Batman Pwns Digg!

Digg has gone Batman-crazy this week with every webmaster worth his or her salt trying to feature the Caped-crusader in some capacity in order to drive traffic to their website. It just goes to show how many different approaches can be made to one popular subject in order to create reader-pulling content.

Some of these Batman-related articles and videos have been fantastic and a great way to waste some time during the day. Here are 10 of my favourites from the last week.

10. Batman Movies Posters

A shameless bit of Digg baiting from Abduzeedo who simply published promotional posters from all the Batman movies from the 1989’s Batman to 2008’s The Dark Knight. Shameless it may have been, but it was certainly what the people wanted as over 1,700 Diggs testified.

Miamisun “I had the riddler one on my wall as a kid. Ahh memories.”
Wompninja “The dark night one with just paint on bricks is awesome.”
Patho “It’s funny to see how the posters get continually cheesier until you get a breath of fresh air with the first batman begins poster. Nolan saved batman.”

9. Six Movies that Batman Would Make Better

Lads magazine Maxim were busy jumping on the Batman bandwagon this week and have two entries in this list. This article looks thrown together at short notice, slapping some Batman graphics onto six film-posters and proclaiming Batman’s inclusion would make them better. This could have been so much better but over 550 Digg users voted for it. However, it’s blatancy was reflected in some of the comments:

NYCowboy “dumb, It is just renaming titles really and coming up with some stupid reason to fit it on the list. bury”
Chebsi “How did this manage to make the front page?”
donte “Maxim… you’re not Cracked. The funny list business is not for you. Stick to your guns and focus on airbushed pictures of scantily clad women.”

8. The Best On-Screen Portrayal of Batman Characters

The staple of nerd conversation “who was the best…” is discussed at length by the Geeks of Doom. It seems the two most recent Batman films have it spot-on in terms of the best actors, i.e. Christian Bale as the lead and the late Heath Ledger as the Joker but the roles of Alfred, Catwoman and James Gordon are also debated in an article voted for by almost 500 Digg users.

empressofmetal “Gary Oldman wins, hands down. Love him. I can’t wait to see TDK because Jim Gordon should definitely have a bigger role in this one.”
jbonner71 “Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman always revved my engine…but nothing beats Eartha Kitt’s sexy, rolling rrrrr’s, in my opinion.”
bleutuna “Keaton was the best Batman. Hands down. Bale may be a better Bruce Wayne, but his Batman is meh as is his horrid Batman voice. Keaton mops the floor with him.”

7. Twenty Everyday Items if They Were Designed for Batman

Over 2,600 Digg users voted for Cracked’s photoshop competition where readers of the website redesigned regular items with a more Batman feel to them. Step forward the iBat, a snooker cue rest, panty liner, coffee machine and several other innovative products.

faceless323 “The duck and pool stick are awesome.”
c4sh “Crayola: Dark Knight comes in 64 exciting colors! Including Black, Charcoal, Midnight, Smoke, Gray, Jet, Ebony, Ink, Sable, Soot, Onyx, and many more!”
cristinek “haha, i like the toilet paper one.”

6. Twenty Things We Can Learn From Batman

This is a clever example of sculpting non-relevant subject matter into a piece which can ride the wave of a hot subject. Here, MTV present 20 of “life’s lessons”, such as learn to trust, be self-reliant, make your own luck etc. but related them to Batman and thus appeal to that audience. Over 600 Digg users voted for this piece and they will probably vote again when it is rehashed to fit a different purpose later down the line.

TheNetFool “Fun article. Gotta love batman, and this is a pretty awesome article :)”
dtelepathy “I thought everything we need to learn we can learn from MacGyver? I guess we can learn a lot from Batman too.”
forestparks “Batman is my life Guru…. can’t wait for the movie!!”

