Bill Finger will finally get credit for co-creating Batman on ‘Gotham’ and ‘Batman v Superman’

Over four decades after his death and 76 years after co-creating one of popular culture’s most famous fictional characters, DC Entertainment is finally going to give Bill Finger a creator’s credit on anything featuring Batman characters.

While the late Bob Kane has appeared as the solo creator of Batman for years, Finger’s work will finally be acknowledged on future seasons of Gotham and on the film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

“Bill Finger was instrumental in developing many of the key creative elements that enrich the Batman universe, and we look forward to building on our acknowledgement of his significant role in DC Comics’ history,” DC Entertainment president Diane Nelson told The Hollywood Reporter.

Finger’s name will first appear in the second season of Gotham, which starts on Fox on Monday. His name will then be seen alongside Kane’s in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in March.

Comic book readers have known for decades that Finger was just as important to shaping the Batman mythos as Kane was. Finger, who died in 1974, came up with the names Bruce Wayne and Gotham City, and helped develop Robin, The Joker and other characters. Even Kane, who died in 1998, said Finger didn’t get the attention he deserved. Thanks to a 1939 contract though, Kane was the sole credited creator of Batman.

Finger’s contribution to Batman has only gained more recognition in recent years before DC’s decision today. In 2012, Marc Tyler Nobleman wrote Bill The boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman, a biography on Finger that detailed his works.

“Bill Finger is the uncredited co-creator of Batman,” Nobleman told NPR in 2012. “His name never appeared on a Batman story in his lifetime, but he was responsible for just about everything enduring about Batman.”