Batman is a 15-chapter serial, released in 1943 by Columbia Pictures. It is based on the DC Comics character Batman, introduced May 1939 in Detective Comics issue 27. The serial starred Lewis Wilson as Batman and Douglas Croft as Robin. J. Carrol Naish played the villain, an original character named Dr. Daka. Rounding out the cast were Shirley Patterson as Linda Page (Bruce Wayne's love interest) and William Austin as Alfred the butler. The plot involved Batman—as a U.S. government agent—attempting to defeat the Japanese agent Dr. Daka at the height of World War II.