Batman Serial 1943
This is not your comic book Batman. It was the first DC Superhero to get his own serial but due to strict regulations on serials at the time and being produced during World War 2 there are a lot of changes. Bruce Wayne is still a rich lazy millionaire but Batman is not a vigilante. He is working for the FBI to help battle the evil Axis Powers. Rather than fight his famous villains, his enemy is Dr. Tito Daka, a Japanese spy. Warning, this film has a lot of racist elements because of the time in which it was written. Irish actor J. Carrol Naish played Dr. Daka and used a very stereotypical Japanese accent. When first introducing the location of the villain's lair the voice over describes Little Tokyo being empty by saying, "Since a wise government rounded up the shifty eyed japs." Holy Political Incorrectness Batman! Be prepared for this because I was not and it took me a few episodes to get back into the film. Batman will call the police to arrest criminals after dealing with them but does not work directly with them. There is no bat signal and no Commissioner Gordon. Instead they have a Captain Arnold.
