Hollywood is in no short supply of super-hero themed films. MARVEL comics in particular is on a very successful run with its Avengers, Captain America and Guardians of the Galaxy films raking in a combined total of over $1 billion dollars. It’s no surprise that the estate of Jack Kirby, co-creator of of such well known characters as Captain America, Thor and Iron Man, attempted to take MARVEL all the way to the Supreme Court to capitalize on some well deserved revenue. The case never made it the Supreme Court however as MARVEL paid an out of court settlement of an undisclosed amount.
DC Comics, MARVEL’s equal in print and film, has also been releasing blockbuster hits about their flagship characters Superman & Batman. Films such as the Man of Steel, grossing $291 million dollars and director Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy have grossed a combined total of over $1 billion dollars.
While Jack Kirby is given screen-credit alongside Stan Lee for his creations, it is not the case for the creators of Batman. When audiences view The Dark Knight Trilogy starring Christian Bale the opening credits cite the name of but one man: Bob Kane. While Kane may have been the initial impetus for the masked hero, it was actually the uncredited Bill Finger that was the most significant influence on the character the world knows and loves today.
Kane had created the idea of a red shirted, domino mask wearing superhero to compete with the very popular Superman character created by Jerry Siegal and Joe Schuster. It was Bill Finger however who suggested the cowel, cape and coloring of the globally known Batman character. Marc Tyler Nobleman’s 2012 book Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman well documents the Bill Finger story. Nobleman tracked down the sole remaining member of the Finger family and arguable heiress to the Batman franchise, Athena Finger.
Ms. Finger and Mr. Nobleman first appeared together on a blogtalk radio program entitled Tamerlane’s: Terra Infirma hosted by a character-activist “Tamerlane” who calls himself a “real life super-villain”. Ironically it was this real life super-villain that has aided Ms. Finger in her quest to garner the screen-credit her grandfather deserves. The two can be seen appearing together telling the story of Mr. Finger at comic-cons which seem to be more popular than ever due to the influx of super-hero films, TV shows and other media.
Ms. Finger has been reluctant in the past to share her grandfather’s tale both for the fact that the story is bitter-sweet to her, being the relative of one of the world’s most beloved characters, but also due to the legal wranglings that Ms. Finger is now begrudgingly involved with.
Who’s to know what the outcome of the legal battle will be but Athena Finger’s sentiments are clear:
“I really just want my grandfather to get the credit he deserves.”
