If you can believe it, there is currently an in-progress comic book story arc involving Batman which will end in the death of… Bruce Wayne.

Written by Grant Morrison and penciled by Tony Daniel and Alex Ross, the series is a cheap response to Marvel’s recent killing off of Captain America.

According to Grant Morrison, “the end of Bruce Wayne as Batman” is “a fate worse than death, things that no one would expect to happen to these guys at all.” It is rumored that Batman will emphatically die tomorrow, November 26, at comic book news stands everywhere.

This is the second in a 3 part series covering the history of Batman. You can read part one here.

In 1966 Batman was given a shot in the arm by the hit Pop Art inspired television series that is still iconic today. Starring Adam West and Burt Ward as Batman and Robin, as well as a wealth of guest stars including Caesar Romero, Frank Gorshin, Julie Newmar and even horror icon, Vincent Price, Batman was a show that was watched and treasured by adults and children alike. Bright colours and Dutch angles peppered the show, as well as the thunderous and vivid onomatopoeic cries of “Pow”, “Bam” and “Biff.”

This is the first in a 3 part series covering the history of Batman.

Now that The Dark Knight has crossed the magic $500 million barrier at the US box office and grossed over $900 million worldwide, Batman is once again a true cultural phenomenon. It is perhaps now relevant and interesting to look at the history of the character to see how the he has had such an enduring appeal over the last 70 years.

Since his first appearance in Detective Comics #27 in May of 1939, Batman has become not only an iconic comic book character, but also a major character on television, radio, novels and of course, the big screen.

(My dear readers, you have permission to treat this rumor as hostile.)

Not two days after wild rumors started circulating that Angelina Jolie was looking to play Catwoman in Christopher Nolan’s third chapter of the Batman Begins series, comes an even wilder rumor from out of the UK that Warner Bros. execs have begun eying top-notch actors Johny Depp and Oscar-winner Philip Seymour Hoffman for the roles of The Riddler and The Penguin in the next Bat-flick

Even though most of us are still basking in the afterglow (more like after-gloom) of The Dark Knight, it’s never too early to start thinking about the next Batman film. Well, apparently we’re not the only ones looking ahead.

According to fanboy site Comic Book Movie, actress/world savior/supermom Angelina Jolie is also hoping to become part of Christopher Nolan’s Bat-universe, by donning the super-tight tights and fierce claws of Catwoman for the third film in the franchise.

(Just picturing Jolie wearing the cat suit begins to erase the horrible memory of that Halle Berry flick.)

Batman: Gotham Knight is an “homage” (a more accurate phrase would be “rip-off”) to the fabulous Animatrix collection that was released alongside the final two films in the Matrix trilogy. Since the unfolding Batman Begins trilogy releases its second installment, The Dark Knight, on July 18, studio Warner Bros. (never one to reinvent the wheel,) is attempting to $queeze some extra profit out of its expanding franchise by giving the Dark Knight his own collection of anime shorts, which chronicle events between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, summating in a hit-and-miss sequence of stories that just barley make the collection as a whole worth checking out. [SPOILER-FREE REVIEW INSIDE]

Ok, this was just too awesome to NOT pass along to you guys. Over at Black20.com someone who is obviously a master of video editing has put together one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen: A knock down drag out battle between all four movie Batmans (or should that be “Batmen?”).

Their favorite as the toughest Batman is Christian Bale as The Dark Knight, and it’s not only fun to watch him, Michael Keaton, George Clooney and Val Kilmer all interact, it’s also quite amazing to see how flawlessly whoever did this edited together the fight sequences. Via quick-cuts the fights look like they’re right out of a real movie (well, technically the are), but the point is how he manages to make the actors from a number of different films look like they’re in the same scene.

To watch it for yourself click on the image above or right here and then come back and tell us what you think.

Thanks to Joblo for finding this!

I last mentioned Sandy Collora’s latest short fan film World’s Finest just a few days ago. It was supposed to premiere at the San Diego Comic-Con, but big, bad Warner Bros. stepped in and squashed the viewing like a bug due to the fact that they own the movie rights to both characters.

Well now it’s available for you to watch right here.
I’ve seen it a couple of times, and I’m still processing it. My first thoughts are that Batman still rocks, but Superman needs some work. Oh, and Lex Luthor? Woah.

Overall, it seems like more of a fan-film than Batman: Dead End, but his love of the characters definitely comes through. Check it out for yourself below.

Batman: Dead End
The clock tower strikes midnight in a rainy, cold, and dreary Gotham City. The
Joker has just escaped from Arkham Asylum once again. The bat signal has been illuminated, and Batman is on the case. He tracks his arch nemesis to a dead end alley. The Joker is no match for the Bat, but what else lurks in the dark shadows of the alley, very well might be . . .

This (now very well known) fan film by Sandy Collora premiered at the San Diego Comic-Con. You can check it out after the jump.