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Batman Through the
Ages
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, AUGUST 26, 2012
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Batman: Across the ages Batman has been cleaning up the streets of Gotham City for more than 70 years now and you would be surprised to know that Batman has changed a lot over the years. Sure, some things about the bat will never change, he still doesn’t carry a gun nor does he kill anyone. However, when it comes to looks, modern bat fans may be surprised to see how different the Caped Crusader actually looked over the years. While it would take an entire Bat-cyclopedia to completely go through every version of Batman, in honour of the recent release of The Dark Knight Rises we’ve compiled some of his more important Bat-looks. Check out the different versions of the Dark Knight!
TV — Batman with Adam West As well as setting a new definition for the word “campy,” the Batman television show starring Adam West brought comic book cheese to a whole new level. The show, which first aired in 1966, enjoyed great popularity during its three season run, and perhaps unfortunately changed the way people thought of the Dynamic Duo in the years that followed.
Comic — The Bat-Man by Bob Kane Like so many other comic book characters, Batman’s origin actually began with Superman. Action Comics No. 1 in 1938 which was the first appearance of Superman and it started everything. At a time when other popular comic books like “The Shadow” and “Dick Tracy” sold between 200,000 and 400,000 copies per issue, those featuring the Man of Steel usually sold around 900,000. Bob Kane, a young cartoonist at DC, decided to try to copy that success by creating a superhero detective — part Superman, part Sherlock Holmes. With the collaboration of writer Bill Finger, “the Bat-Man,” as he was originally known, was born. Like other heroes, the Caped Crusader was not, at first, above using guns to stop his enemies. However, Finger and Kane adopted the famous “no-kill” rule, a decision that is one of the many reasons why Batman is the world’s most famous superhero. In Batman’s first appearance in “Detective Comics” No. 27, he played the role of a detective, using his amazing (but not superhuman) skills of deduction to solve “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate.” Over the decades, however, Batman has worn many masks — from the World’s Greatest Detective to the Caped Crusader to the Dark Knight.
Film — Batman and Batman Returns by Tim Burton In 1989, the Caped Crusader returned to the big screen in Tim Burton’s “Batman.” Burton’s version was quite different from the happy and funny Batman from the comics, but it became so famous that future Batman movies and comics all adopted it.
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THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, AUGUST 26, 2012
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Cartoon — Batman The Animated Series and Mask of the Phantasm Batman made his return to the small screen in style with the groundbreaking, “Batman: The Animated Series”. The creators did a spectacular job of bringing the hero to a whole new generation of bat fans, with incredible storytelling and great depictions of both the Bat Family and Gotham’s rogues gallery. Amazing voice talent also set the standard for voicing these famous characters. The show was a crowning achievement for the Batverse.
Cartoon — Batman — The Brave and The Bold
If you’re a fan of the dark, gritty Batman, there’s a good chance you won’t like what you see here. Batman, dressed up in grey and blue, trades one-liners and jokes with tons of DC characters. This Batman is a costumed adventurer who can crack wise with the best of them, a Batman who doesn’t take himself too seriously. There’s plenty of action, some flat-out hilarious moments, good dialogue, and an enjoyable introduction story for the show. It is a lighter take on the Caped Crusader, but an enjoyable one nonetheless. Since we’ve been treated to a lot of grim Batman as of late, this series is a welcome breath of fresh air.
Cartoon — Batman Beyond In Batman Beyond, the Dark Knight returned but was cooler than ever. This show features Bruce Wayne and a young, new Batman as they join forces to battle Gotham City’s super-villains. For decades, Batman ruled as Gotham City’s crime fighting DarkKnight but fifty years later, Batman is a little too old to fight crime. Is the caped crusader hanging up his wings? NO WAY! As a whole new horde of criminals are on the rampage, the unthinkable has happened: the aging Bruce Wayne has hung up the cape of the once-invincible BATMAN! But when a brave, young high school kid named Terry McGinnis stumbles onto the secret of Batman’s true identity, a new alliance is forged. And an awesome new hero is born! That means trouble for the criminals of Gotham. Now armed with advanced Bat-technology, Terry becomes the new BATMAN — and explodes onto the futuristic Gotham City streets.
Game — Arkham Asylum and Arkham City And now we come to Batman’s latest and best videogame version, care of the recently released Batman: Arkham City. As a follow-up to 2009’s hit, Batman: Arkham Asylum, these games skillfully brought the Bat to the gaming world, and did it far better than it’s ever been done.
