Marilyn Monroe Was The Inspiration For One Of Batman's Most Important Love Interests

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Many of Batman's love interests have become as legendary as the Dark Knight himself. Selina Kyle/Catwoman is the most obvious example, but while Vicki Vale isn't quite as well known, she did at least have the benefit of being based on a screen legend. While hyping the then-impending release of 1989's "Batman," which starred Kim Basinger as Vale, Batman co-creator Bob Kane revealed that Marilyn Monroe was the inspiration for the character's creation.

In 1989, Batman descended upon multiplexes across America, inducing what has since become known as "Bat-Mania." The summer of '89 was all about the Dark Knight's big cinematic debut, with Tim Burton enduring a torturous process to reintroduce the character to the public as a brooding vigilante. "Batman" was a huge box office success, even if Jack Nicholson managed to pilfer most of the profits thanks to his unprecedented back-end deal. Still, producers Peter Gruber and Jon Peters knew what they were doing by casting the Joker actor, who took top billing ahead of Batman himself, Michael Keaton. At that point, a Batman movie was by no means a sure thing, and having a star of Nicholson's caliber on board gave the film legitimacy.

But the "Shining" star wasn't the only major actor involved. Keaton wasn't quite the legend he ultimately became, but Bassinger was well on her way. Having appeared as Domino Petachi in Sean Connery's dodgy 1983 "Thunderball" remake "Never Say Never Again," before bolstering her status with 1984's "The Natural," the model-turned-actor's star was on the rise. She was a few years away from winning her first Oscar for her portrayal of Lynn Bracken in 1997's "L.A. Confidential," but Bassinger was a big deal in '89. That's just as well, seeing as she was playing a character modeled on a cinema icon.

Kim Basinger replaced Sean Young as Vicki Vale in "Batman" after the latter injured herself prior to filming. It worked out for the best. As the Gotham Globe reporter, Bassinger radiated an intriguing combination of journalistic integrity and grit mixed with a kind of charming innocence. She was also arguably more of a Marilyn Monroe type than Young, in that her Bond Girl breakthrough had touches of the blonde-bombshell archetype Monroe epitomized. This obviously wasn't necessary for the role, but was a way to honor the character's origins, even if the comic book Vale debuted as a redhead.

In 1989's "Comics Scene" #6, Bob Kane explained how he based Vale on Monroe, despite, as the magazine notes, fans' widespread belief she was a copy of Superman's own journalist love interest, Lois Lane. "I got her from Marilyn Monroe, whom I met in Hollywood," said Kane before recalling how he met Monroe for the first time in 1943 when she was still going by her birth name of Norma Jeane Mortenson. At the time, she had yet to even start modeling professionally, let alone acting. When she did eventually pursue a career in Hollywood, studio executives didn't know what they had on their hands with Monroe.

Kane, however, saw something in Norma Jeane years prior. "Six years later, I met her again, just before she started shooting," he continued. "We went down to Santa Monica Beach. I drew some sketches of her at the beach, and I brought them back to New York and said, 'Hey, here's the character of Vicki Vale.' So, she's actually in Marilyn's image. And now, 40 years later, Vicki Vale is in the movie."

Vicki Vale debuted in October 1948's "Batman" #49, by Bill Finger with art by Bob Kane. In a story entitled "The Scoop of the Century!" Bruce Wayne encounters the shrewd photojournalist who suspects that he is, in fact, Batman. Eventually, Bruce manages to throw her off the trail, but Vale returned multiple times throughout Batman's comic book history, becoming a frequent love interest.

In the documentary "Batman and Me: The Bob Kane Story," Kane's wife, Elizabeth Kane, recalled that her husband flew to Hollywood during production of Columbia's 1943 "Batman" serial. He met Monroe for the first time at a cast party. Their 1948 meeting occurred when he flew out ahead of the sequel serial, "Batman and Robin." According to Elizabeth, he visited the Columbia studio lot where he saw a "familiar wiggle," which is about as creepy a phrase as he could have used.

In audio included in the documentary, Kane then recalls the pair taking a trip down to Santa Monica beach, where he created the sketches that would inspire Vicki Vale. According to "Batman and Me" author Tom Andrae, Kane asked the publisher to make Vale's hair blonde, but there was some mistake, and she ended up a redhead.

It's worth taking some of this with a grain of salt. Kane also claimed to have had an affair with Monroe, which has never been confirmed. What's more, as detailed in one of Hulu's first-ever original movies, "Batman & Bill," he didn't have the best record of making accurate claims, having embraced the idea that he was the sole creator of Batman and sidelining Bill Finger's crucial input for decades.