Vicki Vale | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | DC Comics |
First appearance | Batman #49 (October 1948) |
Created by | Bill Finger (writer) Bob Kane (artist) Lew Schwartz (Illustrator) |
In-story information | |
Full name | Victoria Vale |
Supporting character of | Batman |
Victoria Vale (usually called "Vicki") is a fictional journalist appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Her character often serves as a potential love interest, character in peril, and source for information about crimes being committed, often drawing parallels to Lois Lane from the Superman comics. [1]
Vicki Vale has appeared in several DC Comics-related media, such as the films Batman and Robin (1949) (portrayed by Jane Adams), Batman (1989) (portrayed by Kim Basinger) and The Batman vs. Dracula (voiced by Tara Strong) as well as the Batman: Arkham video game franchise (voiced by Grey DeLisle).
While Batman co-creator Bob Kane was at Columbia Pictures for a development meeting concerning the upcoming Batman and Robin (1949) serial he by chance met a young starlet in the studio commissary who inspired the Vicki Vale character, a young Marilyn Monroe who was at the studio at that time filming the movie Ladies Of The Chorus (1948). Vicki Vale, Lois Lane, and Marilyn Monroe each have first and last names beginning with the same letter. The character was then fleshed out and developed for the serial by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. To prepare the public for her serial appearance in advance, the character was first debuted in Batman #49 (October 1948). [2] Vicki Vale is a journalist, usually based in Gotham City, who has worked for a number of publications across various iterations of the character and the surrounding DC universe. She is frequently depicted as a romantic interest of Bruce Wayne, the alter-ego of Batman. [3]
Vicki Vale first appeared in Batman #49 (Oct. 1948), written by Bill Finger with art by Bob Kane and Lew Schwartz. [4]
Vicki Vale's early appearances revolved around her suspicions that Batman and Bruce Wayne were the same person. Batman would usually manage to fool her by the end of each story into concluding that he was not really Bruce Wayne, but her suspicions would re-emerge in a later story. [5]
Vicki Vale remained a prominent character in Batman stories from Batman #49, in 1948, until Detective #320 in October 1963. In 1964, Julius Schwartz became the editor of the Batman-related comics. Schwartz dropped a number of Batman's Silver Age backing characters, including Vicki Vale, Batwoman, Bat-Girl, Bat-Mite, and Ace the Bat-Hound.
Vicki Vale surfaced 13 years later, in Batman Family #11 (June 1977). She was now married and known as Vicki Vale Powers. She was also mentioned in Batman Family #16. After that, she vanished for another five years.
She returned in February 1982 in Batman #344. The editor and writer were apparently unaware of her 1970s appearances, so there was no mention of her marriage, and it was stated in a footnote that she had not appeared since Detective #320. She had supposedly been in Europe for years, but now had returned to Gotham City. She became Bruce Wayne's romantic interest again, earning the wrath of Catwoman in Batman #355 (January 1983). She also had a rivalry for Bruce's affections with Julia Remarque, the daughter of Alfred Pennyworth and Mademoiselle Marie (Julia Remarque was wiped from continuity after Crisis on Infinite Earths ).
Vicki disappeared from the comics soon after Crisis on Infinite Earths , but in Frank Miller's Batman: Year One , she is a gossip reporter who flirts with the judge during a shoplifting trial. [6] Vicki returned in 1989 and 1990 in the Grant/Breyfogle era to coincide with release of Tim Burton's Batman . She once again began a romantic relationship with Bruce Wayne, but became upset over his frequent absences. At one point, she was partnered with photojournalist Horten Spence to investigate the Fever phenomenon. This led to the two of them having an encounter with the Street Demonz as Horten fought them off. [7] When hospitalized after an attack by the Ventriloquist, Bruce struggles over whether or not to tell her he is Batman, but decides not to, which leads to the end of their relationship. Bruce later regrets this when he descends into a brief depression following his defeat at the hands of Bane.
Vale appeared again in the Wonder Woman title as one of the hosts of the television program The Scene (similar to The View ). Her co-hosts included Lia Briggs, Tawny Young, and Linda Park. Two episodes are shown in which they interview Wonder Woman on her career. [8] [9] In the "Black Glove" book, she brusquely offers best wishes to Bruce and his new lady Jezebel Jet on the air.