5. Top 10 Most Ridiculous Weapons in Batman’s Arsenal

This feature by Topless Robot received over 1,000 Diggs but errs on the nerdy as it relies a lot upon knowledge from the Batman comics. However, it soon gives an amusing insight into the array of highly unlikely weapons Batman carries around in his utility belt for when such an even more unlikely situation arises. Bat-Shark Repellent? Anti-Penguin Gas Pills? Wool Socks? Rubbish!

shlishkes “In The Simpsons episode where Krusty makes a guest appearance on the 60s Batman show as the villain “Clownface”, Batman remarks that he was lucky he always carried his anti-carousel reversal spray in his belt.”
Giovannizero “Bat alphabet soup thermis was by far the stupidest gadget I’ve ever seen. It used in the old show once because the riddler left a clue in alphabet soup…dumb”
diggitydad “OK, it isn’t a weapon, but as mentioned neither is a lock pick. My nominee is the episode from the TV show where he pulled out a shield big enough to cover himself and Robin from one of the 2 inch square pockets on his belt.”

4. Eight Great Villains We Want in the Next Batman Movie

With The Dark Knight smashing record after record at the box office, this is a franchise wheel which is set to keep on turning. OMGLists speculates on what villains could appear in future movies but while characters such as Mr Whisper, Zsasz and Deacon Blackfire are mentioned, the directors are bound to play it safe with the recognisable faces such as the Penguin, Joker and Catwoman. Over 1,400 Digg users voted and over 250 offered their own suggestions:

Lucifugerising “Black Mask and Zsasz seem to fit Nolans bill perfectly. I can also picture Strange being easily worked into a smaller role.”
krisscofield “I’d love to see Nolan or an equally as dark/creative director tackle Mr. Freeze. Maybe even bury and shame the Schumacher version?”
rinote “God forbid that Catwoman is in the next film, because then my transformation to nerd-dom will be complete… I would have go to the third movie on the midnight showing dressed as Catwoman.”

3. Ten Most Bizarre Batmans Ever

The second entry from Maxim and a lot better than the first and over 800 Digg users voted. Here they have presented a list of the various incarnations Batman has undergone over the years, whether it be in comic-form, television or children’s toys. The likes of Batman Dracula, a 1964 Andy Warhol-inspired piece, Russian terrorist Batman and several “futuristic” Batman characters are best-consigned to the history dustbin. Personally, I like “original Batman” from the 1930s, who used non-politically correct language around the ladies without giving it a second thought, such as “Quiet or Papa Spank!”

doctorinfierno “That Andy Warhol Batman is pretty strange, I’d like to get a copy of that but I read it’s impossible.”
amadeus1114 “Yeah, this felt like it was written by a guy who knows nothing about batman, and simply knows how to use Google.”
mrsanfrancisco “papa spank just goes to show that batman is truly a pimp.”

2. Ten Batman Villains Who Should Never be on Film

Batman has had his far share of adversaries over the years, but some comic book foes have been, frankly, rubbish. In complete contrast to entry four on the list, the thought-up-in-five-seconds Man Bat, Kite Man, Film Freak and Calculator should never pollute the big-screen with their downright awfulness, according to Film School Rejects and over 1,000 Digg users agreed.

musicmaverick “lmao at crazy quilt. “This is what happens when you’re last in line at the costume store, you get stuck being Crazy Quilt.”
lphtashuFitz “What about Egg Head, portrayed by Vincent Price in the 1960s tv show? Or King Tut for that matter…”
ZenMojo “First, the Calculator was always that awesome. Second, he just had that stupid costume holding him back.”

1. Who Said It: Batman or Bush?

Simply brilliant. Philadelphia sketch-group Secret Pants ask members of the public whether a quote they read to them was said by George W. Bush or Adam West, or played Batman in the 1960s television show. The consequences are hilarious, with the show-stealing performances from one particular vitriolic old man. At the time of writing it received over 4,300 Diggs and is set to get even more popular. Well done, chaps!

Pilgrim01 “The batman ones actually sounded more like what a president would say.”
kansai22 “Old guy had it exactly right. Sometimes it takes older people to say things how they are.”
HanSolo69 “The old guy is trying to have a serious conversation while the host is driving home the guy’s point of how Bush is able to stay in power because most Americans are retards.”