Batman's birthday: By the numbers
Holy anniversary, Batman! The Dark Knight has been instilling fear in the hearts of bad guys — and entertaining generations of pop-culture fans — for 75 years. With Batman Day on Wednesday and the official kickoff of Comic-Con 2014 in San Diego coming on Thursday, USA TODAY's Brian Truitt looks at numerical highlights of the Caped Crusader's illustrious career.
6: Actors who've played the hero in feature films: Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck.
1975: Year that Joker, arguably the greatest Bat-nemesis of them all, received his own comic-book series.
27: Issue number of Detective Comics in 1939 that featured the first appearance of millionaire Bruce Wayne and his alter ego Batman.
36 million: Units sold in the recent Batman: Arkham and LEGO Batman video-game franchises.
$3.7 billion: Worldwide box office for the crop of seven Batman films that began with Tim Burton's 1989 Batman.
3: Meow-worthy actresses who played Catwoman on the 1960s Batman TV series: Lee Meriwether, Julie Newmar and the late Eartha Kitt.
1: Issue number of the relaunched Batman comic book series in 2011, which introduced the fearsome secret society of The Court of Owls and re-established the title as one of DC's best-selling comics.
5,343: Votes cast via phone to kill off Robin in 1988's "A Death in the Family" story line — just 72 more than the number to let him live.
