ShareThisWhy so serious? Let's have some fun with "Dark Knight," before Heath Ledger scares our capes off. Here are 10 Bat-questions to prep for the movie.Q: Is Batman really called "The Dark Knight" in the comics?A: Absolutely. You can't just say "Batman Batman Batman" over and over, so writers have come up with a number of nicknames for Bruce Wayne's alter ego over the years, including Darknight Detective, Gotham Guardian, Caped Crusader, World's Greatest Detective, World's Greatest Escape Artist and Gotham Goliath.Q: Were Harvey Dent and Batman buddies in the comics before the Two-Face thing, like in the movie?A: Yes. Going back to Two-Face's origin in "Detective Comics" No. 66 in 1942, he was crusading District Attorney Harvey Kent (later changed to "Dent" to avoid confusion with a certain mild-mannered reporter), whose face was scarred by a vial of acid thrown by "Boss" Maroni. (Maroni will appear in the movie, played by Eric Roberts.) Later comics expanded on Dent's anti-corruption crusade -- and friendship with Batman -- before his disfigurement, and still later stories established that Harvey had battled schizophrenia long before Maroni. His two-headed coin -- one side clean, the other scarred -- has been with him since 1942, also.P.S. Unlike the Joker, Two-Face is really a tragic figure. Harvey is a victim of mental illness, not the goofy Joker Lite played by Tommy Lee Jones in 1995's "Batman Forever."Q: The movie isn't going to give us an origin for the Joker, so should we go with the one in 1989's "Batman"?A: Not necessarily. For one thing, Tim Burton's film established Jack "Joker" Napier as the murderer of Bruce Wayne's parents, which isn't the case in any other telling of the Batman origin -- including "Batman Begins," where Joe Chill was the killer. In fact, the comics have presented numerous variations of the Joker's origin, usually narrated by the Harlequin of Hate himself."Sometimes I remember it one way, sometimes another," said the Clown Prince of Crime in 1988's "The Killing Joke." "If I'm going to have a past, I prefer it to be multiple choice."Q: Is the movie based on "The Killing Joke"?A: No, it is its own animal. But aspects were inspired by Alan Moore's "Joke," Jeph Loeb's "Batman: The Long Halloween" and the first appearances of the Joker (in "Batman" No. 1, 1940) and Two-Face.Q: Is Assistant D.A. Rachel Dawes from the comics?A: Nope, she was invented for "Batman Begins." Bruce Wayne has had a number of girlfriends serious enough to get names, including socialites Julie Madison and Silver St. Cloud, photographer Vicki Vale and villainesses Talia al Ghul and Selina "Catwoman" Kyle, but no Rachels. Then again, Wayne is a playboy, so it's hard to keep track.Q: What's all this about a viral marketing campaign?A: It's true. Warner Bros. executed an interactive online campaign that was a lot of fun, involving hidden Web sites, YouTube videos, scavenger hunts, games and clues that allowed real people to join the Joker's army. Most of the Web sites have been defaced by the Joker by now, which you can see on sites like thegothamtimes.com, whysoserious.com and Ibelieveinharveydent.com.Other official sites include ccfabg.org (Concerned Citizens for a Better Gotham), gothampolice.com, gpdmcu.com (Gotham Police Major Crimes Unit) and thedarkknight.warnerbros.com.Q: Was Comcast part of that?A: No, they have their own "Dark Knight" promotion. Comcast has launched six episodes of the faux news show "Gotham Tonight," with newscaster Mike Engel (Anthony Michael Hall) interviewing prominent Gothamites (like Harvey Dent), which take place between the films. The mini-movies are available on Comcast's Video On Demand, and on gothamcablenews.com.Q: What else happened between the movies I should know about?A: Some of that can be found on "Batman: Gotham Knight," an anime with six interlocking stories released on video July 8.Q: I see Barbara Gordon in the credits. Does that mean we'll see Batgirl?A: Probably not. She'd be a little young. We haven't even seen Robin yet!Q: Will the Batsuit have nipples?A: No, thank God. After the debacle that was "Batman and Robin" (1997), director Christopher Nolan is steering clear of anything associated with the Joel Schumacher version. And this Batsuit, based on a motorcycle helmet, will allow Christian Bale more head movement than any previous suit.(Contact Andrew A. Smith of the Memphis Commercial Appeal at capncomics(at)aol.com or visit www.captaincomics.us.)
We have answers to queries about the Caped Crusader.
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