In the modern world, there are two fictional men who would surely get along if they ever met. One of them lost his parents at a young age and trained to become the world's greatest detective and the scourge of criminals everywhere. He haunts the nights of Gotham City as Batman. The other also lost his parents at a young age, but instead of dressing as a bat, he chose to join the British Ministry of Defence, before applying for a position in the Secret Intelligence Service -- where he was given code number 007. This spy's name is known around the world. He is Bond... James Bond.
While these two heroes of comics, books and movies have never officially met face-to-face, they do share a surprising connection -- one that spans nearly 80 years. It all started with a young actor getting a shot to be the first person to play the Dark Knight in live-action.
Not long after Batman made his debut in comics, Lewis Wilson was looking to be a movie star. He signed a contract with Columbia Pictures and appeared in two rather forgettable films before audiences saw him in the 15-part serial, Batman.
Released in 1943, this first live-action take on the Dark Knight saw the caped hero and his sidekick Robin -- played by Douglas Croft -- working as secret government agents. Instead of having the Caped Crusader face off against Joker or any of his classic villains, the story tasked the Dynamic Duo with locating and stopping a Japanese sabotage ring that was planning to turn the citizens of Gotham City into zombies.
The series was made on a small budget. The production couldn't even afford to build a Batmobile; Batman and Robin were driven around by Alfred in a 1939 Cadillac Series 61 convertible and while the crimefighting pair had their utility belts, they never used them for anything more than to keep their pants from falling down.
Still, for fans of the comics, this was the first time they got to see Batman and Robin in live-action. The serial also introduced new concepts that would become a lasting part of the Batman mythos -- most notably, the Batcave. The serial was successful enough to convince Columbia Pictures to greenlight a second series, but Lewis Wilson and Douglas Croft were not asked to reprise the roles of Batman and Robin.
While at the Academy of Dramatic Arts at Carnegie Hall, Wilson met novelist Dana Natol. The two began dating and soon fell in love. Not long after they married, they had a son named Michael G. Wilson. Looking to get more acting work, the family soon moved to California. Sadly, Wilson and Natol divorced not long after the move out west. Wilson continued to act until 1954, before leaving the acting game behind and getting a job with General Foods, where he worked until his retirement. Wilson passed away in 2000 at the age of 80.
Sometime after the divorce, Natol met and married Albert Romolo Broccoli. Broccoli, who had produced the massively successful film The Red Beret, became a mentor to Dana's son Michael, bringing the teenage boy to the set of his newest film, Dr. No -- the first movie to be based off of Ian Fleming's James Bond. The movie, starring Sean Connery as the iconic spy, launched one of the highest-grossing film franchises of all time.
From that moment on, Michael Wilson's life would forever be entangled with James Bond. In 1972, he started working for EON productions on Live and Let Die. In 1977, he received his first on-screen credit for The Spy Who Loved Me. In 1979, he was a producer on Moonraker and he continues to produce the Bond films to this day.
Michael also co-wrote all five of the Bond films released in the 1980s and developed the animated series James Bond Jr. For more than 40 years, the son of the first Dark Knight has been the guardian of Great Britain's greatest spy.