The Batman Filmography

Second Edition
Mark S. Reinhart

McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers

Jefferson, North Carolina, and London
The first-ever screen Batman—Lewis Wilson as Batman in Batman (1943).
 Also by Mark S. Reinhart

Abraham Lincoln on Screen: Fictional and Documentary Portrayals on Film

and Television, 2d ed.
(McFarland 2009; paperback 2012)

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGUING DATA ARE AVAILABLE

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e-ISBN: 978-1-4766-0632-3

© 2013 Mark S. Reinhart. All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any

means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by
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McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers

Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
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For Jill, Taylor, Keaton and Jenna—
all of the heroes in my Batcave
 Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1—The Creation of Batman and His World, 1939–1942

2—Batman (1943)

3—Between the Serials, 1943–1948

4—Batman and Robin (1949)

5—Changing with the Times, 1950–1965

6—Batman (1966)

7—Exile from the Big Screen, 1967–1989

8—Batman (1989)

9—Between Burton’s Batman Films, 1989–1991

10—Batman Returns (1992)

11—Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

12—Between Burton and Schumacher, 1993–1995

13—Batman Forever (1995)

14—Between Schumacher’s Batman Films, 1996–1997

15—Batman and Robin (1997)

16—Iconic Character, Dormant Film Franchise, 1998–2004

17—Batman Begins (2005)

18—The Dark Knight (2008)

19—“Non-Nolan” Batman Works During the Nolan Cinematic Batman Era

20—The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

21—The Adventure Goes On and On

Chapter Notes

Bibliography

List of Names and Terms

 Acknowledgments

As a lifelong Batman fan, writing the first edition and now the second edition of
this book has fulfilled my dream of making a small contribution to the history of
this wonderful character. Though this book is primarily about Batman’s big
screen adventures, it is important to recognize the fact that Batman was born on
the comics page. So first and foremost, I would like to thank the talented artists,
writers and editors at DC Comics who have created Batman comic stories since
1939—so many of you have entertained, amazed and inspired me, both as a little
boy and as a grown man.

I would particularly like to thank the late Bob Kane, Batman’s creator. Like so
many other Batman fans, I have often been flippant about Kane. History shows
that Bill Finger was so instrumental in helping Kane to develop Batman that he
probably should have been given an equal byline in the character’s creation.
History also shows that Kane came across as ungenerous by keeping that byline
all for himself for so many years.

That said, however, as I really studied the history of Batman’s creation, it struck
me that Kane was the one who initially undertook the task to create a new
costumed comic hero in the wake of Superman’s success. Finger helped Kane
flesh out all of the costume and character details that made Batman so
memorable, and of course a huge number of subsequent artists and writers
created works that made Batman the icon he is today—but it all started with Bob
Kane. Batman is indisputably a product of his ambition. Thank you for bringing
Batman into our world, Mr. Kane.

I also need to specifically thank another legend in the history of the Batman
character as well. Michael Uslan decided to take on the task of producing a
serious live-action Batman big screen work in the late 1970s, a time when most
everyone in the world could only see the character as a washed-up camp craze. It
took Uslan a decade of hard work to realize his goal through the release of the
1989 film Batman.

When Batman took the world by storm, the way the general public viewed
Batman was totally changed. The movie introduced millions upon millions of
people to “our” Batman, the dark hero we serious Batman fans loved. This
incredible shift in the general public’s perception of Batman would not have
happened had the film never been made—and the film never would have been
made without Uslan’s vision and tenacity. Thank you for giving us the 1989
Batman, Mr. Uslan.

I would also like to thank a few Batman scholars who are personal friends of
mine. Bill Ramey, creator of the wonderful Batman website Batman-on-Film,
has been a great help to my research over the years. And Ross Bagby was very
kind to provide me with information and insight regarding Batman’s 1940s radio
adventures.

I would like to thank my parents, Larry and Sally Reinhart, who have said on
more than one occasion that I was practically born with a cape tied around my
neck. They bought me so many great Batman books and toys when I was a child,
and when I grew up they patiently waited for me to “grow out” of my Batman
obsession like most all other kids did. Well, I never did, but they didn’t seem to
mind and they still loved me anyway—thanks, Mom and Dad.

My biggest thank you goes out to my wife Jill, our sons Taylor and Keaton, and
our daughter Jenna for always sharing in my enthusiasm for Batman and his
world. Many times over the years as Halloween rolled around they were good
sports, donning capes and masks with me and running out into the autumn night
by my side. And I have especially treasured the opportunity to witness Taylor,
Keaton and Jenna become knowledgeable Batman fans in their own right. We
have shared countless Batman adventures together, and getting the chance to see
the character through their eyes as well as my own has been one of the greatest
joys of my life. Thanks Jill, Taylor, Keaton and Jenna—you truly are my
“Batman Family.”
Introduction

When I started writing the first edition of this book in 2003 (published by
McFarland in 2005), the history of Batman feature films was not a particularly
rich one. Even though the Batman character had been so successful for so many
years, there simply had been very few Batman big screen works ever made—
eight, to be exact. And the first two of these films, the 1943 serial Batman and
the 1949 serial Batman and Robin, were not even officially available to the home
video market on any high-quality format. And most depressing of all, Warner
Bros. Studios had yet to release a new Batman film to erase the bad memory of
director Joel Schumacher’s almost universally-despised 1997 movie Batman and
Robin.

Here we are a decade later, and the history of Batman feature films is so much
richer than it was back in 2003. Warner reimagined their Batman film franchise
with three hugely successful films by director Christopher Nolan: Batman
Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), and The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
Also, the 1943 Batman and the 1949 Batman and Robin were released on DVD
in 2005, ensuring that every Batman feature film could be obtained on high-
quality home video format.

There was even more good news relating to Batman feature films during this
time—many of them were released in vastly upgraded home video versions.
Batman (1966), Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever
(1995), Batman and Robin (1997), and Batman Begins (2005) were all released
on Blu-ray between mid–2008 and early 2009. Each of these Blu-rays boasted
fabulous picture quality, and were loaded with special features that detailed their
particular film’s creation. (Of course, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight
Rises never had to be upgraded in this fashion because they were rolled out in
lavish Blu-ray packages upon their initial home video release.)

The history of Batman feature films may have changed for the better, but the
reason I first wanted to write a book about these films has stayed much the same.
Many film critics tend to be very dismissive of the Batman character’s overall
history when they review Batman feature films. This observation is not meant to
be an insult to film critics—I am simply noting the fact that they generally write
reviews of Batman feature films that are intended for general moviegoers, not
serious Batman fans. Most critics and moviegoers view Batman solely as a big
screen property, and have little connection to the character other than these
major motion picture events that bring them to the theater every few years. Only
serious Batman fans tend to give much thought as to how Batman feature films
might have been inspired by the character’s comic adventures, or how these
films might fit into the character’s history as a whole.

So this book is intended for serious Batman fans, and I think I can sum up why I
wanted to write it for them in a single sentence. The purpose of this book is to
provide analysis and criticism of Batman feature films that is always mindful of
the character’s 70-plus year history.

Remaining mindful of that history when examining Batman feature films can be
a bit of a complicated task. The films produced to date have been fairly
independent of Batman’s comic book origins. In the motion pictures, time-
honored characters have been drastically changed, new characters have been
created, and Gotham City has been portrayed as a place quite removed from the
comic book Gotham. While serious Batman fans have often seen these
alterations as sacrilege, it is not hard to understand why motion picture studios
have chosen to make such changes. After all, serious Batman fans make up a
very small percentage of general moviegoers, so motion picture studios have
been less concerned about pleasing those fans than they have been about
pleasing mainstream audiences. Unfortunately, a number of these film rewrites
were vastly inferior to the comic material that inspired them, so they ended up
pleasing almost nobody—but that is a subject we’ll address later.

One might argue that if Batman motion pictures have been critically neglected in
terms of serious Batman fans, isn’t the same also true of Batman television
productions? Why not include those productions in this book? Well, to be
honest, I wish I could have. But this project would not be just one single book if
I had tried to do that—it probably would have been about four books! And even
though I could not cover the history of Batman television productions in great
detail in these pages, the book still does contain summaries of all of those
productions.

And I’m happy to report that several major Batman television series such as
Batman (ABC, 1966–68) and Batman: The Animated Series (Fox, 1992–95)
have already been chronicled in full-length books. Readers who are interested in
those series should find The Official Batman Batbook (the definitive work on
ABC’s Batman by Joel Eisner) and Batman: Animated (the definitive work on
Batman: The Animated Series by Paul Dini and Chip Kidd). Somebody probably
should do a book about the Batman television series that have been released in
the past decade such as The Batman (Kid’s WB, 2004–08) and Batman: The
Brave and the Bold (Cartoon Network, 2008–11). Not me, though—after the
past few years of obsessing over the character’s big screen works, I need a
break!

There is another big reason I wanted to write about Batman movies, one that is
far more personal and far less tangible than the reason just outlined. There is just
something magical about sitting in a darkened movie theater, seeing the Batman
character come to life on the big screen. Batman so often looms in the darkness
on the comic page, and watching his adventures unfold in a cavernous black
room not unlike his Batcave is one of the ultimate Batman fan experiences. This
book is a way for me to share that experience with other serious Batman fans.

I hope I’ve convinced you, the reader, that my book examining the history of
Batman motion pictures is a worthwhile endeavor. Now I should take a moment
to convince you why I’m qualified to write The Batman Filmography. Honestly,
I don’t have much to offer you in that regard, but here goes—I have an
encyclopedic knowledge of Batman history, a sharp eye for film criticism, and a
ton of determination. I can offer you some insight about these films that might
lead you to see them in ways that you had not seen before.

Please allow me a moment to tell you a bit more about my own personal Batman
obsession. It closely mirrors that of Chip Kidd, the graphic designer who
authored the wonderful book about Batman merchandise entitled Batman
Collected as well as the previously mentioned Batman: Animated. Like Kidd, I
was a toddler when the ABC television show Batman premiered in 1966, and I
was immediately hooked. Also like Kidd, while most everyone else seemed to
“grow out” of being a Batman fan after the series ended its three-year run, I
never did.

Sure, I got married, had three kids, worked in a public library, became a
professional musician and wrote my first book (Abraham Lincoln on Screen,
McFarland, 2009), but my Batmania always stayed with me. I followed the
character through the Adams–O’Neil comic stories of the early 1970s and the
Mego Toys action figure craze of the mid–1970s. I remained a fan through the
debut of the first Batman graphic novel Batman: The Dark Knight Returns in
1986 and the astounding success of the 1989 film Batman. I was glued to my TV
set for the 1992 premiere of the wonderful television program Batman: The
Animated Series. I marveled at the realism of the stunning Paul Dini–Alex Ross
oversized book Batman: War on Crime when it was released in 1999. I sat in
awe experiencing Christopher Nolan’s cinematic vision of the character for the
first time in 2005’s Batman Begins. Though not a gamer myself, I lived every
moment of the hugely successful video games Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009)
and Batman: Arkham City (2011), watching my sons play and beat them both.
And I am anxiously awaiting all of the new Batman projects that are scheduled
to debut even as you read this.

And if I may be so bold, let me say that I’ve also been a pretty good Batman
over the years as well. At 5'11", and in possession of a decently chiseled chin
and somewhat Adam West–like physique, I can pull off the character quite well,
thank you. Okay, so maybe I wouldn’t be in the running for a “major motion
picture” Batman, but I make a solid “local” Batman. In fact, every Halloween for
many years running, the public library where I worked asked me to appear at its
Youth Services Halloween party and give a short speech about trick-or-treater
safety to all of the costumed kids in attendance. And I’m proud to say that as
Batman, I never won our staff association’s “Best Employee Costume” award. It
seemed to everyone at the library that it wasn’t a costume but actually my
uniform—I was Batman, and I was simply doing my job.

In fact, I maybe ended up being a little too convincing as Batman—some of the

mommies accompanying their children to the Halloween party tried to hire me
for birthday parties. For a moment, I would think about taking the gig—it would
be the ultimate fanboy rush, to actually be Batman for a group of excited kids!
Then my logical side would speak up—“What are you going to do when these
kids start asking you to perform martial arts moves and backflips, or to jump off
of a second story roof?” In the heat of the moment, I probably would have
actually tried one of these maneuvers, and probably would have injured myself
and given some poor kid a birthday memory he’d never forget. Thankfully my
logical side always won out over my fanboy side in these situations, so Batman
was not able to fit these parties into his busy crime fighting schedule.

But one mom finally convinced me to meet her halfway on her son’s birthday
celebration. I told her I was not prepared to “perform” as Batman at his party,
but we struck a deal that I would come to their front door in costume just after
dark and deliver a special Batman toy to him, and quickly run off into the night.
The whole operation went off like clockwork—I parked my car far enough away
that the birthday boy couldn’t tell my Batmobile was actually a dark blue
Toyota, and I hit the door fast. I handed him his present as he stared at me wide-
eyed, grimly wished him a happy birthday and melted into the darkness. I
jumped back into my car, still in full costume, and sped down the shadowed
street.

It was at that moment that I best understood why Batman has appealed to both
kids and adults for generations. Batman represents not only a powerful symbol
of fantasy and adventure for kids, but also an equally powerful symbol of how
much the human spirit is capable of for adults. I was just an ordinary man, but
for a couple of seconds the costume had transformed me into a hero in that boy’s
eyes. Bruce Wayne was also an ordinary man, but to make sense of his life, he
transformed himself into something much more. He pushed himself to be
stronger, faster and smarter than seemed to be humanly possible—and then he
put on just about the coolest costume anyone could dream up. When I put on that
costume, I might not have been able to do all the great things that a “real”
Batman might be capable of, but to a little boy I could convey that spirit of
fantasy and adventure, and at the same time remind myself of how much
potential that all of us “ordinary people” have.

Simply put, I believe in the spirit of the Batman character as much as many
people believe in the spirit of Santa Claus as a representation of human
generosity and goodness. Batman’s relentless quest for justice serves to remind
us that even though bad things happen in this world, we all have the courage and
strength deep inside of us to help us rise above these bad things. I became a
Batman fan as a child because of his cool costume and his great adventures but
remained a fan as an adult because he never lets me forget that no matter how
good or bad I think I’m doing in my own life, I can always try harder, do better.

I hope I’ve convinced you that my intentions are true, and that I am writing this
book out of the deepest respect and affection for the Batman character. So this is
where we’ll go from here: We’ll examine the history of Batman feature films in
the context of the character’s overall history. Of course, there will be chapters on
each individual film, but there will also be chapters interspersed throughout the
book that chronicle the general evolution of the Batman character. In the feature
film chapters, I’ll provide full cast and crew information, production and release
details, plot synopsis and detailed analysis of that film’s artistic and technical
merits. I will have a lot to say about these films in terms of writing, directing,
acting, construction, editing, continuity, sets, and so on that to my knowledge
has not been explored in any previously published Batman books or reviews.

Many readers may disagree with the opinions I have about the Batman character
and the movies in which he has appeared. In my previous book, Abraham
Lincoln on Screen, I examined the history of Lincoln-related films and television
shows. Since Lincoln was a real person, there was not as much room for
personal opinion as there is in this book. It was easy for me to say, “This film is
historically inaccurate because it depicts Lincoln traveling to the New Mexico
territory to meet with an Indian chief, and this is something the real Lincoln
never did.” Obviously, there is no “real” Batman, he is a fictional character—so
all of us have interpretations of him that are no more or less valid than anyone
else’s. This study of Batman films will be filtered through my own sensibilities
regarding the character, and if I say something in these pages that you
completely disagree with, feel free to write me, write my publisher or, better yet,
write your own book that proves me wrong!
 1
The Creation of Batman and His World, 1939–1942

His appearance has changed little in his 70-plus years—he wears a dark cowl
outfitted with pointed ears. The cowl attaches to a voluminous dark cape with
scallops cut into the bottom. When he spreads his arms wide, the cape opens and
he creates a frightening image that looks like a giant version of his namesake. He
wears a gray, form-fitting acrobat-style bodysuit with a bat emblem on his chest,
dark gloves and boots. Around his waist is a combat-style utility belt, outfitted
with climbing gear (known as the Batrope), boomerang (known as the Batarang)
and various other items such as infrared flashlight, smoke pellets and knockout
gas. Only in his earliest adventures did he ever carry lethal weapons such as
guns.

The colors and style of this basic costume have been subject to many revisions
over the decades. Sometimes his cape, cowl, gloves and boots are blue,
sometimes they are black. Sometimes his pointed ears are long, sometimes they
are short. His bodysuit might be similar to regular clothing material, or it might
be outfitted with heavy-duty body armor. Sometimes his eyes can be seen
through his cowl, but often they appear as nothing more than eerie white slits.
The bat emblem on his chest might just be a black bat silhouette, or it might be a
black bat silhouette inside of a yellow oval. But in all of these incarnations, he is
immediately recognizable as the master crimefighter Batman.

The history of Batman began with the publishing company that has always
owned the rights to the character, DC Comics. “DC” was an acronym for
Detective Comics, one of the company’s initial comic book titles first published
in March 1937. The company would adopt several different official names as it
grew during its first few decades of existence, but it was almost always
popularly known as “DC”—in fact, its comic titles began carrying the “DC”
logo on their covers as early as 1940. Consequently, we’ll refer to the company
as DC Comics throughout this book.

Batman was created for DC in 1939 by Bob Kane, a 23-year-old artist from New
York City. The success of Superman, who made his debut in DC’s Action
Comics the previous year, was so great that the company was anxious to
introduce new characters that might capitalize on their readers’ interest in
costumed heroes. DC editor Vin Sullivan suggested to Kane that he ought to
design such a character, which led Kane to come up with the idea of a costumed
hero called “Batman.” Kane took his idea to Bill Finger, a writer with whom
Kane had collaborated on several comic series published in 1938 and early 1939,
and the two began to piece together Batman’s appearance and personality.
Though Kane would receive a solo byline for creating Batman from DC, in
reality the finished character was the result of his collaboration with Finger.
1

In developing their hero, Kane and Finger were influenced by a number of

diverse sources. The idea of Batman’s scalloped cape came from Leonardo da
Vinci’s drawing of a glider he had designed called the “ornithopter,” which was
outfitted with batlike wings. The idea of a heroic figure conversely clad in a
dark, sinister-looking costume like a villain’s came from pulp magazine
characters such as Johnston McCulley’s Zorro and Walter Gibson’s The
Shadow. The concept of that hero being a seemingly idle socialite by day and a
masked vigilante by night was drawn from the Zorro character as well. Zorro’s
influence on Batman did not end there—Kane singled out the first Zorro film
adaptation, the 1920 motion picture The Mark of Zorro starring Douglas
Fairbanks in the title role, as being one of his biggest inspirations to create
Batman.

The Mark of Zorro was not the only motion picture to shape Batman’s creation.
The 1930 film The Bat Whispers was instrumental in helping Kane to formulate
the idea of a bat motif for his character. The Bat Whispers was directed by
Roland West, and based on the 1920 hit Broadway play The Bat by Mary
Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood. The film’s plot revolved around a
murderer known as “The Bat” who stalked his victims while wearing a black
mask and cloak. The batlike shadows that “The Bat” cast in a number of the
film’s scenes would have an immediate and profound influence on the manner in
which Kane would render Batman. 2

Since Kane was an artist, he was primarily seeing Batman as a visual character.
This meant that it was up to Finger the writer to flesh out just what going on
inside Batman’s mind. Inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic detective
character Sherlock Holmes, Finger decided to make Batman a master detective.
Batman’s incredible investigative and deductive abilities would become as
important to his persona as his cape and cowl.
3
“The Bat-Man” in his comic book debut “The Case of the Chemical
Syndicate,” Detective Comics #27, May 1939. Art by Bob Kane.

All of these different literary and visual elements were synthesized into Kane
and Finger’s Batman. “The Bat-man,” as he was initially billed, first appeared in
a story entitled “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate” in Detective Comics #27,
May 1939. Remarkably, from this very first appearance much of the Batman
mythos that would endure for generations was already firmly in place. The
opening panel of the story featured the Bat-man standing on a city rooftop, seen
only in silhouette, with his arms outstretched so that his cape looked like giant
bat wings. In “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate,” the Bat-man was portrayed
as an ordinary man with no superhuman powers like Superman—he was simply
a dark-costumed vigilante who was both a skilled fighter and detective.
Commissioner Gordon appeared in the story as well, though he and the Bat-man
were not yet confidants.

In the story, the Bat-man encounters Alfred Stryker, a crooked businessman who
is murdering his fellow business partners in order to gain control of their jointly
owned chemical corporation. The Bat-man thwarts Stryker’s scheme, and at the
end of the story Stryker suffers a fatal fall into one of his own chemical tanks
after being punched out by the cowled crimefighter. Upon Stryker’s death, the
Bat-man says “a fitting end for his kind.” The last panels of “The Case of the
Chemical Syndicate” revealed that the man behind the cowl was secretly Bruce
Wayne, a young socialite. The biggest difference between this early Bat-man
and the character he would evolve into was that he was not opposed to seeing
criminals killed.

As previously mentioned, the pulp magazine hero the Shadow was one of a
number of characters that Kane and Finger drew on to create Batman. But
Batman’s debut story owed its existence exclusively to the Shadow. As Finger
went about writing “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate,” he borrowed liberally
from writer Theodore Tinsley’s 1936 Shadow pulp story “Partners of Peril.” In
“Partners of Peril,” the Shadow battles a crooked businessman who is trying to
murder all of his fellow business partners in order to gain control of their jointly
owned chemical corporation. In other words, most every key plot point found in
“Partners of Peril” is in “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate” with the Bat-man
standing in for the Shadow! 4

This fact might lead one to question just how original a character Batman ever
really was. After all, we have seen that Batman was derivative of a number of
literary and visual works, most of them classics in their own right. And now we
see that his first story was an exact trace-over of one of these works. Perhaps the
answer to this question is that Batman wasn’t all that original—but original or
not, he was such a fascinating blend of diverse influences that comic audiences
were instantly drawn to him. Batman’s quick success left no reason to debate his
originality. The timeless appeal of the character seemed to be a forgone
conclusion even as the ink was drying on his first few comic appearances. He
was just, well, Batman, and that’s all there was to it.

Batman’s initial success let Kane, Finger and DC Comics know they were really
on to something, and it was obvious that such a strong character needed an
equally strong origin. Kane and Finger delivered the goods, providing Batman
with a very memorable background story. The two-page “Legend—The Batman
and How He Came to Be” served as a preface to the Detective Comics #33,
November 1939 story “Batman Wars Against the Dirigible of Doom.” It
revealed that Batman was born from a horrific event—Bruce Wayne’s parents
were murdered by a thief right in front of Bruce’s eyes when he was just a boy.

Bruce, Thomas and Martha Wayne had just come out of a movie theater when a
robber came up to them and demanded their valuables. He tried to take Martha’s
necklace, and when Thomas Wayne tried to stop him, the robber shot both of
them. Bruce was left an orphan, and the tragedy so traumatized him that he
vowed to spend the rest of his life waging war on all criminals to avenge his
parents’ deaths. Over the years, Bruce trained himself to physical and mental
perfection, until he was a great athlete, scientist and detective. He decided to
wear a costume when he was fighting crime because he felt that criminals were a
“superstitious, cowardly lot” and a disguise would “strike terror into their
hearts.” As he was sitting in his study thinking about what his costume should
be, a bat flew in the open window. He said, “It’s an omen ... I shall become a
bat!”

Batman’s success led Kane to bring in additional creative talent to help develop
new Batman comic stories. The most notable of Kane’s assistants during
Batman’s early years was artist Jerry Robinson. At first Robinson simply worked
on adding lettering and backgrounds to Kane’s finished work. But Robinson’s
work was so good that Kane soon entrusted him with the task of inking and
embellishing most all of Kane’s rough pencil sketches. Since Robinson’s style of
drawing was generally more realistic than Kane’s cartoonish renderings based on
the look of newspaper strips such as Chester Gould’s Dick Tracy, Batman comic
stories began to evolve into more visually complex works. 5

Kane’s willingness to allow Robinson to incorporate his own style of drawing

into Batman comics was a decision that would have far-reaching implications for
the visual appearance of the character. The task of plotting Batman’s adventures
was a collaborative effort right from the start—Kane relied on DC Comics
writers like Bill Finger and Gardner Fox to supply his visuals with a strong
narrative. But the art in those first Batman comics was Kane’s. Once Kane let
Robinson change his original image of Batman, it paved the way for numerous
artists to develop their own distinctive interpretations of the character. Though
well into the 1960s Batman stories would carry the sole byline of “Bob Kane,”
in reality the character would grow into a visual icon not through the efforts of
Kane, but the many uncredited artists who subsequently drew him. (We’ll be
examining a number of these uncredited artists throughout this book.)

In Detective Comics #38, April 1940, Kane and company gave Batman a young
sidekick. Robin made his debut in a story entitled “Robin—The Boy Wonder.”
In the story, Robin wore a costume consisting of a red tunic emblazoned with a
yellow “R,” a yellow cape, and a black mask. The costume also featured green
short sleeves, short pants, gloves, and boots. The Robin costume would not be
subjected to the same number of changes that the Batman costume would be
over the years—amazingly, Robin would be depicted wearing this exact same
costume in virtually all of his comic book appearances from 1940 up until the
early 1990s!

In “Robin—The Boy Wonder,” a young circus performer named Dick Grayson

suffers a tragedy much like the one that led Bruce Wayne to become Batman.
Dick and his parents have a trapeze act called “The Flying Graysons,” and
Dick’s parents are killed when their trapeze ropes fail during a performance. But
their deaths are not an accident—the ropes were sabotaged by a group of
gangsters demanding protection money from the owner of the circus. Bruce
happens to be attending the circus the night of the Grayson murders; because
Dick’s heartbreak so closely mirrors his own, he decides to take the boy on as a
junior partner. Bruce reveals his secret life as Batman to Dick, and trains him in
the ways of fighting crime. Dick adopts the guise of Robin, a “young Robin
Hood of today.” Together Batman and Robin bring the gangsters responsible for
the Grayson murders to justice.

It seems strange that Kane and his Batman collaborators would have chosen to
pair their dark, lone crimefighter with a brightly costumed, smiling child. But
Kane felt that since the majority of comics readers were children, a heroic
character close to their own age would have great appeal to them. And Kane
proved to be right—after Robin’s debut, sales of Detective Comics soared. 6

But even though Robin would become an iconic character almost as

recognizable as Batman himself, his presence in Batman’s world led to a debate
among Batman fans that continues to this day. Many Batman fans feel that the
character works best when he is a lone vigilante, while others have argued that
Robin’s bright costume and sunny disposition serve as an effective contrast to
Batman’s dark persona. But no matter how one feels about Robin, there is no
denying the fact that from his 1940 debut up until the present he has remained an
integral part of the Batman mythos.
At any rate, by early 1940 Batman and Robin were so popular that, like their
fellow DC character Superman, they received their own comic book title.
Batman #1, Spring 1940, was one of the most momentous single comics ever
published. It was not only the first-ever comic strictly devoted to the adventures
of Batman, but it also featured the first-ever appearances of the villains the Joker
and the Catwoman (known simply as “the Cat” at the time). It also reprinted
Batman’s two-page origin first featured in Detective Comics #33.

The two Joker stories in Batman #1 were by far the most compelling ones in the
comic book. The first, simply titled “The Joker,” served as an introduction to the
villain, whose chalk white face, blood red lips and green hair looked like the
grinning court jester face found on the Joker cards in many playing card decks.
Clad in a bright purple suit, the Joker was an insane, murderous and diabolically
clever criminal.

In the story, the Joker interrupts a radio broadcast to announce that he will kill
millionaire Henry Claridge and steal a rare diamond from him. The villain
makes good on his promise when Claridge falls over dead, and his face locks in
a ghastly smile. We learn that the Joker actually stole the diamond the night
before, and at the same time injected the sleeping Claridge with his own mix of
deadly “Joker venom” chemicals concocted to have a delayed reaction of 24
hours.
Batman and Robin in “the Joker,” Batman #1, Spring 1940. Art by Bob
Kane and Jerry Robinson.

The sensational murder attracts the attention of Batman and Robin. Batman
learns that a rival criminal with a grudge against the Joker plans to ambush and
kill him. Batman is lying in wait unseen when the ambush goes down, but the
criminals spot him and open fire on him instead of the Joker. Batman fights off
the criminals while the Joker escapes in the confusion. Batman gives chase, and
their first-ever confrontation ends in favor of the Joker, when the killer delivers a
kick to Batman’s head and knocks him off of a bridge into a river.

Later, Batman and Robin encounter the Joker while he is in the process of
murdering a prominent judge who once sent him to prison. Robin follows the
Joker as he leaves the scene of the crime, but the Joker delivers a surprise blow
to the boy’s head and knocks him out. The Joker is about to administer his Joker
venom to Robin just as Batman bursts on the scene. He fights off the Joker and
saves his partner, but the Joker again eludes capture. That same night, Batman
and Robin are able to track down the Joker while he attempts another robbery.
This time the crimefighters defeat him and send him to prison.

Unbelievably, “The Joker” contained another milestone in Batman history that

would eventually become every bit as important as the Joker himself. In the
story, Batman was referred to by the nickname “The Dark Knight” for the first
time. After the previously-mentioned confrontation when the Joker knocks
Batman into a river, a title tells us that “The shock of cold water quickly revives
the Dark Knight.” Those three words would not immediately be cemented to the
Batman character after Batman #1 was published, but over the years they would
be used to such great effect by important Batman writers that “The Dark Knight”
would become DC’s official second name for Batman.
The Joker in “The Joker,” Batman #1, Spring 1940. Art by Bob Kane and
Jerry Robinson.

The second Joker story in Batman #1, entitled “The Joker Returns,” was set a
scant two days after the first story. In “The Joker Returns,” the ghastly criminal
escapes prison and goes on a crime spree similar to the murders and robberies he
committed in “The Joker.” Batman and Robin again track him down and do
battle with him, and this time during a fight the Joker is stabbed by his own
knife, which he was wielding against the crimefighters. Batman and Robin leave
the scene thinking the Joker is gone for good, but the last panel shows that the
Joker’s wound is not mortal, and he will live to plague the heroes yet again.
Interestingly, “The Joker Returns” was originally supposed to end with the
villain actually dying. But DC Comics editor Whitney Ellsworth immediately
recognized what a strong character the Joker was, and requested that the story be
revised so that the Joker could be used in subsequent Batman stories.
7

Ellsworth could not have been more right—in creating the Joker, the team of
Kane, Finger and Robinson had struck gold yet again. From the first panels of
“The Joker,” the character was as memorable and fully formed as Batman and
Robin had been in their debut stories. And it was immediately obvious that he
was the perfect arch-enemy for the crimefighters, because everything about him
was the complete opposite of Batman and Robin. Batman and Robin both had
very intricately crafted origins so that readers knew who they were and how they
had become such great heroes. The Joker had no origin—no one knew where he
came from or who he was, his villainy just seemed to materialize from out of
nowhere. Batman was a hero conversely clad in a dark costume much like a
villain would wear, and the Joker was a villain conversely clad in a bright
costume much like a harmless, funny clown would wear. Batman and Robin
stood as powerful symbols of all that was noble and honorable, and the Joker
stood as an equally powerful symbol of all that was chaotic and evil.

Like Batman, the Joker also was a character that was inspired by the motion
picture medium. Kane’s and Robinson’s original drawings of the Joker were a
direct copy of actor Conrad Veidt’s makeup in The Man Who Laughs (1928), a
silent historical drama based on the novel by Victor Hugo. Veidt’s character in
8

The Man Who Laughs has been disfigured in a horrible way—his face and
mouth have been cut into a permanent, grotesque smile. In the film, Veidt looks
exactly like the drawings of the Joker in Batman #1—in fact, he looks far more
like the traditional “comic book” version of the Joker than Cesar Romero, Jack
Nicholson or Heath Ledger would look when they actually played the character
on the big screen!

The Catwoman’s debut in an untitled Batman #1 story was less auspicious than
the Joker’s. As previously mentioned, she was known only as “The Cat,” and she
was simply a jewel thief who wore ordinary street clothes. Still, one major
aspect of her character that would both plague and thrill Batman was already in
place—she was a very beautiful woman, and Batman was immediately attracted
to her even though she was on the wrong side of the law. In fact, at the end of
the story Batman and Robin capture the Cat, but Batman is so taken with her that
he allows her to escape.
The character next appeared in another untitled story in Batman #2 that also
featured the Joker. She still wore street clothes instead of a special costume in
Batman #2, but she was now being billed as “The Catwoman.” By Batman #3,
she was given her first costume: In “The Batman vs. the Cat-Woman,” she wore
a cloak and a mask that looked like a real cat. By the mid–1940s, she would lose
the cat mask for a purple dress and cat-styled cowl. But that costume also would
not last; in fact, over the years her appearance would vary more than any other
major Batman adversary. She would eventually be depicted in no less than ten
completely different costumes. However, her real name would never change—
when not dressed as the Catwoman, she was known as Selina Kyle.

DC editor Whitney Ellsworth had made another Bat-decision that was every bit
as important as his decision to preserve the character of the Joker for further use.
Ellsworth informed Kane and company that he wanted the character to stop
using lethal force against criminals in future Batman comics. Batman’s use of
such force had been a rarity over the course of his first adventures, but Ellsworth
decreed that it cease entirely. This decision was reinforced by the fact that
Batman now had a child as his junior partner, and it seemed inappropriate to
depict Batman killing criminals with a youngster standing by his side. Plus, 9

Batman and Robin’s aversion to lethal force made good narrative sense—the
crimefighters had both suffered greatly over the murders of their loved ones, so
it seemed only fitting that they would be completely opposed to taking another
person’s life. Once Batman gave up killing for good, he became an even more
heroic character because he now held the moral high ground over his
adversaries.

Not long after Batman stopped using lethal force on criminals, he also became a
confidant of Gotham City’s official law enforcement agencies. Police
Commissioner Gordon had appeared in Batman’s very first adventure, but at the
time Gordon considered him an outlaw. Gordon changed his mind about Batman
in Batman #7, October-November 1941: In the story “The People vs. The
Batman,” the Commissioner finally realized how valuable Batman was to
Gotham as a crimefighter, so he appointed the masked man an honorary member
of the Gotham City Police Department. The bond between Batman and Gordon,
forged out of the two men’s desire to see all criminals brought to justice, would
become one of the most enduring elements of Batman comic stories over the
years. However, this bond never led to Batman revealing his secret identity to
the Commissioner.
Batman’s character began to soften somewhat after he became a “legitimate”
presence in Gotham City. He started to come across not so much as a grim
avenger of evil, but as a benevolent, albeit strangely dressed, police officer.
Some Batman fans regretted this change; they felt that the introduction of Robin
had already diluted the character’s power, and making him an officially
sanctioned crimefighter further watered him down. In fact, throughout the years
DC Comics writers would often concoct scenarios that pitted Batman against
legitimate law enforcement agencies, even if only temporarily, in order to give
the character back some of the edge he had in his 1939-40 adventures.

One might wonder why this is the first time in this discussion of Batman’s
history that Batman’s hometown, the fictional Gotham City, has been mentioned
by name. The reason for this is quite simple—Batman’s city was not given the
name “Gotham City” until Batman #4, Winter 1941, almost two years after the
character’s debut. From the very beginning, Kane and company depicted Batman
operating in a large metropolitan area modeled after New York City—it just took
them a while to settle on a final name for that metropolitan area.

Gotham City was not the only element of Batman’s mythos that Kane and
company introduced into Batman comic stories as a “work in progress.”
Batman’s most recognizable piece of equipment in his crimefighting arsenal, his
sleek, state-of-the-art car the Batmobile, also debuted in a not quite fully realized
form. The first time Batman and Robin were shown driving a car that was
referred to as “the Batmobile” was in “The Secret Cavern,” a story that appeared
in Detective Comics #48, February 1941—but the car was a normal-looking red
automobile without any bat-themed body stylings. A much more distinctive
Batmobile debuted in Batman #5, Spring 1941, in a story entitled “The Riddle of
the Missing Card.” This Batmobile, dark blue in color, sported a stylized bat
head on its grill and a large batwing-like tailfin on its roof. The Batmobile as it
was drawn in “The Riddle of the Missing Card” would define the car’s basic
appearance well into the 1960s.

Batman’s popularity continued to grow at such a rate that he and Robin began
appearing regularly in a third DC comic title. World’s Best Comics #1, published
in Spring 1941, contained stories featuring DC’s three most popular characters,
Superman, Batman and Robin. The title of the comic was changed to World’s
Finest Comics the very next issue.

Though the covers of World’s Finest Comics depicted the heroes appearing all
together, Batman and Robin actually appeared in stories of their own, and
Superman appeared in stories of his own. The three heroes would not begin
teaming up in World’s Finest Comics until 1954.

As previously mentioned, Bob Kane hired other artists to help him keep up with
his Batman comic workload, and a number of these uncredited artists had a
visual impact on the character that was as great as Kane’s own. One of these
artists was Dick Sprang, who began drawing Batman stories and comic covers in
1941. Sprang’s imaginative, detailed renderings of Batman and his world were
among the most memorable Batman images of the 1940s and ’50s. 10

In the opening of the Joker story “Case of the Costume-Clad Killers” (Detective
Comics #60, February, 1942), the Batsignal was used to summon Batman and
Robin for the first time. The Batsignal, a giant spotlight outfitted with a bat
silhouette, was located on the roof of the Gotham City Police headquarters.
Whenever Commissioner Gordon needed to consult with Batman and Robin, he
would shine the spotlight into the night sky, projecting the bat silhouette so that
it was visible throughout Gotham City. When Bruce and Dick saw the signal,
they would change into their costumes and race to police headquarters.

The Joker and Catwoman had proven to be such immediate successes that Kane
and company worked to create more costumed foes for Batman and Robin to
square off against. Not all of their early villains were as memorable as the Joker
or Catwoman, but a surprising number of them turned out to become icons in
their own right. The Penguin, a short, portly criminal who wore a top hat and
tuxedo in order to resemble his namesake, was introduced in late 1941. He
always carried an umbrella, and these umbrellas usually served a more sinister
purpose than just protecting him from getting wet—they were actually designed
to conceal weapons such as guns and knockout gas dispensers. The Penguin was
a dangerous villain, but his real name was quite comical—that name was Oswald
Chesterfield Cobblepot!

In 1942, the villain Two-Face was introduced. Two-Face was originally a

handsome, prominent Gotham City attorney named Harvey Kent whose face was
horribly scarred by acid thrown at him by a crime boss. (Kent’s name was
changed to “Dent” not long after his debut appearance, perhaps because there
was already a rather famous DC character with the last name of Kent!) More
accurately, half of Kent’s face was scarred—the acid hit only one side of him,
leaving his face half-handsome and half-repulsive.
The tragedy unhinged Kent’s mind, and he turned to crime. Because he had “two
faces,” he became obsessed with the concept of duality, and his crimes always
related to the number two in some way. He carried a two-headed silver dollar
with him at all times that had one clean, shiny side and one scarred side. He
often flipped the coin to help him to decide whether or not to undertake his
criminal schemes—only if the coin landed scarred side up would Two-Face
would set his evil plans in motion.

So by the early 1940s, many of the elements were in place that would make
Batman such a popular character for the next seven decades. He was a costumed
crimefighter living in Gotham City who was opposed to the use of lethal force,
and who was officially recognized by the Gotham Police Department. His
adventures were published at least three different comic books, Detective
Comics, Batman and World’s Finest Comics. He was aided in his fight against
crime by his young partner Robin. The pair maintained an arsenal of
crimefighting equipment, including their custom car the Batmobile. And Batman
and Robin had a number of costumed villains to fight who were as instantly
recognizable as they were.

The motion picture serial was a popular form of film entertainment during these
years that Batman’s mythos was taking shape. Serials were multi-chapter films
that were presented in theaters one chapter at a time in weekly installments.
Most were action-adventure pieces, full of fight scenes, breathless chases and
unapologetic melodrama. Obviously, serials were a perfect format for costumed
comic characters like Batman. So Batman made his screen debut just five years
after he was created, in the 1943 Columbia serial Batman. We’ll examine
Batman in detail in the next chapter.
 2
Batman (1943)

Cast: Lewis Wilson (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Douglas Croft (Robin/Dick

Grayson), J. Carrol Nash (Dr. Daka), Shirley Patterson [Shawn Smith] (Linda
Page), William Austin (Alfred), Charles Wilson (Capt. Arnold), Gus Glassmire
(Martin Warren), Charles Middleton (Ken Colton), Robert Fiske (Foster),
Michael Vallon (Preston), John Maxwell (Fletcher), Karl Hackett (Wallace), Ted
Oliver (Marshall), George Chesebro (Bernard), Stanley Price (Captured
Henchman), Sam Flint (Dr. Borden), Frank Shannon (Dr. Hayden), Earle
Hodgins (Box Office Attendant), I. Stanford Jolley (Brett), Anthony Warde
(Stone), George J. Lewis (Burke), Jack Ingram (Kline), Kenne Duncan (Aircraft
Worker #1), Lynton Brent (Aircraft Worker #2), Terry Frost (Hospital
Attendant), Tom London (Andrews), Dick Curtis (Croft), Lester Dorr (Lawson),
Eddie Kane (Bail Officer), Bud Osborne (Zombie Brown), Pat O’Malley (Police
Officer), Knox Manning (Narrator). Producer: Rudolph C. Flothow. Director:
Lambert Hillyer. Screenplay: Victor McLeod, Leslie Swabacker, Harry Fraser
(based on Batman comic magazine features appearing in Detective Comics and
Batman magazines). Batman Creator: Bob Kane. Director of Photography:
James S. Brown, Jr. Film Editors: Dwight Caldwell, Earl Turner. Music: Lee
Zahler. Sound Engineer: Jack Goodrich. Studio: Columbia. Length:
Approximately 260 minutes in 15 separate chapters. United States Release
Dates: July 16–October 22, 1943.
Chapter Titles
1. “The Electrical Brain” (Released July 16, 1943)
2. “The Bat’s Cave” (Released July 23, 1943)
3. “The Mark of the Zombies” (Released July 30, 1943)
4. “Slaves of the Rising Sun” (Released August 6, 1943)
5. “The Living Corpse” (Released August 13, 1943)
6. “Poison Peril” (Released August 20, 1943)
7. “The Phoney Doctor” (Released August 27, 1943)
8. “Lured by Radium” (Released September 3, 1943)
9. “The Sign of the Sphinx” (Released September 10, 1943)
10. “Flying Spies” (Released September 17, 1943)
11. “A Nipponese Trap” (Released September 24, 1943)
12. “Embers of Evil” (Released October 1, 1943)
13. “Eight Steps Down” (Released October 8, 1943)
14. “The Executioner Strikes” (Released October 15, 1943)
15. “The Doom of the Rising Sun” (Released October 22, 1943)

The Batman character first appeared on the screen in the 1943 Columbia serial
Batman, an odd but fascinating mixture of Batman comic mythos, World War II
propaganda and cheaply crafted cliffhanger clichés. The production starred
Lewis Wilson as Batman/Bruce Wayne and Douglas Croft as Robin/Dick
Grayson. Batman was a black-and-white, 15-chapter film originally presented in
theaters one chapter at a time in weekly installments. Each of Batman’s chapters
ended with a scene showing its heroes facing seemingly inescapable mortal
danger.

Unfortunately, Batman’s screen debut was most definitely not a well-realized,

big-budget production—in fact, Columbia Pictures considered Batman such a
low priority that they actually subcontracted the filming of the serial out to a
smaller independent production company, Larry Darmour Productions. Darmour
made Batman as cheaply and quickly as possible—all 260 minutes of it were
filmed in the Los Angeles area between early June and mid–July 1943! Not 1

surprisingly, Columbia’s offhand treatment of Batman as a screen property

resulted in Batman leaving much to be desired in terms of quality.
In fact, even before Batman started shooting, it was apparent that Columbia did
not think enough of Bob Kane and company’s wonderful Batman comic book
work to put any serious effort into faithfully adapting it for the screen. Instead of
taking the time and care to base Batman on some of Kane’s best Batman comic
stories, they employed their own writers, Victor McLeod, Leslie Swabacker and
Harry Fraser, to throw together a plot for Batman’s motion picture debut. Their
script was a flimsy wartime adventure tale full of unimaginative cliffhanger
clichés, a work so generic that it could have featured most any action hero as the
main character, costumed or not. Batman’s script did not render the character
completely unrecognizable from his comic book self, but he certainly did not
come across as being as complex or unique as he had proven to be on the comics
page.

It is likely that this decision to deviate from the “comic book” Batman in Batman
had less to do with any negative opinions the writers might have had regarding
Kane’s work, and more to do with Columbia’s wish to have Batman’s
adventures reflect the United States’ preoccupation with World War II. After all,
many films of the early 1940s were not looked upon as just entertainment, they
were also looked upon as a means to help keep American wartime morale high.
Batman definitely was such a motion picture—it was as much about exhorting
Americans to fight the Axis Powers, especially the Japanese, as it was about
Batman.

Consequently, Batman adopted a World War II–themed plot that ignored all of
the classic villains found in Batman’s comic book world. The Japanese criminal
mastermind Dr. Daka was Batman’s only villain—all 15 chapters of the serial
revolved around Batman and Robin’s efforts to bring him to justice. The
character was portrayed by an American actor, J. Carrol Naish, made up with
slicked-back dark hair and eyeliner in order to look Japanese.

Daka was a ruthless and insidiously clever agent of the Japanese government,
determined to see the American way of life wiped off the face of the earth. From
his secret base of operations in a deserted area of Gotham City known as “Little
Tokyo,” he aided Japan in their efforts to conquer the United States and turn all
Americans into slaves of a vast Japanese empire. Naish evidently considered
America’s anti–Japanese sentiments as his own personal license to ham it up in
Batman—he played Daka’s villainy up for all its worth, making the character
seem all the more evil. (In fact, Naish was so gloriously dastardly as Daka that
one wishes the serial had given him the opportunity to play an established
Batman villain like the Joker—he probably would have been tremendous.)

While America’s concerns regarding Japanese aggression during the World War
II years were all too real, Batman’s depiction of Daka and his Japanese spy
operation were completely fictional. In fact, “fanciful” might be an even better
word—for example, Daka had an outlandish, “mad scientist”–looking machine
in his lair that altered human beings’ brain waves and turned them into
“zombies.” Daka used his “zombie machine” to turn decent, patriotic Americans
into his own personal slaves—he would then force these slaves to help him carry
out his plans to destroy the United States. The slaves were fitted with a metal
headpiece that was connected directly to their brain (just how these headpieces
were connected was a question the serial never bothered to answer) so that Daka
could communicate with them from his hideout through a remote microphone.
Daka was also able to transmit images the slaves saw through their own eyes
onto a screen in his lair, allowing him to spy through his slaves.
 Lewis Wilson as Batman and Douglas Croft as Robin in Batman (1943).

Daka’s hand-held “radium gun” emitted a lightning bolt–like blast so powerful it

could destroy virtually anything it was directed at. Much of Batman’s plot dealt
with Daka trying to obtain enough radium to build a larger gun that could be
used as a weapon of mass destruction. Daka never realized his plans of building
a large radium gun in Batman, but his hand-held model wreaked plenty of havoc
in the opening chapters.

Batman’s anti–Japanese sentiments come across now as bigoted and hysterical,

and they appear all the more Neanderthal when coupled with such outrageously
silly science fiction. In fact, most every time Batman has been publicly screened
since its initial 1940s run, it has been screened for laughs—it has become widely
regarded as a camp howler, a film so bad it is good. (I’ll discuss this
interpretation of Batman and how it affected the 1960s Batman television show
and motion picture in detail a bit later.)

One might be tempted to write Batman off as a total loss for its low production
values, for basically ignoring Batman comic stories, for its offensive racial
stereotypes, and for its ridiculous science fiction elements. And we haven’t even
gotten around to actually discussing Batman’s depiction of Batman and Robin
yet!

One of Batman’s biggest problems in terms of attempting to bring Batman and

Robin to life was the characters’ costumes—their uniforms were designed as
offhandedly as everything else in the serial was. Obviously, Kane and company
were able to make Batman and Robin’s costumes appear more dramatic and
well-tailored on the one-dimensional comics page than they ever could have
been in real life, but Batman’s uncredited costume designers did not make much
of an effort to close this gap between comic book fantasy and reality.

Batman’s costume was by far the worse of the two. Its cowl was lumpy and
misshapen, and the bat ears pointed in crazy, asymmetric angles off the top of it!
Plus, the cowl’s eye holes were cut at a severe angle, making it almost
impossible to see out of it. Its cape was far too short, and it did not wrap around
the front of the costume to give the appearance of bat wings like it did in the
comics. And even though Batman was filmed in black and white, it was obvious
that the cape, cowl, gloves and boots were all slightly different colors from one
another. Its utility belt was an oversized, shiny, Santa Claus–style belt that did
not even have proper compartments to store crimefighting equipment in. Finally,
its bodysuit was made of a heavy fabric that bunched up so much it resembled
pajamas more than it did acrobatic gear. Incidentally, the costume did have at
least one positive feature worth mentioning—the bat emblem on its chest was
well-crafted.

Granted, Batman was made in the 1940s, well before the age of fabrics like
spandex—but even when giving the serial’s costume designers this allowance,
the fact remains that they certainly could have done a better job of capturing
Batman’s comic book look. One need only to look at the excellent costuming
found in other comic book serials of the time like Adventures of Captain Marvel
(1941) or Superman (1948) to realize how poor Batman’s costume here really
was.

Batman’s Robin costume was decidedly better, closely resembling the look of
the 1940s-era comic book Robin. Also, the costume had medieval-looking long
laces running up the front of its “R” emblazoned tunic that recalled the
character’s original Robin Hood inspiration. However, it still had one glaring
problem—its mask was nothing more that a cheap oval-shaped dime store mask
that covered far more of the face than it should have. One would think that
Batman’s costume designers would have thought to take a minute or two to trim
the mask with a pair of scissors so that it looked like more like the comic book
Robin’s mask.

Not only did Batman not give Batman and Robin proper costumes, it also did not
give them a Batmobile. The heroes were forced to drive Bruce Wayne’s rather
plain-looking convertible around Gotham City while they were fighting crime.
This obviously made no narrative sense—if Batman and Robin were so
determined to keep their real identities a secret, why would they venture out in
public in Bruce Wayne’s car? Furthermore, even by the early 1940s the
Batmobile had become one of the most recognizable elements of the Batman
mythos—depicting Batman without his Batmobile was like depicting the Lone
Ranger without his horse Silver. Columbia’s decision not to bother with creating
a Batmobile was further proof of how little the studio cared about the serial’s
quality.

Batman and Robin’s fight scenes in Batman were just about the most
unimaginatively staged film fight scenes of all time. At least once in every
episode, the heroes would encounter Daka’s henchmen and a fight would break
out. More often than not, everyone would basically stand in one place and flail
their arms at one another until the criminals were able to momentarily overpower
Batman or Robin. Then the henchmen wouldrun off, and Batman and Robin
would pull themselves together so that they could try to track the criminals down
yet again. Simply put, Batman and Robin almost never won a fight in Batman,
whether they were fighting two men or ten. Obviously, this is the way the action
in most all serials was structured—Batman and Robin could not win their battle
against Daka and his men too quickly, or the serial would not have lasted 15
chapters.

Still, director Lambert Hillyer certainly could have done a better job of varying
the serial’s action scenes so they would not become so mind-numbingly
repetitive. Furthermore, would it really have thrown off Batman’s narrative
thread that much if Batman and Robin were allowed to win at least a few of their
battles? After all, the characters of Batman and Robin were supposed to be
skilled hand-to-hand combatants—but Batman depicts them as being so
maddeningly inept in this regard that they couldn’t have won a fight against a
group of grade schoolers.

So we can add Batman’s shoddy treatment of the Batman and Robin characters
to the list of deficits. But Batman did have a number of good moments, many of
them attributable to Lewis Wilson’s Batman and Douglas Croft’s Robin. Wilson
and Croft had almost everything going against them in Batman, still they
managed to bring their characters to life quite well in a number of scenes.

Twenty-three-year-old Lewis Wilson’s good looks and sturdy physique made

him perfectly suited for the role of Batman/Bruce Wayne. He played Batman in
a straightforward, square-jawed action hero manner that at times transcended his
ill-fitting costume. And he did an excellent job of capturing the dual nature of
Bruce Wayne’s character. Wilson did Wayne’s “bored playboy” routine as well
or better than any other actor who would ever play the role, and he also was
effective in conveying Wayne’s grim determination when his playboy guise was
dropped.

Douglas Croft was equally good as Robin/Dick Grayson. Croft had one major
advantage over every other actor that would ever play the role—namely, he was
closer in age to the character than they were. To date, Croft has been the screen’s
only true “Boy Wonder”—he was about 16 years old when Batman was filmed,
and he looked even younger than that. His youthful appearance was
complemented by a naturally exuberant demeanor, making him perfectly suited
for the part. Croft had only one feature that was markedly different from the
comic book Robin: His head was covered with a wiry, slightly unruly hair. But
even this feature was in keeping with Batman’s depiction of Robin as a free-
spirited, adventurous boy.

It is interesting to note that Batman is the only live-action Batman screen work
to feature a juvenile Robin operating within Batman’s world of murder, death
and destruction. The serial played up the harder-edged crime drama aspects
found in many Batman comic plots of the 1940s. Consequently, the youngster
was faced with some pretty horrific scenes in Batman, such as people being
crushed in mine collapses or devoured by ravenous alligators
The interaction between Wilson and Croft in the serial made their performances
all the more effective. Because Croft was so young when Batman was filmed,
the relationship between Bruce/Batman and Robin/Dick seemed quite
believable. The characters came across like their comic book selves in the serial
as well as any other live-action screen portrayal of Batman and Robin. Batman
and Robin’s rapport mirrored the way they operated in their comic book world—
they were like a “father-son” team, a team forged out of a love of adventure and
a wish to see justice prevail over evil. Perhaps “mentor-pupil” might be even
better words to use to phrase their relationship—because even though Dick was
unquestionably a minor under Bruce’s care, he still had enough say in their
partnership to question Bruce’s actions at times during the serial.

Lee Zahler’s musical score contained several brooding, memorable melodies that
were quite effective in setting the mood for Batman and Robin’s adventures. The
untitled theme that accompanied Batman’s opening credits was perhaps the best
of his compositions—in fact, its opening notes are suspiciously similar to the
distinctive first few notes of Danny Elfman’s “Batman Theme” composed for
the 1989 Batman. If Elfman did indeed steal this motif from Zahler, he should
not feel too guilty about it—Zahler himself stole several key musical phrases for
his Batman music from Richard Wagner’s 1840 opera Rienzi. (I’ll discuss the
similarity between Zahler’s and Elfman’s Batman themes in more detail in
Chapter 8.)

The visual design of Batman’s opening credits should also be singled out for
praise. Each chapter opened with a richly rendered painting of the familiar
Batman logo featuring a bat silhouette with Batman’s face on the head. The title
of the serial, main credits and individual chapter title rolled over this painting,
resulting in an image that was perhaps as powerful as anything else found in
Batman.

Perhaps Batman’s greatest strength was that it introduced a number of elements

into the Batman mythos that would end up becoming as vital to the character as
his cape and cowl. First, the Batcave was entirely an invention of Batman’s
screenwriters. It was actually referred to as the “Bat’s Cave” in Batman, but its
name was just about the only element of it that would be changed from the
screen to the comic page. In Batman’s first scenes, the “Bat’s Cave” was
established as Batman’s secret base of operations, located under Bruce Wayne’s
residence in Gotham City. It was made up of a dimly lit main chamber that
featured a bat insignia on one of its rocky walls and a state-of-the-art crime
laboratory in a separate room. Batman’s “Bat’s Cave” certainly was not as
elaborate as the comic book Batcave would become over the years, but it holds
the distinction of being Batman’s first official “home.”

Batman also was responsible for creating one of Batman’s most memorable
supporting characters—Alfred, Bruce Wayne’s faithful English butler. Alfred,
played by William Austin, was an essential but slightly bumbling member of
Batman’s crimefighting team and the only person who knew that Bruce and Dick
were actually Batman and Robin. Many times during the course of the serial he
was called into service to assist them. Batman’s writers likely created Alfred to
be a “comic relief sidekick,” much like the characters “Gabby” Hayes and
Smiley Burnette played in Western films. Alfred was unquestionably a “good
guy” in the serial, but one who often found himself on the receiving end of
Bruce and Dick’s wisecracks and practical jokes.

Batman’s writers evidently informed DC Comics that they had created the
Alfred character for the serial, because Alfred was written into Batman’s comic
book world several months before the premiere of Batman’s first chapter. The
2

character made his first comic appearance in “Here Comes Alfred,” a story
featured in Batman #16, April-May 1943.

In “Here Comes Alfred,” Alfred unexpectedly arrives from England to assume

the duties of Bruce’s butler. Alfred explains that he has come to attend to Bruce
at the request of his father, who for many years worked as a butler for Bruce’s
father. Bruce and Dick are concerned about letting Alfred, an amateur detective,
stay with them because he might stumble onto the fact that they are actually
Batman and Robin. But Bruce does not have the heart to immediately send him
away, so he allows him to stay for one night. Of course, in that one night Alfred
does accidentally find out about Bruce and Dick’s alter egos, so the heroes have
no choice but to make him a member of their team.

Apparently, no one at DC was given the opportunity to find out what William
Austin was going to look like in the role of Alfred before the creation of “Here
Comes Alfred”—in the story, Alfred was portly and clean-shaven, while
Austin’s Alfred was tall, thin and sported a moustache. Not long after Batman
began running in theaters, DC figured out a way to reconcile these conflicting
versions of the character—in the story “Accidentally on Purpose” which
appeared in Detective Comics #83, January 1944, Alfred went on a diet and grew
a moustache! Alfred’s comic book look has continued to be modeled on Austin
right up to the present day.

Alfred would eventually evolve into a far more respected member of Batman’s
inner circle that he was shown to be in Batman, “Here Comes Alfred,” and
“Accidentally on Purpose.” Over the years, he would become something of a
wise father figure for Bruce and Dick, and certainly their closest confidant. He
would also be given a last name, or more accurately, two last names—in the
comics, his name was first revealed to be Alfred Beagle, but that name was
changed to Alfred Pennyworth. “Pennyworth” was the name that caught on with
Batman comic writers, so the character has been known as Alfred Pennyworth
for most of his existence. At any rate, Alfred would become such an important
part of Batman’s mythos that he would become the only character other than
Batman himself to appear in every Batman-related film and television project.
Even though Batman’s Alfred was not the fully realized character he would
eventually turn out to be, he was quite fun to watch thanks to Austin’s light,
comedic performance.

It should be noted that Alfred’s origin as depicted in “Here Comes Alfred” was
in no way a part of Batman’s storyline. This is hardly surprising, because the
serial also made no effort to incorporate the origins of Batman and Robin into its
narrative. Like most Batman comic stories, Batman simply began its story with
the premise that Batman and Robin were already well-established crimefighters.

However, there was one major difference in terms of how well-established they
were in the comics and how well-established they were in the serial—namely,
the Gotham City Police still considered Batman and Robin to be vigilantes who
operated outside the law. In the comics, Commissioner Gordon had appointed
Batman an honorary member of Gotham’s Police Department. For some
unknown reason, Batman’s writers chose not only to ignore this element of
Batman comic stories, but also to ignore Commissioner Gordon altogether—he
was not included in the serial’s storyline in any way.

The Gotham Police Department was instead represented by a character created

specifically for the serial, Captain Arnold. The befuddled captain (Charles
Wilson) spent most of his scenes wondering who Batman and Robin were and
why they were so much better crimefighters than any of the officers on his force.
Batman’s decision to ignore Gordon and the crimefighters’ “official”
relationship with the Gotham Police did not really hamper the serial in any way,
because it simply harkened back to those very first Batman stories when Batman
was a true vigilante.

Batman also featured a love interest for Bruce Wayne. The character of Bruce’s
girlfriend Linda Page was pulled from early 1940s Batman comic stories in order
to give Batman a “damsel in distress” to rescue in most every chapter. Like the
comic version of Linda, the movie version of Linda would often be annoyed
with Bruce because he was seemingly wasting his life away as a self-centered,
lazy playboy. Of course, neither version of Linda ever caught on to the fact that
Bruce behaved the way he did in order to keep people from figuring out that he
was actually Batman. The part of Linda was played by Shirley Patterson in
Batman, and her performance was amiable enough—though it certainly did not
rise above the decidedly clichéd nature of her character.

Chapter 1 of Batman, “The Electrical Brain,” starts out promisingly enough.

Batman is seen sitting behind a desk in his “Bat’s Cave,” wearing a grim
expression on his face. A narrator explains that the crimefighter is planning his
latest assault on the forces of evil. Batman’s thoughts are interrupted when
Robin runs up to him. Batman smiles, puts his arm around his junior partner and
the two of them dash out of the cave.

The heroes call the Gotham City Police Station to tell them to pick up a
“package” they have left for Capt. Arnold—two criminals neatly tied up with bat
insignias stamped on their heads. Before Batman and Robin leave the scene, one
of the criminals brazenly tells them that they will suffer Dr. Daka’s wrath for
their interference. The heroes do not stick around to find out more about Daka,
because Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson are due to meet Bruce’s girlfriend
Linda Page at her place of employment, the Gotham City Foundation. (The
Foundation seems to be some sort of medical facility, though its purpose is never
really explained during the serial’s 15 chapters.)

At the Foundation, Bruce puts on his “bored playboy” ruse while talking to
Linda, and she is put off by his seeming laziness. When she leaves the room,
Dick advises Bruce to drop the act and let her know that he is really Batman.
Bruce rejects this suggestion, saying he doesn’t want Linda to worry about him;
also, the U.S. government is planning on giving Batman and Robin ultra-secret
wartime intelligence assignments, so they must not let anyone know about their
crimefighting identities.

The next day, Bruce, Dick and Alfred accompany Linda on a trip to pick up
Linda’s Uncle Martin, who is just being released from prison. Martin was
unjustly convicted of a crime five years ago, and he is eager to make a fresh
start. Just before Linda and company arrive, his old cellmate Foster, who had
been released from prison some months before, intercepts him at the prison
gates. Foster tricks Martin into leaving the prison with him by saying that Linda
had sent him. When Martin gets suspicious, Foster pulls a gun on him and forces
him into a waiting car. Linda, Bruce, Dick and Alfred see Martin being driven
off, but they are unable to catch up with the car.

Foster takes Martin to an area of Gotham called “Little Tokyo,” which used to
be populated by Japanese immigrants. However, now that the Japanese have
bombed Pearl Harbor and the U.S. has entered World War II, the area is almost
deserted because the country’s “wise government has rounded up the shifty-eyed
Japs,” as the narrator phrases it.

This is undoubtedly Batman’s most repugnantly racist moment—obviously,

America’s decision to imprison over 100,000 Japanese-Americans who lived in
the western part of the U.S. during the World War II years simply because they
were of Japanese descent was a monstrously unjust one. It was an action that
Americans should have been ashamed of, even during the uncertainty of the war
years, not one to be celebrated in a fantasy movie serial geared mainly for young
audiences. Simply put, this moment in Batman spews the kind of propaganda
one might have expected to hear from our fascist enemies, not from the United
States. Luckily, Batman would not touch on real-life World War II issues again
—most all of its anti–Japanese sentiment from this point on would be directed at
the fictional Dr. Daka.

Foster forces Martin into an amusement park–style attraction called the

“Japanese Cave of Horrors.” This attraction, the only business still operating in
Little Tokyo, features wax figures depicting the history of Japan’s villainy
throughout the years. But the “Japanese Cave of Horrors” is not what it seems—
its real purpose is not to expose Japan’s villainy, but to conceal it. Deep inside
the attraction is the secret headquarters of Foster’s boss Daka.

When Martin is brought before Daka, Daka explains that as a servant of the
Japanese Emperor Hirohito, he has been charged with the duty of helping to
“destroy the democratic forces of evil in the United States to make way for the
new order, an order that will bring about the liberation of the enslaved people of
America.” To achieve this goal, Daka has assembled a group of American
businessmen who are experts in fields of industry and commerce—these men are
helping Daka in his efforts. Daka “asks” Martin to join their cause, at the same
time warning him that if he should refuse this request, he will be forced to join.
Martin refuses, saying that no amount of torture can compel him to turn against
his country.

Daka explains that he will force Martin to serve him by using his “zombie
machine” to turn Martin into a mindless drone who responds only to his
(Daka’s) commands. Daka demonstrates his zombie technology by commanding
one of these zombies to come into the room. The drone, one of Martin’s old
business partners, does not even recognize Martin. Martin is frightened by this
demonstration, but he still refuses to cooperate with Daka.

Daka chooses not to turn Martin into a zombie at this point; instead, he injects
Martin with truth serum in order to find out what he knows about the Gotham
City Foundation’s radium supply. Martin tells Daka that a small amount of
radium is kept in the Foundation’s safe. Daka has in his possession a radium gun
which is so powerful it can destroy virtually anything it is aimed at. Daka tells
his men that if he can obtain enough radium, he can build a much larger gun that
could be used as a weapon of mass destruction. Daka sends Foster and some of
his other henchmen to the Foundation to steal the radium.

Bruce and Dick are at the Foundation when the criminals arrive. Recognizing the
men as the ones Martin drove off with, they decide to investigate as Batman and
Robin.

Daka’s henchmen force their way into the Foundation, overpower Linda and use
the radium gun to blow up the safe holding the radium. Before they can flee,
Batman and Robin crash through a window and begin fighting them. The heroes
chase the criminals onto the roof of the building, where they narrowly escape
being struck by several blasts from the radium gun. The criminals eventually
overpower Batman and Robin and throw Batman off of the roof. The chapter
closes with Batman plummeting to his doom.

Chapter 2 of Batman, “The Bat’s Cave,” opens with a brief recap of Chapter 1’s
climactic moments. We then see that Batman survives his fall from the roof
because he lands on a painter’s scaffolding several floors down. Climbing back
up to the roof, he and Robin apprehend one of Daka’s men and take him and the
radium gun to the Bat’s Cave.
At the cave, they interrogate the henchman, who is spooked by all of the bats
flying around in the darkness. He tells the heroes that he was hired to help steal
the Gotham City Foundation’s radium supply and then take it to a low-rent hotel
called the House of the Open Door. The heroes deliver the hood to Captain
Arnold at the Gotham Police Station.

Daka, furious over the loss of the radium gun, assumes that the weapon must still
be somewhere in the Foundation and he instructs his men to interrogate Linda
regarding its whereabouts. One of Daka’s thugs calls Linda, pretending to be
Martin, and sets up a meeting with her at a nightclub. Bruce finds out about this
meeting and fears it might be a trap. He and Dick follow her, but their efforts are
in vain—Daka’s men kidnap her and spirit her away to the House of the Open
Door.

Based on the information they received from Daka’s hood in the Bat’s Cave,
Batman and Robin decide to check out the House of the Open Door. The heroes
burst into the hotel just as the thugs are getting rough with Linda. A fight ensues
and a fire breaks out in the chaos. Batman and Robin climb out a window to
safety, walking on a utility line like high-wire artists. Robin makes it to the
ground, but Batman, who is carrying the unconscious Linda, falls when one of
the hoods shorts out the line, causing it to break. The chapter ends with Batman
and Linda apparently falling to their death.

Chapter 3, “The Mark of the Zombies,” recaps Batman and Linda’s fall, and then
reveals that Robin saves the pair by throwing them a rope at the last second. (Or
rather, this seems to be what Robin does—the action is so unclear in this scene it
is almost impossible to make out!)

Daka makes plans to hijack a government train carrying a supply of radium, and
also makes good on his threat to turn the uncooperative Martin into a zombie.
Meanwhile, Batman places an anonymous notice in the paper advertising the
discovery of the radium gun in the hopes of luring Daka or his men out of
hiding. Daka takes the bait, sending his men to meet with the finder of the
weapon. Batman and Robin do not keep this appointment themselves; they send
Alfred to meet with Daka’s men, staying close in case of trouble.

Of course, there is trouble—the hoods pull a gun on Alfred, and the heroes jump
in to save him. The thugs give Batman and Robin more trouble than they
bargained on, so Alfred ends up saving them by grabbing the gun and firing it
wildly into the air, scaring the hoods off. Because of the fight, Foster
inadvertently left behind a map detailing Daka’s train hijack plans. The train is
just about to reach the bridge that Daka intends to destroy in order to stop it, so
Batman and Robin leap into action and confront Daka’s men on the bridge. The
heroes are able to prevent the destruction of the bridge, but Batman is knocked
out in the struggle. He lies unconscious on the railroad bridge with the train
bearing down on him as the chapter ends.

In Chapter 4, “Slaves of the Rising Sun,” we see that Robin saves Batman by
pushing him off the bridge to safety right before the train reaches him. They both
fall into a shallow creek as the train thunders by. Daka is furious with his men
when he learns that both the radium gun and the government radium shipment
have slipped through their fingers. In fact, he becomes so furious that Foster tells
him he is quitting their gang right then and there. But Daka will have none of
this insubordination. He drops Foster through a hidden trapdoor right in the
middle of his lair. The trapdoor leads down into a pit filled with Daka’s “pets,” a
bunch of ravenous alligators. As Foster meets his horrible fate, Daka tells his
remaining men that they would be wise to avoid harboring the kind of mutinous
thoughts that their late colleague did.

Daka hatches another scheme to capture Linda, who is carrying papers

containing information about a shipment of radium due to arrive at the
Foundation. Daka’s hoods do not succeed in nabbing Linda, but they are able to
steal the papers. Learning the details of the shipment, they hijack the armored
car carrying the radium. As they flee in the armored car, Batman and Robin
pursue them. Robin drives as Batman leaps out of their car and onto the armored
car. Using the radium gun, he blasts his way into the car and overpowers the
hoods. The chapter closes with Batman struggling with the armored car’s driver
as it careens off the edge of a cliff.

Chapter 5, “The Living Corpse,” reveals that Batman falls out of the armored car
right before it goes over the cliff. Some time later, the corpse of a Japanese
soldier is delivered to Daka, who (using a special electrical apparatus) is able to
briefly bring him back to life. During those moments, the soldier tells Daka that
a new airplane motor has been designed by the Americans at the Lockwood
Aircraft Factory, and that the Japanese government wants Daka to steal it. The
soldier then lapses back into death, happy that he has served his country.

Bruce and Dick also learn about the new airplane motor, though not through
anything as diabolical as a “living corpse.” They get a letter from the U.S.
government containing a seemingly blank sheet of paper. But when Bruce
submerges the paper in a special chemical, writing appears on the paper telling
the heroes to be on the lookout for saboteurs at Lockwood. (This scene contains
one of Batman’s funniest gaffes—the address on the letter reads “Mr. Bruce
Wayne/1918 Hill Road/Los Angeles, Calif.” Even though the serial was being
filmed in California, one would think that Batman’s prop department would have
remembered that Batman was supposed to be operating in Gotham City!)

Daka is able to turn two Lockwood employees into zombies and sends them
back to the factory to steal the plane containing the new motor. The zombies
knock out the plane’s pilots and fly the craft into the sky themselves, unaware
that Batman has stowed away on board. Batman attacks the zombies, and during
their struggle the plane goes out of control and crashes.

Chapter 6, “Poison Peril,” reveals that Batman and the zombies were inside the
plane when it crashed—the solution to this cliffhanger is simply that Batman
walks away from the crash miraculously unharmed! In fact, his costume isn’t
even dirtied or torn. (Batman’s writers were seemingly running out of escape
ideas for Batman only five chapters into the serial.) As Batman makes his way
back to town, he looks at a road sign that says “Garden City—58 miles”—it
seems that Batman’s prop department was still having problems understanding
that Batman’s adventures were supposed to be taking place in Gotham City!

Bruce and Dick are eventually able to get back home, where they find Linda
waiting for them. She has come to tell them that Martin’s friend Ken Colton has
come to town. Colton had entered into a joint mining venture with Martin, and it
just so happens that their mine has yielded a rich supply of (you guessed it)
radium. Bruce, Dick and Colton meet over at Linda’s apartment that night so
that Colton can tell them all about his good fortune.

Someone else listens in on this conversation: Daka has bugged Linda’s

apartment in order to find out her connection to Batman. (He has figured out that
there must be some connection between the two, because every time she is in
trouble, Batman comes to her rescue.) However, right before Colton tells them
where the mine is, Dick finds the bug and disconnects it. Daka then sends his
men to break into Colton’s hotel room to try to find out the location of the mine.
But Colton comes back to his room while they are there, and a fight ensues.
Luckily for Colton, Batman and Robin burst in and chase the thugs off.
Daka still will not give up on finding the location of Colton’s mine, so he
commands Martin to call Colton. Under Daka’s influence, Martin asks Colton to
meet him at a chemical warehouse. Bruce learns of Martin’s call and assumes
that it is meant to lead Colton into a trap. He has Alfred dress up as Colton and
go to the warehouse. Of course, it is a trap—Daka’s men arrive and start to
rough up “Colton.” Batman and Robin come to Alfred’s rescue, but the thugs
overpower them. To make matters worse, some chemicals are ignited during the
fight, trapping Batman, Robin and Alfred. The chapter ends with the trio facing
what looks to be certain doom as the fire bursts into a fierce explosion.

In Chapter 7, “The Phoney Doctor,” Robin and Alfred take refuge from the
explosion in a large safe, and Batman is saved by collapsing steel beams that
form a protective arch above him. Later, Bruce calls Colton to warn him that
someone is still trying to find the location of his mine. But this warning is not
enough to keep Colton out of danger—one of Daka’s men, posing as a doctor,
abducts the miner. Bruce and Dick check in on Colton and realize he has been
forcibly taken. The handkerchief soaked in chloroform used to drug Colton has
been left at the scene, and Bruce sees a Japanese laundry mark on it.
Investigating the Japanese laundromat, Bruce and Dick see some of Daka’s men.
They change to Batman and Robin and jump the criminals. They are
overpowered, and Batman is thrown down an elevator shaft. (Or rather, a
laughably bad dummy in a Batman costume is thrown down an elevator shaft!)
The elevator car is just about to come down on him as the chapter ends.

In Chapter 8, “Lured by Radium,” Robin stops the elevator car right before it can
crush Batman. (However, it does not explain how Batman was able to survive
the 20-foot-plus fall right on his face that preceded his close call with the
elevator.) Later, Linda convinces Bruce and Dick to accompany her on a visit to
Colton’s mine. Since Martin and now Colton have gone missing, Linda thinks
that maybe they can find a clue as to their whereabouts inside of Colton’s cabin
located near the mine’s entrance. Linda, Bruce, Dick and Alfred set off for the
mine, carrying a trailer full of supplies with them.

Daka is holding Colton prisoner, and he is able to persuade the miner to reveal
the location of the mine. Daka sends his men and Colton out to the mine to
retrieve some radium for him. Daka’s men go the entrance of the mine, and
Colton manages to escape from them. Bruce and Dick decide to walk to the
entrance of the mine and check it out as well, and there they see the car
belonging to Daka’s men. They decide to investigate as Batman and Robin.
Colton exits the mine through a secret passage that leads to a trapdoor located in
the floor of the cabin. As he comes up through the trapdoor, he is surprised to
find Linda and Alfred there. Colton tells them he is going to blow the mine up
with dynamite and finish off Daka’s men. Alfred fears that Bruce and Dick are
still in the mine, so he rushes off to warn them. But he doesn’t get far—two of
Daka’s men capture him. When Linda realizes that Alfred has not been able to
warn Bruce and Dick, she follows Colton through the trapdoor to try to find
them. Linda is confronted by several more of Daka’s men. Batman and Robin
come to her rescue, and a chaotic fight ensues. During the struggle, one of the
thugs lands on the dynamite detonator, which sets off a tremendous explosion.
The chapter closes as the explosion brings the walls of the mine crashing down.

In Chapter 9, “The Sign of the Sphinx,” we learn that Batman, Robin and Linda
get clear of the explosion and falling rubble. Batman and Robin capture one of
Daka’s men, a hood named Marshall. Colton has been killed in the explosion.

Batman and Robin sneak away, change out of their costumes and return to the
cabin. Bruce and Dick explain their absence to Linda by telling her they never
went into the mine—they laid down under a tree and took a nap! She is furious
with them, and tells them that Colton is dead. In another one of Batman’s
funniest gaffes, Bruce asks her what happened to Colton—but Linda simply
says, “I don’t want to talk about it, let’s get out of this place”—and then
everyone just leaves the cabin for home! Their friend has been brutally killed,
and they all brush it off as if it were of no more concern than a bad day at work
—they don’t even bother to try to find a way to recover his body!

The heroes take Marshall back to the Bat’s Cave, and through him they learn
that Daka’s men are hiding out at a waterfront dive called the Sphinx Club.
Bruce assumes the guise of a cheap gangster and, calling himself Chuck White,
he goes to the club. One of Daka’s men, Fletcher, becomes suspicious of Bruce,
pulls a gun on him and prepares to search him. Just then, Robin shines a bat
signal flashlight through the window on the wall next to Bruce, and Fletcher and
Daka’s other hoods are momentarily distracted. Bruce breaks free of them and
changes to Batman. As the criminals attack Robin outside the club, Batman
appears on a nearby rooftop, spreading his arms wide to make a giant bat
silhouette with his cape just before he pounces on them. Unfortunately, this
dramatic entrance doesn’t help the heroes’ chances in the fight—they are
overpowered and Batman is knocked out under a loading ramp. The chapter ends
with one of the gangsters cutting a rope that seemingly sends the ramp crashing
down on Batman.

Chapter 10, “Flying Spies,” reveals that Batman is able to roll out of the way of
the ramp right before it lands on him. Later, the heroes decide to turn Marshall
over to the police. However, they do not tell the police about the Sphinx Club
and the fact that Daka’s men are hiding there. The heroes hope that Fletcher or
one of the other men will lead them to the brains of their organization. (Batman
and Robin still have no idea they are up against Daka—they haven’t heard his
name mentioned since the very opening of Chapter 1.)

Daka receives word that a shipment of radium will soon be dropped from a plane
for him. As he prepares to receive this shipment, Batman and Robin also receive
word about the radium drop from the U.S. government. Bruce again dons his
Chuck White disguise and returns to the Sphinx Club. He allows himself to be
recruited as a member of Daka’s gang, and his first assignment is to help Daka’s
men retrieve the radium. As they wait for the plane to fly overhead and drop the
shipment, several of Daka’s men again become suspicious of Bruce. When they
confront him, he runs out of sight and changes into Batman. The radium is
dropped via parachute, and Batman drives off in one of the criminals’ cars in
order to get to it. But one of Daka’s men shoots out a tire on the car. The car
careens off a road and bursts into flames.

In Chapter 11, “A Nipponese Trap,” Batman jumps free of the car before it
crashes and burns. (There is no explanation as to why the car caught on fire in
the first place—after all, it only suffered a punctured tire!) Batman, smarting
over his failure to keep the radium shipment out of the criminals’ hands, forms
another plan to catch up with the criminals. Again disguising himself as Chuck
White, he gets himself thrown into the prison cell next to Marshall. Bruce strikes
up a conversation with Marshall, telling him that he knows where Batman’s
Bat’s Cave is located. Marshall gives Bruce the address of yet another hideout
that Daka’s men are using, and tells him to go there and relay the information
about the Bat’s Cave.

Batman and Robin go to the address Marshall has provided and attack Daka’s
men who are stationed there. But they are yet again overpowered and knocked
out. The criminals unmask Batman, but Bruce is still disguised as Chuck White
—so they assume that Chuck White is Batman. Robin regains consciousness,
and from the other room he radios the police for help. Realizing their cover is
blown, the criminals decide to dynamite the hideout so that the police will not
find any clues there. The chapter ends with Batman and Robin apparently still
inside the hideout as it is destroyed by a huge explosion.

Chapter 12, “Embers of Evil,” reveals that the heroes are able to escape the
explosion through a trapdoor in the hideout floor. Later, Daka hatches yet
another scheme to capture Batman. Using Martin as bait, Daka draws Linda into
a trap, and this time she does not escape his clutches. Now using Linda as bait,
Daka lures Batman and Robin to a factory where Daka’s men are holding her
hostage. A fight breaks out between the heroes and the henchmen, and the
factory catches fire in the melee. Everyone escapes except for Batman, who as
the chapter ends is trapped in the inferno.

In Chapter 13, “Eight Steps Down,” Batman gets out of the factory right before
it collapses. He and Robin return to the Sphinx Club (shut down by Capt. Arnold
since Daka’s men were discovered to be hiding there) to look for clues regarding
Linda’s disappearance.

They capture one of Daka’s thugs, Bernie, still hiding out in the building, and
take him back to the Bat’s Cave to interrogate him. Bernie tips them off to still
another one of Daka’s hideouts, one located on Bell Street. There the heroes find
a hidden tunnel leading from it to Daka’s lair.

Meanwhile, Linda is taken to Daka and comes face-to-face with him for the first
time. Daka tries to force Linda to lead Bruce Wayne to him; Daka has finally
come to the conclusion that the connection between Linda and Batman might be
that Wayne and Batman are the same person. Linda refuses, so Daka prepares to
turn her into a zombie. Just as he is strapping her to the zombie machine,
Batman sets off an alarm in the tunnel outside of Daka’s lair. Daka opens a
trapdoor under Batman’s feet and he falls into a pit with spikes lining the walls.
(This is another one of Batman’s most unintentionally funny scenes. The spikes
in the pit do not look sharp at all, they are shaped like—well, to be perfectly
blunt, they are extremely phallic-looking! If Fredric Wertham, author of the
1954 anti-comic diatribe Seduction of the Innocent, had ever gotten the chance to
see this scene, he would have had a field day with it.) The walls suddenly start to
close in as the chapter ends.

In Chapter 14, “The Executioner Strikes,” Batman wedges a crowbar between

the walls to keep from being impaled by the spikes. Daka destroys the Bell
Street tunnel leading to his hideout, so Batman and Robin resolve to find another
way in. Daka also makes good on his threat to turn Linda into a zombie; he then
instructs her to write Bruce a letter asking him to meet her. Bruce receives the
letter and, even though he is convinced it is meant to lead him into a trap, he
goes to the location of the meeting as Batman. Two of Daka’s men jump him,
knock him out and place him in a large coffin-like crate. (One would think that
the mighty Batman would be on his guard a bit more when walking into a
situation that he knew was a trap.) In a quick succession of scenes, we see the
crate being taken to Daka’s lair and Daka dumping it into his alligator pit.

