How THE SHADOW Gave Us the Batman We Deserved and Needed

I love the character of the Shadow, so much so that I would kill to see a BTAS-esque Shadow animated series, with all the 'Dark Deco' aesthetics. The influence he had on Batman is very much present, even today.

It's worth remembering that Sam partially realized his dream by creating his own version of The Shadow, Darkman. What is even more ironic, the music from Darkman was used in advertising of The Shadow.

"Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!"

there is also a kinda recent comic where old heroes like the shadow, the green hornet and el zorro form a justice league kind of team, it was really cool.

I actually heard on of the episodes of the Shadow on the radio doing Security work. It was a just a few weeks ago late in the evening nearing the end of my shift. I switched to one of my regular stations and found the show mid broadcast so I didn’t get the name. It was about an animal that was killing night security guards at a warehouse. Now I find it even more strange I heard the show before I watched this video and finally know what it was called.

Gray Ghost is definitely the Shadow in B:TAS universe

Always love Ted’s history lessons! So much attention to detail.

Great stuff, one of my favorite characters - and yes I loved the Baldwin movie and it's still the main way in which I see the character - but I'm mildly surprised that Zorro didn't come up among the early superhero prototype/inspirations

I never heard of The Shadow, but I'm glad this video exists because now I want too check the radio show

I had no idea the shadow was such an inspiration for Batman before. I used to listen to the shadow just about everyday when I was a kid. Now I can listen to all of it whenever I want!

Last year and the year before I got hooked to listening to the old The Shadow Radio show from the 1930s-1940s, it was awesome in that old is new kind of way. It's sad though how the characters who came before DC and later Marvel, The Shadow, Doc Savage, The Phantom, etc have more or less been forgotten despite them laying all the ground work for what comics would become.

Isn't the character archetype for all these famous heroes (Zorro, The Shadow, The Phantom, Batman, etc.) The Scarlet Pimpernel from 1905?

I knew nothing about the shadow before this vid but now I feel more educated on the start of superheroes, Thanks Ted! Edit: now I really want to see a animated series about The Shadow

When I was a kid in the 80's, KSFO radio in the bay area ran the shadow and green hornet late at night once a week in a retro bloc.

Lovely piece on my fav fictional character! TY Ted! Below I have offered some clarifications, corrections, and details about various things mentioned (or not mentioned).I have written this out of respect for this video's content creator, and it is in no way meant as a critique, but instead to serve as an addendum, for anyone that mght be interested. First off, the biggest thing this is missing is any mention of Commisioner Weston. We owe quite a bit of credit for GORDON (and Bullock) to The Shadows prominently featured Commisioner Weston and police officer Joe Cardona. In the books, Harry Vincent was the Shadow's #1 agent, featured much more than Margo Lane, which is mostly because of the radio shadow, and the legendary Agnes Moorehead's terrific performance alongside Orson Welles. Most of these agents owe their life to the Shadow, in one way or another. (Harry, for example, is going to jump off a bridge when the shadow intervenes). Other notable "agents" included Burbank, in charge of communications in the Shadow's sanctum (think Batcave) and Moe Shrevnitz aka "Shrevy", his Cabbie/Chauffer (both seen in the 1994 movie). But the other most notable agent left unmentioned is Jericho Druke, a black man that served, not only as occasional muscle, but also as The Shadow's link to the black community (most specifically Harlem). Jericho often fought side by side with the Shadow on some of his deadliest missions, and is one of the earliest black heroes featured in the genre (first appearing in November 1934). FYI (to clear things up a bit) 1) Chaykin's Shadow was actually hugely popular amongst fans for how faithful it was to te characters mentioned above and how the pulp characer treated them, and the afore-mention Uzis were just the modern day update to his infamous dual 45s. 2) DC didnt own the rights for the years mentioned - it was actually Conde Naste who owned the rights and leased the Shadow to Archie, MARVEL, DC, Dark Horse, Dynamite, and others. (although in recent years that company has folded). Notable Shadow Comics info worth mentioning more thoroughly (imho): DC's "The Shadow Strikes", which featured the crossover between Doc Savage and The Shadow, which fans had been asking for, for years; and the Helfer/Baker DC run were both labeled as "suggested for mature readers" and would be amongst the comics that paved the way for DC's Vertigo line. Also worth mentioning that Michael Kaluta - who did those 70s Shadow comics for DC (and Madame Xanadu creator), also did the art for is the absolutely gorgeous best selling Marvel graphic novel by O'Neil titled "1941". Kaluta the continued on to do most of the Dark Horse Shadow Comics too! the shadow for 3 different publishers, over the course of 20 years!! The 90s Helfer & Baker run continued in the "present day" from Chaykin's mini-series and ended on a cliffhanger, with the Shadow's head decapitated from his body, and put on a robot body. Which left many fans upset, but was finally revisited in best selling author David Liss's "The Shadow Now" for Dynamite. Dynamite also published Matt Wagner's "Shadow Year One" and "The Death of Margo Lane", an ongoing title, and many other shadow mini-series, including a crossover with Green Hornet. Side Note - Phantoma is maybe (more likely?) a reference to Phantom Lady, also seen in DC's The Freedom Fighters, which also features The Human Bomb, both of which were originally from "Police Comics" #1 (which also featured the 1st appearance of Jack Cole's Plastic Man; and which would become the home of Will Eisner's The Spirit from issue #11 - 102). Phantom Lady is also noted by Alan Moore as his inspiration for The Silk Spectre, and although her creation is credited to Eisner/Iger, much of her success is due to the recreation of her by the legendary Matt Baker, the first black american comics artist. If you read this, I thank you and hope you enjoyed this wonderful video as much as I did.

It’s amazing to see how the dcau affecting the main dc comics continuity

The Gray Ghost was also referenced in "The Batman Adventures" #33. The story is entitled "Just Another Night".

I still listen to The Shadow radio show

Let’s not forget that Zorro was a progenitor to the Shadow. Love both characters & Batman.

If by "inspired" you mean... "the first several years of Batman comics were partially - and in some cases, completely - plagiarized from The Shadow, including traced artwork? Then, uh... sure. "Inspired".