Time for another dive into Batman's Degrees Of Separation, my ongoing pointless effort to replace Kevin Bacon with Batman, and see how many degrees separate Gotham City's Caped Crusader from various other figures of fact and fancy. Let's have another look at the rules:
When playing this game with a fictional figure, it's important to understand a few parameters. First and foremost, one must separate the character from actors who've played the role. There has been a long list of people who've played Batman on screen, from Lewis Wilson to Adam West to Ben Affleck, with many more Batguys in between. But these were all just actors playing a role; working on a film with Christian Bale would put you no closer to Batman than shaking Hal Holbrook's hand would put you one degree of separation from Abraham Lincoln.
On the other hand, all of a character's official appearances in comic books, movies, TV shows, radio shows, books, and what-have-you are fair game, regardless of whether or not that appearance is considered in continuity. Fanfic doesn't count, but Batman's team-up with the Scooby-Doo gang does.
Got it? We've already done three of these things. Part 1 studied Batman's connections to Jack Nicholson, Adam West, The Ramones, The Dickies, The Lone Ranger, Bob Dylan, Popeye, Prince, Dick Tracy, the castaways on Gilligan's Island, and the characters on the sitcom Mad About You. Part 2 went through John Wayne, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Michael Keaton, The Dead Boys, Elvis Presley, The Munsters, The Flashcubes, Phil Spector, James Brown, Mickey Mouse, Marilyn Chambers, and Suzi Quatro. And Part 3 was our Captain Action edition, linking Batman with Cap and Cap's other alter egos, Superman, Aquaman, Captain America, Sgt. Fury, The Phantom, Flash Gordon, Steve Canyon, The Lone Ranger (again), Spider-Man, The Green Hornet, Tonto, and Buck Rogers.
And now: to the Batlinks!
BATMAN TO MARY TYLER MOORE [3 degrees]
This repeats our previous path of Batman to Michael Keaton. DC/Marvel Comics crossover projects have brought DC's Dark Knight within a single degree of Marvel's Mightiest Heroes on a few occasions, notably in the four-part JLA/Avengers mini-series [one degree]. The Mighty Avengers met David Letterman (and appeared on Late Night With David Letterman) in the pages of The Avengers # 239 [two degrees]. As an unknown up-and-coming comic, Letterman (like Keaton) was a regular on Mary, the 1978 variety TV series starring Mary Tyler Moore [three degrees].
BATMAN TO TERRY & THE PIRATES [4 degrees]
Batman's previously-detailed path to Dick Tracy continues here. Batman has met and worked with Will Eisner's iconic hero The Spirit in a previous crossover [one degree]. The Spirit worked with Tracy in an unexpected and enjoyable 2016 extended guest shot in the Dick Tracy newspaper strip [two degrees]. That same newspaper serial also included an appearance by the legendary Golden Age villain The Dragon Lady [three degrees]. The Dragon Lady was the frequent opponent of adventurer Terry Lee (and the potential paramour of Lee's mentor Pat Ryan) in Milton Caniff's all-time classic comic strip Terry And The Pirates [four degrees].
BATMAN TO CHARLES MANSON [3 degrees]
If superheroes were real, Batman or The Green Hornet or someone would have stopped Charles Manson and his murderous family cold, and actress Sharon Tate and the rest of that wretched little bug's victims would have lived. I wish superheroes were real. In the world of fantasy, Batman met the great American rock 'n' roll group Paul Revere & the Raiders on the '60s Batman TV series, when the Raiders played at a benefit for The Penguin's mayoral campaign [one degree]. In real life, the Raiders worked extensively with Doris Day's son Terry Melcher, who produced and occasionally co-wrote (with Raiders lead singer Mark Lindsay) some of the group's biggest and best records [two degrees]. As a producer, Melcher reportedly rejected aspiring singer-songwriter Manson [three degrees]. Sharon Tate lived at Melcher's former address, which is where she and her friends were slaughtered. Not a coincidence. Manson's in Hell now.
BATMAN TO NAT KING COLE [2 degrees]
Unforgettable! I doubt many Batfans even had any idea who New York City DJ William B. Williams was in 1966 (or ever). But DC Comics editor Julius Schwartz was a fan of Williams and his Make Believe Ballroom on New York's WNEW, and Williams appeared--cover-featured, no less!--in the Batman story "Bruce Wayne Unmasks Batman!" in Detective Comics # 357 (November 1966) [one degree]. Williams is credited as the first to refer to Frank Sinatra as "The Chairman of the Board," and Williams was an early and consistent booster (and associate) of singer Nat King Cole [two degrees].
