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Italian poster for the 1966 film Golden Bat (aka Ogon Bat).

They got the head and shape of the costume mostly right, but then they went off the rails.

I guess, with the (translated) title The Return of Diavolik, the Italian exhibitors thought they would be able to fill theaters with people who thought this was a film based on Diabolik. Diabolik, an Italian comic book character created in 1962, was a mega-popular at the time, an anti-hero thief in an all-black costume that only showed his eyes. Diabolik made it to the big screen in the Mario Bava-directed film Danger: Diabolik (1968). American actor John Phillip Law (who would later star in 1974's The Golden Voyage of Sinbad) played the titular super-thief.

As you can see, there isn't really any resemblance between the two characters.

However, there is another Italian comic book anti-hero, one whose comic book costume was basically copied for the Golden Bat poster: Kriminal.

Inspired by the success of Diabolik, Kriminal debuted in Italian comics two years later. He was another anti-hero thief, and the similarities with Diabolik didn't stop there. He was, though, much more sadistic than his inspiration. His stories included a lot more sex and violence, especially against women, whom he would murder to protect his identity.

Never as successful as his forbear, Kriminal nevertheless had a ten-year run in comics, and spawned two films:

Kriminal (1966). He really looks like Golden Bat in that second poster.

The Mark of Kriminal (1967).

Of course, none of these characters should be confused with another fellow with a skeleton motif: Sadistik, the Diabolical Super Kriminal!

Originally named Killing when he debuted in Italian comics (fumetti, to be more precise) in 1966, Sadistik was inspired by the excesses of Kriminal. There's just one thing: Sadistik didn't think Kriminal went far enough, so he made sure to out-do his idol (whom he had a crossover with, the first in Italian comics). This guy didn't pretend to be an anti-hero; he was an out-and out villain who occasionally wiped out other crooks who got in his way.

He was known as Satanik in France (Killing just seemed a little on-the-nose), and Sadistik in the English-speaking world. His fumetti exploits only lasted 62 issues over three years in his native Italy. In Argentina, where he was still called Killing, the publishers there created their own stories when the original ones ran out. The Argentinian series lasted into the 1980s.

Additionally, the character was called KiLiNK in Turkey, where he was the star of several unauthorized films (I sometimes wonder if that's the only kind Turkey made) in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The best known of those films is 1967's Killing In Istanbul.

Apparently, the son of a scientist KiLiNK kills somehow gains super-powers, and calls himself Superman. His battle with KiLiNK carries over to the sequel, which was released the same year.

Anyway, what was I talking about when I started this post?

#Golden Bat #Ogon Bat #The Return of Diavolik #Diabolik #Danger: Diabolik #Kriminal #The Mark of Kriminal #Killing #Satanik #Sadistic #fumetti #Italian comic books #KiLiNK #Killing In Istanbul