The late, great Prince once appeared in his very own comic miniseries called Prince: Alter Ego. Tim Burton’s Batman was a massive event back in 1989 with the movie being advertised everywhere. Burton’s regular composer Danny Elfman (Beetlejuice) scored the movie, with his theme becoming synonymous with the franchise, and it was later used in Batman: The Animated Series. Prince was also a fan of the Batman character and once taught himself to play the theme song to the 1960’s Adam West TV series.
It was a big deal when Prince was signed to create a soundtrack album for Batman, with several of his songs featured throughout the movie, such as “Partyman” playing as Joker trashes the Gotham Art Museum or “Trust” being used in the parade finale. Just like the movie that spawned it, Prince’s Batman album proved to be a big hit worldwide, selling over eleven million copies.
Prince never starred in his own superhero movie and only appeared in a small number of acting roles, such as Purple Rain and its 1990 sequel Graffiti Bridge; he was originally earmarked to play Ruby Rhod in The Fifth Element, but his schedule didn’t work out and he was replaced by Chris Tucker. Prince did, however, get to scratch his Batman itch with the comic series Prince: Alter Ego. The story finds Prince returning to Minneapolis after a tour to confront his evil twin Gemini.
While Prince doesn’t dress up in a superhero costume or stop an evil plot to destroy the world, the comic isn’t subtle in comparing his character to Batman either. Prince: Alter Ego namedrops Batman a few times, and even compares Gemini to the Joker. It turns out Gemini is using his musical talents for evil and to brainwash others, so it’s up to Prince to save the day. He does this with a combination of his music and occasionally beating up members of rival gangs when the occasion calls for it. Gemini also stole Prince’s girlfriend, making things even more complicated.
In lieu of a Batmobile, he rides a purple motorbike, and in the end, he saves the day in a musical face-off with Gemini. Needless to say, the Prince: Alter Ego comic is quite silly but for fans of Prince, it’s also something of a delightful read. There was no other artist quite like him, and the comic framing him as something of a larger than life, Batman-style hero works surprisingly well. He would later appear in 1994 comic Prince And The New Power Generation: Three Chains of Gold, which was based off the Love Symbol Album.
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