete with unexpected discoveries, entirely new versions of established creation myth, and a surprising ending. While the story is compelling and the cause is just, Nobleman definitely seems to love himself and be a self-promoter in a vein more similar to Bob Kane than Bill Finger. The documentary clearly positions him as the hero and his book about Finger as required reading, and Nobleman clearly doesn’t have a problem with that.

But his self-congratulation aside, the story of Bill Finger and his family and their efforts to get his name on Batman after nearly eighty years is touching. Knowing that they were up against Warner Brothers, one of the largest and most powerful media companies in the world makes the stakes even higher.

The most affecting moments of the film are one-on-one interviews with Finger’s granddaughter. According to her, the Finger family felt cursed to obscurity and neglect. She makes a much more satisfying and authentic protagonist to the story than Nobleman’s faux humble researcher.

There are a few spots that drag and seem a little redundant, but overall, Batman and Bill is a compelling documentary that is worth seeing. As nerd culture becomes more and more central to the things we read, watch, and listen to, it’s interesting and worthwhile to hear the stories behind the stories.