BATMAN TO THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN [3 degrees]
We can rebuild him. We make him better than he was. Better, stronger, faster. It didn't hold my interest for very long, but The Six Million Dollar Man was the closest thing there was to a weekly live-action superhero TV series in the early to mid '70s. Of course, I watched it, and I didn't hate it. Kinda liked it, actually, at least for a bit. Although the series was adapted into a comic book published by Charlton Comics, I don't think lead character Steve Austin ever encountered any characters (fictional or real) outside of his own milieu. Luckily, the same is not true of Jamie Sommers, lead character in the spinoff TV series The Bionic Woman. Actress Lindsay Wagner starred as The Bionic Woman on NBC at roughly the same time Lynda Carter starred in Wonder Woman on ABC (and then CBS). There was no inter-network TV crossover, but the recent six-part comic-book mini-series Wonder Woman '77 Meets The Bionic Woman brought 'em together anyway. So! Batman has appeared with Wonder Woman many times in comics, TV cartoons, and 2017's fab film Justice League [one degree]. Then Wonder Woman '77 Meets The Bionic Woman [two degrees]. Jamie Sommers was originally introduced on The Six Million Dollar Man, and she and Steve Austin shared another adventure or two after that [three degrees].
BATMAN TO RAQUEL WELCH [3 degrees]
Listen, man: any way to get to the preeminent sex symbol of the '60s and '70s is worth the trip. The road to Raquel leads through Bob Hope, and yeah, that "the road to" reference is deliberate. I slay me. Iconic comic Hope starred in the long-running DC Comics title The Adventures Of Bob Hope; but unlike fellow DC superstar Jerry Lewis, Hope's comic book never played host to guest stars Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, or The Flash. Super-hip, a supporting character in the Bob Hope comics, appeared alongside members of The Justice League of America and The Teen Titans at the wedding of Mento and Elasti-Girl in The Doom Patrol # 104 in 1966. Additionally, Michael Eury's wonderful book Hero-A-Go-Go notes in a sidebar that Batman and Robin encountered Super-hip when they made a cameo appearance in an issue of Bob Hope [one degree either way]. Super-hip to ol' Ski-Nose [two degrees]. Bob Hope's famous USO tours usually included one or another attractive knockout actress as a tonic for the troops, and la Raquel was one such knockout (and how!) [three degrees].
BATMAN TO VERONICA MARS [5 degrees]
I am so proud of this one. Although I would now rank it among my all-time favorite TV series, I was a latecomer to Veronica Mars. I binge-watched the series a few years ago, and belatedly fell in love with, oh, just everything about it. It took some work, but I was determined to link Batman with Veronica, and I got it done! I even worked in a link to the Syracuse University men's basketball team! Yeah, I'm intrepid. First, as unlikely as it may seem, Batman met The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in two different comic-book miniseries [one degree]. And if you think that's unlikely, howzabout former SU hoops great Carmelo Anthony meeting those radioactive terrapins in the one-shot comic book Amazing Adventures: Carmelo Anthony Special [two degrees]? (Melo also made a cameo appearance as himself in the 2016 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, but didn't interact directly with the heroes.) When he was with the New York Knicks, Anthony had a contentious relationship with Knicks president Phil Jackson [three degrees]. Veronica Mars' cast of recurring characters included an actor named Aaron Echolls (played with slimy precision by Harry Hamlin), who mentioned receiving a copy of Siddhartha from Jackson [four degrees]. Echolls, of course, knew Veronica Mars [five degrees]. Cue the theme song! A long time ago, we used to be friends....
BATMAN TO ABBOTT & COSTELLO [2 degrees]
A reader pointed out that my previous path of Batman to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Batman-Catwoman-Vampirella-Dracula-Buffy) had two extra, unnecessary degrees, as Batman encountered Count Dracula directly in the graphic novel Batman & Dracula: Red Rain and the animated video adventure The Batman vs. Dracula. Oops. Batman to Dracula [one degree], and Dracula (played by Bela Lugosi) joined his Universal Studios horror co-stars Frankenstein (or more accurately Frankenstein's monster) and Wolfman in the comedy classic Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein [two degrees].
