Who tf is Golden Bat? I have literally never heard of this probably gendered skeleton, and normally I would just google them but because you (cool gurl in my phone) seem to be enthused by them I will ask you instead. Please, who is this skeleton, what are their vibes, and why do you jive with them? Thank you.
Oh I’m so glad you asked! Golden Bat (Ōgon Bat) is widely considered to be the first Modern super hero! He’s a Japanese Kamishibai paper theater character that predates pretty much all of the modern American super heroes.
The Kamishibai version of Golden Bat is from the 1930s, and the art is spectacular!
The version of Golden Bat that I’m obsessed with is the version from the 1967 anime! This is the version that I make fan art of and find to be the most interesting.
The show is old and very charming and has really spectacular animation for the 1960s.
Despite not being popular here in the US, Golden Bat was very popular in Japan and Korea, and decently popular in Europe and parts of Latin America where he was called Fantaman, or Fantasmagórico.
The show is extremely influential on modern animation, and you tend to see a lot of references to it if you’re familiar with the show. One fun example is how the character Lapis Lazuli from Steven Universe’s appearance is an homage to a Golden Bat character.
What are Golden Bats powers? He’s strong, he can fly, and he beats people up with his cane. Golden Bat also laughs like a maniac the entire time.
Golden Bat is often portrayed like a horror movie monster in the show, but the people around golden bat react to him the same way we would react to super man. It’s strange and I adore it
If you want to know more about the character, Kenny Lauderdale has an incredible video about Golden Bats history and how he influenced animation. You can watch it here
And you can watch the show on YouTube here. (Not all of the show is subtitled, but a few episodes are and they are fun to watch)
