Batman: Black & White introduces Gotham’s answer to Jimmy Olsen and illustrates what separates him from his Metropolis counterpart.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the story “A Thousand Words” from Batman: Black & White #6 by Scott Snyder, John Romita Jr, Klaus Janson, and Tom Napolitano, on sale now.
There are many differences between Batman’s Gotham City and Superman’s Metropolis, but Batman: Black & White just found a way to highlight it in an unexpectedly succinct way. It turns out there’s essentially been a Jimmy Olsen in Gotham for years, but he’s had a far different relationship with his local hero than Superman and Olsen.
“A Thousand Words” focuses on an unnamed photographer who has quietly been a part of the Gotham ecosystem for years. In Batman’s early days, he was a forensic photographer for the Gotham City Police Department, a fresh-faced rookie to the police force. This allowed him to become the primary photographer of Batman during his early years. Nicknamed the Shutter-Bat by his friend Jim Gordon, the photographer was there for many of the most pivotal early moments of Batman’s career. His personal favorite remains the night the Bat-Signal was first activated, and the shot he snapped of Batman arriving went on to become a major moment in the DC Universe.
While the Shutter-Bat didn’t remain with the GCPD for much longer — citing a particularly grisly Joker attack on a children’s hospital — he remained on good terms with Gordon. He continued to be a prominent photographer in Gotham, snapping pictures of Batman in action all across the city. He even believes he may be the person who’s actually pictured documented Batman’s public activities the most. Eventually marrying and having a child, Shutter-Bat made a living selling his work to all the major press outlets in Gotham. He even sold the original copy of his famous Bat-Signal picture for a minor fortune on auction. But in the present day, the Shutter-Bat has grown weary. His wife has passed away, his son has grown distant, and he’s recently received a cancer diagnosis.
Deciding he wants one chance to talk to the subject that has dominated his career for so long, the Shutter-Bat climbs to the top of the GCPD building to speak and activates the signal. He just wants to know which picture of Batman the Dark Knight believes best captures who he is, so that it could give the Shutter-Bat a bit of closure. But the exhaustion of climbing to the roof in his medical condition leaves him too winded, and he stumbles off the side of the building. Luckily, Batman had been approaching the building and was able to save the photographer. By the time the photographer awakens, he’s been returned home — and his question has been answered: it’s the original copy of the picture taken of Batman first arriving at the Bat-Signal for the first time, bathed in light and ready to help.
It’s an affecting story about an unknown figure in Gotham history, and surprisingly enough gives Batman his own version of Jimmy Olsen. Like Olsen, the Shutter-Bat ends up being something of a famous figure for his human view on the superheroes who exist in their world, using his camera to document the world around him. He’s also had an impact on the hero, with Batman seemingly spending over a million dollars to have a picture that can remind him of the hope that his battle against crime can embody. But it’s also notable that Batman and Superman are vastly different figures, with different views on the world and themselves. Whereas Superman became one of Jimmy Olsen’s best friends, Batman never tried to bring the Shutter-Bat directly into his life. While Jimmy got adventures, the Shutter-Bat had a life.
It’s an interesting parallel to create between Superman and Batman, and a perfectly low-key way to highlight the differences between living in Gotham and Metropolis.
