Batman
𐑚𐑨𐑑𐑥𐑩𐑯
Detective Comics #27
Batman is a fictional masked vigilante, and a whole franchise of comics, films, and TV shows. Essentially, he's Superman's goth cousin. Literally, he's just some guy dressed up as a bat. Clearly, he has issues.
The first stories and their imagery were originally conceived by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci's "Design for a Flying Machine", Sherlock Holmes, The Mark of Zorro, The Man Who Laughs, and The Phantom. Kane later gave Bill the finger, as it were, falsely claiming sole credit.
It's a timeless tale of a rich orphan who becomes a masked vigilante by night. This mythology is malleable enough to be periodically updated to better fit the current social mores, from the camp 1960s TV show to the gritty 1980s series The Dark Knight Returns.
Admittedly, it might say something worrying about human impulses and society that there are so many stories glorifying violent revenge. Still, a brooding loner is always relatable, just as a stylised old city at night is always atmospheric.
Comics: Batman | Comic book | DC Compact Comics | Graphic novel | Limited series | Masked vigilante | Modern Age | Superhero | Watchmen