In Chapter 15, “The Doom of the Rising Sun,” we learn that Chapter 14’s final
scenes were basically an out-and-out cheat accomplished through editing: Well
before the crate is taken to Daka, Robin rescues Batman from his predicament.
The heroes then place one of Daka’s men in the crate, and he meets his end in
the alligator pit. Meanwhile, Batman and Robin have followed the men who took
the crate to Daka’s lair, so they have finally found a way to get to their as-yet-
unknown foe.

The heroes make their way through the “Japanese Cave of Horrors,” trying to
locate the entrance into Daka’s lair. Via one of his remote viewing devices Daka
sees Batman and Robin in the cave, and he sends his men out to capture them.
The heroes overcome all of the thugs (yes, they finally get to decisively win a
fight—after all, we are in the last chapter of the serial!) and Batman makes his
way into the main chamber of Daka’s lair.

Before Batman can get to Daka, two zombies grab him. Daka prepares to turn
Batman into a zombie, but before he does he cannot resist the chance to gloat a
bit, bringing out his zombies Martin and Linda to show Batman how complete
his triumph is. Robin bursts in and throws a lasso around Daka, capturing him.
Batman then makes the bound Daka walk him through the process of “de-
zombifying” Linda and Martin.

In going through Daka’s papers, Batman learns that Martin was convicted and
sent to prison on the basis of false testimony from one of Daka’s men, so Martin
can now begin a fresh start in life as an exonerated man. While Batman has been
looking over these papers, Daka has loosened his bonds. He jumps up and takes
Linda hostage as he tries to make his escape. Batman yells to Robin to hit the
switch that closes the automatic door leading out of the lair, but Robin
mistakenly hits the switch that opens the trapdoor leading to the alligator pit. As
luck would have it, Daka is standing on the trapdoor—he falls into the pit and is
devoured by his alligator “pets.”

Capt. Arnold arrives on the scene but the officer still is not able to find out who
Batman and Robin really are because the heroes escape through one of the lair’s
hidden doors. Arnold offers to take Linda home just as Bruce and Dick come in
looking for her. (Capt. Arnold probably should have been able to guess Batman
and Robin’s real identities by this extremely coincidental appearance of Bruce
and Dick, but he makes no such deduction.) The serial ends with Bruce, Dick
and Linda all headed for home, happy in the knowledge that good has
vanquished over evil.

After “The Doom of the Rising Sun” finished its run in the autumn of 1943,
Batman’s big screen debut was a matter of history. And not particularly
momentous history at that. Batman performed well enough for Columbia, but its
quality was such that there was really nothing to distinguish the production from
the dozens of other similar low-budget serials that premiered in the mid–1940s.
So, generally speaking, Batman went from the theaters to obscurity almost
overnight—the serial was given a very low profile re-release by Columbia in
1954, and after that, it gathered dust in the studio’s archives. Batman remained
there for over a decade, apparently destined to be forgotten by all but the most
avid film buffs and comic book fans.

Then in 1965, a very strange thing happened to Batman. As the concept of

“camp” entertainment became popular in the 1960s, and younger audiences
looked to find works so outrageously bad they were good, Columbia re-released
the serial in its 15-chapter entirety under the title An Evening with Batman and
Robin. The marathon film played in selected cities across the country, mainly in
college towns, and it drew huge crowds who howled with laughter at Batman
and Robin’s efforts to vanquish Daka’s forces of evil. In fact, this release of
Batman as a camp piece actually brought the film far more attention than it had
ever received as a straight action-adventure piece. Time magazine even ran a
national story on the serial in November 1965 which stated “Wilson and Croft
prompt more laughter than any other pair since Laurel and Hardy.” 3

Batman’s 1965 resurrection as a camp hero was certainly troubling to the

character’s loyal comic book fans—after all, DC Comics had just performed a
major Bat-revamp the previous year to make him a more plausible, “serious”
character than he had been in his 1950s incarnation. But in all fairness, Batman
arguably worked far better as camp entertainment than it ever had as an action-
adventure work. Simply put, from a modern perspective much of Batman was
ridiculous—so why not enjoy it as comedic, escapist entertainment?

Holy foreshadowing, Batman! In an amazing coincidence, guess what television

show was going into production just as Batman was enjoying its run as an
unintentional comedy? The ABC prime-time series Batman premiered in
January 1966, right on the heels of An Evening with Batman and Robin’s
improbable success. So the 1943 Batman turned out to be the work that started to
shape the general public’s perception of Batman as a camp hero. Of course,
ABC’s Batman was the work that would cement this perception for decades, but
the 1943 Batman should be credited (perhaps serious Batman fans would prefer
the word “faulted”) for getting the “Batman as camp” ball rolling.

In his autobiography Batman and Me, Bob Kane expressed his disappointment
over seeing his creation come to the screen for the first time in such a low-
budget, poorly-realized production. He visited the set while Batman was being
filmed, and was distressed to learn that Columbia wasn’t even giving Batman
and Robin a Batmobile to drive around in. Kane was also decidedly unimpressed
with the serial’s uninspired World War II–themed plot. In short, Batman’s
creator didn’t think any more of Batman than the 1960s audiences who viewed it
as a camp work did. 4

Interestingly, Batman was treated as somewhat of a more “serious” work when it

was released on home video formats in the years following its 1960s camp
revival. Due to the success of An Evening with Batman and Robin and ABC’s
Batman, Columbia edited the serial into a roughly hour-long, six-chapter version
entitled The Adventures of Batman and offered it for sale on 8mm and Super
8mm film at stores throughout the country in the late 1960s. The Adventures of
Batman was packaged in brightly colored boxes that featured a dramatic painting
of Batman clad in a parachute harness, bearing down on a criminal. The art was
accompanied by the tag line “Mightiest Hero of All Action Serials!”

Obviously, this art was not particularly representative of the action found in The
Adventures of Batman. In fact, its image of Batman was actually taken from
posters used to advertise the 1949 serial Batman and Robin. But still, it
presented The Adventures of Batman in the spirit that the 1943 Batman was
originally intended to be taken—namely, as an action-adventure piece rather
than a camp piece. Unfortunately, Columbia shortchanged this home movie
version of Batman by choosing to release it as a silent film with subtitles rather
than as a sound film. When stripped of sound, The Adventures of Batman simply
did not have the same kind of impact that the serial had in its original 1943 form.

In the 1970s, Columbia released a second home movie version of Batman which
was far superior to The Adventures of Batman. The serial was presented under its
original title on Super 8mm sound film as part of a series called Columbia
Pictures: The Condensed Features Collection. This version of Batman not only
restored sound to the serial, but also presented it in its full 15-chapter format.
The Super 8mm sound version of Batman was packaged in boxes that featured
colorful pop art–style renderings of Batman, Robin, Linda Page and Dr. Daka.

Batman was released to the general public on VHS videotape in 1990 by

GoodTimes Home Video. Unfortunately, the two-tape set was unquestionably a
“cheapie” designed to cash in on the character’s newfound popularity following
the blockbuster success of the 1989 film Batman. It was recorded at a
substandard playback speed, which resulted in picture and sound being
considerably less sharp than most pre-recorded videotapes. It also contained
some decidedly amateurish dialogue edits in its audio track; these edits were
meant to tone down the serial’s anti–Japanese content, replacing the word “Japs”
with the word “thugs,” for example. Since this VHS version of Batman was
likely going to be viewed by very young Batman fans, the edits were definitely
reasonable ones—however, they should have been handled with considerably
more finesse.

Like the box art for the Batman home movies, the box art for the GoodTimes
VHS version of Batman advertised the serial as an action-adventure piece. It
featured a dramatic, though highly retouched photograph of Lewis Wilson in his
Batman costume, leaping through a cloud of smoke. The most amusing thing
about the photo was that the bat ears on Wilson’s cowl were severely cropped so
that they did not point off in crazy, asymmetric angles the way they really did in
the serial!

Batman was finally treated to a high-quality home video release in late 2005,
when Sony Pictures Home Entertainment presented the serial on a 2-disc DVD
set. The overall picture and sound quality of the set was reasonably good,
although it varied from chapter to chapter—some chapters seemed almost
pristine, while others appeared to be derived from inferior quality prints. Perhaps
the set’s biggest drawback was that it offered no bonus features or printed
material dealing with the making of the serial. That said, however, the Sony
DVD release of Batman was a vast improvement over the previous home video
versions of Batman.

Interestingly, Sony chose not to remove any of Batman’s anti–Japanese

sentiments in their DVD release of the serial. As previously mentioned, the
GoodTimes VHS version of Batman altered some of the serial’s most bigoted
dialogue, presumably because GoodTimes was anticipating that their product
would be watched by very young Batman fans. Sony certainly had to assume
that their version of the serial would also attract the attention of youngsters, but
they decided to let the serial’s unpleasant racial stereotypes stand as a matter of
historical record.

Like previous home video versions of Batman, the Batman DVD set was
packaged in a manner that was both visually striking and decidedly misleading.
The cover of the set was adorned with dramatic, sepia-toned artwork depicting
Batman and Robin swooping down from out of the sky, an image far more
stylish and striking than anything found in the serial itself! Obviously, the
artwork was a not-so-subtle attempt to market the set as a kind of counterpart to
the 2005 blockbuster film Batman Begins, which had first been advertised
through a series of sepia-toned posters. Just in case anyone missed Sony’s
attempt to connect the two works, there was a tag line displayed prominently on
Batman’s back cover that read “SEE HOW BATMAN REALLY BEGAN!” And
just in case that didn’t get the point across, the Batman DVD set was released on
the very same week that Batman Begins was first released on DVD!

It has now been seven decades since Batman was first released, and Sony’s
Batman DVD set has guaranteed that the serial will be accessible to anyone who
wishes to see it for a long, long time. Batman is basically such a poor motion
picture work that one might argue it is not deserving of the longevity it has
ended up enjoying. But this author feels that Batman is worthy of remembrance.
After all, the serial does represent the first time Batman ever appeared on screen
—and despite all its flaws, Batman’s best moments are just about as memorable
and enjoyable as any screen depiction of the character to date. Granted, these
moments are few and far between. But scenes such as the ones showing Batman
and Robin interrogating thugs in the Bat’s Cave, or Batman spreading his arms
wide to make a giant bat silhouette with his cape just before he pounces on a
group of criminals, are “classic Batman,” as true to the character as any Batman
image put on film in the 70-plus years since. Batman might not be very good,
but it is still good enough to always stand as a very important milestone in the
character’s history.
 3
Between the Serials, 1943–1948

As we have seen in the previous two chapters, the Batman character’s first five
years were extremely eventful ones. During those years, Batman skyrocketed
from being nothing more than a young artist’s rough preliminary sketch to being
a nationally-known character appearing in multiple comic titles and a motion
picture serial. Batman’s next five years were not quite as momentous, but they
still contained several notable events in the character’s history.

In late 1943, Batman was given his own newspaper comic strip, entitled Batman
and Robin. The McClure Syndicate offered Batman and Robin to newspapers
around the country from October 1943 until November 1946. Though McClure
discontinued the strip because it was not being carried by enough newspapers to
make it profitable, it still managed to bring Batman to the attention of millions of
non–comic book readers throughout the United States during its run.

Bob Kane worked on the pencil sketches for Batman and Robin, leading him to
focus his attention away from the character’s comic book titles. Batman and
Robin was inked by Charles Paris. Paris’ association with the Batman character
began with the strip, but it did not end there—after Batman and Robin folded,
Paris continued to ink Batman comic stories all the way up until 1964! 1

The strip holds the distinction of being the first print work to feature a fully
realized version of the Batcave. As discussed last chapter, the “Bat’s Cave,”
Batman’s secret headquarters located in a cave under Bruce Wayne’s Gotham
City home, was created for the 1943 serial Batman. In the months since the
serial’s first chapters had premiered, Kane decided to expand on the idea of the
Batcave for use in Batman and Robin. So for the first time, the Batcave was
depicted in its familiar form of an incredibly elaborate underground center of
operations.

Another form of media helped to broaden Batman and Robin’s audience during
this time period. The characters reached millions of radio listeners when they
appeared on the Mutual Broadcasting System’s popular radio serial The
Adventures of Superman. Batman and Robin first teamed up with Superman on
the serial in “The Mystery of the Waxmen,” a storyline which aired in March
1945. In “The Mystery of the Waxmen,” the part of Batman was voiced by Stacy
Harris and the part of Robin was voiced by Ronald Liss. The characters would
continue to work with Superman on The Adventures of Superman up through the
end of the 1940s. The serial’s storylines that featured Batman and Robin had
several different actors other than Harris playing the part of Batman—the
character was usually voiced by either Matt Crowley or Gary Merrill. The part of
Robin was always voiced by Liss. 2

It is interesting to note that The Adventures of Superman was the first work of
any kind to feature stories that depicted Superman and Batman regularly teaming
up to fight crime. As mentioned in Chapter 1, World’s Finest Comics contained
stories featuring the characters, but Superman actually appeared in stories of his
own, and Batman appeared in stories of his own. The heroes would not begin
working together in World’s Finest Comics until 1954, almost a decade after
their first team-up on The Adventures of Superman.

Though Batman’s adventures with Superman on The Adventures of Superman

certainly helped the character to win new fans, it should be mentioned that the
serial never seemed all that interested in depicting him with any real depth.
Many of the elements that were so essential to the Batman character were never
worked into the serial at all. For example, The Adventures of Superman never
established that Batman’s home was Gotham City—it simply appeared that like
Superman, Batman was based in Metropolis. Also, the serial never got around to
mentioning that Batman’s crimefighting operations were headquartered in his
Batcave. Perhaps if Batman had ever gotten his own radio serial, his world
would have been fleshed out in greater detail—but his presence on the radio
would never rise above him being simply a supporting character for Superman
on The Adventures of Superman.

DC Comics continued to do their fair share of the work in terms of keeping

Batman and Robin’s popularity growing. Starting in February 1947, Robin was
featured in solo stories appearing in the DC title Star Spangled Comics. Robin’s
adventures in Star Spangled Comics would continue up until July 1952.

A number of classic Batman comic stories were published in the mid– to late
1940s. Perhaps the most notable of these was “The Origin of Batman,” which
was featured in Batman #47, June-July 1948. The story re-examined and
expanded upon Batman’s origin story that was first published back in late 1939.
In “The Origin of Batman,” Batman encounters a small-time hood named Joe
Chill whom the crimefighter recognizes as the thief who gunned down his father
many years ago. (The story made one major change regarding Bruce’s parent’s
deaths. In Batman’s 1939 origin, the thief who attacked the Waynes shot both
Bruce’s father and mother. In “The Origin of Batman,” Chill did not shoot
Bruce’s mother—instead, she died of a heart attack upon the shock of seeing her
husband killed.)

Batman tells Robin that at long last he has located the man responsible for the
death of his parents, and he plans on hunting this criminal down—without
Robin’s aid. Batman feels that he alone must confront the criminal who brought
about his existence. Batman goes to Chill and tells him he knows that he killed
Thomas Wayne, and that even after all these years, Bruce Wayne would still be
able to identify him. When Chill reacts to this information with disbelief,
Batman removes his mask and tells Chill that it is true, Wayne can identify him
—because Batman and Bruce Wayne are one and the same person, and Wayne
became Batman as a result of Chill’s long-ago murderous deed.

In panic, Chill runs away from Batman. He meets up with a group of thugs who
work for him, and tells them that he is in real trouble—he killed Batman’s father,
and now Batman is after him for the crime. When the thugs learn that the only
reason that their hated enemy Batman came into existence was because of Chill,
they fly into a rage and shoot Chill, mortally wounding him. The thugs then try
to get Chill to tell them who Batman really is before he dies, but Batman attacks
them and prevents them from learning his true identity. “The Origin of Batman”
ends with Chill dying in Batman’s arms, and the crimefighter declaring the case
of his father’s death “closed.”

“The Origin of Batman” has remained an important part of Batman’s mythos for
over 60 years. Even though DC Comics has often tinkered with the details of
Batman’s origin since the story was first published, the Joe Chill character has
almost continually been known in the comics as the villain who was responsible
for the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne.

Batman might have finally brought the criminal responsible for his creation to
justice, but there were still an infinite number of adventures in store for the
character. He returned to the big screen for the second time Columbia’s 1949
serial Batman and Robin. We’ll examine Batman and Robin in detail in the next
chapter.
 4
Batman and Robin (1949)

Cast: Robert Lowery (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Johnny Duncan (Robin/Dick

Grayson), Jane Adams (Vicki Vale), Lyle Talbot (Commissioner Gordon), Eric
Wilton (Alfred), Ralph Graves (Harrison), Don Harvey (Nolan), William
Fawcett (Prof. Hamill), Leonard Penn (Carter), Rick Vallin (Barry Brown),
Michael Whalen (Dunne), Greg McClure (Evans), House Peters, Jr. (Earl), Jim
Diehl (Jason), Rusty Wescoatt (Ives), John Doucette (Dan), Marshall Bradford
(Morton), Hal Landon (Jimmy Vale), Allan Ray (Mac Lacey). Producer: Sam
Katzman. Director: Spencer Bennet. Screenplay: George H. Plympton, Joseph
F. Poland, Royal K. Cole (based on Batman comic magazine features appearing
in Detective Comics and Batman magazines). Batman Creator: Bob Kane.
Director of Photography: Ira H. Morgan. Art Director: Paul Palmentola. Film
Editors: Dwight Caldwell, Earl Turner. Set Decorator: Sidney Clifford. Music:
Mischa Bakaleinikoff. Production Manager: Herbert Leonard. Studio:
Columbia. Length: Approximately 257 minutes in 15 separate chapters. United
States Release Dates: May 26–September 1, 1949.
Chapter Titles
1. “Batman Takes Over” (Released May 26, 1949)
2. “Tunnel of Terror” (Released June 2, 1949)
3. “Robin’s Wild Ride” (Released June 9, 1949)
4. “Batman Trapped” (Released June 16, 1949)
5. “Robin Rescues Batman” (Released June 23, 1949)
6. “Target: Robin” (Released June 30, 1949)
7. “The Fatal Blast” (Released July 7, 1949)
8. “Robin Meets the Wizard” (Released July 14, 1949)
9. “The Wizard Strikes Back” (Released July 21, 1949)
10. “Batman’s Last Chance” (Released July 28, 1949)
11. “Robin’s Ruse” (Released August 4, 1949)
12. “Robin Rides the Wind” (Released August 11, 1949)
13. “The Wizard’s Challenge” (Released August 18, 1949)
14. “Batman vs. Wizard” (Released August 25, 1949)
15. “Batman Victorious” (Released September 1, 1949)

Columbia’s 1943 serial Batman was by no means a commercial failure, but it

certainly did not achieve any great level of success that made the studio want to
immediately follow it up with another Batman serial. In fact, Columbia waited
until 1949 before deciding to produce its second and last Batman serial, Batman
and Robin. Batman and Robin starred Robert Lowery as Batman/Bruce Wayne
and Johnny Duncan as Robin/Dick Grayson. Like Batman, the serial was a
black-and-white, 15-chapter film.

As Batman and Robin was going into production, it looked as if Columbia was
going to show more respect for the Batman character in the serial than they had
in Batman. The studio was fresh off their recent triumph in bringing a live-action
version of Superman to the screen for the very first time—their 1948 serial
Superman starring Kirk Alyn in the title role had proven to be resoundingly
popular with moviegoers. Superman’s success led Columbia to assign most of
the serial’s principal creators to Batman and Robin. Batman and Robin would be
produced by Sam Katzman, directed by Spencer Bennet, and written by George
H. Plympton, Joseph F. Poland and Royal K. Cole, all Superman alums. It
certainly seemed likely that this pool of talent who had contributed so much to
Superman would be up to the task of creating a Batman serial that was superior
to Batman.

Unfortunately, this did not turn out to be the case—Batman and Robin ended up
being every bit as poorly realized as its predecessor. Almost every element of
Batman and Robin was sorely lacking in quality—bad writing, stale acting,
unconvincing special effects, shoddy costuming and props, and wildly
inappropriate shooting locations. Simply put, Batman and Robin demonstrated
the same lack of interest in the Batman character as a screen property on
Columbia’s part that Batman did.

Batman and Robin was filmed on the same kind of ridiculously tight shooting
schedule that Batman was, ample evidence that Columbia still did not think
much of Batman. All 257 minutes of Batman and Robin was filmed in the Los
Angeles area in just one month, in February 1949! Obviously, nothing about the
1

serial was going to end up being very good if it had to be done in that short of a
time period.

It would probably be unfair to say that Batman and Robin was all that much
worse than Batman was. But it certainly was not any better. There seems to be
no consensus among Batman aficionados as to which serial was superior. For
example, out of all the books and articles offering appraisals of the two serials
that this author has examined, roughly half of them thought that Batman was the
stronger work, and the other half preferred Batman and Robin. To put it bluntly,
both serials are on the whole so bad that neither one has a noticeable advantage
over the other. In other words, Batman fans, choose your poison.

This particular Batman fan is of the opinion that Batman and Robin is the worse
poison. As evidenced by this book’s examination of Batman in Chapter 2, I
cannot by any means give Batman a wholehearted thumbs up—but I feel it still
has considerably more style and spirit than Batman and Robin does. Plus, one
must remember that Batman was made a scant four years after the character’s
comic book debut, during which time many key elements of his mythos were
still in their infancy. Since these elements could not possibly be viewed as “time-
honored traditions” in 1943, it is hard to find fault with the serial for not sticking
to the comic book version of Batman all that closely.

But Batman and Robin does not deserve this same allowance. The serial was
made a full decade after the character’s comic book debut, by which point most
every key element of his mythos was firmly established. In other words, by 1949
these elements were starting to be looked upon as “time-honored traditions.”
Still, Batman and Robin changed or ignored many elements of the comic book
version of Batman, even after the character had proven his popularity. Columbia
should have treated Batman with more respect when making Batman and Robin
than they did when making Batman, because by 1949 he had become a character
that possessed a certain degree of “longevity.” But instead, the studio treated him
every bit as offhandedly as they had six years earlier, and basically doomed
Batman and Robin to failure even before the cameras started rolling.

For example, Columbia still did not provide Batman with a Batmobile in Batman
and Robin! By 1949, Batman simply was not Batman without a Batmobile—the
car had become that important a part of the character’s mythos. But Columbia
cared so little about Batman and Robin’s quality that they sent their title
characters off to fight crime in a standard convertible that was every bit as plain
as the one in Batman!
 Robert Lowery as Batman and Johnny Duncan as Robin in Batman and
Robin (1949).

And just like in Batman, Batman and Robin depicted Batman’s and Bruce
Wayne’s car as being one and the same. As discussed last chapter, this obviously
made no narrative sense—if Batman and Robin were so determined to keep their
real identities a secret, why would they have ventured out in public in Bruce
Wayne’s car? The new serial called for the heroes to be involved in at least a
dozen car chases; in scene after scene, they were shown pursuing criminals in
their modest convertible. These car chases would have come across as infinitely
less tedious if Batman and Robin were shown driving a sleek Batmobile similar
like the one in their comic book adventures.

Batman and Robin also lacked a decent villain. By 1949, the Joker, Catwoman,
Penguin, Riddler and Two-Face were all regularly bedeviling Batman. But
Batman and Robin’s writers ignored all of these memorable characters in favor
of creating a villain specifically for the serial. The villain they came up with was
an appallingly bland character called “The Wizard.”

The Wizard was Batman and Robin’s only villain—all 15 chapters of the serial
revolved around Batman and Robin’s efforts to find him and bring him to
justice. The villain concealed his identity from everyone in Batman and Robin,
including all of the members of his own gang. Part of the “fun” of Batman and
Robin for audiences was to try to figure out which character featured in the serial
was actually the Wizard. But as we will see, the end of Batman and Robin
completely cheated these audiences by revealing the villain to be a character that
never really even appeared on screen until the final moments of the last chapter!

The Wizard wore a dark mask that covered his entire face, with nothing cut into
it except for two small eyeholes, and a long dark cape. (He and Batman might
have been on opposite sides of the law, but they obviously shared the same
fashion sense.) He did not come across as particularly frightening or menacing;
during the course of the serial’s 15 chapters, he was never actually shown killing
anyone. But he was undoubtedly very grouchy—he constantly snapped at his
men about their incompetence and made threats that he would finish off Batman
and Robin for good.
The Wizard maintained an elaborate base of operations in a hidden underground
cavern located near Gotham City. (Along with fashion sense, Batman and the
Wizard also shared the same taste in hideouts.) From this base, the Wizard
operated a “remote control machine” that projected a beam of energy capable of
locking in on and operating any piece of motorized machinery within a 50-mile
range. With this device, the Wizard planned on extorting money from
transportation companies by threatening to seize control of their cars, trains,
planes, etc. The Wizard peered through some sort of some sort of viewer
attached to the remote control machine that allowed him visual access to
whatever he chose to aim the machine’s beams at. The remote control machine
used diamonds for fuel, so he was often trying to steal diamonds to keep it in
operation. The Wizard also had in his possession a “neutralizer” which had the
ability to make objects invisible when its beam was coupled with the beam from
the remote control machine.

Now, all of us Batman fans must admit that the character has appeared in plenty
of comic stories that contained, for lack of a better term, “junk science fiction”—
that is, science fiction that is all fiction and no science. In fact, the 1943
Batman’s zombie machine would certainly classify as a “junk science fiction”
plot device. But Batman and Robin’s remote control machine and neutralizer
made Batman’s zombie machine seem downright realistic.

In Batman and Robin, we are told that the remote control machine and the
neutralizer emit beams that allow them to perform their respective functions. In
other words, if the remote control machine is going to be able to seize control of
an automobile, it needs to aim its beam directly at this automobile. As previously
mentioned, the Wizard operates these devices from his underground hideout—
and he has not constructed an antenna of any kind on the ground above his lair.
So how in the world is he able to transmit beams from his devices through the
air, and then to any point in and around Gotham City that he pleases? And
furthermore, how is he able to aim these devices so narrowly that he can affect
just one vehicle, or so broadly that he can affect the entire city?

Also, how is the Wizard able to see virtually anywhere he wants within the
Gotham City area from his hideout? He is continually looking through his
viewer that allows him visual access to anything or anyone he pleases, but just
how this viewer could possibly be connected to his remote control machine is
never explained. And how could the remote control machine, or any machine for
that matter, be powered by grinding up diamonds? Simply put, Batman and
Robin’s “junk science fiction” was so far removed from reality that it came
across as nothing more than annoying gibberish.

So basically, the Wizard was a complete dud of a character—he had no real

identity, he was not particularly dangerous, and his gadgets did not make the
least bit of sense. Again, one can more easily forgive Batman for choosing to
concoct a new villain for its storyline. The serial’s writers had a very concrete
reason for creating the Dr. Daka character—he was designed to reflect
America’s involvement in World War II. Batman and Robin’s writers had no
such excuse.

Another of Batman and Robin’s particularly noticeable flaws was Columbia’s

choice of shooting locations for the serial. Even though Batman and Robin was
set in the large metropolis of Gotham City, it seemed that the majority of the
serial’s action scenes were scripted to take place outside of Gotham’s city limits.
The real-life terrain that was supposed to represent the area outside of Gotham in
Batman and Robin was the hills around Los Angeles. Consequently, many of its
scenes featured Batman and Robin scaling jagged rock slopes or running down
dusty trails lined with scrubby trees and brush. In other words, Batman and
Robin often looked as if they had been accidentally turned loose in the middle of
a Western movie!

Also, several of the structures that Batman and Robin used for the Wizard’s men
to hide out in were ramshackle little wooden cabins that also looked like they
belonged in a Western. Obviously, the cabins must have originally been
constructed for some of Columbia’s Westerns, and the studio simply decided to
use them in the serial instead of spending money on new, more appropriate sets.
These outdoor locations and sets greatly compromised Batman and Robin’s
sense of atmosphere. Gotham City had always been patterned after New York
City in the comics, so Batman and Robin’s Gotham should have had an “Eastern
United States” feel to it, not a “Western United States” feel.

To make matters worse, some of the music featured in the serial consisted of
themes that were originally composed for earlier Columbia releases, including
the 1948 western Relentless. Not surprisingly, since some of these themes were
first meant for a Western film, they sounded as if they belonged in a Western
film, not in a Batman film. These recycled melodies helped to reinforce the
impression that Batman and Robin’s creators seemed to think they were making
a cowboy picture, not a costume adventure set in a large urban area.
But the very worst thing about Batman and Robin was simply the manner in
which the serial portrayed its title characters. Batman and Robin came across as
so unbelievably flat and uninspired that they hardly resembled their comic book
selves. After Batman and Robin’s creators saddled the characters with a pathetic
automobile and an equally pathetic adversary, they further burdened them with
terrible costumes, unbearably stiff dialogue and howlingly bad action sequences.

First off, Batman’s and Robin’s costumes in the serial were every bit as poor as
their costumes were in the 1943 Batman. Batman’s cowl sported ears that
pointed sideways off his mask, one out to the left and one out to the right; they
looked more like devil’s horns than they did bat ears. And the cowl’s nose was
so long, and came to such a sharp point, that from certain angles it resembled the
beak of a bird. Finally, the cowl’s eye holes were cut too low, making it almost
impossible to see out of.

His utility belt looked more like a sash than a belt. It did have a buckle in the
front, but other than that it was nothing more than a wide strip of shiny fabric,
with no pouches on it for carrying crimefighting equipment. One large loop of
fabric sewn on it off to the side could be used for carrying objects. (This loop
was used only once in Batman and Robin, in the opening scenes of Chapter 7—
the scene is so ridiculous that it deserves an in-depth explanation, so I will
provide one in my rundown of the entire serial a bit later.)

Batman’s badly designed gloves consisted of regular-length heavy work gloves

with fabric sewn onto the ends of them so that they would resemble long
gauntlets. Even though the serial was filmed in black and white, it was obvious
that the gloves were far lighter in color than the fabric sewn onto them!

In fairness to Batman and Robin’s costume designers, they did a better job with
Batman’s bodysuit than Batman’s costume designers did—it was much more
form-fitting, and it had a very well-crafted bat emblem sewn onto its chest. Also,
Batman’s cape in Batman and Robin was longer and much better tailored than
was his cape in Batman. But obviously, these positives were far outweighed by
all of the negatives mentioned above.

Once again, Robin’s costume was better designed than Batman’s. It had the
same style of medieval-looking long laces running up the front of its “R”-
emblazoned tunic that Batman’s Robin costume did, which recalled the
character’s original Robin Hood inspiration. However, the costume was
generally darker in color than Batman’s Robin costume. In fact, it did not have a
light colored cape to approximate the comic book Robin’s yellow cape; instead,
it sported a black cape. But this change actually looked quite good on screen.
Since the serial was filmed in black and white, the black cape gave the costume
as a whole more definition. Unfortunately, Batman and Robin’s Robin costume
had one glaring problem, a problem that Batman’s Robin costume had as well—
namely, its mask was nothing more that a cheap oval-shaped dime store mask
that covered far too much of the face.

Batman’s and Robin’s dialogue in Batman and Robin was every bit as ill-
conceived as their costumes; all of their lines were so mundane and stilted that
the characters came across as having no personality at all. Perhaps their
blandness was due to the fact that, unlike Batman, they were depicted as
working very closely with the Gotham City Police Department. Consequently,
Batman and Robin depicted the presence of the heroes in Gotham as an
unremarkable, everyday event, as if seeing them on the street would be as
regular of an occurrence as seeing a traffic cop on his beat. (As discussed in the
introduction of this book, this same problem also adversely affected the comic
book Batman—the character lost some of its bite once he gave up his vigilante
status and became a “legitimate” law enforcement officer.) At any rate, Batman
and Robin’s decision to portray Batman and Robin as rather unexceptional
citizens of Gotham just seemed to take all of the mystery and fun out of the
characters.

And not only did Batman and Robin not give its heroes much of anything to say,
it also did not give them much of anything to do. They were thrown into dozens
of scenes that were ripe with cheaply crafted cliffhanger clichés, scenes that
obligated them to escape the usual burning buildings, gas-filled rooms and out-
of-control cars with mind-numbing regularity.

In fairness to Batman and Robin director Spencer Bennet, the serial did feature a
number of well-staged fight sequences. In fact, generally speaking the serial had
far better fight scenes than did Batman—Batman’s fight scenes usually consisted
of everyone basically standing in one place and flailing their arms at one
another. And unlike Batman, Batman and Robin even allowed its heroes to
decisively win some of their battles.

Robert Lowery’s portrayal of Batman/Bruce Wayne and Johnny Duncan’s

portrayal of Robin/Dick Grayson did very little to offset all of the negatives the
actors had been given to work with. Lowery and Duncan’s performances were
uninspired, to say the least. While Lewis Wilson and Douglas Croft gave
energetic performances in Batman that at times managed to rise above the
serial’s many faults, Lowery and Duncan blandly delivered most of their lines as
if they were reading them for the first time.

When Batman and Robin was filmed, Lowery was 35 years old, a little over six
feet tall, and athletically built—so he certainly looked the part of Batman/Bruce
Wayne. But Lowery’s glum acting seemed to suggest that he considered the role
to be far beneath him. And honestly, who could blame him? Watching Batman
and Robin, one cannot help but feel sorry for him as he struggles to see out of his
ridiculous cowl with devil’s horns and a bird’s beak nose, and has to spout line
after line of atrocious dialogue. Fortunately for Lowery, Batman and Robin
would end up being little more than an undistinguished entry on his acting
resume—he would go on to appear in many successful film and television
productions all the way up through the late 1960s.

Duncan’s performance as Robin/Dick Grayson was even more problematic,

because he was simply far too old for his role—he was 26 years of age when the
serial was filmed! Duncan was youthful-looking and considerably shorter than
Lowery, so the pair bore a decent enough physical resemblance to their comic
book counterparts. But whenever Duncan talked, it was glaringly obvious that he
was about a decade removed from being a “boy wonder.” To make matters
worse, in Duncan’s scenes as Dick Grayson he was outfitted with a sports coat
that had very prominent shoulder pads, making him appear more broad-
shouldered than Lowery! The last thing Batman and Robin’s costume designers
should have done was to put Duncan in clothes that made him look even more
manly!

Batman and Robin incorporated several elements drawn from Batman’s comic
book world that did not make it to the screen in the 1943 Batman. Gotham City
Police Commissioner Gordon appeared on screen for the first time in the serial.
The part of Gordon was played by Lyle Talbot, who turned in a likable, low-key
performance. Also, the Batsignal made its screen debut; it was kept in Gordon’s
office, and when he wanted to summon Batman and Robin he would shine it out
of his window and into the sky. Unfortunately, Batman and Robin’s Batsignal
looked like nothing more than a standard-sized television set with a bat
silhouette pasted on the screen, and the image it supposedly projected was an
unconvincing process shot of that bat silhouette superimposed on some low
clouds. In fact, the same shot was used every time the signal was lighted during
the 15 chapters, so it was always shown shining on the exact same cloud
formation!

The Batcave was one of the few bright spots of the serial. It was a much larger
set than the one used in the 1943 Batman, complete with laboratory gear and
large banks of electrical equipment. (What purpose this electrical equipment
served was never revealed.) However, Batman and Robin’s Batcave had one
absurdly obvious weakness—it evidently had no passageway to allow the
crimefighters to discreetly enter and exit the Wayne home! Whenever Batman
and Robin were shown leaving from or returning to the Wayne home, they
simply walked between the side door of the house and their car, which was
parked right out in the driveway! What would be the point of having a secret
base of operations if the only way in and out of it could be easily spotted by all
of your neighbors?

And Wayne’s neighbors would have seen Batman and Robin passing in and out
of the house. Batman and Robin’s creators must have forgotten that, in the
comics, Wayne was a very wealthy man who owned a large estate situated on
lots of acreage—because in the serial, they set him up in a rather modest-looking
suburban home with a very small yard! The inside of the Wayne house was
decidedly “un–millionaire-like” as well—it was appointed with the kind of
generic furnishings and decor that one would find in a home that belonged to a
family with 2.5 children, a dog and a barbecue grill on the back porch. Both
Batman and Robin’s Batcave and Wayne home served to reinforce the
impression that the serial’s creators simply had very little familiarity with the
Batman character.

Batman and Robin’s writers were able to concoct one character for the serial that
would become a mainstay of Batman’s comic book world throughout the 1950s
and early 1960s. Just as Alfred had been created for the 1943 Batman, Bruce
Wayne’s girlfriend Vicki Vale was created for Batman and Robin. Bob Kane
stated in his autobiography Batman and Me that he first learned about the
character when he visited the Columbia lot in 1948, as Batman and Robin was
going into production, so he decided to introduce her into Batman comic stories. 2

Kane also stated in Batman and Me that the comic book Vicki’s appearance was
based on Marilyn Monroe. Kane claimed to have met the actress and spent some
time with her both in 1943, when he visited Hollywood during the production of
Batman, and in 1948, during his Batman and Robin Hollywood visit. (It is worth
3

pointing out that Kane’s autobiography is filled with many colorful anecdotes
that seem quite far removed from actual truth—so his claim to have rubbed
elbows with Marilyn Monroe should probably not be taken too seriously.)

At any rate, Batman and Robin’s Vicki Vale looked nothing at all like Marilyn
Monroe—the part was played in the serial by a dark-haired actress named Jane
Adams. In Batman and Robin, Vicki Vale was basically a retread of Superman’s
girlfriend Lois Lane. Lois worked as a news reporter and Vicki worked as a
news photographer—and, just like Lois, Vicki was always getting herself into
perilous situations that required a caped hero to come and rescue her. (The
character would be used in the same manner 40 years later, in the 1989 Batman
film.) Adams was pleasant enough as Vicki in Batman and Robin, but her
performance was no more inspired than the derivative character she played.

Each chapter opens with a dramatic title shot showing the heroes against a dark
background, looking intently around them as if searching for something or
someone. (Given the quality of the serial, perhaps they are trying to find their
way off of the screen.) Chapter 1, “Batman Takes Over,” opens with a number of
banner newspaper headlines proclaiming the heroes’ success in putting an end to
a Gotham City crime wave. We then see Batman and Robin entering the
Batcave, where they receive a call from Alfred, who informs them that Vicki
Vale, Bruce Wayne’s girlfriend and a photographer for Picture magazine, has
arrived at the Wayne home for a visit. Bruce has not revealed the fact that he is
actually Batman to Vicki, so he changes out of his costume and goes upstairs to
the living room where she is waiting for him. As they chat, he puts on his “bored
playboy” act for her, much to her annoyance.

Meanwhile, Police Commissioner Gordon is placing a call to a Gotham City

electrical research facility that has just completed work on an experimental
remote control machine. The device projects a beam of energy that is capable of
locking in on and operating any piece of motorized machinery within 50 miles.
Gordon tells the facility that the federal government has requested that the
Gotham Police provide extra security. But soon after Gordon’s call, thieves
break into the facility and steal the device.

Gordon, Batman and Robin go to the facility, where they are given a
demonstration of how the remote control machine works. They learn that the
device is powered by diamonds, so Batman urges Gordon to post extra officers
everywhere in Gotham where diamonds might be kept. Their conference is
interrupted by the entrance of Prof. Hamill, developer of the remote control
machine. Hamill, who is confined to a wheelchair, has been in such poor health
that he had to bow out of the final construction phases of the device. He is
furious with the facility, Gordon and even Batman and Robin over the loss of his
life’s work.

Later, at his home, Hamill is being attended by his servant Carter. When Carter
leaves the room, Hamill locks the door and wheels himself over to a chair
equipped with odd-looking electronic devices. He sits in the chair and flips a
switch attached to it. After the chair buzzes and flashes for several moments,
Hamill is suddenly able to stand on his own. He walks through a secret door
located in his fireplace and out of sight.

We are then transported to the hidden underground cavern that serves as a

hideout for the Wizard. His real identity shrouded by a dark mask and cloak, the
Wizard is revealed to be the mastermind behind the theft of the remote control
machine. He sends some of his henchmen to steal diamonds necessary for the
machine’s operation. The henchmen attempt to rob a jewelry warehouse, but
they are thwarted by Batman and Robin.

The Wizard, angry that the crimefighters have interfered with his operation,
plans another diamond heist; he has learned that a shipment of diamonds is being
transported by plane from the Gotham Airport, and he hatches a scheme to
obtain them. (Incidentally, before many of the Wizard’s major scenes in the
serial, we see Hamill sitting down in this strange chair, reviving his legs and
walking through his secret fireplace door. Obviously, we are being led to believe
that Hamill is the Wizard.)

Batman and Robin also learned of the diamond shipment and replace the plane’s
regular pilots in case someone makes a grab for the diamonds. The Wizard fires
up the remote control machine and takes over the plane, forcing it to land. Once
the crimefighters are on the ground, the Wizard’s henchmen meet the plane and
take the package of diamonds from them at gunpoint. With Batman and Robin
still in the plane, the Wizard again targets the craft with the remote control
machine. This time, the Wizard causes it to burst into flames and explode,
seemingly with the heroes still aboard.

Chapter 2, “Tunnel of Terror,” opens with Batman and Robin running out of the
plane before it is destroyed. Stowing away on a plane carrying the Wizard’s
men, Batman and Robin listen to their conversation and hear the name of the
Wizard for the first time. Batman is able to steal back the diamonds by replacing
the package with another of the same size and weight that is full of pebbles.
(Exactly why Batman just happens to be carrying a package full of pebbles that
exactly matches the diamond package is a question the serial does not answer.)

The plane lands and the henchmen make their way to the Wizard’s hideout.
Batman and Robin attempt to follow, but the heroes lose sight of them just
before they pass through the hideout’s hidden entrance. As Batman and Robin
head back to the Batcave, they notice that Prof. Hamill’s house is located close
to the area where they lost the Wizard’s men.

Some time later, Bruce and Dick are listening to a radio news broadcast by
reporter Barry Brown, who seems to consistently have inside information
regarding Gotham criminal activity. Brown predicts that thieves will attempt to
steal a shipment of unspecified material that is being moved through Gotham by
train that very day. Bruce and Dick learn that the material targeted for theft is a
powerful new explosive known as X–90 and that the train carrying the explosive
has just left a Gotham train station. They change to Batman and Robin and race
to intercept the train.

The heroes catch up with the train just as the Wizard’s men board it. As Robin
drives, Batman leaps from their car onto the moving train. He climbs up the side
of the train and begins fighting the Wizard’s men atop one of the freight cars. As
they fight, the train approaches a tunnel. The chapter closes with Batman
seemingly about to be smashed against the top of the tunnel.

Chapter 3, “Robin’s Wild Ride,” shows the crimefighter duck down and avoid
the top of the tunnel. The tunnel provides the momentary distraction the
Wizard’s men need to radio their boss and tell him to use the remote control
machine to halt the train. Once the train is stopped, they grab the explosive, but
Batman leaps down from the top of the train at them. Batman is momentarily
overpowered during the fight and the criminals are able to escape with the
explosive. Batman and Robin try to pursue the fleeing thugs in their car, but the
Wizard disables it using the remote control machine.

The criminals present the Wizard with the box containing the X–90. But the
Wizard’s triumph is short-lived, because his men forgot to steal the box
containing the special detonators required to set off the explosive. The Wizard
sends his men to kidnap Wesley Morton, the inventor of X–90. The criminals
take the inventor to one of their secret hideouts, where the Wizard appears and
hypnotizes him. Morton reveals that the detonators are being stored at the
electrical research facility where the remote control machine was developed.

Later, Hamill and Carter are shown visiting the facility. Then someone’s hand is
shown pressing a button to unlock the facility vault where the detonators are
stored, but just whose hand it is remains a mystery.

The Wizard’s men enter the vault and steal the detonators, but as they make their
escape in a truck they are intercepted by Batman and Robin. The heroes chase
the Wizard’s men in their car. For some inexplicable reason, the criminals stop
their truck and get out of it for a cigarette break while Batman and Robin are still
closely pursuing them. This pause gives Batman the opportunity to scale a rocky
hillside and pounce on the hoods. During the struggle, the Wizard uses the
remote control machine to electrify a metal crowbar with which one of the hoods
is trying to strike Batman. Batman grabs onto the crowbar and electrical bolts fly
from it—the crimefighter is lifted off the ground, his legs jerking back and forth
as if he is performing some kind of crazy Charleston-style dance. The chapter
closes with Batman, still holding onto the crowbar, plummeting down a steep
hillside.

(Obviously, Batman and Robin’s narrative has already collapsed into an

incomprehensible heap by only the third chapter. Why did the criminals stop
their truck and get out of it for a cigarette break while they were still being
chased by Batman and Robin? How did the Wizard manage to electrify a
crowbar with the remote control machine when the device is only supposed to
affect motorized machinery? Why is Batman dancing around like a 1920s
flapper? Why is this episode entitled “Robin’s Wild Ride” when Robin never
takes a wild ride?)

Chapter 4, “Batman Trapped,” shows Batman grab a tree limb before he falls too
far. Robin, overpowered by the criminals, is thrown in the back of the truck and
brought to a cabin used as an outpost by the Wizard. Robin opens a valve on an
oil drum in the back of the truck, and the oil that spills out leaves a trail for
Batman to follow.

At the cabin, the Wizard tries to force Morton to give him details about all of X–
90’s destructive capabilities. After rescuing Robin from the Wizard’s men,
Batman bursts into the cabin. There the heroes get their first look at the Wizard
—but in reality, it is not the villain himself. Rather, it is a projection of his image
on a large television screen cleverly disguised to look like a doorway. Since the
Wizard is not really there and his henchmen have all fled, there is nothing left
for Batman and Robin to do but to take Morton, who has been slightly injured
during his interrogation, to the hospital.

At the hospital, Morton reveals that all of his data regarding the X–90 explosive
are at his office. Through a radio transmitter placed in Morton’s room, the
Wizard has now learned this as well. The Wizard’s men break into the office to
steal the formula, where they are met by Batman and Robin. During a fight,
Batman is knocked into a large electrical device. The device emits a fierce
shower of sparks and Batman falls to the floor.

Chapter 5, “Robin Rescues Batman,” reveals that the electrical device Batman
short-circuited lost power before the crimefighter was harmed. However, the
Wizard’s men are able to escape with Morton’s X–90 formula. As they flee
Morton’s office, Vicki arrives on the scene with her camera and snaps a picture
of them. When she develops the picture, she is shocked to see her brother Jimmy
in the photo—he is a member of the Wizard’s gang! The Wizard’s men realize
that Vicki’s photo could not only compromise Jimmy, but all of them, so they
have Jimmy call her and arrange a meeting at a local park in order to confiscate
the picture. Vicki mentions the planned meeting to Bruce, who fears that it is
some sort of trap and decides to keep an eye on her as Batman.

Vicki goes to the park, but Jimmy does not; instead, another member of the
Wizard’s gang meets her. He tries to forcibly take the picture from her as
Batman and Robin arrive on the scene. The heroes fight him off, but the negative
falls into a campfire. Batman scoops up the charred photo and takes it with him
back to the Batcave. There he is able to reconstruct it and identifies another hood
in the photo, Mac Lacey. Mac is known to hang out at a waterfront dive called
the Harbor Club.

The heroes find Mac and capture him. As they are placing the bound criminal in
their car, they hear a woman’s scream from a nearby pier. It is Vicki—she has
also learned that the Harbor Club is a place that the Wizard’s men frequent and
has come to look for her brother. She has not found him, but she has found
trouble: The Wizard’s men have caught her snooping around and grabbed her.
Batman comes to her rescue, but a stray bullet fired at him pierces a large
gasoline tank on the pier, causing gas to pour into the water. Vicki falls in the
water during the struggle and Batman jumps in to save her. One of the thugs
throws a lit kerosene lantern into the water close to them, and the gasoline in the
water bursts into flame. The chapter ends with Batman and Vicki seemingly
surrounded by the fire.

Chapter 6, “Target: Robin,” reveals that Batman and Vicki simply swim through
the burning water without being harmed. (Obviously this is not a particularly
compelling or believable solution to the previous chapter’s cliffhanger, but given
Batman and Robin’s overall quality, one takes what one can get!) Bruce
disguises himself as Mac and returns to the Harbor Club, hoping to infiltrate the
Wizard’s gang. The Wizard’s men are suspicious of “Mac,” but they allow him
to accompany them to one of their hideouts. Robin trails them to keep an eye on
Bruce.

At the hideout, the Wizard’s men listen to Barry Brown’s radio broadcast as
Brown reveals that Mac Lacey is still in police custody. Obviously forced to
drop the pretense that he is Mac, Bruce tells the Wizard’s men that he is a friend
of Mac’s, and he disguised himself in order to get the gang to take him as a
member. The hoods are still suspicious of Bruce, so they give him an important
task in order to test his loyalty. The criminals have found Robin hiding outside,
grabbed him and tied him up. Bruce is handed a gun and told to shoot Robin.

Incredibly, Bruce does just that, and Robin falls to the floor. But Bruce then
shoots out the light in the room and helps Robin to his feet, and the two of them
dash out of the hideout. It turns out that Bruce aimed for Robin’s belt buckle, so
the youngster was not hurt at all. Some time later, Batman and Robin make their
way back to a warehouse in the waterfront area, where Mac Lacey has told
police the Wizard will strike next. But Mac’s information is simply a trap set by
the Wizard to lure the crimefighters to the warehouse. The Wizard’s men are
able to lock Batman and Robin in a room, which the hoods begin filling with
carbon dioxide. The chapter ends with the heroes gasping for air, seemingly
without hope of escape.

In Chapter 7, “The Fatal Blast,” Batman pulls a blowtorch from a loop on his
utility belt and cuts through the door in order to escape the poison gas. (This is
the only scene in which Batman uses his utility belt, and it is howlingly
unrealistic. The blowtorch is at least a foot tall, and he was not carrying it in the
scenes leading up to its use!)

Later, the Wizard plans to blackmail the Associated Rail Company by

threatening to disrupt their train traffic with the remote control machine. On his
radio program, Barry Brown reports that company president Winslow Harrison
is traveling to Gotham to discuss the situation with Commissioner Gordon. Upon
hearing the broadcast, the Wizard plans to kidnap Harrison before he can meet
with Gordon. Batman and Robin have also heard the broadcast, so they race to
intercept the Wizard’s men before they can grab Harrison. Vicki Vale hurries
after Batman and Robin in her car in search of a story.

The heroes realize they are being tailed, so they pull over and force Vicki to
stop. In one of the serial’s most bizarre moments, Vicki asks Batman, “Does
Bruce Wayne know that you’re driving his car?” Batman simply answers, “Of
course!” (As previously mentioned, having Batman and Bruce Wayne drive the
same car makes no sense, since Batman is supposedly trying to keep his identity
a secret. So evidently Batman and Robin’s writers decided to address this issue
by simply having Batman infer that his borrowing of Wayne’s car was no big
deal, that it shouldn’t give anyone any reason to suspect that Batman and Wayne
were one and the same person!) Batman does not want Vicki in harm’s way, so
he takes her car keys and tells her to wait with her car, and he will send Bruce to
pick her up. But after the heroes drive off, Vicki pulls out a spare set of keys and
continues after them.

Batman and Robin find the Wizard’s men just as they are confronting Harrison.
Batman is able to rescue Harrison, and the two men take refuge in a small nearby
cabin that the Wizard has been using as an outpost. (This is a different cabin than
the one seen in Chapter 4—the Wizard’s taste in real estate obviously leans
toward cabins!) But one of the Wizard’s men has left an explosive device in the
cabin. The chapter ends with the cabin being destroyed by a fierce explosion.

Chapter 8, “Robin Meets the Wizard,” reveals that Batman and Harrison escape
the explosion by exiting the cabin through a trapdoor hidden in the cabin’s floor.
Batman then takes Harrison to his meeting with Commissioner Gordon. Batman
convinces the men to tell the Wizard that the railroad company has decided to
give in to his demands. But the ransom money that will be delivered to the
criminal will be obsolete bills treated with a radioactive substance that will burst
into flames when exposed to air.
Batman and Robin monitor the money drop, hoping if they follow the hoods who
pick up the money box they will be led to the Wizard. They trail the criminals to
a warehouse in the waterfront district, where Batman ends up in a confrontation
with the hoods. Robin is knocked out by the Wizard, who has come to the
warehouse to get the ransom money. As Batman struggles with the hoods, the
radioactive money ignites and sets the warehouse ablaze. The thugs overpower
Batman, knocking him to the ground. The chapter ends with Batman lying
unconscious, about to be engulfed by flames.

In Chapter 9, “The Wizard Strikes Back,” Batman regains consciousness and

makes his way out of the burning warehouse. He finds Robin, who has recovered
from the blow the Wizard inflicted on him. The heroes see Barry Brown and
Dunne, a private detective, lurking around the warehouse, and they discuss the
possibility that one of these men may be the Wizard. Batman suggests that
perhaps Hamill is the Wizard, but Robin dismisses this theory since Hamill is in
such poor health and confined to a wheelchair.

The Wizard, furious that the railroads would not bow to his blackmail scheme,
attempts to turn the remote control machine loose on all of Gotham City in order
to give everyone a taste of his power. The diamonds in the machine burn out
during this attempt, and the Wizard is now without his main weapon. He hatches
a new scheme to obtain diamonds, one involving Vicki’s brother Jimmy.

Jimmy pretends to break ties with the Wizard and goes to Commissioner
Gordon, supposedly to rat the criminal out. But in reality, Jimmy is simply
looking for information regarding a batch of synthetic diamonds manufactured at
the research facility. He finds out where the diamonds are being held and relays
this information to the Wizard. The Wizard’s men steal the diamonds, but they
are pursued by Batman and Robin. The Wizard fires up his remote control
machine and forces the heroes’ car off of a cliff. (Why the villain was able to use
the machine on Batman and Robin when earlier in the chapter he said it was out
of order is a question the serial does not answer.) The chapter ends with Batman
and Robin seemingly killed as the car crashes.

In Chapter 10, “Batman’s Last Chance,” the heroes bail out of the car right
before it goes over the cliff. Meanwhile, Jimmy heads to a downtown Gotham
office building that the Wizard’s men are using for a hideout, unaware that Vicki
is trailing him. The Wizard’s men grab Vicki and hold her hostage. From the
office building, Vicki is able to call Bruce’s home and let Alfred know that she
is being held prisoner.

Alfred relays this message to Bruce, who races to the building with Robin. Once
Batman gets inside the building, he is knocked out when he touches an office
doorknob electrified by the Wizard as a security precaution. Jimmy finds the
unconscious Batman in the hallway, unmasks him and realizes that Batman is
actually his sister’s boyfriend Bruce Wayne. He drags Batman around a corner.
Then, almost immediately, Batman is shown back on his feet, rushing in to free
Vicki. The Wizard’s men see Batman, rushing him and pushing him out of a
window. The chapter closes with Batman plummeting to earth. (Actually, this
shot is pulled directly from the cliffhanger ending of “The Electrical Brain,” the
first chapter of the 1943 Batman serial—it is glaringly obvious that the Batman
costume in the shot does not match Batman and Robin’s Batman costume!)

In Chapter 11, “Robin’s Ruse,” we learn that the man in the Batman costume
was killed—but that man was not Bruce Wayne. Dressed in Jimmy Vale’s
clothes, Wayne runs out of the building, finding Robin waiting for him. Robin is
so shocked to see him, he pulls off his own mask when he asks Bruce what
happened. Bruce explains that Jimmy dragged him into a room while he was
unconscious and removed his costume. Jimmy then changed Bruce into his
clothes and put on the Batman costume himself. So it was Jimmy who rescued
Vicki, and then was pushed out of the window by the Wizard’s men. Bruce
assumes that Jimmy did all of this to make things right by his sister. Bruce and
Robin drive back home, leaving Jimmy’s body on the street; in fact, no one
mentions Jimmy for the rest of the serial, including his sister Vicki.

(This is another one of those moments when Batman and Robin’s plot
completely falls apart. How in the world did Jimmy switch clothes with the
unconscious Bruce in a matter of only a few seconds? Why does Robin rip off
his mask while he is standing on a street in broad daylight? Why is Jimmy never
mentioned again? Doesn’t his sister care enough about him to mourn his loss just
a little bit, or at least plan his funeral?)

The Wizard’s men spot Bruce Wayne leaving with Robin and begin to suspect
that Bruce is actually Batman. The Wizard learns that Wayne is having dinner
with Vicki that night, so two of the Wizard’s men abduct him at gunpoint and
take him to yet another one of their hideouts. (In a previous scene, Bruce had
casually mentioned his date with Vicki to Prof. Hamill, so we are again led to
believe that Hamill must be the Wizard.) Bruce is able to let Robin know that he
has been kidnapped, as well as where he is being taken, so Robin comes to his
rescue. He shines a flashlight that projects a bat insignia into the room where
Bruce is being held, and the criminals run outside assuming Batman is after
them. They see Batman running by, so they assume that they are wrong about
Wayne being the crimefighter. After Bruce rescues Robin, we learn that it was
Alfred who dressed up as Batman to throw the hoods off the track.

The Wizard himself has come to the hideout to question Bruce, but since Robin
has broken up the interrogation, the criminal is forced to flee. Bruce changes into
his costume and the heroes chase the Wizard’s car. The Wizard releases a
smokescreen from his car, causing Batman and Robin to lose sight of the
criminal. The chapter ends with the heroes unable to see the road, heading right
for a stone embankment.

Chapter 12, “Robin Rides the Wind,” shows Batman stopping the car without
hitting the stone. Later, through the private detective Dunne, Batman acquires
blueprints for a “neutralizer” machine that will counter the effects of the remote
control machine. The device is being developed by Prof. Hamill, but it has not
yet been perfected.

Batman develops a plan to use the neutralizer to draw the Wizard out. It is
publicly announced that work on the device has been completed and that it is
being shipped by armored car. But the neutralizer is not in the armored car—it is
merely bait meant to trap the Wizard. The Wizard’s men take the bait. From an
airplane, they drop bombs close to the armored car to try to force it off the road.
The chapter closes with the vehicle going over a cliff, seemingly with driver
Robin still aboard. (Actually, this shot is pulled directly from the cliffhanger
ending of “Slaves of the Rising Sun,” the fourth chapter of the 1943 Batman.)

In Chapter 13, “The Wizard’s Challenge,” Robin leaps out of the armored car
before it goes off the cliff. Later, Hamill is shown to have finished work on the
neutralizer; he gives the device, which is secured in a crate, to his servant Carter.
Hamill tells Carter to deliver the crate to the research facility. The Wizard’s men
attack Carter and try to steal the crate, but they are chased off by Batman and
Robin. When the crate is opened, it is revealed to be empty—the Wizard’s men
have obtained the neutralizer after all.

When the neutralizer is delivered to the Wizard, he demonstrates how he plans to

use the device in his criminal schemes. By merging the beams from the remote
control machine and the neutralizer, he is able to make any object in the path of
the beams invisible. The Wizard then goes to the research facility to steal plans
for a new super jet plane the facility is developing. When he gets there, he has
one of his men point the remote control machine and the neutralizer directly at
him. Invisible, the Wizard walks into the facility undetected. (As previously
mentioned, this invisibility beam story angle makes no sense whatsoever—how
are beams aimed from machines located underground possibly reaching the
Wizard, who is above ground miles away? And where did this super jet plane
story angle come from all of a sudden? Furthermore, just why is the facility
developing a super jet plane in the first place? It is supposed to be an electrical
research facility!)

Batman is also at the facility, because reporter Barry Brown had announced that
the Wizard was planning on stealing the jet plane plans. The invisible Wizard
makes his way into the facility and puts an explosive device in a safe where
Batman is hiding. The chapter ends with the explosive device detonating.

Chapter 14, “Batman Vs. Wizard,” reveals that Batman retreated into the far
corner of the safe right before the explosive went off, and consequently was
protected from the blast. The remote control device and the neutralizer have
started to overheat, so the Wizard again becomes visible. In his rush to get back
to his hideout, he drops one of his gloves.

Batman takes the glove and performs a fingerprint check on it. The fingerprints
belong to Carter, Hamill’s servant, so it seems that Carter is the Wizard. But
when Batman, Robin and Gordon go to Hamill’s house to arrest Carter, they find
that he has been shot to death by an unknown assailant.

In what has to be the crowning moment of Batman and Robin’s stupidity, Hamill
walks in the room to find Batman, Robin and Gordon standing over Carter’s
body. Don’t forget, the serial has reminded us over and over that no one thinks
Hamill could be the Wizard since he is confined to a wheelchair—plus, we have
been subjected to many scenes showing Hamill climbing into his ultra-secret
experimental chair and reviving his legs without anyone else’s knowledge. Now
in Chapter 14, he simply strides into a room, and no one even questions the fact
that all of a sudden he can walk again!

At any rate, it would seem that the case is closed: Carter was the Wizard, and
now he is dead. But Barry Brown is suddenly attacked by an invisible assailant
right in the middle of a broadcast in which he warned that the Wizard is alive
and planning on attacking Commissioner Gordon. Upon hearing this news,
Batman and Robin guard Gordon in his office (Vicki is there as well). Batman
has surmised that the Wizard has found a way to make himself invisible using
the remote control machine and the neutralizer, so he has Vicki place a special
infrared bulb in her camera lens that enables her camera to detect anything that
might be shielded from the naked eye by the Wizard’s devices.

The invisible Wizard hangs on a rope right outside of Gordon’s office window
holding a gun. He fires, and instinctively Vicki snaps a picture. The chapter ends
without revealing whether the Wizard shot anyone in the room.

In Chapter 15, “Batman Victorious,” we learn that the Wizard was not able to
get off a shot before Vicki snapped a picture. When the film is developed,
everyone is shocked to see that it is a photo of Carter. This does not seem
possible, since Carter was killed in the previous chapter. Whoever the Wizard
really is, Batman surmises that he will try to get back to his hideout. Since he
and Robin once lost the trail of the Wizard’s men before in an area near Prof.
Hamill’s home, Batman sends Robin to the area to keep an eye out for the
Wizard.

The Wizard makes his way back through the area where Robin is lying in wait,
entering his lair through a door hidden among the trees and rocks. Robin radios
Batman with this information. Batman meets up with his partner and the two
enter the Wizard’s hideout. As they burst into the Wizard’s secret laboratory, the
Wizard flees to Prof. Hamill’s home. Batman and Robin follow, finding Hamill
and Carter sitting in Hamill’s study. The crimefighters seem not the least bit
surprised to see Carter, supposedly a dead man, very much alive. Hamill tells
Batman that he is ready to confess—he is the Wizard. Carter says that he and his
twin brother were forced to take orders from Hamill, and that it was his twin
brother who was actually shot to death. No one was even aware that Carter had a
twin brother. Batman does not buy this story, so he jumps Carter. It turns out that
Carter is holding a gun on Hamill, forcing a fake confession from the Professor.
Carter, the one and only Wizard, will not escape justice this time.

After Carter is taken into custody, he reveals that it was his twin brother who
worked as Hamill’s servant—not him. He forced his brother to give him
information about the Professor’s work, which he then put to use in his criminal
schemes. Every scene in the serial that featured Carter did not actually feature
Carter, but his twin brother, who was never even given the courtesy of a name.
So the real Carter, the actual villain of the serial, did not even appear on screen
sans his Wizard costume until the final minutes of the serial’s last chapter. In
other words, Batman and Robin’s final insult to its viewers was to cheat them
out of being able to solve the mystery they had been puzzling over for the past
15 chapters.

Later, Batman, Robin, Vicki and Commissioner Gordon talk over the Wizard
case in Gordon’s office. Vicki invites Batman to join her and Bruce Wayne for
dinner that evening, and Batman accepts the invitation. Just then, a phone call
comes for Vicki—it is Bruce. Actually, it is Alfred, playing a phonograph record
of Bruce’s voice canceling his date with Vicki. Disgusted, Vicki puts the phone
down and tells Batman that she thought she had figured out his secret identity—
she thought he was Bruce Wayne—but she now knows she was wrong.
Everyone shares a hearty laugh over the notion of Wayne being Batman as the
serial comes to a close. (Actually, Batman has a bit too hearty of a laugh—
Lowery, who has been so stiff for 15 chapters, all of a sudden lets out a spooky
cackle that keeps rising in volume until he starts to sound like the Joker! Perhaps
he was just relieved that this nightmare of a serial was finally over.)

I hope this summary indicates to the reader how bad Batman and Robin is. It just
seems to go on and on forever, and it contains far more awful scenes than just
the ones described above. Simply put, just about every foot of Batman and
Robin is sadly lacking in one capacity or another, and it makes for very
depressing viewing—especially if you are a Batman fan.

After Batman and Robin completed its initial theatrical run in the late summer of
1949, it disappeared into obscurity much like Columbia’s first Batman serial
Batman. But as discussed last chapter, Batman enjoyed an improbable return to
the spotlight when Columbia re-released it under the title An Evening With
Batman and Robin in 1965, at which time audiences delighted in its outrageous
campiness. For some reason, Batman and Robin enjoyed no such large-scale
revival as an unintentional comedy—perhaps this was because, even though it
was certainly bad enough to be considered camp, it simply did not have the
hammy energy of its predecessor.

Columbia did release the serial almost in its entirety on Super 8mm film in the
mid–1970s. However, it was slightly edited—to make all 15 chapters of uniform
length, Columbia omitted several Chapter 1 scenes involving Bruce talking with
Vicki. (Like most all serials, the Batman and Robin’s first chapter was slightly
longer than the rest of the chapters in order to establish main characters and
plot.)

Batman and Robin was also released on VHS videotape in 1990 by GoodTimes
Home Video. The two-tape set was unquestionably a “cheapie” designed to cash
in on the character’s newfound popularity following the blockbuster success of
the 1989 film Batman. It was recorded in a substandard playback mode, which
resulted in less-than-ideal picture and sound quality. (GoodTimes also released
the 1943 Batman in this same economy format.) The GoodTimes version of
Batman and Robin retained the edits of Chapter 1 found in the home movie
version of the serial.

Batman and Robin was treated to a high-quality home video release in early
2005, when Sony Pictures Home Entertainment presented the serial on a 2-disc
DVD set. The set’s picture and sound quality was very good, uniformly better
than Sony’s 1943 Batman DVD set. (As mentioned in Chapter 2, that set varied
in quality from chapter to chapter.) The Batman and Robin DVD set also
restored the footage from Chapter 1 that had been edited out of the previous
home video versions of the serial. Unfortunately, like the 1943 Batman DVD set,
the Batman and Robin DVD set did not offer any bonus features or printed
material dealing with the making of the serial. That said, however, Sony’s DVD
release of Batman and Robin was a vast improvement over the previous home
video versions of Batman and Robin.

Also like the 1943 Batman DVD set, the Batman and Robin DVD set featured
some interesting artwork on its cover—perhaps too interesting. The cover
featured a dramatic full-color image of Batman and Robin standing on a rooftop,
the night sky above them lit up by a huge Batsignal. Batman and Robin were
outfitted in costumes that looked like a modern comic book cover—the bat ears
on Batman’s cowl were long and imposing, and Robin was wearing a full
bodysuit that was red and green in color. In other words, the image looked
nothing like anything contained in the serial itself! It could be argued that Sony
was doing more than a little bit of false advertising by marketing their product in
this manner.

In the final analysis, serious Batman fans should have a look at Batman and
Robin despite all of its flaws. There are at least a few scenes in the serial that are
worth watching. A number of the fight scenes are well staged, and there are
fleeting moments when Lowery and Duncan are able to bring some life their
characters. But if you took all of Batman and Robin’s “good” moments and
spliced them together, they would probably not add up to be much longer than
the running time of just one of the serial’s individual chapters.

With the advent of television, the motion picture serial format became less and
less popular with audiences throughout the late 1940s and early 1950s—in fact,
the genre was extinct by the mid–1950s. Since Batman and Robin was made
during the twilight of the chapter play era, Columbia chose not to produce a third
Batman serial. It would be almost two decades before the characters would
return to the big screen—but as we will discuss later in this book, when he came
back, he came back in a big way.
 5
Changing with the Times, 1950–1965

By the early 1950s, Batman was again a character who generally appeared only
in the pages of comic books published by DC Comics—and DC continued to
turn out a number of memorable Batman stories during this time period. One of
these was “The Man Behind the Red Hood!” published in Detective Comics
#168, February 1951. As Batman’s origin was examined in “The Origin of
Batman,” the Joker’s origin was examined in “The Man Behind the Red Hood!”
However, the story stopped well short of actually providing a detailed backstory
for the villain.

In “The Man Behind the Red Hood!,” the Joker was revealed to have originally
been an unnamed criminal who called himself the Red Hood. In his first clash
with Batman, the Red Hood jumped into a vat of chemicals to escape pursuit—
this permanently dyed his skin white and his hair green, giving him the
appearance of a hideous clown. Elements of the story would eventually be
incorporated into the Joker depictions found in the 1988 graphic novel Batman:
The Killing Joke and the 1989 motion picture Batman.

The comic book industry in general, and Batman in particular, suffered a

substantial setback with the 1953 publication of the book Seduction of the
Innocent by Fredric Wertham. Wertham was a psychiatrist who believed that
comic books, with their stories featuring elements of crime, violence and
sexuality, were extremely damaging to the mental health of young readers. Dr.
Wertham laid out all of his arguments against the comics industry in Seduction
of the Innocent, including his infamous assertion that the relationship between
Batman and Robin was rife with homosexual overtones. According to Wertham,
Batman and Robin represented “a wish dream of two homosexuals living
together.”
1

Seduction of the Innocent created a sensation upon its release, and led to public
hearings regarding the comic book industry held by the Subcommittee to
Investigate Juvenile Delinquency in the United States. Wertham himself testified
at these hearings, claiming that comic books were a major factor in leading
young people to become juvenile delinquents and deviants. As a result of these
hearings, the Senate determined that a standards code needed to be developed for
the comics industry in order to eliminate the objectionable material found in
some comics. In order to appease the Senate, the comic book industry formed a
self-regulating committee called the Comics Code Authority, which examined
the content of all new comic books before they were published. If these new
comics met with the standards of the committee, they were printed with a
Comics Code Authority logo displayed on their covers, which signified that they
were “safe” reading material for children.

The public backlash against comics following the publication of Seduction of the
Innocent led to a number of comic book publishers going out of business, but
DC Comics was able to soldier on. And even though DC’s Batman was one of
Wertham’s primary targets in the book, the character weathered the storm as
well. Like all comic titles published after the uproar surrounding Seduction of
the Innocent, sales of Batman comic titles fell dramatically—but Wertham’s
accusations did not put an end to the Caped Crusader’s career. In the long run,
Batman’s strength as a character turned out to be far more potent than any attack
that a homophobic and paranoid psychiatrist could level at him.

Wertham’s analysis of the relationship between Batman and Robin was

obviously misguided in many ways, but perhaps its biggest flaw was that it
failed to recognize the fact that Batman comic stories of the time were crafted
not for a homosexual or heterosexual audience, but for a basically asexual
audience. The vast majority of comic book readers during the 1940s and 1950s
were grade school–age boys—they were interested in action, adventure and
fantasy, not matters of romance of any kind. To most young male Batman fans,
Robin represented the kind of life they wished they could lead, one full of
heroism, intrigue and hi-tech gadgetry. (Not to mention one basically devoid of
dull responsibilities such as school, homework and chores.) And Batman
represented the ultimate father–big brother figure, someone that continually took
you on fantastic adventures and treated you as a complete equal.

This view of Batman and Robin was not a realistic one, to be sure. On the comic
page, Robin was empowered by Batman in a manner that could never be
translated into actual life—after all, any responsible adult who would put a real
child into perilous situations would be prosecuted for child endangerment! But
no one involved with the creation of Batman comics during the 1940s and 1950s
would have argued that they were anything more than harmless fantasy, pure and
simple. Most comic readers took this fantasy in the spirit it was intended—only
Wertham chose to look for a subliminal meaning in Batman and Robin’s
adventures. However ridiculous Wertham’s accusations might seem to us today,
it still must be noted that they certainly cast a long shadow. In fact, they still
have the power to incite discussion among present-day comic book fans and
students of popular culture, six decades after Seduction of the Innocent was first
published.

The uproar over Seduction of the Innocent and the resulting creation of the
Comics Code Authority continued the general trend of Batman’s “softening” as
a character, a trend that began when Robin was first introduced back in 1940. In
order to comply with the Code and avoid any further public criticism of Batman,
in the mid–1950s DC Comics set about making the character more benign than
he had been in his 1940s–early 1950s incarnation. Batman comic stories placed
less and less emphasis on scenarios relating to real-life crime and detective
work, and more and more emphasis on science fiction. The ruthless gangsters
and homicidal madmen who had plagued Batman and Robin in the past gave
way to an assortment of outlandish-looking space aliens and mad scientists who
continually passed through Gotham City in their quest for world domination. Of
course, none of these aliens and scientists ever had any luck conquering the
world, because Gotham’s friendly caped crimefighters were always on hand to
save the day. And when Batman’s classic villains such as the Joker or the
Penguin were used, they were usually placed in such silly scenarios that they
were far removed from their 1940s incarnations.

In fairness, it should be pointed out that many Batman comic stories had
contained elements of science fiction and fantasy since the character was
introduced in the late 1930s. But the increased sci-fi/fantasy content found in
Batman comic stories during this period had the effect of basically stripping the
character of his identity—he was not so much Batman, but “Superman in a
Batman costume.” Most everything Batman did in his mid–1950s–early 1960s
adventures was far more suited to Superman than it was to Batman—the
character traveled into outer space, went back and forth in time and was mutated
into countless weird forms, including a giant, a baby and a merman.

Batman’s ties to Superman were made even stronger during this time period,
because in 1954 the characters started regularly appearing in adventures together
in World’s Finest Comics. The title had been running stories that featured
Superman, Batman and Robin since the early 1940s, but Superman appeared in
stories of his own, and Batman and Robin appeared in stories of their own. In
World’s Finest Comics #71, July-August 1954, the characters teamed up in the
title for the first time in a story called “Batman—Double for Superman!” The
pairing of Superman and Batman in World’s Finest Comics would prove to be a
very long-lasting alliance—most every issue of the title published after #71
would feature the heroes working together, all the way up until its final issue
#323 published in January 1986!

Since Wertham’s attacks on Batman and Robin in Seduction of the Innocent

included the assertion that the characters were homosexual, DC decided to create
some female costumed heroes for Gotham City in order to “prove” that Batman
and Robin were indeed interested in members of the opposite sex. The first of
these characters made her debut in Detective Comics #233, July 1956, in a story
simply titled “The Batwoman.” The story revealed Batwoman to be Kathy Kane,
a former circus performer who admired Batman so much that she designed her
own yellow, red and black bat–themed costume and began to fight crime.
Batwoman was joined by Bat-Girl, who made her debut in the story “Bat-Girl”
(Batman #139, April 1961). Bat-Girl was actually Kathy Kane’s teenage niece
Betty, who designed her own red and green bat–costume after discovering that
Kathy was Batwoman so that she too could join in on all the fun.

Since Batwoman was about Batman’s age and Bat-Girl was about Robin’s age,
romance was in the air for all four of Gotham’s costumed crimefighters. But
even though Batwoman and Bat-Girl were introduced into Batman’s world so
that Batman and Robin could be shown to have romantic feelings for them, most
all of the stories featuring the characters depicted the women pursuing the men,
not the other way around. In fact, Batman and Robin were most always shown
trying to stoically fend off Batwoman’s and Bat-Girl’s advances. It is anyone’s
guess as to why DC thought that Batman’s and Robin’s heterosexuality could
best be established by depicting them rejecting romantic overtures from beautiful
masked women.

As if all of this science fiction and awkward romance weren’t enough to render
Batman’s comic book world a completely bizarre place, an interdimensional imp
named Bat-Mite made his debut in the story “Batman Meets Bat-Mite”
(Detective Comics #267, May 1958). Looking like an elf in an ill-fitting Batman
costume, Bat-Mite considered himself Batman’s biggest fan. He showed up from
time to time in order to try to “help” the Caped Crusaders in their fight against
crime, but of course, his efforts always backfired and chaos ensued. The
introduction of Bat-Mite into Batman’s world was the most obvious sign that DC
was trying to mold Batman into Superman’s image—the character was a direct
copy of the Superman villain Mr. Mxyzptlk, an elflike interdimensional imp who
regularly appeared on Earth in order to harass the Man of Steel.

Well, there was at least one other equally obvious sign that DC was trying to
mold Batman into Superman’s image. In March 1955, Superman was given a pet
dog named Krypto the Superdog, which led DC to decide to give Batman a pet
dog as well—so Ace the Bat-Hound was introduced into Batman’s comic world
in July 1955. Ace even wore a dark cowl like his master—but of course, that
cowl did not need to be fitted with pointed ears, since Ace already had them! At
any rate, Ace still manages to periodically show up in the DC Universe to this
day. For example, the pooch was featured in the 2005–06 Cartoon Network kids’
animated series Krypto the Superdog.
“The Batman Family” in the 1950s and early 1960s—Batman, Bat-Mite,
Robin, Alfred, Bat-Girl, Commissioner Gordon, and Batwoman. (And that
is Ace the Bat-Hound in front!) Art by Sheldon Moldoff.

A few characters created for Batman comic stories during the late 1950s and
early 1960s did become regular fixtures of the Batman universe. One of these
was Mr. Zero, who first appeared in a story in Batman #121, February 1959,
called “The Ice Crimes of Mr. Zero.” In the story, Mr. Zero is a criminal
scientist who works to create an ice gun. He succeeds in creating his weapon, but
in the process he accidentally spills some sort of freezing chemical solution all
over himself which makes him unable to stand warm temperatures. He dons an
air-conditioned costume and goes on a crime spree in Gotham City, leading
Batman and Robin to bring him to justice. Mr. Zero would eventually be
renamed Mr. Freeze (we’ll discuss that change in the next chapter), and become
one of Batman’s regularly-featured villains.

In 1960, DC introduced a new superhero team that featured Batman as one of its
charter members. The Justice League of America debuted in The Brave and the
Bold #28, February-March 1960, and its original lineup included Superman,
Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Martian
Manhunter. The team proved to be so popular that it was given its own comic
title in October 1960. The League has undergone numerous changes in members
and name over the decades, but Batman has continued to be involved in their
adventures right up until the present day.

As discussed in Chapter 1, Bob Kane’s actual hands-on involvement in the

creation of Batman comic art began to lessen almost from the character’s first
few comic appearances—he had brought in additional creative talent to bolster
his work even before Batman #1 was published. By the 1950s, Kane was
contributing almost nothing to the Batman comic art that was being produced,
even though that art still carried his name on the byline. Kane’s most prominent
ghost artist during this time was Sheldon Moldoff, who worked for Kane from
1953 all the way up until 1967. Moldoff’s bold, cartoonish style perfectly fit the
sunnier, sci-fi/fantasy-oriented Batman stories of the 1950s.2

In spite of Moldoff’s excellent work, Batman’s future was in serious doubt by

the early 1960s. All of the stories burdened with second-rate sci-fi and characters
that had been running in DC Comics’ Batman titles for the past decade had made
the character less and less popular with readers. Plus, as previously mentioned,
Wertham’s mid–1950s attack on the comics industry in general had brought
about a sharp decline in sales of most all comic book titles, including Batman’s.
Batman’s fortunes had fallen so low that there was even some discussion at DC
about canceling the character’s titles altogether.
3

But instead of canceling Batman, DC turned the character over to editor Julius
Schwartz. Schwartz had a proven track record of taking over DC characters that
had grown stale and successfully revamping them. Schwartz wasted no time in
bringing about changes to Batman and his world. Gone were Batwoman, Bat-
Girl and Bat-Mite, as well as all of the aliens and mad scientists that Batman and
Robin had been fighting since the mid–1950s. With all of these distractions out
of the way, Batman comic stories again began to focus on more realistic crime
and detective work scenarios.

And the art found in Batman comic stories was radically changed as well.
Schwartz gave DC artist Carmine Infantino the assignment of designing a new
visual style for Batman. The one-dimensional, cartoonish look of 1950s–early
1960s Batman comic book stories gave way to Infantino’s more realistic style of
drawing—his detailed renderings of Batman and Robin looked far more like
actual, flesh-and-blood people than any previous print versions of the characters.
The “New Look” Batman and Robin, 1966. Art by Carmine Infantino and
Murphy Anderson.

All of these changes also brought about some modifications to Batman’s

costume and crimefighting arsenal. The bat emblem on the character’s chest,
which since 1939 had consisted of a simple black bat silhouette, was redesigned
as a black bat silhouette inside of a yellow oval. Also, the Batmobile, which
since 1941 had been drawn as a large sedan with a stylized bat head on its grill
and a huge batwing-like tailfin on its roof, was redesigned into a sleek sports car
with batwing-like rear fender tailfins.

DC dubbed the Schwartz Batman revamp the “New Look,” and this New Look
Batman premiered in Detective Comics #327, May 1964, in the story “The
Mystery of the Menacing Mask.” “Menacing Mask” did not include any of
Batman’s classic costumed villains, but Schwartz wasted little time in returning
some of the character’s most memorable foes to more regular action than they
had seen during the 1950s and early 1960s. Early New Look stories featured the
Joker, Penguin and the Riddler battling the Dynamic Duo.

The Riddler’s return was particularly welcome. He had initially appeared in two
stories in the late 1940s, and even though he seemed like a character with great
potential, he was never used again until Schwartz revived him in 1965. Clad in a
skintight green bodysuit emblazoned with black question marks, the Riddler
delighted in leaving Batman clues relating to the criminal schemes he was
planning in the form of riddles. In fact, it seemed that he was perhaps actually
more interested in posing riddles to Batman than he was in committing crimes.
Even the Riddler’s real name suggested that his riddles were more important to
him than anything else—he was really Edward Nigma, which when shortened to
“E. Nigma” became another word for “riddle.” Though the meaning of his real
name would never change, its spelling would—in the 1990s, the “Nigma” would
be dropped in favor of “Nygma.” At any rate, the Riddler’s New Look comic
stories began the process of making the villain every bit as important a character
as the Joker, Penguin and Catwoman.

