Hey -- thanks for taking the inititive to write this section. Might I make some suggestions about what you have so far?
It might be a good idea to strip out anything that could be seen as speculation. The section on the Shadow, for example, isn't easily sourced.
Pre-superhero masked crimefighters are today often refered to as "mystery men."
An important influence Mary Roberts Rinehart's "The Spiral Starecase," which was made into a play and a film called "The Bat."
Source, Source, Source. Since we're talking about established history, we should be able to find specific references to what stories influenced Kane and Finger.
Les Daniel's book "Batman: The Complete History" and Bob Kane's "Batman and Me" are good sources to reference. I'll contribute information from Daniel's book when I have a moment later. ~CS 14:31, 1 June 2006 (UTC)