BATMAN TO SNOOPY [5 degrees]
Across two world wars, the acquisition of a comic book company's characters by a former rival, and the fanciful dreams of a funny-lookin' dog with a big black nose, we bring you this epic link of pop culture icons. In the '40s, Fawcett Comics was a pesky competitor of DC Comics, and the success of Fawcett's Captain Marvel (who outsold Superman) prompted enmity, lawsuits, and an eventual out-of-cort settlement that brought an end to Fawcett's original line. Decades later, DC assumed ownership of most of the erstwhile Fawcett heroes, including Captain Marvel and a character called Spy Smasher. Batman met Spy Smasher within the pages of a vast three-part superhero free-for-all in Justice League Of America # 135-137 in 1976 [one degree]. Spy Smasher met Nazi schweinhund Hermann Goering in a story called "Why I Did Not Kill Hitler" back in 1943's Spy Smasher # 10 [two degrees]. In 1933, Goering personally recruited a World War I pilot named Ernst Udet to the Nazi Party [three degrees]. In that previous War To End All Wars, Udet had flown under the command of Manfred von Richthofen, the bloody Red Baron [four degrees]. The Red Baron, of course, was the sworn enemy of the Allies' canine ace Snoopy, and the two faced each other in numerous aerial dogfights (sorry), and even met once face-to-face for a respectful Christmas toast in The Royal Guardsmen's holiday hit record "Snoopy's Christmas" [five degrees].
BATMAN TO THE ROLLING STONES [3 degrees]
Yeah, this one's goofy, but it qualifies. In 1973, the ABC network aired a promotional TV special hosted by the comedy team of Jack Burns and Avery Schreiber, intended to hawk ABC's new Saturday morning line-up. Among the ABC cartoons for '73 were Super Friends and Mission: Magic, the former a new animated incarnation of the Justice League and the latter a vehicle for an Australian singer and pop hopeful named Rick Springfield. Springfield himself appeared, as himself, with Burns and Schreiber on the special, joining actors playing the roles of Superman and Batman. Batman to Rick Springfield [one degree]. Mission: Magic didn't succeed in making Springfield a star, but he eventually became one anyway, via his role on the soap General Hospital and with '80s smash hit singles like "Jessie's Girl." Springfield's ascension as pop idol led to a starring role in the 1984 movie Hard To Hold, which featured model Patti Hansen alongside Springfield [two degrees]. Hansen is married to Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards [three degrees].
BATMAN TO ANNE HATHAWAY [4 degrees]
Before we sign off, we should link Batman with a couple of actors related to the Batman film franchises. Actress Anne Hathaway played Catwoman in 2012's The Dark Knight Rises, but her degrees of separation go through the 1960s TV show instead (and, coincidentally, through that series' Catwoman, played by Julie Newmar). On a 1966 two-parter, Batman saved British rockin' pop duo Chad & Jeremy (playing themselves) when Catwoman literally stole their voices [one degree]. Chad & Jeremy had previously worked with Dick Van Dyke on the 1965 "The Redcoats Are Coming!" episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show [two degrees]. Van Dyke, assuming a horrible Cockney accent that is forgiven only because Dick Van Dyke should be forgiven for pretty much anything, co-starred with Julie Andrews in 1964's smash film Mary Poppins [three degrees]. Much later, Andrews appeared with Hathaway in 2001's The Princess Diaries [four degrees]. Heh. I just realized this same path would also link Batman to actor Nicholas Hammond, who played Spider-Man on TV in the '70s and appeared with Julie Andrews in The Sound Of Music.
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| Villains that cower when I take my swings, these are a few of my favorite things.... |
It pains me that so many people seemed to hate Ben Affleck's portrayal of Batman in Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice and Justice League. I thought he was fine, but I seem to be one of the few hoping (in vain, I'm sure) that he returns in upcoming sequels. In the mean time, let's get Ben to Batman. Batman to the amazing Spider-Man via a handful of DC/Marvel crossovers [one degree]. Spider-Man to actor Dan Aykroyd, who appeared with fellow members of Saturday Night Live's Not Ready For Prime Time Players in the Spidey comic Marvel Team-Up # 74 in 1978 [two degrees]. Aykroyd also appeared with actor/director Alec Baldwin in the 2003 film Shortcut To Happiness [three degrees], and Baldwin appeared with Affleck in 2001's Pearl Harbor [four degrees]. That also means Batman is four degrees from Baldwin's ex-wife Kim Basinger, who played Vicki Vale in 1989's Batman. Holy serendipity!
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