Film — Chris Nolan
The silver screen saw yet another reboot of Batman with Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins in 2005, which was followed by the hugely successful Dark Knight in 2008 and now the final movie, The Dark Knight Rises. These movies are far different from all the other comics, movies or cartoons. This time there are no fun and games, Batman is as real as he can be but the problem is, so are his enemies
So there you have it. Of all of the different versions of Batman, which is your favourite version of the Caped Crusader?
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, AUGUST 26, 2012
Activity Corner
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Hanging bat mobile Supplies needed: • Black construction paper or card • White craft foam or card • Googly eyes • Black string or yarn, cut into 4 different lengths • White craft glue • 1 wire coat hanger • Scissors
Instructions: Cut out four bat shapes of slightly differing sizes from the black construction paper. Punch or pierce a small hole in the centre of each bat’s head. This is to attach the strings when your bats are ready to hang. Fold the bats down the middle and then flatten them again. Do the same at the joints of the wings. This will make your bats look like they are flying! Cut out small triangles from the white craft foam to use as fangs. Glue the googly eyes and foam fangs onto your bats. Once the glue is dry, use your lengths of black thread to tie each bat to different points along the bottom of the coat hanger, and your hanging bat mobile is complete!
Remember kids, always get permission from your parents before you start. It’s always a good idea to have a helper nearby.
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, AUGUST 26, 2012
World wide weird Get your weekly dose of the unusual and funny from across the globe!
Narrow escape If you believe in miracles, here is one you can relate to. A race car driver and his co-driver narrowly escaped death after their car plunged off the side of a mountain. Jeremy Foley and co-driver Yuri Kouznetsov flew off the track during the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. Spectators watched in horror as their Mitsubishi Evo cart-wheeled eight times down the mountainside. It happened during a dangerous section of the race, known as the Devil’s playground, up the 14,000ft-high Pikes Peak in Colorado. Wheels, body panels and engine parts flew off the powerful 560bhp car as it tumbled hundreds of feet. But rescuers were amazed to find the two men still conscious and suffering only minor injuries. They owed their lives to the steel cage which reinforced the body of the car. Jeremy later wrote to friends and fans on Facebook: “Yuri and I are OK, a little beaten up but nothing major.”
Opposites attract
5
SOURCE: WEB.ORANGE.CO.UK
Modern art breathes new life into ancient statues as French photographer, Leo Caillard, 27, teams up with art director, Alexis Persani, to dress ancient sculptures as modern hipsters at the world-famous Louvre Museum. To create his Street Stone series, Caillard photographed the statues and then used his friends as models in identical poses wearing skinny jeans, sunglasses and flannel checked shirts. Mr Persani then combined the two sets of photographs in Photoshop to create a seamlessly natural-looking series with hilarious results. Mr Caillard said he felt the sense of attitude and arrogance in the statues’ poses would make them perfect fashion models. He added: “In our modern society, style pretty much describes the state of mind of somebody. The way we look almost explains the way we are. I tried to represent the power of clothing in this series.” SOURCE: WEB.ORANGE.CO.UK
Head first
These socks are made for walking
A young boy in China’s Hezhang County wasn’t using his head when he got it stuck in a stone guardrail. For reasons still being determined, the kid stuck his head into a balustrade in front of a government building and was unable to get it out. Firefighters were called to the scene and managed to squeeze the kid’s head back out of the stone railing using hydraulic spreading pliers. After the boy was rescued, he was examined by doctors before being tearfully reunited with his grandmother.
Do you find it hard to tie your shoe laces? Here is just what you need. A Swiss company has designed a pair of socks that can be worn without shoes. They even have spaces for each of your toes — in the same way fingers fit in a glove. Designed by the Swiss Barefoot Company, the ultra durable footwear is reinforced by PVC soles which helps make them cut-resistant. The company believes the socks are ideal for people who like to go barefoot and could be used for outdoor activities such as rock climbing. Dieter Hesch, owner of The Swiss Barefoot Company, said: “It took many years of technical research and designing to create what we have now. We’re also working on a new sock design which we think people will be able to run marathons in.”
