The Black Bat in Superhero 2044

We are deep in the middle of a dry spell when it comes to Black Bat material. No doubt Lucky Comics are continuing to work on both of their versions (1930s and modern day) of the character, and Altus Press will announce the next volume of their reprints before too long, but right at the moment, we have little to look forward to.

Unexpectedly, the next time we see the character might be in a format in which he's never appeared, that I know of. The Black Bat will be among the playable character in a role-playing game called Superhero 2044.

Now my role-playing game days are in my distant past but I can't help but find this one interesting if only for the number of public domain characters that it features. In a press release from this past May (about Checker BPG acquiring the rights to the game), Superhero 2044 was described as follows:

...the first commercially available superhero-themed role playing game at the dawn of the industry appearing in 1977 shortly after the explosive launch of early games like Dungeons and Dragons and Runequest. Innovative for the time period it featured such specific rules as classifications for differing types of super heroes, melee rules unique to super heroes, a ranged combat system,  point based character construction, and eventually a comprehensive defined list of super powers.

And now it is being updated and upgraded. Starting on Wednesday, August 16th, a Kickstarter campaign will launch to help fund the new version. Checker will also create a collectible card game.

Let's have a look at the cast of playable characters.

A partial roster of playable HEROES:
Domino Lady, The Heap, Arrow, Arsene Lupin, Purple Zombie, Thor, Golden Age Daredevil,  Uncle Sam, The Spider, Fantomah, The Black Terror, Hercules, The Black Bat, Mister Monster, Silver Streak, Hugo Danner, Circe, Isis, The Werewolf, Atom Master, The Face, Target, The Ghost, Ms. Fury, The Flame,  Cheshire Cat,  Black Orchid,  Lady Justice,  Fantomas, Man O’ War, The Moth, Avenger, Dr. Nemesis, The Grim Reaper, Miss Masque,  Black Angel, Magno, Tesla, Kid Frankenstein, Perseus, Hydroman, Sinbad,  G-8 and His Battledrones,  Birdman, Hang-Man, Black Panther, John Henry, Monkey King, and more…

Very cool to see not only the Black Bat but a common team-up partner in Domino Lady and this site's former co-star, Ms Fury.

So we'll look in later this week, assuming plans to launch the Kickstarter campaign on Wednesday have not changed, and see if they offer some character-specific perks. Some of the art displayed on the Checker website is phenomenal but unfortunately, I have yet to see their interpretation of The Black Bat.

They also have mini figurines which might be of interest. What appears to be a work-in-progress Domino Lady is displayed below. The opportunity to create a little pulp team-up in my office, with the Black Bat front and center, might be too good to pass up if it comes to pass!