Pinpointing four key moments in Batman's history, Dr. Will Brooker illuminates the debates over Batman's significance by shining a light on the cultural issues of the day. Batman refused to adapt to the patriotic propaganda of the Second World War. In the mid-1950s, he was accused of corrupting American youth by appearing to promote a homosexual lifestyle to his fans. The 1960s ABC TV series transformed him into a camp pop culture icon. And, in recent years, Batman has been, once again, reinterpreted by his fans in response to the comics and the Warner Brothers franchise of films.

Brooker's tireless research has led him to challenge many of the accepted notions of Batman's development as a character. The result is a book that stands up as both a work of scholarship and a labor of love -- and a book that will provoke debate wherever Batman is studied or discussed.