Batman & Bill

Incredibly touching. After watching a similar documentary on Superman, I was skeptical I would get anything out of this other than some mild entertainment.

The two stories are similar but this documentary was so well done, that I was almost moved to tears by the end.

I highly recommend this film.

One of my pet peeves when it comes to entertainment is when the creators of iconic material are not given sufficient (or any) credit—financial or otherwise—for their iconic creations. The example of this I always give is all Three Stooges dying basically penniless while their shorts will be played forever and make many other people much money. I realize that there is a legal side to all of this (sometimes creators "sell off" early in hopes of a quick buck only to see "their" property zoom in popularity), but I always have a soft spot for stories of "creators vs. studios" and the like. That is why I can give "Batman & Bill" the full 10 stars here and consider it one of the most incredible documentaries I have ever watched, as it unearths a truly hidden story from the annals of history and restores creative credit where it is due.

Basically, "Batman & Bill" tells the story of how author/comic fan Marc Tyler Nobleman started a research project into the origins of the Batman character. Initially he had no idea what he would find, but very quickly he stumbled upon a bit of an investigative gold mine: Though Bob Kane was given basically 100% of the credit for creating Batman back in the late 1930s, in actuality a man named Bill Finger was involved in a great deal of the process as well (likely coming up with the iconic cowl/cape/symbol costume design and a number of the original villains). Nobleman sifts through old articles, recordings, and personal recollections to reconstruct the story of Finger, of which barely any was publicly known. In order to take his research to the "next step" of actual getting Finger credited for Batman's creation, Marc must find an heir…which he (rather improbably) does, at which point the story morphs into an emotional tale of a family still grieving a death from many, many years ago.

I think the reason that "Batman & Bill" works so well is because it turns into a great story on two levels: First, Finger's influence on the Batman character is utterly fascinating, as well as the belligerence (and sometimes out and out negligence) of Kane, DC, & Warner Bros. in keeping Finger's name off the Batman credits. Nobleman stays very fair and balanced throughout this entire investigative portion, fortunately, as the whole thing easily could come off as a ranting attack on "big boys" Kane/DC/WB. That isn't nearly the case here, however, as Nobleman backs up any claims on Kane's behavior with documented evidence to support him. The bottom line is that research and accounts show that Finger's name should be on the screen or page with Kane's when it comes to the "created by" credit, and it is amazing to think that this has been "hidden" (or at least not unearthed) for 75-odd years.

Perhaps just as important, though, is how the story turns out to be a very emotional one once Nobleman starts unearthing people who personally knew Finger or members of the Finger family. Finger himself was bisexual and died from AIDS, both of which were much more taboo in the era they occurred (1980s) and thus hidden or swept under the rug. What Nobleman finds, then, is a family yearning to have some closure on the life of their father/husband/grandfather. At times there were tears welling up in my eyes, as Nobleman really was doing this family a great service in painting a picture of Bill Finger's life.

Anyone who is a fan of Batman (in any iteration) or pop culture documentaries in general absolutely needs to see "Batman & Bill". In terms of investigative work and righting some of the wrongs of history, the documentary is a shining example of how that is done. For those who might say "who cares…this happened 70-some years ago", all they must do is look at the impact this information has on the Finger heirs, and the "who cares" question is answered in emotional fashion. All told, easily one of the best documentaries I have seen in a long, long time.

This is a first for me…reviewing a made for Hulu documentary. Heck, up until very recently, I had no idea Hulu was releasing anything themselves. Fortunately, "Batman & Bill" turns out to be a really exciting and engaging film…one that comic book fans absolutely must see. The problem is that to see it, you need to have Hulu.

If you are a comic book lover, you probably know who Bob Kane is. He's been credited for decades as the creator of Batman and during his lifetime he made a fortune because of it. He also achieved a god- like status by some fans. After all, he came up with the story idea, the costume, the Batmobile, the villains and the back story about Bruce Wayne losing his parents to some murderous thieves… right? Well, not exactly according to this film…as well as according to Warner Brothers, the folks who own DC Comics. The story is about another man who created much of what Batman was but was never credited during his lifetime for this…and a man who died pretty much penniless and forgotten. The film does an excellent job explaining who Bob Finger was and how he actually is at least half responsible for creating the comic strip hero…as well as the fight that his granddaughter had to go through to get this acknowledged. It's all quite enlightening…at least for me, a guy who isn't exactly a huge comic book fan.

The film is excellent on just about every level. Technically, it's well made. It's obvious they did a lot of research to make the film and, most importantly, the documentary really packs a strong emotional wallop. You find yourself being emotionally pulled into the film and this is also the sign of an exceptional documentary. Well worth seeing…and satisfying to see the man finally getting the recognition he so well deserved.

Growing up as a child, I always saw the name of Bob Kane as the creator of Batman. I never imagined someone else was working with him or had contributed to the concept of creating Batman. I'd seen interviews with Bob Kane, and it always seemed that the Kane wanted to talk about himself and never said much about Bill Finger or Jerry Robinson, although they certainly contributed.

The key word here is contributed. From other documentaries, it comes across as though Kane had the main idea, and that Finger and Robinson helped out. But how much? It's a toss of the dice, but if you're to believe this documentary by Nobleman--who did the research--and Argott, who filmed it--then Finger had a greater hand in the creation of Batman than anyone else realized, as did Robinson.

When I watched Batman & Bill, it came across to me as a well-balanced, insightful, and rather sad look at how the comic book industry was run, and also the characters in that industry who would do each other out of the credit in order to get a larger paycheck. That was Bob Kane. I'm not disputing that Kane was the one who originally came up with the idea. His idea, his risk, yes.

But Finger, apparently, suggested the major changes in the costume, the cowl (Kane originally had a domino mask and the costume was red), and the gadgets that Batman used, many of the rogues gallery, all of which Kane seemed--seemed--only too happy to take on as his own creative ideas. It is sad that Finger was--and there is no other word for it--cheated, IMO, out of what should have been half his legacy.

This documentary sheds new light on the legend of Batman, its creators, and the men who created him and brought him to life. Highly recommended.

If you are a Batman fan, this is the best 90 minutes you can spend learning about the history of the Caped Crusader. This is great story telling straight from the heart. The doc contains all kinds of trivia and history you never knew before. From the creation of the Batman character to the most recent movie, you'll find out things you never knew before.