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.
