The Shadow
“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!”
If you’re looking for the hero that inspired the creation of Batman, look no further than the Shadow. Hiding in the darkness and able to sleuth his way to any truth, this old-school crime-fighter became a firm favorite of many throughout the 1930s all the way to the present day.
The mania went from radio plays, pulp novels, comics and to films, of course. The most popular and well-known of these movies was 1994’s The Shadow, directed by Russell Mulcahy and starring Alec Baldwin as Lamont Cranston. While it didn’t quite electrify the box-office numbers or please those dorky critics, it’s become a cult classic in due course and is still a watchable movie today.
Earlier this year, DC Comics and Dynamite Entertainment teamed up for a six-issue limited series titled Batman/The Shadow. Written by Scott Snyder and Steve Orlando, and with art by Riley Rossmo, it’s a terrific team-up adventure and great reading material for fans of the Dark Knight and the Shadow.
The Phantom
Do you want to know why superheroes wear skin-tight costumes that show every bulge and curve? Well, you can thank the Phantom for that one, since he was the first costumed superhero to appear in a comic. Back in 1936, Lee Falk created Kit Walker, the costumed crime-fighter who operated out of the fictional African country of Bangalla. We wonder if this place is right next door to Nambia…
The Phantom ran as an adventure comic strip for ages, before it found its way to television, video games, and film. Who could ever forget the 1996 movie starring Billy Zane, the true hero of Titanic, in the lead role? When you talk about picture-perfect superhero costumes in movies, Billy’s purple Phantom attire takes the cake. It’s even more comic book accurate than Ben Affleck’s batsuit.
The Phantom has a rich history and his longevity was aided by Falk’s desire to combine themes from epic poetry, fairy tales, and chivalry in his tales. Even today, most of these stories still hold up and read well.