Ironically, not long after DC Comics instigated Batman’s New Look and
returned the character to his more realistic, “serious” roots, the ABC Television
Network decided to bring the character for the first time in a manner that was
about as far removed from “serious” as possible. In early 1966, the half-hour
action comedy Batman made its debut on ABC. The show starred Adam West as
Batman/Bruce Wayne and Burt Ward as Robin/Dick Grayson. Batman turned
out to be a hit of monumental proportions, and it spawned the 1966 feature film
of the same name. In the next chapter we’ll examine the film in detail, and set it
within the context of the television show’s run.
 6
Batman (1966)

Cast: Adam West (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Burt Ward (Robin/Dick Grayson),

Lee Meriwether (Catwoman/Kitka), Cesar Romero (The Joker), Burgess
Meredith (The Penguin), Frank Gorshin (The Riddler), Alan Napier (Alfred),
Neil Hamilton (Commissioner Gordon), Stafford Repp (Chief O’Hara), Madge
Blake (Aunt Harriet Cooper), Reginald Denny (Commodore Schmidlapp),
Milton Frome (Vice Admiral Fangschliester), Gil Perkins (Bluebeard), Dick
Crockett (Morgan), George Sawaya (Quetch). Producer: William Dozier.
Director: Leslie H. Martinson. Screenplay: Lorenzo Semple, Jr. (Based on
characters created by Bob Kane). Cinematography: Howard Schwartz. Editor:
Harry Gerstad. Music: Nelson Riddle. Studio: 20th Century–Fox. Length: 105
minutes. United States Release Date: July 30, 1966.

Nearly two decades after his last big screen appearance in the lackluster 1949
serial Batman and Robin, Batman made a triumphant return to movie theaters in
the 1966 action comedy Batman. Batman was a very successful film in its own
right, but its history is completely intertwined with that of the wildly popular
television program of the same name that aired on ABC from 1966 until 1968.
Both the film and the TV show starred Adam West as Batman/Bruce Wayne and
Burt Ward as Robin/Dick Grayson.

Batman the movie also starred Lee Meriwether as the Catwoman, Cesar Romero
as the Joker, Burgess Meredith as the Penguin and Frank Gorshin as the Riddler.
Romero, Meredith and Gorshin all had made numerous appearances on the
Batman television show as well, but Meriwether had not. She was cast as the
film Catwoman because Julie Newmar, the actress who played the part in the
television show during its first two seasons, was unavailable during the weeks
that Batman was filming.

Any examination of the film must begin by providing background on the

television show. In early 1965, ABC acquired the rights to the Batman character
from DC Comics. The network’s decision to develop a Batman television show
was likely influenced by several major art and entertainment trends that were
taking place in the mid–1960s.

First, the Pop Art movement was in full swing at the time. Pop artists took
everyday images such as advertisements for commercial products and comic
strip panels, and incorporated them into their works. Consequently, the public
had a heightened interest in comic imagery since prominent artists like Andy
Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein were painting pieces inspired by comic art. Also,
the success of the James Bond film series, beginning with the release of Dr. No
in 1962, suggested that the public might be receptive to other larger-than-life
action hero characters.

Interestingly, ABC considered developing shows based on several other comic

characters before settling on Batman. Both Superman and Dick Tracy were
actually the network’s first choices for a comic-themed show, but the rights to
these characters were not available at the time. Since Batman’s rights were
available, Batman became “their” hero.1
 Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin in Batman (1966).

ABC entrusted the development of their Batman television show to veteran

producer William Dozier and his production company Greenway Productions.
Dozier took the job knowing almost nothing about Batman at all—he had never
read a Batman comic story until he became involved with the project. Dozier
enlisted writer Lorenzo Semple, Jr. to craft a pilot script that would set the tone
for the series, and what Semple came up with was startlingly original. His script
“Hi Diddle Riddle” featuring the Riddler could be enjoyed on two completely
separate levels—its campy dialogue, outrageous characters and absurd situations
would play as hip, Pop Art–inspired comedy for adults, and its comic book
action would play as straight-ahead adventure for young children. And everyone
could enjoy the show’s imagery of a comic page brought to life, complete with
wild costumes, brightly colored sets and hi-tech gadgetry.

ABC matched Dozier and Semple’s ambitious concept for Batman with equally
ambitious production values. The network entered into an agreement with 20th
Century–Fox to co-produce the show, which meant that the Batman’s creators
would have at their disposal Fox’s very large, high-quality production facilities.
Dozier began developing costumes, sets and props for Batman that were both
lavish and marvelously inventive. After being treated so offhandedly by
Columbia Pictures in the 1940s, the Batman character was finally getting a “big-
budget” screen treatment.

The downside of this treatment, at least for longtime fans of Batman comics, was
that the character was going to be presented in a manner that was intentionally
comedic. After all, DC Comics had just performed the New Look revamp on
Batman in 1964 in order to make him a more plausible, serious character than he
had been in his mid–1950s, early 1960s incarnation. But in all fairness, even
many New Look Batman comic stories of the mid–1960s were still fanciful
enough that most non–comic book readers would have found them ridiculous.
(In fact, a number of Batman’s episodes would actually end up being based on
New Look stories.) Simply put, a 1965 Batman comic story was
unapologetically escapist, often silly, entertainment—so ABC’s decision to
realize the Batman character on the screen in a lighthearted manner made perfect
sense. Batman would have his day as a serious screen action hero, but that day
would not come during the years that he was a property of ABC.
But at least the day had finally arrived that a screen version of Batman would be
given a Batmobile to drive! And along with that Batmobile, he would be given a
huge Batcave, a Batcycle, a Batcopter, a Batboat and dozens of crimefighting bat
gadgets. Plus, he would finally get the chance to square off against memorable
comic book adversaries such as the Joker, Penguin, Riddler and Catwoman.
ABC and Fox would bring Batman’s world to life in a stylish and imaginative
manner that made Columbia’s 1940s serials look positively anemic in
comparison.

However, this new Batman was not above borrowing a trick or two from the
Columbia serials. ABC planned on airing Batman twice a week, Wednesdays
and Thursdays at 7:30 P.M. Scheduling the show in this manner meant that the
Wednesday episode could end with a “cliffhanger” situation like the old movie
serial chapters did, and then the “cliffhanger” could be resolved in the Thursday
episode. And also like the serials, the dialogue and action in Batman would be
overplayed to the point of being absurdly melodramatic—only this time around,
the melodrama was intentionally meant to create laughter. (Incidentally, the
1943 Columbia serial Batman would end up having an even more direct effect
on this new Batman before it premiered. I’ll discuss the odd turn of events that
led to this a bit later.)

Because of Batman’s groundbreaking style and content, it was going to be a far

more complex and expensive program to produce than an “average” half-hour
television show. Consequently, Dozier envisioned producing a Batman film
prior to the release of the Batman television show. The film would facilitate the
production of the television show in several ways. First, it could serve to
introduce the show and its many different characters to the public. Also, many of
the scenes featuring expensive props such as the Batcopter, the Batboat and the
Batcycle could be filmed for the movie, and then those scenes could be lifted
directly from the film for use in episodes of the television show. This recycling
of footage would help to trim the television show’s special effects budget.
2

Now that Batman had both a well-realized concept and a shrewd production
strategy, it needed actors. Dozier’s casting choices for the show’s major parts
were inspired, to say the least. Adam West was hired for the role of
Batman/Bruce Wayne. West was a handsome 37-year-old who had been
working steadily in film and television productions since the late 1950s. In 1964,
he appeared in several commercials for the powdered chocolate milk mix Nestle
Quik as “Captain Quik,” a spoof of the James Bond character. These
commercials brought him to the attention of ABC and Fox, who thought he
might have the right combination of seriousness and silliness for the role of
Batman. Upon meeting with Dozier, West immediately grasped the nature of the
part. He understood the producer’s reasoning that Batman needed to be played as
earnestly as possible in order to both enthrall youngsters and amuse adults. And
3

at 6'2" and of reasonably good build, West was also physically just right for the
role.

Bert Gervis, Jr., was cast as Robin/Dick Grayson. Gervis was 19 when he won
the role, and it was his first professional acting job. Amusingly, ABC somehow
failed to communicate to Gervis the fact that he had actually been given the part.
For a number of weeks, the studio kept contacting him regarding measurements
for his Robin costume—since he was so new to the business, he assumed all of
these fittings were still just a part of the audition process! At any rate, Gervis’
4

inexperience as an actor probably worked to his advantage while playing Robin.

The character was designed to be outrageously corny, with all of his “Holy—”
(this or that) exclamations and wide-eyed naïveté, and Gervis’ lack of subtlety
perfectly captured that corniness. Also, at 5'8" and appearing even younger than
his age, he was physically very well suited for the part. The only thing Gervis
really had to change about himself for Batman was his name—he adopted the
much more punchy stage name of Burt Ward before the show’s premiere.

Not only were West and Ward individually perfect for their roles, they were
perfect together as well. The chemistry between the two actors was definitely
one of the elements that would make the show so successful. Plus, since Ward
came across as being younger than his age, Batman and Robin’s rapport in
Batman could mirror the way they operated in their comic book world—they
would be very much like a “father-son” team.

Batman’s creators now set about providing these actors with ideal costumes.
Batman’s costume designer Jan Kemp created Batman and Robin uniforms that
were marvelously faithful to the characters’ mid–1960s comic book appearance
in terms of style and color. In fact, to this day the Batman television show and its
companion movie are the only live-action screen depictions of Batman and
Robin to feature the characters in their standard “comic book” garb.

Kemp’s Batman costume featured a cape, cowl, trunks, gloves and boots that
were all fashioned out of dark blue satin. Because of all of the different kinds of
lighting used during the filming of Batman, the camera would sometimes
register this dark blue material as a brighter shade of blue, purple or even black.
The cowl was crafted out of a plastic skullcap under its satin finish, giving it a
smooth, seamless look. The costume also featured a gray leotard and gray tights
that when worn together, looked like a one-piece, form-fitting bodysuit. On the
chest area of the leotard was the familiar bat emblem, a black bat silhouette
inside of a yellow oval. One of the costume’s most prominent elements was its
yellow utility belt with a large, bat-engraved gold buckle.

Perhaps the costume’s only major weakness was that its cowl’s bat ears were so
short that they often completely blended into the cowl when filmed from certain
angles. The mid–1960s comic book Batman did have short ears on his cowl, but
they were still not quite as short as Kemp designed them. But even with this
flaw, the costume was so memorably designed and well-tailored that it became
one of Batman’s most potent visuals.

Kemp’s Robin costume was equally well-crafted. It featured a bright yellow

satin cape. Its form-fitting red tunic sported a yellow “R” encircled in black, and
yellow laces running up the front. The costume also featured green short sleeves,
gloves, trunks and boots. (The comic book Robin was usually depicted as being
bare legged, but presumably in the interest of modesty Kemp outfitted his
version of the costume with skin-colored tights.) And finally, it featured a well-
sewn black fabric, “bandit-style” mask.

Adam West’s Batman and Burt Ward’s Robin turned out to be so iconic that it
might seem hard to imagine Batman being done with anyone else but them. But
Dozier did seriously consider two other actors as Batman and Robin—
amazingly, those other actors were so good in the roles that they might well have
made them their own just as West and Ward ended up doing. Lyle Waggoner
was considered for the part of Batman, and Peter Deyell was considered for the
part of Robin. Screen test footage has survived that shows Waggoner and Deyell
doing two scenes from “Hi Diddle Riddle.” The first scene features them as
Bruce and Dick in Wayne Manor, trying to figure out a clue the Riddler has
purposely left for them. The second scene features them in their Batman and
Robin costumes in the Batcave, getting ready to head out and confront the
Riddler. West and Ward’s screen test featuring them doing the exact same
scenes has also survived.

It is fascinating to compare Waggoner and Deyell to West and Ward in these

screen tests. Waggoner was perhaps a more conventional action hero-style of
actor than West, with a squarer jaw and a more reserved pattern of speech. And
Deyell came off as being even more boyish than Ward, mainly because of his
noticeably high-pitched speaking voice. In short, Waggoner and Deyell were
very good in the roles, and gave West and Ward more than just a bit of
competition. Of course, as wonderful as West and Ward turned out to be in
Batman, Dozier certainly made the right choice in picking them over Waggoner
and Deyell. But Waggoner and Deyell’s screen test suggests that if they had been
picked, they could have very possibly ended up being the “right” choice as well!

Another aspect of these screen tests that is so interesting is that they provide a
glimpse of Batman’s early attempts at costuming and set design. The Batman
costume used in the screen tests had much taller ears on its cowl than the TV
show’s cowl, and its bat emblem did not include a yellow oval like the TV
show’s bat emblem did. In other words, the Batman costume in the screen test
looked very much like the pre–New Look Batman costume found in comic
stories of the 1950s and early 1960s. And the Batcave set used in the screen tests
was markedly different from the Batcave set that would be created for the TV
show. The TV show’s Batcave would end up being an expansive space jammed
with hi-tech crimefighting equipment, while the screen test’s Batcave established
a much more intimate, mysterious tone by featuring less equipment and multiple
layers of dimly-lit rock formations. (We’ll discuss the TV show’s Batcave set in
more detail a bit later)

Batman’s main villains would be every bit as well realized as West and Ward
were in their roles, both in terms of casting and costuming. Like Batman’s
Batman and Robin uniforms, the villains’ costumes were designed by Jan Kemp.
The villains were always billed as “guest villains” on the show, because none of
them appeared as episode-to-episode regulars. During Batman’s first two
seasons, a specific villain was usually featured in both the show’s Wednesday
night “cliffhanger” episode and Thursday night “resolution” episode, and then a
different villain would be given the spotlight in the Wednesday and Thursday
episodes the following week.

The villains featured most regularly on the series were also the villains slated to
be in the Batman motion picture. Burgess Meredith (the Penguin) had enjoyed a
long and distinguished career on both the stage and screen as a dramatic actor,
but his appearances in Batman catapulted him to far greater fame than did all of
his “serious” roles. As the Penguin, Meredith wore a long false nose, black
tuxedo with tails, and purple top hat—and, of course, he almost always had one
of his trick umbrellas in hand. Meredith was so good as the Penguin that he
waddled and squawked his way through more episodes of Batman than any other
guest villain.

Another veteran, Cesar Romero, was hired for the role of the Joker. Romero
seemed to be a very unlikely choice for the part—he had appeared in scores of
films since the 1930s, often playing suave, romantic leading roles. Plus, he
sported a moustache that he considered to be his show business trademark, so he
refused to shave it off for his Joker role. Batman’s makeup crew solved this
problem by simply applying layer upon layer of white makeup on Romero’s face
until his moustache was for the most part obscured—however, one does not have
to look too hard at Romero in Batman to spot it! Still, Romero ended up making
a wonderful Joker. Clad in a wild purple suit, and sporting a green wig and blood
red lipstick, he cackled his way through nearly as many episodes of Batman as
Meredith did.

Another of Batman’s regular guest villains was a much younger, up-and-coming

performer. Frank Gorshin, an impressionist-actor who had appeared in numerous
movies and television shows throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, was
given the part of the Riddler. Wearing a skintight green bodysuit emblazoned
with black question marks, Gorshin’s manic energy elevated the Riddler
character from a relatively minor Batman comic book villain to one of the Caped
Crusader’s most recognizable foes.

Of course, Batman would feature far more villains than just the Penguin, the
Joker and the Riddler. Some of them, such as the Catwoman, first appeared in
the pages of Batman comic stories. (We’ll discuss the Catwoman’s Batman
debut a bit later.) Another Batman comic villain selected for use on the show
was given a name change—Mr. Zero was renamed “Mr. Freeze” by Batman’s
creators and used in six episodes of the series. Mr. Freeze never became
identified with one specific actor during Batman’s run—he was played by three
different actors, George Sanders, Otto Preminger, and Eli Wallach. Many other
villains, such as the Bookworm, King Tut and Egghead, were created
specifically for the show.

The strength of Batman’s “non-costume” supporting cast was equal to its cast of
heroes and villains. Veteran British actor Alan Napier played the role of Alfred,
and though he did not physically resemble the Alfred of the comics, his low-key
performance perfectly captured the trustworthy nature of Bruce and Dick’s
closest confidant. Neil Hamilton, who began his acting career playing leading
roles in several of director D.W. Griffith’s silent features, was cast as Gotham
City Police Commissioner Gordon. Hamilton also did not particularly resemble
his comic book counterpart, but his earnest portrayal of Gotham’s top cop was
very effective. Stafford Repp played a character specifically created for the
show, Police Chief O’Hara. Repp laid on a heavy Irish brogue while playing
O’Hara, making the part come across as a rather clichéd stereotype, but his
energetic performance was still quite enjoyable.

Some of the casting choices Dozier made regarding Batman, such as the hiring
of veteran “serious” actors like Burgess Meredith, Cesar Romero and Neil
Hamilton, were surprising. But his choice for the actor to provide the show’s
voiceover narration was the most surprising of all—namely, himself! He kept
auditioning narrators to try to find someone who could ham the dialogue up in
just the right melodramatic, movie serial-like fashion. But he never found
anyone who could do the job as well as he could, so he added the job of
Batman’s narrator to his producer duties.

The most striking thing about all of the actors in Batman, heroes, villains and
supporting players alike, was that they played their parts with the utmost
seriousness. Dozier had communicated the fact to Adam West that Batman’s
camp comedy would be stronger if West played Batman/Bruce Wayne
completely straight, as if there was nothing funny about the part. Obviously, the
rest of the cast was given this directive as well—and just as obviously, they took
it completely to heart. For the most part, Batman was acted as straight drama.
Granted, many of the villain’s parts were of such a broad nature that they could
not help but ham up their material to some degree, but on the whole, even they
played their parts as if they were appearing in a serious dramatic work. Batman
was shaping up to be a very unusual show with this combination of comedic
material, dramatic acting and breathless comic book action.

In an odd coincidence, Batman got an unexpected boost in terms of pre-publicity

from the 1943 Columbia serial Batman. The 15-chapter action-adventure was re-
released as a camp piece under the title An Evening with Batman and Robin in
1965. The marathon film played in selected cities across the country, mainly in
college towns, and it drew huge crowds who howled with laughter at Batman
and Robin’s efforts to vanquish Daka’s forces of evil. Time Magazine ran a
national story on the serial in November 1965.5
ABC originally planned on premiering their Batman during the start of their fall
1966 season, but they likely realized they had a golden opportunity to release the
show while An Evening with Batman and Robin was still fresh in the minds of
the general public. Also, many of the network’s prime time shows that premiered
during the fall 1965 season were failing, so they were looking for something to
shore up their schedule. Consequently, ABC decided to rush Batman into full
production mode and premiere it as a midseason replacement in January 1966. 6

This premiere date change had a huge impact on the production of the show.
Plans to film and release a Batman motion picture before the television show hit
the airwaves were altered—the film would still be made, but not until filming of
the television show’s first season was completed. Consequently, the Batman
motion picture would no longer be used to introduce American audiences to all
of the television show’s main characters. However, the film could still be used to
sell the television show to overseas markets. And the film could still be used to
help trim the television show’s special effects budget—expensive props such as
the Batcopter, the Batboat, and the Batcycle could be filmed for the movie, and
then those scenes could be lifted directly from the film for use in second season
episodes.

After working to bring Batman’s world to life with just the right actors and
costumes, Batman’s creators started work on perfecting the vast arsenal of
crimefighting gadgetry and vehicles they had created for Batman and Robin to
use on the show. With the show’s premiere date moved up approximately eight
months, they now had far less time to get this arsenal together than previously
planned.

Batman’s early debut forced a major change in plans regarding the construction
of the show’s Batmobile. The car was originally going to be built by custom car
designer Dean Jeffries, but Jeffries was not able to fit the project’s new deadline
into his work schedule. So Dozier contracted custom automotive designer
George Barris to design and build the car—in a matter of just several weeks!

Barris was able to complete this formidable task because he chose not to design
and build a Batmobile from scratch. Instead, he reworked an experimental 1955
Lincoln automobile known as the Futura into the Batmobile. The Futura he used
had actually already appeared on the screen—in bright red paint, the car was
seen in the 1959 motion picture It Started with a Kiss starring Glenn Ford and
Debbie Reynolds. The Futura was already equipped with hooded headlights,
bubble dome windshields and large tailfins, so Barris’ main tasks were to
accessorize the car with Batman-themed items, reshape the body so that it
featured some batwing-like scallops and repaint it. He also added one of the
Batmobile’s most distinctive features—a jet engine–like afterburner that shot
flames from the rear of the car. Incidentally, much of the Futura’s bodywork was
not actually done by Barris himself; he subcontracted the work out to another car
customizer, Bill Cushenbery. 7

While many of the gadgets and vehicles featured in Batman were spectacular,
the most spectacular of them all was Barris’ Batmobile. Painted a sleek jet black
with red-orange pinstriping and bat insignias, the Batmobile was simply a
fabulous looking car. For the first time, a screen version of Batman would have a
Batmobile that was every inch the icon the car had become on the comics page.
Incidentally, the Batmobile turned out to be so popular with the public that
Barris built a number of replicas of the car strictly for “public appearance”
purposes, and these replicas were exhibited at automobile shows throughout the
country. But the only Batmobile that was ever used on the show or in the
Batman film was Barris’ original Futura remodel.

Batman’s giant Batcave set was also a wonder to behold. Surrounded by walls of
jagged rock, the Batcave was jammed with high tech crimefighting devices such
as computers, radar equipment and chemical analyzers. The Batmobile could be
driven directly into the cave via a secret entrance hidden off of a small dirt road
just outside of the cave walls. (Bronson Cave in Bronson Canyon near Los
Angeles was used for all of the Batcave secret entrance exterior shots in the
series.) A turntable inside the cave turned the Batmobile 180 degrees so that it
could be driven directly out the entrance. Just behind the Batmobile’s turntable
was a towering nuclear generator used to power the car. Two fire station–like
poles known as the “Batpoles” led down into the cave from Wayne Manor
above, and these were equipped with an “instant costume change” lever that
allowed Bruce and Dick to magically change into their costumes during their
descent. (Obviously, the Batcave’s absurdly efficient equipment was played up
as one of Batman’s major comedic aspects.)

The “guest villain hideout” sets were also one of the show’s visual highlights.
Often filmed at odd angles and lighted with garish colors, these sets appeared as
if they had jumped directly off of a comic book page and onto the television
screen. Another highlight of the show was its scenes showing Batman and Robin
scaling the outside walls of buildings using their Bat ropes. These wall-scaling
scenes were accomplished through very low-tech camera trickery. The “walls”
were flat on the ground, and the camera was turned on its side so that it appeared
the walls were vertical instead of horizontal. Then West and Ward would slowly
walk along the walls holding onto their ropes, acting as if they were having to
expend a great deal of effort in their “climb.”

Probably the most memorable visual highlight of Batman was the crazily lettered
onomatopoeia words that flashed on the screen during the show’s fight scenes.
Whenever anyone took a big hit, “POW!,” “BAM!” or some other wildly
expressive word was cut into the action, just like words would be drawn into a
comic book panel.

Batman’s creators also understood the importance of creating a recognizable

Gotham City for the show; along with the visuals specifically relating to Batman
and his adversaries, the city itself needed to be visually well-defined as well in
order to bring Batman and his world to life. The Gotham City sets wonderfully
captured Batman’s hometown as the bustling, East Coast city it had been in the
comics for 25 years.

Batman’s strong visuals were matched up with one of the best theme songs ever
written for a television show. Neal Hefti’s classic, instantly recognizable
“Batman Theme” kicked off every episode, and was also used as background
music most every time that Batman and Robin were shown jumping into the
Batmobile and speeding out of the Batcave. The song was driven by a buzzing
guitar riff (the “nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah” part that most everyone sings when
they quote the song) and punctuated by blaring brass. This instrumentation was
accompanied by layered, somewhat dissonant vocals (the word “Batman” over
and over again). On paper, the song might not seem all that compelling—but
most everyone needs to hear it just once to have it burned into their memory.

Hefti did not write the many other pieces of background orchestral music that
were used in the show; they were written by the legendary composer and
musical arranger Nelson Riddle. Riddle’s dramatic musical contributions to
Batman were essential in helping the show to realize its goal of being a
breathless, thrill-a-minute affair.

Amidst a blitz of publicity, ABC premiered Batman on Wednesday, January 12,

1966, at 7:30 P.M. The first episode to air was the pilot “Hi Diddle Riddle”
written by Semple. In “Hi Diddle Riddle,” Batman mentioned that he had
become a masked crimefighter because his parents were murdered—this marked
the first time the character’s comic book origin was translated to the screen in
any form. On the following night, January 13, 1966, the follow-up to this
episode entitled “Smack in the Middle” aired at the same Bat time, same Bat
channel. (This was the show’s catch phrase used to close many of the
“cliffhanger” episodes of the series.)

Batman was a smash from the first moment it hit the airwaves. ABC of course
was thrilled at the show’s meteoric success, but they also had ample reason to
feel relieved—because when the network showed the first episodes to test
audiences before the premiere, they scored as poorly as any program they had
ever produced. Consequently, ABC wasn’t worried so much about whether or
not Batman would be a hit—they were more worried about the show being a
bomb of epic proportions. Obviously, these test audiences simply did not know
how to take Batman—they could not decide whether they were watching a
comedy or an action show. But the general public “got” Dozier’s concept of
creating tongue-in-cheek humor by mixing Batman’s comic book world with the
real world, and they got it in a big way.

Batman quickly became much more than just a hot new television show, it
became a national craze. Throughout 1966, “Batmania” swept the country—
Batman seemed to be everywhere. His television theme song was a huge radio
hit, he was on the cover of Life Magazine, and countless kids were running
around with capes tied around their necks. Plus, thousands of products bearing
his likeness (toys, dolls, model kits, books, bubble gum cards, clothes, etc.) were
available for purchase.

All of this Batman merchandise spawned by the Batmania of 1966 had a

tremendous impact on the history of the character. Generally speaking, in
Batman’s first quarter century of existence, almost no non-print merchandise
relating to the character was manufactured. But starting in 1966, Batman fans
had the option of not only enjoying the character through his comic book
adventures, but also through the collecting of non-comic Batman material.
Consequently, from 1966 on, the buying of “Batman stuff” would become a
major part of the Batman fan experience. The amount of Bat-related
merchandise available to fans over the years would directly depend on how
interested in the character the general public was at a specific point in time—but
Batman’s retail presence which began with the Batmania of 1966 has continued
without pause right up until the present day.
Not surprisingly, sales of Batman comic titles skyrocketed after the television
show’s debut. DC Comics took advantage of this phenomenon by creating
Batman comic stories that had the look and feel of the Batman TV show—in
other words, they became more self-consciously campy than the original New
Look Batman stories had been. Also, DC introduced Batman into a comic title
that had not previously been devoted to the character’s adventures. The Brave
and the Bold originally carried stories featuring a variety of DC heroes—as we
discussed last chapter, the title featured the first Justice League of America story
ever published. With the onslaught of Batmania, DC made Batman a permanent
fixture of The Brave and the Bold. Batman was featured in “team-up” stories in
most every issue of the comic from late 1966 until the title was canceled in 1983,
giving him the chance to interact with heroes he would not normally have
worked with in his other comic titles. In fact, Batman ended up sharing
adventures with most every hero in the DC universe in the pages of The Brave
and the Bold.

In spite of all of this incredible success, the Batman character still had a bit of
unfinished business he had to take care of, one more frontier he had yet to
conquer—the movies. 20th Century–Fox’s Batman motion picture which was
originally supposed to introduce the public to the character and his world would
now instead become one of the high watermarks of Batmania.

Principal photography for Batman commenced in late April 1966, almost

immediately after the filming of the first season TV episodes ended. The film
finished shooting by late May 1966; obviously, the movie was on the same kind
of breakneck production schedule the television show had been on during its first
season. The majority of the creative talent behind the television show’s first
season was also behind the movie. The film was produced by Dozier, written by
Semple, and directed by Leslie Martinson, who had directed two first season
episodes of the show, “The Penguin Goes Straight” and “Not Yet He Ain’t.” The
film featured most all of the first season’s essential cast members, with one
notable exception—a new actress was hired to play the Catwoman.

Julie Newmar was cast in the role for the television show shortly after Batman
actually premiered and appeared in two first season episodes. But she only
needed those two episodes to make an indelible mark as the character. Newmar’s
Catwoman was a devastatingly beautiful femme fatale clad in a skintight black
bodysuit and cat ears, and her combination of sexuality and wicked comedic wit
was perfect for the role. The Catwoman was to play a major part in the storyline
of the Batman film, but unfortunately Newmar was unavailable during the weeks
that Batman was filming.

Because Batman was being done so quickly in between seasons of the TV show,
the casting of Lee Meriwether as the film’s Catwoman was handled with similar
speed. The film had already commenced principal photography before
Meriwether was even hired to replace Newmar! Meriwether played the part quite
well in Batman considering how abruptly she was thrown into the production.
That said, however, her Catwoman was not quite as memorable as Newmar’s
slinky take on the character. (Incidentally, Dozier would continue to have a
problem with revolving Catwomen. Newmar returned to play the part for
Batman’s second season, but due to another scheduling conflict she had to bow
out of the role before the show’s third season. In season three, the Catwoman
was played by Eartha Kitt.)

Another element of the Batman motion picture that was markedly different from
the TV show was its use of new Bat vehicles. The scenes showing these new bat
vehicles in action were filmed at outdoor locations; consequently, the Batman
movie had a more expansive, “big budget” feel to it than did the TV show.
Burgess Meredith (the Penguin), Frank Gorshin (the Riddler), Lee
Meriwether (Catwoman/Kitka), and Cesar Romero (the Joker) in Batman
(1966).

Batman’s Batcopter was actually a 1964 Bell 47 helicopter owned by the

California company National Helicopter Service, and was numbered N3079G.
For the movie, it was outfitted with canvas “Batwings” to make it appear more
batlike. These Batwings actually made the helicopter very difficult to fly because
they created so much wind resistance. Batman’s Batcopter scenes were filmed
over a period of five days in April 1966, mainly at the National Helicopter
hangar in Van Nuys and at Marineland in Palos Verdes. After filming, N3079G
had its Batwings removed and was returned to regular service.

However, N3079G has since been restored to its former Batcopter glory. In
1996, pilot Eugene Nock bought the N3079G; he had studied the copter’s log
books, and he realized that it was a unique piece of Batman film and television
history. He set about restoring the machine to look like it did when it was the
Batcopter, complete with bright red-orange paint and bat insignias. (He did not
try to reinstall the problematic canvas batwings.)

For any Bat-fan, just seeing the Batcopter would make for a memorable
experience. But Mr. Nock ended up offering something much more memorable
—a ride in it. Nock took the restored N3079G to numerous festivals and fairs
around the country, giving countless Batman fans the opportunity to soar into the
sky in the Batcopter. One of those fairs was the Ohio State Fair in Columbus—I
am a resident of Columbus, so I probably don’t have to tell you that I have taken
quite a few Batcopter rides! In my personal opinion, Mr. Nock owns one of the
coolest Batman toys that anyone could ever have.

The movie’s Batboat was a modified 1966 Glastron V-174 Fiberglas sporting
boat. The Glastron Company itself actually performed all of the Bat-
modifications, which included designing and building a scalloped tail fin
adorned with bat insignias. Like the Batmobile and the Batcopter, the Batboat
became an instantly recognizable part of 1960s Batman mythos.

Batman’s Batcycle was a modified 1966 Yamaha Catalina outfitted with a

detachable sidecar. It was designed by Dan Dempski, a mechanic who worked
with George Barris. While the Batcycle looked good on film, it was quite
difficult to maneuver. Hubie Kerns (West’s stuntman) and Victor Paul (Ward’s)
were the ones who actually had to ride the cycle. Kerns and Paul never crashed
on it, but neither found their time with the Batcycle to be particularly enjoyable.
8

Some of Batman’s best scenes were the ones showing all of these vehicles in
action. Because they were real-life, powerful machines that actually drove, flew
or sped across the water, the scenes were quite believable and exciting. Their
realism would provide a refreshing counterpoint to all of the film’s intentional
silliness.

Batman was edited and assembled just about as quickly as it had been filmed,
and was ready for its world premiere by late July 1966. The premiere was held at
the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas, on July 30, with West, Meredith,
Romero and Meriwether in attendance. In fact, these Batman stars did more than
just attend the premiere—they appeared in costume, and were driven in open
cars to the theatre so that thousands of Bat-fans lining the streets of Austin could
get a real-life peek at them! Interestingly, a short video clip from that day has
survived which features Austin television host Jean Boone interviewing
Meriwether, Romero and West, all of them in costume. Boone’s low-key
interviews provide a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the Batmania of 1966.
Incidentally, Austin was chosen to debut the film because the Glastron Boat
Company was located in that city. Glastron displayed their Batboat out front of
the Paramount so those who attended the premiere could get a close-up look. 9

Batman opens with a terrific title sequence, as stylish and fun as any Batman-
related image ever committed to film. As the credits flash on the screen, a series
of night scenes illuminated only by a bright spotlight depict Batman, Robin,
Catwoman, Joker, Penguin and Riddler stepping momentarily into the light, and
then disappearing back into the darkness. The spotlight keeps changing color as
it illuminates each character, flashing bright shades of blue, red, green, purple
and yellow, suggesting the vivid colors of a comic book page. These character
shots are intertwined with shots of an unidentified criminal dressed in a long,
film noir–style trenchcoat and a hat that hides his face, running down dark city
streets, illuminated only by the same spotlight.

This sequence is accompanied by an equally striking main title theme composed

by Nelson Riddle, who wrote all of the film’s musical score except for Neal
Hefti’s “Batman Theme.” Riddle’s opening music for the film incorporates the
feel, if not the actual notes, of the “Batman Theme.” It then builds on this feel,
adding bursts of big band brass and swirling orchestral passages that briefly
quote all of the individual melodies that Riddle wrote for each of the film’s main
characters. In other words, the main title theme plays like an ingenious, compact
overture for the entire film. Riddle’s score remains every bit as strong
throughout the entire movie as it is in this opening sequence. (As previously
mentioned, Riddle also composed equally memorable music for the Batman
television program.)

While this opening sequence suggests Batman’s “creature of the night” origins,
the rest of Batman is infinitely sunnier and sillier—most all of the film’s scenes
take place in broad daylight, and are played for laughs. Batman wastes no time
in setting up its plot and getting into the action. An anonymous source has
informed the Gotham City authorities that a yacht carrying the wealthy English
whisky maker Commodore Schmidlapp is in danger of being hijacked.
Schmidlapp is traveling to the United States to demonstrate his revolutionary
invention, known as a “dehydrator,” which can instantly remove all of the water
content from any object.

Batman and Robin race from the Batcave in their Batmobile to the Gotham
airport, where their Batcopter is hangared. After transferring from the Batmobile
to the Batcopter, they fly out over the ocean, hoping to intercept the
Commodore’s yacht. They see the yacht, and Batman climbs down a rope ladder
attached to the underside of the Batcopter in order to board it. But just as he is
about to set foot on the yacht, it disappears right out from under him. Batman
sinks into the ocean, and as Robin starts to take the helicopter back into the sky,
a shark bites into Batman’s leg. As Batman struggles with the shark, Robin
climbs down the ladder and hands Batman a can of shark repellent batspray.
Batman gives the shark a healthy dose of the spray, causing the shark to let go of
his leg and plummet down toward the ocean. As the shark hits the water, it
explodes.

Back at the office of Gotham City Police Commissioner Gordon, Batman,

Robin, Gordon and Chief O’Hara organize a press conference regarding the
mysterious disappearance of Schmidlapp. A beautiful reporter from the Moscow
Bugle by the name of Kitka is in attendance, and Batman is obviously smitten
with her. Afterwards, the lawmen talk candidly about the fact that whoever is
behind Schmidlapp’s disappearance must also be the anonymous source who
tried to lure Batman out into the ocean so that he could meet his doom in the
jaws of the shark stuffed full of explosives. Realizing that the Penguin, Joker,
Riddler and Catwoman are all currently at large, they fear these crimes might
signal the fact that these supercriminals have joined forces.

Their fears are well founded—Kitka is actually the Catwoman in disguise, and
she reports back to a hideout above a seedy waterfront tavern where the Penguin,
Joker and Riddler are waiting. The criminals are bitterly disappointed to learn
that Batman was not killed by the Penguin’s trained exploding shark, but they
gloat over the fact that they were able to hijack Schmidlapp’s yacht and steal his
dehydrator. They realize that their criminal plans involving the dehydrator can
never be pulled off with Batman and Robin around to stop them. Assuming that
the Caped Crusaders will make their way back out into the ocean where
Schmidlapp’s yacht disappeared in order to look for clues, the Penguin, Joker
and Riddler board the Penguin’s customized Penguin submarine and head out to
sea to intercept them.

Via the Batboat, Batman and Robin travel back to the spot in the ocean where
they thought they saw Schmidlapp’s yacht. There they find a projection unit
cleverly disguised as a bell buoy—the yacht was never there in the first place, it
was just an illusion meant to lead Batman into the shark trap. And now another
trap is waiting for them—a powerful magnet inside the buoy pins Batman and
Robin to its sides via all of the metallic objects in their utility belts. As they
struggle, the villains fire torpedoes at them from their sub. Batman is able to pry
loose a transmitter from his utility belt and use it to send waves of super energy
toward the torpedoes, causing them to explode before they reach the buoy. The
last torpedo almost gets to them because the transmitter’s batteries go dead.
However, a porpoise hurls itself in front of the missile right before it reaches the
buoy, nobly giving its life for the Dynamic Duo.

Back at their hideout, the Penguin, Joker, Riddler and Catwoman discuss their
main criminal objective—to kidnap all of the multinational members of the
United World Security Council and hold them for ransom. They still feel that
their scheme cannot succeed while Batman and Robin are alive, so they devise
yet another attempt to kill the crimefighters. They will kidnap a prominent
citizen and hold him hostage at their hideout. When the Dynamic Duo burst into
the hideout to rescue this citizen, they will step on a gigantic jack-in-the-box that
will propel them out into the ocean and into the arms of a gigantic exploding
octopus. (Batman’s screenwriter Semple must have been harboring some sort of
grudge against large sea animals.) The Riddler suggests the perfect do-gooding
citizen to kidnap—Bruce Wayne.

Disguised as Kitka, the Catwoman goes to see Wayne claiming that she has
received two riddles from the Riddler. Batman and Robin figure out the answers
to the riddles, and interpret their meanings to be a threat against Kitka’s life.
Bruce asks Kitka out to dinner in order to keep watch over her. Back at Kitka’s
penthouse after dinner, the date turns decidedly romantic. Just then, the Penguin,
Joker and Riddler burst in riding on jet pack umbrellas and abduct Bruce. The
villains take Bruce back to their hideout and wait for Batman and Robin to come
to Bruce’s rescue. Bruce cleverly tricks them into untying him for a moment, at
which point he attacks them and escapes.

The Penguin uses the dehydrator to remove all the water from five of his
henchmen, reducing them all to powder. He then stores the powder in five
separate vials for easy rehydrating when he comes face-to-face with Batman and
Robin again.

Batman and Robin race back to the hideout to try to apprehend the criminals and
rescue Kitka, but they find it deserted. They do find that something has been left
behind for them—a large lit bomb. Batman grabs the bomb and dashes outside to
try to find a place to throw it where it will not hurt anyone when it explodes. As
he runs around the waterfront area, he dodges crowds of people, mothers
pushing babies in strollers, and even a Salvation Army band! He is finally able
to throw the bomb into a deserted area and take cover just before it explodes.

All of a sudden, the Penguin waddles up to them disguised as Commodore

Schmidlapp. They see through his disguise immediately, but when they attempt
to run a fingerprint check on him to prove he is the Penguin, they find that he has
had his fingerprints surgically removed. “Schmidlapp” agrees to a retinal eye
scan using equipment at the Batcave to prove his identity, so the crimefighters
give him a whiff of knockout Bat gas and take him to their headquarters.

Once they are at the Batcave, the Penguin rehydrates his henchmen and orders
them to fight Batman and Robin. But it does not amount to much of a fight,
because the Penguin has accidentally rehydrated the thugs with hard water,
leaving their molecular structure highly unstable. In fact, the slightest impact
causes them to disappear into thin air. After the henchmen have vanished,
Batman pretends to believe that the Penguin is Schmidlapp, and offers to give
him another whiff of bat gas and take him back to the city.

On their way back, the Penguin sprays the crimefighters with a knockout gas of
his own, kicks them out of the Batmobile and drives off. But Batman and Robin
have only feigned unconsciousness to allow the Penguin to escape—they assume
that he will then lead them back to the rest of his criminal gang. The Dynamic
Duo commandeer their Batcycle (hidden near the stretch of road where the
Penguin stole their car), transfer from the Batcycle to the Batcopter and give
chase to the Penguin by air.

From the Penguin submarine, the Riddler fires off a missile which skywrites two
riddles regarding the criminals’ plot to kidnap all of the members of the United
World Security Council. Coincidentally, the missile almost strikes the Batcopter,
forcing Batman and Robin to crash land. When they see the riddles, the Caped
Crusaders realize the grave danger the Council members are in and race on foot
to United World Headquarters. But they are too late—the criminals have forced
their way into the building and dehydrated all of the Council members and
poured them into vials.

Assuming that the criminals will use their sub to escape, Batman and Robin
pursue them in the Batboat. They catch up with the sub and pummel it with
blasts of energy fired from their batcharge launcher. The batcharges force the
sub to surface and the Caped Crusaders climb aboard. They are met by the
Penguin, Joker, Riddler and a host of henchmen. A wild fight ensues, complete
with the same style of onscreen “POWs” and “BAMs” first featured in the TV
Batman brawls. The Dynamic Duo triumphs over all of the villains and then give
chase to the Catwoman, whose mask falls off. They are shocked to see that the
Catwoman is the object of Bruce’s affection, Kitka. Robin tries to offer his
sympathy to Batman, but Batman quickly cuts him off, saying anything he might
say could turn out to be compromising. Batman stoically says that this
disappointment means nothing, and tells Robin to cuff her.

Just then, the real Commodore Schmidlapp walks in. (During the entire film, he
has never become aware of his predicament—the villains fooled him into
thinking that his yacht has simply been held up in heavy fog on the way to
America!) He trips and knocks over the vials containing the dehydrated
members of the United World Security Council. The vials are smashed and
Schmidlapp sneezes right into the powder, scattering it all over the place.

Later, Batman and Robin are in the Batcave, laboring to sort what powder
belongs to what Council member. The entire world, including U.S. president
Lyndon B. Johnson, waits breathlessly to find out if the Dynamic Duo can
restore the Council members to their rehydrated selves. Back at the United
World Headquarters building, the heroes prepare to commence the rehydrating
process. The process is successful, except for one hitch—all of the council
members are speaking the wrong languages! Batman expresses his hope that
maybe this bizarre mixing of minds and bodies will help to further understanding
among all nations of the world. The film ends with the Caped Crusaders quietly
exiting the building through the window, descending toward the ground on their
batropes.

Since the Batman motion picture was basically an expanded version of the
Batman television series, there is no need for a long discussion regarding the
film’s actors, costumes, props, sets and dialogue—I have already covered all of
these elements in my discussion of the TV show. However, there are a number
of differences between the film and the TV show that are worth mentioning.
First and foremost, the film was able to play up some of the more “adult” aspects
of Batman without having to worry about running afoul of the network television
censors. The most notable of these aspects is the fact that Bruce makes no secret
of his desire to sleep with Kitka—the script even allows for Bruce to utter a few
rather daring yet subtle double entendres to this effect. And the scenes featuring
the two of them back at her penthouse, with Kitka “slipping into something more
comfortable” before she joins Bruce on the couch, are far racier than anything
the TV show could have ever depicted.

Adam West’s acting was always deadly serious on the television show, but in the
film, he is allowed to play Batman/Bruce in a more grim, determined manner
than he could ever get away with on TV. For example, in the scene where he is
being held hostage by the villains, he confronts them about the whereabouts and
safety of Kitka. He tells them that if they have harmed her, he will kill them all.
There is not a hint of lightheartedness in this scene—given the absurd nature of
the majority of the film, his intensity at this particular moment is rather startling.
It makes one think that if West had been asked to play Batman in a screen work
that placed more emphasis on drama and action than it did comedy, he probably
would have been every bit as good of a serious Batman as he was a comedic
Batman.

Even with these slight differences, Batman basically played like a “supersized”
TV episode. Keeping in mind the old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,”
director Leslie Martinson generally stuck closely to the formula of the TV show.
But Martinson still was able to add a few of his own personal touches to the
project. For example, Batman’s wild waterfront scramble to dispose of the bomb
the villains have left for him, in which he dodges crowds of people, mothers
pushing babies in strollers, and even a Salvation Army band, was Martinson’s
idea. He improvised the sequence while Batman was actually being shot, and it
turned out to be one of the film’s funniest and most memorable moments.

The speed with which the film was made does not affect its quality in the least—
it is every bit as well-written, acted and produced as the best episodes of the
Batman TV show. This is likely due to the fact that the Batman team had simply
found their groove while producing the first season episodes and they just kept
smoothly rolling through the production of the film.
Critics were not particularly kind to the film. This probably had less to do with
their opinions of the film itself than it did with the fact that most everyone in
America was beginning to show signs of “Batman overload,” for lack of a better
term. The relentless avalanche of Batmania that 1966 had brought was starting to
grow a little tiresome. After all, the TV show’s wildly hyped first season ran
from mid–January to early May, the film was released in late July, and the
show’s second season was scheduled to premiere just a few weeks after that, in
early September. To put it bluntly, the Batman character was starting to suffer
from a massive case of overexposure. Also, many critics perceived the Batman
motion picture as nothing more than a crass attempt to milk the Batman cash
cow before it went dry.

In spite of lackluster reviews, Batman did well at the box office—the character’s
star may have stopped rising so meteorically, but it was certainly nowhere near
falling yet. Children all over the country were thrilled by Batman’s big screen
adventure—and, just like the TV show, there was more than enough humor in
the film to keep Mom and Dad entertained as well. So Batman finished out its
initial theatrical run as an indisputable success, just as the Batman television
program began its second season.

During this second season (September 1966 to March 1967), the bloom started
to come off of the rose. First off, Batman’s cast and crew were simply exhausted
from all of the work they had done since late 1965. They had jumped from
rushing the show into production so that it would be ready for an early premiere
date, to rushing a movie out between the show’s first and second seasons, to
rushing out new second season episodes of the show. By late 1966 they were all
so burned out by that they could not possibly sustain the level of enthusiasm they
felt for the show when it first commenced production.

But Batman faced a much bigger problem than on-set weariness: The show was
slipping in the ratings. Much of Batman’s initial popularity was attributable to its
novelty, and now that novelty had worn off and, consequently, many viewers
were tuning out. The show seemed so fresh and original when it first premiered,
but once audiences knew what to expect from it, its format and humor had
become downright predictable. Batman tried to combat this problem by adding
more celebrity guest stars and playing the show’s comedy more broadly, but this
only made the series come across as all the more forced and stale. Simply put,
everyone had seen so much of Batman over the past year or so that they had
grown bored with him. Now, as the show’s second season came to a close, the
character’s star was truly starting to fall.

ABC decided to renew Batman for a third season, but demanded that some
substantial changes be made in an attempt to cut production costs and increase
ratings. First off, the show was cut back to airing only once a week instead of
twice. Most of the third season episodes would be self-contained, and not end
with a cliffhanger—the cliffhangers were suspended because the network felt
that trying to carry a cliffhanger scenario all the way to next week’s episode
would make the show confusing to follow for its youngest viewers. Also,
Batman would have to make do with less elaborate (“expensive” might perhaps
be a better word) props and sets. Unfortunately, this decision would result in
many third season episodes looking almost amateurish in comparison to the
lavishly produced first and second season episodes.

William Dozier thought that Batman’s ratings might improve if the show were to
introduce a new regularly-featured female character. He presented this idea to
Batman editor Julius Schwartz at DC Comics, which led DC to hit upon the
concept of a “Batgirl.” DC artist Carmine Infantino designed this new character
10

—her costume consisted of a blue cape and bat-eared cowl, yellow utility belt,
gloves, boots, and a black bodysuit emblazoned with a yellow bat emblem.
Batgirl made her first-ever appearance in “The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl”
in Detective Comics #359, January 1967. In the story, Batgirl was revealed to
secretly be mild-mannered librarian Barbara Gordon, the daughter of
Commissioner Gordon.

In “The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl,” Barbara makes her costume only to be
worn at a Gotham Police Masquerade Ball. But on her way to the event she
encounters a bizarre moth-costumed criminal known as Killer Moth, who is
trying to kidnap Bruce Wayne. Batgirl saves Wayne from Killer Moth, which of
course allows Wayne to begin his pursuit of the criminal as Batman. Batman
learns that Killer Moth was trying to kidnap his alter ego in order to frighten him
into paying the criminal protection money. Batgirl also joins in the pursuit of
Killer Moth—Barbara has decided that being a costumed crimefighter is just
what she needs to spice up her humdrum life. With Batgirl’s help, Batman and
Robin are able to track Killer Moth down, foil his extortion racket and put him
behind bars. The story ends with Batman saying that he would welcome
Batgirl’s aid in future cases, even though he still does not know her true identity.

As we discussed last chapter, there was a previous comic book Bat-Girl, who
(along with Batwoman) appeared in Batman comic stories of the 1950s and early
1960s. The Barbara Gordon Batgirl was a completely new character, with no
continuity ties to her predecessor. This new Batgirl proved to be a far more
enduring character than either Batwoman or Bat-Girl. She seemed far less
“gimmicky” than these earlier heroines—perhaps this was because Batman’s
comic writers wisely stayed away from placing her in the kind of “romantic
longing for Batman and Robin” scenarios that had made Batwoman and Bat-Girl
seem so silly. She was depicted first and foremost as a crimefighter, just like
Batman, Robin and her father. While Batgirl would never become as popular as
her male counterparts, she nevertheless would become a regular fixture of
Batman’s comic book world.

Batman’s creators stayed generally faithful to the comic book Batgirl when
creating their television Batgirl—she too was Barbara Gordon, the
Commissioner’s daughter and a librarian-turned-crimefighter. (In fact, to
introduce the character to the executives at ABC, Batman’s producers actually
filmed an adaptation of “The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl.” This short film
was never officially released to the public in any form.) However, her costume
was quite removed from the character’s comic book costume—she was clad in a
garish purple bodysuit with a purple cowl, and purple cape that sported bright
yellow lining. She was given an equally garish purple Batgirl motorcycle to ride.

The part of Batgirl/Barbara Gordon was played by Yvonne Craig. Craig was an
attractive, dark-haired actress who had appeared in a number of films during the
late 1950s and early 1960s. An accomplished ballet dancer, she possessed the
kind of physical dexterity that the role of Batgirl required. Craig’s performance
in Batman was very enjoyable, but it did nothing to help stop the show’s slide in
the ratings. Batman’s third season aired from September 1967 to March 1968,
and then the series was cancelled.

The 1960s screen Batman ended up producing 120 half-hour television episodes
and one feature film during its three years of existence, and its impact on the
history of the character cannot be overstated. Simply put, audiences have never
stopped watching this screen version of Batman. The TV series was sold into
syndication even before it finished its third season run—consequently, it was
rerunning on television stations all over the world almost immediately after its
cancellation. As of 2013, this pattern of Batman television reruns has not ended.
It is likely that a television station somewhere on this planet is broadcasting an
episode of the series for their viewers to enjoy even as you read these words.
And the film proved to be just as ubiquitous as the TV series—countless movie
theatres around the globe continued to feature it at revival screenings. Also, the
film was sold into syndication just like the TV series had been—so it found an
even bigger audience on television stations all over the world. And of course,
our planet has continued to turn and new children have continued to be born—
these children who weren’t alive to be a part of Batmania the first time around
discovered the TV series and the movie, and they loved this screen version of
Batman as much as the kids of 1966 did.

One of the main reasons that Batman continued to appeal to generation after
generation of youngsters was that the show truly had a timeless quality to it.
Since Batman was so well-made and visually unique, it just never seemed to go
out of date. Batman’s Gotham City was a place that was not connected to any
particular time period at all—it was a comic book page come magically to life,
and it was every bit as compelling to youngsters of the 1970s, ’80s, ’90s and
beyond as it had been to youngsters who watched the show in its heyday.

So much of this chapter has been about the connection between the Batman
television series and the Batman motion picture. Ironically, there has not been
any connection between the two in terms of their home video release history. As
of 2013, a legal agreement has never been reached between all of the
corporations with a financial interest in the Batman TV series that would allow
the series to be released on home video. Hopefully someday such an agreement
will be reached, but that seems like a remote possibility at this time.

The home video release history of the Batman movie has been exactly the
opposite of the Batman TV show’s home video release history. The movie has
been available on home video basically since magnetic tape became the standard
home video format in the mid–1980s. Countless Batman videotapes were
popped into Beta and VHS players around the world until DVD became the
standard home video format in the late 1990s. In 2001, Batman was released on
DVD for the first time by 20th Century–Fox Home Video. The DVD included a
wealth of bonus material along with the film, such as an audio commentary track
recorded by Adam West and Burt Ward, a featurette about the making of the
film, and an up-close video tour of the Batmobile.

DVD remained the highest-quality home video format until the introduction of
the Blu-ray disc in 2006. Of course, the continuing popularity of the Batman
film on home video all but guaranteed that not too much time would pass before
the movie would be upgraded to Blu-ray. In July 2008, 20th Century–Fox Home
Video released Batman on Blu-ray for the first time to coincide with the
theatrical release of Christopher Nolan’s film The Dark Knight. The picture and
sound quality of Batman on Blu-ray was nothing short of remarkable—on the
disc, the film looked and sounded every bit as vibrant as it did the day it was
theatrically released. The Batman Blu-ray also contained new short
documentaries about the film created especially for the Blu-ray release, as well
as all of the bonus material found on the 2001 DVD.

Another home video release relating to the 1960s screen Batman warrants
mention here. In 2004, Image Entertainment released a 2-disc DVD set that
examined the 1960s screen Batman phenomenon entitled Batman: Holy
Batmania! The bulk of the DVD set’s running time consisted of four
documentaries produced for the cable television network The Biography
Channel in the early 2000s. The titles of the documentaries were “Batman: Holy
Batmania!,” “Adam West: Behind the Cowl,” “Cesar Romero: In a Class By
Himself,” and “Julie Newmar: The Cat’s Meow.” The DVD set also included a
number of interesting bonus features, such as the original Batman TV series
screen tests featuring Adam West, Burt Ward, Lyle Waggoner and Peter Deyell.

Not surprisingly, Adam West and Burt Ward have not been able to step out of
the long shadow that the Batman TV series and film ended up casting. When the
series was cancelled, they found that Batman’s incredible success had left them
more than simply typecast—in the public’s eyes, they were Batman and Robin,
and nothing in the world would ever change that fact. Batman’s timeless appeal
trapped West and Ward in the same state of suspended animation. They both
managed to land some post–Batman parts but, generally speaking, their names
were never publicly mentioned without the “B-word” following closely behind.

Consequently, West and Ward acted in “non–Batman” productions as much as

they could, but they still suited up to reprise their famous roles from time to
time. They made a number of personal appearances in costume, together and
separately, throughout the 1970s and 1980s—West in particular made many solo
costumed appearances with the Batmobile at automobile shows all over the
country. Also, they played the characters in a 1979 NBC two-part television
comedy special entitled Legends of the SuperHeroes. The special marked the
only time that the Batman and Robin characters appeared in a live-action screen
production between Batman’s 1968 cancellation and the 1989 Warner Bros.
motion picture Batman. (We’ll discuss the special in more detail next chapter.)
West and Ward did some voice-only work for Batman animated television
productions during this time period as well. The actors provided the voices for
Batman and Robin in The New Adventures of Batman (1977), and West provided
Batman’s voice in Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show (1984)
and Super Powers Team: The Galactic Guardians (1985). In Super Friends and
Super Powers Team, Robin was voiced not by Ward, but by Casey Kasem.
(We’ll discuss these animated shows in more detail in the next chapter.)

Ironically, after working to move beyond their Batman and Robin roles for over
20 years, West and Ward had to be somewhat forced to let go of the characters
once Warner Bros. began developing their “serious” Batman film in the late
1980s. The film’s title would be the same as West and Ward’s 1966 Batman
film, but that was about where the similarities ended. Warner was moving as far
away from the “camp Batman” of the 1960s as possible, so they did not want
West and Ward’s names anywhere near their film.

Not surprisingly, it was difficult for West and Ward to see a brand new wave of
Batmania start to heat up that had nothing to do with them. West even went so
far as to publicly complain about not being given the chance to appear as
Batman in Warner’s film. Of course, because West was so closely identified
11

with his comedic portrayal of the character, he was completely wrong for the
kind of Batman that this new Batman was hoping to depict. Still, he was
understandably hurt that Warner would not even consider him for a part that he
was already world-famous for playing. Ward also voiced his opposition to the
film, but since it was not even going to feature the character of Robin, he did not
have as much reason to feel slighted by it as West did. At any rate, their
complaints did not make much of an impression on anyone, least of all on
Warner Bros., so the film moved ahead without them.

Even though Warner Bros. shut West and Ward out of participating in the 1989
Batman, the actors were able to reap some benefits from the new wave of
Batmania that the film spawned. Because of the renewed interest in the 1960s
TV show and film, West and Ward were asked to appear on a number of TV talk
shows and entertainment news programs and reminisce about their years in
capes and tights. Batman’s newfound popularity also led both men to write
books about their Bat experiences.

West’s 1994 book Back to the Batcave was an entertaining look at 1960s
Batmania from the perspective of the man at the center of it all. The book also
revealed West to be surprisingly introspective regarding his perceptions of the
Batman character in general. West made it plain that even though his Batman
performance might have hindered his subsequent acting career, he never
regretted taking the role; on the contrary, he still had great affection for the
character, and was pleased that his Batman portrayal had been enjoyed by so
many people all over the world for so many years.

Ward’s 1995 book, Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights, was quite another story.
Featuring a cover photo of a man’s midsection clad in Robin-style green trunks
adorned with a “bat-zipper,” and a woman’s hand pulling down that zipper, the
book was a trashy tell-all that devoted most of its pages to recounting Ward’s
many sexual escapades during the years he played Robin. In Boy Wonder: My
Life in Tights, Ward seemed to not have the slightest bit of interest in the Robin
character, or in the fact that Batman was loved by so many people around the
world. Instead, the book appeared to be nothing more than an excuse for Ward to
degrade the entire Batman experience while at the same brag about his own
“accomplishments.”

Some of the anecdotes featured in Back to the Batcave and Boy Wonder: My Life
in Tights were the inspiration for the 2003 CBS television movie Return to the
Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt. The production was an unusual
mix of comedy, fantasy and historical dramatization—it featured West and Ward
playing themselves, hot on the trail of some unknown thieves who have stolen
the original 1966 Batmobile. As they pursue the thieves, they recall some of the
most memorable events that took place during the years they were making
Batman. These reminiscences are recreated in flashbacks that feature young
actors playing the Batman-era West and Ward. The end of the production reveals
the Batmobile thieves to be none other than Frank Gorshin and Julie Newmar,
who are out to finish off West and Ward once and for all so that they can claim
Batman’s legacy for the show’s real stars—namely, the villains! Return to the
Batcave was a slight piece, but its irreverently affectionate look back at the
1960s Batman phenomenon was quite entertaining—especially for longtime
Batman fans. The production was released on DVD to the home video market in
2005.

There are a substantial number of Batman fans that feel the 1960s Batman TV
series and film are insults to the character because they chose to play Batman for
laughs. This author is not one of them. Generally speaking, both the TV show
and the movie were very well produced, written and acted—but most
importantly, they were fun. They were fun for the kids who enjoyed them as
straight action, and they were fun for adults who enjoyed them as comedy.

And since Batman’s action sequences were played so straight and filmed with
such high production values, it is no wonder that they have captivated young
children for almost 50 years now. I personally will never forget the first time I
saw the Batman movie when I was a child. Watching Batman and Robin roar out
of the Batcave in the Batmobile, and then soar into the sky in the Batcopter in
the film’s opening scenes was thrilling—there was nothing funny about those
scenes at all to me. Of course, now that I am an adult I see that the exploding
shark hanging onto Batman’s leg as he dangles beneath the Batcopter was meant
to be funny—and it is funny.

But when all is said and done, the point of Batman really does not have to do
with whether one finds it funny or not—because either way, the good guys win,
the bad guys lose, and a marvelous time is had by all along the way. With all of
the troubles in this world, this author sees nothing wrong at all with a screen
Batman that has brought happiness to people of all ages for generations.
 7
Exile from the Big Screen, 1967–1989

After the cancellation of the Batman TV series in 1968, the character basically
disappeared from view as far as the general public was concerned. The camp
craze that surrounded Batman came to an abrupt end, and all of the “POWs,”
“BAMs” and “ZAPs” that went along with it faded from the national spotlight.
However, the years immediately following the show’s demise were incredibly
eventful ones for the Batman of the comic books. DC Comics was left with a
commodity that to the majority of the general public appeared to be washed up
—but to many comic book fans, Batman remained a treasured icon. So in an
ironic twist, the end of the TV series and Batman’s widespread popularity would
end up leading to a major revitalization of the character.

But before we start examining that revitalization in detail, we need to back up

just a bit and look at what was happening in the world of Batman comics during
the last half of the Batman TV series’ three-year run. In 1967, Batman’s premier
New Look artist Carmine Infantino was promoted to editorial director of DC
Comics. Since Infantino’s modernized visual interpretation of Batman did not
jibe with Bob Kane’s “old school” approach, Kane found himself increasingly at
odds with DC over the character he had created. But as we have noted earlier in
this book, even though Kane had received sole credit for the creation of the
Batman character, Kane’s Batman comic art had almost always been a
collaborative effort. Indeed, Kane had begun hiring uncredited ghost artists to
help him illustrate Batman stories within the first few months of the character’s
existence. Since the efforts of so many individual artists were responsible for
making Batman into the icon he had become, it was probably inevitable that
Kane’s influence regarding the character’s development would eventually wane
to nothing.

This fact obviously did not sit well with Kane. There is no doubt that he loved
all of the limelight and financial gain he received for being Batman’s sole
creator—and he was content to enjoy those spoils while basically doing none of
the day-to-day work required to create the Batman comic art that bore his name.
But by the mid–1960s, Kane certainly had to see the handwriting on the wall.
His character had evolved to a point where he would never have any significant
control over it again, and DC was starting to make sure that the writers and
artists who were creating new Batman comic stories would be publicly credited
for their work—the era of Kane’s ghost artists doing all the work and Kane
getting all the credit was over.

It is sad to note that after doing so little and receiving so much, Kane’s final
years at DC were marked by him brazenly asserting that he deserved even more
creative credit for Batman than he had been given. The most glaring example of
Kane’s selfishness relating to the Batman character occurred in September 1965,
when he wrote an open letter to a Batman fanzine called Batmania. Kane wrote
the letter in order to respond to public comments made by Bill Finger earlier that
year—in these comments, Finger had stated that he was far more involved in the
creation of the Batman character than he had ever been given credit for. Kane
was furious over Finger’s claim that he was as responsible for the existence of
Batman as Kane was.

Kane’s long letter to Batmania is fascinating to read, because in vociferously

defending himself against Finger’s claim, he basically resorts to telling out-and-
out lies about how involved he was in the creation of Batman comics during the
1940s, 1950s and 1960s. In the letter, Kane states that in the “Golden Age” of
the character, he penciled, inked and lettered the strip himself. He goes on to
claim that ninety percent of the mid–1960s New Look Batman stories were
drawn by him as well. Obviously, these were outrageously false assertions—
earlier in this book, we have examined a number of artists who ghosted for Kane
during this time period such as Jerry Robinson, Dick Sprang, and Sheldon
Moldoff. In the letter, Kane even accidentally reveals how totally disconnected
he had become from the Batman character by the mid–1960s—for example, at
one point he refers to the 1950s Batwoman character as one of his “villains.”1

In fairness to Kane, he still made a point of recognizing Finger’s valuable

contributions to the development of the Batman character in his letter. But this
small gesture of goodwill does not make up for the fact that he was willing to be
so deceitful in order to portray himself as the sole architect of Batman’s
continuing success. In short, Kane certainly deserved credit for creating Batman,
perhaps even sole credit because he was the one who initially undertook the task
to create a new costumed comic hero in the wake of Superman’s success. That
said, however, the untruths Kane was willing to put forth regarding his ongoing
involvement in Batman comics, untruths like the ones found in this letter, will
always stand as a mark against his personal character. Incidentally, Batmania
might very well have been uncomfortable with the amount of shameless self-
interest found Kane’s letter—they chose not to publish it in the fanzine until
1967. By that time, it was obvious that Kane’s efforts to retain control of the
Batman character would not succeed. Kane retired from DC and regular Batman
comic work that same year, not long after Infantino’s promotion to editorial
director.
2

Even though Kane would no longer be a part of Batman’s ongoing development

at DC, he would continue to enjoy the spoils of being recognized as the
character’s sole creator. The income he had earned through Batman comics and
the 1960s Batman screen projects made him a wealthy man. And the staggering
success of the 1960s screen Batman also brought him a certain degree of
celebrity. Kane’s Batman fortune and fame would continue to grow over the
years, reaching its zenith in 1989—that year, he would get the opportunity to be
a focal point of the Batmania surrounding the character’s fiftieth anniversary and
the release of the 1989 film Batman. (We’ll discuss Kane’s involvement with the
Warner Bros. Studios Batman film series later in the book.)

There is another point I feel I need to make before we completely leave the era
of the 1960s camp Batman behind. As I mentioned at the end of the last chapter,
there are a substantial number of Batman fans that feel the 1960s Batman TV
series and film are insults to the character because they chose to play Batman for
laughs. These fans feel much the same way about the Batman comic stories of
the late 1960s, because during this time DC basically hopped on the camp
bandwagon and created stories featuring the character that had the look and feel
of the Batman TV show. But I find it fascinating to note that even during the
camp Batman’s peak period, Batman was still Batman—in other words, he never
lost his uniqueness or his timeless appeal.

To illustrate this point, please allow me a moment to recap one of my favorite

Batman comic stories of all time. “Hunt for a Robin-Killer” was first published
in Detective Comics #374, April 1968. The story was written by Gardner Fox,
penciled by Gil Kane and inked by Sid Greene. The story is not one that is
considered “great” by most Batman comic fans—in fact, it never has been
reprinted in any sort of “Best of Batman” anthology released by DC Comics. But
it has remained a personal favorite of mine because it presented such a
compelling depiction of Batman as a crimefighter and detective.
“Hunt for a Robin-Killer” tells the tale of Batman tracking down a vicious
criminal named Jim Condors after Condors brutally beats Robin almost to death.
At the opening of the story, Batman and Robin are raiding the hideout of a gang
of criminals. During the raid, Condors makes a sneak attack on the Boy Wonder
while Batman is occupied taking down the gang. (Condors holds a grudge
against Robin because the young hero apprehended Condors’s brother during a
solo case.) Batman finds Robin, bloodied, bruised, and perilously close to death,
and rushes the boy to a nearby hospital. Overcome with grief, Batman then goes
on a manhunt to find the criminal who had come so close to killing his junior
partner. Batman has a hard time keeping his feelings of rage and vengeance
under control during this intensely personal case, but in the end he uses his
superior detection skills to find Condors and bring him to justice. The story ends
with Robin being released from the hospital, still weak, but ready to take his
place alongside his mentor.

“Hunt for a Robin-Killer” is a well-written, realistic crime drama that features

Batman and Robin fighting non-costumed thugs similar to characters one might
find in a 1940s film noir production. And Kane and Greene’s art is every bit as
strong as Fox’s story—their work features unusual panel layouts, deep
perspective, and wonderfully realistic, expressive characters. Fox, Kane and
Greene perfectly capture the essence of Batman and his world in “Hunt for a
Robin-Killer.” In the tale, Batman descends on criminals with a vengeance that
fills them with terror. At one point, he even appears in menacing silhouette in a
doorway, a dark vigilante bent on apprehending Robin’s attacker. “Hunt for a
Robin-Killer” depicted Batman in a manner not that far removed from the
character’s late 1930s–early 1940s adventures—and it hit the newsstands just as
the Batman TV series was airing the last of its third season episodes! To me, the
story stands as proof that all of the camp silliness that the 1960s Batman craze
delivered did nothing to lessen the power of the Batman character.

And that power was about to grow even stronger with the cancellation of the
Batman TV series. Free from the masses who enjoyed regarding Batman as a
silly, throwaway piece of pop culture, DC Comics decided to let a new breed of
comic book writers and artists return the character to his dark late 1930s roots.
This new era in Batman comic history began with a story that appeared in
Batman #217, December 1969, entitled “One Bullet Too Many.” The story was
written by Frank Robbins, penciled by Irv Novick and inked by Dick Giordano.
In “One Bullet Too Many,” Dick Grayson moves out of Wayne Manor in order
to attend college at Hudson University outside of Gotham City—obviously, this
means the end of Batman and Robin working regularly together as a team. Bruce
Wayne decides that this major change in his life should bring about major
changes in Batman’s career as well—Batman will once again become a
mysterious figure who prowls the night as a lone vigilante.
 Batman in 1974, returned to his dark roots. Art by Neal Adams.

Writer Denny O’Neil and artist Neal Adams were the most notable storytellers in
this new era of Batman comics; their first Batman collaboration was the story
“The Secret of the Waiting Graves” published in Detective Comics #395,
January 1970. In the tale, they depicted Batman as a grim detective whose
costume featured the long ears, angular cowl and dramatically flowing cape of
Bob Kane’s and Bill Finger’s original vision. In “The Secret of the Waiting
Graves,” Batman travels to Mexico and encounters a wealthy couple by the
name of Muerto that have discovered a rare kind of flower which has the power
of conferring immortality on anyone who regularly smells its fragrance. But the
fragrance also drives anyone who smells it long enough completely mad, so
Batman decides to destroy all of the flowers. After he does so, the Muertos age
over a century in just the matter of a few seconds and fall over dead. “The Secret
of the Waiting Graves” ends with Batman standing over the Muertos’ fresh
graves, a grim expression on his face. O’Neil’s dark, emotionally complex script
and Adams’ intricate figural renderings made the story’s Batman seem far more
realistic than any previous version of the character had been. But at the same
time, the supernatural forces he faced in the tale also gave him a mysterious,
horror movie–type of quality.

Comic book fans immediately embraced the O’Neil-Adams version of Batman.

Throughout the first half of the 1970s, they created a host of tales featured in
Batman and Detective Comics that were hailed as Batman classics from the
moment they were released. Their story “The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge!,”
published in Batman #251, September 1973, was especially important, because
in it they returned the Joker from the silly prankster he had become in 1950s and
1960s comics to the leering, homicidal madman found in Kane and Finger’s
original work.

In “The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge!” the villain is ruthlessly hunting down

members of his old gang because one of them betrayed him to Batman and the
Gotham Police, leading to his arrest. The Joker kills his former henchmen one by
one, with Batman hot on his trail. Batman finally catches up to the Joker at a
seaside aquarium that has been closed due to a recent oil spill. The Caped
Crusader manages to save the Joker’s last surviving henchman just as the villain
throws the henchman into a tank containing a ravenous shark. Batman then
chases the Joker down on the oil-slicked beach, bringing him to justice with
several savage punches. “The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge!” delivered the first
modern age view of a dark hero in cape and cowl battling a murderous, mirthless
clown in a moody, film noir–like setting. In other words, it virtually provided a
blueprint for all of the classic Batman/Joker confrontations that would follow in
the coming decades.

O’Neil and Adams were also responsible for creating one of Batman’s all-time
greatest comic book foes, Ra’s Al Ghul. Ra’s appeared to be a middle-aged man
of far eastern descent who was in possession of great wisdom and strength—but
basic appearances could not begin to scratch the surface of his real history.
Thousands of years old, Ra’s Al Ghul was able to rejuvenate himself in a
bubbling cauldron of chemicals known at the Lazarus Pit. Ra’s felt that the
planet was on the verge of being destroyed by the reckless actions of twentieth
century humankind, so he wanted to wipe out most everyone on Earth in order to
restore the planet to what he considered to be its “natural balance.” Obviously,
Batman opposed Ra’s’ plan to purge the planet of most of its humans, but his
relationship with the villain was far more complex than a standard “good guy vs.
bad guy” scenario.

Batman first met Ra’s Al Ghul in “Daughter of the Demon,” a story published in
Batman #232, June 1971. Right from the first panels, it was obvious that Ra’s
was going to be unlike any other villain Batman had ever faced. In the story,
Batman learns that Robin has been kidnapped and is being held prisoner by an
unknown criminal. (Even though Dick Grayson had been sent off to college,
Robin still made occasional appearances with Batman in Batman comic titles.)
Just as Batman begins to investigate his partner’s abduction, Ra’s steps out of
the shadows of the Batcave and tells the crimefighter that he has deduced his
secret identity. Ra’s also reveals that his beautiful daughter Talia, whom Batman
had met on an earlier case, has been kidnapped in a similar manner. Ra’s
proposes that they work together to rescue Robin and Talia.

Clues left by the kidnappers lead Ra’s and Batman to the hideout of an
organization known as the Brotherhood of the Demon, located high in the
Himalayan Mountains. But by the time he reaches the hideout, Batman has
deduced that the person behind Robin and Talia’s abduction is none other than
Ra’s himself. When Batman confronts Ra’s with this information, Ra’s admits it
is true that he staged the entire scenario. Ra’s then reveals why he went to all
this trouble. Talia is in love with Batman, and Ra’s wants to retire from running
his criminal organization—so he set up a test to see if Batman was worthy of
becoming his son-in-law and heir! Ra’s informs Batman that he has passed this
test, and the story ends with Talia kissing the stunned crimefighter on the cheek.

Needless to say, Batman did not take Ra’s and Talia up on their offers. In fact,
over the years he worked to thwart a number of Ra’s’ schemes to wipe out most
of the people on Earth. But opposing Ra’s did not keep Batman from having
feelings for Talia—he was captivated by her beauty and spirit, even though she
was in his eyes every bit as much of a criminal as Ra’s himself. And opposing
Batman did not keep Ra’s from having feelings for his enemy—Ra’s kept
Batman’s secret identity a secret in the hopes that the crimefighter would one
day change his mind about joining his organization and marrying his daughter.
In other words, though Batman and Ra’s were mortal enemies, there were deep
psychological connections between them that almost bordered on a familial
relationship. These connections helped to make some of Batman’s battles against
Ra’s Al Ghul among the best Batman comic stories ever published.

While Neal Adams’ Batman art is often given the majority of the credit for
visually returning the character to his “creature of the night” roots, there were a
number of other talented artists who produced equally memorable Batman
images during the 1970s. Dick Giordano not only inked a substantial amount of
Adams’ Batman art, but he also was the main illustrator of many excellent
Batman stories featured in Batman and Detective Comics. (Just a few pages
back, we noted Giordano’s inking efforts on the story which began this new era
in Batman comic history, “One Bullet Too Many.”) Also, Jim Aparo’s excellent
Batman renderings, which featured the realism of Adams’ style coupled with the
strong lines of more traditional comic artwork, were a welcome fixture of
countless stories featured in The Brave and the Bold and Detective Comics.
Aparo’s close association with the character continued well into the late 1990s,
making him one of the most prolific Batman artists of all time.

As Batman’s comic book world began to grow darker and more sophisticated,
the first-ever reference books designed for serious Batman fans were published.
The 1971 anthology book Batman from the 30s to the 70s contained classic
Batman comic stories ranging from his 1939 debut all the way up to O’Neil-
Adams works such as “The Secret of the Waiting Graves.” And the 1976 book
The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes Volume 1: Batman by Michael J.
Fleisher provided a wealth of information on the thousands of characters
appearing in Batman comic stories between 1939 and 1965. Unfortunately, while
that book was very comprehensive, its focus was too narrow—it made no
attempt to cover all of the changes the character had gone through during the
camp Batman craze of the 1960s and the O’Neil-Adams led revamp of the
1970s.

Batman’s comic book world might have been growing more serious during the
1970s, but the character’s lighthearted 1960s screen works kept right on winning
new fans. Since youngsters were still being drawn to this incarnation of Batman,
the character was featured in a variety of kiddie television cartoon series from
the late 1960s all the way up to the 1980s.

The first of these series was Filmation’s The Batman-Superman Hour, which
first aired on CBS in late 1968 and early 1969. Contrary to the program’s name,
Batman and Superman never appeared together—they each starred in their own
cartoon adventures. Batman’s cartoons in the series were very similar in tone to
the third season of the live-action Batman TV series—they featured Robin and
Batgirl working with the Caped Crusader, battling familiar villains such as the
Joker, Penguin, Riddler and Catwoman. In 1969, CBS repackaged The Batman-
Superman Hour’s Batman cartoons into a Batman-only series entitled Batman
with Robin the Boy Wonder. Like so many Saturday morning kiddie cartoons,
Filmation’s 1968–69 Batman cartoons were of decidedly poor quality—their
animation was very cheaply produced, and their scripts were unbearably silly. In
the cartoons, the part of Batman was voiced by Olan Soule and the part of Robin
was voiced by Casey Kasem.

Filmation’s next series of Batman cartoons, The New Adventures of Batman, was
no better. The New Adventures of Batman first aired in 1977 on CBS, and it too
was burdened with terrible production values. To make matters worse, Filmation
decided to add a new character to the series—Bat-Mite! (As discussed in
Chapter 5, Bat-Mite was an interdimensional imp in an ill-fitting Batman
costume who appeared in Batman comic stories of the late 1950s and early
1960s.) The New Adventures of Batman was already bad enough due to its poor
animation and stories, but adding one of the silliest regular characters ever to
appear in the pages of Batman comics made them doubly awful. Incidentally,
Adam West and Burt Ward provided the voices for Batman and Robin in The
New Adventures of Batman, but not even the presence of the legendary screen
Caped Crusaders of the 1960s could help to salvage the series.

The longest-running television cartoon program to feature Batman was the

Hanna-Barbera series Super Friends, which premiered on ABC in 1973. The
Super Friends were a team of DC heroes similar to the one found in the DC
comic title Justice League of America. The team included Superman, Batman,
Robin, Wonder Woman and Aquaman, as well as a variety of other heroes that
appeared as occasional guest stars. The Super Friends series ran on ABC under
slightly varying titles (The All-New Super Friends Hour, Challenge of the Super
Friends and The World’s Greatest Super Friends) until 1979. In all of these
versions of Super Friends, the part of Batman was voiced by Olan Soule and the
part of Robin was voiced by Casey Kasem, reprising their roles from the 1968–
69 Filmation Batman cartoons.

The series was revived by Hanna-Barbera and ABC in 1984 under the title Super
Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show, and in 1985 under the title Super
Powers Team: The Galactic Guardians. As he had for 1977’s The New
Adventures of Batman, Adam West provided Batman’s voice in Super Friends:
The Legendary Super Powers Show and Super Powers Team: The Galactic
Guardians. In these Super Friends incarnations, the part of Robin was again
played by Casey Kasem.

Like Filmation’s Batman cartoons, the 1970s incarnations of Super Friends were
by no means “high-class” productions—they featured lackluster animation and
stories designed for very young audiences. The 1980s SuperFriends were far
more ambitious than their predecessors, especially in terms of their scripts,
presenting stories that thoughtfully adapted some of DC’s most cherished comic
book traditions.

For example, an October 1985 episode of Super Powers Team: The Galactic
Guardians entitled “The Fear” depicted Batman’s origin on screen for the very
first time. The episode was written by Alan Burnett, who would go on to co-
produce the landmark animated television series Batman: The Animated Series
in the early 1990s. In “The Fear,” Batman faces one of his longtime comic book
foes, the Scarecrow, who dresses up like his namesake and is obsessed with
inflicting fear on his victims. While chasing the Scarecrow, Batman
inadvertently runs into the Gotham City alley where his parents were killed. The
crimefighter is paralyzed with fright after memories of his parents’ murders
come flooding back to him. Batman realizes that in order to defeat the
Scarecrow, he must overcome his fears surrounding his parents’ deaths; he does
just that, and the Scarecrow is captured at the end of the episode.
When surveying the history of the Batman character’s screen appearances, “The
Fear” stands out as sort of a “missing link.” The episode bridged the gap
between the campy, kiddie-oriented screen Batman found in the 1960s Batman
TV series and film, and the darker, more emotionally complex screen Batman
found in the Warner Bros. live-action Batman films. For the first time, Batman
was brought to the screen as a character that was unequivocally scarred by deep
personal tragedy. It is interesting to note that this first glimpse of a serious
screen Batman featured none other than Adam West voicing the character!
Ironically, the actor who was the icon of the 1960s camp Batman craze helped to
usher in the era of a darker screen Batman.

Still, with the exception of “The Fear,” most of Batman’s cartoon appearances
from the 1960s up through the 1980s were decidedly “kiddie” in nature. And
since Batman was a character that appealed mainly to children during this time
period, there was no shortage of Batman toys being produced. The most notable
of these toys were the line of Batman action figures and accessories made by the
Mego Company in the 1970s. Mego manufactured a line of 8" figures billed as
“The World’s Greatest Superheroes” which included Batman, Robin and Batgirl,
as well as the villains the Joker, Penguin, Riddler and Catwoman.

The plastic figures themselves were outfitted in wonderfully detailed cloth

costumes. Along with these figures, Mego offered accessories such as the
Batmobile, the Batcycle and the Batcopter, as well as a large Batcave playset.
All of Mego’s Batman toys tended to reflect the look of the 1960s New Look
comic stories, as well as the 1960s Batman TV show and film. For the first time,
a large part of the Batman mythos had been realized in miniature form by one
specific toymaker. By collecting Mego Batman toys, children could bring
Batman’s world to dazzling three-dimensional life right in their own homes.

Now, back to the world of Batman comics. While not as prolific as comic
creators like O’Neil, Adams, Giordano or Aparo, writer Steve Englehart and
artists Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin made a tremendous impact on the
Batman character with a series of stories that appeared in Detective Comics from
August 1977 through April 1978. These stories featured familiar allies such as
Robin, Alfred and Commissioner Gordon, and familiar villains like the Joker
and the Penguin, but several new Englehart characters thrown into the mix added
a narrative depth not often found in comic books of the time.

One of these characters was Silver St. Cloud, a successful businesswoman with
whom Bruce Wayne fell in love, and during the course of their romance she
deduced that he was actually Batman. Another was Rupert Thorne, the corrupt
President of Gotham City Council, who tried to stop Batman from interfering
with his criminal activities by falsely accusing the Caped Crusader of being an
outlaw. Englehart also resurrected a Batman villain that had not appeared in
Batman comic stories since the early 1940s—Hugo Strange was an evil
scientific genius whose criminal schemes accidentally led him to discover that
Bruce Wayne was actually Batman. (In Englehart’s stories, Batman had a much
harder time than usual keeping his identity a secret!) Englehart’s storytelling in
these comics, a mixture of adventure, intrigue and romance featuring characters
old and new, was so sophisticated that many readers considered his Batman to be
the “definitive” depiction of the character.

