British Batman

These days, the British seem to have single-handedly taken over the creation of the modern American superhero mythos. Superman’s history is being currently re-written by Scottish writer Grant Morrisson and in the movies, he’s being played by The Tudors’ Henry Cavill.

Not to mention the new Spider-Man, one-time Doctor Who bit-part player Andrew Garfield (American but has lived in Surrey since he was three).

But none is as steeped in Britannia right now as the Caped Crusader. Christian Bale, cinema’s current Bruce Wayne, is British; director Christopher Nolan is British; and so are most of the co-stars from Gary Oldman to Michael Caine. His recent comic-book adventures are being chronicled by Morrison, who gave him a kid and a franchise. The new hit video game Batman: Arkham City was developed by London video-game developer Rocksteady Studio. And there is, of course, the Batman Live show which played until recently at the O2 Arena in London.

But as it has been noted, if the British have to put up with Robert Downey Jr. playing Sherlock Holmes, I suppose there are worse things than having American vigilantes with British wit.