Vicki appears (with blonde hair) in the 2008 two-part story Two-Face: Year One. She interviews a corrupt mob lawyer named Weinstein, who is running for Gotham district attorney against Harvey Dent. She is present when Dent, now the disfigured gangster Two-Face, confronts Weinstein and Bruce Wayne at a party in Wayne Manor.
In the 2009 Batman: Battle for the Cowl storyline, the crossover miniseries Gotham Gazette has Vicki claiming to have discovered Batman's identity. Vicki has returned to the Gotham Gazette after her TV career failed. While the general public is more interested in what happened to Batman, Vale wants to know what happened to Bruce Wayne, who was last "seen" in Vietnam (which was actually Hush masquerading as Wayne). Vicki speaks with Lucius Fox, but still cannot get a proper answer about Bruce's whereabouts. Feeling like "a real reporter" again, she is thrilled when she receives an invitation to join Bruce as his date at the Robinson Ball. [10] In Battle for the Cowl #3, Vicki reports on the chaos that has been caused by Two-Face in the wake of Batman's disappearance.
In the next issue of Gotham Gazette titled "Batman Alive", Vicki sees that Bruce is not present at the gala. While there, she observes the tension between Dick Grayson and Barbara Gordon, as well as the scarring on Tim Drake, allowing her to discover the double lives they and Bruce have been leading. At the end of the story she is seen arranging pictures on her wall, connecting various members of the Batman Family to their secret identities, and declaring that she will prove her suspicions. [11]
Vicki becomes an important supporting player in Issue 6 in the Red Robin series. In that issue she begins asking questions and is met by Bruce Wayne (actually Hush/Thomas Elliot in disguise). He agrees to an interview/date with her. This happens in Issue 9 of Red Robin where Wayne/Elliot avoids questions. Vicki finally gets her proof in Batman #703.
In Bruce Wayne: The Road Home , before she publishes Bruce's secret, Vicki wants to know how and why he is Batman. She calls Wayne Manor and threatens to publish the article if Bruce does not meet with her to discuss it. Alfred sends the still-masquerading Thomas Elliot to meet with her. He tells Vicki before kissing her that he is not Batman. When she gets home, she realizes that he was not Bruce Wayne, [12] and knowing that Dick Grayson is now in the role of Batman leads her to ask the question, "Where is Bruce Wayne?" Holding the story until she uncovers the truth behind that, Vicki goes to Wayne Manor and tells Alfred that she knows the truth. Alfred tells her that Bruce, who was feared dead, has returned, but has not told everyone yet. [13] While holding the story, she encounters Barbara Gordon and tells her she knows the truth. She asks her ex-boyfriend, Jack Ryder, if she should publish the article and turn her career around. [14] Vicki sets up a sting with Commissioner Gordon but things do not go as planned, [15] which leads to Catwoman's finding out that she knows not just about the Bat-family, but also the Gotham Underground, especially Catwoman. [16] Vicki is eventually hunted by the League of Assassins, [17] after Ra's al Ghul realizes that she knew Batman's secret. However, Bruce eventually rescues her. She promises him that she will never reveals his secrets. Vicki realizes that Bruce's mission is bigger than the truth she's seeking, and decides not to expose his secrets, and becomes his ally. During the conflict, Ra's realizes that Vicki is a descendant of Marcel "The Hammer" du Valliere, a French soldier and one of the few who challenged Ra's and his warriors centuries before Batman. Ra's claims that du Valliere stole the woman (who was also Vicki's ancestor) he attempted to court. Despite having killed du Valliere after their final battle a long time ago, it is implied that al Ghul's business with Vicki is not complete as he vows to track down anything that related to his enemies. [18]
In Batman and Robin #18, another ex-Wayne Girl, now a villain called The Absence, comes looking to rip out Vicki's eyes. [19] In the following issue, Batman and Robin rush to her apartment only for Absence to reveal that Vicki is bound and gagged inside of a cabinet. Absence then explains that she never intended to kill Vicki, but that she used her as bait to lure Batman into a trap. [20]
In 2011, "The New 52" rebooted the DC universe. Vale greets Bruce at a party and introduces him to mayoral candidate Lincoln March. [21] In Batman #22, part of the "Batman: Zero Year" storyline, she is present during Wayne Enterprises' announcement that Bruce Wayne will take part in the family business. [22]