Englehart’s stories were made all the more compelling when coupled with the art
of Rogers and Austin. While similar to the art of Neal Adams, Rogers and
Austin’s work rendered Batman and his world in a more strongly linear, almost
architectural fashion. This style perfectly suited Englehart’s complex plots, and
made Batman seem closer to the “real” world than ever before.

The climax of the Englehart-Rogers-Austin Batman saga was a two-part Joker

story that ended with Batman battling his arch nemesis high atop an unfinished
skyscraper in a fierce thunderstorm. A bolt of lightning sends the Joker tumbling
off of a girder to his apparent doom. (But as all Batman fans know, he’ll find a
way to survive and torment our hero yet again as he has many times before.) Just
at this moment of triumph, Batman is handed a tremendous personal sorrow—
Silver leaves him because she is unable to cope with his double life.

Englehart’s Detective Comics scripting run featured a welcome addition to the

Batman mythos that is worthy of note. In his stories, Englehart referred to
Batman by the nickname “The Dark Knight.” As we discussed in Chapter 1, this
nickname was first used in the story “The Joker” which appeared in Batman #1,
Spring 1940—but the nickname had been used very sparingly in Batman comic
stories after that. Englehart’s decision to resurrect the practice of referring to
Batman as “The Dark Knight” would have far-reaching implications—
eventually, the phrase would become DC’s official second name for Batman.

Incidentally, the Englehart-Rogers-Austin Batman saga has remained very

popular with serious Batman fans over the years, so it has been reprinted in a
number of different book formats. For example, in 1999 the stories were
published in a stand-alone book entitled Strange Apparitions.

The revitalization of the Batman character in 1970s comic stories, combined

with the blockbuster success of the 1978 Warner Bros. motion picture Superman
starring Christopher Reeve in the title role, led to the first attempts to produce a
new live-action Batman screen work. In 1979, Michael Uslan and Benjamin
Melniker set up a production company called BatFilm Productions to finance a
Batman film that would be far more serious in tone than the 1960s TV show. 3

The project was not realized at this time, but it laid the groundwork for Batman’s
return to the big screen a decade later. (We’ll discuss Uslan’s and Melniker’s
efforts in detail next chapter.)

Batman and Robin in “The Malay Penguin,” Detective Comics #473,

November 1977. Art by Marshall Rogers and Terry Austin.

The 1960s screen Batman works had been so staggeringly successful that Uslan
and Melniker certainly had their work cut out for them in terms of trying to
convince the entertainment industry that a Batman screen work could be so
much deeper than a silly camp romp. Ironically, this point probably could not
have been made any more clearly than it was by a television production
featuring Batman and Robin released the very same year that Uslan and
Melniker formed BatFilm Productions. Adam West and Burt Ward reprised their
roles as Batman and Robin in the 1979 NBC two-part television comedy special
entitled Legends of the Super Heroes. The special was produced by Hanna-
Barbera as sort of a live-action companion to their Super Friends cartoon series.
Legends of the Super Heroes marked the only time that the Batman character
appeared in a live-action screen production between the Batman TV show’s
1968 cancellation and the 1989 Warner Bros. motion picture Batman.

The first part of Legends of the Super Heroes was called “The Challenge,” and it
featured Batman, Robin, and a host of DC heroes battling a host of DC villains
who had created a bomb that was powerful enough to kill everyone in the entire
world. The only one of these villains from Batman’s mythos was the Riddler—
the part was played by Frank Gorshin, reprising his role from the 1960s Batman
TV show and film. The second part of Legends of the Super Heroes was called
“The Roast,” and it featured Ed McMahon as himself, hosting a celebrity roast–
style event for the DC heroes who had appeared in “The Challenge,” including
Batman and Robin.

Simply put, Legends of the Super Heroes was a torturously bad production. The
production’s attempts to create tongue-in-cheek humor by mixing the comic
book world with the real world never really had a chance to succeed—that
strategy had worked so well for the 1960s screen Batman, but it came across as
dreadfully stale by the late 1970s. Being painfully unfunny was not the only
problem that Legends of the Super Heroes had—it also suffered from
ridiculously cheap-looking sets and woefully bad special effects.

Adam West and Burt Ward must have been mortified once they realized just
what a mess they had gotten themselves into by agreeing to appear in the show.
Poor Adam West looked as if he had to suffer even more than Burt Ward did.
West was fitted with a new cowl for Legends of the Super Heroes that wasn’t
long enough in the neck area to allow it to smoothly taper down to his shoulders.
Consequently, the loose cowl flopped around his neck the entire program,
making it look like he was sporting a double (or triple) chin!

Whether one is a fan of the 1960s Batman screen works or not, one must admit
that those works were very well-crafted—their writing, acting, costumes and
production values were almost always top-notch. Legends of the Super Heroes
was every bit as bad as the 1960s screen Batman was good. Fortunately, Legends
of the Super Heroes basically dropped out of sight immediately after it first aired
—if too many viewers had gotten the chance to see the special, the general
public’s opinion of Batman might well have fallen so low that the entertainment
industry would never have risked producing a new Batman screen work!

Eventually, the special did make its way to the home video market—it was
released on DVD by Warner Bros. in 2010. One might wonder why Warner
Bros. even bothered to release such an awful program on home video. The most
likely answer to that question is that Legends of the Super Heroes is one of those
productions that is so bad it has become sort of, well, legendary. Trust me, it is
so bad that you really have to see it to believe it—so if you are brave enough, it
is out there waiting for you!

Fortunately for Batman fans, a much better Batman work with the word
“legends” in the title appeared the year after Legends of the Super Heroes first
aired. In 1980, DC published the landmark three-part series entitled The Untold
Legends of the Batman. The Untold Legends of the Batman marked the first time
the character appeared in a stand-alone miniseries, and it retold the origins of all
of the major characters in Batman’s world, heroes and villains alike. In the
series, Batman is afraid that one of his enemies has discovered his secret identity
because someone has been leaving him threatening messages in the Batcave. As
he tries to deduce who the culprit might be, he recalls the events that led him to
become a crimefighter, as well as some of his most memorable cases. At the end
of the series, he discovers that he himself actually left the messages—his bizarre
actions are the result of a brain trauma he suffered during a recent case, which
has caused him to suffer from temporary schizophrenia. Written by Len Wein
and illustrated by Jim Aparo and John Byrne, The Untold Legends of the Batman
served as an excellent “summing up” of over 40 years of Batman history, as well
as an homage to all of the talented artists and writers who had contributed to that
history.

In the early 1980s, Batman was in somewhat of a creative slump. Over a decade
had passed since DC’s new generation of writers and artists had revitalized the
character, and as wonderful as that revitalization had been, it seemed as if it was
time for something new to happen in Batman’s world. In 1983, DC Comics tried
to force the issue by introducing a second Robin character. Jason Todd was
introduced in issues of Batman and Detective Comics as a young circus aerialist
who performed in a trapeze act with his mother and father, Trina and Joseph.
Trina and Joseph were helping Batman to find Killer Croc, a criminal with
freakish, reptilian-like skin. Croc was becoming a very powerful figure in
Gotham’s underworld, and he had vowed to become even more powerful by
murdering the Caped Crusader.

Detective Comics #526, May 1983, marked Batman’s five hundredth appearance
in the magazine and, to commemorate this auspicious anniversary, the Jason
Todd storyline was brought to a dramatic climax. The issue featured a 50-plus
page story written by Gerry Conway entitled “All My Enemies Against Me,”
which depicted dozens of Batman’s foes, including the Joker, Penguin, Riddler
and Two-Face, teaming up to kill Batman before Killer Croc could get to him. In
the story, Batman is able to round up and defeat all of his enemies, including
Killer Croc, but not before Croc murders Trina and Joseph Todd. At the end of
the story, Bruce Wayne decides to make the orphaned Jason his ward, just as he
had done with Dick Grayson many years earlier.

“All My Enemies Against Me” set the stage for Jason to adopt the identity of
Robin. Of course, Dick Grayson was still fighting crime as Robin, so for the next
year or so, the plots of both Batman and Detective Comics moved Jason toward
becoming Robin, and Dick toward adopting a new crimefighting identity.
Finally, in Batman #368, February 1984, Dick passed on his costume to Jason,
formally ending his partnership with Bruce. This decision was reached without
any rancor between Bruce and Dick—Bruce wanted Jason to become Batman’s
full-time partner, and Dick was ready to establish a life outside of Batman’s
shadow. Dick then designed a sleek, capeless costume that was primarily blue in
color, and dubbed himself “Nightwing.”

The Robin character’s return to Batman’s world on a basically full-time basis

was met with generally negative reviews from Batman fans. Many felt that
tradition dictated that Dick Grayson should be the only character to ever don the
Robin costume. Plus, the Dick Grayson Robin’s occasional presence in Batman
stories kept both “pro–Robin” and “anti–Robin” Batman fans happy—a part-
time Robin allowed for appearances of the Batman and Robin team, as well as
solo Batman appearances. Fans were also put off by Jason’s origin being such an
obvious retread of Dick’s origin. Nevertheless, the Jason Todd Robin remained a
fixture of Batman’s comic book world for the next few years.
Batman and the Joker in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #3, “Hunt the
Dark Knight” (1986). Art by Frank Miller, Klaus Janson and Lynn Varley.

A form of the comic book commonly referred to as a “graphic novel” was

beginning to grow in popularity in the mid–1980s. Graphic novels were basically
very high-quality comic books—they featured more pages, heavier paper and
better printing than their dime-store counterparts. In 1986, the first-ever Batman
graphic novel was published, and it presented a complex, startlingly new version
of Batman that completely changed the course of the character’s history. Writer-
artist Frank Miller’s four-part Batman: The Dark Knight Returns was set in an
indefinite future, and it told the story of what the end of Bruce Wayne’s Batman
career might be like.

In Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Wayne is a 55-year-old alcoholic who has
given up fighting crime because his second Robin Jason Todd was brutally
murdered by the Joker a decade earlier. Gotham City has been overrun by
criminals, and Wayne feels powerless to do anything about it. But finally he
comes to the realization that he cannot just remain idle while his city crumbles,
so he dons his costume for a last series of adventures. One of the first criminals
he brings to justice is Harvey Dent, who had supposedly been rehabilitated from
his Two-Face persona through plastic surgery and psychiatric counseling.

Batman faces off against a very dangerous and powerful Gotham street gang
known as the Mutants, who have vowed to murder his longtime ally
Commissioner Gordon. He brings down the leader of the Mutants with the help
of an adventurous young girl named Carrie Kelley. Like her predecessors Dick
Grayson and Jason Todd, she too adopts the guise of Robin. This new Batman
and Robin team is soon faced with an even deadlier enemy, the Joker. The
madman snaps out of the catatonic state he has been in for a number of years
upon learning that Batman has returned to action. The Joker’s reign of terror
finally ends once and for all—Batman gravely wounds the villain when the two
fight at a county fair. There the Joker chooses to end his own life, twisting his
neck until his spine snaps.

The United States government wants the new Batman and Robin team stopped
because they feel they are lawless vigilantes, so they send one of their special
agents to put them out of commission. That special agent is none other than
Superman, who has just returned from defending the United States from a
nuclear attack launched by the Soviet Union. In nuclear winter conditions,
Batman and Superman engage in an apocalyptic battle on the very street where
Bruce Wayne’s parents were murdered decades earlier.

Superman “wins” the battle because Batman fakes his own death. Carrie is in on
the plan, so after Bruce Wayne’s elaborate funeral, she exhumes his body and he
goes right back to fighting crime. But not as Batman—he has given up that
identity forever, and he will now continue his war on crime as a far more covert
operative.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns was beautifully written and stunningly
illustrated, but it was Miller’s richly detailed vision of Batman that really made
the series so special; his Batman inhabited a world even more closely tied to
reality than the O’Neil-Adams Batman or the Englehart-Rogers-Austin Batman.
And the reality Miller created for Batman in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
was an immensely tragic one. The murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents had filled
Bruce with a grief that was so crushing, so all-encompassing, that his Batman
persona had become more than just a disguise—it had become a kind of
psychological escape for Bruce, a wraithlike alter ego that was almost
completely separate from his thoughts and actions..

Page after page in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Miller brought readers a
Batman that was both haunted and hauntingly real. The physical peril he faced,
the calculations he made while striving to prevent crime, the self-doubts he dealt
with, all made him seem like an actual, flesh-and-blood person. And the
reactions his quest for justice inspired were much the same reactions our world
would likely have if there really was a Batman. In Batman: The Dark Knight
Returns, politicians and pundits debated the legitimacy of his actions on
television news programs, while the general public responded to him with
varying degrees of hero worship. Miller’s insights into how our culture perceives
heroism, evil and social responsibility were by turns chilling, satirical, inspiring
and depressing, but at all times riveting.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns was a tremendous critical and commercial
success, and this success ended up not being confined to the relatively small
population of comic book fans. Warner Communications, the parent company of
DC Comics, released the series as a one-volume paperback through their
publishing company Warner Books. This version of Batman: The Dark Knight
Returns sold very well at major bookstores throughout the country, and paved
the way for the general public to start taking Batman more seriously than they
did when he was viewed as a campy TV show character.

Batman’s re-entry into the general public’s consciousness via Batman: The Dark
Knight Returns had a very positive effect on the plans for producing a new
Batman motion picture that were commenced by Michael Uslan and Benjamin
Melniker back in the late 1970s. Due to a number of corporate takeovers and
partnership changes (we’ll discuss those events in more detail next chapter), this
Batman film project was now in the hands of Warner Bros.—and Batman: The
Dark Knight Returns made Warner realize that a serious screen Batman could be
a highly marketable property.

But before Batman would return to the movies, his comic book world underwent
a number of radical changes brought on by the phenomenal success of Batman:
The Dark Knight Returns. First off, DC Comics completely revamped his
relationship with his old ally Superman. Since the mid–1950s, the two heroes
had been sharing adventures in World’s Finest Comics and were depicted to be
the closest of friends. But Miller’s portrayal of these titans as enemies resulted in
DC making relations between Batman and Superman much chillier. DC canceled
World’s Finest Comics in January 1986, and from that point on, DC’s two
greatest heroes would maintain a relationship that ranged from strained to
outright adversarial whenever they appeared together.

This change made for some interesting dramatic tension in stories that featured
both Batman and Superman. Even though the heroes basically still worked to
achieve the same goal of stopping crime wherever they might find it, their
methods were so different that conflict would sometimes arise between them.
Batman’s frightening “creature of the night” approach to fighting crime was
often at odds with Superman’s straightforward “friendly public servant”
approach. This rapport between the crimefighters seemed to be much more true
to both of their characters than the three-decades-old tradition depicting them as
close confidants.

Another 1980s Batman graphic novel that ended up having a long-range effect
on the history of the character was Batman: Son of the Demon, which was
written by Mike W. Barr and illustrated by Jerry Bingham. Batman: Son of the
Demon was first published in 1987, and told the tale of Batman and his longtime
foe Ra’s al Ghul joining forces in order to hunt down a dangerous terrorist
known as Qayin. Of course, in Batman’s eyes, Ra’s normally fell under the
definition of “dangerous terrorist” as well, but Qayin was such a threat to the
world that Batman was willing to work with Ra’s to bring Qayin down.

In Batman: Son of the Demon, Batman and Ra’s’s daughter Talia finally give
into their love for one another and become a couple. Talia becomes pregnant
with Batman’s child, and at first they are both thrilled at the prospect of starting
a family together. But Talia eventually becomes so worried that Batman will
unnecessarily risk his own life protecting the child that she lies to him about the
pregnancy, saying she has suffered a miscarriage. The story ends with Talia
giving birth to the child, a boy, and giving him up for adoption to an unnamed
couple. It would take nearly two decades for the implications of Batman: Son of
the Demon to greatly affect Batman’s comic history—in 2006, writer Grant
Morrison introduced Batman and Talia’s son into the regular continuity of
Batman comic stories. We’ll discuss Morrison’s version of the character, a
young man named Damian Wayne, later in the book.
The success of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns led DC to contract Frank
Miller to create another four-part Batman series. In the series, Miller would retell
Batman’s origin in a manner in keeping with the tone he established in Batman:
The Dark Knight Returns. However, this series would not first be published as a
graphic novel, but as stories appearing in regular issues of Batman comics.
Batman: Year One, written by Miller and illustrated by David Mazzucchelli, ran
in Batman #404, February 1987, through Batman #407, May 1987.

Batman: Year One focuses on Bruce Wayne’s decision to become a costumed

crimefighter, and his very first exploits as Batman. As Wayne is returning home
to Gotham City after training himself as a fighter, detective and scientist, police
officer James Gotham is moving to Gotham to start working for the Gotham City
Police Department. Wayne’s very first attempt at fighting crime goes very
poorly—he is attacked by several prostitutes, including one named Selina Kyle,
and shot by Gotham Police officers. Despite his wounds, he is able to make it
home to Wayne Manor—as he sits in his home gravely injured, a huge bat
crashes through the window, giving him the inspiration to don the disguise of a
bat. Gordon’s first days with the Gotham Police go just as badly—he
immediately works to rid the force of corruption, which leads to him being
brutally attacked by several corrupt cops.
Batman in Batman: Year One #2, “War Is Declared” (1987). Art by David
Mazzucchelli and Richmond Lewis.

Wayne dons his Batman disguise for the first time, and his exploits instantly
become the stuff of legend. He even crashes a dinner party being attended by
many of Gotham’s crime bosses and crooked politicians to let them know that he
plans on bringing them all to justice. This leads corrupt Gotham City Police
Commissioner Gillian Loeb to order the Gotham Police to apprehend Batman by
any means necessary. A Gotham Police SWAT team eventually corners Batman
in an abandoned building, but Batman is able to elude capture by using a sonar
device to attract all of the bats in a cave beneath Wayne Manor to him. In the
chaos caused by the swarming bats, Batman makes it back to Wayne Manor.
Batman’s noble intentions begin to sway Gordon—Gordon begins to see Batman
not as a criminal, but as a potential crimefighting ally.
Batman also has a deep effect on Selina Kyle, inspiring her to don a costume and
fight crime—disguised as a cat, she attacks a major crime boss named Carmine
Falcone. Falcone, hoping to gain back control of his city which has suddenly
seemed to go so crazy, unleashes a plan to kidnap Gordon’s son in order to force
Gordon to end his fight against Gotham’s corrupt system. Bruce Wayne, sans his
Batman costume, is able to foil the kidnapping plot. Gordon is not able to get a
look at the man who heroically saved his son, so Batman’s identity still remains
unknown to him—but Batman has proven that he is indeed Gordon’s staunch
ally. The final panels of Batman: Year One show Gordon on the roof of the
Gotham City Police Department, waiting to meet with Batman about a criminal
who has threatened to poison Gotham’s water supply. That criminal refers to
himself as “The Joker.”

Batman: Year One’s brilliant reimagining of Batman’s beginnings was hailed as

an instant classic. Miller’s compelling storytelling and Mazzucchelli’s spare, no-
nonsense artwork had captured Batman in a far more realistic manner than any
previous Batman work ever had—indeed, most every panel in Batman: Year
One could have been easily acted out in our real world. And Miller and
Mazzucchelli’s interpretations of Batman’s supporting characters such as James
Gordon and Selina Kyle were every bit as compelling as their interpretation of
Batman himself.

Batman: Year One had rendered Batman and his world as an intricate, logical
crime drama, and the results were so powerful that the series would prove to be
one of the most influential Batman works of all time. (This fact will be made
very obvious by the number of times we’ll be discussing it later in this book.)
After its initial run in Batman, Batman: Year One was released as a one-volume
graphic novel, and enjoyed a commercial success equal to that of Batman: The
Dark Knight Returns.

In addition to spawning Batman: Year One, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns
also had a significant impact on the future of the Jason Todd Robin character.
The graphic novel caused DC to rethink their inclusion of Jason in Batman’s
world because it had given voice to most Batman fans’ dislike of Jason. Frank
Miller’s decision to have Jason meet his grisly end at the hands of the Joker
seemed to be little more than a very thinly veiled expression of Miller’s
contempt for the character. This contempt mirrored how poorly Jason was being
received by longtime Batman fans. Simply put, DC knew they had a problem in
terms of where to go with the Jason Todd Robin, and Miller’s “Jason
editorializing” in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns only made the problem that
much more obvious.

Premier Batman writer Denny O’Neil had been promoted to editor of DC’s
Batman comic titles in 1986. Right after Batman: Year One debuted, O’Neil
immediately instigated changes to the Jason Todd Robin character in an effort to
make him more popular. In the story “Did Robin Die Tonight?” (Batman #408,
June 1987), Jason’s origin, so meticulously set up over the course of dozens of
issues of Batman and Detective Comics, was completely nullified.

In the opening of “Did Robin Die Tonight?” Dick Grayson was again Robin, and
he and Batman were trying to capture the Joker. In the process, Robin was
wounded and almost killed, which led Batman to decide to end Robin’s career.
Dick was unhappy about this, but he accepted it—but he also told his mentor
that he would continue to fight crime in another guise. (Of course, this allowed
Dick to continue appearing in other DC stories as Nightwing, which the
character had been doing for the past two years or so.) Just as Batman returned
to being a strictly solo crimefighter, he encountered a tough street kid named
Jason Todd who was in the process of stealing the tires off of the Batmobile!

In subsequent issues of Batman, Batman eventually took Jason in just as he had

Dick (and the first version of Jason!) and make him his partner. This second
version of Jason proved to be just as unpopular as the first version.
Consequently, O’Neil and company decided to do something very drastic to
determine whether or not Jason would continue to be a part of Batman’s world.
DC held a phone-in poll for Batman fans to determine whether Jason would die
at the hands of the Joker, in effect making Jason’s fate as depicted in Batman:
The Dark Knight Returns the character’s “official” fate, or whether he would
survive the Joker’s attack. The poll was held in mid–September 1988 and, not
surprisingly, the fans voted to kill off Jason. So in a series entitled “A Death in
the Family” (Batman #426, December 1988 through Batman #429, January
1989), Jason was severely beaten by the Joker, and then killed in an explosion
that the madman had set.

DC’s decision to allow the Jason character to be killed off sparked quite a bit of
media coverage. All of the major news media outlets knew a potentially
compelling headline when they saw one, and “ROBIN THE BOY WONDER
DEAD” certainly was a headline that would grab the public’s attention. Of
course, many people did not pay enough attention to the details of the story to
realize that it was not the “classic” Dick Grayson Robin that DC had eliminated,
but his very unpopular successor.

Most comic book fans had followed the genre long enough to know that even
though Jason was gone, a new Robin was bound to be introduced before too
long. After all, Robin remained one of the most recognizable comic book
characters of all time—he was far too valuable a property to simply abandon.
These comic book fans were right, of course: Plans were underway to introduce
yet another Robin into Batman’s comic book world even before the ink was dry
on issues of “A Death in the Family.” (We’ll discuss this third Robin later in the
book.) So DC’s decision to portray “the death of Robin” as a major, irrevocable
milestone in the history of the Batman character really amounted to nothing
more than a crass publicity stunt.

The demise of another Batman icon was handled with considerably more
thought and finesse in a graphic novel entitled Batman: The Killing Joke,
released in late 1988. Written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Brian Bolland, it
told the chilling tale of the Joker gunning down Barbara Gordon as part of an
elaborate plan to drive Commissioner Gordon insane.

In Batman: The Killing Joke, the Joker thinks back on his life and contends that
the only reason he became an insane, murderous criminal was because of
monstrously bad luck. The Joker remembers himself as an unsuccessful
comedian who agreed to help some criminals pull off a robbery at a chemical
plant where he had previously worked. Unknown to the comedian, the criminals
had come up with a clever master plan to make their role in the robbery look
insignificant—they made the comedian wear a red hood and cape, so it seemed
that he was the costumed mastermind of the robbery.
 Batman and the Joker in Batman: The Killing Joke (1988). Art by Brian
Bolland.

The comedian’s sole reason for taking part in the robbery was to obtain money
for himself and his pregnant wife. But right before the robbery was to take place,
his wife and unborn baby were killed in a freak accident. In spite of this tragedy,
the criminals still forced him to don the guise of “the Red Hood” and help them.
Batman broke up the robbery attempt and the comedian fell into a vat of acid,
turning his skin white and his hair green.

As far as the Joker is concerned, the loss of his wife and his fall into the acid
drove him insane—in fact, the Joker feels that anyone would be driven insane if
they had to face the kind of horrific events he faced. In order to prove this
theory, he shoots Barbara Gordon and photographs her terribly wounded body.
The Joker then kidnaps Commissioner Gordon, holds him prisoner at a rundown
amusement park, and forces him to look at these awful pictures of his beloved
daughter over and over again—the criminal will drive the Commissioner mad
just to prove that his actions are not his fault, it is the random cruelty of life that
is responsible for his insanity.

Batman eventually tracks the Joker down and saves the Commissioner—in spite
of all the Joker’s efforts, Gordon has retained his sanity. And Barbara has
survived the Joker’s attack—but she will be confined to a wheelchair for the rest
of her life. While in the process of apprehending the Joker, Batman tells the
criminal that Gordon is still sane. Batman goes on to tell the Joker that Gordon
has proved the criminal wrong, people can strive to overcome tragedy and lead
meaningful lives. Batman: The Killing Joke ends with Batman trying to convince
the Joker to try to rehabilitate himself—maybe Batman can even help him find
his way out of the maze of insanity and violence that his life has become. The
Joker tells Batman that it is far too late for that; consequently, the war between
them will simply go on and on.

Batman: The Killing Joke’s combination of Moore’s emotionally deep

storytelling and Bolland’s realistic, beautifully detailed art made the graphic
novel among the greatest Batman comic works of all time. And the book
included an ingenious nod to the history of the Joker character—its exploration
of the villain’s origin as “the Red Hood” was inspired by the classic comic book
story “The Man Behind the Red Hood!” which was first published in Detective
Comics #168, 1952. (We discussed that story in detail in Chapter 5.)

But the most ingenious aspect of the book was that even though it gave the Joker
a far more detailed backstory than he had ever received before, it was made clear
that this backstory was only a possible origin of the criminal, not the “definitive”
one. The Joker says during the course of the book that he thinks he remembers
what happened to him in terms of his wife dying and his fall into the acid, but
because he is so mentally unstable, his memories of these events tend to vary
wildly. Consequently, Batman: The Killing Joke did not tie the character down
to any specific pre–Joker identity, allowing the roots of his psychotic behavior to
remain largely a mystery.

Batman: The Killing Joke’s most long-ranging contribution to Batman mythos

was that the Joker’s horrific actions ended the crimefighting career of Batgirl.
Batgirl’s demise had far more impact on Batman fans than the death of Jason
Todd in “A Death in the Family.” As previously mentioned, killing off the
unpopular Jason on the basis of a phone-in poll seemed like nothing more than a
cheap publicity stunt, so it carried little emotional resonance for Batman fans.
But the Barbara Gordon Batgirl had been a character that had remained popular
with many Batman fans over the years, so seeing her taken out of action so
completely was somewhat of a shock to them.

Barbara’s injury turned out to be a plotline that lasted for decades. In the world
of comic books, characters are often gravely injured or killed, but writers will
often concoct some way to bring that character back to full strength after just a
short time. This was not the case with Barbara—she remained paralyzed and
confined to a wheelchair. She became a computer expert and, after dubbing
herself “Oracle,” began assisting Batman and other heroes in the gathering of
information pertaining to cases they were working on. Barbara’s transformation
from Batgirl to Oracle seemed to emphasize Batman: The Killing Joke’s hopeful
concept that people have the power to overcome adversity and find purpose in
their lives, if they are only willing to look deep inside of themselves to find that
power.

Incidentally, DC did eventually decide to rewrite Barbara’s history so that she

could return to action as Batgirl after the events of Batman: The Killing Joke—
but that rewrite did not debut until late 2011, 23 years after Batman: The Killing
Joke was first published. We’ll discuss Barbara’s second round of Batgirl
adventures much later in the book.

Interestingly, Frank Miller’s Batman works and the Moore-Bolland Batman: The
Killing Joke ended up being widely regarded as the best Batman graphic novels
of the 1980s, even though Miller’s and Moore’s interpretations of the character
were so radically different from one another. Miller saw Batman as a soul so
tortured that he was almost as unbalanced as the criminals he fought. Moore’s
Batman was undoubtedly very grim and driven, but he was most definitely not
mentally unstable. In fact, the whole point of Batman: The Killing Joke was that
heroes like Batman and the Gordons were able to find a way to hold themselves
together in the wake of enormous personal tragedy. This characteristic was one
of the main things that separated them from villains like the Joker.

Obviously, Moore’s version of Batman was far closer in spirit to the way
Batman had usually been portrayed since his 1939 debut. But while Miller’s
version of the character did not have the strength of tradition behind it, many
Batman fans found it to be a compelling new way of interpreting their hero. At
any rate, by the late 1980s there were many Batman fans who felt that the
character should be portrayed as being mentally stable, and just about as many
who felt that he should be portrayed as mentally unstable. Batman’s adventures
were about to begin proliferating at such an incredible rate that before long, there
would be enough different kinds of Batman stories being published to keep both
of these camps relatively happy.

Nineteen eighty-nine was the year that was going to mark the fiftieth anniversary
of the Batman character’s debut in Detective Comics #27, and DC Comics was
preparing to celebrate the occasion very proudly and publicly just as they had
when Superman turned 50 the year before. Of course, Batman’s anniversary
ended up being commemorated in a manner far larger than any celebration DC
could have ever assembled. In June 1989, the long-awaited Warner Bros. motion
picture Batman starring Michael Keaton as Batman and Jack Nicholson as the
Joker was released, and it became one of the most commercially successful films
of its time. We’ll discuss that film in detail next chapter.
 8
Batman (1989)

Cast: Michael Keaton (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Jack Nicholson (Joker/Jack

Napier), Kim Basinger (Vicki Vale), Robert Wuhl (Alexander Knox), Pat Hingle
(Commissioner Gordon), Billy Dee Williams (Harvey Dent), Michael Gough
(Alfred Pennyworth), Jack Palance (Boss Carl Grissom), Jerry Hall (Alicia
Hunt), Tracey Walter (Bob the Goon), Lee Wallace (William Borg), William
Hootkins (Lt. Max Eckhardt), Richard Strange, Carl Chase, Mac McDonald
(Goons), George Lane Cooper (Lawrence the Goon), Terence Plummer, Philip
Tan (Goons), John Sterland (Grissom’s Accountant), Edwin Craig (Antoine
Rotelli), Vincent Wong (Crimelord 1), Joel Cutara (Crimelord 2), John Dair
(Ricorso), Christopher Fairbank (Nic, Second Mugger), George Roth (Eddie,
First Mugger), Kate Harper (Anchorwoman), Bruce McGuire (Peter McElroy,
Anchorman), Richard Durden (TV Director), Kit Hollerbach (Becky, Action
News Reporter), Lachelle Carl (Renee, TV Technician), Del Baker, Jazzer Jeyes,
Wayne Michaels, Valentino Musetti, Rocky Taylor (Napier Hoods), Keith
Edwards (Reporter), Leon Herbert (Reporter at City Hall), Steve Plytas (Plastic
Surgeon), Anthony Wellington (Robert, Patrolman at Party), Amir Korangy
(Wine Steward), Hugo E. Blick (Young Jack Napier), Charles Roskilly (Young
Bruce Wayne), Philip O’Brien (Maitre d’ at Museum), Michael Balfour
(Scientist at Axis Chemicals), Liza Ross (Tourist Mom), Garrick Hagon (Harold,
Tourist Dad), Adrian Meyers (Jimmy, Tourist Son), David Baxt (Dr. Thomas
Wayne), Sharon Holm (Mrs. Martha Wayne), Clyde Gatell (Other Mugger), Jon
Soresi (Medic), Sam Douglas (Gangster Lawyer), Elliott Stein (Man in Crowd),
Denis Lill (Bob the Globe Cartoonist), Paul Birchard (Another Reporter), Paul
Michael (Young Cop at Axis Chemicals), Carl Newman (Movement Double).
Producers: Peter Guber, Jon Peters. Co-Producer: Chris Kenny. Associate
Producer: Barbara Kalish. Executive Producers: Benjamin Melniker, Michael E.
Uslan. Director: Tim Burton. Screenplay: Sam Hamm, Warren Skaaren (Story
by Sam Hamm, based on characters created by Bob Kane). Cinematography:
Roger Pratt. Editor: Ray Lovejoy. Music: Danny Elfman (Additional songs
composed and performed by Prince). Casting: Marion Dougherty, Owens Hill.
Production Designer: Anton Furst. Art Directors: Terry Ackland-Snow, Nigel
Phelps. Set Decorator: Peter Young. Costume Designer: Bob Ringwood (Kim
Basinger’s costumes by Linda Henrikson). Makeup: Lynda Armstrong. Joker
Makeup Designer: Nick Dudman. Key Makeup: Paul Engelen. Prosthetic
Makeup: Suzanne Reynolds. Chief Hair Stylist: Colin Jamison (Kim Basinger’s
hair by Rick Provenzano) Unit Manager: Pat Harrison. First Assistant Director:
Derek Cracknell. Second Unit Director: Peter MacDonald. Supervising Art
Director: Les Tomkins. Supervising Sound Editor: Don Sharpe. Special Effects
Supervisor: John Evans. Visual Effects Production Manager: Susan Ford. Stunt
Coordinator: Eddie Stacey. Batsuit Designers: Paul Barrett-Brown, Vin
Burnham. Studio: Warner Bros. Length: 126 minutes. United States Release
Date: June 23, 1989.

It is hard to explain to anyone who was born after 1989 just what it was like to
be a serious Batman fan in the years between the cancellation of the Batman TV
show and the release of the 1989 film Batman. Still, I feel I must try to do this
before we really start to examine the 1989 Batman, because it will illustrate just
how important the motion picture turned out to be in the history of the character.
So listen up, all of you Batman fans in your twenties—this is what Batman
fandom was like during the 1970s and 1980s.
 Michael Keaton as Batman in Batman (1989).

During those years, it was almost impossible even to tell someone you were a
serious Batman fan—unless that person was a hardcore comic book fan, that is.
To everyone other than hardcore comic book fans, the words “serious” and
“Batman” could not really even be placed next to each other in the same
sentence. Batman was nothing more than Adam West in the campy TV show and
movie, a silly character for kids, a craze that had died out a long time ago. Most
people simply had no idea that Batman had originated in the comics as a dark
avenger, as a man with a haunted past relentlessly fighting for justice.

Consequently, if you said to someone that you were a serious Batman fan and
you thought the character could be appropriate entertainment for adults, you
would almost always get very strange looks indeed. It was like saying to
someone that you thought the “Neighborhood of Make-Believe” puppets from
the PBS children’s show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood would be the ideal cast
to perform the definitive version of Shakespeare’s King Lear. Most people could
just not grasp the concept of Batman being rendered in a manner that was almost
the complete opposite of the Adam West/kids’ character Batman.

The phenomenal success of Batman in the summer of 1989 changed all that.
Within a period of just a few months, the film introduced millions upon millions
of people around the world to “our” Batman, the dark hero we serious Batman
fans loved. There have been a lot of great moments in the history of the Batman
character since Batman, and there are doubtless many more to come in the
future. That said, however, the film’s release holds an importance in Batman
history that can never be equaled—it will forever stand as the first time a
worldwide audience appreciated Batman in the way Bob Kane and Bill Finger
had intended him to be appreciated when they created the first Batman comic
story back in 1939.

One man in particular was responsible for bringing about this incredible shift in
the way the general public perceived Batman, and his life story seemed to
indicate that he had literally been born to do this job. Michael Uslan had become
an avid comic book fan in the late 1950s when he was a young boy growing up
in New Jersey, and he ended up being particularly drawn to Batman. He was a
teenager when the Batman TV show premiered in 1966, and while he was
thrilled to see his hero featured in a big-budget television show, he was bitterly
disappointed that the show played Batman for laughs.

By the time Uslan was a law student at Indiana University in the early 1970s, he
was actively working to get people to appreciate comic books as a serious art
form. He developed a fully accredited college class for the university’s
Experimental Curriculum program on the history of comic books. Shortly after
Uslan began teaching his class, it received an avalanche of attention from major
news media outlets—at the time, the idea of a major university recognizing
comic books as a legitimate academic subject was so novel that it warranted
nationwide headlines.

This media attention led to both Marvel Comics and DC Comics contacting
Uslan—both companies wanted to establish a relationship with this young man
who was championing their work. DC ended up offering Uslan a job, which he
happily accepted. Uslan’s tenure at DC was a dream come true for him—he even
got the chance to co-write several Batman stories for Detective Comics in 1976.

Jack Nicholson as the Joker in Batman (1989).

But Uslan’s Batman dreams were far from over. In 1979, after working for the
United Artists Studios’ legal department for several years, he decided to take on
the task of producing a new live-action Batman big screen work. The
revitalization of the Batman character in 1970s comic stories and the blockbuster
success of the 1978 Warner Bros. motion picture Superman led Uslan to feel that
the time was just right to embark on such a project. Of course, Uslan envisioned
this Batman film being far more serious in tone than the 1960s TV show—it
would be inspired by the work of great Batman creators such as Bob Kane, Bill
Finger, Denny O’Neil, Neal Adams, Steve Englehart and Marshall Rogers.

Uslan felt that he would need a preliminary script to help motion picture studios
to understand his vision of Batman. The script he planned on using for this
purpose was one entitled “The Return of The Batman” that he had co-written
with one of his Indiana University friends in 1975. It is interesting to note that
the script told the tale of Batman coming out of retirement in his mid–50s for a
last series of adventures—in other words, it captured the Batman character in
much the same manner that Frank Miller’s groundbreaking four-part graphic
novel Batman: The Dark Knight Returns would capture him ten years later! 1

Uslan knew that he would need the help of an experienced entertainment

industry insider to sell his vision of a serious Batman film to motion picture
studios. He was lucky enough to find the perfect ally in Benjamin Melniker, a
former MGM Studios executive vice-president. Melniker agreed to enter into a
partnership with Uslan on this venture, and in late 1979 the two men secured the
film rights to the Batman character from DC Comics. Uslan and Melniker set up
a production company called BatFilm Productions, and they set about pitching
their film to major Hollywood studios.

Due to a number of corporate buyouts over the years, the interests of both DC
Comics and Warner Bros. Pictures were controlled by a large parent company
known as Warner Communications—so Warner was the studio that had the right
of first negotiation for Uslan and Melniker’s project. Warner was not interested,
so the men went about contacting other studios. They were disappointed to find
that no studio would even come close to accepting their proposal—it seemed that
the entire film industry simply could not see the Batman character in any
incarnation other than the campy Adam West version. 2

Well, not quite the entire film industry. Uslan and Melniker finally found one
studio that was willing to take on their Batman project. They pitched their film
to producer Peter Guber at Casablanca Filmworks, and Guber immediately
grasped where they were going with the Batman character. Uslan and Melniker
entered into a joint venture with Casablanca to begin development on the film as
1979 came to an end, and it seemed that a new screen version of Batman was
well on its way to becoming a reality. Uslan and Casablanca even staged an
official announcement regarding the commencement of the film at the 1980 New
York ComiCon. 3
Uslan’s dream of producing a new Batman motion picture was wholeheartedly
supported by Bob Kane. Kane was thrilled that his creation was finally going to
be interpreted in a “mysterioso” manner on the big screen. (Kane almost always
used that word when explaining his vision of Batman.) He had certainly been
4

waiting for a long time to see his original incarnation of the Batman character
make it to the screen—obviously, the cheaply-made 1940s serials and the campy
1960s screen Batman had not come anywhere close to being “mysterioso.” (Of
course, it turned out that Kane’s wait was still about a decade from being over!)

Peter Guber’s career continued on an upward trajectory while he worked to bring

this new vision of Batman to the screen. He formed a partnership with Jon
Peters, and the two men became head of PolyGram Pictures, the corporation that
had purchased Casablanca Filmworks in full in 1980. Guber and Peters left
PolyGram in 1982 and moved to Warner Bros., where they set up their own
production company called Guber-Peters Entertainment. This move meant that
the Batman film project was now in the hands of Warner, the very first studio to
pass on the project several years earlier.

In the early 1980s, the Uslan-Melniker-Guber-Peters Batman team hired Tom

Mankiewicz, creative consultant for the films Superman (1978) and Superman II
(1980), to write a Batman screenplay. Titled The Batman, Mankiewicz’s script
was loosely based on the Batman comic stories by Steve Englehart, Marshall
Rogers and Terry Austin that were originally published in Detective Comics in
1977–78. (We discussed these stories in detail last chapter.) The script featured
the Englehart characters Silver St. Cloud and Rupert Thorne, as well as familiar
characters such as Robin, the Joker and the Penguin. The screenplay resembled
the 1978 Superman in that it was epic in tone, and chronologically followed
Bruce Wayne’s life from the time of his parents’ murder through his
metamorphosis into a master costumed crimefighter. 5

Even at this early stage of planning the film, Jack Nicholson’s name was
mentioned as the major candidate for the role of the Joker. Michael Uslan in
particular thought that Nicholson’s volatile style of acting made him perfect for
the part. But it would be a long time before this Batman movie project would be
6

developed to the point where it actually needed actors. Warner Bros. was not
impressed enough with Mankiewicz’s script to begin work on committing it to
film, so the project languished in pre-production limbo for several years.

Then in 1986, a new comic version of Batman completely changed not only the
course of the Batman movie project, but also the course of the character’s
history. Frank Miller’s groundbreaking four-part graphic novel series Batman:
The Dark Knight Returns was a tremendous critical and commercial success, and
this success was not confined to the relatively small population of comic book
fans. Warner Communications released the series as a one-volume paperback
through their publishing company Warner Books. This version of Batman: The
Dark Knight Returns sold very well throughout the country, paving the way for
the general public to start taking Batman more seriously than they did when he
was viewed as a campy TV show character. (We discussed Batman: The Dark
Knight Returns in detail last chapter as well.)

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns made Warner Bros. realize that a serious
screen Batman could be a highly marketable property, so they intensified their
efforts to get their Batman film made. Since Warner had never warmed up to
Mankiewicz’s script The Batman, the studio elected to have some different
writers try their hand at scripting the film. Because The Batman had been loosely
based on the Englehart-Rogers-Austin Batman stories, the studio elected to bring
in Steve Englehart as a script consultant in 1986; he even wrote several Batman
treatments of his own using his Silver St. Cloud and Rupert Thorne characters. 7

But the success of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns led Warner Bros. to move
away from the Englehart-Rogers-Austin interpretation of Batman, and more
toward Frank Miller’s vision of the character. This line of thinking led the studio
to consider hiring Tim Burton to direct their Batman film. Warner viewed
Burton as a very promising young talent—his first major directorial effort was
the offbeat comedy Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (1985), which turned out to be a
surprise hit for the studio. Burton began his film career as an animator, and his
work possessed a cartoonish yet dark sensibility that seemed well-suited for
bringing the kind of complex, tragic Batman found in Batman: The Dark Knight
Returns to the big screen. However, Burton did have one major weakness as a
prospective Batman director—he had no experience whatsoever in terms of
directing an action film. Still, Warner liked what they saw in Burton, so he
moved to the top of the studio’s list of Batman directorial candidates.
8

Warner Bros. hired writer Sam Hamm to fashion an all-new Batman screenplay,
one that would reflect the darkness and edginess of Batman: The Dark Knight
Returns. Hamm’s screenplay, simply titled Batman, took shape through a
number of drafts completed between late 1986 and early 1988. While Hamm
was writing, he and Burton regularly met to flesh out their shared interpretation
of Batman and his world. The two men shared a common disdain for the
fanciful, melodramatic nature of comic books in general, and they wanted to
steer their Batman away from being a one-dimensional “comic hero.”
Consequently, the early drafts of the screenplay featured far less of Batman in
costume performing his usual heroics than many Batman comic fans would have
liked. Each successive draft of the script moved closer toward a more traditional
comic-style version of Batman, but even Hamm’s final revision was darker and
less costume-oriented than one might have expected.

The only classic Batman villain featured in Batman was the Joker. Unlike the
Joker of the comics, the script’s Joker was given a very detailed origin story.
Before his transformation into the Clown Prince of Crime, he would be depicted
in the film as Gotham City mobster Jack Napier. The character of Robin/Dick
Grayson also was featured in the script.
9

Warner’s faith in Tim Burton grew even stronger with the success of his second
feature, the dark fantasy comedy Beetlejuice (1988). After the film enjoyed a
strong opening weekend, the studio officially hired Burton to direct Batman.
Beetlejuice starred Michael Keaton as the grotesque, obnoxious ghost
Betelgeuse, and the manic energy of his performance led Warner Bros. and
Burton to think that he might be able to bring the same kind of intensity to the
role of Batman. (Obviously, we’ll discuss that unusual casting idea in much
10

more detail in just a bit!)

So by mid–1988, plans for Batman were truly beginning to fall into place. It
would be a Warner Bros. film produced by Peter Guber and Jon Peters, directed
by Tim Burton, and written by Sam Hamm. Unfortunately for Michael Uslan
and Benjamin Melniker, the two men who originally initiated the creation of
Batman, they had been forced out of their role as the film’s producers. Guber
and Peters’s move to Warner in 1982 meant that Guber was no longer legally
bound to the original partnership he had forged with Uslan and Melniker at
Casablanca Filmworks back in 1979. Consequently, Guber, Peters and Warner
Bros. relegated Uslan and Melniker to the far less influential and profitable role
of executive producers.11

Uslan and Melniker vigorously protested this change, eventually filing lawsuits
against Guber, Peters and Warner Bros. Uslan and Melniker were unsuccessful
12

in their litigation, but their relationship with Warner would eventually be

smoothed over. In fact, they have been credited as executive producers of most
every Batman film and television work that Warner Bros. has ever produced.

Even though Hamm had already revised his Batman script a number of times,
Warner felt that the script needed still more work before the film went into
production. But Hamm would not be available to make any further changes to
Batman—the Writer’s Guild of America went on strike from March 1988 to
August 1988, and Hamm supported the strike by refusing to do any further work
on his screenplay. The studio turned to writer Warren Skaaren to revise
13

Batman. Skaaren was the perfect choice for this job—he had done the final
Beetlejuice script revisions for Burton the year before, so the two men were very
comfortable working together.

Skaaren ended up making substantial changes to Hamm’s Batman script. First

off, he completely removed the Robin/Dick Grayson character from the
screenplay. Robin had always seemed to be somewhat shoehorned into the script
since he did not appear until the very end of the story, so dropping the entire
Robin subplot in order to simplify the film and tighten its focus was a logical
move. It was also a move that Warner Bros. had been resisting ever since they
had begun to develop their Batman film. The studio had directed every Batman
screenwriter before Skaaren to include Robin, because they felt that the character
needed to be in the movie at least to some degree. But Warner finally began to
see that this new screen version of Batman would actually work better without
Robin, so the studio allowed Skaaren to cut him.

Another major change that Skaaren made to the script was that he reworked the
pre–Joker Jack Napier character—Skaaren made Napier the murderer of Bruce
Wayne’s parents. In the comics, the Joker character never had anything
whatsoever to do with the Wayne murders. By making the Joker responsible for
the crime that created Batman, Skaaren intertwined the origins and motivations
of these two adversaries, making their battle even more personal. This change
created a neat symmetry in Batman’s narrative, but it would not sit well with
many Batman comic fans when the film was released—since the late 1940s, the
comics had always depicted the Joe Chill character as the villain who was
responsible for the deaths of Thomas and Martha Wayne. (We discussed the
comic story that introduced Chill, “The Origin of Batman,” in detail in Chapter
3.)

Skaaren’s changes to Batman were broader than just the removal or reworking of
certain characters. He steered the screenplay as a whole away from Hamm’s
darker, “anti–comic book” vision of Batman. Skaaren toned down Hamm’s
interpretation of Bruce Wayne as a tortured soul, and played up the more
traditional concept of Batman as an action hero. This change in focus allowed
for more scenes of Batman in costume performing the kind of heroics that the
general public associated him with, and gave the script a somewhat lighter
overall tone.
14

Now that Batman had a near-finished script, the task of casting the film began in
earnest. After much negotiation, Guber and Peters were able to land Jack
Nicholson for the role of the Joker/Jack Napier. As previously mentioned, many
had considered the explosive Nicholson to be the perfect actor for the part when
plans were first being formulated for a new Batman film in the early 1980s. But
Nicholson’s importance to Batman went far beyond simply being the perfect
actor to play the Joker—just by agreeing to star in Batman, the legendary Oscar
winner legitimized the production in a way that no amount of Warner-generated
publicity ever could have. Jack Nicholson, one of the most respected film actors
of the late 20th century, the star of classic movies like Chinatown (1974), One
Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) and The Shining (1980), was going to star in
Batman. This sent a powerful message to the general public that Batman could
no longer be dismissed as just a silly character or washed-up camp craze—
Batman was now serious business.

But just who was going to play that serious Batman in Batman? The answer to
that question turned out to be quite a headache for Warner Bros. In July 1988,
the studio announced that Batman would star Nicholson as the Joker/Jack
Napier, and Michael Keaton as Batman/Bruce Wayne. Serious Batman fans were
generally very pleased with the prospect of Nicholson playing the Joker, but they
were mortified when they found out that Keaton had been cast as Batman. How
could Warner cast a short, weak-chinned actor with a receding hairline, an actor
best known for starring in light comedies like Mr. Mom (1983), as Batman? At
5'10" and of medium to slight build, Keaton was simply not physically right for
the role—over the years, the Batman of the comics had always been portrayed as
6'2" and athletically built. This was supposed to be the serious Batman film that
fans had long been waiting for, nothing at all like the 1960s TV show and movie
—how could such a film feature “Mr. Mom” as Batman?

Burton responded to these criticisms by stating that Keaton would have the
psychological complexity to capture the character’s personality that was so
dramatically split between Batman and Bruce Wayne. Having worked closely
with Keaton on Beetlejuice, Burton felt that the actor had the kind of intensity
and drive that his interpretation of Batman was going to require.15

This argument did not calm the fears of serious Batman fans in the least. They
were convinced that Keaton would ruin Batman, and they worked very hard to
communicate their dismay to Warner Bros. The studio was inundated with fifty
thousand letters, most of them written by Batman fans, which protested Keaton’s
casting. Warner was definitely unnerved by the backlash they faced over
16

Keaton playing Batman, but that did not stop them from publicly and forcefully
defending their decision to hire the actor for the part. The studio held firm in
their belief that Keaton was indeed the right choice to play the serious Batman
that fans had long been clamoring for.

Amusingly, the hiring of Keaton was not the only Batman casting controversy
that Warner faced at this time. As mentioned in Chapter 6, Adam West publicly
complained that he was not considered for the role of Batman in the new film—
consequently, some fans of the 1960s Batman communicated their dismay to the
studio because they felt West was being slighted. Of course, West was
completely wrong for the kind of Batman that this new film was hoping to
depict, so Warner dismissed the complaints of both the actor and his supporters
with barely a second thought. 17

The casting of Vicki Vale also proved problematic. Sean Young, hired to play
Vicki Vale, broke her arm while horseback riding right before the film was due
to start shooting, so she was replaced by Kim Basinger. (To add insult to injury,
the only reason Young was riding a horse in the first place was to rehearse for a
Batman scene that required her to be on horseback—and the scene was
eventually cut from the script. She broke her arm and lost her part in the film all
for nothing!) Luckily, the other major parts in Batman were filled without
incident—they included Robert Wuhl as reporter Alexander Knox, Pat Hingle as
Commissioner Gordon, Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent, Michael Gough as
Alfred Pennyworth and Jack Palance as Carl Grissom.

Another name was officially connected to the movie, one very familiar to
Batman fans: Bob Kane was hired as a “consultant” for Batman. His title was
basically a ceremonial one, and he would have little to do with the actual making
of the film—but Warner Bros. guaranteed some good publicity for themselves
by including Kane in the project. (And after the Michael Keaton uproar, Warner
needed all of the good publicity they could get!)
Batman was primarily filmed at Pinewood Studios near London, England. Huge
outdoor sets depicting parts of Gotham City were constructed based on the
designs of the movie’s production designer, Anton Furst. To create Gotham’s
bleak, foreboding environment, Furst fused a number of different architectural
styles together, some of which openly clashed with one another. The result was a
city made up of a patchwork nightmare of dirty steel, brick and cement. Batman
did rely on a considerable amount of location shooting in and around London to
capture its vision of Batman’s world as well. For example, the film’s Wayne
Manor scenes were filmed at Knebworth House outside of London, and its
scenes at a Gotham company called Axis Chemicals were filmed at Acton Lane
Power Station in West London and Little Barford Power Station in
Bedfordshire. 18

Furst also designed another memorable element of the Batman mythos for
Batman—the Batmobile. Furst’s Batmobile was a flat black, jet engine–powered
behemoth with scalloped batwing-like tailfins. Its body had the streamlined look
of a Chevrolet Corvette, but it was much larger and more imposing than any
kind of real-life commercial sports car. Interestingly, it sported the same style of
afterburner that shot flames from the rear of the car as the 1960s Batmobile. The
bold simplicity of Furst’s Batmobile design was a perfect counterpoint to the
chaos and squalor of the Gotham City streets.

At long last, the filming of Batman began in earnest in October 1988. Warner
Bros., still concerned over the Keaton casting controversy, kept a very close
watch over the production via producer Jon Peters. Another element that added
to Warner’s nervousness was the fact that Jack Nicholson’s involvement led to
the production having a far bigger budget than was originally projected—the
final price tag for the film ended up being around $35 million. In the studio’s
19

eyes, Tim Burton simply did not have all that long of a track record to be
handling such a tricky and expensive project. As a result, Peters attempted to do
no small amount of “hand holding” of Burton while he was making Batman. 20

Peters’ main concern was the script, particularly its climactic scenes. While
Warren Skaaren’s rewrites had strengthened the production as a whole and made
Batman decidedly more heroic, Peters felt that Skaaren’s revision of the final
battle between Batman and the Joker in the Gotham Cathedral bell tower still
was not a strong enough climax. Sam Hamm’s original version called for
Batman to be so injured that he was not even able to stand and fight the Joker. In
Skaaren’s rewrite, Batman’s injuries were lessened so that he was given
somewhat more mobility, but he still could not decisively beat the Joker in hand-
to-hand combat.

This was still not the climax that Peters was looking for, so he forced Burton to
completely rework Batman’s final act. Peters devised the scenario of a slightly
injured but still very mobile Batman fighting and defeating the Joker and his
henchmen in the Gotham Cathedral bell tower. And the bell tower would not just
be several stories off of the ground—it would be a massively tall bell tower, like
a skyscraper. Peters then left Burton with the task of committing this new ending
to film.

Not surprisingly, Burton was unhappy about having to make such major last-
minute changes. In fact, the ending of the film had become such a patchwork
affair that no one seemed to have a clear idea of just how it was supposed to play
out. As Nicholson was filming the scenes showing the Joker heading up the bell
tower stairs with his captive Vicki Vale, he was trying to find out from Burton
just where it was that his character was going—and at that moment poor Burton
really had no idea how to answer these questions! But all of this confusion
21

aside, the fact remains that Peters’s instincts were right on target. The script
changes he called for questionably shaped Batman into more of an action-
oriented, “summer blockbuster” type of film.

Warner Bros. had every right to be concerned about making Batman as strong a
motion picture as possible. As Batman was being committed to celluloid, it was
becoming increasingly obvious that it was going to be more than just a film, it
was truly going to be an “event.” Of course, major movie studios have a
tendency to try very hard to bill all of their high-profile releases as “events,” but
Batman was shaping up to be the real thing. Much of this was due to a simple
fact of timing—1989 marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Batman character’s
debut in Detective Comics #27, and DC Comics was prepared to commemorate
the occasion very proudly and publicly just as they had when Superman turned
50 the year before. So the Batman character would have likely received a good
deal of mass media coverage even without the release of a new motion picture.
But the twin events of Batman’s fiftieth anniversary and the production of a
major Batman motion picture featuring the likes of Jack Nicholson led to
skyrocketing public interest. Batman was poised to ride a wave of popularity that
might well surpass the Batman craze surrounding the 1960s TV show—that is, if
the film itself turned out to be any good.
The first indication that Batman might well live up to all the buzz surrounding it
was the film’s first preview clip that was released to theaters in January 1989.
Warner’s nervousness over the Keaton casting controversy led them to release a
rough trailer of the film six months before its premiere so that the public could
see that this was indeed finally going to be a serious Batman film. Moviegoers
got their first view of this new Batman, and he was a Batman totally unlike
anything from the 1960s TV show and film.

In fact, he was even fairly far removed from the Batman of recent comics, thanks
to the work of Batman costume designer Bob Ringwood. First off, Batman was
outfitted in black from his cowl to his boots—the only color on his costume was
his yellow utility belt and the yellow oval around the bat emblem on his chest.
And the costume’s bat emblem was markedly different from any previous bat
emblems that had appeared either in the comics or on the screen—it could
almost be considered a low relief sculpture, because it was slightly raised over
the yellow oval, giving it a three-dimensional appearance. The bat emblem was
further defined by its very sharply pointed scallops, giving it an overall look that
recalled the style of Victorian architecture.

The costume itself was fitted with pieces of latex and plastic that were sculpted
to look like futuristic body armor. The armor on its chest area was especially
conspicuous, because it was sculpted to look like well-defined muscles. The
costume’s scalloped cape was huge and billowing, and was made of material that
gave it the appearance of leathery bat wings. The costume’s latex cowl was
molded into an expression of a menacing scowl, and its bat ears were long and
sharply pointed. Keaton wore black makeup around his eyes when he was
wearing the costume, making it appear as if there was no separation at all
between the cowl and his real face. (This eye makeup technique would end up
being used by all of the actors who played Batman in Warner’s live-action
films.)

All in all, Batman’s Batman looked far more imposing and grim than any
previous screen version of the character—he truly captured the spirit of the
character’s longtime nickname “The Dark Knight.” It seemed that Warner Bros.
was right all along—Keaton was going to play the part of a serious Batman very
well, and serious Batman fans would finally get the film they had been waiting
for.

The preview’s scenes showing Jack Nicholson as the Joker were every bit as
compelling as its scenes showing Michael Keaton as Batman. As the Joker,
Nicholson’s face was fitted with prosthetics to elongate his chin and force his
face into a grotesque smile, and he was made up with bright green hair, chalk
white skin and blood red lips. Nicholson’s acting infused the character with a
boundless amount of menacing energy—his Joker was surreal, funny and scary
all at the same time. The general public was immediately intrigued by this new
cinematic vision of these familiar characters; after the preview was released,
Batman was being talked about across the country as a “must see” film. The fan
complaints about Michael Keaton playing Batman dramatically subsided,
Warner Bros. drew a sigh of relief, and a new round of Batmania really began to
heat up.

There were further signs that this Batmania was beginning to take hold—in the
months leading up to the premiere, retail stores all over the country were having
a very difficult time keeping Batman-related merchandise in stock. There were
literally hundreds of Batman items to choose from—even the most rabid Batman
collectors had a hard time keeping up with all of the action figures, toys, dolls,
books, comics, trading cards, mugs, T-shirts, hats, etc., being released. Some
complained that this flood of Batman merchandise was nothing more than a
cynical ploy on the part of Warner Bros. to promote their upcoming film, and
make as much money off of it in any way they possibly could. While there is no
doubt that Warner seized on the opportunity to reap the benefits of a Batman
licensing bonanza, in fairness it must be pointed out that Batman’s fiftieth
anniversary was also instrumental in spawning the Batman merchandising frenzy
of 1989.

By the late spring–early summer of 1989, Batman seemed to be everywhere. The

movie was advertised with a simple but very striking poster that featured
Batman’s bat symbol against a black background, so thousands upon thousands
of bat symbols dotted the urban landscape. Reports about the film’s upcoming
release dominated entertainment news TV shows, and countless people across
the country were sporting new Batman T-shirts.

Several new Batman previews were released to theatres and to the media during
this time, and they featured an element of the film that had not been featured in
the first preview—that element was the film’s dramatic musical soundtrack.
Danny Elfman, composer of the musical score for Burton’s film Pee Wee’s Big
Adventure, composed the orchestral music that comprised the majority of
Batman’s score. Elfman’s Batman music was dark and powerful, and
wonderfully heightened the film’s sense of mystery and adventure. (Incidentally,
Batman would also end up featuring several minutes of music written by Prince.
We’ll discuss both Elfman’s and Prince’s music for the film in more detail later
in the chapter.)

Amidst all of this new Batmania, Batman’s world premiere was held in
Westwood, near Los Angeles, on June 19. Most of the film’s principal onscreen
and offscreen talent attended the event, including Keaton, Nicholson, Basinger
and Burton. Many celebrities not connected to the film but every bit as anxious
as the general public to finally see it also attended. Fittingly, the two men most
responsible for Batman’s existence were at the premiere as well—Bob Kane was
there to see his creation reach unparalleled new heights, and Michael Uslan was
there to see his dream of creating a serious Batman film come true in spectacular
fashion.22

As Batman’s United States premiere date of June 23, 1989, finally arrived,
serious Batman fans all over the country held their breath. Would the film live
up to all the hype? Would it truly depict the character in a serious, substantive
manner? How would it fare with the critics? How would it fare at the box office?

Batman opens with the familiar Warner Bros. “WB shield” logo against its usual
background of a bright blue sky. The sky turns a menacing dark blue against the
ominous first orchestral notes of Elfman’s “Batman Theme.” The film’s first
scene takes us right into Gotham City, where a tourist couple with their young
son mistakenly wander down a seedy alley. Two street punks attack and rob
them, knocking the father out with the butt of a gun. The attack attracts the
attention of a shadowed figure high atop Gotham Cathedral: Batman.

The punks retreat to a rooftop to divide up their loot. One of them is nervous,
because he has heard rumors of a giant bat attacking criminals on Gotham
rooftops. The other punk scoffs at these rumors, as a huge bat silhouette
descends onto the roof some yards behind him. They jump up in terror, and fire a
gun at Batman’s chest. The bullet hits him, but he is unhurt because he is
protected by body armor. Batman beats the punks up, leaps off the edge of the
roof and disappears from sight.

The next day, Gotham Mayor Borg, Commissioner Gordon and District Attorney
Harvey Dent are discussing the city’s upcoming 200th anniversary festival. They
fear it may have to be cancelled because Gotham is so riddled with crime.
Meanwhile, Gotham Globe newspaper reporter Alexander Knox meets with
photojournalist Vicki Vale. They want to find out the truth about the Batman
rumors and be the first to report this sensational story.

Later that day, Grissom is holding a meeting with his advisors. Harvey Dent has
become suspicious of one of Grissom’s front companies in Gotham, Axis
Chemicals, so Grissom sends his right-hand man Jack Napier to trash Axis’
office and make off with the records connecting Axis to Grissom. Napier doesn’t
know that he is actually being set up: Through a crooked Gotham police
lieutenant named Eckhardt, Grissom has learned that Napier is having an affair
with Grissom’s mistress. Axis’ records have already been removed, and Grissom
is only sending Napier to Axis so that Eckhardt can meet him there and kill him.

That night, Bruce Wayne is holding a “save the festival” benefit at his manor,
with Vicki and Knox in attendance. Bruce and Vicki meet and are obviously
interested in one another, but Wayne’s butler Alfred interrupts to tell Bruce that
Gordon just left the party because of what appeared to be very pressing police
business. Bruce abruptly excuses himself from talking to Vicki and hastens to
the Batcave, where he examines a surveillance tape from one of Wayne Manor’s
many hidden cameras. He plays back some conversation between Gordon and a
police officer that took place right before Gordon left. In it, Gordon is told that
Napier is robbing Axis Chemicals.

At Axis, a group of police led by Eckhardt burst in and start firing on Napier and
his goons. Gordon arrives on the scene and tells the police that he wants Napier
taken alive, contrary to Eckhardt’s orders. As Napier tries to flee, Batman
appears and begins putting all of the criminals out of action. When Batman
comes face to face with Napier on a high catwalk, Napier tries to shoot Batman,
but the bullet ricochets off Batman’s costume and hits the mobster in the face.
Napier flips off the catwalk, but his hand catches a railing. He dangles above a
large vat of acid. Batman tries to help him up, but he loses his grip and falls into
the acid. In the sewage pipes outside of Axis, a white hand emerges out of the
water—Napier has survived his fall.

The next day, Bruce and Vicki have a quiet dinner at Wayne Manor. They are so
taken with each other that they end up sleeping together. At the same time, Jack
Napier makes his way to a seedy surgeon to repair his injured face. The surgeon
can only do so much—when Napier sees his disfigurement, his mind becomes
completely unhinged. He goes to Grissom’s penthouse to settle the score with
his double-crossing boss. The acid has turned his skin white and hair green, and
the bullet wound has turned his mouth up in a ghastly grin—he looks like an evil
clown. Before he kills Grissom, he says, “You can call me Joker.”

The Joker holds a meeting with Gotham’s major crime bosses. He tells them that
he wants to unleash a crime wave on the city. One of the bosses does not agree,
so the Joker electrocutes him with a lethal joy buzzer. Joker then sends one of
his goons out to follow Knox and find out what he knows about Batman.

Vicki decides to find out more about Bruce. He leaves the Manor and visits a
rundown alley in Gotham. As she trails him, she sees him put two roses on the
dirty pavement.

The Joker sets up shop inside of Axis Chemicals and begins shipping out
canisters filled with a chemical agent—a deadly form of nerve gas that causes its
victims’ facial muscles to lock into a hideous grin, one not unlike the Joker’s
own. Joker learns that Vicki is working with Knox on the Batman story. Smitten,
the Joker forms a plan to meet her.

On a TV news set, two anchors are starting a broadcast. One of the anchors
begins to laugh and falls over dead—then the broadcast is interrupted by the
Joker, who tells viewers about his new product “Smylex”—the nerve gas with
which he has poisoned thousands of everyday cosmetics products throughout the
city. Bruce sees the broadcast, and immediately starts trying to figure out just
what products the Joker has poisoned.

Several days later, Bruce receives a call from Vicki saying she will be late
meeting Bruce at the art museum. Bruce is suspicious, because he had not made
plans to meet with her. It turns out that the Joker had called Vicki pretending to
be Bruce in order to lure her into meeting him. The Joker barges into the
museum, where Vicki is waiting for Bruce. In his own crazed way, he tries to
woo her, and when she resists his advances, he tries to spray her with acid.

Batman comes crashing through the museum skylight to save Vicki, whisking
her on a spear gun–fired zip line out of the building. Batman and Vicki speed off
in the Batmobile with the Joker’s goons at their heels. They come upon a closed
street, and Batman and Vicki are forced to leave the car. Batman tries to use his
grappling hook gun to escape. But their combined weight is too heavy for the
line, so Batman jumps back down where the Joker’s goons are waiting for him.
A fight ensues, and Batman is briefly knocked out. They try to shoot him, but the
bullet does not penetrate his body armor. Vicki distracts the criminals by taking
a flash picture. The distraction is all Batman needs to regain his senses and
pound the goons.

Batman races with Vicki to the Batcave. There he tells her he has figured out
which products the Joker has tainted, and that he wants her to take this
information to the press. He also retrieves the film she shot during his fight with
the Joker’s men, so she is denied her hope of getting the first picture of Batman.

Some days later, Bruce goes to see Vicki to tell her that he is really Batman.
Before he can do so, the Joker also calls on Vicki. Bruce tells the Joker that he
knows he is really Jack Napier. The Joker pulls out a gun and asks, “Have you
ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?” and shoots him in the chest.

The Joker leaves, and Vicki rushes over to tend to Bruce. But he is gone, and
only a tray with a bullet imprint in it is on the floor where he fell. She realizes
that he slipped the tray inside his shirt before the Joker shot him. Bruce has raced
back to the Batcave, because the words that the Joker said to him before pulling
the trigger made him realize something very important. Jack Napier is the
criminal who killed his parents many years ago.

Bruce reaches the Batcave just as the Joker makes another one of his pirate
broadcasts. Because of the terror the Joker has unleashed on Gotham, Mayor
Borg has decided to cancel the city’s anniversary festival. In his broadcast, the
Joker says he will hold the festival, and he will give away $20 million in cash.

Bruce stares at the Joker’s face on one of the Batcave’s television screens.
Through a flashback scene, we see young Bruce coming out of a theater with his
parents. They enter an alley where a young Napier and another hood confront
them—it is the same alley where Bruce had placed the two roses. The hood
grabs at Bruce’s mother’s pearl necklace and Bruce’s father tries to stop him.
Napier savagely guns down both of them. He then trains his gun on Bruce,
asking, “Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?” But
instead of shooting Bruce, he leaves him over his parents’ dead bodies.

Bruce’s memories are interrupted by Alfred. Alfred has told Bruce’s secret to
Vicki, and he has brought her down into the Batcave to talk with Bruce. Vicki
has put all of the pieces together, and knows that the murder of Bruce’s parents
led him to devote his life to fighting crime as Batman. Bruce and Vicki profess
their love for one another. Bruce says their romance will have to wait, because
the Joker is out there and he needs to stop him from hurting anyone else.

At Axis Chemicals, Batman pilots the Batmobile by remote control to lead an

assault on the Joker’s lair. Using explosives, Batman demolishes the entire
structure, but the Joker is unharmed. In his helicopter above the inferno, the
Joker tauntingly waves at Batman.

The scene shifts to the Joker’s perverse version of the city’s anniversary festival.
Huge balloons and floats make their way down a crowded Gotham street, with
the Joker riding on one of the floats and throwing money. Vicki and Knox,
covering the chaotic scene, realize the balloons are filled with Smylex gas—the
Joker is planning on killing everyone. Batman swoops down in a futuristic bat-
shaped aircraft and snares the balloons. He releases them in the sky where they
will not hurt anybody. He then turns his attention to the Joker, firing bullets and
small missiles at him. The Joker brings down Batman’s aircraft with a single
shot from a gun with an absurdly long barrel. The aircraft crashes in front of
Gotham Cathedral. Vicki runs up and searches the wreckage for Batman, but
does not find him. Instead, the Joker finds her, and leads her at gunpoint up the
stairs of the Cathedral.

Batman, bloodied and bruised, emerges from the wreckage of the Batwing and
follows the Joker and Vicki up the stairs. Batman reaches the belfry, but before
he can confront the Joker, several of the Joker’s goons attack him. Batman fights
off the goons as the Joker whirls Vicki around in a grotesque ballroom dance.

Batman defeats the goons and sneaks up on the Joker. He beats the Joker
savagely, telling him that he is going to kill him. Batman tells the Joker “you
killed my parents,” and then punches him so hard that he seemingly falls off the
Cathedral’s roof. The Joker lands on a lower level of the roof, and he pulls
Batman and Vicki off. Batman and Vicki are able to grab hold of the edge of the
roof, and the Joker laughs in triumph as he stands over them. He tries to knock
them off, but before he succeeds, a helicopter piloted by his goons arrives to pick
him up. The Joker grabs the helicopter’s ladder, but as he starts to rise, Batman
fires a bolo gun at him. The bolo wraps around both the Joker’s ankle and a large
stone gargoyle on the cathedral roof. The gargoyle breaks off of the roof, and its
weight causes the Joker to lose his grip on the ladder. He plummets to his death.
Batman and Vicki almost fall to their death as well when the edge of the roof
they are hanging onto collapses, but Batman is able to save them by firing a line
from his grappling hook gun.

Several days later, Gotham City officials hold a press conference to announce
that the Joker’s reign of terror is at an end. They also announce plans to contact
Batman if trouble arises in the future. Gordon then flashes the Batsignal into the
night sky for the first time. Batman closes with a shot of Batman atop a Gotham
building, looking up at the Batsignal.

Batman lived up to its promise of being far more adult and sophisticated than
any previous Batman screen work. And as a serious motion picture, it garnered
respectable reviews from a number of nationally known film critics. But
Batman’s real success was not measured by reviews, but by its incredible box
office numbers. The film was a true blockbuster in every sense of the word—it
earned over $40 million in its U.S. opening weekend alone, and ended up
grossing over $250 million during its U.S. theatrical run. With a worldwide total
gross of over $400 million, Batman was one of the most commercially
successful motion pictures of its time. In fact, the film turned out to be such a
23

monumental hit that the Batmania that took hold of the general public in 1989
turned out to be an even bigger phenomenon than the Batmania of 1966.

Looking back at Batman almost 25 years after its release, it is easier now to
separate the film from the Batmania surrounding it in order to accurately assess
its strengths and weaknesses. And it is a film with very potent strengths, but
equally potent weaknesses.

Chief among Batman’s strengths is Jack Nicholson as the Joker. The explosive,
Oscar-winning actor turns in the over-the-top performance that most everyone
expected of him—his Joker is evil, grotesque, menacing and completely insane.
And he is funny, in a very black comedy kind of way. Nicholson’s performance
is greatly helped by the film’s characterization of the Joker. In some ways it is
not faithful to the Joker’s comic book origins (in the comics he has never been
given a definite backstory or pre–Joker name, and he has always been much
closer in age to Batman than the film depicts) but it does contain many elements
that are “classic Joker.”

For example, the fall into a vat of acid that turns his skin white and his hair green
are culled from the classic comic book story “The Man Behind the Red Hood!”
which was first published in Detective Comics #168, 1952. (We discussed that
story in detail in Chapter 5.) And the Joker’s use of deadly chemicals to cause
his victims’ faces to lock in a ghastly smile is drawn from the character’s first-
ever comic book story, “The Joker” (Batman #1, 1940). Another memorable
element of that particular story that was incorporated into Batman was the
Joker’s pirate use of the media to boast about his criminal plans. In the original
story, the Joker announces the names of the people he plans to murder by
interrupting legitimate radio broadcasts. (We discussed “The Joker” in detail in
Chapter 2.) Finally, Nicholson’s makeup and his wildly colorful Joker costumes
are in keeping with the look of all of the character’s comic book appearances,
from “The Joker” to the present.

But perhaps the best thing about Nicholson’s performance as the Joker in
Batman is simply that he is Jack Nicholson. As previously mentioned, the
involvement of such a revered Hollywood icon in the film was key to the
production being taken seriously by critics and the general public, and was
certainly one of the major reasons the film became such a spectacular success.

But many serious Batman fans found Nicholson’s aura to be a sword that cut
both ways—because in some respects, Nicholson turned out to be one of the
film’s main weaknesses. First and foremost, the actor simply could not really
transform himself into the appearance of the comic book Joker. Nicholson would
have been physically perfect for the part in the late 1970s–early 1980s when
plans for a new Batman movie were first getting underway, but by the time
production began, he was too old, doughy-faced and balding.

Batman screenwriter Warren Skaaren did find a way to incorporate the age
difference between Nicholson and Keaton into the film’s plot by making the
Joker the murderer of Batman’s parents. (As we discussed earlier in this chapter,
this change did not sit well with many Batman comic fans when the film was
released—since the late 1940s, the comics had always depicted the Joe Chill
character as the villain who was responsible for the Wayne murders.) Still, the
fact remains that the taut-skinned, long-faced Joker of the comics is a far more
visually arresting character than Nicholson’s pudgy, soft-edged Joker. In fact,
Hugo E. Blick, who played the young Jack Napier, would have made a much
better traditional Joker than Nicholson ever does in the movie.

The filmmakers worked very hard to overcome Nicholson’s physical

shortcomings. As previously mentioned, the actor was fitted with facial
prosthetics for the role in order to elongate his chin and force his face into a
grotesque smile. While these efforts worked to some degree, they never
completely erased Nicholson’s real-life appearance as a stocky, fleshy, middle-
aged man. But even though Nicholson might not be a physically perfect Joker in
Batman, his performance has enough truly inspired moments to make his
presence in Batman far more of a benefit than a deficit.

Unfortunately, the balance sheet runs quite a bit closer in terms of Michael
Keaton’s Bruce Wayne/Batman performance. To put it bluntly, many of the
criticisms that Batman fans leveled at Keaton when he was first given the part
were right on target. At 5'10" and of medium to slight build, he is simply too
short and scrawny to be completely convincing in the role. Because of Keaton’s
limited physical stature, many of his scenes are underwhelming.

In fact, Kim Basinger (5'7") has to take off her shoes in the film no less than
three times so that she does not appear taller than him! Since it would have
looked ridiculous to have Vicki, the damsel in distress, towering over the mighty
Batman, she simply throws off her footwear. The first time the shoes go are
when Bruce is going to kiss her during their date at Wayne Manor. Next, she
throws them out of the Batmobile when she and Batman are preparing to run
through the streets of Gotham to avoid the Joker’s goons. Finally, they fall off
her feet when she is ascending the Gotham Cathedral staircase with the Joker.
These “Vicki loses her shoes” scenes in Batman add nothing in terms of plot,
character development, etc.—they are there simply because Keaton is too short
for his role.

Keaton’s Batman costume was designed to make him look more physically
imposing than he is in real life—but this attempt at visual trickery backfires in
several scenes, and actually ends up making him look even less physically
imposing! For example, he wears a number of different cowls in Batman, one of
which is constructed of extra-thick latex in order to make his head and shoulders
appear larger. This particular cowl is used in several shots during the sequence
when Batman takes Vicki to the Batcave. Keaton’s headgear in these shots is so
large and unwieldy that it looks like his head is shrinking inside of it!

Keaton’s performance in the film does have some real strengths. He approaches
the role with a combination of brooding intensity and nervous energy that makes
both Bruce Wayne and Batman seem very believable, and not all that far
removed from our own world. Keaton’s understated acting as Bruce Wayne is
often very effective in communicating Bruce’s resolve to save others from going
through the kind of torment he endured as a child, even if it means becoming a
different person altogether. Many of his Batman scenes work equally well
because he is able to do what Batman would likely do if he was a real person—
Keaton takes an emotional step back when he is in costume, keeps quiet, and lets
the cape and cowl do the acting for him.

That cowl had one particularly large effect on Keaton’s performance that
Batman fans still talk about. The manner in which the cowl was attached to the
costume did not allow Keaton to turn his head while was wearing it.
Consequently, whenever he had to turn his head to look and someone or
something, he swung his whole body around to get his head where it needed to
be! This maneuver became affectionately known as the “Bat-turn” among
Batman fans—the cowl might have been very unwieldy, but it did give Keaton a
memorable move for his character to perform in the film. (Incidentally, the
phrase “Bat-turn” originated from the 1966 Batman TV show and movie—
whenever Batman needed to perform a particularly tight turn in the Batmobile,
he used the car’s emergency bat turn lever!)

As Nicholson’s performance is greatly helped by the film’s characterization of

the Joker, so is Keaton’s performance helped by the film’s characterization of
Batman. For the first time on screen, Batman is presented as a complex,
believable masked man, not just as a one-dimensional kiddie hero. He is tragic,
dark, tough and determined, and he inhabits a Gotham City teeming with film
noir–style gangsters.

He does use lethal force on these criminals, such as in the scenes where he
destroys Axis Chemicals and he fires at the Joker from the Batwing, and this is a
departure from the traditional comic book Batman who is completely opposed to
killing. But even this is in keeping with Kane and Finger’s first Batman stories
of the late 1930s, when the character carried a gun and wasn’t above using it
from time to time. In fact, since Batman takes place at the very beginning of the
character’s career, it could be argued that Batman’s use of lethal force in the film
is actually very true to Kane and Finger’s original vision. At any rate, Batman
certainly depicts Batman in a manner that is very much in the spirit of Kane and
Finger, O’Neil and Adams, Englehart and Rogers, and Miller—and Keaton
works hard to live up to this spirit.

So is Michael Keaton good or bad in Batman? That is a very difficult question to

answer. On the one hand, his acting is strong, his costume is for the most part
impressive, and he is helped along by the film’s intelligent, adult-oriented
characterization of Batman. On the other hand, he is so physically wrong for the
role that his undersized screen presence is a continual distraction.

But the biggest problem with Keaton’s performance, at least from a serious
Batman fan’s perspective, was one that was not the actor’s fault at all—namely,
there is simply not enough of it. Batman focused more on the Joker than it did
Batman in terms of character development and actual screen time. Obviously,
the primary reason that the Jack Napier/Joker scenes were given more weight
than the Bruce Wayne/Batman scenes was because Jack Nicholson was the top-
billed star of the film. Since Nicholson represented the film’s major draw for the
general public, Batman fans had to live with the fact that Keaton would play
second fiddle to his characterization of the Joker, at least to some degree.

And play second fiddle he does—there are only four sections of the film that
actually show Keaton in his Batman costume. The first is the scene where he
collars the two street punks, the second is the fight sequence at Axis Chemicals,
the third is the Vicki museum rescue/trip to the Batcave sequence, and the fourth
is the climactic Batwing/Gotham Cathedral battle with the Joker. Between the
film’s second and third “Batman” sections, the Batman costume does not appear
on screen for about 45 minutes!

To make matters worse, even the scenes that actually show Keaton as Batman
are often presented in such quick cuts that the viewer does not get a chance to
study his costume, his actions or his expressions. Batman does not give the
viewer, for lack of a better term, enough “postcard views” of its main character
—in other words, medium shots of Batman lasting for more than a couple of
seconds, designed to let the viewer to visually take him in and appreciate him.

Let’s examine the 1978 Superman for a moment. The film features dozens of
shots that show Superman in all his glory. After all of the creativity, time and
money that went into designing his costume, it only made sense that the makers
of Superman would want to let their title character linger on the screen a bit so
that audiences could really enjoy him. Even with the increasingly hyperactive
editing found in so much of modern filmmaking, this “postcard view” concept
still has a place in more recent comic book films—for example, Spider-Man
(2002) featured plenty of generous medium shots that allowed its title character
to make maximum visual impact. Batman would have been a stronger, more
memorable film if it had included more “postcard view” shots like the ones
found in Superman and Spider-Man.

Batman’s major supporting actors are generally strong. Though Michael

Gough’s Alfred does not physically resemble the Alfred of the comics, he is
perhaps the best of the bunch—he brings a warmth and sympathy to the role that
is a welcome counterpoint to the overall darkness of the film. Pat Hingle as
Commissioner Gordon is not quite as strong as Gough—like Gough, Hingle does
not physically resemble his comic book counterpart, and he does not appear in
enough scenes to make much of an impression.

The film’s unluckiest actor has to be Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent. He is
given even fewer scenes than Hingle, so he makes almost no impression at all.
Of course, in the Batman comics Harvey Dent is eventually scarred by acid and
becomes the villain Two-Face, so Williams probably took the part in Batman in
the hopes that there would be a meatier part for him if a Batman sequel was ever
produced. As we’ll discuss later in the book, things wouldn’t quite work out that
way for him.

