Batman is more than just a guy in a cape — he’s a symbolic figure who fights against injustice and wrongdoing. Such a monumental hero can’t be constrained by such trivial matters as copyright! And the South Korean television producers of the 1960s were all for breaking free of those constraints. With lasers, even.
Unlike the tortured parent-less orphan we all know and love, the Korean Batman had a vastly different origin story. Topless Robot explains:
One of the first TV anime productions to be broadcast in Korea was a 1967 series called Golden Bat, an enjoyably creepy superhero cartoon about an agent of justice, the last surviving Atlantean, and his struggle against evil – while wearing a grinning golden skull mask, of course.
So basically, he’s one part Aquaman, one part Batman (albeit Batman of Zurr En-Arrh more so than the regularEarth one), and another part Superman. What’s not to love?
Apparently Golden Bat even saw an international release, as the above video is dubbed in Spanish and not Korean. Unfortunately it never came to America, because the real Batman probably would not stand for that, and neither would DC. We would love an English dub, of course, if anyone would like to make that happen. Cough. Please.
(via Tumblr)
- The Joker is beyond copyright, too, as evidenced by this amazing fan film
- Fox just optioned a TV show set in Pre-Batman Gotham
- Christian Bale had to audition for Batman in Val Kilmer’s old cowl
