Who is Bill Finger?

Who is Bill Finger indeed? Well, as history wound up making it, the third person to write a comics story featuring the Elongated Man. But, if you're familiar with comics at all, you know he's responsible for a lot more.

Milton Finger was born on February 8, 1914 in Denver, Colorado. His family shortly moved to The Bronx, and he graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in 1933. At a party, Finger met fellow DeWitt alumnus Bob Kane and began working with his comics company in 1938, ghostwriting comics strips. He shortly took on the pen name "Bill."

The next year would see the comics world shakeup with the introduction of Superman. Now, every comics creator wanted a piece of the superhero pie.

Bill Finger revealed that Bob invited him to look at his new creation: the Batman. The character was dressed in red with black wings sticking out of his costume with a domino mask. Finger suggested some changes to the design: add a cowl, make the wings into a cape, add gloves, change the primarily red color scheme.

Batman would debut in Detective Comics #27. Finger wrote the first story and several early stories. This means that Finger established a lot of Batman lore: the Batcave, the Batmobile, Robin, Gotham City, the name "Bruce Wayne" and even Batman being a detective instead of just a costumed crimefighter. He would also co-create many of Batman's iconic rogues, including the Joker, Catwoman, the Penguin, Two-Face, the Scarecrow, the Riddler and Calendar Man.

That said, Finger was not officially credited for Batman's creation for a long time. Bob Kane got all of the credit. Kane eventually revealed that Bill was a major factor in shaping the beloved superhero, but he wouldn't receive credit in the comics until 2015. The first non-comics media credit would appear in 2015 in the second season of the Gotham TV series, and later in the 2016 film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. This was thanks to his granddaughter Athena campaigning DC to finally give her grandfather the credit he deserved.

The company behind Detective Comics was eventually acquired by National Comics, who would become DC. Finger followed and would write for many DC stories. He would also co-create the original versions of DC heroes Green Lantern and Wildcat. He was known for carrying a notebook to write down ideas. He inspired the villain Black Hand.

Finger had married a woman named Portia and had a son named Fredrick with her. They divorced, and he remarried to Edith Simmons, but their marriage eventually ended.

Finger was found dead on January 18, 1974 in his home. He'd already survived three heart attacks, but occlusive coronary atherosclerosis was ruled the cause of death. It was believed that he was buried in a potter's field, but Fredrick had actually had him cremated and the ashes scattered on an Oregon beach in a bat shape.

Despite not getting proper credit in his lifetime, Bill Finger is now a recognized DC Comics legend. If you want to know more about him, Hulu released a documentary about him titled Batman and Bill. And despite what modern trends and interests have turned to, his work should still be read and enjoyed.