Holy Hallelujah, Batman! The caped crusader turns 75

Jim Slotek

Published Jul 22, 2014 • Last updated Jul 22, 2014 • < 1 minute read

Batman is 75 years old this year.

He is pop-culture's most enduring anti-hero -- yin to the yang of Superman, his one-year-older Boy Scout-ish buddy.

And his charm remains complex. The history of the character is filled with efforts to soften his grimness -- starting with the introduction of Robin in 1940 (which inspired a comic book "sidekick" craze, from Captain America to the Human Torch). The '60s saw Adam West dancing the "Batusi" on TV.

But it's the haunted cynic with a battered moral compass we keep returning to -- the guy whose gravelly introduction, "I'm Batman," suggests warning rather than warmth.

With that, let's play 20 Bat-Questions.