Jokers in City Of Batman Take Lead in Craziest Lawsuit Awards Race

By Eriq Gardner

"The Dark Knight" is just getting ready for a serious run at a best picture Oscar, but already the film is the subject of the front-runner in the stupidest lawsuit of the year contest. 

The city of Batman, located in southeastern Turkey, is suing "Dark Knight" director Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. to protect what it claims is its trademark in the word "Batman."

Considering the Batman character first appeared in comics in 1939 and the TV series debuted in 1959, we're wondering, what took so long?

According to the Batman Mayor Hüseyin Kalkan, the city started looking into legal avenues after economic problems led to an increasing suicide rate among women, leading to a local reporter suggesting an innovative way to fill city coffers — sue the caped crusader!

“We found this criticism right and started to look for legal possibilities of a case like that,” he said.

MORE: More On That Batty Lawsuit: Do the Turks Have a Case?