TITANIC - MAYOR OF BATMAN SUES NOLAN AND WARNER BROS

MAYOR OF BATMAN SUES NOLAN AND WARNER BROS

Director Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros face a lawsuit from the mayor of Batman, a city in south-eastern Turkey.

Huseyin Kalkan, a member of the Kurdish Democratic Society party, is suing the makers of box office smash The Dark Knight for allegedly using the name of the Turkish city without permission.

"There is only one Batman in the world," Mr Kalkan said. "The American producers used the name of our city without informing us."

Despite the Caped Crusader having first appeared in comic books in 1939, as well as having featured in television series and four previous feature films, the legal action from the residents of Batman has only come with The Dark Knight soon to pass the $1 billion (£648,369,238) mark at the box office.

Mr Kalkan also claims that the popularity of Nolan's film - it is the second most successful film of all time, after Titanic - was to blame for a series of unsolved murders in Batman.

The Batman Begins sequel's psychological impact on the Turkish oil-producing city was such that the female suicide rate increased, he alleges.

And former residents of Batman have experienced problems when attempting to register businesses abroad, according to the mayor.

He is reportedly gathering evidence to prove his city predates the DC Comics character.

A Warner Bros representative said in a statement the studio is only aware of his claims via media reports and has not seen any "actual legal action".

The Dark Knight is to be re-released in January in a bid to improve its chances of Oscar consideration.