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 received Delta Force-like training in preparation for the role. Subsequently, he had a role in the drama, "Stateside", and starred (again with Slater) in the thriller "Mindhunters", which was filmed in 2003 but not released until 2005. Kilmer next appeared in the big budget Oliver Stone production, "Alexander", which received poor reviews. Also in 2004, Kilmer returned to the theatre to play Moses in a Los Angeles musical production of "", produced by BCBG founder Max Azria. The production played at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood and also featured Adam Lambert. Kilmer had previously played Moses in the animated film