This Article is From Apr 18, 2014

Holy birthday boy: Batman is 75

Holy birthday boy: Batman is 75
Batman, the caped defender of Gotham City is 75 today but he's not retiring the Batmobile any time soon. In fact, he looks pretty good for an old man. It also explains why the Dark Knight is so feared a superhero despite the absence of any superpowers whatsoever - when you've been fighting crime since the 1940s, you get pretty darn good at it. With or without a Boy Wonder.

First created in 1939 by DC Comics artist Bob Kane, billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne, a man ridden with secret demons of his own, cleans up the mean streets of Gotham as Batman by night. Relying on his martial arts skills and impressive assortment of gadgets, the masked superhero fights some of the most insanely fearsome villains operating in the comic book universe - The Joker, Two-Face, Bane, Ra's al Ghul, Scarecrow, The Riddler and Professor Hugo Strange who features in the animated short film created to celebrate Batman's 75th anniversary.

The men behind the mask have variously been Adam West who played Batman on the campy 1960s TV series; Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney who took the caped crusader through pale shades of noir; and most recently Christian Bale who was hailed as fittingly dark, conflicted and brooding. Actor Ben Affleck was announced as the new Batman last year, cast in a Superman vs Batman film, and was promptly pronounced unfit for duty by outraged fans online.

Of Batman's many screen outings, the 1992 animated series was among the most successful. From the producer of the series comes this 75th celebration offering - a three minute short called Batman: Strange Days. The tribute video stars old-school Batman, in the style of the original Bob Kane-era. His adversaries are mad scientist Hugo Strange and undead giant Solomon Grundy. His mission, to save a young woman captured by the villains.

As they watch Professor Strange fall over the edge of a cliff to certain (?) death, the rescued damsel enquires, "Is it over?"

"For now," intones her savior.

Watch:

<iframe width="620" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/IFwOS2R9o_8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
.