Batman vs. Batman: Who Ya Got??

Okay, so this “news” has been making the rounds since early this week, and pretty much anyone with a blog has written about it and cracked all the jokes they can muster, so why am I bothering? Well, I’m kind of like a sheep, and if everyone’s doing it, I feel the need to do it, too. Just kidding. Why post on an old news story about some Turkish town called Batman suing the character Batman? Um, which part of that last sentence didn’t you understand? There is actually a Turkish town called Batman that is suing Batman for unlawfully using their town’s name! I mean, come on, that alone is worth the price of admission! Am I right?

Now I know what you’re thinking: the mayor of this particular Turkish town (that means it’s in, you know, Turkey) has to be kidding, right? He’s just trying to get a little publicity, since his mayoral election is probably coming up. (Well, they do elect mayors in Turkey, don’t they?) That’s what I thought, too, but nope. It’s all real. I think.

Here’s the whole, silly story from Variety:

Huseyin Kalkan, the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party mayor of Batman, has accused “The Dark Knight” producers of using the city’s name without permission.

“There is only one Batman in the world,” Kalkan said. “The American producers used the name of our city without informing us.”

No one from the town of Batman has explained why it took so many years to take legal action. Batman first appeared as a comicbook character in 1939 and the “Batman” TV series started in 1966. Tim Burton’s first bigscreen rendition for Warner Bros. came out in 1989. Undoubtedly the fact that “Dark Knight” is about to pass the $1 billion mark at the B.O. played a part in stirring the ire of the Turkish hamlet.

The mayor is prepping a series of charges against Nolan and Warner Bros., which owns the right to the Batman character, including placing the blame for a number of unsolved murders and a high female suicide rate on the psychological impact that the film’s success has had on the city’s inhabitants.

Former natives of Batman are also said to have encountered obstacles when attempting to register their businesses abroad.

Warner Bros.’ reaction to all this? Basically, “Eh, whatever. Bring it on, Turkish mayor douche!” Or something to that affect.

I mean, come on, you can’t make this stuff up, folks. I see a movie set in the town of Batman in the near future…

Below: When informed that he may have stolen his name, Batman refused to comment and rode off.