Quite possibly the greatest thing to have ever happened in the 30s was the birth of the Batman. If you're a fan of marvel then I'm sorry, I truly am, because Batman is without a doubt the worlds greatest fictional detective. Yes fans of Sherlock Holmes, Bruce Wayne would beat Holmes in a sleuthing contest blind and with an inner ear infection.
But to be serious for a moment, in 1939 Bob Kane created the Batman, alter identity Bruce Wayne. Bruce's name came from Robert Bruce, the Scottish patriot. Batman's visual design and character history were inspired by the contemporary popular culture of the 1930s. Kane said that a majority of the influence for the character came from The Mask of Zorro (1920) and The Bat Whispers (1930). The reason Batman is better than Holmes is because he is indeed one third Holmes. The Identities that came together to create the perfect sleuth were: one part Doc Savage, mixed with The Shadow, add in some Holmes for flavor, shake in family trauma and viola! Batman.
Interesting side notes, the early Batman was a remorseless monster compared to the brooding and angsty Batman we know today. He held little regard for criminal life and usually beat them within an inch of their lives, often times killing them in the process. However this was apparently the style of the pulp comics at the time. The introduction of the invaluable utility belt came about two comics after the origin of Batman.
Yeah, I am a big fan of the utility belt. It doesn't matter what your doing, you need tools.
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