Kim Basinger as Vicki Vale is passable, though her performance never really
rises above the cinematic cliché of a “damsel in distress.” This is not really her
fault—so many scenes in Batman call for her to scream, run away or faint that it
would have been hard for her to bring much else to the role. That said, however,
there is a general remoteness to her acting that keeps her from being very
convincing in the film.

Some of Batman’s best supporting characters are ones that were created
specifically for the film. Jack Palance only appears in several scenes as the
powerful and menacing Gotham crime boss Carl Grissom, but his memorable
performance is still one of the movie’s high points. And Robert Wuhl is equally
good as reporter Alexander Knox—Wuhl’s acting nicely captures Knox’s
ambition to bring Batman’s story to the world.

One of Batman’s major strengths is the film’s production design. Anton Furst’s
Gotham City sets provide a wonderful sense of atmosphere that is realistic while
at the same time fantastic. His Batcave set is also wonderfully moody, filled with
just the right balance of jagged rock and high tech gadgetry. Furst’s sets draw
the viewer into a world only slightly, if nightmarishly, removed from our own.
And the dark sets are often bathed in wonderful deep blue light, giving Batman’s
costume those bluish-black tones that comic book colorists have labored to put
on paper for decades. Also, Furst’s designs for the Batmobile resulted in a car
that was as stylized and as immediately recognizable as the 1960s Batmobile.
Furst’s accomplishments on Batman were rewarded with a 1990 Academy
Award for Best Art Direction, which he shared with the film’s set decorator
Peter Young.

Furst’s efforts to design an aircraft for Batman to use in Batman were perhaps
not quite as successful as his Batmobile design. Furst came up with the idea for a
bat-shaped plane which was dubbed “the Batwing.” The Batwing’s design was
very sci-fi in nature, resembling an X-wing starfighter from the Star Wars films
—consequently, it could not be realized as a real-life, functioning mode of
transport. This meant that all of Batman’s Batwing scenes had to be filmed using
either miniature or partially constructed Batwings. Batman’s Batwing scenes are
by no means completely awful, but the aircraft’s sci-fi feel certainly detracts
from the film’s overall real world sensibility. In fact, the Batwing is at the center
of one of the movie’s silliest, most “comic booky” moments—the seemingly
heavily-armed aircraft is somehow shot down with a single bullet from the
Joker’s impossibly long-barreled gun!

Batman’s wonderful prop gadgetry is a perfect complement to Furst’s production

design. John Evans designed the weaponry and utility equipment that Batman
used in the film, such as the grappling hook gun and the spear gun. These
devices made Batman seem like a more plausible character than he had ever
been in most of his comic adventures. In the comics, Batman was always shown
throwing a rope attached to his Batarang into the air, and the rope would
impossibly attach to some building or flagpole—then Batman would somehow
pull himself up several stories high on the rope! Obviously, this cannot be done
in real life, so Batman’s motor-fired grappling hook gun allowed Batman to
ascend into the air in a much more believable manner. Incidentally, Evans also
led the team of technicians who developed Furst’s Batmobile designs into a real
automobile. Amazingly, that formidable job took them only about three months
to complete! 24

Another of Batman’s strengths is the film’s “non-comic book” wardrobe. The

actors’ 1940s-style street clothes, especially those of the gangsters, give the
movie a film noir feel. Batman’s combination of futuristic comic book costumes
and antique clothing styles creates a visually arresting style of new and old. This
keeps Batman from being tied to any specific time period, and as a result the
film does not seem all that dated almost 25 years after its release.
Danny Elfman’s marvelous musical score was also essential in establishing
Batman’s overall atmosphere. His dark, sweeping orchestral compositions are a
perfect complement to the film’s images of Batman’s mysterious figure and
Gotham City’s foreboding architecture. One only needs to hear the distinctive
first few notes of Elfman’s “Batman Theme” at the opening of the film to know
how far removed this film is from the lighthearted world of the 1960s Batman.

As a musician I can’t resist pointing out that those first notes that make up the
main motif of the “Batman Theme” are suspiciously similar to Lee Zahler’s
opening orchestral music of the 1943 serial Batman. The music at the opening
titles of the 1943 Batman starts with the notes “D-E-F-B.” Elfman’s “Batman
Theme” is in a different key than is the 1943 music, but it opens with notes that
are almost the exact same intervals—the notes are “C-D-D#-G#.” In fact, if you
moved the G# note in Elfman’s piece up a half step to an A, they would be
exactly the same! This is either a remarkable coincidence, or Mr. Elfman is
guilty of a tiny bit of very clever musical thievery. Incidentally, Elfman’s
Batman compositions were conducted by Shirley Walker, who would go on to
compose memorable Batman screen music of her own for works such as
Batman: The Animated Series and Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. (We’ll
discuss those works later in the book.)

Surprisingly, Batman’s “official” musical soundtrack was not Elfman’s score,

but the pop album Batman by Prince. Prince’s album, released to coincide with
the premiere of the film, was met with widespread radio airplay and strong sales.
However, Batman the film featured only several minutes of Batman the album!
The movie’s true musical soundtrack was Elfman’s score, which was released as
an album under the title Batman: Original Motion Picture Score some months
after the movie bowed. Prince’s songs fit nicely with the scenes in which they
were featured, but they certainly were not important enough to the film as a
whole to warrant Prince’s album being called Batman’s “official” soundtrack.
Still, Prince’s Batman ended up being a wonderful promotional tool for the film
—the album’s first single, “Batdance,” was a #1 hit in the United States during
the film’s theatrical run. “Batdance” was not featured in the film in any way, but
the song contained snippets of the film’s dialogue, and the song’s music video
prominently featured dancers in Batman and Joker costumes.

When Batman was released, many critics were quick to credit director Tim
Burton for the artistry they perceived in the film. This assumption that Batman’s
artistic virtues all stemmed from Burton is a problematic one, because some of
the film’s worst flaws come from glaring directorial lapses. For example,
Burton’s narrative skills seriously break down at the end of the film when
Batman confronts the Joker atop Gotham Cathedral. In the scene, Batman says to
the Joker “you killed my parents,” and the Joker responds by saying “I was a kid
when I killed your parents.” But in the film, Batman has never revealed he is
actually Bruce Wayne to the Joker—so the Joker has no way of knowing who
Batman’s parents were, or when he would have killed them. (After all, the film
has led us to believe that Jack/Joker has killed scores of people over the years.)
Consequently, this line at the climactic moment of the film literally makes no
sense whatsoever.

This narrative mistake happened because in the early versions of Batman’s

script, the Joker was supposed to discover that Batman was Bruce Wayne during
the final scenes of the film. However, this element of the story was dropped by
the time filming began. Somehow, the Joker’s line about being a kid when he
killed Batman’s parents made it all the way into the final cut of the film, even
when it no longer matched up with the film’s story. It is simply unacceptable for
any director to overlook a narrative error that sizable, and at that critical of a
moment in a film: Burton should have seen this mistake right away and
somehow corrected it.

Also, Burton allowed a number of ridiculously shoddy special effects to be

included in Batman. For example, the very first image of Batman featured in the
film is a laughably unrealistic computer graphic shadow that defies any lighting
or perspective found in the real world. And the scene where Batman and Vicki
ascend to the catwalk high above the street using Batman’s grappling hook gun
is filmed with two unconvincing dolls that look as if they have been stapled
together. And worst of all, Batman’s scenes showing the iconic Batsignal are
made up of unconvincing process shots that are laid into the film with an
awkward ripple effect.

In fact, Batman’s final scene of Batman looking up at the Batsignal is perhaps

one of the most unsatisfying moments in the film. Not only is the Batsignal a
poor image, but it is also obvious that it is not even Michael Keaton wearing the
actual Batman costume looking up at it! It looks like an extra in a plain black
bodysuit with a ski mask over his head, and a non-scalloped cape tied around his
neck! Were both Michael Keaton and the batsuit unavailable for the last shot of
the film? But seriously, it is puzzling that such a big budget, high profile film
would elect to end with such a substandard scene.
It should also be pointed out that some of the visually inspired moments in the
film that critics gave Burton credit for were not necessarily his to begin with. For
example, Batman’s nightmarish Wayne family murder scene was directly based
on panels from Frank Miller’s 1986 graphic novel Batman: The Dark Knight
Returns. The pearls that so chillingly fall from Martha Wayne’s neck in the
scene can be attributed to Miller’s artistic vision much more so than to Burton’s.

These criticisms of Tim Burton are not meant to imply that I feel Warner Bros.
made a poor choice when they picked him to direct Batman. On the contrary,
Burton’s dark, quirky sensibilities proved to be very well-suited to bringing a
serious Batman to the screen for the first time. And obviously, Burton has
directed many hit films in the years since Batman was released—his resume
speaks for itself, and I greatly respect his talent.

I simply want to make the point that I believe Batman’s incredible success was
less about Burton’s directorial skills than it was about the fact that the Batman
character’s moment of greatness truly had come. As we discussed earlier in this
chapter, the release of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and the
commemoration of Batman’s fiftieth anniversary paved the way for the general
public to start taking Batman more seriously than they did when he was viewed
as a campy TV show character. This huge shift in the way the general public
perceived Batman perfectly set Batman up to ride an unprecedented wave of
popularity. Burton’s direction of Batman was good enough to allow the film to
realize its enormous artistic and commercial potential, but not good enough to
keep the film from ending up with some major flaws.

Needless to say, Batman was such a huge box office hit that it was also
tremendously successful when it was first made available to the home video
market by Warner Home Video. The film was released on VHS tape, Beta tape
and laserdisc in November 1989, before it had even finished its theatrical run.
Millions of home video copies of Batman were sold, most of them VHS tapes,
before Warner first released the movie on DVD in 1997. This initial DVD
version of Batman offered the film in its original widescreen format as well as in
a format cropped to fit a standard television screen, but it offered no bonus
features or printed material dealing with the making of the film.

The success of Warner’s 2005 film Batman Begins led the studio to release their
four previous Batman live-action features on 2-disc DVD sets late that same
year. Each of these sets were loaded with special features that detailed their
particular film’s creation. Because Batman was the most groundbreaking and
commercially successful of all of Warner’s Batman movies, its set featured more
bonus material than most of the other sets.

The program Legends of the Dark Knight: The History of Batman recounted the
60 plus-year history of the Batman character, and featured commentary from
notable Batman creators such as Bob Kane, Denny O’Neil and Frank Miller.
Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight Parts 1–3
chronicled the making of Batman from Michael Uslan’s initial efforts to produce
a serious live-action Batman big screen work all the way up until the film’s
triumphant premiere. The program featured interesting insights from many of the
individuals who played a major role in Batman’s creation, including Tim Burton,
Peter Guber, Michael Uslan, Benjamin Melniker, Sam Hamm, Bob Kane,
Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, and Kim Basinger. These insights were
accompanied by a good deal of behind-the-scenes footage shot on the Batman
set showing the film’s cast and crew at work.

Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight Parts 1–3 even
featured one scene that was deleted from Batman. The very brief scene showed
Batman moving a little girl out of harm’s way while fighting the Joker’s goons,
and the little girl asking him, “Is it Halloween?” (Incidentally, this scene must
have been cut from the film at the last possible moment—photos of it were even
included in the first Batman trading card set that was released at the time of the
film’s premiere.)

Beyond Batman was a program that consisted of featurettes about some of the
specific elements that made Batman such a success. The titles of the featurettes
were “Visualizing Gotham: The Production Design of Batman,” “Building the
Batmobile,” “Those Wonderful Toys: The Props and Gadgets of Batman,”
“Designing the Batsuit, “From Jack to the Joker,” and “Nocturnal Overtures:
The Music of Batman.” The DVD set also included featurettes on the main
heroes and villains of the film, as well as footage showing Bob Kane visiting the
Batman set while the film was in production. (Incidentally, Kane did make it
into the actual Batman film in some form. Early in the film, a Gotham Globe
cartoonist mocks Alexander Knox’s interest in Batman by handing him a
drawing of a batlike man wearing a suit and tie. This drawing was actually done
by Kane—his distinctive signature is clearly visible on the page!)

As we discussed earlier, the Robin character was cut from Batman before
filming began—but Robin was able to make his way onto the Batman DVD set.
The set included a short program entitled Batman: The Complete Robin
Storyboard Sequence that used storyboard images to visualize Robin’s part in
one of Sam Hamm’s early versions of the Batman script. In addition to all of the
bonus material included in the set, the movie itself was enhanced with an audio
commentary track recorded by Tim Burton.

This 2005 DVD set remained the definitive home video version of Batman until
Warner released on the movie Blu-ray disc in early 2009. The Batman Blu-ray
included all of the special features found on the DVD set, but it did not contain
any new bonus material. Of course, the Blu-ray’s main selling point was not its
special features, but its presentation of the film itself. On Blu-ray, Batman
looked and sounded far better than it ever had on any other home video format—
in fact, it is really no exaggeration to say that the quality of the Batman Blu-ray
came very close to matching the quality of the most pristine Batman film prints
that first played in theatres during the summer of 1989.

I’ll close my discussion of Batman with these thoughts. The film is far from
perfect, but its flaws do not keep it from being one of the most stunning
achievements in the history of the Batman character. As I said at the beginning
of this chapter, Batman’s release will forever stand as the first time a worldwide
audience appreciated Batman in the way Bob Kane and Bill Finger had intended
him to be appreciated when they created the first Batman comic story back in
1939. For the first time, millions upon millions of people around the world saw
Batman as the dark hero we serious Batman fans loved—and speaking as a
serious Batman fan, let me just say wow, did that ever feel good! Now, Batman
Returns—well, I personally didn’t think that one felt anywhere near as good.
We’ll get to that story a bit later in the book.
 9
Between Burton’s Batman Films, 1989–1991

Before we move on to Tim Burton’s second Batman film Batman Returns

(1992), we have a bit of Batman comic history we need to attend to. Not
surprisingly, the phenomenal success of Burton’s Batman led DC Comics to
undertake a tremendous number of new Batman-related projects. A new comic
title devoted to Batman’s early, pre–Robin exploits entitled Batman: Legends of
the Dark Knight debuted in November 1989. The title was so well-received that
it ran for almost two decades before being discontinued in early 2007. Also,
more and more stand-alone Batman graphic novels were being released in the
wake of Batman.

A number of these graphic novels (known as Elseworlds titles) placed Batman in

times and places far removed from late twentieth century Gotham City. This
allowed artists and writers to imagine the character in contexts that were very
different from his usual self. Sometimes these contexts were rooted in reality—
for example, he hunted down Jack the Ripper in the nineteenth century in
Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (1989) and worked as an agent of the U.S.
government during the Civil War years in Batman: The Blue, the Grey and the
Bat (1992). However, these contexts might also be completely rooted in fantasy,
such as his battle with Dracula in the 1991 Elseworlds tale Batman: Red Rain.

However, the most successful and influential Batman graphic novel that was
published during this time was not an Elseworlds title. Arkham Asylum: A
Serious House on Serious Earth made its debut in October 1989, and was written
by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Dave McKean. The graphic novel explored
the origin of Arkham Asylum, the Gotham City psychiatric hospital where many
of Batman’s deadliest and most insane adversaries had been held over the years.
Arkham had first appeared in Batman comics back in the mid–1970s, but the
graphic novel brought the hospital to a prominence in Batman mythos that it had
never held before.

In Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, Arkham’s inmates have

taken over the hospital, and Batman comes to the hospital to bring it under
control and restore order. As he makes his way through the asylum, he battles
many of his foes who have been incarcerated there. The most prominent of these
foes is the Joker, who has been leading the inmates’ revolt.

Batman eventually discovers that it is actually Arkham’s administrator, Dr.

Charles Cavendish, who has orchestrated the inmate uprising. Cavendish has
gone insane himself, having become obsessed with the actions of Arkham’s
long-dead founder, Amadeus Arkham. Cavendish reveals to Batman that
Arkham had descended into madness, believing that a batlike evil spirit was
haunting his family. Cavendish believes that Batman is the evil spirit that
Arkham encountered, so Cavendish has set all of Arkham’s inmates free to kill
the crimefighter. Cavendish’s insane plan fails—he is killed by one of the
asylum’s doctors, and Batman quells the inmate uprising. But Batman’s victory
comes at an enormous cost—his journey through the madness of the asylum and
its inhabitants exacts an almost unbearable physical and mental toll on him.

Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth remains one of the most
complex and challenging Batman works ever created. In the graphic novel,
Morrison presented Batman and his world through a prism of deep psychological
themes and shocking violence that was hard to comprehend and even harder to
forget. And McKean’s artwork was every bit and revolutionary as Morrison’s
writing—it was created with a wild juxtaposition of mediums, and was often so
abstract that it was hard to figure out just what was happening in certain scenes.
The graphic novel’s depiction of the Joker was particularly compelling—his
surreal appearance and horrifying actions made the character arguably more
frightening than he had ever been in any previous Batman work.

Another major event in Batman comic history took place shortly after Batman’s
premiere, when DC Comics gave Batman yet another Robin to work with in his
comic adventures. This new Robin was introduced in a five-part series entitled A
Lonely Place of Dying, which appeared in Batman #440–42, and The New Titans
#60–61 in late 1989.

In A Lonely Place of Dying, a young man named Tim Drake deduced that Bruce
Wayne and Dick Grayson were actually Batman and Robin because he had
attended the circus the night that Dick’s parents were killed while performing
their trapeze act. When Tim saw Robin in action on a television news broadcast
years later, he noticed Robin’s trapeze-style maneuvers were the exact same
moves he had seen Dick Grayson perform that fateful evening. Since Dick was
now Bruce’s ward, Tim assumed that if Dick was Robin, then Bruce had to be
Batman. Tim was then able to deduce that Jason Todd took Dick’s place as
Robin, and was killed while acting as Batman’s partner.

Fearing that Batman is losing his mind because he is unable to cope with Jason’s
loss, Tim decides to seek out Dick and tell him that Batman needs help. Tim
eventually comes face-to-face with these heroes that he has admired from afar.
Of course, Bruce and Dick are at first stunned that this boy has penetrated the
secret of their crimefighting identities, but after they get to know Tim and see
what an exceptional young man he is, Bruce decides to take him on as his third
junior partner.

In a story entitled “Master of Fear” which appeared in Batman #457, December

1990, Bruce Wayne formally bestowed the mantle of Robin on Tim Drake.
Bruce also gave Tim a newly created Robin costume to wear. Robin would now
be outfitted in a full bodysuit that was red and green in color. The costume also
featured a stylized yellow “R” on its chest, green mask, green gloves, black
boots and a black cape with yellow lining. This Robin costume was designed by
the legendary Batman comic artist Neal Adams, and was so well-received that it
would be the basis of the character’s standard appearance throughout the 1990s
and right up to the present day. Over the years the costume’s color patterns
would vary, but one thing about it remained a constant—the current version of
Robin always got to wear long pants instead of the short pants the character had
been wearing for the past half-century!

The Tim Drake Robin turned out to be considerably more popular with Batman
fans than the Jason Todd Robin. In the first half of 1991 he was featured in his
own five-issue series, simply titled Robin, which was so successful that it was
followed by two more Robin series in the early 1990s. The reintroduction of
Robin into Batman’s comic book world would intertwine with the development
of Batman Returns in an unusual way—we’ll look into that story when we
examine the film in the next chapter.
 10
Batman Returns (1992)

Cast: Michael Keaton (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Danny DeVito (The

Penguin/Oswald Cobblepot), Michelle Pfeiffer (Catwoman/Selina Kyle),
Christopher Walken (Max Shreck), Michael Gough (Alfred), Pat Hingle
(Commissioner Gordon), Michael Murphy (Mayor of Gotham City), Cristi
Conaway (Ice Princess), Andrew Bryniarski (Chip Shreck), Vincent Schiavelli
(Organ Grinder), Jan Hooks (Jen), Steve Witting (Josh), John Strong
(Swordswallower), Rick Zumwalt (Tattooed Strongman), Anna Katarina (Poodle
Lady), Gregory Scott Cummins (Acrobat Thug One), Erika Andersch
(Knifethrower Dame), Travis McKenna (Fat Clown), Doug Jones (Thin Clown),
Branscombe Richmond (Terrifying Clown One), Flame (Snakewoman), Paul
Reubens (Penguin’s Father), Diane Salinger (Penguin’s Mother), Stuart
Lancaster (Penguin’s Doctor), Cal Hoffman (Happy Man), Joan Jurige (Happy
Woman), Rosie O’Connor (Adorable Little Girl), Sean Whalen (Paperboy), Erik
Onate (Aggressive Reporter), Joey DePinto (Shreck Security Guard), Steven
Brill (Gothamite 1), Neal Lerner (Gothamite 2), Ashley Tillman (Gothamite 3),
Elizabeth Sanders (Gothamite 4), Henry Kingi (Mugger), Joan Giammarco
(Female Victim), Lisa Guerrero (Volunteer Bimbo), Frank DiElsi (Security 1),
Biff Yeager (Security 2), Robert Gossett (TV Anchorman), Adam Drescher
(Crowd Member), Robert N. Bell, Susan Rossitto, Margarita Fernandez, Denise
Killpack, Felix Silla, Debbie Lee Carrington (Emperor Penguins), Niki Botelho
(Emperor Penguin/Baby Penguin). Producers: Denise Di Novi, Tim Burton. Co-
Producer: Larry Franco. Associate Producer/Production Manager: Ian Bryce.
Executive Producers: Jon Peters, Peter Guber, Benjamin Melniker, Michael E.
Uslan. Director: Tim Burton. Screenplay: Daniel Waters (Story by Daniel
Waters and Sam Hamm, based on characters created by Bob Kane).
Cinematography: Stefan Czapsky. Production Designer: Bo Welch. Art
Directors: Tom Duffield, Rick Heinrichs. Set Decorator: Cheryl Carasik.
Costume Designers: Bob Ringwood, Mary Vogt. Editor: Chris Lebenzon.
Music: Danny Elfman. Casting: Marion Dougherty. Key Makeup: Ve Neill. Key
Hair Stylist: Yolanda Toussieng. First Assistant Director: David McGiffert.
Second Unit Director: Billy Weber. Second Unit Director/Stunt Coordinator:
Max Kleven. Visual Effects Supervisor: Michael Fink. Mechanical Effects
Supervisor: Chuck Gaspar. Studio: Warner Bros. Length: 126 minutes. United
States Release Date: June 19, 1992.

The 1989 motion picture Batman was such a tremendous box office success that
even before it finished its first run in theaters, it was already a foregone
conclusion that it would be followed by a sequel. Throughout 1990 and early
1991, rumors were flying in terms of whether or not Batman’s principal actors
would return for another Batman film. There was also much speculation about
what new villains might be featured in the movie, and which actors could play
those villains.

Getting the Batman sequel off the ground took some serious negotiating on the
part of Warner Bros., and the project was not spearheaded by the same
production team that had made Batman a reality. In late 1989, Peter Guber and
Jon Peters left Warner to head up Columbia Pictures after the Sony Corporation
purchased both the Guber-Peters Entertainment Company and Columbia.
Batman director Tim Burton had initially been reluctant to direct a Batman
sequel for Warner, but the departure of Guber and Peters might well have made
him more receptive to the idea of doing the film. As we discussed last chapter,
1

Burton was not happy about how much creative control the producers had over
his work while he was directing Batman. Warner Bros. was able to heighten
Burton’s interest in directing the Batman sequel by giving him far more creative
control over the film than he was allowed to have over Batman—for the Batman
sequel, he would be both producer and director. Burton officially signed on to
the project in the summer of 1990.

Turning the Batman sequel over to Burton so completely was a curious decision
on the part of Warner Bros. The studio’s input was instrumental in helping to
shape Batman into a more action-oriented, “summer blockbuster” type of movie
that would be more accessible to mainstream audiences—and now they would
not be able to have that kind of input on its sequel. But whatever misgivings
Warner might have had in terms of trusting Burton with the original Batman had
evaporated in the wake of the finished product’s phenomenal box office returns.
The studio seemed very confident that a Batman sequel directed by Burton had a
good chance of being a huge blockbuster as well. So in their zeal to secure
Burton for a Batman sequel, Warner ignored the fact that one of the major
reasons that Batman was such a success was that they had left themselves the
option to have some degree of control over both the film and Burton. Now they
had given away that option, gambling that this time around Burton, on his own,
would give them the film they were hoping for.

Warner hired Batman’s primary screenwriter Sam Hamm to write a preliminary

script for the sequel, at the time known only by its working title of Batman 2.
Hamm’s script basically picked up where Batman left off—Bruce’s romance
with Vicki Vale continued to progress, and as Batman he had to contend with
two new costumed villains in Gotham City, the Penguin and the Catwoman.
Also, much like the early drafts of Hamm’s original Batman screenplay, his
Batman 2 screenplay introduced the Robin/Dick Grayson character in its final
act. Though the Batman 2 script retained the generally dark tone of Batman, it
also had a decidedly happy ending—the Penguin and the Catwoman were
defeated, Bruce proposed to Vicki, and Dick came to live at Wayne Manor,
setting the stage for his transformation to Robin.
2

Warner Bros. and Burton were not impressed with Hamm’s Batman 2 script, so
they brought in screenwriter Daniel Waters to create a brand-new script for the
sequel. While Waters was writing, he and Burton regularly met to share ideas for
the screenplay with one another, much like Hamm and Burton had done while
Hamm was writing Batman. In May 1991, Waters finished his initial draft of the
3

script for Batman Returns, the sequel’s newly-decided upon official name. Most
of the primary characters featured in Hamm’s Batman 2 screenplay remained in
Waters’ Batman Returns screenplay, with one notable exception—Waters
completely cut Vicki Vale and her “happy ending” subplot from the film. The
Robin character remained in the Batman Returns script, and he was depicted in a
manner that recalled the comic book origin of the second Jason Todd Robin—
Waters imagined Robin as a tough street kid who eventually becomes Batman’s
crimefighting partner. (We discussed this second version of the Jason Todd
Robin character in detail in Chapter 7.)

Waters’ Batman Returns script was very long, and needed to be considerably cut
down to make it filmable. This task was performed by screenwriter Wesley
Strick, who turned in his revised version of the script to Warner Bros. in August
1991—this version would make it to the screen with only minor changes. One 4

of the cuts Strick made to Waters’ screenplay was to eliminate the Robin
character, just as writer Warren Skaaren had cut the character from Hamm’s
Batman screenplay. This time around, the character was cut so late in the game
that an actor had already been cast for the part—Marlon Wayans was to play
Robin. One can imagine how disappointing it must have been for Wayans to
have been pulled from such a high-profile film just a short time before its
production was to begin.

Michael Keaton as Batman in Batman Returns (1992).

Michelle Pfeiffer as the Catwoman and Danny DeVito as the Penguin in
Batman Returns (1992).

Interestingly, the Robin character’s connection to Batman Returns did not end
with the dismissal of Wayans. Kenner Toys had obtained the licensing rights to
produce action figures of the Batman Returns characters, and when they began
designing their figures, Robin was still going to be featured in the film.
Evidently Kenner was informed that Robin was cut from the film too late to stop
production of their Batman Returns Robin action figure, so the figure ended up
being displayed on toy store shelves all over the United States just as the film
was premiering! This caused a bit of confusion among Batman fans of all ages—
if there was a Batman Returns Robin action figure, why wasn’t the character
actually in the Batman Returns film? (Incidentally, Kenner based the design of
their Batman Returns Robin figure on the Tim Drake version of the character, so
it was the first modern-era Robin action figure ever to be produced.)
This miscommunication between Kenner Toys and Warner Bros. regarding
Robin being in Batman Returns was a troubling sign of things to come. Warner
was aggressively developing merchandising tie-ins to Batman Returns aimed at
younger audiences, and Burton was just as aggressively working to craft Batman
Returns into a film that was absolutely not intended for younger audiences. As
we just discussed, Burton was very involved in the creation of the movie’s script
—a script which contained horrific images of cruelty to children and animals,
gleeful sadism, senseless murder and kinky sexuality. Warner knew what was in
this screenplay, so how could the studio ever have thought it would be
appropriate to approve the release of countless Batman Returns children’s
products?

The most likely answer to this question is that the studio must have been holding
out hope that Burton would eventually see the logic of softening the film in order
to make it marketable to a broader audience. But this would not happen—simply
put, there was a huge disconnect between Warner Bros. and Burton in terms of
just who the target audience for Batman Returns was going to be. Warner
envisioned the film’s audience as one that would be made up of all age groups,
including children who loved Batman, and parents who loved buying Batman
products for those children—essentially the same audience that had made
Batman such a runaway hit. That audience was unequivocally not the one Burton
envisioned reaching with Batman Returns. The film’s script alone was more than
enough evidence that Burton had no interest in making Batman Returns into the
kind of all-ages film that Batman was.

Burton had made it very clear that he was not trying to recapture the magical
success of Batman with Batman Returns—in fact, on several occasions he had
been quick to point out that he personally was not all that satisfied with Batman.
5

His ambivalence toward Batman was hardly surprising, considering the fact that
Warner Bros. had never allowed the movie to truly be his movie. But the deal
that Burton had struck with Warner this time around did allow Batman Returns
to be his movie—and he wasn’t going to soften it just so the studio could sell a
bunch of extra movie tickets and Batman toys.

In August 1992, Empire Magazine published a story about Batman Returns

entitled “Three Go Mad in Gotham” that succinctly summed up the collision
course that Burton and Warner Bros. had been on over the film. In the story,
Burton stated that he was not happy about Warner’s desire to market Batman
Returns so aggressively—he said “I often felt they [Warner] forgot we were
making a movie. It seems like they wished the process of making the film didn’t
have to happen and they could cut immediately to the merchandising.” 6

Here’s one more thought regarding the Batman Returns screenplay. While
Warren Skaaren received onscreen credit for his work on revising the Batman
script, Wesley Strick’s similar work on the Batman Returns script went
uncredited. It seems odd that Strick did not receive some sort of credit for his
contribution to the film—after all, Sam Hamm was credited for his work on
Batman Returns, and his Batman 2 script had been tossed aside in favor of
Daniel Waters’ script! (Hamm was credited as being the film’s “story” co-
creator with Waters.)

The casting of Batman Returns went relatively smoothly. In early 1991, Michael
Keaton agreed to reprise his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne—and after the huge
success of Batman, this time around he would not have to contend with huge
numbers of serious Batman fans protesting him playing the part! Along with
Keaton, several other Batman cast members would be reprising their roles in
Batman Returns. Michael Gough was returning as Alfred, and Pat Hingle was
returning as Commissioner Gordon.

Choosing an actor to play the role of Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin turned out
to be as easy a decision as choosing to bring back Keaton, Gough and Hingle.
From the first talk of a Batman sequel, the Penguin was considered to be the
most likely villain to appear in the film. And because the diminutive, sardonic
actor Danny DeVito was such a perfect physical and cerebral match for the role,
his name almost always came up when the subject of casting the Penguin was
discussed. DeVito jumped at the chance to take the part—after all, Batman
Returns was going to be one of the most hotly anticipated sequels of all time,
and it seemed almost as if he was born to play the Penguin. Unfortunately,
Burton and DeVito’s interpretation of the Penguin would eventually prove to be
one of the film’s most problematic elements.

The only real problem that Burton and Warner Bros. faced while casting Batman
Returns was finding the right actress to play the role of Selina Kyle/The
Catwoman. Annette Bening was originally chosen for the role, but she had to
bow out of the film after becoming pregnant. Michelle Pfeiffer was hired to
replace her. The versatile, beautiful Pfeiffer had starred in a wide range of
successful films since the mid–1980s, so her presence in Batman Returns was
welcome news to film fans and Batman fans alike.
Amusingly, Sean Young, the actress originally slated to play Vicki Vale in
Batman, campaigned very hard for the Catwoman part. She even went so far as
to dress in a Catwoman-like costume and go to the Warner lot in an attempt to
meet with Burton so that she could convince him to give her the role. She
brought her own video crew with her to film this “storming the gates” audition—
however, the whole plan backfired when Burton was unavailable (or perhaps
simply unwilling) to give her an audience. She ended up prowling the lot in her
costume, making everyone she encountered there, including Michael Keaton,
rather uncomfortable. Obviously, she didn’t end up with the part, but she did
appear on the television talk show The Joan Rivers Show to share the story of
her Catwoman adventure! 7

The script for Batman Returns also featured another villain that rated as much
screen time as the Penguin and the Catwoman. Christopher Walken was cast as
Max Shreck, a ruthless Gotham City businessman whose corrupt path
intertwines with both of the film’s costumed villains. Incorporating two classic
Batman adversaries into Batman Returns was already a sign that Batman himself
might not have enough screen time to make much of an impact. Adding a third
villain created specifically for the film practically guaranteed that Batman would
not really be the focal point of his own movie.

The script for Batman Returns had been the first major indication of how
different the film was going to be from Batman. Another indication was where
that script was going to be filmed. Warner Bros. decided not to return to
Pinewood Studios in England, where the huge outdoor sets for Batman had been
standing, waiting to be used for a Batman sequel. Burton wanted to make
Batman Returns at the Warner Studios in Burbank, California, so the studio
agreed to construct all-new sets designed by Bo Welch for the film. 8

Moving the primary filming of Batman Returns proved to be a costly financial

decision for Warner Bros. They had to spend millions of dollars on new sets
when they had elaborate Batman sets sitting idle at Pinewood. To make matters
worse, in many respects these new sets turned out to be far inferior to
Pinewood’s Batman sets, especially the ones depicting Gotham City. Anton
Furst’s Gotham City sets were brilliant and, equally important, they were
outdoors and very large. They looked like a real city—in particular, they looked
like some of the grimmer areas of New York City, the real-life inspiration for
Gotham. All of Welch’s Gotham City sets in Batman Returns, constructed
indoors on sound stages, were just too cramped and artificial-looking to convey
the kind of urban realism that Furst captured in his Gotham sets.

As a result, Gotham ended up looking like the setting of some sort of demented
storybook land in Batman Returns, fanciful, claustrophobic and unreal. Batman’s
strength as a character had always come from the fact that he was much more
closely tied to reality than most other comic book heroes, and Burton greatly
undermined this strength by choosing to abandon Furst’s concept of Gotham
City. One final, and tragic, note regarding Batman set design—Anton Furst
committed suicide in November 1991, during the making of Batman Returns.

Batman Returns was not going to end up looking much like Batman, but it
would end up sounding much like Batman. Danny Elfman was brought on board
to compose the orchestral score for Batman Returns, and he would end up using
a number of the musical themes he first used in Batman, especially his
memorable “Batman Theme.”

Primary filming of Batman Returns took place between late 1991 and early
1992. The making of Batman Returns did not have the same level of offscreen
dramatics that complicated the making of Batman. There were no major creative
differences like the ones that arose between Burton and producer Jon Peters in
1988 and 1989.

While at the time Warner Bros. might have been pleased about the relative peace
found on their Batman Returns sets, their pleasure would give way to no small
measure of distress once they actually saw the finished movie in the spring of
1992. Burton had not softened the overall tone of Batman Returns from its
original conceptualization at all—it was a dark, disjointed film full of horrific
imagery and adult content. One can only imagine the panic Warner must have
felt upon realizing that this problematic movie was the end result of all their
efforts. Batman Returns was just too edgy to be a huge hit with audiences of all
ages like Batman was.

And to make matters worse, Batman Returns actually cost the studio much more
money to make than the 1989 Batman had. Given the success of their first
Batman film, Burton and Keaton were able to command far larger salaries for
their participation in Batman Returns—and as we just noted, Warner Bros. had to
shell out millions for all new sets in order for the film to be made in California.
Consequently, the final price tag for Batman Returns was around $80 million,
more than twice Batman’s budget. This meant that Batman Returns was going to
9
have to do extremely well at the box office in order to make any money at all.

Just as troubling, the great pains that Warner had taken to develop numerous
merchandising tie-ins for Batman Returns could not possibly pay off now. All of
their efforts to market the film would be construed as a cynical effort to entice
young children to see a movie that they really had no business seeing.
McDonald’s Restaurants was going to be including Batman Returns toys with
their “Happy Meal” children’s meal packages—promotional tactics such as this
were bound to unleash a firestorm of criticism. But there was no turning back for
the studio now: Batman Returns was due to premiere nationwide in just a few
weeks, on June 19, so there was little else they could do but release the movie
and hope for the best.

Batman Returns opens with a series of scenes showing Oswald Cobblepot being
born horribly deformed, and then being imprisoned in a cage by his parents at
Christmastime. From his cage, baby Oswald is able to grab hold of the family cat
by its tail. He pulls the cat into his cage, and a horrible racket ensues as the cat is
presumably killed. This is the last straw for the Cobblepots—they wheel Oswald
in his stroller out into the snowy night, and dump him off of a bridge into a fast-
moving river. The water carries Oswald to an abandoned zoo, where a group of
penguins adopt him as their own.

The scene then shifts to Christmastime in Gotham City, 33 years later. As

Gotham’s reigning beauty queen the Ice Princess is preparing to light the
Christmas tree at Gotham Plaza, Oswald watches the scene from the sewers.
Gotham’s Mayor is on hand to attend the tree lighting ceremony, as is Max
Shreck, Gotham’s most successful businessman and owner of Shreck’s
Department Store. Before they attend the ceremony, Shreck tries to convince the
Mayor to approve groundbreaking of Shreck’s new power plant for Gotham. The
Mayor refuses, saying Gotham already has enough power. Shreck’s timid
secretary Selina Kyle attempts to make a suggestion regarding the power plant,
but Shreck rudely cuts her off, humiliating her in the process.

Shreck and the Mayor make their way to Gotham Plaza for the ceremony, but
the festivities are interrupted by an attack on the Plaza by the Red Triangle
Circus Gang, a group of criminals in cahoots with Oswald. Via the Batsignal,
Commissioner Gordon summons Batman. The Batsignal triggers a number of
smaller Batsignal lights mounted on the outside walls of Wayne Manor, which
shine a Batsignal directly into Bruce Wayne’s study. Bruce sees the signal and
races to Gotham Plaza as Batman. Using hi-tech weapons concealed in the
Batmobile, Batman subdues the Circus Gang. One of the gang members is a fire-
eater, so Batman fights fire with fire by using the Batmobile’s jet-fueled
afterburner to set him ablaze.

In the chaos, Shreck runs into Gotham’s extensive sewer system to escape the
Circus Gang. There he comes face to face with Oswald. Shreck is amazed to
learn that the urban legends that have been circulating throughout Gotham about
a Penguin-like man with a long nose and flippers instead of fingers living in the
city’s sewers are actually true. Oswald wants Shreck to help him orchestrate a
return to the civilized Gotham above the sewers, so that he can find out who his
parents were and why they abandoned him. Shreck at first refuses—but when
Oswald informs Shreck that he holds incriminating evidence regarding Shreck’s
illegal business dealings, including the severed hand of Shreck’s long-missing
former business partner, Shreck agrees to help him.

Returning to his office, Shreck discovers Selina working late. Selina tells him
that she accessed his secret files regarding his proposed power plant, and she has
learned that the plant will actually rob Gotham of power, not produce it. Enraged
by her insubordination and worried that she might try to use this discovery
against him, Shreck pushes her out of his office window. She plunges to the
ground hundreds of feet below but, amazingly, is not killed. As she lies injured
on the pavement, dozens of cats swarm over her body, licking her wounds. She
returns to her apartment and goes completely berserk, smashing everything in
sight. She sews a patchwork Catwoman costume out of a vinyl raincoat, using
sewing needles for claws.

The next day, the Mayor holds a press conference to decry the violence that took
place in Gotham Plaza the night before. While he is speaking, an acrobat from
the Circus gang leaps in and snatches the Mayor’s baby from the arms of the
Mayor’s wife. The acrobat leaps into the sewers, but the baby is seemingly
rescued by Oswald, the “Penguin Man,” and returned to the Mayor. Of course,
the acrobat is actually part of Oswald’s Circus Gang, so the entire rescue is a
fake—part of Shreck’s plan to bring Oswald back to the world above the sewers.
The citizens of Gotham, unaware of this, are enthralled with this unlikely new
hero.

At the Gotham Hall of Records, Oswald learns his given name, and he then goes
to visit his parents’ graves. Meanwhile, Bruce pores over old newspaper articles
and learns that there is a connection between the Red Triangle Circus and
Oswald. Also at this time, Selina makes her first “public appearance” as the
black vinyl-clad, whip-wielding Catwoman—she stops a mugger from assaulting
a woman, slashing the mugger’s face with her claws.

The next day, Bruce meets with Shreck, who wants him to invest in his proposed
power plant. Bruce refuses, saying Gotham has enough power already, and that
he will fight Shreck’s plans to build a new plant. While the two argue, Selina
walks in, much to Shreck’s surprise. Selina has no memory of Shreck’s attempt
to murder her, but she does have a keen interest in Bruce. The feeling is mutual
—Bruce tells her he will call her for a date sometime soon.

Later, Shreck meets with Oswald and asks him to run for Mayor. Since Shreck
can’t get the current Mayor to go along with his power plant scheme, he wants to
recall the Mayor and get Gotham’s new hero Oswald Cobblepot elected to the
office—then Oswald can give Shreck the permits he needs to build his plant.
Oswald at first refuses, even going so far as to bite one of his potential “political
consultants” on the nose, which sends the consultant’s blood spurting all over
the place. Shreck finally convinces the sexually frustrated Oswald to be a
candidate by telling him the job will get him lots of women.

Oswald and Shreck devise a plan to turn Gotham against their current Mayor:
They send out the Circus Gang to turn Gotham’s streets into a battle zone so that
it will appear that the Mayor has completely lost control of the city. As the
Circus Gang runs wild, Batman appears on the scene and begins to fight them.
He puts sticks of dynamite into one of the gang member’s pants and pushes him
down a sewer; the dynamite explodes, obviously killing the gang member. At the
same time, the Catwoman breaks into Shreck Department Store, putting
flammable chemicals in one of the store’s microwave ovens, and tearing open a
natural gas line. Batman then comes face to face with Oswald for the first time
on the streets of Gotham in front of Shreck’s Department Store, but their
combative conversation is interrupted by the Catwoman. She vaults in, meows—
and then the entire first floor of the store explodes into flame.

The Catwoman climbs up the facade of a nearby building and Batman gives
chase. They fight on a rooftop, but their fighting gives way to physical attraction
for one another. However, the Catwoman interrupts the mood by suddenly and
savagely piercing his torso with one of her sewing needle claws. He pushes her
off the building, and she lands in a sand-filled dump truck.
The next day, Oswald officially kicks off his mayoral campaign, blaming the
Mayor for the chaos on Gotham’s streets. He gives a young female voter a
campaign button, lewdly groping her in the process. He retreats to his office,
where he finds the Catwoman waiting for him. She tells him she wants him to
help her destroy Batman. However, the Penguin is so overcome with lust for her
he has a difficult time concentrating on her request, instead concentrating on
sniffing the heels of her boots and offering her body oils. Finally they begin to
formulate a plan to frame Batman and make it appear that he is a criminal.

The scene shifts to the Ice Princess preparing for her appearance at the re-
lighting of the Christmas tree in Gotham Plaza. The Penguin bursts in and
knocks her out with a Batarang that Batman accidentally left behind in a
previous battle. Meanwhile, Bruce and Selina are having a romantic evening
together at Wayne Manor. But their evening is cut short by a news bulletin
stating that Batman has kidnapped the Ice Princess. Both Bruce and Selina make
awkward excuses to get away from one another, and they separately race to
Gotham Plaza in costume.

Batman jumps out of the Batmobile to look for the Ice Princess—but as he
leaves the car, members of the Circus Gang sneak up and start to sabotage its
controls. Batman locates the Ice Princess bound in a building near Gotham
Plaza, but as he tries to untie her, the Catwoman bursts in and starts fighting him.
The Catwoman grabs the Ice Princess and drags her to the roof of the building.
Batman gives chase and finds the Ice Princess standing on the edge of the
building. She says that the Catwoman let her go, but before he can get to her,
Oswald throws an umbrella filled with live bats at her, which causes her to fall to
her death. The Gotham Police arrive on the scene and assume that Batman
pushed the Ice Princess off the roof. They open fire on him, knocking him to a
lower rooftop. The Catwoman finds him there and they are again attracted to one
another, but Batman resists her advances and jumps off the roof, using bat glider
wings built into his costume to sail down to the Batmobile.

The Penguin appears by the Catwoman’s side on the roof, and tries to seduce
her. When she rejects his advances, he attaches one of his flying umbrellas to her
neck and sends her skyward. She frees herself from the umbrella, and her fall is
broken by plants in a rooftop greenhouse. Batman climbs into the Batmobile, but
he quickly finds that Oswald is remotely controlling the car. Oswald sends
Batman on a destructive joyride through the streets of Gotham. Batman is able to
find Oswald’s controller on the bottom of the car—he punches through the floor
of the car, discards the controller and regains control before Oswald can do any
further damage.

The next day, Oswald prepares to give a speech in his bid to become mayor.
From the Batcave, Bruce and Alfred sabotage him. Using a CD that Batman
recorded of Oswald saying disparaging things about Gotham and its citizens,
they jam the live speech and broadcast his rude remarks. The crowd immediately
turns on Oswald, throwing vegetables at him. Enraged, he opens fire on the
crowd with one of his umbrella guns and races back to his abandoned zoo
hideout. There he hatches a plot with his Circus Gang to kidnap all of Gotham’s
first-born sons and murder them. He tells his gang not to call him Oswald—he is
not human, he is the Penguin.

At a holiday ball at Shreck’s Department Store, Bruce and Selina dance, and
Selina reveals that she came to the ball to kill Shreck. While Bruce tries to calm
her, they exchange words with one another that they had previously exchanged
while they were in costume. They are both shocked to realize each other’s secret
identities. Before they can recover, the Penguin breaks through the floor riding
in a bizarre vehicle that is shaped like a toy rubber duck. The villain is there to
kidnap Shreck’s first-born son Chip, who is also at the ball. Shreck convinces
the Penguin to take him to his lair instead of Chip, so the two descend back into
the sewers. The Penguin’s gang rides through the Gotham streets in a parade-
style circus train vehicle kidnapping all of the city’s first-born sons. Batman
intercepts them, and sends a note back to the Penguin telling him that his plan
has been thwarted. The Penguin responds by sending an army of real penguins
with missiles on their backs to destroy Gotham.

From the Batboat in the Gotham sewers, Batman jams the Penguin’s signal
sending instructions to the penguins and sends the birds back to the Penguin’s
lair. Batman intercepts the Penguin there as he tries to escape in his duck
vehicle. Batman thwarts his escape, and the Penguin pushes the button to tell the
penguins to fire their missiles—right at that moment, a bunch of bats fly out of
the Batboat and swarm the villain. The Penguin falls into the pool where he and
the penguins had been hiding for so many years. At the same time, the
Catwoman shows up and attacks Shreck. Batman intervenes and tells Selina to
let Shreck live—he will go to prison, and they can go back to Wayne Manor
together. As he tells her this, he rips off his mask, exposing his true face to both
Selina and Shreck. But Selina rejects Bruce, and starts after Shreck. He shoots
her repeatedly, but she keeps after him—she grabs a downed power line and
electrocutes him. The Penguin then rises out of the pool, bloodied, with inky
black mucus running out of his nose and mouth. He falls over dead before he can
confront Batman, and a group of Emperor Penguins slide his body back into the
pool.

On Christmas Eve, Bruce and Alfred are driving through Gotham City. Bruce
thinks he sees the Catwoman in a shadowy alley, and he jumps out of the car—
but he only finds a black stray cat. He brings the cat back into the car with him,
and he and Alfred wish each other a Merry Christmas. The Batsignal flashes in
the sky, and in the film’s final shot we see the Catwoman viewing it from the
rooftops.

One does not have to study this synopsis too closely to see just why Batman
Returns was not the film ripe with “summer blockbuster” potential that Warner
Bros. was hoping for. But its initial reviews and opening box office numbers
were actually very good. Many critics were greatly impressed by the film’s
surreal images and bizarre characters. It must be noted that most of these critics
had no prior interest in Batman comic book characters, so they approached the
film from an “art” perspective, not a “Batman fan” perspective. Also, given
these critics’ generally cynical nature, their favorable reviews seemed to be
based on the notion that Batman Returns was going to defy mainstream
audiences’ expectations so completely as much as anything else. In other words,
critics seemed to be amused by the idea that people were going to go see Batman
Returns hoping for an action-packed good time, and would instead be walloped
over the head by Burton’s morose, edgy “art film.”

Likely because of the strength of these early reviews, and because of the Batman
brand name, audiences lined up in droves to see Batman Returns. At first it
seemed that Burton’s “art film” might well turn out to be as successful as the
1989 Batman (Batman Returns grossed over $45 million in the U.S. on its
opening weekend). But once the initial wave of moviegoers actually saw the
film, word began to get out about how dark, mean-spirited and inappropriate for
younger audiences it actually was—and box office business dropped off very
rapidly. In the end, Batman Returns grossed only about $160 million in the U.S.,
and about $270 million worldwide. 10

Obviously, these are not unsubstantial figures—many filmmakers would feel

blessed if their motion pictures made the amount of money that Batman Returns
made. But as we noted earlier in the chapter, Batman Returns cost Warner Bros.
well over twice as much money to make as Batman had—so the studio was
certainly justified in viewing the film as a financial underachiever when it ended
up making almost $150 million less than Batman did.

But Warner’s woes over Batman Returns were by no means strictly financial
ones. The studio engendered no small amount of ill will from the moviegoing
public over the release of the film, especially from parents of young children.
These parents were angry because they felt Warner Bros. had misled them by
marketing Batman Returns as appropriate for children, when in reality it was not.
In fairness, Batman Returns was rated PG-13, which should have alerted parents
that the film contained unsuitable material. But the 1989 Batman, also rated PG-
13, was not nearly as dark and disturbing. In other words, yes, Batman was a
film that parents had to think carefully about before taking their children to see,
but its “scary” scenes were generally as much fun as they were frightening. The
same could not be said for Batman Returns—its “scary” scenes were frightening
in an adult, horror movie manner. Also, Batman Returns contained far more
sexual innuendo than its predecessor, making it doubly inappropriate.

This parental backlash against Warner Bros. over Batman Returns became a very
public problem for the studio during the summer of 1992. The New York Times
and Entertainment Weekly ran pieces detailing moviegoers’ negative reaction to
both the content of the film, and the manner in which had been marketed. 11

So the problems that Warner Bros. feared they might encounter upon the release
of Batman Returns ended up coming to pass. The studio did not make near as
much money off of the film as they thought they would, and they had to endure a
public relations nightmare created by their attempts to market the film. Leaving
their Batman franchise solely in the hands of Tim Burton had proved to be their
undoing. Only several weeks into Batman Returns’s theatrical run, Warner Bros.
understood this fact all too well—privately they were already discussing finding
a new director for their third Batman film.12

As a longtime Batman fan, I was shocked and profoundly disappointed by this

film when it premiered. In my opinion, Batman Returns showed such disregard
and outright contempt for the time-honored Batman characters that it was hard
for me even to view the film as a “legitimate” Batman motion picture. But
Batman is a fictional character, so all of us can have interpretations of him that
are no more or less valid than anyone else’s. I will try to keep this fact in mind
while commenting on the film over the next few pages. Still, I feel that it is only
right to inform you that my analysis of Batman Returns will reflect my overall
negative opinion of the film.

First off, I believe that the manner in which Batman is portrayed in Batman
Returns is an insult to the character’s storied history. The Batman of the film is
simply a cold-blooded killer. In the opening fight scene, he has no qualms with
setting a thug ablaze using the Batmobile afterburners. And in a scene later in
the film, he stuffs dynamite down another thug’s pants and pushes him into a
sewer. Batman offhandedly murders these criminals, which is behavior that runs
completely counter to the comic book Batman’s long-standing vow to never
purposefully take a human life.

In fairness, it must be stated that the 1989 Batman also depicted Batman using
lethal force on criminals, such as in the scenes where he destroys Axis
Chemicals and when he fires at the Joker from the Batwing. But these actions do
not seem quite so out of character for Batman considering that the film takes
place at the very beginning of the crimefighter’s career—after all, in Kane’s first
Batman stories of the late 1930s, the character carried a gun and wasn’t above
using it. Also, Batman’s willingness to try to put an to end the Joker’s life in
Batman makes sense because his hatred of the Joker is so personal, the Joker
being the man who murdered his parents many years earlier.

Whether one agrees with Batman’s use of lethal force in Batman or not, the fact
remains that the comic book Batman’s resolve to see justice prevail over blind
vengeance eventually led him to become completely opposed to killing. Batman
Returns makes no attempt to honor this noble character trait. In the film, Batman
is far enough down the road in his crimefighting career that he should be more of
a hero than he was in Batman, not less. Instead, in Batman Returns we find him
callously slaughtering human beings in ways that make him practically
indistinguishable from the criminals he fights.

Also, Batman/Bruce Wayne is portrayed in Batman Returns as being

unconfident and indecisive. He seems less interested in fighting crime than in
trying to get Selina to go out on a date with him—and he is not even all that
successful in that regard, because every time he tries to talk to Selina, he comes
across as a bumbling idiot. He gets tongue-tied, he forgets what he is doing, and
he seems unable to respond to even the simplest questions she poses to him.
Obviously, the comic book Batman/Bruce Wayne has almost always been a dark
character—but he has also almost always been impressive, efficient and in
control. He has not been a wishy-washy sad sack, which is the way he is
portrayed in Batman Returns.

If Michael Keaton’s effectiveness in the role of Batman was limited by his

physical stature in Batman, he is doubly limited in Batman Returns. At least
Keaton’s character was generally well-realized in Batman, whereas in Batman
Returns he is given almost nothing positive to work with in terms of character
development. He is frequently forced to stand sullenly off to the side, watching
the villains gobble up the majority of the screen time—and then when he is
allowed to step into the spotlight, the script calls for him to act in a decidedly
unheroic manner.

One of the film’s only bright spots regarding the Batman character is Bob
Ringwood’s new Batman costume design, which is a vast improvement over
Batman’s Batman costume. It appears not to be as cumbersome, so Keaton
seems to have a wider range of movement. And the simulated muscles on the
chest of his previous costume have been replaced by more streamlined plated
body armor. Also, several of Keaton’s Batman fight scenes in Batman Returns
are quite exciting, and far more coherent than many of the action sequences in
Batman—in fact, the rooftop battle between Batman and the Catwoman is one of
the most memorable Batman big-screen moments of all time. The scene does not
suffer from the kind of hyperactive editing found in the previous film.

But these few positives cannot begin to outweigh the overwhelmingly negative
manner in which Batman is portrayed in Batman Returns. Plus, as mentioned
earlier, with three major villains running around in Batman Returns, Batman
doesn’t get enough screen time. The final shot of Batman Returns perfectly sums
up how much more interested Burton was in the villains than in his title
character. Batman closed with Batman standing tall on a Gotham rooftop,
looking up at the Batsignal; the final shot of Batman Returns shows the
Catwoman standing tall on a Gotham rooftop, looking up at the Batsignal.

The mean-spiritedness and hopelessness that Batman exudes in Batman Returns

are by no means qualities that are unique to his character in the film—in fact, the
film as a whole seems to revel in all of the anger, hatred, cruelty and senseless
violence it depicts.

The Oswald Cobblepot/Penguin character is a perfect summation of Batman

Returns’ sadistic nature—because Oswald is born deformed, the Cobblepots lock
him up in a cage as a baby, and then dump him into a river and leave him for
dead. These disturbing scenes are the first images we see in Batman Returns, and
they set the tone for the rest of the film.

As horrific as these first scenes are, they seem almost tame in comparison to the
scenes that follow featuring Danny DeVito as the grown-up Oswald/Penguin.
Though his first scenes portray him in a slightly sympathetic manner, these
quickly give way to monstrous images of a Penguin character like nothing that
had ever been seen on the pages of any Batman comic book. DeVito’s Penguin
oozes inky black mucus from his nose and mouth, eats raw fish entrails with his
shark-like teeth, makes sexual innuendoes about every woman he sees, and
wants to murder as many children as he can get his hands on.

Burton and DeVito chose to discard almost everything that made the comic book
and 1960s screen Penguin such a memorable character, and gleefully push him
as far beyond the boundaries of good taste as they could. As the Penguin, DeVito
seems to be saying to the viewer, “You think Jack Nicholson’s Joker was
something? Well, just watch me ‘out–Nicholson’ Nicholson!” As a result, his
performance comes across as self-consciously over the top, never nearly as fun
as it is labored. (Not to mention completely terrifying to most small children—
the character was particularly reviled by the parents who were angry with
Warner Bros. over the release and marketing of the film.) Given both his
physical stature and sardonic nature, Danny DeVito should have made the
perfect Penguin in Batman Returns. Instead, thanks to a lot of grotesque makeup
and equally grotesque overacting, DeVito’s Penguin turned out to be one of the
film’s most glaring missteps.

Michelle Pfeiffer fares considerably better in her role as Selina Kyle/The

Catwoman. She turns in a slinky, explosive performance that is perhaps the
highlight of the film. Like the Penguin, the Catwoman is changed substantially
from her comic book form in Batman Returns—her “timid secretary transformed
into a tigress by a near-death experience and a bunch of alley cats” origin is
unique to the film. But this rewrite is not nearly as jarring as the revisions
Batman Returns makes to the characters of Batman and the Penguin. Plus, it
allows Pfeiffer to play Selina and the Catwoman as almost completely separate
characters, showcasing her range as an actress.

In fact, Pfeiffer’s sensuous dominatrix of a Catwoman proved to be just about

the only element of Batman Returns that moviegoers really liked. The
Catwoman’s popularity with the general public led to rumors of Pfeiffer
reprising the role in a future Batman film, or perhaps even in a spin-off film of
her own. These rumors persisted for several years after the release of Batman
Returns, but Pfeiffer’s Catwoman never returned to the big screen. Still, plans
for a Catwoman spin-off film refused to die—in July 2004, Warner Bros. and
Village Roadshow Pictures released the movie Catwoman starring Halle Berry in
the title role. The film’s Catwoman had nothing to do with any previous comic,
film or television version of the character—in fact, Batman was not connected to
her in any way! Of course, this ended up being a good thing for the Batman
character, because Catwoman turned out to be a spectacularly bad film that
bombed with both the critics and the public.

As previously mentioned, Batman Returns tried to incorporate so many

characters into its storyline that it was almost inevitable that the film would be
saddled with a hopelessly tangled plot. Christopher Walken’s Max Shreck is the
character that truly throws Batman Returns into a narrative tailspin. His bogus
power plant subplot takes up far too much screen time, and often slows the
tempo of the film to a virtual standstill. Walken’s trademark deadpan delivery is
amusing at times, but generally his scenes just get in the way of the actions of
the film’s “Batman” characters.

In fact, two of the film’s major “Batman” characters are almost completely
forced off the screen in order to make room for all of Batman Returns’ villains.
Michael Gough’s Alfred and Pat Hingle’s Commissioner Gordon are relegated
to little more than cameo roles in the film, reinforcing the impression that Burton
has little use for Batman Returns’ “good guys.”

Gough and Hingle probably should have considered themselves lucky that they
made it into Batman Returns at all, considering the fact that Burton chose to cut
most of Batman’s most prominent supporting characters from the film. As
previously mentioned, Vicki Vale was removed, and so were Harvey Dent,
Alexander Knox, and Mayor Borg. Bo Welch’s Gotham City sets had already
made the Gotham of Batman Returns look nothing like the Gotham of Batman—
the absence of familiar Gothamites was further proof that Burton wanted Batman
Returns to be as far removed from Batman as possible.

It could be argued that when all is said and done in Batman Returns, Burton not
only has a distaste for characters that would be categorized as “good guys,” but
also for just about anything that society at large would perceive as “good.” In the
film, Burton seizes on every opportunity he can to destroy anything that appears
benign, cute or cuddly. A dollhouse is smashed to bits, a beauty queen is brutally
murdered, stuffed animals are torn to shreds, pets are abused, and Christmas
decorations are riddled with machine-gun fire. These scenes might give us a
glimpse of what is going on in Tim Burton’s head, but they do not seem all that
connected to what the film is supposed to be about—namely, Batman.

Batman Returns’ lack of interest in its title character and overall mean-
spiritedness were not the film’s only major problems—perhaps its biggest failing
was that so much of it simply made no sense. Burton seemed to construct the
film by placing style over substance, and effect over logic, at every turn. In fact,
the film is so far removed from reality that at times it becomes almost impossible
to follow. For example, consider all of the following questions that Batman
Returns raises upon viewing it.

How could a human baby possibly survive being raised by penguins?

The “old zoo” that Penguin has made into his hideout for decades—it is in very
close proximity to Gotham City’s downtown, so how is it that it has never been
detected by the millions of people living or working near it?

Bruce wants to keep his identity as Batman a secret—why would he mount large
lighted Batsignals on the outside walls of Wayne Manor where they could be
easily spotted by visitors?

How could Batman punch a hole through the floor of the Batmobile to get to the
Penguin’s remote control device? It is not even possible to punch a hole through
the floor of a regular car, let alone the armored Batmobile.

How could Bruce move a compact disc back and forth like a 33⅓ r.p.m. record
to make deejay-style beat sounds when he is jamming Oswald’s speech? The
digital disc format is a completely different technology from the grooved 33⅓
records, so creating such a sound from a CD is not possible.

How could the Penguin ever list and round up all of the first-born sons of
Gotham? Gotham City would have hundreds of thousands of first-born sons—
they would be no way for a small group of people to fan out across such a large
city and round up so many children, especially when trying to collect them in a
slow-moving, parade-style circus train vehicle. Several police cars could easily
shut down the entire operation.
How could Shreck host his holiday masquerade ball on the ground floor of his
department store? Just several days before the ball, the Catwoman ignited an
explosion that turned the entire floor into a giant fireball.

If Batman’s costume is so heavily armored, how can the Catwoman pierce his
torso with a standard sewing needle, and why does his headgear tear off like an
old plastic bag?

How can the Penguin’s penguins understand the long speech he makes to them
at the end of the film? And for that matter, how are they able fire his missiles, or
to move his heavy, lifeless body along the ground using only their flippers?

How in the world is Batman able to keep a large number of bats in his Batboat?
And how could he have commanded them to attack the Penguin?

How will Batman ever be exonerated for the crime of killing the Ice Princess?
The only two people aware of his innocence are the Penguin, who is dead, and
the Catwoman, who has gone into hiding.

From this Batman fan’s perspective, Tim Burton must be held accountable for
most all of Batman Returns’ failings. In the film, he chose to depict Batman,
Penguin, and Catwoman in ways that made them almost unrecognizable so that
they would reflect his own morose sensibilities—they are not so much “Batman”
characters in the film as they are “Burton” characters. Simply put, Batman
Returns isn’t about Batman, it is about Burton’s perception of modern urban life
as a lonely, often hopeless existence. If Burton wanted to make a film with this
particular message, he should have made it using characters of his own
invention, and left Batman and his world completely out of it.

Instead, Burton made Batman Returns, a “Burton” film disguised as a “Batman”

film. Sure, that looks like Batman up there on the screen in Batman Returns—
you can see him driving his Batmobile, and you can hear the strains of Danny
Elfman’s wonderful orchestral score playing in the background. And the
character is surrounded by sets, props and special effects that are often dazzling
to behold. But that Batman on the screen in Batman Returns has very little to do
with the character as he has been portrayed in the comics for so many years.

Stung by the Batman Returns experience, Warner Bros. realized that Burton
could no longer be trusted to helm their Batman franchise. They began their
search for a new Batman director, one whose artistic sensibilities would mesh
better with the interests of the franchise than Burton’s had.

We have a bit more business relating to Batman Returns that we need to attend
to before we move on. Because the film was not as theatrically successful as
Batman, it also enjoyed less popularity on home video than its predecessor. Still,
there was a large demand for Batman Returns VHS tapes and laserdiscs when
Warner first released the movie to the home video market in late 1992. The first
DVD version of Batman Returns was released by Warner in 1997. The DVD
offered the film in its original widescreen format as well as in a format cropped
to fit a standard television screen, but it offered no bonus features or printed
material dealing with the making of the film.

The success of Warner’s 2005 film Batman Begins led the studio to release their
four previous Batman live-action features on 2-disc DVD sets late that same
year. Each of these sets were loaded with special features that detailed their
particular film’s creation. The Batman Returns DVD set included a 1992
television documentary hosted by Robert Urich entitled The Bat, the Cat, and the
Penguin. The short program was designed to introduce the public to Batman
Returns, and featured commentary from members of the film’s cast and crew,
including Burton, Keaton, Pfeiffer and DeVito. Perhaps the most interesting
thing about The Bat, the Cat, and the Penguin was the program’s overall
lighthearted tone, which ended up giving the impression of Batman Returns
being a much more “fun” movie than it really was!

The DVD set also included newly-produced documentaries. The program

Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight Part 4 chronicled
the making of Batman Returns. The program featured insights from many of the
individuals who played a major role in the film’s creation, including Tim Burton,
Daniel Waters, Sam Hamm, Michael Keaton, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Danny
DeVito. These insights were accompanied by a good deal of behind-the-scenes
footage shot on the Batman Returns set showing the film’s cast and crew at
work.

The DVD set’s program Beyond Batman consisted of featurettes about some of
the specific elements of Batman Returns. The titles of the featurettes were
“Gotham City Revisited: The Production Design of Batman Returns,” “Sleek,
Sexy and Sinister: The Costumes of Batman Returns,” “Making-up the
Penguin,” “Assembling the Arctic Army,” “Bats, Mattes and Dark Nights: The
Visual Effects of Batman Returns,” and “Inside the Elfman Studios: The Music
of Batman Returns.” The set also included featurettes on the main heroes and
villains of the film.

This 2005 DVD set remained the definitive home video version of Batman
Returns until Warner released the movie on Blu-ray disc in early 2009. The
Batman Returns Blu-ray included all of the special features found on the DVD
set, but it did not contain any new bonus material. Of course, the Blu-ray’s main
selling point was not its special features, but its presentation of the film itself. On
Blu-ray, Batman Returns looked and sounded far better than it ever had on any
other home video format.

I’ll close my discussion of Batman Returns with these thoughts. The film
certainly has its supporters, both Batman fans and non–Batman fans alike—and
that is by no means a bad thing. As I mentioned earlier in this chapter, Batman is
a fictional character, so all of us can have interpretations of him that are no more
or less valid than anyone else’s. But in my opinion, Batman as he is portrayed in
Batman Returns is simply not the character as I understand and appreciate him.

Fortunately for all of us Batman fans disappointed by Batman Returns, a

marvelous new animated Batman television program called Batman: The
Animated Series debuted just several months after the premiere of the film. This
series would end up being so successful that it would spawn a Batman motion
picture of its own entitled Batman: Mask of the Phantasm—we’ll discuss that
film in detail in the next chapter.
 11
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

Cast (All Voice-only): Kevin Conroy (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Mark Hamill (The
Joker), Dana Delany (Andrea Beaumont), Hart Bochner (Arthur Reeves), Abe
Vigoda (Salvatore Valestra), Stacy Keach, Jr. (Phantasm, Carl Beaumont), Dick
Miller (Chuckie Sol), John P. Ryan (Buzz Bronski), Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.
(Alfred), Bob Hastings (Commissioner Gordon), Robert Costanzo (Detective
Bullock). Directors: Eric Radomski, Bruce W. Timm. Sequence Directors:
Kevin Altieri, Boyd Kirkland, Frank Paur, Dan Riba. Producers: Benjamin
Melniker, Michael Uslan. Co-Producers: Alan Burnett, Eric Radomski, Bruce
W. Timm. Executive Producer: Tom Ruegger. Story: Alan Burnett. Screenplay:
Alan Burnett, Paul Dini, Martin Pasko, Michael Reaves (based on the DC
Comics characters, Batman created by Bob Kane). Editor: Al Breitenbach.
Casting and Voice Supervision: Andrea Romano. Music: Shirley Walker.
Studio: Warner Bros. Length: 77 minutes. United States Release Date:
December 25, 1993.

Even many ardent Batman fans probably do not think of Batman: Mask of the
Phantasm as a Batman feature film, because its theatrical run was an absurdly
brief one—it premiered in U.S. theatres on Christmas Day 1993, and was gone
from those theatres by mid–January 1994! Still, its short time on the big screen
does qualify it as a feature, so we will treat it as such in this book. The film’s
history is completely intertwined with that of the tremendous animated Batman
television program Batman: The Animated Series.

Produced by Warner Bros. Animation, Batman: The Animated Series premiered

on the Fox Kids Network in early September 1992. Executive producer Jean
MacCurdy placed artists Bruce Timm and Eric Radomski in charge of creating
and producing the series, and writers Alan Burnett and Paul Dini were brought
on as the series’ co-producers. An incredibly talented team of designers, artists,
writers, directors and actors worked with these individuals to make Batman: The
Animated Series not only one of the best Batman screen works, but also one of
the best animated television programs of all time.
The initial Fox run of Batman: The Animated Series consisted of 70 half-hour
episodes that aired between September 1992 and May 1994. Fox changed the
title of the series to The Adventures of Batman and Robin in September 1994 and
premiered an additional 15 episodes between September 1994 and September
1995.

These 85 episodes brought a depth and a level of detail to Batman’s world that
no previous Batman screen work had come close to matching. The reason for
this was quite simple: Unlike most all of the creative forces behind the Batman
film and television productions that had been released to date, Timm, Radomski
and company were actually Batman fans. They treated the character and his
comic book history with a respect that no creator of a previous Batman film or
TV work had ever exhibited.
 Batman, the Joker and the Phantasm in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
(1993).

Because its creators had a great fondness and encyclopedic knowledge of all
things Batman, Batman: The Animated Series drew on the character’s rich
history in both a visual and a literary sense. The series’ visual depiction of
Batman incorporated elements of the classic Batman comic renderings of Bob
Kane, Neal Adams, Marshall Rogers and Frank Miller—Batman wore a dark
blue and gray costume with a flowing cape and long ears on its cowl that was a
perfect summation of the character’s basic appearance from the late 1930s to the
early 1990s. And the series perfectly captured the essence of Batman’s
personality as well. He was grim and determined, but he was still very much in
control of his actions and emotions. There was darkness in his soul because he
was born from great tragedy, but he still could still take some satisfaction in the
fact that his mission was truly helping Gotham City and its citizens.

Interestingly, even though Timm, Radomski and company chose to feature the
most well-known version of Robin in the series (the teenage Dick Grayson
Robin), they depicted the character wearing a costume similar to the one worn
by the Tim Drake Robin of the 1990s. This decision was a perfect example of
the manner in which Batman: The Animated Series synthesized old and new
elements of Batman history into a powerful, singular vision of the characters’
world. Incidentally, Robin’s origin was meticulously chronicled in one of the
series’ best episodes. The two-part “Robin’s Reckoning” written by Randy
Rogel was a thoughtful adaptation of the character’s comic origin story “Robin
—the Boy Wonder” (Detective Comics #38, April 1940).

Other episodes of Batman: The Animated Series were based on classic Batman
comic book tales by writers such as Denny O’Neil and Steve Englehart. In fact,
O’Neil actually adapted several of his landmark 1970s Ra’s Al Ghul stories into
scripts for the series. But even the tales featured in Batman: The Animated Series
that were written specifically for the program often turned out to be every bit as
powerful as Batman’s best comic book adventures. The series’ writers regularly
captured the perfect blend of realistic crime drama and fanciful adventure that
had made Batman such a popular character for over five decades.

The episodic nature of Batman: The Animated Series allowed its creators to take
time to really develop their characters—and not just main characters like
Batman, Robin, Joker, Penguin, Riddler and Catwoman. The series also explored
“background” characters such as Batman’s allies Commissioner Gordon and
Alfred. It also presented depictions of a wide range of comic villains that had
never been portrayed on screen before, such as Two-Face, Killer Croc, Rupert
Thorne and the previously mentioned Ra’s Al Ghul.

In fact, Batman: The Animated Series’ depiction of several Batman comic

villains turned out to be so powerful that many Batman fans ended up
considering them to be the “definitive” versions of the characters. For example,
the series imagined Mr. Freeze as much more than just a mad scientist with an
ice gun. In an episode called “Heart of Ice” written by Dini and directed by
Timm, Mr. Freeze was revealed to be Dr. Victor Fries, a cryogenic researcher
who was desperately trying to save his beloved wife Nora from an incurable
disease.

And the series’ depiction of Two-Face was especially riveting. In a two-part

episode simply called “Two-Face,” Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent
was revealed to have been suffering from dual personality disorder long before
the accident that disfigured half of his face and turned him to a life of crime. So
the dark side of Dent was very much there even before his disfigurement—his
transformation into Two-Face basically just revealed the troubled person that he
had always been. “Two-Face” was written by Burnett and Rogel, and directed by
Kevin Altieri. Giving characters such as Mr. Freeze and Two-Face backstories
that explained their motivations made them more emotionally deep and tragic
than they had ever been before.

Batman: The Animated Series’ depiction of the Penguin was very interesting,
because it was directly inspired by the Batman Returns version of the character.
In the series, the Penguin looked almost exactly like Danny Devito’s Penguin,
complete with flipper-like hands. The Penguin was essentially the only character
in Batman: The Animated Series that was a direct carryover from Warner’s live-
action Batman films. Of course, since Batman: The Animated Series was very
much a program designed for younger audiences, the Penguin’s crimes in the
series were nowhere near as grotesque or violent as the crimes of the Batman
Returns Penguin!

Batman: The Animated Series even created a few new characters that ended up
becoming regulars in Batman’s comic book world. The most memorable of these
was the Joker’s female assistant Harley Quinn. Clad in a red and black harlequin
costume complete with a three-pointed jester hat, Harley first appeared as a very
minor background character. But the series’ creators realized they had a
character with great potential on their hands and expanded her role, making her a
regular (and very vocal) presence in most every Joker episode. For some
inexplicable reason, Harley was in love with her demented boss, so their
relationship was a nightmarish mix of horribly skewed domesticity, insanity and
violence. The scenes between the Joker and Harley were often quite funny, but
at times the emotional and physical abuse that Joker regularly inflicted on Harley
also made them very disturbing.

Batman: The Animated Series featured backgrounds that were every bit as
memorable as its depictions of Batman and his supporting cast. The series
rendered Gotham City in dark tones that recalled the ominous feel of the 1989
Batman film. Batman: The Animated Series followed Batman’s lead in another
way as well—like the film, the series featured non-costumed gangsters who
looked as if they had been pulled from a 1940s film noir movie. This mix of
fantastic costumes and antique clothing styles worked every bit as well in
Batman: The Animated Series as it had worked in Batman, creating a visually
arresting clash of new and old that kept the series from being tied to any specific
time period.

Batman: The Animated Series also featured memorable designs of Batman’s

crimefighting equipment. Its Batmobile was a sleek auto that blended the
streamlined look of the 1940s with the imposing power of a modern race car.
And the series’ Batcave boasted an incredible array of computers,
communication equipment and weaponry.

Perhaps Batman: The Animated Series’ only real weakness was the varying
quality of its animation. Because a number of different animation companies
actually created the images used to animate individual episodes, the overall
consistency of the series suffered—some episodes looked incredibly detailed and
realistic, while others looked like not particularly well-made kiddie cartoons.
However, this weakness seemed like a very minor one given the high quality of
the series as a whole.

Batman: The Animated Series featured great voice acting as well as great visuals
and storytelling. Voice director Andrea Romano chose the perfect actors to voice
all of the characters in Batman’s world. Batman was played by Kevin Conroy,
whose deep, determined voice perfectly meshed with the Caped Crusader’s
appearance and personality. Conroy was equally good at playing Bruce Wayne,
adopting a light, carefree tone that served to illustrate that in many ways Bruce
Wayne was a mask for Batman, not the other way around.

Conroy’s performance was matched in quality by series regulars Loren Lester as

Robin/Dick Grayson, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. as Alfred, and Bob Hastings as
Commissioner Gordon. The dialogue of Batman’s villains was memorably
realized by actors such as Mark Hamill (The Joker), Paul Williams (The
Penguin), Adrienne Barbeau (The Catwoman), John Glover (The Riddler),
Richard Moll (Two-Face), and Arleen Sorkin (Harley Quinn). Mark Hamill’s
portrayal of the Joker was particularly inspired—he brought a menacing lunacy
to the part that served as the perfect counterpoint to Conroy’s controlled, no-
nonsense portrayal of Batman.

Batman: The Animated Series also featured a number of notable guest stars who
provided voices for individual episodes, including Ed Begley, Jr., Heather
Locklear and Malcolm McDowell. But the most notable of these stars was
probably the 1960s TV Batman Adam West: In an episode entitled “Beware the
Gray Ghost,” he played an actor named Simon Trent who had found fleeting TV
fame playing a costumed character called the Gray Ghost.

The musical score for Batman: The Animated Series was essential in helping the
series to set its darkly adventurous tone. Danny Elfman’s most memorable
Batman film composition served as the program’s musical starting point. He
reworked his “Batman Theme” from the 1989 Batman into a theme for the series
that opened and closed most of its episodes. A number of different composers
wrote music specifically for the program, including Shirley Walker, Lolita
Ritmanis, and Michael McCuistion. (As we discussed earlier in the book, Walker
was the conductor of Elfman’s Batman music.) Their Batman: The Animated
Series music consisted almost entirely of memorable, dramatic orchestral pieces
that stayed true to the spirit of Elfman’s theme music.

Because of its extremely high quality, Batman: The Animated Series reaped far
greater commercial and critical success than one would expect from a half-hour
animated TV show primarily geared for younger viewers. The series had been so
well-received that Fox chose to insert the program into its prime-time schedule
in late 1992–early 1993 in an effort to give the show a chance to attract more
adult viewers. While it did not generate the kind of prime-time viewership
necessary to convince Fox to keep it in an prime-time slot long-term, the very
fact that the network was willing to give the show such a slot in the first place
demonstrated how highly regarded the program had become.

The success of Batman: The Animated Series led Warner Bros. to request that
the series’ creative team make a direct-to-video film based on the program. The
film would be directed by Timm and Radomski, and written by Burnett and
Dini. Two other Batman: The Animated Series writers, Martin Pasko and
Michael Reaves, would work on scripting the film as well. In early 1993, Warner
Bros. decided that Batman: The Animated Series deserved a shot at an even
larger audience—they upgraded the film to a theatrical work. So Timm,
Radomski and company were given a very tight schedule to prepare their film
for a late 1993 theatrical release. They made this deadline, and their film
1

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm premiered in U.S. theatres on Christmas Day

1993.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was set within the continuity of Batman: The
Animated Series, but the film introduced a number of new characters into that
continuity. The most notable of these characters were Andrea Beaumont, a
woman who Bruce Wayne fell in love with before adopting the guise of Batman,
and the Phantasm, a costumed criminal who was murdering a number of Gotham
City mobsters. We’ll discuss the surprise connection between the two characters
as we go over the film.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm opens with Batman raiding the operation of a
Gotham City gangster named Chuckie Sol. As Sol tries to escape from Batman,
he is attacked by a mysterious cloaked figure with a skull-like mask that looks
much like the popular personification of death known as the Grim Reaper. The
figure even wears a scythe-bladed handpiece that recalls the Grim Reaper’s
fabled scythe. Sol tries to kill the figure by running over it with his car, but
instead ends up dead himself when the car crashes.

The next day, Gotham City Councilman Arthur Reeves holds a press conference
blaming Batman for Sol’s death. Soon after, Reeves has a phone conversation
with his old friend Andrea Beaumont—Reeves worked for Andrea’s father Carl
in the years before he began his political career. Andrea has been away from
Gotham for quite some time, and she is returning to take care of some financial
matters. Reeves then attends a party at Wayne Manor, and he brings up the
subject of Andrea to Bruce. Bruce pretends to be unfazed by the mention of
Andrea’s name, but inwardly he is heartbroken.

Bruce’s relationship to Andrea is then revealed in a flashback sequence. Bruce

had first met Andrea when he was a young man, while he was standing in front
of his parents’ graves. He was immediately attracted to her, but he could not give
in to that attraction because of his “plan.” Of course, this plan was to become a
masked crimefighter in order to avenge the murder of his parents.

Not long after meeting Andrea, Bruce put his plan into action for the first time.
He donned a ski mask to hide his identity and attacked a group of burglars, but
he was almost killed when he jumped on the top of a speeding truck that one of
the burglars was fleeing in. Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce told Alfred that his
plan was working, but he needed to find a way to make criminals fear him. Their
discussion was interrupted by a visit from Andrea—this time around, Bruce gave
in to his attraction and kissed her.

Back to the present day—Gotham gangster Buzz Bronski goes to visit Sol’s
fresh grave, but his visit is interrupted by the same cloaked figure that had
attacked Sol. The figure attacks Bronski as well, killing him by crushing him
under a massive grave marker. Reeves blames Batman for Bronski’s murder as
well as Sol’s, and presses Commissioner Gordon to bring the crimefighter into
custody. Batman goes to the cemetery where Buzz was killed in order to
investigate the crime, which happens to be the same cemetery where his parents
are buried. He visits their graves, and Andrea sees him there—this leads her to
deduce that Batman’s true identity is Bruce Wayne.

In another flashback sequence, we learn that the relationship between Bruce and
Andrea had grown quite serious. While visiting the Gotham World’s Fair,
Andrea convinced Bruce to go to her home to meet her father Carl for the first
time. Bruce’s chat with Carl was cut short when a Gotham gangster named
Salvatore Valestra showed up at the Beaumont home to meet with Carl. Bruce
was immediately suspicious of Valestra’s intentions, and even more suspicious
of one of his underlings, a menacing young man with a noticeably long face.

However, Bruce’s suspicions had to take a backseat to a more pressing problem

—he and Andrea encountered a shopkeeper being robbed by a biker gang. Bruce
fought the gang, but they got the best of him because he was distracted by
worrying about Andrea’s safety. This led Bruce to think that Andrea was
compromising his plan, and he didn’t know what to do. He went to his parents’
graves and told them that he would not be able to keep his vow to fight crime
because Andrea had made him happy. Not long afterward, Bruce proposed to
Andrea outside of Wayne Manor—she accepted, but their happiness was
interrupted by a huge swarm of bats that flew out from a cave underneath the
manor.

Bruce took Andrea home so that they could tell their wonderful news to Carl, but
he was again meeting with Valestra. They decided to wait until the next day to
tell him, but that day would not come. Carl had been embezzling money from
Valestra, as well as Valestra’s partners Chuckie Sol and Buzz Bronski—the
mobsters had discovered this, and they threatened to kill Carl if he did not pay
them back their money immediately. Unable to raise the money to pay the
gangsters, Carl chose to flee the country and take Andrea with him. Obviously,
this put an end to the engagement of Andrea and Bruce. Bruce was then left
alone with his plan, and he donned his Batman costume for the first time.