After the Crime Syndicate of America's invasion of Earth, she begins investigating organized crime in Gotham. She is rescued by Harper Row [23] when thugs attack her and her assistant in the Gotham Narrows. Harper berates Vicki for not knowing the type of territory she is venturing into. Vicki further investigates the Crime Syndicate's connection to police corruption with the assistance of Jason Bard, Harvey Bullock and Maggie Sawyer. [24] Vale later begins dating Bard, [25] until her research reveals that Bard has a vendetta against vigilantes ever since an amateur Batman wannabe in Detroit led to the death of Jodie Hawkins, his partner/lover, this event leaving Bard with a hatred of Jim Gordon as he felt that a decent cop would not need Batman to help his city. When Vicki calls him in disgust at this revelation, Bard attempts to tell her that he has just 'taken down' Batman (Having hired Lucius Fox after the bankruptcy of Wayne Enterprises to develop a remote-control for the Batmobile that allowed Bard to crash it into a building with Batman inside), but Vicki informs him that he is pathetic, and that she is going to hang up before Batman (who she correctly assumes survived Bard's attack) shows up to give him the punch to the face he so richly deserves. [26] Forced to acknowledge how far he has fallen, Bard resigns his police position due to his own connections to organized crime, then voluntarily tells Vicki the details. [27]
Vicki Vale was listed at #3 in Comicbook.com's 2012 article, "Great Comic Book Journalists: Who's the Best of the Best?", #8 in CBR.com's list of the "15 Best Comic Book Journalists" and #11 in ScreenRant.com's list of "The 15 Most Powerful Journalists In Comic Book History". [32] [33] [34] The character was ranked 93rd in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list. [35]
Vicki Vale appears in the Batman: Arkham series, voiced by Grey DeLisle in the main series, Jules de Jongh in Batman: Arkham VR , and Ali Hillis in Batman: Arkham Shadow . [46] [36] This version is a reporter for Gotham News Network (GNN).
Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book Detective Comics on March 30, 1939. In the DC Universe, Batman is the alias of Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American playboy, philanthropist, and industrialist who resides in Gotham City. His origin story features him swearing vengeance against criminals after witnessing the murder of his parents, Thomas and Martha, as a child, a vendetta tempered by the ideal of justice. He trains himself physically and intellectually, crafts a bat-inspired persona, and monitors the Gotham streets at night. Kane, Finger, and other creators accompanied Batman with supporting characters, including his sidekicks Robin and Batgirl; allies Alfred Pennyworth and James Gordon; love interest Catwoman; and foes such as the Penguin, the Riddler, Two-Face, and his archenemy, the Joker.
Poison Ivy is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Carmine Infantino, she debuted in Batman #181 and has become one of the superhero Batman's most enduring enemies belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.
Harley Quinn is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm for Batman: The Animated Series as a henchwoman for the Joker, and debuted in its 22nd episode, "Joker's Favor", on September 11, 1992. While intended to appear in one episode, Quinn became a recurring character within the DC Animated Universe (DCAU) as the Joker's sidekick and love interest, and was adapted into DC Comics' canon seven years later, beginning with the one-shot Batman: Harley Quinn #1. Quinn's origin story features her as a former psychologist at Gotham City's Arkham Asylum who was manipulated by and fell in love with the Joker, her patient, eventually becoming his accomplice and lover. The character's alias is a play on the stock character Harlequin from the 16th-century Italian theater commedia dell'arte.
Catwoman is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, she debuted as "the Cat" in Batman #1. She has become one of the superhero Batman's most prominent enemies, belonging to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery, as well as Batman's best known and most enduring love interest, with many stories depicting their complex love–hate relationship. Since 1993, Catwoman has had her own ongoing series, Catwoman.
Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth, originally Alfred Beagle and commonly known simply as Alfred, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman.
Clayface is an alias used by several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Most incarnations of the character possess clay-like bodies and shapeshifting abilities, and all of them are adversaries of the superhero Batman. In 2009, Clayface was ranked as IGN's 73rd-greatest comic book villain of all time.
Hugo Strange is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics, commonly as an adversary of the superhero Batman. The character is one of Batman's first recurring villains, and was also one of the first to discover his secret identity. The character first appeared in Detective Comics #36.
"Batman: Hush" is an American comic book story arc published by DC Comics featuring the superhero Batman. It was published in monthly installments within the comic book series Batman, running from issue #608–619 in October 2002 until September 2003. The story arc was written by Jeph Loeb, penciled by Jim Lee, inked by Scott Williams, and colored by Alex Sinclair, under the editorship of Bob Schreck.
