Really amazing article
The Bilerico Project.
Much of it has to do with changing national mores and an evolving economic and social landscape. In this sense, Batman's story is a microcosm for what happened throughout the entire comic book industry during that period and, to a lesser extent, some of the changes that swept across the nation. One of the most important episodes in Batman's metamorphosis centered around the startling accusation that Batman and Robin were gay and might seed impressionable youths with homosexual fantasies. Silver Age Batman was indelibly shaped by the gendered expectations of the era and his failure to adhere to those expectations incited criticism, predictably, that called into question his sexual identity.
Possible spoiler alert: I skipped any paragraph that looked like it might possibly contain anything that may be construed as a spoiler for The Dark Knight, since I haven't seen it yet. So mybe they're there and maybe they ain't.
