Batman depicted in both film and television by Lewis Wilson, Robert Lowery, Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, and Dante Pereira-Olson. In early 1939, the success of Superman in "Action Comics" prompted editors at National Comics Publications (the future DC Comics) to request more superheroes for its titles. In response, Bob Kane created "the Bat-Man". Collaborator Bill Finger recalled that "Kane had an idea for a character called 'Batman,' and he'd like me to see the drawings. I went over to Kane's, and he had drawn a character who looked very much like Superman with
Val Kilmer as a small cameo role. Kilmer spoke at the May 5, 2010, commencement ceremonies of William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri. During his week-long visit on campus, he also performed his one-man play, "Citizen Twain". He received an honorary doctorate "in recognition of his creative abilities and his contributions to art and theater." In 2012 Kilmer received a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word. He also starred in Harmony Korine's short film "The Lotus Community Workshop, part of the collaborative film "The Fourth Dimension". He plays a version of himself from an alternate reality: a former actor turned self-help guru.