Carmine Falcone is a villain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, portrayed as a powerful mob boss, an enemy of Batman, and an acquaintance of the Wayne family. He has also been depicted in some versions as the illegitimate father of Catwoman.
Black Mask is a supervillain appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Doug Moench and Tom Mandrake, the character debuted in Batman #386. He is commonly depicted as a brutal and ruthless crime lord in Gotham City who has a fixation with masks and derives sadistic pleasure from the act of torture. Black Mask is one of the most enduring enemies of the superhero Batman and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.
Batman: The Long Halloween is a 13-issue American comic book limited series written by Jeph Loeb with art by Tim Sale. It was originally published by DC Comics in 1996 and 1997. It was the follow-up to three Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Halloween Specials which were reprinted in Batman: Haunted Knight by the same creative team. The series' success led to Loeb and Sale to reteam for two sequels, Batman: Dark Victory and Catwoman: When in Rome, which are set concurrently. A third sequel, a 10-issue limited series entitled The Last Halloween, began publication on September 25, 2024
Hush is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee, the character first appeared in Batman #609 in January 2003 as part of the twelve-issue storyline Batman: Hush. Hush serves as a criminal foil to the superhero Batman, as an example of what Batman could have been had he used his intellect and wealth for malice, and belongs to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery.
Originally created in 1967, the fictional comic book character Barbara Gordon has been adapted into various other forms of media. The character has appeared in both live action and animated television series and films, as well as in video games in her alter-egos as both Batgirl and Oracle.
Red Robin was an American comic book ongoing series that was written by Chris Yost, with art by Ramon Bachs, featuring Batman's former accomplice, Robin. The debut of the series follows the events of Batman R.I.P., Final Crisis, and Battle for the Cowl in which the original Batman, Bruce Wayne, apparently died at the hands of DC Comics villain Darkseid. Of all the characters in the so-called "Batman family", Drake is the only one who believes Bruce Wayne is still alive and leaves Gotham City to begin a global search for evidence supporting his theory and hope.
Batman Eternal is a year-long weekly limited series published by DC Comics, that began in April 2014. The series featured Batman, his allies, and Gotham City, with a writing team led by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, Ray Fawkes, Kyle Higgins, and Tim Seeley. John Layman was initially involved but departed after the tenth issue, being replaced by Higgins. The series ran through April 2015, after which it took a hiatus before returning in October 2015 for a 26-issue weekly sequel series titled Batman and Robin Eternal, celebrating the 75th anniversary of Robin. The success of the series led to spin-off series like Arkham Manor and Gotham by Midnight, both of which emerged from events within the main series of Batman Eternal.
Catwoman is a fictional character first appearing in issue 1 of the Batman comic book. After her debut she would appear in many forms of media including live-action and animated film, radio, live-action and animated television, records, video games, web series, live performance, and podcasts. The character has made live-action appearances in the Batman television series (1966–68), its film adaptation Batman (1966), Batman Returns (1992), Catwoman (2004),The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Gotham (2014–19), and The Batman (2022). The character has also appeared in numerous animated television series and movies, most notably Batman: The Animated Series (1992–95) and The Lego Batman Movie (2017), as well as video games such as the Batman: Arkham series.
Mirror Man is the name of three different characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics.
Bruce Wayne, better known by his vigilante superhero alias Batman, is a fictional character who is featured as the main protagonist in Warner Bros.' initial Batman film series (1989–1997), and later as a supporting character in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film The Flash (2023). Based on the DC Comics character of the same name, he was portrayed by Michael Keaton in Tim Burton's Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), before being recast with Val Kilmer and George Clooney in Joel Schumacher's Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997) respectively. Both Keaton and Clooney reprised their roles in The Flash, which retroactively incorporates versions of them into two alternate timelines of the DCEU's continuity. Keaton's portrayal of the character was critically acclaimed and influenced subsequent interpretations.
Batman: The Audio Adventures is a comedic radio drama podcast series featuring the DC Comics character Batman. The 2021 show, DC's first scripted podcast, is produced by DC Entertainment, Blue Ribbon Content, and HBO Max. The series is meant to be an homage to the original 1966 Batman TV series as well as the 1992 Batman: The Animated Series. It is directed and written by Dennis McNicholas, a writer for Saturday Night Live, and features many of that show's performers in voice roles. Production companies involved with the series are Insurrection Media and WarnerMedia. The series is executive produced by Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, Deborah Henderson, and Jon Berg.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: postscript (link)