SOURCE: HUFFINGTONPOST.COM
SOURCE: WEB.ORANGE.CO.UK
Never say ‘never’ Philippe Croizon made history by swimming across four intercontinental channels. The 44-year-old, who had never swum before, is only the second person to swim the Bering Strait. The feat is even more amazing if you take into account the fact that Croizon is a quadruple amputee. He had all four limbs amputated in 1994 after being electrocuted by more than 20,000 volts while trying to remove a television antenna from a roof. Croizon swam roughly four kilometres, between the US island of Little Diomede and Big Diomede in Russia. This marked the final part of a quest to link all continents as he braved strong currents and near-freezing temperatures for about an hour and 20 minutes without giving up. The deeply moved Croizon said his accomplishment was a message of encouragement to other disabled people. “I tell them: ‘Everything is possible, everything can be done when you have the will to go beyond yourself’. We’re all equal, disabled and non-disabled people on all continents.” “We made it,” said the 44-year-old Croizon, who was accompanied by long-distance swimmer Arnaud Chassery, 35. The pair has swum across three other straits separating the continents. AFP
World’s slowest supercar It might look like one of the world’s fasted supercars, but you’d need to be Bradley Wiggins, the British professional track and road racing cyclist, to get a turn of speed out of this Ferrari lookalike. Creator Hannes Langeder copied a 660bhp Ferrari Enzo down to the smallest details — except for the V12, six litre engine based on a Formula 1 racing motor. Instead, his Fahrradi Farfalla FFX is powered by a pair of cycle pedals, some gears and his own leg muscles. Hannes explained: “It’s a great feeling to be the slowest thing on the road because everyday life moves so quickly.” Art expert Magnus Hofmueller — curator of an exhibition on car culture — added: “It deals with sustainability and car fanaticism critically but also humorously.” SOURCE: WEB.ORANGE.CO.UK
A catnapper’s nightmare Size matters even in the animal kingdom, but mostly in a good way. A kidnapped fat cat which tips the scales at more than two stones was returned to its owners after thieves could no longer cope with its enormous appetite. Cupid, a pedigree Maine Coon worth £3,000 (Rs450,555), was snatched from a back garden in Landskron, Austria, two weeks ago. But he was mysteriously returned to owner Stephanie Frey after, police believe, he ate the catnappers out of house and home. Experts say an average Maine Coon can eat three or four times as much as an ordinary domestic cat, and can polish off thee tins of cat food at a single sitting. A police spokesman added: “Maybe the pressure got too much for the thief — or perhaps they discovered it wasn’t easy keeping such a big cat with such a big appetite.” SOURCE: WEB.ORANGE.CO.UK
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, AUGUST 26, 2012
Did you know?
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s n i g i r O d r o W Keep it under your hat To keep something a secret; to keep something in one’s mind (only). Why should people put anything under their hats? The idea is that putting an item under one’s hat would be a way of hiding it. The most common story behind the origin of this phrase is that English archers in medieval times used to store spare bowstrings under their hats to keep them dry. Let’s think this through. Firstly, keeping dry isn’t keeping secret, so even if archers did store strings under their hats, where is the connection to the phrase’s meaning? Secondly, the phrase isn’t known in English until the 19th century. What else, apart from string, might one keep under one’s hat? One’s head, of course. The phrase didn’t come from putting anything under one’s hat at all — ‘under your hat’ simply meant ‘in your head’.
How to say 'Why So Serious?' in different languages? Spanish :
¿Por qué tan serio?
Italian
Perché così serio?
:
Chinese :
wei shen me na me ren zhen?
Cool facts The bat is the only mammal that can fly. Cows can sleep standing up, but they can only dream lying down. Alligators can live up to 100 years The leg bones of a bat are so thin that no bat can walk.
Lithuanian : Kodel taip rimtai?
The flamingo can only eat when its head is upside down.
Polish
Dla czego tak powazne?
A bat can eat up to 1,000 insects per hour.
Afrikaans:
Hoekom so ernstig?
German :
Warum so ernst?
If you keep a goldfish in a dark room, it will become pale!
Swedish :
Varför så seriös?
Russian :
ZachEm tak ser’YOzna?
:
During World War II, Americans tried to train bats to drop bombs. Killer Whales are not whales at all, rather a species of dolphin.
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, AUGUST 26, 2012
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Fun & games
Want to be hi five’s artist of the week? Send your drawing with your name and age to: hifive@tribune. com.pk
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, AUGUST 26, 2012
Make your way through the maze
SOURCE: MAVERICKGROTTO.ORG
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