Back to the present day again—Valestra goes to the abandoned, broken down
Gotham World’s Fair site, because the site is being used as a hideout by the
Joker. Valestra meets with the Joker and tries to persuade him to kill Batman,
because Valestra is convinced that it is Batman who killed Sol and Bronski.
Valestra tells the Joker that Batman might even come after them as well. The
Joker says he will help Valestra because he wants to see him smile.

While investigating the mobster murders, Batman connects Sol and Bronski to
Valestra. The crimefighter goes to Valestra’s house to question him. Batman
does not find Valestra, but he does find a photo of the gangsters with Carl
Beaumont. Batman finally meets up with Andrea again at her hotel room to
question her about her father’s connection to the mobsters. She won’t answer
any of his questions, so he angrily leaves.

Later, the cloaked figure goes to Valestra’s home to kill him, but the figure only
finds Valestra’s corpse—the Joker has killed the gangster by injecting him with
his Joker venom. The Joker has also rigged Valestra’s home with explosives in
the hopes of killing Batman should the crimefighter try to attack Valestra. The
figure escapes the Joker’s trap, but is then intercepted by Batman, who gives
chase in his Batwing aircraft. Batman ejects the Batwing while pursuing the
figure, but he ends up in far more trouble than he bargained for—the Gotham
Police swarm him, trapping him at a construction site. A Gotham Police SWAT
team almost brings Batman down, but the crimefighter is able to momentarily
escape when he diverts the SWAT’s attention by placing his cape and cowl on a
sawhorse. Wounded and unmasked, he runs through the streets of Gotham with
seemingly no way out of his predicament, but just then Andrea pulls up in her
car and takes him back to Wayne Manor.

At the manor, Bruce and Andrea reconcile, and hope that the time has truly come
for their love for one another. Andrea tells Bruce that she believes the mobster-
killing figure is really her father. This leads Bruce to fear that his pursuit of Carl
will stand between him and Andrea. But it turns out that they face far more
unfinished business than just Andrea’s father. Bruce looks at a photo of Carl,
Valestra, Sol and Bronski, and notices that the gangsters’ underling that had
bothered him years ago is in the photo as well. It dawns on Bruce that the
underling is none other than the Joker—the madman was working for the
gangsters before he took the fall into the vat of chemicals that turned his skin
white and his hair green.

Meanwhile, the Joker goes to see Reeves because he has figured out the
connection between the councilman, Carl Beaumont and the mobsters. The Joker
injects Reeves with his Joker venom, sending Reeves to the hospital. Batman
comes into the hospital to question Reeves, and Reeves tells the crimefighter that
he was the one who divulged Beaumont’s whereabouts to the mobsters years
ago. Batman goes to Andrea’s hotel to share this information with her, but she is
not there—what is there is a bomb flown in by the Joker, which he escapes.
However, the bomb was never meant for Batman, it was meant for Andrea—the
Joker has figured out that the real identity of the cloaked figure is Andrea.

In a final flashback sequence, we learn that the “pre–Joker” Joker was sent by
the mobsters to find Carl Beaumont and kill him. Andrea walked in right after
the murder and saw the madman leaving the scene. So it is not Carl, but his
daughter, who has been seeking revenge against the gangsters all of this time.

Back to the present day again—Andrea, dressed in her cloak and scythe, goes to
the Joker’s World’s Fair hideout to finally settle her score with the madman.
They fight, but the Joker escapes. Batman arrives on the scene to help Andrea,
but also to tell her that she needs to end her insane thirst for revenge. She refuses
his appeal, and disappears in a cloud of smoke. Batman then engages in an epic
battle with the Joker, who has rigged the World’s Fair grounds with tons of
explosives. Just as Batman defeats the Joker, Andrea reappears and grabs the
Joker, whisking him away in another cloud of smoke.
Later, Batman has returned to the Batcave, where he sits physically and
emotionally drained. Alfred praises him for never having fallen into an abyss of
vengeance the way that Andrea did. Andrea is then shown on a cruise ship,
basically headed for nowhere, tormented and alone. The film closes with Batman
leaping from a building, responding to the Batsignal.

Unfortunately, Warner Bros. did not back up Batman: Mask of the Phantasm’s
release with any significant promotional efforts, so the film did very little box
office business. As mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, the movie was in
and out of theatres within a matter of just a few weeks. But the diehard Batman
fans who sought out the film were given the opportunity to see their hero return
to the big screen in a motion picture that was much more true to the character
than Batman Returns.

That said, however, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was not necessarily perfect.
The film’s plot was so ambitious that it ended up coming across as rather
muddled. The movie tried to tackle Batman’s origin, the Joker’s “pre–Joker”
past, the Phantasm’s origin, the love of Bruce Wayne’s life, and the maneuvers
of several powerful Gotham mobsters. To make matters worse, the film was
trying to cram all of these story elements into an extremely short run time
—Batman: Mask of the Phantasm clocked in at only 77 minutes!

The Phantasm turned out to be a particularly confusing character for a number of

reasons. First off, the character was never referred to by name throughout the
entire movie! You might have noticed that in my synopsis of the film, I always
referred to the character as the “cloaked figure”—now you know I did that
because the name “Phantasm” was never uttered even one time in the film.

This confusion was compounded by the fact that the Phantasm looked and acted
almost exactly like a differently-named villain that had been prominently
featured in a popular 1987 Batman comic series. The characters were so similar
that it is worth taking a moment to examine the series in some detail. Batman:
Year Two initially ran in Detective Comics #575, June 1987, through Detective
Comics #578, September 1987, and was basically a sequel to Frank Miller’s
1986 series Batman: Year One. Batman: Year Two was written by Mike W. Barr
and primarily illustrated by Todd McFarlane, an artist who would eventually go
on to become one of the comic industry’s most influential creators.

In the series, Batman confronts a seemingly unbeatable villain known as the

Reaper who is a vigilante crimefighter like Batman, but with one major
difference—he is willing to kill the criminals he fights. The Reaper is mysterious
cloaked figure with a skull-like mask that looks much like the popular
personification of death known as the Grim Reaper. The Reaper even wears
scythe-bladed handpieces that recall the Grim Reaper’s fabled scythe. When
Batman is unable to best the Reaper in hand-to-hand combat, he decides to start
carrying a gun for the first time. But it is not just any gun—it is the gun that Joe
Chill used to murder Bruce Wayne’s parents.

Batman’s turmoil is eased by the happiness that his alter ego has found—Bruce
Wayne has fallen in love with a woman named Rachel Caspian, and Bruce and
Rachel become engaged. Batman ends up forming an alliance with some
Gotham gangsters in order to hunt down the Reaper, and one of these gangsters
is none other than Joe Chill. While Batman and Chill are hunting the Reaper
together, Batman eventually confronts Chill about the Wayne murders. Batman
is prepared to use Chill’s own gun on the criminal to avenge his parents’ deaths,
but before he can make this fateful decision the Reaper intervenes and murders
Chill. The Reaper then commits suicide during his final struggle with Batman.

The true identity of the Reaper turns out Rachel’s father, Judson. To atone for
her father’s sins, Rachel breaks off her engagement with Bruce and decides to
become a nun. At the end of the series, Bruce decides that he will go back to
fighting crime as Batman without the use of the gun that killed his parents—he
will not let the evil that created him lead him down a path of murderous
vengeance.

Obviously, this synopsis of Batman: Year Two clearly illustrates the fact that the
Reaper and the Phantasm were very similar characters—they both wore the same
style of costume, murdered criminals, and had a father/daughter dynamic that
intertwined with Bruce Wayne’s life. Timm, Radomski and company
undoubtedly based the Phantasm on the Reaper, and their decision to do this was
certainly warranted—after all, fictional characters are constantly being revised
and tweaked by their creators. That said, however, when Batman: Mask of the
Phantasm was released, there had to have been quite a few Batman fans who
were confused as to whether the Phantasm was a brand-new character, or one
that was somehow tied to the events of Batman: Year Two.

I hate to make things even more confusing, but I feel I should point out that there
was yet another skull-masked, cloak-wearing, scythe-wielding villain called the
Reaper that Batman faced in the comics. This version of the Reaper appeared in
only one story, but it was a memorable one—in fact, it became widely regarded
as one of the best Batman comic stories of all time. “Night of the Reaper” was
written by Denny O’Neil and illustrated by Neal Adams, and was originally
published in Batman #237, December 1971. In the story, a Jewish doctor dresses
in a Reaper costume in order to take revenge on a Nazi war criminal. The
doctor’s quest for vengeance ends up spiraling out of control, which leads him
into a deadly confrontation with Batman.

The Phantasm’s actions in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm were every bit as
puzzling as the character’s basic premise. Throughout the film, the Phantasm
disappears and reappears at will in clouds of smoke, performs near-superhuman
feats of strength and speed, and appears to be able to float. When the Phantasm
is revealed to be Andrea, a woman of seemingly average size and strength, it
leaves one to wonder just how she was able to do all of those incredible things.
Oddly, the film never addresses this question in any way.

And just what did Andrea end up doing with the defeated Joker at the end of the
film? They disappear into one of her unexplained clouds of smoke, and we are
left without the slightest idea of what they might do to one another. Will she kill
him? Will he kill her? Their confrontation is left even more unresolved when we
see Andrea on a cruise ship at the very end of the film—obviously, whatever
ended up happening between the two of them did not stop Andrea from being
able to get a chance to take a relaxing sea voyage to “get away from it all!”

But Batman: Mask of the Phantasm’s few weaknesses do not even come close to
compromising the overall high quality of the film. All of the elements that made
Batman: The Animated Series such an incredible program are very much in
evidence in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Timm, Radomski and company
present a powerful interpretation of Batman and his world in the film, and that
unquestionably makes its release a high watermark in the character’s history.

There are a few elements of the sound of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm that
should be singled out for praise as well. Shirley Walker’s musical score for the
film is excellent, matching the quality of the music she had composed for
Batman: The Animated Series. And of course, the movie’s voice talent is top-
notch, especially Kevin Conroy as Bruce Wayne/Batman, Mark Hamill as the
Joker, and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. as Alfred.
It is worth noting that Batman: Mask of the Phantasm was influenced by Frank
Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s Batman: Year One almost as much as it was
influenced by Batman: Year Two. In fact, two of the most memorable sequences
in the film were obviously inspired by Miller and Mazzucchelli’s series. Those
sequences are the one in which a pre–Batman Bruce makes his very first attempt
at fighting crime, and the one in which Batman is cornered by an aggressive
Gotham Police SWAT team. These sequences do not follow their Batman: Year
One counterparts panel-for-panel, but they are so similar that there is no doubt
that they were directly based on Miller’s work.

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm may not have found the audience it deserved
during its theatrical run, but it did find that audience once it was released on
home video. Warner Bros. first made the film available to the home video
market on VHS tape in spring 1994. All of the Batman fans who missed the
film’s bow on the big screen got to experience it in the comfort of their own
homes, and the word spread as to just how good it was very quickly. Batman:
Mask of the Phantasm has been highly regarded by Batman fans ever since that
initial home video release. Warner first released a DVD version of the film in
late 1999, and the film has remained available in that format up to the present
day.

The success of Batman: The Animated Series came at a very opportune time for
the Batman character. It kept the character in the public eye as Warner Bros.
decided just how to move forward with their Batman franchise after their
dissatisfaction with Batman Returns. Next chapter, we’ll examine what was
happening on the Batman landscape as Warner was making plans for their next
Batman feature film.
 12
Between Burton and Schumacher, 1993–1995

Not surprisingly, the success of Batman: The Animated Series dominated the
Batman character’s world as Warner Bros. was making plans for their next live-
action Batman feature film after director Tim Burton’s 1992 film Batman
Returns. First off, the series spawned several well-received Batman comic titles.
Debuting in October 1992, The Batman Adventures featured stories created in
the visual and narrative style of the TV series. The Batman Adventures
eventually gave way to the new title Batman and Robin Adventures, which
eventually gave way to another new title, Gotham Adventures, which eventually
gave way to yet another new title that bore the comic’s original 1992 title,
Batman Adventures. But regardless of the title, all of these comics stayed true to
the tone established in Batman: The Animated Series.

In 1994, a stand-alone comic inspired by the series, Mad Love, was released.
Written by Paul Dini and illustrated by Bruce Timm, it provided their Harley
Quinn character with a detailed origin. The story revealed that Harley was a
psychiatrist named Harleen Quinzel who fell in love with the Joker in the
process of trying to rehabilitate him. So she designed her Harley Quinn costume
in order to become the Joker’s partner, both in love and in crime.

Of course, Mad Love shows that being in love with the Joker is no easy task. The
Joker becomes annoyed with Harley and throws her out of their hideout. Harley
decides that her problems with the Joker are not due to the fact that he is an
insane murderer—they are due to the fact that Batman continues to make the
Joker’s life so miserable. So Harley alone concocts a scheme to capture Batman
and kill him. She almost succeeds, but Batman convinces her to call the Joker to
come and witness her moment of triumph.

The Joker comes, and actually saves Batman from Harley’s deathtrap; if he isn’t
going to kill Batman, then no one is, especially not his lowly assistant. In fact,
the Joker is so enraged with Harley’s ambition that he knocks her out of a
window, almost killing her. Mad Love ends with Harley vowing to end her
relationship with the Joker—but when she receives a rose from him, she is
smitten all over again. Mad Love’s tale of Harley’s self-destructive love was so
wonderfully written and illustrated that it won the prestigious Eisner Award for
the best single comic issue of 1994.

The success of Batman: The Animated Series also had a tremendous impact on
the manufacturing and sale of Batman toys. Throughout the 1990s, Kenner Toys
released dozens upon dozens of Batman: The Animated Series action figures and
accessories, creating the most comprehensive collection of Batman toys ever
offered by a single toy company. Batman, Robin, Batgirl, Joker, Penguin,
Riddler and Catwoman had been offered for sale in action figure form by a
number of companies throughout the years, but the variety of Kenner’s Batman:
The Animated Series line was truly staggering. Along with the aforementioned
characters, Batman fans could collect action figures of virtually every major
character ever featured in the series. And since the series got around to featuring
most every major character that had ever appeared in Batman’s comic book
world, this meant that Kenner’s Animated Series line literally covered a huge
portion of Batman’s 50-plus year history.

Batman was faced with one of the biggest challenges of his crimefighting career
in 1993. In an ongoing series entitled Knightfall which ran in the character’s
monthly comic book titles, Batman faced a villain known as Bane, who had been
created by writers Chuck Dixon and Doug Moench, and artist Graham Nolan.
Bane had become incredibly powerful after being injected with an experimental
steroid known as “Venom.” In an effort to wear Batman down and eventually
destroy him, Bane set all of the hero’s most deadly foes loose from Arkham
Asylum, the mental hospital where they were being held. For a number of
weeks, Batman labored to capture all of the escapees, which left him in a
severely weakened physical and mental state. Bane, having deduced Batman’s
real identity, then attacked the fatigued crimefighter at Wayne Manor in Batman
#497, July 1993. Batman tried to fight the criminal, but it was no use—Bane
overpowered him and broke his back, leaving him totally paralyzed.

Obviously, Batman could no longer fight crime in his condition, so in a

continuation of the Knightfall series entitled Knightquest, he asked a
superhuman hero named Azrael to assume the guise of Batman for him. Azrael,
whose real identity was Jean Paul Valley, agreed to take over as Batman—but
his Batman was very different from Bruce’s Batman. First off, Jean Paul adopted
a heavily armored costume that looked nothing like Bruce’s costume. Also, Jean
Paul’s Batman showed none of the regard for human life that Bruce had shown
over the years; he eventually became so violent that Bruce demanded that he
give up being Batman. Jean Paul refused to give up his new identity without a
fight, so Bruce rehabilitated himself over time, and eventually donned his old
costume to confront his successor. In the final part of the Knightfall series
(KnightsEnd), the “Bruce Batman” battled the “Jean Paul Batman,” and the
“Bruce Batman” emerged victorious; in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight
#63, August 1994, Jean Paul relinquished the mantle of Batman once and for all.

The early 1990s also saw the Batman character enter into a whole new realm of
entertainment—the amusement park. During this time, the Six Flags Corporation
was acquired by Time Warner, the parent company of DC Comics and Warner
Bros. (As we discussed earlier in the book, Warner Communications had been
the parent company of DC and Warner for a number of years—Warner
Communications merged with Time in 1990, forming Time Warner.) So Six
Flags was able to start using the likenesses of all of the characters owned by
Time Warner at their amusement parks. Of course, Batman was one of these
characters, and Six Flags made him a big part of many of their rides and
attractions.

One of the first and most ambitious Batman-themed projects undertaken by Six
Flags was the roller coaster Batman: The Ride, which opened at Six Flags Great
America near Chicago, Illinois in 1992. Batman: The Ride was the world’s first
inverted roller coaster, and it ended up being so popular that Six Flags built new
versions of the ride at a number of their other parks throughout the United
States. However, Batman: The Ride was only one of the many rides and
attractions featuring the character that Six Flags developed. A Batman fan could
take a trip to most any Six Flags park and ride a wide variety of Batman-themed
rides, watch a live stage show featuring Batman and many of his supporting
characters, and of course, buy a wealth of Batman merchandise at a park gift
shop. In 1998, Time Warner sold Six Flags to another corporation—but Six
Flags has continued to feature Batman and other Time Warner characters at their
parks to this day.

Batman’s continued popularity in many forms of entertainment certainly

suggested that the public would welcome him back when he returned to the big
screen—and that is just what happened when director Joel Schumacher’s film
Batman Forever was released in 1995. We’ll discuss that film in detail in the
next chapter.
 13
Batman Forever (1995)

Cast: Val Kilmer (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Tommy Lee Jones (Harvey

Dent/Two-Face), Jim Carrey (Edward Nygma/The Riddler), Nicole Kidman (Dr.
Chase Meridian), Chris O’Donnell (Dick Grayson/Robin), Michael Gough
(Alfred), Pat Hingle (Commissioner Gordon), Drew Barrymore (Sugar), Debi
Mazar (Spice), Ed Begley, Jr. (Fred Stickley), Elizabeth Sanders (Gossip Gerty),
Rene Auberjonois (Dr. Burton), Joe Grifasi (Bank Guard), Philip Moon
(Newcaster), Jessica Tuck (Female Newscaster), Dennis Paladino (Crime Boss
Moroni), Kimberly Scott (Margaret), Michael Paul Chan (Executive), Jon
Favreau (Assistant), Greg Lauren (Aide), Ramsey Ellis (Young Bruce Wayne),
Michael Scranton (Thomas Wayne), Eileen Seeley (Martha Wayne), David U.
Hodges (Jack Napier), Jack Betts (Fisherman), Tim Jackson (Municipal Police
Guard), Daniel Reichert (Ringmaster), Glory Fioramonti (Mom Grayson), Larry
A. Lee (Dad Grayson), Bruce Roberts (Handsome Reporter), George Wallace
(Mayor), Bob Zmuda (Electronic Store Owner), Rebecca Budig (Teenage Girl),
Don “The Dragon” Wilson (Gang Leader), Sydney D. Minckler (Teen Gang
Member), Maxine Jones (Girl on Corner #1), Terry Ellis (Girl on Corner #2),
Cindy Herron (Girl on Corner #3), Dawn Robinson (Girl on Corner #4), Gary
Kasper (pilot), Amanda Trees (Paparazzi Reporter), Andrea Fletcher (Reporter),
Ria Coyne (Socialite), Jed Curtis (Chubby Businessman), William Mesnik (Bald
Guy), Marga Gomez (Journalist), Kelly Vaughn (Showgirl), John Fink (Deputy),
Noby Arden, Marlene Bologna, Danny Castle, Troy S. Wolfe (Trapeze
Performers), Christopher Caso, Gary Clayton, Oscar Dillon, Keith Graham,
Kevin Grevioux, Mark Hicks, Corey Jacoby, Randy Lamb, Maurice Lamont,
Sidney S. Liufau, Brad Martin, Deron McBee, Mario Mugavero, Joey Nelson,
Jim Palmer, Robert Pavell, Pee Wee Piemonte, Peter Radon, Francois Rodrigue,
Joe Sabatino, Mike Sabatino, Ofer Samra, Matt Sigloch, Mike Smith (Harvey’s
Thugs). Producers: Tim Burton, Peter MacGregor-Scott. Assistant Producer:
Mitchell Dauterive. Executive Producers: Benjamin Melniker, Michael Uslan.
Director: Joel Schumacher. Unit Production Manager: Ralph Burris.
Screenplay: Lee Batchler, Janet Scott Batchler, Akiva Goldsman (Story by Lee
Batchler and Janet Scott Batchler, based on characters created by Bob Kane).
Cinematography: Stephen Goldblatt. Casting: Mali Finn. Production Designer:
Barbara Ling. Art Directors: Chris Burian-Mohr, James Hegedus, Joseph P.
Lucky. Set Designers: James Bayliss, Richard Berger, Peter J. Kelly, Patricia
Klawonn, Gene Nollmann, Brad Ricker. Set Decorator: Elise “Cricket”
Rowland. Costume Designers: Bob Ringwood, Ingrid Ferrin. Music: Elliot
Goldenthal. Editor: Dennis Virkler. First Assistant Director: William Elvin.
Second Assistant Director: Alan Edmisten. Sound: Petur Hliddal. Key Makeup
Artist: Ve Neill. Special Makeup Designer: Rick Baker. Key Hair Stylist:
Yolanda Toussieng. Visual Effects Supervisor: John Dykstra. Stunt Coordinator:
Conrad Palmisano. Special Effects Supervisor: Thomas L. Fisher. Studio:
Warner Bros. Length: 122 minutes. United States Release Date: June 16, 1995.

As we discussed in Chapter 10, the bad press and disappointing box office
numbers that Tim Burton’s Batman Returns had inflicted on Warner Bros. led
the studio to decide that its Batman film franchise needed to be taken in a
different direction. So in June 1993, Warner hired Joel Schumacher to direct
their third live-action Batman film instead of Burton. The studio believed that
Schumacher would be able to steer the franchise back toward the generally
lighter, more mainstream, audience-friendly tone of the 1989 Batman.
 Val Kilmer as Batman and Chris O’Donnell as Robin in Batman Forever
(1995).

Warner’s confidence in Schumacher was primarily based on the fact that the
director had helmed a number of stylish and commercially successful films such
as St. Elmo’s Fire (1985), The Lost Boys (1987) and Flatliners (1990). Plus,
these films had starred some of Hollywood’s hottest young actors and actresses,
which made them especially appealing to younger audiences. A director with a
track record of making hit films that connected with the sensibilities of a
younger demographic seemed to be the perfect candidate to again make Batman
“fun” for movie audiences of all ages.

Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face and Jim Carrey as the Riddler in Batman
 Forever (1995).

This change in directors was a decision that made winners out of everyone
involved. Of course, Warner Bros. benefited because the change gave them the
chance to plot a new course for their Batman film franchise. And Schumacher
benefited because the change instantly propelled his career to new heights—after
all, he had just been handed the reins to a gargantuan film project that would
surely command worldwide attention.

Ironically, Burton benefited from this change as well, even though he was the
one who was in essence losing his job! While it was true that the Batman
character had brought incredible success to the director, he had always been
somewhat uncomfortable with this success, especially the success that stemmed
from the 1989 Batman. Burton had made it clear on a number of occasions that
he felt Batman wasn’t his movie nearly as much as it was simply a Batman
movie.1

The success of Batman allowed Burton to make Batman Returns into a film that
truly was his—but that film’s lack of interest in Batman himself made it fairly
obvious that the character was simply no longer a part of what Burton really
wanted to do as a filmmaker. Being freed from directing a third Batman film
meant that the director would be given the chance to make films that were much
more meaningful to him. And Burton would make the most of that chance—his
post–Batman directorial success would prove that it was a positive artistic step
for him to move on from the character.

Incidentally, Warner’s decision to ease Burton out of their Batman film franchise
did not mean that the director’s ties to the franchise would be completely
severed. The studio chose to credit Burton as producer of their third live-action
Batman film, even though in reality Burton would hardly be involved in the
film’s creation. Burton’s success had definitely led him to be recognized as a
“name brand,” so keeping that name connected to the franchise was a decision
that benefited both Burton and the studio.

Warner Bros. and Schumacher chose the husband-and-wife team of Lee Batchler
and Janet Scott Batchler to script their Batman film. The initial drafts of the
screenplay were written by the Batchlers, and then Schumacher brought in Akiva
Goldsman revise the Batchlers’ work. The finished script was given an official
title, Batman Forever, and it was startlingly different from Warner’s previous
Batman films.

One of the most obvious signs of how different Batman Forever would be from
its predecessors was that the film would feature Robin/Dick Grayson. As we
discussed earlier in the book, the character was supposed to be included in both
Batman and Batman Returns, but was eventually cut from both films in order to
simplify their storylines. This time around, Robin/Dick was going to be such a
major focus of the film that there would no chance of him getting cut a third
time. The character’s presence would serve to “lighten” Batman Forever just as
he had lightened countless Batman comic stories since his 1940 debut.

However, Batman Forever’s Robin was going to be considerably changed from

his comic book counterpart. He would still be a circus trapeze artist named Dick
Grayson who performed with his family in an act called “The Flying Graysons,”
and the murder of his family would lead him to become a masked crimefighter.
But both his age and attitude would be quite different from that of the comic
book Robin. In Batman Forever, Dick would be not a boy when his family was
killed, but a young man in his late teens or early twenties. And unlike his comic
book counterpart, his reaction to their deaths would fill him with a rage and
thirst for revenge that practically eclipsed his sorrow. Obviously, Batman
Forever’s Batman and Robin would have a very different partnership than the
kind of “father-son” rapport they traditionally were shown to have in the comics.

Of course, this new version of Batman and Robin would need villains to face off
against—and like Batman Returns, Batman Forever was going to feature two of
Batman’s classic comic book adversaries. One of these adversaries had already
been brought to the big screen—the Riddler, one of the villains featured in the
1966 film Batman, was chosen to do battle with Batman and Robin in Batman
Forever.

The other adversary was coming to the big screen for the very first time—Two-
Face had remained one of Batman’s most memorable comic book villains ever
since his debut in the early 1940s, but he had never been depicted in a Batman
motion picture. In fact, there had been only one screen version of the character
of any kind in his 50 plus-year history—as noted in Chapter 11, he was
memorably realized in animated form in Batman: The Animated Series.

Two-Face also had several near-misses in terms of screen depictions during his
first half-century. The character had almost made it to the television screen in
live-action form back in the 1960s—the creators of ABC’s Batman briefly
considered adding Two-Face to their roster of villains, but probably due to the
fact that his appearance was so grotesque, he was deemed unacceptable for their
lighthearted take on Batman and his world. And of course, a pre–Two-Face
2

Harvey Dent was featured in the 1989 Batman, the role being played by Billy
Dee Williams. (We’ll discuss Williams’ version of Dent a bit more in just a
moment.) At any rate, Batman Forever had guaranteed itself the distinction of
presenting both the first live-action version and the first big screen version of
Two-Face.

Another big difference between Batman Forever and its predecessors was going
to be the manner in which Batman himself was depicted. In the Batman Forever
script, the darkness of the Batman found in Batman and Batman Returns gave
way to a Batman who was struggling to emerge from the shadows of mindless
violence. Batman Forever’s take on Batman/Bruce Wayne was that the only way
Bruce could cope with the murder of his parents when he was a boy was by
adopting his fearsome Batman alter ego—but as the years passed, this alter ego
began to completely consume him.

This element of Batman’s character was played up to a far greater degree in

Batman Forever’s original script than it would be in the finished movie. In the
script, Batman was forced to confront the fact that his violent actions were
responsible for a number of lives that were lost during his battles against the
Joker in Batman and against the Penguin in Batman Returns.

For example, the script included a scene showing Bruce Wayne watching a TV
talk show that featured a commentator who accused Batman of being no more
heroic than these criminals because of all of the death and destruction that had
been left in his wake. And during one of Batman’s struggles with Two-Face, the
villain implied that the crimefighter was every bit as much of a killer as he was.
The Batchler team–Goldsman Batman realized that during his previous film
adventures, he had sometimes stepped over the line separating a vigilante from
an out-and-out murderer. And he also realized that if he kept stepping over this
line, before long his whole life would be given over to violence.

In this author’s opinion, this development of Batman’s character in Batman

Forever was a highly significant and welcome change from the manner in which
he had been portrayed in Warner’s first two Batman films, especially Batman
Returns. As we discussed in Chapter 10, Batman was basically depicted as a
remorseless killer in Batman Returns, which was very upsetting for many
longtime fans of the character. Batman Forever’s script seemed to represent a
conscious decision on the part of Warner Bros. to give their Batman the moral
high ground he had always held in the comics. In fact, one could almost interpret
the script as a direct apology to Batman fans for the scenes in Batman and
Batman Returns that depicted the character as being willing, if not eager, to take
human lives in his fight against crime.

At any rate, the Batman/Bruce Wayne of the Batman Forever script was trying
to reconcile his two identities into one life that both identities could live with.
The arrival of Dick Grayson, a young man facing a tragedy so much like Bruce’s
own, served to highlight the fact that if Bruce wanted to hold onto his sanity, he
had to come to grips with the anger and grief inside him that had led him to
become Batman.

Batman’s/Bruce’s characterization in Batman Forever’s script was made all the

more intriguing by including scenes that depicted him directly blaming himself
for his parents’ deaths. In the script, Bruce was haunted by the fact that shortly
after his parents’ murders, he had read in the very last entry of his father’s diary
that the only reason they were going out at all that fateful night was because
Bruce insisted on seeing a movie. Late in the script, Bruce gets the chance to re-
read the diary, and he realizes that when he was a boy, he had misread what his
father wrote—it was not Bruce, but his parents who wanted to go out to see a
movie that night. This revelation helps him to move past blaming himself for the
loss of his parents—and by letting go of this self-blame, he is able to come to
terms with his dual identity. At the end of the script, Bruce is finally able to
perceive his life as Batman as a means to seek justice instead of simply as a
means to inflict violence.

Simply put, Batman Forever’s original script was undoubtedly a far deeper
character study of Batman than any previous big screen adaptation of the
character to date. Unfortunately, a substantial amount of this character material
would not actually make it into the final cut of the film. Many of the scenes
depicting Batman trying to come to grips with his long-held anger and grief were
filmed, and they were even included in preliminary cuts of the movie. But these
scenes were removed from the final version of Batman Forever in order to
shorten the film and simplify its narrative. The script’s diary scenes and most of
its direct references to Batman and Batman Returns were particularly affected by
these cuts. Ironically, these cuts would actually end up not simplifying, but
confusing Batman Forever’s narrative—we’ll discuss this in greater detail later
in the chapter.

All of the changes that Warner’s Batman film franchise was going through
evidently convinced the face of the franchise that it was time for him to move on
to new opportunities. In late June 1994, Michael Keaton announced that he had
decided not to reprise his role as Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman Forever. This
split between Keaton and Warner Bros. was presented to the public as one that
was completely amicable—both parties issued statements that spoke of Keaton’s
time with the franchise in very positive terms. However, in reality the split was
not without some disagreement—reportedly Keaton did not see eye-to-eye with
Schumacher over the new direction in which Batman Forever was taking his
character.3

Schumacher chose 33-year-old Val Kilmer to replace Keaton. In many respects,

Kilmer was an ideal choice. He bore a much closer physical resemblance to the
Batman/Bruce Wayne of the comics than did Keaton; he was six feet tall, in
possession of a good physique and, most importantly, he had the same kind of
classic “leading man” good looks as the character in the comics. Also, he had
proven himself to be an intense, charismatic actor in films such as The Doors
(1991), in which he recreated the Doors’ singer Jim Morrison’s troubled life
with startling realism and power.

If Kilmer had any real drawback in terms of playing Batman/Bruce Wayne, it

was that he didn’t really seem particularly interested in the role itself. In some of
the interviews he did before Batman Forever was released, he indicated that he
took the part simply to beef up his film resume. After all, Batman Forever would
almost surely be a colossal hit once it was released, and the movie’s success
would obviously help to propel his film career to new heights. Simply put, it
appeared that Kilmer considered the role to be a wise career move, but not one
that held any personal significance for him. 4

Kilmer’s expressed ambivalence, if not downright glibness, about playing

Batman/Bruce Wayne was somewhat troubling for some longtime fans of the
character. After all, how good could Kilmer be as Batman if he cared nothing at
all about the part? That said, however, while Kilmer might have been publicly
flippant about portraying Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman Forever, that attitude
did not manifest itself in his actual performance.
Chris O’Donnell was hired for the role of Robin/Dick Grayson in Batman
Forever. The handsome 24-year-old actor was best known for starring alongside
Al Pacino in the acclaimed drama Scent of a Woman (1992). Like Kilmer,
O’Donnell was seen as a fresh talent whose career was definitely on its way up
—consequently, their pairing as Batman and Robin generated a good deal of
buzz.

The casting of Batman Forever’s villains was also bringing the project a good
deal of pre-production attention. Tommy Lee Jones was picked to play the role
of Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Jones was a veteran performer who was known for
his no-nonsense, almost deadpan acting style, so the role of Two-Face, with his
dramatically split appearance and personality, was seen as something of a
departure for the actor.

As mentioned earlier in this chapter, the pre–Two-Face Harvey Dent had been
played by Billy Dee Williams in the 1989 Batman. Williams probably took the
small part of Dent in Batman in the hopes that there would be a meatier part for
him as Two-Face if a Batman sequel was ever produced. But when it came time
to cast the role for Batman Forever, Schumacher chose to hire Jones over
Williams. Consequently, Williams was denied the chance to expand his minor
portrayal of Dent into one of Batman’s most memorable villains.

Another actor by the name of Williams turned out to be one of Batman

Forever’s near-misses in terms of casting the film’s villains. Ever since the
release of the 1989 Batman, rumors had persisted that Robin Williams would
play the part of the Riddler if the character was ever featured in a Batman sequel.
But when it came time to cast Batman Forever, Williams passed on the role, so
it was given to Jim Carrey. Carrey was a manic, rubber-faced comedian best
known for starring in the comedies Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and The Mask
(both 1994). Given that the general public’s perception of the Riddler was still so
closely associated with Frank Gorshin’s delightfully hammy portrayal of the
character in the 1960s Batman TV show and film, Carrey’s nonstop comedic
energy seemed like a great fit for the part.

Batman/Bruce Wayne would be given a new love interest in Batman Forever,

one created specifically for the film. Nicole Kidman was cast as Dr. Chase
Meridian, a beautiful psychologist who has moved to Gotham City to consult
with the Gotham Police about Two-Face’s crimes. Like all the rest of Batman
Forever’s principal performers, Kidman was very much a “hot commodity” at
the time. She had starred in a wide variety of high-profile films during the late
1980s and early 1990s, including the 1992 drama Far and Away, which also
featured her superstar husband Tom Cruise.

Along with Batman, Robin, Two-Face, Riddler and Chase, most everything else
about Batman Forever would be “new”—Schumacher cut loose basically all of
the major creative forces behind Batman and Batman Returns in order to bring a
new sensibility to his Batman film. Batman Forever was going to look and
sound very different from its predecessors.

Well, there were a few holdovers from Batman and Batman Returns. Perhaps the
most notable of these holdovers was costume designer Bob Ringwood.
Ringwood really had his work cut out for him in Batman Forever just designing
costumes for the film’s four main characters—he designed two new Batman
costumes, a Robin costume, and multiple Two-Face and Riddler costumes!

Schumacher had Ringwood make substantial changes to Batman’s costume in

Batman Forever. There were actually two distinctly different Batman costumes
featured in the film. The first (the one Batman wore for the majority of the
movie) was similar to the Batman costumes featured in Batman and Batman
Returns. It was all black except for its bat emblem, which featured a yellow oval
around a black bat silhouette. However, it differed from the earlier Warner bat
costumes in that its utility belt was black, and its muscled body armor sported
nipples that were molded onto its chest!

Longtime Batman fans were generally very perturbed by Schumacher’s decision

to have Ringwood put nipples on the Batman costume—Batman’s costume was
supposed to strike terror into the hearts of criminals, and nipples certainly did
not help to accomplish this goal in any way. In fact, Batman’s creator even
weighed in on the “nipple” controversy. Bob Kane made a number of visits to
the Batman Forever set, and during one of these visits he made it clear to
Schumacher and company that he was very unhappy about this new addition to
Batman’s costume. 5

Ringwood’s second Batman costume featured during Batman Forever’s final

scenes did not feature those troublesome nipples. In Batman’s final
confrontation with Two-Face and the Riddler, he wore an experimental costume
he had been developing with sonar equipment built into its headgear. This
costume was not flat black in color like Batman’s earlier film costumes, but
shiny gunmetal gray. It also did not feature the classic bat emblem of a black bat
silhouette inside of a yellow oval like Batman’s earlier film costumes had—its
bat emblem was a much larger bat silhouette with no yellow oval, and it was
actually molded into the costume’s muscled chest armor.

Ringwood’s Robin costume in Batman Forever was crafted out of the same kind
of shiny material as Batman’s second, “experimental” costume. It featured colors
that were similar to the comic book Robin’s 1990s look—its cape was black
with yellow lining, its full bodysuit was red and green, and its mask, gloves and
boots were black. The costume had the letter “R” molded into its chest armor
just like the bat insignia was molded into the Batman costume’s chest armor.
And, like Batman Forever’s first Batman costume, the Robin costume sported
nipples on its chest armor.

As evidenced by the nipples on Batman and Robin’s costumes, Schumacher was

intent on lightening the mood of Warner’s Batman franchise, and bringing some
humor back to the character that had been lacking in Warner’s earlier Batman
films, especially Batman Returns. This philosophy extended to the costuming of
Batman Forever’s villains. Ringwood outfitted Two-Face and the Riddler in
outrageously garish, brightly colored costumes that recalled the villains of the
1960s screen Batman.

Batman Forever’s Two-Face was outfitted in his normal comic book–style

clothes—namely, suits that were half well-tailored and conservative (to match
the unscarred handsome side of his face) and half-gaudy and gangster-like (to
match the scarred side of his face). However, these suits were far wilder than
Two-Face’s comic book garb—his “gangster side” was adorned at times with
purple tiger stripes, and at other times with rhinestone and sequin patterns. And
the prosthetic makeup designed for the scarred side of his face was not the deep
green color of the comic book Two-Face’s scarred side, but rather an almost
fluorescent purple-magenta. Two-Face’s makeup was designed by the noted film
makeup artist Rick Baker.

The Riddler’s appearance was every bit as crazy as Two-Face’s. The character
wore a number of different costumes in Batman Forever, each one gaudier than
the last. His first one resembled the character’s traditional comic book garb of a
skintight green bodysuit emblazoned with black question marks, but as the film
went on, his costumes grew more and more outlandish. One of them even
featured a coat with lights woven into its fabric that flashed a pattern of green
question marks.

Not only were all of Batman Forever’s costumes brand new, but all of the
equipment in Batman and Robin’s crimefighting arsenal was given a makeover
as well. The Batmobile was completely redesigned by production designer
Barbara Ling, illustrator Tim Flattery and special effects supervisor Tommy
Fisher. The car was built by the custom vehicle construction company TFX
under the supervision of Charley Zurian and Allen Pike.

Batman Forever’s Batmobile featured a ribbed body highlighted with blue and
white lights built into its sides, illuminated bat insignias on its hubcaps and three
scalloped batwing-like tailfins. The left and right sides of the car had one tailfin
each, and the third and largest tailfin jutted back from the center of the car’s
cockpit. The car was far more flamboyant and fanciful than any screen version
of the Batmobile to date. While it might have lacked some of the real-world
practicality found in the 1966 and 1989 screen Batmobiles, its dramatic design
made it every bit as memorable.

Ling and Flattery also designed Batman Forever’s Batboat, which like their
Batmobile featured a ribbed body and a batwing-like tailfin. And also like their
Batmobile, it was a real, operating vehicle—it was constructed by VIP Marine,
an Oregon-based boat construction company. Unfortunately, for all the time and
expense that went into crafting the Batboat, it was only seen in Batman Forever
for several moments near the end of the film. Batman Forever also featured a
Batwing that was very similar in appearance to the Batwing used in the 1989
Batman. However, Ling and illustrator Matt Codd redesigned it with a ribbed
body and tailfin to match the film’s Batmobile and Batboat. Like Batman’s
Batwing, this Batwing was not a full-size, operational craft but a miniature
model that could only be made to fly through the magic of special effects.

In fact, special effects played a larger role in the making of Batman Forever than
they had in Warner’s previous Batman motion pictures, mainly because the art
of superimposing computer-generated graphics onto film had taken a quantum
leap since the late 1980s and early 1990s. In order to use this new technology to
its fullest potential, Schumacher brought veteran special effects expert John
Dykstra on board as Batman Forever’s visual effects supervisor. A substantial
amount of Batman Forever’s action and sets ended up being realized through
Dykstra’s special effects team.
Dykstra’s work was an important element of Batman Forever’s visual style, but
it by no means overshadowed the film’s incredible real-life sets. Ling designed
dozens of sets for Batman Forever, and they were so ambitious that Warner’s
Burbank, California studios could not hold them all. Sets such as the Gotham
Police Headquarters rooftop, the Gotham Hippodrome Circus, the Riddler’s lair,
and the Arkham Asylum exterior were built at Warner. When Warner ran out of
available space for the film, several sets were built at Universal Studios in
California, including the interior of Arkham. Incidentally, Batman Forever
would end up holding the distinction of being the first live-action Batman screen
work to feature a depiction of Arkham Asylum.

Batman Forever needed still more room, so the Dome in Long Beach, California
originally built by Howard Hughes for his aviation and nautical projects housed
several of the film’s sets. Batman Forever’s Dome sets included the Batcave and
Two-Face’s lair. The film’s Batcave set was particularly impressive—with its
6

huge amount of high tech equipment, including a sunken turntable for the
Batmobile, it dwarfed the Batcave sets used in Warner’s two previous live-action
Batman films.

Ling’s real-life sets and Dykstra’s visual effects meshed so perfectly with one
another that it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.
Nowhere was this fact more apparent than in Dykstra’s incredibly complex and
detailed miniature Gotham City sets that were constructed for the film at one of
Hughes’ former aircraft hangars in Marina del Rey, California. Many of the
buildings in these sets stood at over fifteen feet tall, and they were crafted with
such precision that they seamlessly blended with all of Ling’s life-size sets.
7

Schumacher’s decision to realize Batman’s world on such a grand scale in

Batman Forever was undoubtedly a very wise one, especially in terms of the
film’s depiction of Gotham City. One of Batman Returns’ biggest problems was
that its Gotham sets were far too cramped to capture the city as the gigantic,
bustling metropolis that it had always been in Batman comic books. In Batman
Forever, Schumacher and company created a massive, eye-popping version of
Gotham that was unlike any other that had ever been realized on screen.

Since Batman Forever was going to look so different from its predecessors,
Schumacher decided the film should sound different as well, so composer Elliot
Goldenthal was hired to write a new musical score. Goldenthal was entrusted
with the unenviable task of writing a score that would capture the dark,
adventurous nature of the Batman character, but at the same time would not
sound too similar to Danny Elfman’s wonderful Batman music. Goldenthal
actually managed this task quite well. His Batman music was perhaps not as
memorable as Elfman’s, but it still meshed nicely with Batman Forever’s larger-
than-life images. Goldenthal’s Batman Forever score even contained some
blaring staccato brass notes that brought to mind the lighter spirit of the 1960s
Batman theme music written by Neal Hefti.

Like the 1989 Batman, Batman Forever featured a pop soundtrack as well as an
orchestral soundtrack. But while the 1989 Batman pop soundtrack consisted of
songs all written and performed by Prince, the Batman Forever pop soundtrack
would consist of songs performed by a number of different contemporary artists.
Two of these songs, “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” by U2 and “A Kiss
from a Rose” by Seal became substantial radio hits. These songs definitely
helped to promote Batman Forever, even though they were not prominently
featured in the film itself—they only played during the film’s final credits.

Considering that Batman Forever was so different in so many ways from

Batman and Batman Returns, it seemed like somewhat of a surprising choice on
Schumacher’s part to retain Michael Gough as Alfred and Pat Hingle as
Commissioner Gordon. After all, the movie was going to have a new Batman, a
new Harvey Dent, a new Gotham City, a new Batmobile and a new Batcave—
what was the point of having any carryover from Warner’s previous Batman
films? That said, however, it was enjoyable seeing these two veteran actors
return to their familiar roles. This was especially true in terms of Michael Gough
—his role would be even more important in Batman Forever than it had been in
Batman or Batman Returns, because he would be called upon to act as
sympathetic council to not one, but two heroes.

Production of Batman Forever commenced in mid–1994 in grand fashion—the

Batmobile was filmed driving at high speeds on the streets of lower Manhattan
in New York City. After the New York scenes were wrapped up, filming moved
to the California sets. The Batman Forever shoot generally went quite smoothly
—Schumacher remained loose and calm during filming, and most of his actors
responded well to his affable style. However, there was at least some degree of
offstage drama—reportedly both Kilmer and Jones proved to be difficult to work
with, which led Schumacher to publicly criticize the actors after the film was
released.
8
Still, both Schumacher and Warner Bros. seemed to have a tremendous amount
of confidence in Batman Forever while the film was being made. A good deal of
this confidence likely stemmed from the fact that the director and the studio
were so much more in synch with one another than Tim Burton and Warner had
been with each other during the making of Batman Returns. Schumacher
perfectly understood that Warner wanted him to strike a balance between the
darker and the lighter elements of the Batman character so that the film would be
appropriate for audiences young and old. In fact, Schumacher not only
understood this assignment, he actually welcomed it—in a number of interviews
he gave while the film was being made, he discussed his desire to shape Batman
Forever into a film that would appeal to a very wide audience, one made up of
both children and adults.
9

Obviously, striking a balance between the darker and the lighter elements of the
Batman character in order to attract larger audiences was not something that
Burton had been willing to do while he was making Batman Returns. So as
Schumacher was meeting, and perhaps even surpassing, all of Warner’s
expectations during the making of Batman Forever, the studio must have felt
that they had found exactly the right ingredient they needed to restore their
Batman film franchise to the heights it had reached in 1989. The studio had to
consider this to be very good news, considering how much money they were
shelling out for Batman Forever—the cost to make the film ended up reaching
about $100 million.10

Perhaps the most telling sign of the confidence Schumacher and Warner Bros.
had in Batman Forever was the manner in which the film was being marketed.
The public criticism that Warner had suffered over their efforts to develop
merchandising tie-ins to Batman Returns aimed at younger audiences was not
deterring the studio from aggressively marketing Batman Forever. On the
contrary, Warner had secured just as many merchandising tie-ins for Batman
Forever as they had for Batman Returns, and a substantial number of these tie-
ins were products designed for children. Warner knew that marketing Batman
Forever in such a manner would pose no risk of repeating the Batman Returns
merchandising fiasco—Schumacher’s work on Batman Forever had ensured the
studio that the film could be marketed to younger audiences without any hint of
impropriety.

The biggest problem that Schumacher and Warner Bros. had with Batman
Forever was actually getting the film done. The large number of special effects
shots the film contained made it a very complicated project, and it was made
even trickier by the fact that only about three months had been allotted for its
postproduction phase. But Dykstra’s special effects team performed brilliantly
for Schumacher and Warner during postproduction, completing every scene that
the director and the studio had requested from them.11

Batman Forever’s world premiere was held in Los Angeles on June 9, 1995.
Most all of the film’s principal onscreen and offscreen talent attended the event,
including Kilmer, Kidman, O’Donnell, Jones, Carrey and Schumacher. Many
celebrities not connected to the film also attended, making the premiere a huge
media event. A week later, on June 16, Batman Forever opened in theatres
throughout the United States.

Batman Forever opens with a series of quick shots of Batman in the Batcave,
readying himself for battle. He speeds off in the Batmobile, headed for the
Second National Bank in Gotham City where Two-Face is attempting a daring
robbery. When Batman arrives, he meets the beautiful Dr. Chase Meridian, a
psychologist consulting with Commissioner Gordon on the Two-Face case.
Two-Face captures a bank guard and places him in a giant vault located on one
of the bank’s upper floors. Batman bursts in and Two-Face’s thugs attack him.
Batman overpowers the thugs and jumps in the vault to rescue the guard.

But it turns out the guard was merely bait to get Batman to enter the vault—the
vault is closed, and then pulled high into the sky by a chain connected to Two-
Face’s helicopter. As the vault rises, acid that Two-Face has placed inside starts
to spill everywhere, almost scalding Batman and the guard. But Two-Face’s plan
to kill Batman with the acid fails when Batman breaks out of the vault, saves the
guard and starts climbing the chain to confront Two-Face in the helicopter.
Batman and Two-Face fight aboard the helicopter, which is headed straight for
the Lady Gotham statue in Gotham Harbor. (Obviously, the statue is Gotham’s
version of the Statue of Liberty in New York City!) The helicopter crashes into
the statue, but not before both Two-Face and Batman leap to safety.

The next day, Bruce Wayne inspects Wayne Enterprises’ electronics division
and meets a brilliant but unstable Wayne employee named Edward Nygma.
Nygma, who completely idolizes Wayne, tells Wayne he has invented a device
that beams television signals directly into people’s minds. Wayne tells Nygma
that he does not want his company to pursue such a project because it is
unethical to manipulate people’s brains in such a manner. Nygma is crushed by
Wayne’s rejection, and plots revenge against him.

Bruce quickly leaves the inspection because he sees the Batsignal in the sky. He
arrives at the Gotham Police headquarters as Batman, but is surprised to find that
it is not Gordon that has summoned him, but Chase. She tells him that Two-
Face’s lucky coin, with one side scarred and one side clean, might somehow be
able to be used to trap the criminal. Also, infatuated by Batman since their first
meeting, she wastes no time in trying to seduce him. But her efforts are cut short
when Commissioner Gordon shows up. Meanwhile, Nygma knocks out Fred
Stickley, his supervisor at Wayne Enterprises, and then tries out his television
signal device on him. Nygma is surprised to learn that not only is he able to
transmit signals into Stickley’s brain, but he is also able to absorb Stickley’s
knowledge into his own brain during the process.

Nygma murders Stickley, covers up the crime and quits his job at Wayne
Enterprises. He then starts sending Bruce anonymous threatening messages in
the form of riddles. Bruce takes them to Chase to ask her what she makes of
them. Bruce is as taken with Chase as she is with his alter ego, so he asks her to
attend a circus performance benefiting Gotham Hospital with him.

Two-Face hijacks the circus benefit while the trapeze artists the Flying Graysons
are performing. Still intent on killing Batman, he assumes that one of Gotham’s
elite in attendance must know Batman’s true identity. Rather than reveal his
identity to Two-Face, Bruce simply starts single-handedly fighting the criminal’s
thugs. He gets help from the flying Graysons, who work to remove a bomb that
Two-Face has planted in the center ring. Dick Grayson is able to throw the bomb
off the roof, but while he is doing so Two-Face murders all of the other flying
Graysons—Dick’s father, mother and brother.

Bruce, remembering the horror of his own parents’ murders, offers to let Dick
stay at Wayne Manor for a few days. Troubled by Dick’s loss, Bruce begins
having recurring visions of events relating to his parents’ deaths. These visions
involve a large, unidentified red book. Dick tells Alfred that his father had
nicknamed him “Robin” years ago after he had saved his brother from a serious
trapeze fall. Alfred comforts Dick by assuring him that, even after the terrible
loss he has suffered, “Robin” will fly again someday.

Dick is immediately curious about just where Bruce goes every night, and why
one particular room in the house is always locked. Meanwhile, Nygma adopts
the guise of the Riddler, and convinces Two-Face to team up with him to destroy
Batman. They go on a crime spree to raise funds for Nygma to start a company
that sells his invention, which he simply calls “The Box.”

Bruce, still having visions about his parents’ murders, goes to see Chase. Chase
tells him that he has repressed memories that are trying to surface. While they
are talking, Alfred calls Bruce to tell him that Dick has learned Bruce is really
Batman; worse yet, he has broken into the Batcave and stolen the Batmobile.
While driving around Gotham, Dick stops a bunch of street punks from
abducting a woman. When the punks attack him, Batman comes to his rescue.
Later, Dick tries to convince Bruce to let him be his partner so that they can find
Two-Face and kill him, but Bruce refuses. Bruce tells Dick that killing Two-
Face will not take away the pain he feels over the loss of his family—in fact,
Bruce knows from experience that such vengeance will actually make the pain
worse.

Nygma holds a party to unveil a new version of his “Box,” and Bruce, Dick and
Chase attend. Bruce inadvertently allows the “Box” to scan his brain, revealing
to Nygma the fact that he is Batman. When Two-Face crashes the party, Bruce
changes into Batman to try to capture him. Two-Face and his men escape
through an under-construction subway tunnel. Batman follows them into the
tunnel, and Two-Face shoots out a support beam that leaves Batman buried in
gravel. Dick, dressed in his Flying Graysons costume and a mask, comes to his
rescue. Even though Dick has saved his life, Bruce still refuses to let Dick
become his partner.

Bruce, in his Batman costume, goes to see Chase, who says that her infatuation
with him is over because she has fallen in love with Bruce. Bruce has the same
feelings for Chase, so he decides to give up being Batman and to try to lead a
“normal” life with her. He invites her to Wayne Manor to tell her about his
secret life. He talks about the red book he has been recalling in his visions
relating to his parents’ murders—it was his father’s diary. After his parents were
killed, Bruce realized his father would never write in the diary again, and it was
at that point Bruce saw how truly alone in the world he was. In his grief and
rage, he ran out of his house and fell into a hole located on the Wayne acreage
that led down to a huge cave under the house. As a giant bat flew at him in the
cave, he vowed to use the bat’s image to fight crime, to avenge his parent’s
deaths.
But while Bruce has been revealing his secret identity to Chase, Two-Face,
Riddler and their goons have knocked out Alfred and forced their way into the
house. Bruce and Chase put up a good fight against them, but Bruce is knocked
unconscious after a bullet fired by Two-Face grazes his head. The Riddler finds
the entrance to the Batcave and uses explosives to destroy most all of Batman’s
crimefighting equipment. Leaving Alfred and Bruce unconscious and the
Batcave in ruins, the villains take Chase hostage and flee.

After Bruce and Alfred regain consciousness, they examine all of the riddles that
have been sent to Bruce and determine that Nygma is the Riddler. Several new
experimental Bat-costumes and Bat-vehicles were not destroyed by the villains,
so Bruce prepares to confront the Riddler and Two-Face as Batman at Nygma’s
“Box” transmission headquarters on an island in Gotham Harbor. Dick appears
in his Robin costume that Alfred has made for him, and Batman finally decides
to take him on as a partner. Batman and Robin speed off, Batman in the Batwing
and Robin in the Batboat, to face Two-Face and the Riddler.

The villains, waiting for the heroes, detonate bombs to destroy the Batwing and
the Batboat, but Batman and Robin are still able to make their way to Nygma’s
island headquarters. Robin fights Two-Face and defeats him—though Dick
originally wanted to kill Two-Face to avenge the deaths of his family, he decides
that justice would be better served by seeing Two-Face sent to prison. But Two-
Face unexpectedly pulls a gun on Robin and takes him hostage.

Batman finally catches up with the Riddler deep inside his lair, but he finds that
the villain has set up an elaborate deathtrap for both Chase and Robin. At the
touch of a button, both will fall through trapdoors and plummet to the rocky
shore far below. The Riddler tells Batman he will have to choose between saving
the love of his life or his junior partner. But Batman does neither—he flings a
Batarang at the Riddler’s huge “Box” antenna, smashing it and causing the
Riddler’s lair to be destroyed in a series of powerful explosions. The Riddler sets
in motion his deathtrap for Chase and Robin, and Batman dives through the
trapdoor after them. Using his grappling hook, he saves them both.

As the trio climb out of the trap, Two-Face confronts them with a gun. He flips
his coin to determine whether he will shoot them or not. At the same moment,
Batman flings a handful of coins into the air. Unable to tell which coin is
actually his, Two-Face loses his balance and falls to his death. Batman stands in
triumph over the Riddler, whose mind has become completely unhinged through
absorbing the thoughts of so many different people. In fact, the Riddler has even
forgotten that he learned Batman’s secret identity—Chase discovers this fact
when she checks in on the criminal after he has been imprisoned at Arkham
Asylum. The film ends with Batman and Robin shown in silhouette, running in
front of the lit Batsignal.

Batman Forever received decent but generally unspectacular reviews. The film
did not fare quite as well critically as Batman Returns—but as discussed last
chapter, Batman Returns turned out to be more popular with critics than it did
with general audiences. The reverse turned out to be true for Batman Forever.
While critics might not have thought too much of the film, moviegoers of all
ages responded quite well to it. So from Warner Bros.’ perspective, Batman
Forever was very much a success because it brought them excellent box office
returns. It earned over $52 million in its U.S. opening weekend alone, and ended
up grossing over $184 million during its U.S. theatrical run. With a worldwide
total gross of over $335 million, Batman Forever outperformed Batman Returns
in its initial theatrical run by around $60 million.
12

And just as importantly to Warner Bros., Batman Forever’s lighter overall tone
made the film much more enjoyable for younger audiences than Batman Returns
had been. Much to Warner’s relief, Batman Forever made their Batman film
franchise “family friendly” again.

Interestingly, serious Batman fans seemed to be split over whether or not

Batman Forever’s lighter tone was a step in the right direction as far as the
future of Warner’s Batman film franchise was concerned. Some felt that the
film’s more heroic portrayal of Batman was a marked improvement over the
manner in which the character was portrayed in the Burton-directed Batman
films, especially Batman Returns. Others felt that with all of its bright colors and
tongue-in-cheek humor, Batman Forever marked an unwelcome return to the
kind of campiness found in the Batman screen works of the 1960s.

Batman fans might not have been so divided over Batman Forever’s merits if so
much of its Batman/Bruce Wayne character material had not been removed from
the final cut of the film. As previously mentioned, many of Batman Forever’s
scenes depicting Batman trying to come to grips with his long-held anger and
grief were removed from the final version of the film in order to shorten it and
simplify its narrative. The scenes that were particularly affected by these cuts
were the ones involving Bruce’s father’s diary and the ones that made direct
references to Batman and Batman Returns. If these scenes had remained in the
film, the majority of Batman fans might well have seen Batman Forever as a
more serious character study of their hero. But without these scenes, many
Batman fans perceived the film as being an often shallow and rather silly
exercise in pyrotechnics.

Ironically, these cuts actually ended up not simplifying, but confusing Batman
Forever’s narrative. The finished film still included scenes that centered on
Bruce’s father’s diary, but these scenes made no reference to the fact that Bruce
had read a passage in the diary that led him to blame himself for his parents’
deaths. Consequently, the diary keeps reappearing in Bruce’s visions relating to
the loss of his parents in the film, but its importance is never satisfactorily
explained. At the end of the film Bruce finally says that seeing the diary sitting
on his father’s desk made him realize how truly alone in the world he was. But
this offhand line does not seem like anywhere near a big enough payoff for as
much as the diary has been built up in the film. Obviously, if the diary scenes
were going to be kept in Batman Forever at all, they should have been given the
proper weight accorded to them in the film’s original script.

As we noted in our discussions of the 1989 Batman and Batman Returns, the
success of Warner’s 2005 film Batman Begins led the studio to release their four
previous Batman live-action features on 2-disc DVD sets late that same year.
The 2-disc DVD set of Batman Forever revealed the importance of these deleted
scenes by including them in the set’s collection of bonus material. We’ll go over
the full content of the Batman Forever DVD set later in the chapter, but these
deleted scenes are so crucial to the film’s overall vision that we need to examine
them as a stand-alone entity.

The scene entitled “Two-Face’s Hate” is an extended version of the

Batman/Two-Face helicopter fight scene at the beginning of the film. In the
scene, Two-Face taunts Batman, implying that the crimefighter is every bit as
much of a killer as he is. The scene entitled “Dick’s Pain” shows a discussion
between Bruce and Dick at Wayne Manor that takes place just after Dick’s
family has been murdered. Bruce tells Dick that he should not let the love of his
family twist into hatred for Two-Face.

In the scene “Bruce’s Dilemma,” Bruce sits in the Batcave watching a Gotham
City TV news report. The report features a commentator who accuses Batman of
being no more heroic than the criminals he fights because his self-declared war
on criminals has caused a huge amount of destruction throughout Gotham and
put all of the city’s inhabitants at risk. Bruce then talks to Alfred about the night
of his parents’ wake. He remembers being frightened by something and running
from it, but he can’t remember what it was that frightened him.

“The Secret of the Batcave” is by far the most important and compelling of the
deleted scenes. It begins with Bruce and Alfred entering the Batcave after it has
been destroyed by the Riddler. They go to the area of the cave that has always
frightened Bruce for no apparent reason. Bruce goes into a chamber by himself,
and there he finds his father’s diary. Bruce had left the diary in the chamber
when he fell into the cave on the night of his parents’ wake, but he was so
traumatized by the incident that he completely forgot the diary was there. He
reads the diary’s last entry, and finds that it was not him who insisted on the
family seeing a movie the night his parents were murdered—it was actually his
father and mother who had their hearts set on seeing a film.

Bruce then realizes that the murder of his parents was in no way his fault. As he
comes to this realization, a giant bat flies through the chamber at him and holds
itself motionless right at his face. This bat is obviously not real, it is a figment of
Bruce’s imagination that symbolizes his anguish over losing his parents and his
decision to adopt the guise of Batman. Now that Bruce has learned that he was
not at all responsible for his parents’ deaths, his imaginary bat no longer
frightens him. In fact, it actually comforts him—he can finally move past
blaming himself for the loss of his parents, and he can perceive his life as
Batman as a means to seek justice instead of simply as a means to inflict
violence. Bruce walks out of the chamber and confidently says to Alfred, “I’m
Batman.”

Given the fact that Batman Forever was basically a straight-ahead action movie
that was so much lighter in tone than Warner’s previous Batman films, perhaps
the heavy symbolism of “The Secret of the Batcave” would have seemed out of
place if the scene had been included in the film’s final cut. That said, however,
the scene is both emotionally powerful and visually striking—the serious
Batman fans that dismissed Schumacher’s take on the character in Batman
Forever as shallow and silly might not have been so dismissive if the scene had
remained in the film. At least the scene was eventually released in some form so
that these fans could have the chance to see that Schumacher tried to give
Batman more substance than the final cut of Batman Forever ended up showing.
But even though all of this deeper character material relating to the film’s
depiction of Batman was excised, Batman Forever’s portrayal of Batman was far
closer to his comic book form than was the Batman of Batman Returns. The
biggest difference between Batman Returns’ Batman and Batman Forever’s
Batman was that Forever’s Batman unequivocally did not kill. This difference
was made crystal clear within the first major fight scene of the film. As Batman
fights Two-Face’s hoods in the Second National Bank, one of the hoods runs at
Batman. When Batman steps out of the way, the hood almost falls down an open
elevator shaft. The Batman of Burton’s films would have just let the hood fall
down the shaft to his doom, but Schumacher’s Batman grabs the hood by the
collar and saves him. Of course, he then knocks him out of action so that he can
continue his pursuit of Two-Face, but he does not use lethal force.

Much of Batman Forever’s material that directly referenced the 1989 Batman
and Batman Returns was cut from the final version of the film—but the film still
contained scenes that made it clear Batman was remorseful over the fact that he
had tried to kill Jack Napier/The Joker. He realized that his willingness to take a
human life had led him down a path of endless vengeance—and he needed to
turn away from that path in order to stop his whole life from being given over to
darkness and violence.

Batman Forever drew on a substantial amount of classic Batman comic imagery

to illuminate its depiction of its title character. For example, one of the film’s
flashback scenes depicting the murder of Bruce’s parents showed the boy
kneeling over his parents’ bodies, starkly illuminated by a street light. This
image was drawn from the cover of the first issue of the 1987 Frank Miller–
David Mazzucchelli comic series Batman: Year One. The scene depicting young
Bruce falling down a hole and into the cave on the Wayne acreage that would
eventually become the Batcave, and then being confronted by a giant bat flying
right at him, was drawn from Miller’s 1986 graphic novel series Batman: The
Dark Knight Returns. (However, the circumstances surrounding Bruce’s fall into
the cave in Batman Forever were very different from the circumstances
surrounding Bruce’s fall in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns—in Forever, the
fall happened right after Bruce’s parents had been murdered, while in Returns,
the fall happened while his parents were still alive and well.)

Batman Forever’s depiction of its title character was made all the better by Val
Kilmer’s excellent acting. He captured the essence of Batman/Bruce Wayne’s
character in the film, realizing the character as both a hero and a man wrestling
with his inner demons in an attempt to hang onto his sanity. And as previously
mentioned, he was physically far more suited for the part than was Michael
Keaton in Burton’s Batman films. The combination of the film’s thoughtful
treatment of Batman and Kilmer’s strong performance made Batman Forever’s
Batman a very good live-action version of the character.

However, Batman Forever’s Batman portrayal was not without its problems.
The use of computer graphics technology perhaps gave the filmmakers too much
freedom, because it allowed them to stray far beyond the boundaries of what a
hero like Batman could do if he were actually a real person. In the film, Batman
is able to jump off of 40-story buildings by using his cape to slow his fall, and to
drive his Batmobile up the walls of buildings—in other words, he is able to do
things that are not physically possible.

From Batman’s very first story back in 1939, the thing that made him such a
memorable character was that he was a regular human being that could
theoretically exist in real life. Batman appealed to people because Bruce Wayne
was an ordinary man doing extraordinary things. As Batman, he pushed himself
to be as strong, as fast and as smart as humanly possible—but when all was said
and done, his humanity kept his adventures rooted in reality. Batman Forever’s
decision to throw all semblance of reality out the window for the sake of
spectacular visual effects undercut the main premise of the character that had
made him so popular for so long.

Chris O’Donnell’s earnest portrayal of Robin/Dick Grayson was every bit as

good as Kilmer’s Batman/Bruce Wayne. O’Donnell was given the benefit of
very strong material to work with. His origin scene depicting the death of his
family was nicely adapted from the very first Robin comic story “Robin—the
Boy Wonder” (Detective Comics #38, April 1940). However, the film did make
one major change to Robin’s origin—in the comics, Two-Face had never been
depicted as having anything to do with the Grayson murders.

Of course, O’Donnell was not a boy, but a young man in his mid-twenties when
Batman Forever was filmed, so the film’s relationship between Dick Grayson
and Bruce Wayne was very different from the kind of “father-son” rapport the
characters traditionally were shown to have had in the comics. In Batman
Forever, fate throws Bruce and Dick together, and neither of them really know
what to make of the other. But Dick’s reaction to the murder of his family, the
rage and thirst for revenge that he feels, touches a nerve in Bruce. Bruce wants
to help Dick come to grips with the anger and grief inside him, and perhaps by
helping Dick, he can find a way to help himself come to grips with his own
anger and grief. The bond between the two men that forms in the film comes
from the fact that they have both faced the same kind of tragedy in their lives—
and now they both must find a way to move beyond these tragedies.
Consequently, their relationship seems very plausible.

The only real problem with O’Donnell’s performance is one that the actor had
no control over—he is not featured in enough scenes as Robin in Batman
Forever. He does not appear in full costume until the final scenes of the film, so
audiences never really get much of a chance to see Batman and Robin working
together as a team.

After Batman Forever was released, much discussion arose regarding

Schumacher’s infusing his cinematic version of the Batman and Robin
characters with a considerable amount of sexual subtext. The characters’
costumes, with their bulging crotches and exaggerated musculature complete
with nipples, set many a tongue wagging, calling the characters’ sexuality into
question in much the same way the 1954 book Seduction of the Innocent by
Fredric Wertham had. There is no doubt that in Batman Forever, Schumacher
was trying to “sex up” the characters in a subtle, playful way that would raise the
eyebrows of adult audiences. But at the same time, Schumacher made sure the
film still contained plenty of action so that younger audiences could enjoy the
film as a straight-ahead adventure piece. In this regard, Batman Forever was
quite similar to the 1960s screen Batman—as we discussed earlier in the book,
the 1960s Batman television show and film had been designed to entertain adults
as a tongue-in-cheek comedy, and children as an action show.

Whether Schumacher pushed the envelope too far in terms of sexing up Batman
and his world in Batman Forever is a matter of personal opinion. One might
argue that having to put up with a few sexual references and costume nipples
was a small price for Batman fans to pay in order to see a film that provided a
generally intelligent portrayal of their hero. But one might also argue that
Schumacher’s sexual politics had no place in a Batman film in the first place, so
the inclusion of any such material was unacceptable.

Batman Forever’s villains the Riddler and Two-Face turned out to be a major
highlight of the film. Jim Carrey’s Riddler/Edward Nygma was far and away the
more compelling of the two. Prancing around in his bizarre costumes and
twirling his question mark cane like some kind of crazed drum major, he brought
the Riddler to life in a way that was both funny and creepy. He was also very
good in his Edward Nygma scenes, which featured him by turns both idolizing
and despising Bruce Wayne. Incidentally, the film’s Riddler origin story was in
no way tied to the character’s comic book origin—but the Riddler’s first comic
book appearances were fairly undistinguished, so the film’s embellished Riddler
backstory in no way detracted from the character’s overall impact.

However, the Riddler/Edward Nygma character in general suffered from one

major drawback in Batman Forever. His “Box” technology that was featured so
prominently in the film obviously had no basis in reality, and it dumbed down
the plot of the film to a level of silliness that rivaled the 1940s Batman serials
and the 1966 Batman. And not only was the very concept of the “Box”
technology completely ridiculous, but Nygma’s ability to invent it, mass produce
it and mass market it within a few short weeks further divorced it from any
semblance of reality.

Tommy Lee Jones’s performance as Two-Face was also quite good—though to

be honest, his character was often overshadowed by Carrey’s manic portrayal of
the Riddler. Still, Jones made an admirable effort to leave behind his almost
deadpan acting style and bring Two-Face to life in a manner in keeping with the
overall flamboyance of the film. Jones’s portrayal of Two-Face was definitely
helped by the fact that Batman Forever chose to depict the character in a manner
that recalled Two-Face’s classic comic book stories. His half-scarred/half-
unscarred appearance wonderfully captured the character’s comic book look. In
fact, the Two-Face makeup created by Rick Baker successfully performed quite
a tricky balancing act—it made the character grotesque, but not to a point that
younger audiences would have been completely terrified by it.

Batman Forever even gave a neat little nod to the character’s comic book origin.
Near the opening of the film, Bruce is seen watching a Gotham City TV news
report that shows a video clip of Gotham City crime kingpin “Boss” Moroni
throwing acid at Harvey Dent’s face. The acid hits only one side of Dent’s face,
and this injury leads him to adopt his Two-Face persona. The TV images of Dent
being hit with acid were directly drawn from Two-Face’s first comic book story
“The Crimes of Two-Face,” originally published in Detective Comics #66,
August 1942.

Nicole Kidman’s performance as Dr. Chase Meridian was generally as strong as

the performances of all the rest of Batman Forever’s major players. Perhaps her
best scene is when she meets Bruce for the first time. Her irritation with his
seemingly foppish behavior subtly gives way to a curiosity about exactly what it
is he is hiding behind his “bored playboy” facade.

As strong as all of Batman Forever’s principal actors were, it was Joel

Schumacher who perhaps acquitted himself most handsomely out of everyone
involved with the film. In taking over Batman directorial duties from Tim
Burton, Schumacher had delivered a film that had given Warner Bros. exactly
what their Batman film franchise needed after the disappointing performance of
Batman Returns. Still, Schumacher had proven to have his drawbacks in terms of
directing a Batman film—as we just noted, his coy sexual subtext and his
tendency to at times favor spectacular visual effects over reality did not sit well
with many serious Batman fans.

Though Schumacher’s Batman Forever was far from perfect, it was certainly a
step in the right direction after the Batman Returns misstep. Warner Bros.
seemed to have every reason to be optimistic that they had found the right
director to oversee their Batman film franchise. As we will discuss later in the
book, this judgment would prove to be very wrong.

But before we leave Batman Forever, let’s examine the movie’s home video
release history. The film’s box office success led to a very high demand for
Batman Forever VHS tapes and laserdiscs when Warner first released it to the
home video market in late October 1995. The first DVD version of Batman
Forever was released by Warner in 1997. The DVD offered the film in its
original widescreen format as well as in a format cropped to fit a standard
television screen, but it offered no bonus features or printed material dealing
with the making of the film.

As we noted earlier in this chapter, the success of Warner’s 2005 film Batman
Begins led the studio to release their four previous Batman live-action features
on 2-disc DVD sets late that same year. Each of these sets were loaded with
special features that detailed their particular film’s creation. The Batman Forever
DVD set included a 1995 television documentary hosted by Chris O’Donnell
entitled Riddle Me This: Why Is Batman Forever? The short program was
designed to introduce the public to Warner’s new cinematic vision of Batman,
and featured commentary from members of Batman Forever’s cast and crew,
including Schumacher, Kilmer, Carrey, Jones and Kidman. Riddle Me This: Why
Is Batman Forever? had an overall upbeat tone that was undoubtedly meant to
assure viewers that Batman Forever would be a much more “family friendly”
film than Batman Returns had been.

The DVD set also included newly-produced documentaries. The program

Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight Part 5 chronicled
the making of Batman Forever. The program featured insights from many of the
individuals who played a major role in the film’s creation, including Joel
Schumacher, Lee Batchler, Janet Scott Batchler, Akiva Goldsman, Val Kilmer,
Chris O’Donnell, Jim Carrey, Tommy Lee Jones and Nicole Kidman. These
insights were accompanied by a good deal of behind-the-scenes footage shot on
the Batman Forever set showing the film’s cast and crew at work.

The DVD set’s program Beyond Batman consisted of featurettes about some of
the specific elements of Batman Forever. The titles of the featurettes were “Out
of the Shadows: The Production Design of Batman Forever,” “The Many Faces
of Gotham City,” “Knight Moves: The Stunts of Batman Forever,” “Imaging
Forever: The Visual Effects of Batman Forever,” and “Scoring Forever: The
Music of Batman Forever.” The set also included featurettes on the main heroes
and villains of the film.

As we also noted earlier in the chapter, the DVD set also included a substantial
number of scenes deleted from the final cut of Batman Forever. In addition to
the four Batman/Bruce Wayne character scenes we already examined, there were
three other scenes included in the set. The most notable of these was the film’s
original opening scene which showed one of Arkham Asylum’s doctors
discovering that Two-Face had escaped from the facility.

Incidentally, the doctor in this scene was given the last name of “Burton,” and
had a wild mop of black hair that looked just like Tim Burton’s unruly coiffure.
Obviously, the character was designed to be a slightly quirky tribute to Warner’s
first Batman director. This particular scene with Dr. Burton did not make it into
the final cut of Batman Forever, but the character still ended up making a brief
appearance in the film—he was featured in the Arkham Asylum scene at the
very end of the movie.

This 2005 DVD set remained the definitive home video version of Batman
Forever until Warner released the movie on Blu-ray disc in early 2009. The
Batman Forever Blu-ray included all of the special features found on the DVD
set, but it did not contain any new bonus material. Of course, the Blu-ray’s main
selling point was not its special features, but its presentation of the film itself. On
Blu-ray, Batman Forever looked and sounded far better than it ever had on any
other home video format.

I’ll close my discussion of Batman Forever with these thoughts. Serious Batman
fans have continued to be very divided over the film’s merits since the film was
released almost two decades ago. In fact, Batman Forever’s reputation among
Batman fans has not really improved at all during this time—if anything, it has
worsened. I suspect that this has less to do with the film itself than it does with
Joel Schumacher’s second Batman film, the disastrously bad Batman and Robin
(1997). I believe that Batman and Robin ended up being so reviled by serious
Batman fans that many of them reached a point where they could not give
Schumacher even the slightest credit for any of the good things found in his first
Batman film.

And make no mistake, I am of the opinion that there are many good things to be
found in Batman Forever. I suppose this opinion will come as no surprise to
those of you that have read this entire chapter, since I’ve spent a good deal of it
favorably discussing the film. Still, please allow me a moment to recap what I
consider to be Batman Forever’s main strengths. The film presents a thoughtful,
heroic depiction of Batman/Bruce Wayne. It features Robin/Dick Grayson in a
manner that is well-adapted from the classic comic version of the character. It
features well-realized depictions of two of Batman’s most recognizable comic
villains. It features the first live-action version of Arkham Asylum. All in all, I
feel that there is a lot in Batman Forever for a serious Batman fan to like, and
that is in large part due to the work of Joel Schumacher. Unfortunately, the
things I’ll be saying about the second half of Schumacher’s Batman directorial
tenure won’t be as nearly as positive. We’ll get to that story a bit later in the
book.
 14
Between Schumacher’s Batman Films, 1996–1997

Only two years passed between the release of Joel Schumacher’s Batman films
Batman Forever (1995) and Batman and Robin (1997), but that was still enough
time to allow several important events in Batman history to occur. The most
notable of these was the release of DC’s four-part Elseworlds graphic novel
entitled Kingdom Come in 1996. Kingdom Come would set the comics industry
abuzz much like the first graphic novels such as Batman: The Dark Knight
Returns had a decade earlier.

Written by Mark Waid and illustrated by Alex Ross, Kingdom Come set all of
DC’s major heroes in a world far more closely tied to reality than had ever been
attempted in a comic work. In Kingdom Come, DC’s aging heroes are struggling
to come to terms with their place in society in a not-too-distant future. Their
powers and talents obviously set them apart from “normal” people, but how do
they best use these gifts to better humankind? If they interfere with the workings
of “normal” society too much, they run the risk of becoming nothing more than
super-powered dictators. If they interfere too little, they run the risk of being
perceived as being unresponsive to the needs of that society.

The series opens on a pessimistic note: DC’s legendary heroes have not been
able to find this balance that allows them to both consistently help and
harmoniously co-exist with “normal” people, so they have largely removed
themselves from everyday society. A new breed of super beings, “metahumans,”
have taken over for titans such as Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman
and Green Lantern, and these metahumans care nothing for the concerns of
everyday society. They roam the earth fighting among themselves like super-
powered street gangs, terrorizing anyone who gets in their way.

This situation finally reaches a breaking point when some of these metahumans
incite a confrontation that unleashes a nuclear bomb–like blast in Kansas, killing
millions of innocent people. The Kansas tragedy spurs Superman, Wonder,
Woman, Green Lantern, Robin and a number of other heroes back into action.
They return from their self-imposed exile to bring these metahumans under
control and to finally find that elusive balance that will allow super beings and
ordinary people to peacefully co-exist.

Of course, one hero is conspicuously absent from this reformed Justice League
—Batman. Bruce Wayne does not believe that a bunch of old heroes simply
swooping down from out of the sky is going to suddenly put an end to the
tensions that have arisen between super beings and ordinary people, so he
refuses Superman’s offer to join the League. Besides, Bruce has his own loose
crimefighting organization with a number of heroes such as Green Arrow and
Black Canary.

The League has even bigger problems than Bruce’s opposition: Sinister forces
led by Lex Luthor plan on undermining their efforts, because they want to see an
all-out war erupt between super beings and ordinary people. Luthor’s
organization believes that humans need to reclaim their planet by forcefully
ridding it of super beings, no matter what the cost of waging such a war might be
terms of human life. In fact, Luthor has brainwashed and gained control over one
particularly powerful super being in order to help him bring about this conflict—
Billy Batson, otherwise known as Captain Marvel.

Bruce joins forces with Luthor, seemingly to oppose Superman—but in reality,

Bruce has thrown in with Luthor in order to keep tabs on him. When Bruce
learns that Luthor is planning on using Captain Marvel to incite his human-
metahuman war, Bruce turns on Luthor and his forces, incapacitating them. But
Captain Marvel escapes Bruce’s grasp and makes his way to a metahuman
prison where a battle has erupted between the Justice League and the
incarcerated metahumans. Bruce changes to Batman and makes his way to the
prison with his forces. A tremendous battle ensues between the League, the
metahumans and Batman’s forces. The United Nations, terrified that this
conflagration will eventually destroy the entire world, fires nuclear missiles at
the prison to rid the world of super beings once and for all.

Superman is able to convince Captain Marvel that Luthor has been brainwashing
him. The two heroes reach a moment of understanding and Captain Marvel
intercepts the missiles at the last second, saving many of the super beings, but
losing his own life. Superman, furious that the people of the world have turned
on him, races to the U.N. Headquarters intent on punishing those responsible for
firing the missiles.

All of the activity depicted in Kingdom Come up to this point has been
monitored by the otherworldly hero the Spectre and a mild-mannered minister
by the name of Norman McKay. All along, the Spectre has had the power to
intervene in the crisis, but not being of the Earth, he is unsure of the best way to
proceed. So he has brought McKay with him to bear witness to all of these
events so that McKay can pass judgment on them and tell the Spectre what
action should be taken.

McKay tells the Spectre what to do: McKay wants the Spectre to take him to
Superman. McKay then tells the Man of Steel that being Superman is not just
about being “Super,” it is every bit as much about being a “Man.” The conflict
between super beings and ordinary people can yet be mended if Superman can
remember this fact and work side by side with humans instead of above them to
better the planet. Superman agrees, and with help from the likes of Wonder
Woman and Batman, he begins the task of trying to achieve a better
understanding between regular humans and super beings.

Kingdom Come’s potent mix of mythological and religious themes coupled with
time-honored DC comic book history made the series an instant classic.
Kingdom Come obviously owed much to Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark
Knight Returns—its setting of a not-too-distant future, its moral complexities and
its apocalyptic final battle between former allies were drawn from Miller’s work
at least to some extent. But what set the series apart was that Miller’s take on the
DC Universe was far more pessimistic than that of Waid and Ross. Kingdom
Come ended on a very optimistic note, depicting most all of the DC titans alive
and well and ready to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in an effort to make the world a
better place. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns ended with Batman giving up his
cape and cowl, and still very much in conflict with Superman and the society he
represented.

The uplifting spirit of Kingdom Come’s story was brought to life by Alex Ross’
jaw-dropping, almost photographically realistic artwork. As opposed to being
rendered in the traditional comic book style of pen and ink, Ross painted all of
the art in Kingdom Come using a form of watercolor paint known as gouache.
His painting style owed much to the realism found in works by Norman
Rockwell and Andrew Loomis. Ross actually used live models to create most of
the characters featured in Kingdom Come; Ross’ inspiration for the Norman
McKay character was his own father Clark, a minister in real life.

