Google has begun the celebration of Batman's 81st anniversary prematurely, with the release of a new feature on its GPS navigation software app, Waze. Although not beginning officially until September 15th, fans can celebrate Batman Day by choosing either the voice of Batman or The Riddler to provide directions on Waze.
From September 1st to October 31st, Waze’s limited time offer will also replace the usual car icon that appears on the digital map with the Batmobile or Riddler Racer, depending on which character the driver chose. While Google’s tribute runs close to the unveiling of The Batman trailer, the Dark Knight and his riddlesome foe will not be voiced by Robert Pattinson or Paul Dano. But the choices are sure to please fans all the same.
Wally Wingert will be voicing the directions of Edward Nigma, with the legendary voice of Batman himself, Kevin Conroy, returning as the caped crusader. As Bruce Wayne, Conroy paved his way to fandom fame in Batman: the Animated Series, followed by countless spin-offs, films, and the Batman: Arkham video game series in which Wingert also appeared as the Riddler. In the Waze app, drivers can slip more into "character" by playing the DC Super Hero or Super Villain playlists on the Waze Audio Player or Spotify. The Batman-themed voices are only available in the English, Spanish, and Portuguese versions.
The world recognizes Batman Day in commemoration of the day--err, night that the Dark Knight first swooped into Detective Comics #27 in 1939. Now marked in September, the first Batman Day was meticulously planned as part of a marketing tactic to coincide with Comic-Con International in San Diego for the Caped Crusader’s 75th anniversary on July 23rd, 2014. As part of this year’s Batman Day celebration, DC Comics announced the DC Batman Virtual Run event where participants can choose the distance and time in which they would like to run or walk (though, it’s crucial to point out that they can’t choose any time to register, since the deadline to register is 9/20 at 11:59 CST). In return, fans will receive a goodbye bag (we don’t know what’s in it, so don’t ask), medal, running hat and personalized bib.
At last year’s Batman Day celebration, DC and Warner Bros. projected the iconic Bat-Signal across the night sky, onto skyscrapers and landmarks around the world in tribute to the late Adam West. A Batman 5K night run also took place in Los Angeles, among a host of other celebrations. Additionally, DC Universe made all of its content available to non-subscribers for a single day, and offered a special reduced rate for new subscribers. Time will tell what other bonuses are on the way.