Batman - Millionaire Bruce Wayne (Adam West) donned mask and cape to become Batman, a crime fighting Caped Crusader on the fantasy adventure BATMAN/ABC/1966-68. Assisted by his ward, Dick Grayson (Burt Ward) a.k.a. "Robin, The Boy Wonder," this Dynamic Duo battled the evils of Gotham city including such nefarious no-goods as The Penguin (Burgess Meredith), The Riddler (Frank Gorshin), Egghead (Vincent Price), King Tut (Victor Buono), and The Cat Woman (Julie Newmar/Lee Ann Meriwether/Eartha Kitt).

The only one to know Batman's secret identity was Alfred, Wayne's faithful butler. Batman's headquarters, located in the Batcave beneath stately Wayne Manor, housed the Batcomputer, and the sleek atomic powered Batmobile. Adam West also starred in the spin-off film Batman (1966) produced to cash in on the series popularity.

The Penguin, The Riddler, Cat Woman and The Joker

The Batman series was based on the comic strip created by Bob Kane which first appeared in the May, 1939 issue of Detective Comics No. 27. According to his comic-book origins, after Joey Chill shot and killed Thomas Wayne, (Bruce's father) on June 7, 1924, Bruce dedicated his life to fight crime. His mother Martha died of a heart attack when she saw her husband shot.

The Batman phenomenon spawned the animated cartoon series BATMAN/CBS/1968-70/CBS/1977-78/NBC/1980-81 and BATMAN - THE ANIMATED SERIES/FOX/1992-93 as well as the successful motion picture adaptation Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992) starring Michael Keaton as the brooding crime fighter. Val Kilmer, and George Cooney later replaced Keaton in subsequent movie sequels.

The animated series BATMAN: BEYOND/WB/1999 depicts a dark future with an older, disillusioned Bruce Wayne living alone in his mansion until a teenager steals his Batman costume to battle a sinister group of street thugs called "The Jokers." See also NICKNAMES - "The Boy Wonder" and "Batgirl"

There's a new 'Batman' in town...run for your lives

In the summer of 2005, the Batman franchise was totally updated with the movie Batman Begins. Directed by Christopher Nolan, the film retraces the origins of the character from the murder of his parents, to his martial arts training in the China, to his return to Gotham City as the urban vigilante, Batman (played by Christian Bale).

As Bruce Wayne mentor Henri Ducard (Liam Nesson) said "If you make yourself more than just a man, you devote yourself to an ideal, you become something else entirely"...Batman.

Yeah, that's right. Batman! He's back, he's "bad" and you'd better not mess with him, sucka or you'll find yourself hanging upside down from the rafters with something nasty in your mouth...Show 'em my Bat Sign!

Robin, Batgirl & Batman from the 1966 ABC TV Series	The Batman Logo	Batgirl, Batman & Robin from the Movie Robin & Batman (1997)