As previously mentioned, Kingdom Come’s depiction of Batman/Bruce Wayne

was quite similar to the way the character was portrayed in Batman: The Dark
Knight Returns. He was about the same age in both works, and Miller and Ross
visually rendered his physical appearance in a similar manner. However, Waid
and Ross came up with the inspired idea of making the character dependent on
bionic enhancements. Since he was just an ordinary man, years of crimefighting
had taken his toll on him physically, and now he needed these enhancements just
to perform everyday tasks. Depicting the character in this manner allowed Waid
and Ross to design a futuristic Batman costume complete with jet-propelled
wings. The runaway success of Kingdom Come led Alex Ross to provide
illustrations for a number of other Batman-related works, some of which we’ll
discuss later in the book.

Another comic work that debuted in 1996 ended up having a sizeable impact on
the history of the Batman character. The 13-issue graphic novel series Batman:
The Long Halloween was very well-received by comic fans when it was first
published between late 1996 and late 1997. The series was written by Jeph Loeb
and illustrated by Tim Sale, who had previously created three popular stand-
alone graphic novel specials for the Batman comic title Batman: Legends of the
Dark Knight. (These specials were collected together and released as a single-
volume graphic novel entitled Batman: Haunted Knight in 1996.)

Batman: The Long Halloween told a story that basically picked up right where
Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s 1987 series Batman: Year One left off.
In Batman: The Long Halloween, Batman is still working to break the
stranglehold that crime boss Carmine Falcone has on Gotham City. But Falcone
ends up being only a part of the trouble that the crimefighter has to face—an
unknown killer is murdering members of the Falcone family on major holidays.
Because of the timing of these murders, the killer is dubbed “Holiday.”

As Batman tires to deduce who Holiday is, he also has to deal with a number of
costumed criminals that have recently appeared in Gotham, including the Joker,
the Riddler and the Scarecrow. The crimefighter does have his allies to help him
in his struggle to bring Gotham’s crime problems under control, especially
Commissioner James Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent. He also has
one other mysterious ally—the Catwoman’s actions often border on the criminal,
but she has a knack for coming to his aid when he needs it the most.

Batman soon ends up with even more trouble—Dent is disfigured when Boss
Maroni, a mobster with connections to Falcone, throws a vial of acid onto one
side of Dent’s face. Dent’s injury unhinges his mind, leading him to a life of
crime as Two-Face. One of Dent’s first actions as Two-Face is to kill Falcone,
the man he feels is the most responsible for Gotham’s evils.

Eventually Holiday is seemingly brought to justice when Falcone’s son Alberto

confesses to the killings. But things are not at all what they seem—at the end of
the series, it is revealed that Dent’s wife Gilda began the Holiday murders in
order to destroy the Falcone family so that she and her husband could have a
normal life together. Gilda believes that Dent himself might have committed
several of the later Holiday murders, and that Alberto’s confession is a lie.

Loeb wrote Batman: The Long Halloween as an intricate, logical crime drama—
in other words, it was very similar in style and spirit to the work that directly
inspired it, Batman: Year One. Interestingly, though the plot of the series was
generally very realistic in nature, its art was not—Sale’s work was very
expressive, to the point of being almost cartoonish. Still, there was a dark
sensibility in Sale’s renderings that perfectly meshed with Loeb’s suspenseful
narrative. Batman: The Long Halloween was released as a single-volume book
not long after its initial premiere, and it has remained one of the most popular
Batman graphic novels ever created. Its success inspired Loeb and Sale to create
another Batman series that ended up being quite popular in its own right
—Batman: Dark Victory (1999–2000) explored the introduction of Dick
Grayson into Batman’s world. Batman: The Long Halloween also ended up
having a very large influence on director Christopher Nolan’s Batman films—
we’ll discuss that influence in more detail later in the book.

The 1996 release of the excellent 4-issue comic series Batman: Black and White
ended up being a noteworthy event in the history of the Batman character as
well. The premise of Batman: Black and White was a simple one—the series
presented a collection of short, black-and-white Batman comic stories created by
many of the comic book industry’s most admired writers and artists. The variety
of stories found in Batman: Black and White was truly amazing—there were
action-packed adventures, intimate character studies and otherworldly fantasies.
Some stories were intensely moving, some were downright chilling, and some
were just plain silly. As different as all of these stories were from one another,
they all offered affectionate and thought-provoking takes on the Batman
character. Batman: Black and White was first released as a single-volume book
in 1997—it ended up being so well-received that more black-and-white Batman
comic stories were created over the years in order to allow for the release of two
more Batman: Black and White volumes. The quality of these two volumes
matched the high standard set by the original Batman: Black and White.

The year 1996 also marked the first publication of a unique Batman book that
was not a comic work. A marvelous coffee table book, Batman Collected by
Chip Kidd examined the history of Batman merchandise such as toys, clothes
and trading cards. The book consisted mainly of photographer Geoff Spears’
beautifully shot pictures of Batman merchandise dating from the 1960s through
the ’90s. Batman Collected was the first major work to explore the importance of
Batman non-comic items to the overall Batman fan experience.

We’ll touch on one other aspect of Batman’s comic history in this chapter. It is
an aspect that is by no means specifically confined to the time period between
Joel Schumacher’s Batman films, but it fits here as well as it does anywhere else
in this book. In the 1990s, Batman began to be featured in a growing number of
intercompany crossover comic books—in other words, comic books that
featured characters from more than one major comic book company.

For example, Batman shared adventures with many of Marvel Comics’ most
famous characters in a host of joint DC/Marvel comic projects. In 1995, he
teamed up with Spider-Man in Spider-Man and Batman: Disordered Minds. In
1996, he teamed up with Captain America in Batman and Captain America. In
1997, he teamed up with Daredevil in Daredevil and Batman: Eye for an Eye,
and he again teamed up with Spider-Man in Batman and Spider-Man: New Age
Dawning. This is just a small sampling of all of the intercompany crossovers that
Batman has been featured in since the 1990s—over the past two decades, the
character has crossed paths with literally dozens of characters owned by major
comic book companies other than DC.

At any rate, in early 1997 the Batman character was going so strong in so many
different kinds of works that there seemed to be no chance his next big screen
adventure would be anything less than a huge success. As we will discuss next
chapter, Joel Schumacher’s film Batman and Robin released in June of that year
blew that assumption into a million pieces.
 15
Batman and Robin (1997)

Cast: George Clooney (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Arnold Schwarzenegger (Mr.

Freeze/Dr. Victor Fries), Chris O’Donnell (Robin/Dick Grayson), Uma Thurman
(Poison Ivy/Dr. Pamela Isley), Alicia Silverstone (Batgirl/Barbara Wilson),
Michael Gough (Alfred Pennyworth), Pat Hingle (Commissioner Gordon), Elle
MacPherson (Julie Madison), Jeep Swenson (Bane), John Glover (Doctor Jason
Woodrue), Vivica A. Fox (Ms. B. Haven), Vendela K. Thommessen (Nora
Fries), Elizabeth Sanders (Gossip Gerty), John Fink (Aztec Museum Guard),
Michael Reid McKay (Antonio Diego), Eric Lloyd (Young Bruce Wayne), Jon
Simmons (Young Alfred), Christian Stogie Kenyatta, Andy Lacombe (Snowy
Cones Thugs), Joe Sabatino (Frosty), Michael Paul Chan (Observatory
Scientist), Anthony E. Cantrall (Observatory Press), Alex Daniels, Peter Navy
Tuiasosopo (Observatory Guards), Harry van Gorkum (M.C.), Sandra Taylor,
Elizabeth Guber (Debutantes), Patrick Leahy (Himself), Jesse Ventura, Ralph
Moeller (Arkham Asylum Guards), Doug Hutchinson (Golum), Tobias Jelinek,
Greg Lauren, Dean Cochran (Motorcycle Gangs), Coolio (Banker), Nicky Katt
(Spike), Lucas Berman (Tough Boy Biker), Uzi Gal, Howard Velasco (Cops),
Bruce Roberts (Handsome Cop), John Ingle (Doctor). Producer: Peter
MacGregor-Scott. Executive Producers: Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan.
Director: Joel Schumacher. Screenplay: Akiva Goldsman (Based on characters
created by Bob Kane). Cinematography: Stephen Goldblatt. Editors: Dennis
Virkler, Mark Stevens. Music: Elliot Goldenthal, Danny Bramson. Music Editor:
Michael Connell. Sound: Petur Hliddal, Joe Iwataki. Sound Editors: Bruce
Stambler, John Leveque. Casting: Mali Finn. Production Designer: Barbara
Ling. Art Directors: Richard Holland, Geoff Hubbard. Set Designers: James
Bayliss, Richard Berger, Dawn Brown, John P. Bruce, R. Gilbert Clayton, Mick
Cukurs, Keith Cunningham, Eric C. Sundahl, Mindi Toback, Stella Furner, Peter
J. Kelly, Nancy Mickelberry. Set Decorator: Dorree Cooper. Special Effects:
Matt Sweeney. Visual Effects: John Dykstra. Costumes: Ingrid Ferrin, Robert
Turturice. Key Makeup: Ve Neill. Mr. Freeze Makeup: Jeff Dawn. Stunt
Coordinators: Pat E. Johnson, Alex Daniels. Studio: Warner Bros. Length: 125
minutes. United States Release Date: June 20, 1997.
Because Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever had turned out to be such a
resounding commercial success, Warner Bros. was happy to bring the director
back to helm their next live-action Batman film. Schumacher decided that the
film would be titled Batman and Robin, and that it would feature three of
Batman’s well-known comic book villains, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and Bane.
Schumacher also decided that Batman and Robin would introduce the Batgirl
character into the Warner Batman film series for the first time. The director
called on Akiva Goldsman, co-writer of Batman Forever, to write Batman and
Robin’s screenplay. Goldsman would have his work cut out for him trying to fit
all of these new characters, not to mention the film’s title characters, into his
script.

We’ve discussed both Mr. Freeze and Bane earlier in the book, but this is the
first time we’ve noted the character of Poison Ivy. Clad in a green costume
designed to look like leaves from a tree, Poison Ivy first appeared in Batman
#181, June, 1966, in a story entitled “Beware of—Poison Ivy!” The story did not
provide Poison Ivy with any kind of origin—she was just presented as a
villainess who was anxious to prove herself as the world’s female public enemy
number one.
George Clooney as Batman, Chris O’Donnell as Robin, and Alicia
Silverstone as Batgirl in Batman and Robin (1997).

As the years went on, Poison Ivy would be given several different origin stories.
The one that finally stuck was first published in Secret Origins #36, January
1989, in a story entitled “Pavane.” The story revealed her real identity to be
Pamela Isley, a timid botanical science student who had been injected with
poisons during experiments conducted by her crazed professor, Dr. Jason
Woodrue. The poisons did not kill her, but they left her body full of plant-like
toxins, giving her the ability to kill someone just by kissing them.
Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze and Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy in
Batman and Robin (1997).

Both Poison Ivy and Bane had been featured in episodes of the television
program Batman: The Animated Series, but Batman and Robin would mark the
first time that the characters would make it to the screen in a live-action work.
This was not the case with Mr. Freeze—as we discussed in Chapter 6, the
character had been featured in six episodes of the 1960s Batman television
series. At any rate, it seemed like a safe bet to assume that Schumacher would do
a good job bringing Poison Ivy and Bane to the screen in live-action form for the
first time—after all, in Batman Forever the director and Tommy Lee Jones had
handled the live-action screen debut of Two-Face quite well.

Even before Batman Forever finished its initial theatrical run, Goldsman began
work on crafting a script for Batman and Robin. Goldsman’s screenplay for the
film turned out to be strictly a solo effort—he did not collaborate with any other
writers, and no other writers were ever called upon to make revisions to his
finished work. This was the first time that a Warner Batman film script had been
created in such a manner—all of the studio’s previous Batman movies had been
written by more than one screenwriter.

Schumacher might have had no trouble finding his screenwriter for Batman and
Robin, but he ended up having quite a bit of trouble finding his Batman for the
film. Val Kilmer was under contract with Warner Bros. to reprise his role as
Batman/Bruce Wayne in the studio’s follow-up to Batman Forever, but it was
obvious that the actor was not particularly interested in honoring that contract.
He had signed with Paramount Pictures to play the title role in their film The
Saint, and this commitment ended up leading to the possibility of Kilmer being
required to work on The Saint and Batman and Robin at virtually the same time.
Warner Bros. and Schumacher were understandably upset with Kilmer over his
willingness to take on another film that could compromise his ability to work on
their film. After a few initial attempts to resolve the situation with Kilmer and
Paramount, Warner and Schumacher decided that it would be a better choice to
simply find a different actor to play Batman in Batman and Robin. 1

In fact, Schumacher already had someone in mind for the part—the director
called on George Clooney to replace Kilmer. Clooney was a handsome, 35-year-
old actor best known for starring in the hit NBC television drama ER. Clooney
was actually a hotter property than was Kilmer at the time Batman and Robin
was going into production, so it seemed as if Schumacher had actually been able
to “trade up” in terms of selecting a new Batman.

As happy as Schumacher was to secure Clooney for Batman and Robin, he

probably was every bit as happy about the fact that he would not have to work
with Kilmer again. As we discussed in Chapter 13, Schumacher found Kilmer
difficult to work with during the making of Batman Forever. And the actor’s
decision to take on The Saint seemed like a very clear indication that he would
have continued to be a disruptive presence if he had been forced to honor his
contract and star in Batman and Robin. Ironically, there would end up being no
clear winner in the battle between Schumacher and Kilmer. The Saint was
released in 1997, and the film did Kilmer no good at all when it turned out to be
a commercial and critical failure. And Schumacher’s Batman and Robin—well, I
think we all know where this story is going to end up!

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves here. Schumacher scored a number of
casting triumphs to go along with his new Batman. Chris O’Donnell, whose
Robin/Dick Grayson portrayal had been very effective in Batman Forever,
signed on to reprise his role in Batman and Robin. And Batman and Robin’s
other main characters were going to be portrayed by actors who were sure to
generate every bit as much attention as Clooney and O’Donnell. Megawatt
action star Arnold Schwarzenegger was cast as Mr. Freeze/Dr. Victor Fries, and
Uma Thurman was chosen to play Poison Ivy/Dr. Pamela Isley. Thurman had
become a major star in her own right after her memorable performance in the
commercially and critically successful 1994 crime film Pulp Fiction. Alicia
Silverstone, best known for starring in the 1995 hit comedy Clueless, was cast as
Batgirl/Barbara Wilson. The part of Bane was given to professional
wrestler/actor Robert “Jeep” Swenson.

Not surprisingly, Schumacher elected to retain the Warner Batman film series’
two most dependable actors for Batman and Robin—Michael Gough was again
cast as Alfred, and Pat Hingle was again cast as Commissioner Gordon. Gough’s
role had been expanded in Batman Forever, and it would be expanded even
further in Batman and Robin—in fact, this time around, his character would end
up driving much of the film’s plot.

Like Batman Forever, Batman and Robin was primarily filmed at Warner’s
Burbank studios. Also like its predecessor, Batman and Robin used a blend of
gargantuan real-life sets and computer-generated images to realize its spectacular
vision of Gotham City and its equally spectacular action sequences. These sets
and computer graphics were again tied together by incredibly complex and
detailed miniature sets that were even more elaborate than the miniature sets
used for Batman Forever. The miniature Gotham City set created for Batman
and Robin featured twice as many structures as Batman Forever’s miniature
Gotham set, and its tallest buildings were over thirty feet tall, twice as tall as
Batman Forever’s tallest building model. 2

Production of Batman and Robin took place from early 1996 through early 1997,
with most of the principal photography taking place between September 1996
and February 1997. Schumacher and Warner Bros. seemed to feel every bit as
optimistic about the film while it was in production as they had felt about
Batman Forever while it was being made. This optimism appeared to be very
well-founded—the film’s cast and crew all got along wonderfully with one
another, working so smoothly together that principal photography wrapped ten
days earlier than scheduled.3

The calm, positive atmosphere surrounding the movie was undoubtedly helped
along by the fact that Schumacher had been able to retain much of his behind-
the-camera talent from Batman Forever, including producer Peter MacGregor-
Scott, production designer Barbara Ling, visual effects supervisor John Dykstra,
and composer Elliot Goldenthal. Simply put, everything about Batman and
Robin seemed to indicate that Warner’s Batman franchise was about to chalk up
another tremendous success.

The film had ended up to be the studio’s most expensive Batman film to date—
the price tag of the production was about $125 million. But Warner had to have
4

considered that price tag to be money well spent, because Schumacher and
company definitely seemed to be on a roll with their Batman franchise. How
could Batman and Robin end up being anything but a huge blockbuster for
them?

But after the first preview trailers for Batman and Robin ran in spring 1997,
many serious Batman fans sensed that something had gone very wrong with the
film. First off, many of the scenes in the preview were lit in outrageously garish
shades of magenta, orange and lime green. These colors did not seem to match
up with the images of the dark, shadow-lined streets of Gotham City found in
Warners’ previous Batman films.
Also, some of the film’s costumes seemed all wrong. Chris O’Donnell wore a
Robin costume that was all blue with an abstract red bird logo on its chest—in
other words, a costume that did not even slightly resemble any costume the
character had ever worn in his almost 60-year history. Alicia Silverstone’s
Batgirl costume consisted of nothing more than a rather undefined all-black
bodysuit and a black cape—the costume did not even have the bat-eared cowl
that the character had always worn in the comics. Finally, the preview featured
Clooney as Batman rather jocularly saying “Hi Freeze, I’m Batman” upon
meeting Mr. Freeze for the first time. Judging from this scene, there was not
going to be near enough darkness in Clooney’s Dark Knight for most longtime
Batman fans’ tastes.

Of course, previews can be misleading, so these fans had to wait for the film’s
nationwide premiere on June 20, 1997, just like the rest of the general movie
going public to see how good or bad the film would actually be. When they
actually got to see Batman and Robin in its entirety, most of them were mortified
—the film was so day-glo bright, so goofy, so utterly “un–Dark Knightish” that
it seemed to have far more in common with the campy 1960s Batman TV show
and film than with Warner’s previous Batman films. Granted, these earlier films
did not by any means paint a consistent portrait of their title character—elements
of the “dark” Batman found in Burton’s Batman Returns were certainly at odds
with elements of Schumacher’s Batman Forever’s “light” Batman. But even
still, Batman and Robin was so completely off the mark in terms of portraying
the post-camp Batman that it made the majority of serious Batman fans raging
mad. What in the world had Joel Schumacher done to their hero?

Batman and Robin opens with a series of quick shots of Batman and Robin in
the Batcave, readying themselves for battle. Batman speeds off in the Batmobile
and Robin speeds off on his Redbird motorcycle, both headed for the Gotham
Museum of Art where Mr. Freeze is attempting to steal a rare diamond. Freeze
has used his freeze gun to cover most everything in the museum with ice.
Batman and Robin burst in and use ice skates that are built into the soles of their
boots to fight Freeze’s thugs. The fight becomes a wild game of hockey with the
rare diamond as the puck. As the heroes overpower the thugs, Mr. Freeze tries to
escape in his small rocket-powered capsule.

Batman and Robin also climb on board the capsule right before it launches. As
the capsule rises, Freeze shoots his freeze gun at Batman’s arms and traps him.
Freeze jumps out of the capsule right before it leaves the Earth’s atmosphere,
gliding toward the Earth using wings built into the back of his costume. Robin
frees Batman from his icy trap, and the pair uses the capsule’s doors to
“skyboard” back to earth, fighting Freeze on the way down. Back on solid
ground, Freeze blasts Robin with his freeze gun and encases him in a block of
ice. Rather than pursue Freeze any further, Batman thaws out his partner.

The scene shifts to a South American rain forest, where Dr. Pamela Isley is
developing a chemical concoction called “Venom,” so that plants will be able to
protect themselves like animals. However, the Venom is being used without her
knowledge by her supervisor Dr. Woodrue in an attempt to create an army of
“super soldiers.” Woodrue injects one of his human guinea pigs with Venom and
creates his first super soldier, whom he calls “Bane.” When Isley discovers
Woodrue’s plans for corrupting her research, he pushes her into her research
table. She falls to the floor, covered with plant toxins and poisonous creatures.
But incredibly, she does not die—instead, these toxins and poisons fuse with her
own chemistry, turning her into Poison Ivy. In the ruins of her lab, she notices a
Wayne Enterprises beaker. Since Wayne was the original backer of Woodrue’s
and Isley’s work, Poison Ivy decides to travel to Gotham City and confront
Bruce Wayne. She brings Bane along with her in case she might need some extra
muscle.

Back in Gotham City, Bruce and Dick discuss the origin of Mr. Freeze. Freeze
was originally Dr. Victor Fries, a molecular biologist working to find a cure for a
disease known as MacGregor’s Syndrome. Fries was particularly committed to
ending the disease, because it was killing his wife Nora. To slow the progress of
the disease in Nora, Victor placed her in a water-filled tank and suspended her in
a cryogenic sleep. But one night while he was conducting his research, a lab
accident left him unable to withstand any temperature above the most freezing
cold. His mind unhinged by the impending loss of his wife and his accident, he
adopted the guise of Mr. Freeze. He needs diamonds due to the fact that his
extreme-cold suit is powered by diamond enhanced lasers. But Mr. Freeze is
momentarily forgotten at Wayne Manor because of the unexpected arrival of
Barbara Wilson, Alfred’s young niece, who is on break from her studies at a
school in England. Bruce tells Barbara she is welcome to stay and visit her uncle
as long as she likes.

The next day, Bruce attends a press conference to announce Wayne Enterprises’
donation of a powerful telescope to the Gotham Observatory. Pamela Isley
crashes the dedication and tries to get Wayne Enterprises to adopt a series of
extreme environmental policies designed to protect the world’s plants. Bruce
rejects her proposal, telling her that his company puts the needs of people first,
not plants. Pamela angrily tells him that she will help plants to reclaim the world.

That night, Batman and Robin attend a charity event to raise money to go toward
the protection of the Earth’s rainforests. Part of the charity event is an auction in
which the highest bidders win dates with beautiful women dressed in plant-
themed attire. Poison Ivy crashes the party and, though she is not supposed to be
on the auction block, she enters herself in the bidding. Through the use of a fairy
dust–like mix of pheromones, she drives all the bidders wild with desire,
including Batman and Robin. The bidding finally ends when Batman whips a
Batman credit card out of his utility belt.

The auction is interrupted when Mr. Freeze crashes the party to steal a rare
diamond that is on display there. He makes off with the diamond and drives
away in his armored Freeze mobile. Batman and Robin pursue him, Batman in
the Batmobile and Robin on his Redbird cycle. Freeze drives off of a bridge and
onto one of Gotham’s giant statues. As he drives down the arm of the statue,
Batman and Robin follow closely behind him. Freeze jumps his vehicle from the
statue’s hand to a nearby rooftop, and Batman also makes the jump in the
Batmobile. But Batman does not allow Robin to make the jump for fear that he
might get hurt; via computer, he shuts the Redbird cycle’s engine down. Batman
slams into Freeze on the rooftop, capturing him.

Back at the Batcave, Batman and Robin argue—Robin says that if they are ever
to truly work as a team, Batman needs to trust him. Later, Bruce talks to Alfred
about his troubles with Dick. Alfred tells Bruce that he believes Bruce has never
really learned to trust anyone—he has used his Batman guise to try to control
fate, and to shield himself from tragedies like the one that took his parents from
him. Alfred also tells him that trying to control fate, even death itself, is a
struggle that no one can win—not even someone as formidable as Batman.

Meanwhile, Dick spots Barbara taking one of Bruce’s motorcycles and sneaking
it out of the Wayne Manor garage late at night. Curious to see what the girl is up
to, Dick follows her and learns that she is entering illegal and highly dangerous
street races in downtown Gotham. This night’s race is so dangerous that Dick
has to save Barbara from plummeting off of a bridge that is under construction.
Back at Wayne Manor, Barbara tells Dick that she was expelled from school for
motorcycle racing, but racing earned enough money to allow her to take Alfred
away from his life of servitude and take care of him for the rest of his days. But
there may not be too many of these days left—Bruce walks in to tell Dick that
Alfred is gravely ill.

The captured Freeze has been taken to Arkham Asylum, but just as soon as he
arrives, Ivy and Bane show up to break him out. Upon hearing the news of
Freeze’s escape, Batman and Robin race to meet with Commissioner Gordon at
Freeze’s old hideout. Freeze, Ivy and Bane have also made their way to the
hideout. Upon finding the police and Batman and Robin there, Freeze turns on
the hideout’s ultra freezing air vents in order to chase the cops out, and Ivy and
Bane battle Batman and Robin. Ivy uses her pheromones to attract the heroes to
her, and they end up quarreling over her rather than capturing her. They escape,
but not before Ivy disconnects the power to the cryo-chamber holding Freeze’s
wife.

Ivy lies to Freeze, telling him that Batman has killed his wife. Enraged, Freeze
plans on using the new Gotham Observatory telescope in conjunction with his
newly developed freeze cannon to blanket the city in endless winter, making
everyone in Gotham pay for the misery Batman has inflicted on him. Back at
Wayne Manor, the heroes learn that, like Nora Fries, Alfred is dying of
MacGregor’s Syndrome. Bruce and Dick again quarrel over Bruce’s refusal to
consider Dick an equal partner—Dick says he is tired of living in Bruce’s
shadow, and he wants his own Robin light in the sky.

Through a computer disc created by Alfred, Barbara has learned that Bruce and
Dick are actually Batman and Robin. Barbara now understands that the reason
Alfred has remained in servitude for so long is that he was tending to heroes, not
just a couple of spoiled bachelors. Barbara sneaks into the Batcave, where a
computer simulation of Alfred tells the girl that he suspected she might learn
Wayne’s secret, so he took the liberty of designing her own crimefighting
costume. She will be “Batgirl.”

Ivy, realizing that Robin is unhappy about living in Batman’s shadow, steals the
Batsignal and changes it into a Robin signal. Robin answers the signal, but not
alone—Batman has convinced him that Ivy is setting a trap for him, so the two
heroes put aside their differences to try to capture Ivy. Ivy ends up capturing
them with her specially bred, super strong vines. Batgirl rushes in to save the
day, defeating Ivy in hand-to-hand combat. Batman and Robin are surprised by
Barbara’s transformation, but they figure they will need all the help they can get
to stop Freeze and his freeze cannon. So the newly formed team of Batman,
Robin and Batgirl, wearing brand-new matching black and silver costumes, race
off to confront Freeze at the Gotham Observatory, located high atop a huge
statue above the streets of the city.

From the Observatory, Freeze uses his cannon and the telescope to begin
covering the city in ice. The trio of heroes arrive on the scene and begin work on
reversing the freezing process, but Freeze attacks them, sending Robin and
Batgirl plummeting off the observatory. Using their grappling hooks, the young
heroes stop their fall and make their way back up to the observatory. They are
now attacked by Bane, but they are able to defeat the villain by disconnecting
the tube that supplies his brain with Venom.

Atop the telescope, Batman and Freeze fight. Batman is able to defeat the villain,
but Freeze ignites a number of bombs he has placed in the observatory,
completely destroying the telescope. Using the telescope’s undamaged computer
to realign a number of satellites orbiting the Earth, the heroes are able to reflect
the rays of the sun throughout downtown Gotham to reverse the damage Freeze
has caused. Batman tells the defeated Freeze that he did not kill Nora—in fact,
he restored the power to her cryo-chamber, actually saving her life. In gratitude,
Freeze resolves to give up his life of crime and re-dedicate himself to helping
humanity. He starts by giving Batman vials of medication that can cure
MacGregor’s Syndrome in its early stages. Freeze is then returned to Arkham,
where he is to share a cell with Poison Ivy. Ivy, whose mind has seemingly
become completely unhinged, stares in unbelieving terror at her new cellmate.

Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce administers Freeze’s medication to Alfred and

cures him of MacGregor’s Syndrome. Bruce agrees not only to treat Dick as
more of an equal, but also to take Barbara on as a partner as well. The film ends
with Batman, Robin and Batgirl shown in silhouette, running in front of the lit
Batsignal.

There is so much wrong with Batman and Robin that it is hard to decide where
to begin discussing the film’s problematic elements. But one of the main things
that jumped out at this Batman fan upon seeing it for the first time was that so
much of the film was such a literal retread of Batman Forever. Batman and
Robin was so close to Batman Forever in terms of plot, pacing and character
development that one cannot help but come to the conclusion that the film was
consciously pieced together to be as similar to its predecessor as possible.
What follows is a breakdown of major events that occur in both movies—notice
how these events even occur at almost exactly the same time in each movie!

Batman Forever opening—WB shield morphs into a bat logo, the principal actor
credits roll in a “letters whooshing across the screen” motif, and a bat symbol is
shown with the words “FOREVER” superimposed over it.

Batman and Robin opening—WB shield morphs into a bat logo, the principal
actor credits roll in a “letters whooshing across the screen” motif, and a bat
symbol is shown with a “Robin” symbol superimposed over it.

Batman Forever 1 minute, 10 seconds—Batman is in the Batcave, putting on his

costume and readying his weapons for battle.

Batman and Robin 1 minute, 10 seconds—Batman and Robin are in the Batcave,
putting on their costumes and readying their weapons for battle.

Batman Forever 1 minute, 30 seconds—The Batmobile rises out of a sunken

turntable.

Batman and Robin 2 minutes—The Batmobile rises out of a sunken turntable.

Batman Forever 1 minute, 45 seconds—Batman and Alfred exchange quips

before Batman drives off in the Batmobile.

Batman and Robin 2 minutes, 20 seconds—Batman, Robin and Alfred exchange

quips before Batman drives off in the Batmobile, and Robin drives off on his
Redbird motorcycle.

Batman Forever 2 minutes—The Batmobile races into Gotham City.

Batman and Robin 3 minutes—The Batmobile and the Redbird motorcycle race
into Gotham City.

Batman Forever 2 minutes, 30 seconds—Two-Face terrorizes a helpless bank

security guard.

Batman and Robin 4 minutes—Mr. Freeze terrorizes a helpless museum security

guard.
Batman Forever 6 minutes—Batman enters and battles Two-Face’s thugs.

Batman and Robin 6 minutes—Batman and Robin enter and battle Mr. Freeze’s
thugs.

Batman Forever 7 minutes, 15 seconds—Batman is locked in a safe that is

attached to Two-Face’s helicopter and pulled into the sky high above Gotham
City.

Batman and Robin 9 minutes, 45 seconds—Batman is trapped in Mr. Freeze’s

rocket-powered capsule which launches into the sky high above Gotham City.

Batman Forever 12 minutes—Batman and Two-Face jump out of the helicopter

to safety right before it crashes.

Batman and Robin 11 minutes–12 minutes, 30 seconds—Batman, Robin and Mr.

Freeze jump out of the capsule to safety right before it leaves the Earth’s
atmosphere.

Batman Forever 13 minutes—Edward Nygma, the disgruntled Wayne

Enterprises employee who will murder his immediate supervisor and become the
costumed villain the Riddler, is introduced.

Batman and Robin 15 minutes—Pamela Isley, the disgruntled Wayne

Enterprises employee who will murder her immediate supervisor and become the
costumed villain Poison Ivy, is introduced.

Batman Forever 24 minutes, 45 seconds—The origin of Two-Face is shown via

a television news video clip.

Batman and Robin 21 minutes—The origin of Mr. Freeze is shown via a security
camera video clip.

Batman Forever 33 minutes—Dick Grayson, the young trapeze artist who will
become Batman’s junior partner Robin, is introduced.

Batman and Robin 29 minutes—Barbara Wilson, Alfred’s young niece who will
become Batman’s junior partner Batgirl, is introduced.

Batman Forever 33 minutes—A lavish circus to benefit a charitable cause is

held for Gotham’s elite, and the event is crashed by Two-Face.

Batman and Robin 40 minutes—A lavish ball to benefit a charitable cause is

held for Gotham’s elite, and the event is crashed by Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze.

Batman Forever 1 hour, 5 minutes—Dick steals the Batmobile from the Batcave
after learning that Bruce is Batman. He fights a bunch of street punks with neon
paint on their faces who are trying to abduct a young woman. When they start to
overwhelm him, Batman comes to his rescue.

Batman and Robin 1 hour, 1 minute—Barbara steals one of Bruce’s motorcycles

and enters herself in an illegal street gang race being run by street punks with
neon paint on their faces. When the punks sabotage her during the race, Dick
comes to her rescue.

Batman Forever 1 hour, 38 minutes—Batman suits up in his new glossy-black

hi-tech suit for the first time. A quick camera shot playfully focuses on his rear
end.

Batman and Robin 1 hour, 36 minutes—Batgirl suits up in her new glossy-black

hi-tech suit for the first time. A quick camera shot playfully focuses on her rear
end.

Batman Forever 1 hour, 40 minutes—The newly established team of Batman

and Robin head off in separate Bat vehicles to confront the Riddler and Two-
Face.

Batman and Robin 1 hour, 42 minutes—The newly established team of Batman,

Robin and Batgirl head off in separate Bat vehicles to confront Mr. Freeze.

Batman Forever 1 hour, 54 minutes—After defeating the Riddler, Batman stands

over his foe in triumph.

Batman and Robin 1 hour, 55 minutes—After defeating Mr. Freeze, Batman

stands over his foe in triumph.

Batman Forever 1 hour, 55 minutes—Edward Nygma is shown incarcerated in

Arkham Asylum, completely out of his mind, wearing dirty black and white-
striped prison clothes.
Batman and Robin 1 hour, 56 minutes—Pamela Isley is shown incarcerated in
Arkham Asylum, completely out of her mind, wearing dirty black and white-
striped prison clothes.

Batman Forever 1 hour, 57 minutes—Batman and Robin are shown in silhouette

running in front of the lit Batsignal.

Batman and Robin 1 hour, 59 minutes—Batman, Robin and Batgirl are shown in
silhouette running in front of the lit Batsignal.

Obviously, it should be pointed out that sequels by their very nature often tend to
be very similar to the films that inspired them—after all, they almost always
involve the same characters, as well as the same styles of plot and pacing. It
should also be pointed out that the motion picture industry as a whole is guilty of
an appalling lack of creativity—year after year, Hollywood turns out plenty of
big-budget, big-studio films that are short on originality and long on
derivativeness. But as illustrated above, Batman and Robin is so similar to
Batman Forever that it feels about as imaginatively constructed as a child’s
“paint by numbers” set.

But as bad as Batman and Robin’s formulaic nature is, the film has an even
bigger problem—namely, it is completely divorced from any sense of reality. As
discussed last chapter, Batman Forever’s use of computer graphics technology
perhaps gave Schumacher and company too much freedom, because it allowed
them to stray far beyond the boundaries of what a hero like Batman could do if
he were actually a real person. This problem was magnified tenfold in Batman
and Robin. Characters are flying through the air at impossible speeds and
trajectories, cars are being driven over wildly uneven terrain, and roads suddenly
dead end right in the middle of bridges that look to be 50 stories off of the
ground. At different points in the film, Batman, Robin, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy
and Bane are all shown leaping off of buildings or flying vehicles and
plummeting thousands of feet back to earth without any means to slow their
descent, and none of them suffers so much as a scratch.

Ironically, Schumacher himself concisely summed up this problem in an

interview he gave to a film special effects magazine entitled Cinefex. In the
article “Freeze Frames” (September 1997), Schumacher spoke excitedly of the
liberties that computer-generated special effects had allowed the Batman and
Robin team to take: “We were able to create the kind of excitement and fantasy
you don’t normally see in an action movie, simply because we didn’t have to
concern ourselves with reality.” The idea that Schumacher considered not
5

having to concern himself with reality a plus when making a Batman film shows
how poorly the director actually understood his subject. Because without reality,
Batman was simply not Batman.

One of the most bizarre manifestations of Batman and Robin’s unreality was the
film’s Batmobile designed by production designer Barbara Ling. The car had
always been depicted in a fanciful manner since the 1960s Batman film and TV
show, but Batman and Robin’s Batmobile was not so much fanciful as it was
absurd. It was about 30 feet long from its front bumper to its gigantic rear
tailfins, and all it had in terms of cockpit space was a tiny little opening that was
barely even big enough for one person! The whole point of Batman ever having
a Batmobile was so that he could transport not only himself, but also other
passengers and crimefighting equipment. A Batmobile that was about as long as
a mobile home and could only carry one person made no sense whatsoever.

Batman and Robin’s unreality was made all the more unbearable by Akiva
Goldsman’s self-consciously campy script. Batman Forever’s generally strong
script had actually been co-written by Goldsman with Lee Batchler and Janet
Scott Batchler—but Batman and Robin proved beyond the shadow of a doubt
that Goldsman was not up to the task of creating a decent Batman film script all
on his own. The film was full of appallingly “cute” touches such as Batman
pulling a Batman credit card out of his utility belt, and Batman and Robin
producing ice skates from the soles of their boots to fight Freeze’s thugs. Also,
Batman and Robin’s terrible disease that was supposedly threatening the life of
Nora Fries and Alfred was nothing more than a silly in-joke—“MacGregor’s
Syndrome” was completely made-up disease named after the film’s producer,
Peter MacGregor-Scott. Goldsman left the “MacGregor’s Syndrome” plotline so
underdeveloped that the film never even bothered to explain what part of the
body the disease attacked, or what its symptoms were!

Another of Batman and Robin’s major problems was the film’s costuming.
Schumacher decided to completely revamp the costumes of Batman, Robin and
Batgirl, with predictably disastrous results. The film’s title might have been
Batman and Robin, but given Robin’s basically all-blue costume, it sure did not
look like Robin up there on the screen. And the first Batgirl costume Alicia
Silverstone wore in the film consisted of nothing more than a rather plain all-
black bodysuit and black cape. It had no color to it to give it any definition—it
would have looked far better if it had remained truer to the character’s time-
honored costume and sported a yellow bat emblem, boots and gloves. Worst of
all, the costume did not even have the bat-eared cowl that the character had
always worn in the comics. Schumacher and company decided to let
Silverstone’s beautiful hair fly free when dressed as Batgirl. And her hair was
lovely—she just didn’t look anything like Batgirl.

The Batman costume George Clooney wore for the majority of the film was
generally similar to the Batman costumes Val Kilmer wore in Batman Forever.
Clooney’s costume was completely blue-black in color, and featured a bat
emblem molded into the costume’s chest armor. It was the least jarring of the
film’s hero costumes because it basically stayed true to the character’s “movie
look” established in Warner’s previous Batman films.

Amusingly, both of these Batman and Robin costumes featured sharply-defined

nipples molded onto their chest armor just like the costumes in Batman Forever,
but poor Batgirl didn’t get any sharply-defined nipples on her costume!
Obviously, giving Batgirl’s costume a “topless” look was not even remotely an
option for the filmmakers, considering they were looking to make Batman and
Robin a family friendly Batman film like its predecessor Batman Forever had
been. But the film’s decision to have “some nipples here, but no nipples there”
served to illustrate just how completely ridiculous a decision it was to ever outfit
any of the costumes with nipples in the first place.

The hero costuming situation degraded even further during Batman and Robin’s
climax. When the three heroes confront Mr. Freeze at Gotham Observatory, they
have all changed into new, matching costumes. (Since Alfred was always
depicted as being the “costume maker” in Schumacher’s Batman films, one can
assume that the early stages of MacGregor’s Syndrome do not affect tailoring
skills.) The costumes were dark gray in color with silver highlights molded into
their armor. Once these costumes appeared on the screen, Batman, Robin and
Batgirl lost almost all visual connection to their comic book counterparts. With
no elements of design or color to separate them from one another, they might has
well have been stormtroopers in a Star Wars film.

Batman and Robin’s lighting did nothing to help this feeling that Batman, Robin
and Batgirl were actually no longer Batman, Robin and Batgirl in the film. As
previously mentioned, much of the film was lit in outrageously garish shades of
magenta, orange and lime green, and these colors did not seem to match up with
the images of the dark, shadow-lined streets of Gotham City found in Warner’s
previous Batman films. This combination of “non–Batman costumes” and “non–
Batman colors” made Batman and Robin feel like a—well, like a “non–Batman
film.”

The criticisms of Schumacher infusing his cinematic version of the Batman

character with inappropriate sexual subtext that arose with the release of Batman
Forever continued with the release of Batman and Robin. As discussed last
chapter, these criticisms of Batman Forever had some validity—and since
Batman and Robin was so similar to its predecessor, the criticisms applied
equally well to this new film. But the film had far bigger problems than simply
the inclusion of a few sexual in-jokes.

With all of Batman and Robin’s problems, poor George Clooney really had no
chance of establishing himself as a good Batman/Bruce Wayne. At 5'11" and of
average build, he was by no means physically perfect for the part, but had he
been given a better Batman film to appear in, he likely would have been far
better in the role than he was in Batman and Robin. At any rate, Clooney played
the part in the film with the same detached charm he had displayed in many of
his other movie and TV roles. His amiable performance was enjoyable enough,
but given the overall absurdity of the film he was not given any chance to
display the kind of intensity that Michael Keaton or Val Kilmer had in their best
Batman screen moments.

Perhaps Clooney’s strongest scenes in Batman and Robin were the ones he
played opposite Michael Gough. As Alfred faces his own mortality with dignity
and grace in the film, Bruce must face the prospect of losing the person who has
been closest to him since his parents died. It is at this profound moment that both
men truly realize what they have meant to each other throughout the years. Both
Clooney and Gough acted these scenes with sincerity and warmth, making the
scenes just about the only ones in the film with any emotional resonance.

In Batman and Robin, Chris O’Donnell’s Robin/Dick Grayson character took a

gigantic step backward from his debut in Batman Forever. His Robin costumes
were nothing like any of the costumes the Robin comic character had ever worn.
And in his scenes as Dick Grayson, his shrill bickering with Bruce over wanting
his own Robin signal in the sky made him sound not like a determined
crimefighter, but like a Las Vegas nightclub performer who is unhappy over not
receiving star billing in his act. Like Clooney, O’Donnell never really had a
chance of making his character work in Batman and Robin since he was saddled
with such atrocious material.

As Batgirl/Barbara Wilson, Alicia Silverstone fared no better. Her scenes as both

Batgirl and Barbara were about as badly written as most every other scene in the
film. Plus, for many longtime Batman fans, Silverstone’s Batgirl just did not
seem like Batgirl because the character’s origin was so different from the comic
book Batgirl’s. In the film, instead of being Barbara Gordon, the daughter of
Commissioner Gordon, she was Barbara Wilson, Alfred’s niece. This change
made good narrative sense in the context of the film because Alfred was such a
major part of the film’s storyline and Gordon was not. But even still, it was a
change that did not sit well with many Batman fans, so consequently they had
little use for Silverstone’s performance.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Mr. Freeze/Dr. Victor Fries was arguably the most
grating of Batman and Robin’s major characters. The development of Freeze had
started out promisingly enough—his origin revolving around his attempts to save
his wife Nora was nicely adapted from the Mr. Freeze origin story created for
“Heart of Ice,” a standout episode of the television program Batman: The
Animated Series. (We discussed that episode in some detail in Chapter 11.) Also,
Schwarzenegger’s silvery-blue makeup that covered every inch of his exposed
skin, and his imposing metallic costume with neon blue highlights, made the
character visually very interesting.

But the character was completely spoiled by his obnoxious tendency to speak
dialogue that consisted of little more than an unending barrage of bad puns and
one-liners relating to ice and cold. It seemed as if Schumacher and Goldsman
wanted to capitalize on Arnold’s tradition of uttering pithy, instantly memorable
phrases in his films, such as his deathless line “I’ll be back” from The
Terminator (1984). Consequently, almost every line that Schwarzenegger spoke
in Batman and Robin sounded like it was designed to be printed on a souvenir
Mr. Freeze T-shirt that kiddies would want to rush out and buy just as soon as
they had seen the movie. Here is just a sampling of these lines—“The Iceman
cometh,” “Cool party” and “Chilled to perfection.” And they say comic book
dialogue is corny!

Uma Thurman’s Poison Ivy/Dr. Pamela Isley was perhaps the strongest of
Batman and Robin’s main characters. Her origin was well-adapted from the
comic book Poison Ivy’s origin story “Pavane” we discussed at the beginning of
this chapter. Also, the mainly bright green plant-themed costumes Thurman
wore were faithful to the character’s appearance both in the comics and in
episodes of Batman: The Animated Series. Thurman made the most of the decent
material she was given to work with in the film, hamming up her part with a nice
blend of sexuality and humor.

The Bane character’s inclusion in Batman and Robin seemed like nothing more
than an afterthought. Schumacher and company evidently decided that since
Bane had become such a popular character in Batman comic books, they would
find a way to tie him into Poison Ivy’s origin so they could use him in the film.
But they certainly did not use him to great effect—he was depicted as being little
more than a dimwitted henchman for Ivy. Given the character’s popularity in
Batman comics, many fans were disappointed to see him reduced to such a
simple background character. One final, and tragic, note regarding Batman and
Robin’s Bane—Robert “Jeep” Swenson, the actor who played the role, died of
heart failure caused by steroid abuse not long after the film was released.

Incredibly, there were other characters in Batman and Robin that were even less
developed than Bane! Far and away the most puzzling of these characters was
Bruce’s girlfriend Julie Madison, played by Elle MacPherson. Schumacher and
Goldsman went way back to find the Julie Madison character in Batman comic
stories—she was featured in a number of Batman’s adventures that were first
published between late 1939 and early 1941! In those stories, she was a beautiful
socialite who was engaged to Bruce Wayne, but she eventually broke off their
engagement because she hated seeing him waste his life away as a self-centered,
lazy playboy. (Obviously, Bruce never revealed his secret life as Batman to her.)

Julie only appeared in several scenes in Batman and Robin, and she was so
peripheral that there was really no point in including her in the film at all. In fact,
you’ll notice that it wasn’t necessary for me to even mention the character when
providing a very detailed account of the film’s plot! Bruce Wayne’s other love
interests that made the leap from the comics to the screen such as Linda Page
and Vicki Vale might not have been the most memorable movie characters ever
created, but even they managed to make an infinitely bigger impression than
Julie Madison did in Batman and Robin. Perhaps Schumacher thought so highly
of MacPherson that he wanted to find some way to include her in one of his
movies—but he certainly didn’t do her any favors by giving her this particular
part.
Unfortunately, Commissioner Gordon ended up being another of Batman and
Robin’s woefully underdeveloped characters. Pat Hingle as Gordon was only
given a handful of lines in the film, reducing Batman’s most trusted ally on the
Gotham City Police Department to nothing more than one of Batman and
Robin’s bit players.

Like Batman Forever, Batman and Robin was designed to be a family friendly
Batman film that would attract audiences of all ages—in other words, a film that
would make Warner Bros. lots and lots of money. But because of all the movie’s
shortcomings, it took a terrible critical and commercial beating. Batman and
Robin received overwhelmingly negative reviews, and only ended up grossing
only about $107 million during its U.S. theatrical run—about $75 million less
than Batman Forever had grossed during its U.S. theatrical run two years earlier.
After Batman and Robin finished its worldwide run it had grossed about $238
million, so it had finally made Warner Bros. enough money for the studio to call
the film a “hit.” But of course, Warner did not really consider the film a hit at
6

all. It was their lowest-grossing Batman film yet. With the release of Batman
and Robin, Joel Schumacher had let the studio down even worse than Tim
Burton had with the release of Batman Returns.

Warner Bros. aggressively marketed the home video release of Batman and
Robin in October 1997, likely hoping that the film would be able to bring in
some extra revenue in the wake of its disappointing box office numbers. While
all of Warner’s previous Batman movies had first premiered in the home video
market on videotape or laserdisc formats, Batman and Robin’s initial home
video release was on DVD format. The movie was also released on VHS tape
and laserdisc for consumers who had not yet upgraded to DVD technology. The
DVD offered the film in its original widescreen format as well as in a format
cropped to fit a standard television screen, but it offered no bonus features or
printed material dealing with the making of the film. Incidentally, Warner chose
to release its previous three live-action Batman movies, Batman (1989), Batman
Returns (1992), and Batman Forever (1995), to the home video market on DVD
for the first time upon the home video premiere of Batman and Robin. (We
discussed the home video release history for each of those films in detail in their
individual chapters.)

As we also discussed in those chapters, the success of Warner’s 2005 film

Batman Begins led the studio to release their four previous Batman live-action
features on 2-disc DVD sets late that same year. Each of these sets were loaded
with special features that detailed their particular film’s creation. The Batman
and Robin DVD set included a number of newly-produced documentaries about
the movie. The program Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark
Knight Part 6 chronicled the making of Batman and Robin, featuring insights
from many of the individuals who played a major role in the film’s creation such
Joel Schumacher, Akiva Goldsman, Peter MacGregor-Scott, George Clooney,
Chris O’Donnell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Uma Thurman, and Alicia
Silverstone. These insights were accompanied by a good deal of behind-the-
scenes footage shot on the Batman and Robin set showing the movies’s cast and
crew at work. Perhaps the most unusual moment of the documentary was when
Schumacher literally offered an apology to anyone who had been disappointed
by the film!

The DVD set’s program Beyond Batman consisted of featurettes about some of
the specific elements of Batman and Robin. The titles of the featurettes were
“Bigger, Bolder, Brighter: The Production Design of Batman and Robin,”
“Maximum Overdrive: The Vehicles of Batman and Robin,” “Dressed to Thrill:
The Costumes of Batman and Robin,” “Frozen Freaks and Femme Fatales: The
Makeup of Batman and Robin,” and “Freeze Frame: The Visual Effects of
Batman and Robin.” The set also included featurettes on the main heroes and
villains of the film.

The DVD set featured one scene that was deleted from the final cut of Batman
and Robin. The scene was entitled “Alfred’s Lost Love,” and it revealed that
Barbara was not truly Alfred’s niece, she was the daughter of a woman named
Margaret Clark, a woman that Alfred had fallen in love with many years ago. In
the scene, Alfred, Barbara, Bruce and Dick are strolling the grounds of Wayne
Manor, and Alfred tells everyone that he broke off his relationship with
Margaret because he was so much older than her. Schumacher must have
decided that he didn’t care for this “Alfred’s lost love” backstory—for the final
cut of the film, this scene was re-shot with dialogue that completely changed the
relationship between Alfred, Margaret and Barbara. The re-shot scene revealed
Margaret to be Alfred’s sister, making her daughter Barbara his actual niece.

This 2005 DVD set remained the definitive home video version of Batman and
Robin until Warner released the movie on Blu-ray disc in early 2009. The
Batman and Robin Blu-ray included all of the special features found on the DVD
set, but it did not contain any new bonus material. Of course, the Blu-ray’s main
selling point was not its special features, but its presentation of the film itself. On
Blu-ray, Batman and Robin looked and sounded far better than it ever had on
any other home video format.

Here are my final thoughts on Batman and Robin. As I mentioned earlier in this
chapter, the film made many serious Batman fans raging mad when it was
released. Over the years, this particular Batman fan’s anger over the movie has
given way to an equal amount of bewilderment. This is the question I always
ponder when I think of Batman and Robin—just how did a film project that
looked to have all of the right ingredients for success turn out to be so
catastrophically bad?

Of course, there is no simple answer to this question. But one thing is certain—
Schumacher and company were not trying to make a film that would end up to
be regarded as one of the worst superhero movies of all time. They genuinely
thought they were making a Batman film that would appeal to audiences young
and old, one made up of Batman fans and non–Batman fans alike. But for some
reason, they just couldn’t resist the temptation to camp up the character and his
world in a manner that recalled the 1960s Batman TV show and movie. They
just didn’t seem to grasp the fact that the camp version of Batman wasn’t the
way modern movie audiences appreciated the character anymore. Beginning
with the release of the 1989 Batman film, these audiences had begun to see
Batman as a serious character, and there was no going back. So in an ironic
twist, Schumacher’s failure turned out to be the serious Batman fan’s victory—
the world was seeing Batman our way now, and it would not settle for the camp
Batman found in Batman and Robin.

But this victory certainly came at a very high price—the Batman and Robin
debacle so unnerved Warner Bros. that the studio would not undertake the
production of a new big-screen Batman movie for the better part of six years.
Those six years were a long wait for us serious Batman fans. But as we will
discuss later in the book, our patience would be rewarded by the 2005 release of
Batman Begins, an incredible new Batman film that would put the character on
the road to truly unimaginable big screen success.
 16
Iconic Character, Dormant Film Franchise, 1998–2004

After the very disappointing critical and commercial performance of Batman and
Robin, Warner Bros.’ once-mighty Batman film franchise fell into disarray.
Surprisingly, as flawed and uninspired as Batman and Robin was, Warner was
still planning on bringing Joel Schumacher back to helm another Batman film
shortly after the release of Batman and Robin. In the weeks surrounding the
film’s premiere, there was much discussion of the director’s next Batman opus,
Batman Triumphant, which was to have featured the Scarecrow and Harley
Quinn as its villains. But once the studio realized just how poorly received
Batman and Robin was going to be, Schumacher was relieved of his Batman
directorial duties and plans for Batman Triumphant were scrapped. 1

In the years that have passed since Batman and Robin’s failure, the viewpoint
that Tim Burton was a far better fit for Warner’s Batman film franchise than was
Joel Schumacher has become increasingly popular among Batman fans and film
buffs. But as we have seen over the course of this book, this viewpoint is far
from accurate. Burton’s 1989 Batman did indeed begin the dynasty, but his
second Batman film, Batman Returns, was so dark and unsettling that it put
many moviegoers off—consequently, Returns turned out to be a box office
disappointment for Warner. Schumacher was brought in to direct Warner’s third
Batman film, Batman Forever, in order to make Batman “fun” again, and bring
moviegoers back to the franchise. And Schumacher was successful in this
regard; while Batman Forever was not as big of a blockbuster as the 1989
Batman, the film outgrossed Batman Returns by over $50 million.

Unfortunately for Schumacher, the good that the director did for Warner’s
Batman film franchise was all but forgotten upon the release of his disastrous
Batman and Robin. But in all fairness, it should be pointed out that the franchise
might have fallen apart even faster if it had been left solely in the hands of Tim
Burton.

In fact, it can be argued that even though Burton and Schumacher brought
Batman to the screen in radically different manners, their basic approach to
directing Batman films was quite similar. Both directors stayed relatively close
to the time-honored traditions of the Batman character for their Batman
directorial debuts. But emboldened by the success of these films, both directors
unwisely chose to stray much too far from those traditions when making their
sophomore Batman efforts. Of course, both directors ended up in the same
predicament when they tried to put their “personal” stamp on the Batman mythos
—they both had to face the dramatically lower box office returns their second
Batman films earned.

At any rate, after four movies that featured a substantial number of the major
characters in the Batman universe, Warner’s Batman film franchise appeared to
be completely dead. The movies had run through the heroes Batman, Robin and
Batgirl, and the villains the Joker, the Penguin, the Catwoman, the Riddler, Two-
Face, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy and Bane. Many in the general public knew the
long line of characters that had been used in the films and assumed that
everything that could be squeezed out of the Batman universe for the big screen
had been squeezed out—they figured that Batman simply had no more to offer in
terms of further movie projects.

Of course, we serious Batman fans vehemently disagreed with this line of

thinking. The Batman character had an incredibly rich history that spanned
generations—with all of the great Batman comic stories that had been published
over the decades, we knew that there were hundreds of films to be made that
featured the character, not four. And certainly not these four movies—let’s be
honest, none of them were likely to be remembered as cinematic masterpieces.
In fact, at least one of them had a legitimate shot of being remembered as a
cinematic misstep of historic proportions! Serious Batman fans knew that with
these four films, Warner’s Batman film franchise had barely scratched the
surface of the character’s big screen potential. Batman had so much more to
offer in terms of further movie projects—Warner was really missing out
creatively and financially by letting their franchise lie dormant.

And Warner Bros. was in complete agreement with us on this subject. Given the
Batman character’s ongoing success in multiple forms of media, the studio knew
that the character’s absence from the big screen represented a giant missed
opportunity for them. Warner would continue to try to find a way to bring
Batman back to the movies in the wake of Batman and Robin, but it would be
awhile before they found the right project and the right director to accomplish
this goal. (Next chapter, we’ll discuss a few of Warner’s post–Batman and Robin
Batman film projects that never made it past the early planning stages.)
Luckily, we serious Batman fans had other new Batman projects to enjoy while
we waited for Warner Bros. to rethink their Batman film franchise. One of them
was a new Batman: The Animated Series film entitled Batman & Mr. Freeze:
SubZero, which was scheduled to premiere on home video in spring 1997 as a
tie-in to Batman and Robin. SubZero featured most of Batman and Robin’s main
characters and its plot found Batman, Robin and Barbara Gordon engaged in an
epic struggle against Mr. Freeze. But only weeks before SubZero’s release,
Warner suddenly and quietly postponed it. The film was not released on home
video until a full year later, in spring 1998.

Warners’ reason for shelving SubZero for a year and then releasing it with very
little fanfare was likely the simple fact that SubZero was a far superior work to
the abysmal Batman and Robin. Had SubZero and Batman and Robin been
released in conjunction with one another, film critics would have had a field day
pointing out the fact that the grandiose, ridiculously expensive Batman and
Robin paled in comparison to its relatively modestly priced animated
companion. As it turned out, Batman and Robin took a terrible critical beating
anyway. But one can imagine how much worse that beating would have been if
major film critics had been able to screen Batman and Robin and SubZero side
by side, and then write headlines to their reviews like “MEMO TO WARNER
BROS.—NEXT TIME AROUND, SAVE YOUR MONEY AND JUST
RELEASE THE CARTOON.” Of course, Warner would never publicly
acknowledge the fact that this line of reasoning led them to sit on SubZero for a
year, but it seems to be the most likely explanation for the studio’s decision to
(pardon the pun) give the film the cold shoulder.

So not only did Batman and Robin prove to be a terrible disappointment for
longtime Batman fans, but it also probably forced these fans to wait an
additional year for the release of a good Batman screen work. In fact, SubZero
was more than good—it was great. Produced, written and directed by Boyd
Kirkland and co-produced and co-written by Randy Rogel, the film continued
the tradition of wonderful visuals and storytelling established in previous
Batman: The Animated Series works.

In SubZero, Victor Fries’ wife Nora, who has been suspended in a cryogenic
sleep for a number of years in order to keep her from dying from an incurable
disease, requires an immediate organ transplant just to maintain her tenuous
existence. But since she has a rare blood type, there are no organs available. In
desperation, Fries suits up as Mr. Freeze and kidnaps Barbara Gordon, who has
Nora’s blood type. Freeze plans on killing Barbara and using her organs to save
Nora, but Batman and Robin discover Freeze’s plan and race to Barbara’s
rescue. SubZero ends with a dramatic confrontation between the heroes and
Freeze on an abandoned offshore oil rig, as Batman and Robin save Barbara
from Freeze’s clutches.

SubZero turned out to be the swan song for the original version of Batman: The
Animated Series. In late 1997, a new version of Batman: The Animated Series
premiered on the Kid’s WB Network. Entitled The New Batman/Superman
Adventures, the Batman portion of the series consisted of 25 episodes that
originally aired between fall 1997 and fall 1998.

Despite the series title, Batman and Superman were generally featured working
separately from one another in The New Batman/Superman Adventures. In 1996,
Alan Burnett, Paul Dini and Bruce Timm had created a Superman animated
series done in a similar style to their animated Batman works, so The New
Batman/Superman Adventures was really a pairing of their separate Batman and
Superman series. However, The New Batman/Superman Adventures did include
a special three-part episode entitled “World’s Finest” which depicted Batman
and Superman working together to defeat the Joker and Lex Luthor. (“World’s
Finest” was eventually released on home video under the title The Batman
Superman Movie in 1998.)

The Batman episodes in The New Batman/Superman Adventures picked up

several years after the continuity established in the original Batman: The
Animated Series. These years had brought major changes to Batman’s world.
First off, Dick Grayson had ended his partnership with Batman after the two had
a falling-out; he then adopted the identity of Nightwing and continued to fight
crime on his own. In Dick’s absence, Batman decided to take on two new
partners. First, he finally took Batgirl into his confidence, revealing his secret
identity to her and regularly working with her on cases. (Barbara Gordon’s
transformation from Batgirl to Oracle as depicted in the comics was a plot
development that was never incorporated into this animated version of Batman’s
world.)

He also took on a new Robin, Tim Drake, a tough street kid whose father Steven
was working for Two-Face. After Two-Face murdered Steven, Batman took in
Tim and made him his ward just as he had done with Dick. Interestingly, the
animated Tim’s origin was much more similar to the second origin of the much-
hated Jason Todd Robin comic character than it was to the comic book Tim’s
origin! But as we discussed earlier in the book, a hallmark of the original
Batman: The Animated Series was to synthesize different elements of Batman
history into a powerful, singular vision of the character’s world—so this decision
to tinker with Tim’s origin a bit was not particularly jarring for Batman fans.

The Batman episodes in The New Batman/Superman Adventures were visually

quite different from the original Batman: The Animated Series. The new series
had a much simpler, decidedly cartoonish look to it; the realism found in many
episodes of Batman: The Animated Series gave way to an expressive style that at
times bordered on slightly absurd caricature. For example, Batman’s shoulders
were so broad and the Joker’s chin was so pointed in The New
Batman/Superman Adventures that the characters seemed about as far removed
from real life as characters in a Looney Tunes cartoon.

Not only were the Batman characters in The New Batman/Superman Adventures
rendered in a different style from the way they were rendered in Batman: The
Animated Series, but their costumes were also markedly different as well. For
example, the deep blue shades found in the Batman costume of Batman: The
Animated Series gave way to a basically all-black and gray Batman costume in
The New Batman/Superman Adventures. And Robin’s costume was radically
changed as well: No longer red, green and yellow like the character’s traditional
comic book costume, it was a red, black and yellow design unlike any Robin
costume that had ever appeared in the comics over the years.

The Batman episodes featured in The New Batman/Superman Adventures might

have looked substantially different from the original Batman: The Animated
Series, but these new episodes were just like the original series in many other
respects. For example, their scripts were every bit as well-written as the scripts
for the original series. Dini and Timm even adapted their Eisner Award–winning
comic tale Mad Love into a standout episode of the program. Also, most of the
Batman: The Animated Series voice talent reprised their roles in The New
Batman/Superman Adventures. And these new episodes also treated the Batman
character and his comic book history with the same respect and affection that the
original series did.

Nowhere was this fact more apparent than in the episode “Legends of the Dark
Knight,” written by Timm and Robert Goodman, and directed by Dan Riba. In
“Legends of the Dark Knight,” a group of Gotham kids discuss what they think
Batman is really like, and realize that they all hold wildly varying views of the
crimefighter. One young man sees Batman as a cheerful public servant with an
enthusiastic Robin by his side. This view is illustrated by an animated sequence
inspired by the 1940s Batman comic art of Dick Sprang which shows Batman
and Robin fighting the Joker. A young girl sees Batman as a fearsome, savage
combatant who is aided by a street-wise female Robin. This view is illustrated
by an animated sequence inspired by Frank Miller’s 1986 graphic novel series
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns which shows Batman and Robin (the Carrie
Kelley version of the character) fighting a dangerous gang leader. The kids
eventually find themselves in the middle of a crime in progress, and they find
out what Batman is really like when he comes to their rescue. (Incidentally, this
episode was based on the classic comic story “The Batman Nobody Knows” by
writer Frank Robbins and artist Dick Giordano which was first published in
Batman #250, July 1973. In that story, three kids share their varying visions of
Batman with Bruce Wayne.)

“Legends of the Dark Knight” also contains one priceless Batman in-joke. As
the kids discuss Batman, they happen upon a kid named Joel who offers his
opinion that the crimefighter wears a costume made of tight rubber armor and
has a car that can drive up walls. The kids instantly dismiss Joel’s thoughts with
complete derision. Obviously, Joel is meant to represent a young version of
director Joel Schumacher, and the character’s thoughts on Batman are pulled
directly from Schumacher’s Batman films! Poor Joel Schumacher—not only did
he have to deal with real Batman fans that were angry at him over his cinematic
version of Batman, he even had to deal with angry fictional Batman fans!

On November 3, 1998, Batman’s creator Bob Kane died at the age of 83. As we
noted earlier in the book, Kane had the good fortune to spend the last decade of
his life enjoying the spoils of his creation’s continued success, the majority of
that success stemming from Warner’s Batman film franchise. Kane was survived
by his daughter Debbie from his first marriage, and his second wife Elizabeth
Sanders Kane. Though Kane had no substantial involvement in the making of
any of Warner’s Batman films, he always offered his public support for the
franchise—he spoke of all of the franchise’s films in glowing terms whenever he
was interviewed by the media, and he also made occasional visits to the film’s
sets.

Kane’s enthusiasm for Warner’s Batman film franchise probably continued to

remain so high because the franchise elected to cast his second wife, an aspiring
actress, in most of its films. Elizabeth Sanders Kane was given a one-line part in
Batman Returns (she was billed as “Gothamite 4”) and she was given the role of
Gossip Gerty in both Batman Forever and Batman and Robin. The Gossip Gerty
part only consisted of a few lines in each film, and was modeled after an old-
fashioned entertainment gossip columnist.

In addition to supporting Warner’s Batman film franchise, Kane also spent his
final years preparing his autobiography Batman and Me for publication. The
book was co-written by Tom Andrae, and it was first released in 1989. A revised
and expanded edition of the book entitled Batman and Me: The Saga Continues
was released in 1996. As we also noted earlier in the book, Kane was often
guilty of shameless self-interest, leading him to falsely claim that he was
basically the sole architect of Batman’s success. Unfortunately, both editions of
Batman and Me reveal this deficit in Kane’s personal character—they are filled
with fanciful, unsubstantiated anecdotes that appear to be nothing more than
rather transparent attempts to make Kane’s achievements seem even more grand
than they actually were.2

The loss of Bob Kane was definitely a reminder of how far the Batman character
had come and how much the world had changed since the time of his creation—
but Kane’s death was by no means the only big change that the world was
bringing to Batman in the late 1990s. During this time, the exploding popularity
of the Internet revolutionized the way that people shared information with one
another. And of course, Batman had continued to be such a popular commodity
over the decades that it was no surprise that the character instantly became a hot
Internet topic.

Through the Internet, Batman fans were able to become Batman producers—
countless fan-made websites dedicated to the character seemed to pop up on the
World Wide Web almost overnight. This new form of communication linked
Batman fans together in a manner that they had ever been linked before. There
was a now an online “Batman community” that stretched all around the world, a
community that was infinitely larger and more unified than the isolated clusters
of Batman fans that had gathered at individual comic stores and comic
conventions over the years.

A number of these fan-made Batman websites became so popular with the online
Batman community that DC Comics and Warner Bros. were compelled to
seriously pay attention to them. The wealth of reviews and opinions found on
these sites offered the companies an excellent way to gauge how well Batman
fans were responding to their various Batman products.

One of these fan-made Batman websites that turned out to be particularly

popular and influential was Batman-on-Film, and its focus made it a special
favorite of this author over the years. Batman-on-Film was created in 1998 by a
33-year-old Batman fan from Texas named Bill Ramey. Ramey was so
disappointed with the direction that Warner’s Batman film franchise had taken
with the release of Batman and Robin that he created his website as a means to
lobby for “the long-term continuation of the Batman film franchise and the
production of quality Bat-movies,” as he succinctly phrased it.

Batman-on-Film had decidedly humble beginnings—it was originally launched

as a very small site under the name of “JettD60’s BATMAN 5 Page.” Ramey
gave the site its much catchier name in 2000, and its presentation of news and
opinion relating to Warner’s efforts to relaunch their Batman film franchise in
the wake of Batman and Robin really clicked with the Batman community.
Batman-on-Film expanded its scope as it grew in size and popularity, offering
coverage of non-film Batman works such as TV programs and comic books.

By 2005, when Warner was releasing Batman Begins, the site had become so
popular with the Batman community that it was being visited hundreds of
thousands of time a day! Warner definitely appreciated all of the attention that
Batman-on-Film was bringing to their Batman cinematic efforts. The studio even
made a point of giving Ramey special behind-the-scenes media access while he
was covering their later Batman films The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark
Knight Rises (2012).

In the interest of full disclosure, I should point out that over the years I have
contributed a number of articles to Batman-on-Film. But even if I had never
been associated with the site, I would still be noting it in this book because of the
very positive impact it has had on the history of Batman big screen works.

Obviously, not all Batman-related Internet websites were fan-made. DC Comics

and Warner Bros. developed many different websites in order to advertise and
sell their various Batman products. Warner created particularly elaborate sites
for Christopher Nolan’s Batman films Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The
Dark Knight Rises that were packed with material designed to enhance the
viewing experience of each film. We’ll discuss those sites in detail later in the
book.

The concept of extremely long Batman story arcs first realized in the 1993 series
Knightfall, Knightquest and KnightsEnd continued to gain in popularity during
the late 1990s. DC found that Batman fans tended to stick with tales that ran in
Batman’s regular monthly comic titles, so they devised several more epic plots
to keep those fans coming back for more. Among these were a 1998 series
entitled Cataclysm that depicted Gotham City being destroyed by a major
earthquake, and a 1999 follow-up series entitled No Man’s Land that depicted
post-quake Gotham as a lawless territory that has been abandoned by the federal
government. In No Man’s Land, Batman struggled to bring the city back under
control, as portions of it had been claimed by criminals like the Joker and Two-
Face. Gotham City was eventually rebuilt with the aid of Superman’s old foe,
Metropolis mogul Lex Luthor. (Luthor’s rebuilding of Gotham was not by any
means an act of charity—his efforts were motivated by a desire to improve his
pubic image so that he could run for president!)

During the No Man’s Land saga, a new Batgirl character was introduced.
Cassandra Cain had been trained from a very young age to be an assassin by her
adopted father, who was himself a professional killer. Cassandra hated the
terrible life that was being forced on her, so she fled, making her way to Gotham
City. In the midst of the No Man’s Land crisis, she aided the former Batgirl
Barbara Gordon, now known as the computer expert Oracle, and eventually
convinced Batman to take her on as one of his partners. As the new Batgirl, she
adopted a faceless, almost completely black costume with a cape and bat-eared
cowl. This new Batgirl proved to be such a popular character that in April 2000
she was given her own monthly comic title, simply titled Batgirl.

As previously mentioned, artist Alex Ross’ vision of the DC Universe in

Kingdom Come created such a sensation that the artist was asked to provide
paintings for a number of other DC publications during the late 1990s. Some of
these images were of Batman—for example, Ross provided a series of stunning
paintings for the cover of part one of No Man’s Land that were enhanced with
lenticular animation. These images revealed Ross’ visual concept of the “classic
Batman” for the first time. (Kingdom Come was an Elseworlds title set in the
future, so Ross’ Kingdom Come Batman was far removed from the character’s
regular continuity.)

Stripped of Kingdom Come’s science fiction–fantasy elements, Ross’ regular

continuity Batman was far and away the most realistic visual interpretation of
the character ever created for a comic book work. His costume was entirely
black and gray with the exception of his dark yellow-gold utility belt, and it
seemed to have real-life texture and weight. When one looked closely enough at
Ross’ Batman paintings, one could make out the furrows pressed into his latex-
style cowl and the heavy stitching on his cape.

In 1998, Ross teamed with Batman: The Animated Series writer Paul Dini to
create an oversize graphic novel work entitled Superman: Peace on Earth. The
book explored a theme similar to the main theme of Kingdom Come—namely,
what course of action should an individual with incredible powers take in order
to best help the world? However, unlike Kingdom Come, Superman: Peace on
Earth depicted Superman in a regular continuity setting as opposed to an
Elseworlds setting.

In the 1999 oversize graphic novel work Batman: War on Crime, Dini and Ross
gave Batman the same kind of treatment they had given Superman in Superman:
Peace on Earth. Set in Batman’s regular continuity, the book examined the
character’s motivation for fighting crime, as well as the tremendous physical and
mental toll that the fight had taken on him over the years. In Batman: War on
Crime, Batman encounters Marcus, a young inner city boy whose parents are
murdered in front of him, a tragedy mirroring Bruce Wayne’s loss of his parents.
In grief, the boy turns to a life on the streets, joining a gang and participating in
criminal activities. Batman is able to convince the boy that to rebuild his
shattered life and cope with the loss of his parents, he must not become part of
the cycle of violence that took their lives—because turning to crime can never be
a remedy for crime.

Batman: War on Crime’s story eloquently showed that the reason Batman
continued his relentless quest for justice was for people like Marcus; the hero
considered his struggle worthwhile if he could help to rescue even one person
from the evil of crime. Dini and Ross accomplished something else in the book
that was just as profound as telling a story about one of Batman’s small victories
in his ongoing crusade. In the book’s real world setting, they were almost
miraculously able to sum up Batman’s six-decade history by using many of the
elements and supporting characters that had helped to make him such an icon for
generations.

For example, almost every one of Batman’s major villains appears in the pages
of Batman: War on Crime—if you look closely enough when you read the book,
you will spot the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, the Catwoman, Two-Face, and
Harley Quinn! (I won’t tell you where all of these villains are in the book, but I
will give you this hint if you want to look for them—many of them are not in
their usual outlandish costumes, but in more “civilian” garb.) Other time-
honored Batman characters and traditions show up in Batman: War on Crime as
well—Alfred is seen tending to Bruce in the Batcave, and Commissioner Gordon
is seen making an arrest relating to one of the cases Batman is working on. In
this author’s opinion, no other Batman work ever created, either print or non-
print, has captured Batman in a real world setting as brilliantly as Dini and Ross
did Batman: War on Crime.

The year 1999 also saw the release of an excellent book by Les Daniels that
commemorated the Batman character’s sixtieth anniversary. Batman: The
Complete History provided a concise summation of the Dark Knight’s 60-year
history, both in the comics and on the screen. The book’s visuals were every bit
as strong as its text—it was designed and art directed by Chip Kidd, author of
the 1996 book Batman Collected.

Having left behind the classic version of Batman with the last episodes of The
New Batman/Superman Adventures, Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and Alan Burnett
developed a new animated series entitled Batman Beyond, which premiered on
the Kid’s WB Network in early 1999. Set in Gotham City well into the twenty-
first century, Batman Beyond followed the adventures of a new Batman. In the
series, Bruce Wayne (again voiced by Kevin Conroy), now 80 years old and
long retired from crimefighting, has taken on a young man named Terry
McGinnis as his protégé. Terry (voiced by Will Friedle) fights crime in a
futuristic jet-propelled Batman costume, and Bruce monitors Terry’s exploits
from the Batcave.
 Batman in Batman: War on Crime (1999). Art by Alex Ross.

Batman Beyond was a substantial success for Warner Bros.—over 50 episodes

were produced over the course of its three-season run. However, some longtime
Batman fans did not wholeheartedly embrace the series because they felt it
strayed a bit too far from the mythos that had made Batman such an enduring
character in the first place. But even the most ardent old school Batman fans
could find enjoyment in Batman Beyond’s constant references to characters and
events relating to the continuity established by Batman: The Animated Series
and The New Batman/Superman Adventures.

The Batman Beyond movie released directly to home video in 2000 entitled
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker contained more than just passing references
to Bruce Wayne’s Batman years. In the film, the Joker has seemingly returned
from the dead to plague both Bruce and Terry. Barbara Gordon, now Gotham’s
Police Commissioner, tells Terry about the Joker’s last and perhaps most
hideous crime, which took place while Bruce was still Batman. The Joker
captured Robin (the Tim Drake version), tortured him, and brainwashed him into
becoming his protégé instead of Batman’s. The madman went so far as to
surgically alter Tim’s face so that the boy would look like him.

Batman was able to rescue Tim from the Joker’s clutches, but their lives were
irrevocably changed by the villain’s actions. Tim was left severely emotionally
scarred, and Bruce was so shaken by what had happened to the boy that he
would never again let Tim don the guise of Robin. The Joker paid the ultimate
price for his horrendous crime—he was killed during this final struggle with
Batman.

Of course, Bruce and Terry eventually discover the secret forces behind the
Joker’s “return,” and put a stop to them. But even still, the lingering memory of
Tim’s anguish keeps Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker from having what
could be considered a truly “happy” ending. Consequently, the film stands as
one of the darkest screen depictions of Batman and his world ever created.

In fact, Warner Bros. felt that the original version of Batman Beyond: Return of
the Joker was going to be too dark and disturbing for younger audiences, so the
film was edited for its initial release. The flashback sequence showing the
manner in which the Joker was killed was the part of the film that was most
drastically changed. The original flashback sequence revealed that Tim fatally
shot the Joker in the chest with a hand-held spear gun while Batman was trying
to rescue the boy. Not surprisingly, the image of Batman’s junior partner
murdering the Joker made Warner uncomfortable, so the sequence was reworked
to show the Joker accidentally being electrocuted by some loose cables during
his struggle with Batman. (Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker was first
released on home video in its edited form, but the unedited version of the film
was subsequently released as well.)

Batman fans got another chance to see the classic animated Batman in action the
in Dini and Timm series Justice League, which premiered on the Cartoon
Network in late 2001. As we noted earlier in the book, the Justice League of
America got its comic book start back in 1960, and Batman was one of its
founding members. Since that debut, DC published a number of Justice League
comic titles, and Batman was often depicted as being on the League’s roll call.
So when Dini and Timm put together their version of the League, it was no
surprise that Batman was included. Though the character was usually not the
main focus of Justice League episodes, it was still enjoyable for Batman fans to
watch him working alongside DC heroes such as Superman, Wonder Woman,
Flash and Green Lantern. After two seasons, the series was retitled Justice
League Unlimited—it ran for another three seasons under this new title. (Of
course, Kevin Conroy was called on to voice the part of Batman in the series.)

Batman fans got a chance to be the classic animated Batman by playing as the
character in the video game Batman: Vengeance, which was released on major
gaming platforms such as PlayStation 2 and Xbox in late 2001. Many Batman
video games had been released since the late 1980s, most of them arcade-style
games designed as tie-ins to particular Batman screen works—for example, all
of Warner’s Batman films had accompanying video games released with them.
But Batman: Vengeance was far more ambitious than these early games—it
presented its players with a long, complex plot that was filled with many
characters from the classic animated Batman’s world, making it an immersive
experience from start to finish.

Much of the major voice talent from Batman: The Animated Series and The New
Batman/Superman Adventures reprised their roles for Batman: Vengeance,
including Kevin Conroy (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Mark Hamill (The Joker) and
Arleen Sorkin (Harley Quinn). Batman: Vengeance enjoyed a considerable
amount of success when it was released, and it helped to pave the way for
several later Batman video games that would go on to achieve spectacular
success. We’ll discuss those games later in the book.

In addition to all of the new Batman comics, screen works, and video games
being released, the Batman merchandising machine that started with the first
wave of Batmania back in 1966 continued to roll on. In the late 1990s, DC itself
moved beyond the print medium in terms of creating merchandise based on their
characters. The company formed a collectibles division known as DC Direct that
manufactured and sold high-quality DC character statues and action figures.
These items were targeted toward the serious comic fan, so they almost always
had an extremely narrow focus—for example, one would not buy a generic
Batman action figure through DC Direct, one would buy a “Batman: The Dark
Knight Returns Batman,” or a “Kingdom Come Batman.” The range of Batman
collectibles offered through DC Direct was truly impressive—a serious Batman
fan could basically create their own miniature museum of Batman history by
collecting DC Direct’s products.

That museum did not have to be limited to just DC Direct products, however. In
2002, Mattel obtained the rights to manufacture toys and action figures based on
DC Comics characters. Mattel’s first line of Batman figures came out in 2003,
and since then the company has produced scores of Batman products based on
various comic and screen versions of the character.

Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again, Frank Miller’s long-awaited sequel to
his classic work Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, made its debut as a three-
part graphic novel series in 2002. Bruce Wayne once again suits up as Batman to
confront Superman’s foes Lex Luthor and Brainiac, who are scheming to
imprison all super beings and ultimately take over the world. And Batman has to
square off against one more surprise enemy as well—his old partner Dick
Grayson! Full of jagged art, crazy kaleidoscopic colors and wicked wit, the
series was in many respects every bit as daring and thought-provoking as its
predecessor.

Even though the series sold extremely well, Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes
Again was perceived by many Batman fans as somewhat of a letdown, probably
because it was up against unbeatable competition—namely, Batman: The Dark
Knight Returns. Miller’s first Batman graphic novel series was unquestionably a
landmark event in comics history. But by 2002, all of the elements that had made
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns seem like such a revelation when it was first
published (fine quality printing, intricately colored artwork, complex
storytelling, etc.) were commonplace in the comic book industry. So there was
really no possible way for Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again to make
anywhere near the kind of impact on readers that Batman: The Dark Knight
Returns had.

That said, however, there were aspects of Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes
Again that some Batman fans found to be unpalatable. Much of the series’
apocalyptic action and tirades against the powers that be in America seemed like
a tired rehash of Miller’s first Batman graphic novel series. Plus, the “Luthor vs.
super beings” plot came across as being far too similar to the plot of Mark Waid
and Alex Ross’ 1996 graphic novel series Kingdom Come. (Of course, Kingdom
Come offered an optimistic spin on this plot, while Batman: The Dark Knight
Strikes Again offered a pessimistic spin.) Finally, the series’ climax which
revealed Dick Grayson to be one of the storyline’s main villains seemed to be
nothing more than a chance for Miller to once again express his intense dislike
for the traditional version of the Robin character. (As we discussed earlier in the
book, Miller started the “let’s have the Joker kill the Jason Todd Robin!”
movement in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.) At any rate, Miller’s long-
awaited Batman sequel was by no means a total failure, but it was ultimately met
with ambivalence as much as anything else.

In late 2002, the Batman character returned to television in live-action form,

albeit in a very peripheral manner, in a WB Television Network series entitled
Birds of Prey. The series was based on the same-name DC comic title that
featured Oracle in its group of heroes. Birds of Prey had an intriguing, yet
ultimately very frustrating premise. In the series, Batman has retired and left
Gotham City, leaving Oracle (Dina Meyer) to continue his fight. She is aided by
Helena Kyle (Ashley Scott), the illegitimate child of Batman and Catwoman
who fights crime as the Huntress. Though Batman is out of the picture, his
faithful butler Alfred (Ian Abercrombie) has remained in Gotham to attend to the
needs of Oracle and the Huntress.

The Huntress was a DC Comics character that had made semi-regular

appearances in various comic titles since 1977. Her real name was Helena
Wayne, and she came from an alternate DC universe known as Earth-Two where
Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle were her father and mother. Over the years, DC
revised Helena’s backstory a number of times—but all of the different versions
of the character maintained some sort of connection to Batman and his world.

