Bob Kane, 83, creator of "Batman" who watched the comic book character become an American icon, collapsed at his Los Angeles home Tuesday and was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, his attorney, Jim Leonard, said yesterday. The cause of death was unknown.

He created Batman for DC Comics in a single weekend in 1939. His hero is Bruce Wayne, a rich man who lacked the powers of Superman, relying instead on strength, agility, high-tech equipment and a fearsome bat mask and cowl to terrorize criminals.

Batman began as a figure of vengeance, did a buffoonish turn in the kitschy 1960s TV series, turned grim again in an adult graphic novel in the 1980s and became the star of a new series of multimillion-dollar movies.

Pub Date: 11/06/98