James Gunn’s authority as the co-CEO of DC Studios has been under questioning by many fans ever since it was announced. Some do not think that he is suited for the role, while others do not like the direction he is taking the franchise. However, bit by bit, he has been proving himself to be capable of the role.
After the immense success of The Suicide Squad as well as his work with the MCU, the director assumed the role alongside Peter Safran. Since then, he has been enforcing his power one step at a time, with the biggest jump being through Superman: Legacy, which is becoming one of the most anticipated films from the franchise.
Recently, the director posted something in the celebration of Batman’s 85th anniversary. The words that accompanied this post, however, seemed to have sent the internet into a frenzy.
Bill Finger and The Great Betrayal
One of the most well-known controversies surrounding the DC franchise as a whole was what transpired between Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Batman. Kane has been credited for making Batman for a huge majority of the character’s life. Although there is truth to this, what happened was kept hidden for far too long.
While he did come up with the name of the character, he wasn’t the only one to make Batman what he is today. He drew up the first version, however, the character felt off in this, wearing a red onesie and having actual batwings, and was not successful.
Understanding that this would no longer work, he brought Finger as a co-creator to make adjustments to the character so that he could become as iconic as Superman. Finger made a lot of changes to his costume, gave him cool gadgets, and assigned the secret identity of Bruce Wayne to him.
Going even further, he was responsible for helping with the creation of The Joker, Commissioner Gordon, and even Robin.
Despite this, Kane ended up hogging all of the credit, despite having had a co-creator through all of it. While Finger was becoming lost to time and poverty, Kane became almost as well-known as Batman himself. When the former tried to get his rightfully deserved credit, the latter went as far as to deny Finger’s involvement in his life’s greatest achievement.
Eventually, it would seem that Kane could no longer take it and decided to give Finger the credit for co-creating the character, more than ten years after he had passed away.
James Gunn Shows His Respect For Bill Finger
On the 85th anniversary of the creation of Batman as a character, James Gunn shared a post in celebration. Talking about The Case of the Chemical Syndicate, the comic where he made his first appearance, he congratulated the character and fans on 85 years of being an iconic figure in media. Interestingly enough, the filmmaker also named Bill Finger and Bob Kane.
“On this day in 1939 ‘The Bat-Man’ debuted in Detective Comics 27 in ‘The Case of the Chemical Syndicate’ by Bill Finger & Bob Kane. Happy 85th Anniversary“
Thank you for crediting Bill first, James.
— Adam Stabelli (@GothamAdam) March 30, 2024
“by Bill Finger & Bob Kane” we see you James 🫡
— thomas (@thomasconlon54) March 30, 2024
You're a real one for crediting Bill Finger first.
— Kung Fu Cthulhu 💛❤️💙 (@Kung_Fu_Cthulhu) March 30, 2024
— Mister_Sir 🍉 (@MisterSir723) March 30, 2024
Thank u for crediting Bill first
— Joe (DCU era) (@Joefanatic23) March 30, 2024
Many fans could not help but be happy that Gunn put Finger’s name before Kane, while others were glad that he simply mentioned him. The decision to put his name there is certainly a bold one, considering the history DC Studios and Detective Comics as a whole had with the comic book writer.