In Birds of Prey’s pilot episode, a number of brief flashbacks showed Batman

(Bruce Thomas) and Batgirl in action; it also showed the Joker shooting Barbara
Gordon and leaving her paralyzed as depicted in the 1988 graphic novel Batman:
The Killing Joke. (We discussed that graphic novel in detail in Chapter 7.) These
scenes were stylishly realized in the manner of Warner’s Batman films, and left
Batman fans hungry for more. But unfortunately, there basically wasn’t any
more. After the pilot episode, Birds of Prey settled into a mind-numbing
hodgepodge of trite action, teen angst and unbearably slow-paced, soap opera–
style romance. With Batman gone and Barbara paralyzed, there was not a cape
or cowl in sight to help liven things up.

However, one episode of Birds of Prey, “Lady Shiva,” featured Batgirl back in
action. In the episode, Barbara employs an untested and potentially dangerous
bionic enhancing device to allow her to walk again so that she can confront one
of her old foes, Lady Shiva. The episode devoted a generous amount of screen
time to Batgirl’s exploits, which allowed Dina Meyer to demonstrate what a
tremendous screen Batgirl she could have been if she had been able to play the
part in a better-realized production.

“Lady Shiva” also allowed viewers to appreciate the fabulous Batgirl costume
that had been designed for the show. Its black bodysuit, cape and cowl were
crafted in the style of the Batman and Batgirl costumes found in the Warner
films. The costume also sported a yellow bat insignia, yellow boots, yellow
gloves and a yellow utility belt. The Birds of Prey Batgirl costume is the most
faithful live-action screen depiction of the Barbara Gordon Batgirl’s comic book
look to date.

Unfortunately, the excellent bat-moments found in the Birds of Prey pilot and in
“Lady Shiva” were among the series’ only bright spots. Not even the first ever
live-action portrayal of the popular character Dr. Harleen Quinzel, better known
as the Joker’s assistant Harley Quinn (Mia Sara), could bring any sort of spark to
the program. The WB Network canceled Birds of Prey in early 2003, after only
13 episodes.

A long story arc entitled Hush that first ran in monthly issues of Batman comics
from late 2002 to late 2003 ended up having a large impact on the history of the
Batman character. Hush was written by Jeph Loeb, author of the 1996–97
graphic novel series Batman: The Long Halloween, and illustrated by Jim Lee,
Scott Williams and Alex Sinclair. The story arc presented the tale of Batman
confronting a mysterious criminal known as “Hush.” The criminal’s face is
hidden under bandages, and he is determined to bring an end to Batman’s
crimefighting exploits. Hush has even formed an alliance with one of Batman’s
most dangerous foes, the Riddler, in order to take down the crimefighter.

Hush is eventually revealed to be a close friend of Bruce Wayne’s named

Thomas Elliot who has deduced that Bruce is actually Batman. Elliot has long
held a grudge against the Wayne family, because Thomas Wayne unknowingly
foiled Elliot’s plot to murder his parents in order to gain their inheritance. Elliot
is murdered by Two-Face before Batman can bring him to justice. But Batman is
left with a far more disturbing problem than his confrontation with Hush—the
crimefighter learns that the body of Jason Todd, his second Robin who was
murdered by the Joker, is missing from his grave.

Hush’s run in Batman was so well-received by Batman fans that the story arc
was eventually collected into a two-volume graphic novel set, as well as a
single-volume graphic novel. And Hush’s resurrection of the Jason Todd
character turned out to be a plot element that would be expanded upon in a
number of later Batman works. We’ll discuss a few of those works later in the
book.

Earlier in this chapter, we discussed the impact that the growing popularity of
the Internet had on the Batman character starting in the late 1990s. The Internet
continued to revolutionize the way serious Batman fans shared information with
one another—for example, it played an integral part in the improbable success of
a 2003 independent short film entitled Batman: Dead End. Director Sandy
Collora made the film starring Clark Bartram in the title role, and its depiction of
Batman was inspired by artist Alex Ross’ visual interpretation of the character.
In Batman: Dead End, the crimefighter first squares off against the Joker (played
by Andrew Koenig), but he then has to face even deadlier competition—namely,
creatures from the Alien and Predator film series!

Batman: Dead End, with its striking visuals and exciting action scenes, was
originally intended to basically serve as a resume piece for Collora—in fact,
Collora did not even have permission from Warner Bros. or DC Comics to use
the Batman character, so the film was never supposed to reach a wide audience.
But after Batman: Dead End was made available to the general public via the
Internet, many Batman fans applauded it as one of the best live-action portrayals
of the character ever created! Collora’s film inspired the creation of scores of
fan-made Batman films that could be viewed on the Internet. Most of these
unofficial films were forgettable, amateurish efforts, but a precious few of them
were so elaborate and well-made that they ended up winning critical praise and
drawing huge online audiences. We’ll discuss several of these standout fan-made
Batman films later in the book.

In 2003, an animated Batman movie entitled Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman

was released directly to home video. Set in the continuity established in the
Batman episodes of The New Batman/Superman Adventures, Mystery of the
Batwoman told of a mysterious new crimefighter known as Batwoman appearing
in Gotham City. Clad in a gray costume with a cape and cowl like Batman’s, this
Batwoman is targeting a weapons smuggling operation run by Rupert Thorne
and the Penguin. Of course, her exploits bring her face-to-face with Batman
(again voiced by Kevin Conroy), who tries to deduce her true identity.

He has no shortage of suspects—the hero crosses paths with three young women
who have both the skills and motive to go up against Thorne and the Penguin.
One of them is a gangster’s daughter named Cathy Duquesne (pronounced
“DuCane”—a clever reference to the Kathy Kane Batwoman character who
appeared in Batman comic stories from the mid–1950s to the early 1960s), with
whom Bruce becomes romantically involved. At the end of Mystery of the
Batwoman, all of the bat-heroes go up against Thorne, the Penguin and also
Bane, who has been brought into town by the other villains to provide some
extra muscle.

Though rendered in the visual style of The New Batman/Superman Adventures,

Mystery of the Batwoman was considerably lighter in tone than was its
predecessor. The film’s producer-director Curt Geda and writers Alan Burnett
and Michael Reaves set out to create an animated work that focused on the more
“fun” aspects of the Batman character. So Mystery of the Batwoman contained
no small amount of amusing banter between its main characters, as well as a
light romance for Bruce that even had a happy ending. (After all of Bruce’s
romantic troubles with the likes of Catwoman, Talia and Andrea Beaumont over
the years, Geda and company evidently decided to give the poor guy a break for
once!)

As successful as Batman: The Animated Series, The New Batman/Superman

Adventures and Batman Beyond had been, it seemed like somewhat of a
surprising decision on the part of Warner Bros. to create a new Batman animated
TV show that had no connection whatsoever to their earlier shows. But that is
just what the studio did—in late September 2004, Warner premiered The Batman
on the Kid’s WB Network. The creative forces behind the series were
supervising producers Michael Goguen and Duane Capizzi. In The Batman, the
part of Batman/Bruce Wayne was voiced by Rino Romano. The series kicked off
with the basic premise that Bruce Wayne was 26 years old, and he had only been
fighting crime as Batman for several years.

In The Batman, the crimefighter’s exploits become increasingly dangerous and

dramatic because more and more costumed criminals keep showing up in
Gotham City. And Batman has even more problems to deal with other than
villains such as the Joker, the Penguin, the Catwoman, Mr. Freeze, Bane, and the
Riddler. Gotham City Police Commissioner Angel Rojas believes that Batman is
a menace to his city, so he orders his force to apprehend the crimefighter at all
costs. Batman eventually ends up forming an alliance with the Gotham Police
through their newly-appointed Commissioner James Gordon. Gordon’s daughter
Barbara turns out to be an even closer ally of Batman—she dons the disguise of
Batgirl and proves to be a valuable partner to the crimefighter.

Obviously, even this brief synopsis of The Batman’s basic premise makes it
obvious that the series was radically different from Warner’s earlier Batman
animated TV shows. In fact, it is really no exaggeration to state that the series
went out of its way to change many of the cherished traditions that had helped to
make Batman such a popular character for decades. We just noted a major
change that The Batman made to one of these traditions—in the series, Batgirl
was introduced into Batman’s world relatively quickly, but Robin was not.
 Batman in the animated television series The Batman (2004–08).

Many of The Batman’s characters underwent changes that were far more
sweeping than merely having their timelines altered. Several of them were given
new origin stories that were significantly different from their comic book
origins. For example, the series created an odd backstory for the Penguin that
involved both the Wayne family and Alfred—the Penguin harbored a deep
hatred for the Waynes because many years ago, Alfred’s family chose to be
servants for the Waynes instead of for his family!

In fact, many of the characters in The Batman even looked almost nothing like
their comic book counterparts. The most notable exception to this trend was
Batman himself—he was outfitted in a dark blue and gray costume with a
flowing cape that resembled the character’s costume in Batman: The Animated
Series. But the rest of the characters in The Batman—well, let’s just say that
their visual designs gave longtime Batman fans a lot to get used to. The Joker
was by far the most jarring of The Batman’s characters—he ran around in his
bare feet, he had huge red eyes, and he sported a hairstyle of long green
dreadlocks. His triangular face was shaped every bit as sharply as the blade of a
shovel, and he had gigantic yellow teeth. The character didn’t look like a real-
life person at all—he looked more like some sort of abstract statue that had been
constructed out of Lego building blocks.

Simply put, The Batman tried so hard to distance itself from previous Batman
works, especially Warner’s earlier Batman animated TV shows, that it
essentially wound up not seeming like a Batman show at all. During the course
of the series’ 65 episodes which aired from late 2004 to early 2008, it moved
toward a slightly more traditional interpretation of Batman and his world. For
example, The Batman introduced the Dick Grayson version of Robin about
three-quarters of the way through its run. And the climactic episodes of the
series featured Batman working with members of the Justice League such as
Superman, Flash and Green Lantern. But even with these changes, The Batman
still remained too far removed from traditional Batman mythos to win over many
longtime fans of the character.

The Batman spawned one movie that was released directly to home video by
Warner Bros. in late 2005. The Batman Vs. Dracula featured the crimefighter in
a fight to the death with the vampire lord Count Dracula. In the film, Dracula is
reborn in Gotham City, and he quickly makes good use of several of Batman’s
regular villains. He recruits the Penguin to be his servant, and he attacks the
Joker, turning the madman into a vampire.

Batman quickly realizes that Dracula poses a terrible threat to everyone living in
Gotham, so he feverishly works on developing an antidote for vampirism. The
crimefighter’s antidote cures all of the Gothamites that have been turned into
vampires, including the Joker, and Batman is eventually able to destroy Dracula
by striking him with beams emanating from a machine designed to store solar
energy. The Batman Vs. Dracula was a modest success upon its release, but it
certainly did not capture the attention of Batman fans like Warner’s earlier
animated Batman movies had.

At any rate, neither The Batman nor The Batman Vs. Dracula ever had much of
a chance to create a significant amount of buzz among serious Batman fans
anyway—those fans were much more interested in another new Batman screen
work that was premiering in 2005. As we will discuss in the next chapter,
Warner’s dormant Batman film franchise came roaring back to life with the
theatrical release of Batman Begins.
 17
Batman Begins (2005)

Cast: Christian Bale (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Michael Caine (Alfred), Liam

Neeson (Ducard), Katie Holmes (Rachel Dawes), Gary Oldman (Jim Gordon),
Cillian Murphy (Dr. Jonathan Crane), Tom Wilkinson (Carmine Falcone),
Rutger Hauer (Earle), Ken Watanabe (Ra’s Al Ghul), Mark Boone Junior
(Flass), Linus Roache (Thomas Wayne), Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox), Larry
Holden (Finch), Gerard Murphy (Judge Faden), Colin McFarlane (Loeb), Sara
Stewart (Martha Wayne), Gus Lewis (Bruce Wayne—age 8), Richard Brake (Joe
Chill), Rade Sherbedgia (Homeless Man), Emma Lockhart (Rachel Dawes—age
8), Christine Adams (Jessica), Catherine Porter (Blonde Female
Reporter/Assassin), John Nolan (Fredericks), Karen David (Courthouse Reporter
#1), Jonathan D. Ellis (Courthouse Reporter #2), Tamer Hassan (Faden’s Limo
Driver), Ronan Leahy (Uniformed Policeman #1), Vincent Wong (Old Asian
Prisoner), Tom Wu (Bhutanese Prison Guard #1), Mark Chiu (Bhutanese Prison
Guard #2), Turbo Kong (Enormous Prisoner), Stuart Ong (Chinese Police
Officer), Chike Chan (Chinese Police Officer), Tenzin Clive Ball (Himalayan
Child), Tenzin Gyurme (Old Himalayan Man), Jamie Cho (Stocky Chinese
Man), David Murray (Jumpy Thug), John Kazek (Dock Thug #2), Darragh Kelly
(Dock Thug #3), Patrick Nolan (Dock Cop #1), Joseph Rye (Dock Cop #2),
Kwaku Ankomah (Dock Cop #3), Jo Martin (Police Prison Official), Charles
Edwards (Wayne Enterprises Executive), Lucy Russell (Female Restaurant
Guest), Tim Deenihan (Male Restaurant Guest), David Bedella (Maitre D),
Flavia Masetto (Restaurant Blonde #1), Emily Steven-Daly (Restaurant Blonde
#2), Martin McDougall (Gotham Dock Employee), Noah Lee Margetts (Arkham
Thug #1), Joe Hanley (Arkham Thug #2), Karl Shiels (Arkham Thug #3), Roger
Griffiths (Arkham Uniformed Policeman), Stephen Walters (Arkham Lunatic),
Richard Laing (Akham Chase Cop), Matt Miller (Gotham Car Cop #3), Risteard
Cooper (Captain Simonson), Shane Rimmer (Older Gotham Water Board
Technician), Jeremy Theobald (Younger Gotham Water Board Technician),
Alexandra Bastedo (Gotham City Dame), Soo Hee Ding (Farmer), Con Horgan
(Monorail Driver), Phill Curr (Transit Cop), Jack Gleeson (Little Boy), John
Judd (Narrows Bridge cop), Sarah Wateridge (Mrs. Dawes), Charlie Kranz
(Basement Club Manager), Terry McMahon (Bad Swat Cop #1), Cedric Young
(Liquor Store Owner), Tim Booth (Victor Zsaz), Tom Nolan (Valet), Leon
Delroy Williams (Pedestrian), Roger Yuan (Hazmat Technician), Joe Sargent
(Narrows Teenager #1), Mel Taylor (Narrows Resident), Ilyssa Fradin (Barbara
Gordon), Andrew Pleavin (Uniformed Policeman #2), Jeff Christian (Driving
Cop), John Burke (Arkham Lunatic Cell Mate), Earlene Bentley (Arkham
Asylum Nurse), Alex Moggridge (Arkham Asylum Orderly), Jay Buozzi (Asian
Man/Ra’s Al Ghul), Jordan Shaw (African Boy in Rags), Omar Mostafa (Falafel
Stand Vendor), Patrick Pond (Opera Performer #1 Faust—Bass), Poppy Tierney
(Opera Performer #2 Margaret—Soprano), Rory Campbell (Opera Performer #3
Mefistofle—Tenor), Fabio Cardascia (Caterer), Spencer Wilding, Mark Smith,
Khan Bonfils, Dave Legeno, Ruben Halse, Rodney Ryan (League of Shadows
Warriors), Dominic Burgess (Narrows Cop), Nadia Cameron-Blakey (Additional
Restaurant Guest #1), Mark Straker (Male Restaurant Guest #2), TJ Ramini
(Crane Thug #1), Kieran Hurley (Crane Thug #2), Emmanuel Idowu (Narrows
Teenager #2), Jeff Tanner (Bridge Cop). Producers: Charles Roven, Emma
Thomas, Larry Franco. Executive Producers: Benjamin Melniker, Michael E.
Uslan. Director: Christopher Nolan. Screenplay: Christopher Nolan, David S.
Goyer (Story by David S. Goyer, based upon characters appearing in comic
books published by DC Comics, Batman created by Bob Kane). Director of
Photography: Wally Pfister. Production Designer: Nathan Crowley. Editor: Lee
Smith. Music: Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard. Visual Effects
Supervisors: Janek Sirrs, Dan Glass. Special Effects Supervisor: Chris Corbould.
Costume Designer: Lindy Hemming. Casting: John Papsidera, Lucinda Syson.
Studio: Warner Bros. Length: 140 minutes. United States Release Date: June 15,
2005.

As we’ve noted in the past two chapters, the 1997 release of Joel Schumacher’s
Batman and Robin left Warner Bros.’ Batman film franchise in a creative and
commercial sinkhole. After the film’s disappointing performance, the studio
scuttled plans for a third Schumacher-directed Batman film that was to be titled
Batman Triumphant, and they began trying to reimagine their franchise. That
1

proved to be no easy task—the studio attempted to launch a number of Batman

film projects that never made it past the early planning stages. All of these
projects were designed to completely reboot the franchise—in other words, they
would have had little or no connection to Warner’s previous Batman films.

Several of these projects were notable enough to mention here. In 2000, Warner
began developing a big screen, live-action version of the animated TV series
Batman Beyond. (We discussed that series last chapter.) The series’ co-creators
Paul Dini and Alan Burnett were tapped to co-write the film’s script. Also in
2000, the studio worked on developing Batman: Year One, a film based on
Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s 1987 comic series of the same name.
(We discussed that series in Chapter 7.) The film was to be scripted by Miller
himself and directed by Darren Aronofsky. In 2001, Warner began developing a
film that would have rebooted both Batman and Superman—unlike Batman
Beyond and Batman: Year One, this project was not derived from any previous
comic or screen work. The film was to be titled Batman vs. Superman, and
directed by Wolfgang Petersen.2
 Christian Bale as Batman in Batman Begins (2005).

As intriguing as these projects might have sounded, they did not end up
impressing Warner Bros. enough to move forward on committing them to film.
In early 2003, the studio finally found a filmmaker with a cinematic approach to
Batman that they were willing to back wholeheartedly. Christopher Nolan was a
33-year-old director who was a dual citizen of both the United Kingdom and the
United States. Nolan had first gained wide attention through his 2000 film
Memento, a gripping, complex psychological thriller that became a surprise
critical and commercial hit. The director followed up this success with the 2002
Warner Bros. film Insomnia, a thriller starring Al Pacino, Robin Williams and
Hilary Swank that also turned out to be critically and commercially well-
received.

Nolan presented Warner with his idea for a Batman film that was both true to the
character’s comic book roots, and markedly different from their four previous
Batman films. He would tell the story of Batman’s origin in a manner that was
far more connected to the real world than Tim Burton’s and Joel Schumacher’s
cinematic takes on the character had been. Through the studio, Nolan found the
perfect screenwriter to help him script his Batman film—David S. Goyer had
written the screenplays for the films Blade (1998) and Blade II (2002) that were
based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, and had been a staff
writer for DC Comics.

Interestingly, Nolan and Goyer basically started their Batman film at the same
jumping-off point as Batman Triumphant, Schumacher’s canceled Batman film.
Both films had planned on using the Scarecrow as one of their main villains. The
Scarecrow character exemplified the tricky balancing act that Nolan and Goyer
had to perform in putting together their Batman film—the movie would have to
totally reinvent Batman from the ground up, but it could not feature any of the
character’s most recognizable villains because they had all been used in
Warner’s previous Batman films. So Nolan and Goyer were basically left with
the unenviable task of starting Batman completely over without being able to
start over any of his most well-known villains. Since the Joker, the Penguin, the
Catwoman, the Riddler and Two-Face were out, Nolan and Goyer were just
going to have to make do with a secondary villain like the Scarecrow in their
film.

The Scarecrow was by no means a poor character, mind you—he had just never
been as regularly-used or well-known as any of the villains listed above. Back in
Chapter 7, we discussed the Scarecrow’s appearance in “The Fear,” a 1985
episode of the television program Super Powers Team: The Galactic Guardians,
but we didn’t really examine the character’s history. We’ll go ahead and do that
now. The Scarecrow was first introduced in Batman comic stories in the early
1940s—he was actually a professor of psychology named Jonathan Crane who
became obsessed with inflicting fear on people. He donned a Scarecrow costume
that looked quite a bit like Ray Bolger’s Scarecrow costume in the classic 1939
film The Wizard of Oz and found all sorts of ways to paralyze his victims with
fear. His most common method was to spray these victims with a hallucinogen
usually referred to as “fear gas.”

The Scarecrow’s comic appearances were well-received enough, but the

character’s stock began to rise quite a bit higher in the 1990s when he was
featured in several standout episodes of the television programs Batman: The
Animated Series and The New Batman/Superman Adventures. In fact, Nolan and
Goyer would borrow from these episodes quite liberally when they created their
version of the Scarecrow for their Batman film. (We’ll discuss this in more detail
later in the chapter.)

Nolan and Goyer decided to use another lesser-known Batman villain for their
film, one that was a relatively new creation—still, the villain’s comic
appearances had been so revered by serious Batman fans that he rated a much
loftier place in Batman history than a character like the Scarecrow. That villain
was the eco-terrorist Ra’s Al Ghul. As we also discussed in Chapter 7, Ra’s was
created by writer Denny O’Neil and artist Neal Adams, and he first appeared in
Batman comic stories published in the early 1970s.

As they began scripting their Batman film, Nolan and Goyer drastically changed
the Scarecrow and Ra’s from their classic comic incarnations. The characters
lost their fanciful costumes and sci-fi elements in order to better mesh with
Nolan and Goyer’s realistic interpretation of Batman and his world. (We’ll
discuss these changes in more detail later in the chapter.) Batman himself did not
undergo anywhere near as large of a transformation for the film as the Scarecrow
and Ra’s did—Nolan and Goyer drew extensively on a number of noteworthy
Batman comic stories to construct their version of the crimefighter.

Two comic works had a particularly large effect on their interpretation of

Batman. The first of these was a story entitled “The Man Who Falls,” which was
written by Denny O’Neil and illustrated by Dick Giordano. “The Man Who
Falls” was originally published in the 1989 DC trade paperback Secret Origins
of the World’s Greatest SuperHeroes, and it provided a chronicle of the events
that led Bruce Wayne to adopt his Batman persona. 3

Interestingly, the story was not really an original work, but more of a retelling of
a number of earlier Batman comic stories. For example, in the story young Bruce
takes a fall into a large cave under Wayne Manor—this was pulled from Frank
Miller’s 1986 graphic novel series Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. And in
the story, Bruce serves as an apprentice to a ruthless bounty hunter named Henri
Ducard—this was pulled from a 1989 comic series entitled Blind Justice written
by the screenwriter of the 1989 Batman film, Sam Hamm. Also in the story, a
pre–Batman Bruce makes his very first attempt at fighting crime, and that
attempt does not go particularly well—this was pulled from Frank Miller and
David Mazzucchelli’s 1987 comic series Batman: Year One.

We discussed both Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One in
detail in Chapter 7, but this is the first time we’ve noted Blind Justice. In 1988,
DC called on Hamm to write a three-part Batman adventure for Detective
Comics in order to commemorate the character’s upcoming 50th anniversary.
Blind Justice was the result of this collaboration between Hamm and DC, and it
was originally published in Detective Comics #598, March 1989 through
Detective Comics #600, May 1989. The series was by no means as successful or
influential as works such as Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Batman:
Year One—that is why we had not discussed it earlier in the book. Still, its
introduction of the Henri Ducard character makes it worthy of note in this
particular chapter.

Batman: Year One’s influence on Nolan and Goyer went far beyond the series
simply being referenced in “The Man Who Falls.” The series as a whole ended
up being the second comic work that had a profound effect on Nolan and
Goyer’s interpretation of Batman. In fact, their script would feature a number of
4

sequences that were pulled almost directly from the pages of Batman: Year One.
It is hardly surprising that Nolan and Goyer regularly turned to the series for
inspiration, given the fact that Warner had come close to actually making a
Batman: Year One film. (We’ll examine the similarities between the comic
works we’ve just mentioned and Nolan’s finished film later in this chapter.)

As Nolan and Goyer wrote the first draft of their Batman script, they decided on
a catchy name for the film that perfectly captured its focus—Batman Begins.
Both Warner Bros. and DC Comics were very pleased with the direction that
Nolan and Goyer were taking with their character in the screenplay. After years
of frustrating cinematic false starts, the Warner Batman film franchise was
finally back in business with Batman Begins.

After Nolan and Goyer finished the first draft of the Batman Begins script,
Goyer had to leave the project in order to return to his work on the Blade film
franchise. Goyer had written the screenplay for the third installment of the
franchise, Blade: Trinity, and he had been assigned to direct the film as well.
After Goyer’s departure, all of the changes that were made to the script were
done solely by Nolan.5

Nolan had started to form his production team for Batman Begins while he and
Goyer were working on the first draft of the film’s screenplay. His wife Emma
Thomas, who was an associate producer on Memento, would serve as a producer
on Batman Begins. And Nathan Crowley, who was the production designer for
Insomnia, would serve in that same capacity for Batman Begins.

From the very first moments that Batman Begins was becoming a reality, Nolan
had a vision of what his version of the Batmobile would look like in the film.
Nolan’s Batmobile was a very clear indication of just how different Batman
Begins was going to be from Warner’s previous Batman movies. He imagined
Batman’s auto not as the flamboyant sports car that it had been in those earlier
films, but as a tank-like urban assault vehicle that still managed to possess
incredible power and speed. Nolan and Crowley worked on making a three-
dimensional model of Nolan’s imagined Batmobile, using pieces pulled from
various model car and airplane kits to build it from scratch.
6

The Batmobile model that Nolan and Crowley ended up creating was startlingly
original—they described their car as “a cross between a Lamborghini and a
Hummer,” and that description was a perfectly accurate one. It sat low to the
7

ground atop huge all-terrain tires, and its armor gave it a streamlined look that
suggested both the sleek design of a sports car and the no-nonsense durability of
a military vehicle. The practicality and realism of Nolan’s Batmobile perfectly
summed up where the director was going with Batman Begins as a whole, and
Warner Bros. loved Nolan’s vision of the car—right after seeing Nolan and
Crowley’s Batmobile model, they approved the construction of a full-sized, fully
functioning prototype.8

Nolan’s version of the Batmobile was a radical departure from previous screen
versions of the auto, but it did have a precedent in Batman comics. Frank
Miller’s 1986 graphic novel series Batman: The Dark Knight Returns depicted
Batman using a massive tank-like Batmobile in his adventures. The Batmobile of
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns was much more of a tank than a car, but it
still undoubtedly served as an inspiration to Nolan and Crowley as they designed
the Batman Begins Batmobile.
Nolan’s Batmobile served as a hugely promising start for Batman Begins, but the
director was just getting warmed up. His choice for the actor to portray Batman
in the film was every bit as inspired as his vision of Batman’s car. In September
of 2003, Warner Bros. announced that Batman Begins would star Christian Bale
as Batman/Bruce Wayne. Bale was a 29-year-old Welsh actor who had a long
and very diverse film resume. As a teenager, he had starred in Steven
Spielberg’s acclaimed World War II drama Empire of the Sun (1987), and he
went on to appear in movies such as Henry V (1989), Newsies (1992), Swing
Kids (1993), and Little Women (1994).

Bale’s reputation as an actor was further solidified by his performance as a

crazed serial killer named Patrick Bateman in the 2000 film American Psycho.
Bale’s riveting, intense turn as Bateman showcased a darker side of his talent
that would serve him well when playing Nolan’s version of Batman/Bruce
Wayne. Bale’s physical attributes made him perfectly suited for the role as well
—he was very handsome, stood at six feet tall, and possessed an athletic build.

Warner’s confidence in Batman Begins was evidenced by the huge budget they
gave to the film—$180 million. This budget meant that Nolan would not have to
9

spare any expense while he was making the movie. The casting of Batman
Begins certainly reflected the film’s high-profile nature—Nolan loaded the
movie with a truly stellar ensemble of well-known actors. The director’s casting
choices included Michael Caine as Alfred, Katie Holmes as Bruce’s longtime
friend Rachel Dawes, Morgan Freeman as Bruce’s Wayne Enterprises confidant
Lucius Fox, Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon, Cillian Murphy as Dr. Jonathan
Crane/The Scarecrow, and Liam Neeson as Ducard. (Obviously, there ended up
being a lot more to Neeson’s role than him simply being “Ducard”—we’ll
discuss that fact in detail later in the chapter.)

As Batman Begins continued to take shape, Crowley worked on bringing

Nolan’s vision of Gotham City to life. The film’s Gotham would end up
reflecting Nolan’s desire to present Batman and his world in a much more
realistic manner than Warner’s previous Batman films had. Crowley’s Gotham
City designs were inspired not by the fanciful images of Gotham found in Tim
Burton’s and Joel Schumacher’s Batman films, but by real-life American cities
such as New York City and Chicago.

Crowley was also busy helping to shape the Batman Begins Batmobile model
into a real-life, working auto. He closely worked with the film’s Special Effects
Supervisor Chris Corbould and Corbould’s mechanical engineer Andy Smith to
accomplish this formidable task. The most unusual aspect of the car was that it
did not have a single front axle like a normal auto—it had two sub-axles, one for
each front wheel, which allowed the car to turn. The Batmobile was designed to
be almost as functional in real life as it would appear on screen—it could
perform jumps of up to 60 feet, and race at speeds of nearly 100 miles per hour.
Eventually, a number of Batmobiles ended up being built so that at least one
would always be on hand for filming. 10

Batman Begins would outfit Batman with a new costume and crimefighting
equipment to go along with his new Batmobile. The film’s costume designer
Lindy Hemming created a Batsuit that was different from the Batsuits featured in
Warner’s previous Batman films. However, this Batsuit was not as radically
different from its predecessors as the Batman Begins Batmobile was from its
predecessors. The Batman Begins Batsuit was completely black in color from its
cowl to its boots, and featured a bat emblem molded into the costume’s chest
armor—in other words, its style was somewhat similar to the Batsuits used in
Tim Burton’s and Joel Schumacher’s Batman films. This likely came as a
surprise to many longtime Batman fans, because obviously Nolan was going to
great lengths to distance his Batman film from Warner’s previous Batman
efforts. (Of course, there was one major and very welcome difference between
the Batman Begins Batsuit and the Schumacher film Batsuits—the Begins
Batsuit was not outfitted with nipples!)

The Batman Begins Batsuit did feature a new cape design that set it apart from
previous Warner film Batsuits. Hemming created a cape for the costume that
was cut from nylon parachute silk. The silk was then put through a process
referred to as “electrostatic flocking,” which meant that the silk was covered
with glue, electrically charged, and sprinkled with fine material. The material
was held to the silk through the glue and the electric charge, giving the cape a
flat black, velvety appearance.
11

The plot of Batman Begins would end up giving the cape an added dimension.
The film called for the cape to be able to become rigid so that Batman could use
it like a hang-glider. Consequently, Hemming’s cape underwent a second design
that transformed it into a batwinged glider that was well over fifteen feet wide.

The Batman Begins Batsuit also featured a utility belt that was a completely
original design. The belt was dark gold in color, and outfitted with magnetic
strips that allowed Batman to easily carry his grapple gun and Batarangs. Its
appearance and functionality meshed very well with Nolan’s desire to place
Batman in a real-world setting in the film.

In March 2004, the Batman Begins cast and crew began shooting its first scenes
in Iceland, which featured Bruce and Ducard swordfighting on a frozen lake.
The shoot turned out to be every bit as adventurous as the action depicted in the
film—the lake they were filming on sat at the foot of Iceland’s Vatnajokull
Glacier, which was in the process of melting. Luckily, they captured the footage
they needed before the lake’s icy surface completely melted away. The Iceland
shoot continued to be very challenging—Bruce’s journey to Ra’s Al Ghuls’s
headquarters was filmed there, and during the filming the crew had to brave
winds of over 70 miles an hour.12

Huge sets for the film were built at Shepperton Studios in England, including a
Batcave set that was 250 feet long, 120 feet wide and 40 feet tall. The set was
outfitted with scores of water pumps to create a huge waterfall that ran through
the set. The Batcave sets used for Warner’s previous Batman films had been
impressive, but still, they paled in comparison to the Batman Begins Batcave
set.
13

As vast as the film’s Batcave set was, even it was dwarfed by the gigantic
Gotham City set built for the film inside of Cardington Sheds, a former airship
hangar located near London, England. At Cardington, Nolan and company had
an indoor space to work with that allowed them to create the largest indoor film
set that had ever been constructed. Cardington’s Gotham set was a staggering
900 feet long, 240 feet wide, and 160 feet tall! The Gotham locations that were
built at Cardington included a rundown neighborhood known as the Narrows, a
section of the base of the Gotham Monorail System, and the exterior of Arkham
Asylum. 14

The size of the Cardingon set allowed Nolan and company to film some of the
movie’s most ambitious and spectacular action scenes in a controlled indoor
setting. These scenes included Batman falling five stories from an apartment
building while engulfed in flames, and Batman using his grapple gun to board a
speeding Gotham Monorail train. Both of these dangerous stunts were performed
by Christian Bale’s stunt double Buster Reeves.15

Batman Begins utilized miniature sets to realize its vision of Batman’s world as
well. Incredibly detailed miniatures were constructed in order to capture several
of the film’s most impressive action sequences—these sequences included the
Batmobile’s journey across the rooftops of Gotham, and the destruction of a
Gotham Monorail train. 16

A real-life glacier, a massive Batcave set with a giant man-made waterfall, the
largest indoor set in the history of moviemaking—what more could Nolan bring
to the table for Batman Begins? But the director had plans for the film that were
even more ambitious. In late July 2004, after finishing most of the movie’s
England shoot, the Batman Begins cast and crew traveled to the United States for
about two weeks of location shooting in Chicago, Illinois. The majority of the
movie’s Batmobile chase scenes were filmed on Chicago’s Lower Wacker Drive
and Amstutz Highway. These scenes involved very little special effects—the
Batmobile was filmed while actually driving at speeds of around 100 miles an
hour. Several scenes featuring Gordon and Batman were also filmed on the
rooftops of the city. These scenes used some of the buildings found in Chicago’s
impressive skyline as their backdrop.

While Nolan was directing Batman Begins, he did something that was quite
unusual for a filmmaker to do on such a big-budget movie. Nolan directed every
one of the film’s scenes himself, never using a second film unit with a second
director to help him speed up the movie’s shooting schedule. Consequently,
every last scene in Batman Begins would reflect the director’s personal artistic
vision.
17

As principal photography for Batman Begins wrapped up, there was still a
considerable amount of work to be done in terms of completing computer-
generated images for the film. The movie’s computer-generated images included
a number of scenes showing Batman gliding through the air using his cape, and a
scene showing thousands of bats flying around the huge cave located under
Wayne Manor. 18

Not surprisingly, Nolan made decisions regarding the musical scoring of Batman
Begins that took the film’s soundtrack in a very different direction from the
music found in Warner’s previous Batman films. The soundtracks for those films
had featured lush, sweeping orchestral compositions, as well as contemporary
pop music from artists such as Prince and U2. Nolan called on Hans Zimmer and
James Newton Howard to create the Batman Begins soundtrack, and the music
they wrote for the film was nothing at all like those previous soundtracks.
Zimmer and Howard’s Batman Begins compositions were very ambient in
nature, often consisting of hypnotic percussion patterns and long-held musical
tones that suggested the constant jumble of city sounds—sounds such as
automotive traffic, commuter trains, and large electric generators. Their score
might not have had a memorable main title theme like Danny Elfman’s “Batman
Theme” written for the 1989 Batman—but even still, the power and intensity of
the score as a whole perfectly meshed with Batman Begins’ real world
interpretation of Batman.

Batman Begins was the first Batman big screen work to be released after the
Internet had truly reached massive global popularity. Consequently, it ended up
being the first Batman film that was promoted through an elaborate official
website that could be easily accessed by millions of people all over the world.
The Batman Begins website was launched by Warner Bros. in mid–2004, about a
year before the movie’s actual premiere date. In the months leading up to the
film’s release, the site featured a wealth of Batman Begins information—visitors
could look at production photos, watch videos of the film’s theatrical previews,
and read biographies of the film’s cast and crew. Incidentally, Warner has
continued to maintain and update the site right up to the present day, so it still
functions as a marvelous resource designed to enhance one’s appreciation of the
film.

The world premiere of Batman Begins was held at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre
in Los Angeles on June 6, 2005. Most all of the film’s principal onscreen and
offscreen talent attended the event, including Bale, Caine, Holmes, Freeman,
Oldman, Neeson and Nolan. The film’s Batmobile was also in attendance—it
was parked out front of the theatre for everyone to see as they made their way
inside. A week later, on June 15, Batman Begins opened in theatres throughout
the United States.

Batman Begins opens with a shot of bats swarming in a sepia-toned twilight sky
—for an instant, the bats form a huge bat silhouette. We are then transported
back to Bruce Wayne’s childhood, when he is 8 years old. Bruce and his friend
Rachel Dawes are playing in a greenhouse at Wayne Manor. Bruce hides from
Rachel, standing on an abandoned well. The boards covering the well give way,
and Bruce tumbles in. As Bruce lies injured at the bottom of the well, a
terrifyingly large swarm of bats fly at him.

Cut to the present day—Bruce is in his late twenties, dirty and unshaven, and he
is incarcerated in a Bhutanese prison. He has just awoken from a nightmare
about his encounter with the bats in the well, and his reality is no better than his
nightmare. Some other prisoners attack Bruce, and he beats them savagely. After
the fight, prison guards put him in solitary confinement—in solitary, Bruce is
visited by a man named Ducard, who speaks on behalf of Ra’s Al Ghul. Ducard
tells Bruce that Ra’s can offer him a path in his life—this path will lead to true
justice through Ra’s’ organization The League of Shadows.

Ducard tells Bruce that he will have him released from prison, and then Bruce
will need to pick a rare blue flower and take it to the top of a mountain near the
prison. Bruce does this, and at the top of the mountain he finds a huge structure
that houses the League.

Inside, Ra’s and Ducard are waiting—Bruce gives Ducard the flower, and
Bruce’s League training quickly begins when Ducard unexpectedly attacks him.
Ducard sees that Bruce is a skilled fighter, but he wonders what fears are driving
Bruce.

A series of flashback scenes reveal those fears. Bruce’s father Thomas rescues
Bruce after his fall into the well, but the boy is left terrified of bats. Days later,
Thomas takes Bruce and Bruce’s mother Martha to a performance of the opera
Mefistofle. The opera features a scene with batlike creatures on the stage, which
frighten Bruce so much that he asks to leave. The Wayne family exits the opera
through the rear of the theatre, which leads out to a seedy alley. In the alley, a
mugger confronts them. Thomas tries to give the mugger his wallet, but the
mugger panics and fatally shoots Thomas and Martha.

After the murders, Bruce sits alone in a Gotham City Police Station. A cop
comes in to try to comfort the boy—the young officer is named Jim Gordon.
Another officer named Loeb comes in to tell Bruce that the mugger has been
apprehended. Sometime later, a funeral is held for the Waynes at Wayne Manor.
After the funeral, Bruce is in the manor with only the Wayne butler, Alfred.
Bruce tells Alfred that he thinks the murder of his parents was his fault because
the opera scared him so badly. Alfred assures the boy that his actions were in no
way responsible for the murders, and comforts the boy the best he can.

Back to the present day—a montage shows how daunting the League’s training
of Bruce is. Ducard and Bruce are swordfighting on a frozen lake—during their
combat, Ducard tells Bruce that his parents’ deaths were the fault of Thomas,
because he did not take action against the mugger.

Another flashback sequence reveals that Bruce himself tried to take revenge
against the mugger. Bruce returns from his studies at Princeton to attend a parole
hearing for the mugger, whose name is Joe Chill. Chill is being considered for
parole because he will testify against Carmine Falcone, a powerful mobster he
once shared a jail cell with. Bruce goes to the hearing with a gun hidden in his
coat so that he can murder Chill—but as Chill is being led out of the courtroom,
a Falcone-hired assassin posing as a reporter shoots and kills him first.

Rachel, who now works as an intern for Gotham City’s district attorney, drives
Bruce from the scene of Chill’s murder. Bruce shows her his gun and tells her
that he was going to kill Chill. Rachel slaps Bruce, and says that Thomas would
be ashamed of him. Bruce jumps out of the car, throws his gun away, and goes
into a restaurant where Falcone is dining in order to confront the mobster.

Inside the restaurant, Falcone tells Bruce that he commands such incredible
power because everyone fears him so much. Falcone says that his power is so
great that he wouldn’t even think twice about shooting and killing Bruce right
then and there. Bruce now realizes that the problem of crime is much bigger than
the actions of petty criminals like Chill—it is the monstrous actions of criminals
like Falcone that truly need to be stopped. Bruce resolves to disappear from
Gotham and learn about the criminal mind so that he can learn how to take on
the evil that is destroying his city.

Back to the present day—Bruce’s training with the League is almost complete,
and their last test for him proves to be his most daunting. Ducard crushes the
blue flower that Bruce brought to him and heats it so that it can be inhaled—
Ducard instructs Bruce to breathe in the flower’s scent, which Bruce does. Bruce
quickly realizes that the flower is a powerful fear-inducing hallucinogen. While
Bruce is under the effects of the hallucinogen, he battles Ducard—even as he
faces his deepest fears, he maintains his mental control and defeats his mentor.

Ra’s applauds Bruce’s efforts, and then Ra’s and Ducard direct Bruce to execute
a man accused of murder that the League has imprisoned. Bruce refuses, and
they tell him he needs to do this to prove that he is ready for the challenge they
are about to give him. They want Bruce to lead the League into Gotham in order
to attack and destroy the city—they feel that Gotham has become so corrupt and
unjust that the city is beyond saving. Bruce is horrified by this plan, so he starts a
fire in the compound in order to escape from the League. The entire League then
attacks Bruce, including Ra’s—Bruce is able to fight them off, and Ra’s is killed
during the struggle. Bruce is able to save the unconscious Ducard before the
compound burns to the ground.

Bruce decides that it is now time to return to Gotham, so he has Alfred pick him
up via a private jet. During their flight home, Bruce talks to Alfred about
wanting to become some sort of symbol in his fight against crime in Gotham.
Bruce has not decided what this symbol should be, but he knows that he wants it
to be something terrifying. Back in Gotham, Dr. Jonathan Crane testifies in court
on behalf of a crazed killer named Victor Zsaz. Rachel, who is now Gotham’s
Assistant District Attorney, is furious with Crane for doing this, because Zsaz
has connections to Falcone. Rachel suspects that Crane is connected to Falcone
as well.

Back at Wayne Manor, Bruce starts researching Gotham’s cops and criminals.
As he works, a bat flies into the room. This leads Bruce to go back down into the
well where he fell as a boy, and he finds that the well leads to a huge, bat-filled
cave under the Manor. As he stands in the cave, bats flying all around him, it is
obvious that he has found the symbol he is looking for. He can strike fear into
the hearts of criminals by disguising himself as the creature that frightened him
so badly when he was young.

Meanwhile, Crane meets with Falcone, and tells the mobster that Rachel is a
problem that needs to be handled. The next day, the Wayne Enterprises Board
meets to discuss the future of the company, and Bruce walks in—since Bruce
has been gone from Gotham without a trace for six years, everyone is shocked to
see him. Bruce tells the Wayne C.E.O. William Earle that he wants to work in
the company’s Applied Sciences division, which is run by Lucius Fox.

Bruce goes to see Fox, who shows him some of the division’s projects, including
high-powered grapple guns and armored suits. Bruce asks Fox if he could
“borrow” some of this equipment, but he doesn’t tell Fox about his plans to
become a crimefighter. Later, Bruce and Alfred work down in the cave under
Wayne Manor, transforming it into a base of operations. Alfred mentions that
Bruce is likely not the first Wayne to be in the cave—the Wayne home was a
stop on the Underground Railroad, so Bruce’s ancestors probably shielded
runaway slaves by hiding them in the cave. Bruce also begins work on
modifying one of the armored suits into a costume for himself.
Wearing this costume, along with a ski mask to hide his face, Bruce sneaks into
the office of Gotham City Police Sergeant Jim Gordon. Gordon thinks he is
being accosted by some lunatic when Bruce asks him how they can bring down
Falcone. Bruce then tells Gordon to watch for his signal. The sergeant tries to
apprehend Bruce as he flees the station, but Bruce gets away.

Bruce goes to see Fox again, who sets him up with some more high tech
equipment. This equipment includes a fabric known as “memory cloth” which
can be used to design a glider-like cape, and a tank-like armored automobile
known as “the Tumbler.” Later, in the cave Bruce and Alfred put the finishing
touches on Bruce’s first Batman costume, which includes a cape, a bat-eared
cowl, and bat-shaped weapons.

Falcone meets with a crooked Gotham cop named Flass at the Gotham docks,
where Falcone is having a large amount of illegal drugs shipped in. Flass checks
in on the shipment, and tells Falcone that everything seems in order. Flass’
assessment turns out to be very wrong when Batman attacks the thugs Falcone
has hired to carry out the shipment. Batman takes all of the thugs down, and then
attacks Falcone in his car. Right before Batman bears down on Falcone, the
mobster says “What the hell are you?” under his breath. Batman answers him by
pulling him out of the car, saying “I’m Batman,” and knocking him out.

Meanwhile, Rachel is riding a Gotham Monorail train to her home, and several
of Falcone’s hitmen make an attempt to kill her. Batman stops them, and gives
Rachel information that will help her to prosecute Falcone. Gordon arrives at the
docks to find Falcone tied to a searchlight that is powered up—the light casts a
batlike silhouette on the clouds in the sky.

The next day, Gotham Police Commissioner Loeb instructs his force to bring
this vigilante to justice. Also, Earle learns that a microwave emitter weapon has
been stolen from a Wayne Enterprises shipment—the weapon is designed to
vaporize large amounts of water. That night, Bruce goes out on the town to build
his “eccentric playboy” image. He runs into Rachel for the first time since
returning to Gotham—she is very disappointed in his lifestyle.

Later that night, Crane goes to see Falcone in jail. Crane shows Falcone a
scarecrow mask that he uses to torment his patients, and then he sprays the
mobster with a form of the hallucinogen used by the League of Shadows.
Batman attacks Flass in order to get information about Falcone’s drug shipment
—Flass tells the crimefighter that some of the drugs had something hidden in
them, and those drugs were taken to a rundown Gotham neighborhood known as
the Narrows.

Batman goes to the Narrows to find out about the drugs. There, a young boy sees
him, and Batman gives the boy a small flexible periscope from his utility belt as
a kind of “souvenir.” Batman finds the apartment where the drugs are being
hidden, and Crane is there to destroy them. Crane, in his scarecrow mask, sprays
Batman with the hallucinogen and sets his costume on fire. The crimefighter
jumps out of the apartment window to escape, and he calls Alfred for help.

The hallucinogen is so damaging to Bruce’s mental state that Alfred has to call
Fox for help. Fox is able to synthesize an antidote for the hallucinogen in order
to save Bruce. Bruce tells Fox that he had better prepare a lot more of the
antidote, because it is obvious that the hallucinogen is being used by Gotham’s
underworld and is somehow connected to Falcone’s drug shipment. (Obviously,
by this point Fox has figured out that Bruce is spending his nights fighting crime
as Batman.)

Rachel stops by Wayne Manor to wish Bruce a happy 30th birthday. A big party
is planned for Bruce at the Manor later in the day, but Rachel will not be able to
attend. She needs to go to Arkham Asylum, located in the Narrows, because
Crane has moved Falcone there. Worried that Rachel is heading into a very
dangerous situation, Bruce races to Arkham as Batman. At Arkham, Crane
realizes that Rachel is suspicious of his actions, so he sprays her with the
hallucinogen. Batman bursts in on Crane and sprays him with the hallucinogen.
The drugged Crane now sees Batman as a fearsome monster, and he tells the
crimefighter that he has been working for Ra’s Al Ghul. Batman is shocked by
this confession, since he himself had watched Ra’s die.

As Batman struggles to digest this information, he hears sirens—scores of

Gotham Police officers have arrived at Arkham to arrest him. Gordon goes in to
the asylum before the rest of the police, and Batman tells him that the
hallucinogen is the work of Crane and someone even worse than Falcone. Before
the rest of the Gotham Police enter the asylum, Batman activates a transmitter
that emits a frequency that will attract bats. Thousands of bats swarm the
asylum, allowing Batman and Gordon to exit the building with the gravely
injured Rachel.
Batman puts Rachel in his car—it is the Tumbler, painted all black. In the car,
Batman leads the Gotham Police on a high-speed chase through the streets of
Gotham. The crimefighter is able to elude the police and make it back to his
headquarters in the cave. There he is able to give Rachel the antidote for the
hallucinogen. Batman tells Rachel that for the safety of Gotham, she needs to get
what is left of the antidote to Gordon.

At Arkham, Gordon learns that a huge amount of the hallucinogen has been put
into Gotham’s water supply by Crane’s thugs. At the same time, Bruce arrives at
his birthday party at Wayne Manor, which is already in progress. Fox is at the
party, and as Bruce and Fox talk they realize that the hallucinogen could be
dispersed throughout Gotham by using the stolen microwave emitter to turn the
poisoned water into vapor.

Bruce is shocked to see that Ducard is also at the party, and that Ducard is not
who he seems to be at all—in reality, he is Ra’s Al Ghul. Ra’s has come to
Gotham to make good on his promise to destroy the city—he is the one who has
stolen the microwave emitter, and he will use it to unleash his hallucinogen on
all of Gotham’s citizens. Bruce pretends to be drunk, and he throws everyone out
of his party so that Ra’s cannot hurt them. Ra’s and his men attack Bruce and set
the Manor ablaze—luckily, Alfred is able to save Bruce before he is burned in
the fire, and the two men escape into the cave. Ra’s has other members of the
League positioned throughout Gotham—some of them free all of the inmates in
Arkham, including Crane.

Rachel finds Gordon, who is still at Arkham, and she gives him the antidote. She
then rescues a little boy who has lost his parents—it is the boy whom Batman
gave his periscope to. Ra’s has arrived on the scene, and he loads the microwave
emitter onto a Gotham Monorail train. He turns on the emitter, which vaporizes
the water in all of the nearby water pipes—the dispersion of the hallucinogen has
begun.

Batman arrives in the Narrows to confront Ra’s. The crimefighter gives Gordon
the keys to the Tumbler, saying he will need the Sergeant’s help to stop Ra’s.
Before Batman engages Ra’s, he rescues Rachel and the boy from a number of
escaped Arkham inmates, including a horseback-riding Crane dressed in his
scarecrow mask. As Rachel talks to Batman, she realizes that he is actually
Bruce. Batman is able to intercept Ra’s’ train by latching onto it with his grapple
gun. He climbs up his grapple line to board the train as it speeds down the track,
and once he is on board he fights Ra’s. While they are fighting, Gordon uses
missiles in the Tumbler to destroy one of the bridges that the train will be
passing over. Batman jumps out of the train just before it crashes—Ra’s is
killed, and the microwave emitter is destroyed.

Batman has brought Gotham through a tremendous ordeal, but his story is really
just beginning. Bruce has gained control of his family’s company, and he plans
on rebuilding his burned-out home. Rachel comes to visit him as he works on the
Manor—they are in love with one another, but Rachel feels there is no way for
them to be together because of Bruce’s double life.

Batman then meets with Gordon on the roof of the Gotham Police building.
There, Gordon has installed a spotlight with a bat silhouette on it that can be
used to signal the crimefighter. They still have much to do to fix all of the
damage that Ra’s, Falcone and Crane have caused. And to make matters worse,
they have new criminals to worry about.

A bank robbery/double murder has just been committed by someone who leaves
a Joker playing card at the scene of his crimes. Batman tells Gordon that he’ll
look into this crime. As the crimefighter turns to leave, Gordon says to him, “I
never said thank you.” Batman says that Gordon will never have to as he jumps
off of the roof and into the night sky.

Christopher Nolan’s plan to make a Batman film that would tell the story of the
character’s origin in a real world setting had succeeded spectacularly. Batman
Begins took the Batman character and his world much more seriously than any
previous Batman feature film had—and as a result, the movie turned out to be a
complex, richly detailed crime drama that was truly light years ahead of any
previous big screen adaptation of the Batman character. Another thing that really
set the film apart from its predecessors was that it was about what a Batman film
should be about—namely, Batman himself. The previous Warner Batman
movies had all seemed to be more interested in the gaudily costumed villains
they featured than they were in their title character. Batman Begins put an end to
this line of thinking, placing Bruce Wayne’s quest for justice and his
transformation into Batman squarely at the center of the film’s plot.

Nolan’s reinvention of Warner’s Batman film franchise received a resoundingly

positive response from both the critics and the general moviegoing public.
Batman Begins garnered better reviews than had any previous Batman big screen
work, and it performed very well at the box office. The film made over $48
million during its opening weekend in the U.S., and it went on to take in well
over $200 million in the United States alone. It also made almost $170 million in
foreign box office returns, bringing its worldwide total gross to over $370
million.
19

The success of Batman Begins was made all the more impressive by the fact that
the movie had to convince critics and the general public to give Warner’s
Batman film franchise another chance after they had been so disappointed by
Joel Schumacher’s Batman and Robin. As we discussed earlier in the book,
many people knew the long line of characters that had been used in Warner’s
previous Batman films and assumed that everything that could be squeezed out
of the Batman universe for the big screen had been squeezed out—they figured
that Batman simply had no more to offer in terms of further movie projects.
Batman Begins proved what all of us serious Batman fans had known all along
—that Warner’s Batman film franchise had barely scratched the surface of the
character’s big screen potential, and that Batman had so much more to offer in
terms of further movie projects.

In spite of all of Warner’s efforts to make it clear that Batman Begins was a
complete restart of their Batman film franchise, there were those critics and
moviegoers that had somewhat of a difficult time understanding this fact. They
thought that the film was a prequel to all of Warner’s previous Batman films, not
a brand new cinematic interpretation of the character. This confusion would
definitely be cleared up by Nolan’s two later Batman films The Dark Knight
(2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012), since so many of the characters
featured in those films were completely different interpretations of characters
that had been featured in Warner’s previous Batman films.

Batman Begins has so many strengths that it is hard to decide where to begin an
analysis of the film. We’ll start with an in-depth examination of the Batman
comics, graphic novels and screen works that inspired Christopher Nolan and
David S. Goyer’s screenplay. As mentioned earlier in this chapter, Nolan and
Goyer drew on a number of classic Batman works when crafting the script. What
follows is a list of scenes from the film and the Batman works they can be
directly traced to. (Incidentally, we have discussed all of these works at one
point or another earlier in the book.)

Young Bruce takes a fall into a cave under Wayne Manor, and a terrifyingly
large swarm of bats fly at him—this was pulled from the 1986 graphic novel
series Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, and the 1989 comic story “The Man
Who Falls.”

While training himself to be a crimefighter, Bruce is mentored by a skilled

combatant named Ducard—this was pulled from the 1989 comic series Blind
Justice, and the 1989 comic story “The Man Who Falls.”

Thomas and Martha Wayne are murdered by a mugger as Bruce looks on—this
was pulled from numerous Batman works such as the 1939 comic story “Legend
—The Batman and How He Came to Be,” the 1948 comic story “The Origin of
Batman,” the 1986 graphic novel series Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, the
1987 comic series Batman: Year One, and the 1989 comic story “The Man Who
Falls.”

A bat flies into Wayne Manor while Bruce formulates his crimefighting strategy
—this was pulled from the 1939 comic story “Legend—The Batman and How
He Came to Be.”

Batman interrogates Flass in order to find out what he knows about Falcone’s
illegal drug shipment. The crimefighter does this by suspending Flass high above
the city streets in an upside-down position—this was pulled from the 1996
graphic novel Batman: Haunted Knight.

Batman interrogates Jonathan Crane after Crane has been sprayed by his own
fear-inducing hallucinogen. The drugged Crane then sees Batman as a fearsome
batlike monster—this was pulled from “Nothing to Fear,” a 1992 episode of the
television series Batman: The Animated Series.

At the end this interrogation, the drugged Crane says to Batman that “Dr. Crane
isn’t here right now” as if he is out of his body, and his body has somehow
become his personal answering machine—this was pulled from the 1996 graphic
novel Batman: Haunted Knight.

Batman escapes from the Gotham Police by activating a transmitter that attracts
a swarm of bats—this was pulled from the 1987 comic series Batman: Year One.

Crane attempts to poison Gotham’s water supply by dispersing fear toxin into
water pipes located under Arkham Asylum—this was pulled from “Dreams in
Darkness,” a 1992 episode of the television series Batman: The Animated Series.
Crane, in his scarecrow mask, sits astride a horse that is performing a leaping
maneuver known as a levade—this was pulled from the 1996–97 graphic novel
Batman: The Long Halloween.

Gordon and Batman meet on the rooftop of the Gotham City Police Department
to discuss a new criminal who calls himself the Joker—this was pulled from the
1987 comic series Batman: Year One.

It is interesting to note that while Nolan and Goyer publicly acknowledged the
Batman print works that Batman Begins was inspired by (particularly “The Man
Who Falls” and Batman: Year One), they apparently chose not to publicly
acknowledge any inspiration they might have drawn from Batman: The
Animated Series. This is somewhat surprising, because it seems almost a
certainty that the television series had a substantial influence their work—after
all, the similarities I’ve just noted between episodes of the series and scenes
from the film are striking.

At any rate, no previous Batman big screen work had ever drawn on such a wide
array of classic Batman material. By crafting their Batman Begins screenplay in
this manner, Nolan and Goyer showed more respect for the time-honored
traditions of Batman character than any filmmaker had ever shown. Of course, it
should be pointed out that they still chose to take quite a few liberties with this
material. For example, in the film the Waynes were leaving a performance of the
opera Mefistofle because Bruce was scared of the batlike creatures on the stage
when Thomas and Martha were shot and killed. In the comics, neither the opera
nor bats ever had anything to do with the Wayne murders—the family was
always shown leaving a movie theatre right before the tragedy.

Most all of the liberties that Nolan and Goyer took with Batman mythos were
decidedly small ones, so the film’s depiction of Batman generally stayed very
close to the character’s time-honored traditions. However, there was one
noticeable exception to this rule—Nolan and Goyer chose to portray Bruce
Wayne as not being particularly skilled in the disciplines of science and
technology. Since Batman’s very first origin story “Legend—The Batman and
How He Came to Be” was published in 1939, Bruce was depicted as having
developed his mind every bit as much as his body in order to become Batman. In
fact, that story even stated that he had trained himself to become a “master
scientist.”
In Batman Begins, Bruce is shown to be unapologetically ignorant of scientific
and technological matters. For example, when Lucius Fox tells Bruce what steps
he had to take in order to synthesize an antidote for Crane’s hallucinogen, Bruce
implies that he does not understand a word that Fox is saying. Also, all of the
high tech equipment that Bruce uses to fight crime as Batman is not developed
by Bruce—rather, he obtains it from the Wayne Enterprises archives through
Fox. In this author’s opinion, Nolan and Goyer’s decision to slightly “dumb
down” the Bruce Wayne character in the film is an unnecessary and unwelcome
one.

Incidentally, this decision leads to Fox being a much more integral character in
Batman Begins than he had ever been in any previous Batman work. Ever since
Fox was first introduced into Batman comic stories in the late 1970s, he had
played a decidedly peripheral role in Batman mythos—he was a Wayne
Enterprises executive who was a close confidant of Bruce’s, but he had no
knowledge of Bruce’s exploits as Batman. Obviously, the Batman Begins Fox
not only knows that Bruce is Batman, but he also sets Bruce up with all of his
crimefighting gear. This new version of Fox is basically a shameless copy of the
character known as Q from the James Bond film series—over the years, Q
provisioned Bond with an endless array of high tech spy gadgetry. Here is
perhaps the most concise way to sum up the manner in which Fox is depicted in
Batman Begins—Fox seems to have been given all of the intelligence that Nolan
and Goyer decided to take away from Bruce!

But this “dumbing down” of Bruce is basically the only objection I have with
Nolan and Goyer’s take on Batman/Bruce Wayne in the film. In my opinion, the
Batman/Bruce Wayne of Batman Begins is the most definitive big screen version
of the character ever created. He is grim and determined, but he is still very
much in control of his actions and emotions. There is darkness in his soul
because he is born from great tragedy, but he can still take some satisfaction in
the fact that his mission is truly helping Gotham City and its citizens. As we’ve
just discussed, Nolan and Goyer formed their version of Batman/Bruce Wayne
by piecing together elements drawn from classic incarnations of the character—
but their version of Batman/Bruce Wayne ended up being so well-constructed
that he himself ended up being a classic incarnation of the character.

Nolan and Goyer’s powerful vision of Batman/Bruce Wayne is acted to

perfection by Christian Bale. As we’ve made our way through the history of
Batman feature films, we’ve examined all of the actors who have played the role
on the big screen—Lewis Wilson, Robert Lowery, Adam West, Michael Keaton,
Val Kilmer and George Clooney. Bale’s incredible performance in Batman
Begins is head and shoulders above all of the Batman performances given by
these actors.

What really sets Bale apart from these actors is that he is equally marvelous at
playing both Batman and Bruce Wayne. His striking good looks, muscular
physique, and psychological intensity capture both of the character’s identities to
a degree that is almost startling. It is difficult for me to find words to convey just
how good I think Bale is in Batman Begins, but I’ll give it a try. To me, Bale is
Batman/Bruce Wayne during every moment he is on the screen in the film—I
can’t think of a higher compliment to give his performance.

There is one more element of the Batman Begins Batman that is worthy of high
praise. The Batsuit that costume designer Lindy Hemming created for the film is
every bit as impressive as Nolan and Goyer’s writing and Bale’s acting. As we
noted earlier in this chapter, the costume is perhaps more similar to the Batman
costumes used in Warner’s previous Batman films than one might have expected
in a franchise restart. But the costume still has enough differences in style and
design to set it apart from these earlier costumes. At any rate, here are the most
important observations that need to be made regarding Hemming’s Batsuit—it
looks flat-out spectacular on film, and it captures the character’s iconic
appearance as well as any movie Batman costume ever created.

The high quality of Bale’s performance as Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman

Begins is matched by the film’s supporting cast. Michael Caine’s interpretation
of Alfred is particularly stellar—Caine bears no physical resemblance to the
Alfred of the comics, but his acting brings a warmth and humanity to Bruce’s
closest confidant that is both believable and touching. The interplay between
Bale and Caine in their scenes together gives the film some of its best quiet,
character-driven moments.

Liam Neeson is excellent as Ducard, though obviously he really is not so much

“Ducard” as he is Ra’s Al Ghul. In this author’s opinion, Nolan and Goyer’s
decision to fold Ducard and Ra’s into one single character does not work
particularly well. Elements of both characters are incorporated into Neeson’s
portrayal of Ducard/Ra’s, but combining them together does not allow for either
of them to be explored with any great depth.
This is not especially disappointing in terms of the Ducard character—as we
noted earlier in this chapter, the character never had made much of an impact on
Batman mythos since he was first introduced in 1989. It is more disappointing
that Ra’s is shortchanged—he had become one of Batman’s truly classic villains
since his creation in the early 1970s, so he could have been more richly
developed if he had not been shoehorned into a “surprise ending” kind of a plot
device.

That said, however, Nolan and Goyer’s decision to lose the sci-fi/fantasy
elements of Ra’s like his ability to achieve immortality through the use of his
Lazarus Pit made the character fit in very well with the film’s real world
interpretation of Batman. (We discussed the origin of Ra’s and his Lazarus Pit
back in Chapter 7.) And Nolan and Goyer did stay very true to the overall spirit
of the character in the film—Ra’s’ determination to wipe out millions of lives in
order to restore the planet to what he considered to be its “natural balance”
perfectly captured the essence of the comic book Ra’s.

I should probably say at least a few words about the film’s “decoy Ra’s” played
by Ken Watanabe. Watanabe’s acting, looks and wardrobe nicely convey that
Ra’s is a man of far eastern descent who is in possession of great wisdom and
strength—in other words, he is perhaps more similar to the comic book Ra’s
than the film’s real Ra’s! Of course, this misdirection was a very intentional one
on the part of Nolan so that he could outfit Batman Begins with a whopper of a
plot twist.

Katie Holmes turns in a solid performance as Rachel Dawes in Batman Begins.

Rachel is the only major character in the film that has no origin in Batman’s
comic book roots. Her ties to Bruce that go all the way back to their childhood
together and her strong moral convictions make her a more interesting character
than the heroines in Warner’s previous Batman films—in other words, she is
definitely an upgrade over Vicki Vale and Chase Meridian! Holmes does a very
nice job with the strong material that Nolan and Goyer have given her to work
with.

As excellent as all of Batman Begins’ supporting cast is, one would be hard
pressed to pick out just one cast member as being the best of the bunch. But if I
were forced to do just that, I think I would choose Gary Oldman’s performance
as Jim Gordon. Like Bale, Oldman completely disappears into his part—this
allows him to bring Gordon to life in a richly detailed manner that makes all
previous big screen versions of the character look laughingly simplistic by
comparison. Of course, Oldman’s performance benefits greatly from Nolan and
Goyer’s thoughtful interpretation of Gordon—it is drawn almost exclusively
from Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s version of the character found in
their 1987 comic series Batman: Year One. Oldman’s appearance in the film is
meant to reflect this version of the character as well—he is made up to look
exactly like the Batman: Year One Gordon.

By contrast, Cillian Murphy’s depiction of Dr. Jonathan Crane/The Scarecrow in

Batman Begins has little to do with any comic version of the character. Nolan
and Goyer made the decision to lose the character’s Ray Bolger–like scarecrow
costume and outfit him with nothing more than a business suit and a burlap
mask. In keeping with the film’s real world sensibilities, the burlap mask has a
practical function—it houses a gas mask that Crane wears while spraying his
victims with fear toxin. Murphy’s creepy performance both in and out of the
burlap mask makes Crane a very memorable character even though he is so far
removed from the Scarecrow of the comics.

As we discussed just a bit ago, Lucius Fox is made to be a very integral

character in Batman Begins. Nolan wisely chose to entrust this important role to
the acclaimed veteran actor Morgan Freeman. Freeman gives a likable, low-key
performance as Fox in the film—by investing Fox with a sense of quiet wisdom
and a wonderfully wry sense of humor, Freeman effectively conveys what a
valuable ally Fox is to Bruce.

There are several characters in Batman Begins that were first introduced into
Batman’s world through Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s 1987 comic
series Batman: Year One. Tom Wilkinson plays Gotham crime boss Carmine
Falcone, Mark Boone Junior plays Gotham City Police Detective Flass, and
Colin McFarlane plays Gotham City Police Commissioner Loeb. None of these
characters are carbon copies of their Batman: Year One counterparts in terms of
their actions or appearance—still, they greatly enhance the film because they are
so well-written and acted.

There is one more character in the film that I just have to examine in some
detail. Jack Gleeson plays the young boy who receives a small flexible periscope
from Batman as a kind of “souvenir.” At the end of the film, Batman rescues
both Rachel and the boy from the clutches of a number of escaped Arkham
inmates. The boy is by Rachel’s side when she realizes Batman’s true identity
and calls the crimefighter “Bruce.”

All right, I realize that I might be reading too much into this character, but
doesn’t he appear to be a lot like a very young Robin? He has equipment given
to him by Batman in his possession—he might even have Batman’s real identity
in his possession as well, for goodness’ sake! It appears than he might have been
orphaned due to Ra’s’ attack on Gotham City. (Of course, most all classic
versions of the Robin character featured origins in which they were orphaned.) I
mean, come on—just look at all of these signs! You want more? Well, here’s
one more for you—the boy is even wearing a red t-shirt that looks a bit like a
Robin tunic in his scenes!

Did Nolan find a very subtle way to incorporate the Robin character into his
vision of Batman and his world in Batman Begins? Well, the director went out of
his way not to give us any hints as to just who this boy might be—Gleeson is
billed simply as “Little Boy” in the film’s credits. And Nolan chose not to
feature the character in either of his Batman sequels, so we’ll probably never
know any more about the character than we do right now. And not only did
Nolan never revisit this character, but he also found a way to incorporate a new
character with the name of “Robin” into one of his Batman sequels—we’ll
discuss that “Robin” in detail later in the book. Still, I wonder—that “Little Boy”
sure seems a lot like a Robin to me!

It is interesting to note that even though Batman is such a quintessential

American character, much of the Batman Begins cast and crew hail from
countries in and around the United Kingdom. For example, Christopher Nolan,
Michael Caine, Tom Wilkinson and Gary Oldman are English, Christian Bale is
Welsh, and Liam Neeson and Cillian Murphy are Irish. But even though so
much of Batman Begins’ creative talent is U.K.-based, the film still has a
decidedly “American” feel to it. Bale, Oldman, Wilkinson and Murphy in
particular adopt flawless American accents when they assume their roles—so all
of their characters convincingly come across as having been born and raised in
the United States.

One of Batman Begins’ most potent strengths is the film’s incredible production
design. The collaboration between Nolan and his production designer Nathan
Crowley ended up bringing Batman’s world to life in a way that was both
wonderfully atmospheric and strikingly realistic. All of the film’s massive sets
are a wonder to behold—Gotham City, Arkham Asylum, Wayne Manor and the
Batcave are realized in such spectacular fashion that audiences are totally drawn
into the production. The scale and detail of these sets makes one feel as if they
are standing right next to Batman during his adventures. The Batman Begins sets
are so ambitious that most all of the sets used in Warner’s previous Batman films
are left looking claustrophobic by comparison—and given how elaborate many
of the sets were for Burton’s and Schumacher’s Batman films, that really is
saying something!

The gigantic scope of the film’s sets is matched by the scope of the film’s
location shooting. The scenes filmed in Iceland and in Chicago help to bring
Batman’s world to life in an immersive manner that would not be possible by
filming on cramped soundstages. These scenes definitely showcase the
incredible work of the film’s director of photography Wally Pfister. Pfister’s
Chicago shots that depict Batman standing on top of skyscrapers are the ones are
particularly unforgettable—as a lifelong Batman fan, I can truly say that I had
been waiting for iconic scenes like these to show up in a Batman movie all of my
life!

Interestingly, so much of the production design and cinematography of Batman

Begins seemed to be tied to one particular color. Many of the film’s Gotham
scenes are bathed in light that appears to come from the common overhead street
lights that emit an orange/brown color—as a result, these scenes have a
decidedly sepia tone to them. This color doesn’t just show up in the film itself—
it was also the dominant color in most of the theatrical posters used to advertise
the film’s release.

Of course, far and away the most striking element of the film’s production
design is its Batmobile. (Incidentally, the Batmobile was always referred to by
the name of “the Tumbler” in the film, but we’ll stick with tradition and call it
by its time-honored name here!) When Nolan and Crowley decided to realize the
Batmobile in such a utilitarian, no-nonsense manner during the early planning
stages of the film, they really were on to something—the incredible car really is
every bit as much of a star in the film as its lead actors, and its design is a perfect
summation of the film’s real world approach to Batman. The true genius of the
auto lies in the fact that its appearance is so memorably unrefined—if one would
outfit it with a long handle coming off the back, it would look a lot like a giant
push lawn mower!

Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s excellent musical score is another
essential component in establishing Batman Begins’ overall atmosphere. Their
ambient compositions have a power and intensity that perfectly complements the
film’s real world interpretation of Batman. Incidentally, Zimmer and Howard
titled these compositions in an unusual way—all of the pieces were named with
Latin words that describe various species of bats.

In the end, most all of the things that are so wonderful about Batman Begins can
be traced directly to Christopher Nolan. The film is definitely based on a wide
variety of classic Batman material, but it is Nolan’s vision that pulls all of that
material together to form an unforgettable cinematic portrait of Batman and his
world. Batman Begins is by turns savage, sensitive, tragic, and funny, and it
rarely loses sight of the fact that Batman’s real strength as a character lies in his
close ties to reality.

That said, however, I do still have a few quibbles with the film. First, I feel that
some of its scenes suffer from very hyperactive editing—there are moments in
the movie when one has to process so many ridiculously quick cuts that it is hard
to keep up with what is happening onscreen. This is especially true of the film’s
action sequences—after all of my repeated viewings of the movie, I still find
some of its action difficult to follow. For example, one of the film’s signature
scenes is when Batman leaps from the top floor of Arkham Asylum and uses his
cape to glide to the bottom of the Asylum’s ornate circular stairwell. There are a
total of seven different camera angles cut into Batman’s seven-second glide! In
my opinion, a few less angles would have allowed viewers to better take in this
iconic scene.

Another problem that I have with Batman Begins involves one of the film’s
major plot points. The climax of the movie revolves around Ra’s Al Ghul’s fear
hallucinogen being dispersed into Gotham’s water system—the poisoned water
is then turned into vapor by some sort of powerful microwave emitter. This
scenario is physically impossible for a variety of reasons. First, because water
pipes are highly pressurized, they cannot be opened they way they are opened
under Arkham Asylum where the hallucinogen is being poured into the water
system. If a real water pipe was opened in that manner, the water inside of it
would not keep flowing through the pipe like a fast-moving stream—instead, it
would quickly flood the entire area.

Furthermore, if the city’s water pipes started rupturing because the water inside
of them was vaporized, the overall water pressure in the system would lower, not
raise. So the idea of the microwave emitter somehow being able to generate
enough water pressure to cause a chain-reaction explosion of the city’s entire
water system is at odds with real physical science.

Nolan had repeatedly stated that he wanted to keep Batman Begins as closely
tied to reality as possible—so it seems like a very odd decision on his part to
have set up the entire climax of the film around a scenario that could not
possibly happen in real life. In my opinion, Batman Begins could have been an
even better movie than it turned out to be if it had given a plausible climax that
was more in keeping with its real world sensibilities.

All right, that’s enough of my quibbling—let’s go back to saying good things

about Batman Begins. During the film’s initial theatrical run, it was treated to a
cinematic upgrade that no previous Batman screen work had ever received—it
was remastered so that the film could be shown in IMAX theatres. Just in case
anyone is unfamiliar with the IMAX film format, I’ll take a moment here to give
a quick rundown of what it is and what it does.

In the late 1960s, a Canadian film company called the IMAX Corporation began
creating its own motion picture film format and corresponding set of cinema
projection standards. Movies that were filmed in the IMAX format were able to
capture images of far greater size and clarity than movies using conventional
film formats. At first, the format was used almost exclusively for the creation
and screening of documentary films. Giant-sized IMAX theatres constructed at
museums and science centers around the world showed IMAX films about
animals, nature, science, travel, and a host of other topics.

But the format started to be used to produce and screen non-documentary films
as well—for example, Walt Disney Pictures released their animated film
Fantasia 2000 on IMAX format in early 2000. Not long after the release of
Fantasia 2000, IMAX developed technology to remaster non–IMAX films so
that they could be shown in IMAX theatres. Since the IMAX format was
crossing over from the world of documentary works to the world of
entertainment works more and more frequently, multiplex cinemas around the
world started outfitting their facilities with IMAX theatres.

In the early 2000s, Warner Bros. started releasing a number of their high-profile
movies in IMAX format—Batman Begins was one of those movies. Simply put,
the film looked absolutely dazzling when it was screened in the IMAX format.
As I mentioned earlier in this chapter, Batman Begins realized Batman’s world
in such spectacular fashion that audiences were totally drawn into the production
—the movie became even more immersive once it was transferred onto high-
resolution IMAX film and projected onto giant IMAX screens.

Incidentally, this assessment of the film having even more of an impact when
screened in IMAX is based on personal experience. During the summer of 2005,
I attended IMAX showings of the movie in Cincinnati, Ohio, Indianapolis,
Indiana and my hometown of Columbus, Ohio—these showings definitely took
my Batman Begins viewing experience to a whole new level. The showing that
was particularly memorable was the one in Indianapolis—I saw the film at the
massive IMAX theatre at the Indiana State Museum, and I left the theatre feeling
like I had been standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Batman during most every
second of the time he was on the screen.

Obviously, I was not the only one who was so impressed with how incredible
Batman Begins looked in IMAX. When Christopher Nolan began work on his
sequel to the movie, he decided to actually film a sizeable portion of the sequel
with IMAX cameras. That sequel was the stunningly successful The Dark Knight
(2008), and it was the first non-documentary feature film ever made to include
scenes that were shot using IMAX technology. (We’ll discuss the film and its
IMAX scenes in detail later in the book.)

Let’s take Batman Begins from the big screen to the small screen and examine
the movie’s home video release history. The film’s box office success led to a
high demand for Batman Begins DVDs and VHS tapes when Warner Bros. first
released it to the home video market in October 2005. Incidentally, Batman
Begins was the last Batman big screen work to be made commercially available
on VHS before the format was put on the road to obsolescence by the DVD
format. There were several different DVD versions of the film released by
Warner. It was offered as two separate single-disc releases, one in its original
widescreen format and one in a format cropped to fit a standard television
screen. Batman Begins was also released as a 2-disc set—the set contained the
widescreen version of the film, as well as a wealth of bonus material.

This bonus material was very similar to the bonus material found on the 2-disc
DVD sets of Warner’s previous Batman films. (As we’ve discussed a number of
times earlier in the book, these DVD sets were also released in 2005 in the wake
of Batman Begins’ success.) Highlights of this material included eight featurettes
about the making of the film—the featurettes were entitled “Batman: The
Journey Begins,” “Shaping Mind and Body,” “Gotham City Rises,” “Cape and
Cowl,” “Batman: The Tumbler,” “Path to Discovery,” “Saving Gotham City,”
and “Genesis of the Bat.” These featurettes included commentary from many of
the individuals who played a major role in the movie’s creation, including
Christopher Nolan, David S. Goyer, Nathan Crowley, Emma Thomas, Chris
Corbould, Wally Pfister, Lindy Hemming, Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, and
Katie Holmes. Their commentary was accompanied by a good deal of behind-
the-scenes footage shot on the Batman Begins set showing the film’s cast and
crew at work.

This 2005 DVD set remained the highest-quality home video version of Batman
Begins until Warner released the movie on HD DVD in October 2006. However,
the HD DVD format turned out to be a short-lived one. The majority of
consumers ended up choosing Blu-ray over HD DVD as their preferred high
definition video format, so HD DVD production was completely suspended less
than two years after the release of the Batman Begins HD DVD.

Warner released Batman Begins on Blu-ray in July 2008 to coincide with the
theatrical release of The Dark Knight, Nolan’s sequel to Batman Begins. The
Batman Begins Blu-ray included all of the special features found on the DVD
set, as well as several new special features. Far and away the most notable of
these was “The Dark Knight IMAX Prologue,” the bank robbery sequence
featuring the Joker that opened The Dark Knight. Since that sequence had
actually been filmed in IMAX, those who purchased the Batman Begins Blu-ray
got the opportunity to see the extraordinary level of visual quality that high-
resolution IMAX film was going to bring to The Dark Knight. And needless to
say, the Batman Begins Blu-ray flawlessly reproduced all of the incredible sights
and sounds found in both Batman Begins and “The Dark Knight IMAX
Prologue.” (Of course, the Blu-ray really couldn’t deliver the kind of
overwhelming viewing experience that IMAX showings of these films could—
but hey, let’s not get too greedy here!)

There is one more screen version of Batman Begins that we should take note of
here. The video game Batman Begins was released on major gaming platforms
such as PlayStation 2 and Xbox in June 2005 to coincide with the theatrical
release of the actual film. Batman Begins presented its players with a long,
complex plot that closely adhered to the plot of the film, and its graphics were
designed to capture the look of the film’s characters, props and sets. The game’s
connection to the film was made even stronger due to the fact that all of the
film’s principal actors provided the voices for their characters in the game’s
audio. Interestingly, even though the Batman Begins video game enjoyed a
reasonable amount of commercial and critical success when it was released, it
did not end up inspiring Warner Bros. to release video game tie-ins to Nolan’s
two later Batman films—so to date, Batman Begins is the only modern,
immersive video game based on a live-action Batman film ever to be produced.

It is also interesting to note how Warner Bros. chose to handle general

merchandising tie-ins to promote the release of Batman Begins. Obviously, the
film was intended for adult audiences—indeed, it was the most complex, mature
Batman film that Warner had produced to date. But even still, the film’s release
was supported by the usual amount of merchandise intended for children—there
was a wide variety of Batman Begins action figures, toys, books, comics, trading
cards, clothing, etc., in stores as the film first hit theatres. Thankfully, this
merchandising blitz did not create the kind of controversy that the
merchandising blitz for the adult-oriented Batman Returns had. The reason for
this was simple—even though Batman Begins was also an adult-oriented film, it
was nowhere near as dark and disturbing as Batman Returns had been.
Consequently, it did not seem at all inappropriate to help promote the film
through some products designed for children. (Plus, how could you ever stop a
kid from wanting a toy version of a cool car like the Tumbler?)

I’ll close my discussion of Batman Begins with these thoughts. This reboot of
Warner’s Batman film franchise certainly did not reach the incredible, history-
making level of success that the studio’s first Batman film did back in 1989—
but it still undoubtedly stands as one of the greatest achievements in the history
of the Batman character. To date, Batman Begins is the only Batman big screen
work that draws on a wide array of classic Batman material—and as a result, it is
widely considered to be one of the best cinematic portraits of the character ever
created.

I think that I can best sum up what an important milestone Batman Begins is in
the history of the character with these following sentences. Most all previous
Batman big screen works had their moments for us serious Batman fans,
moments that gave us a glimpse of the iconic character that we loved. But sitting
through an entire Batman film just to enjoy a moment or two was by no means a
truly satisfying experience for us—wasn’t there a filmmaker out there who could
give us a Batman movie that contained more than just “moments?” We longed
for a well-constructed, intelligently-written Batman film that would really take
the character seriously—one that would capture the spirit of Batman’s greatest
comic adventures by staying true to the time-honored traditions of the character
from fade in to fade out. Christopher Nolan delivered that film to us—it was
Batman Begins.

In other words, I consider Batman Begins to be the best Batman big screen work
ever created. I realize that Nolan’s next two Batman films The Dark Knight
(2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012) ended up being so staggeringly
successful that most people see them as being far greater triumphs than Batman
Begins. I personally do not agree with this line of thinking—in fact, even though
I very much enjoyed The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, I feel that
neither film lived up to the promise established by Batman Begins. I’ll lay out
my case for this argument in the next few chapters of the book.
 18
The Dark Knight (2008)

Cast: Christian Bale (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Michael Caine (Alfred), Heath

Ledger (The Joker), Gary Oldman (Jim Gordon), Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent),
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Rachel Dawes), Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox), Monique
Gabriela Curnen (Ramirez), Ron Dean (Wuertz), Nestor Carbonell (Mayor),
Chin Han (Lau), Eric Roberts (Maroni), Ritchie Coster (Chechen), Anthony
Michael Hall (Engel), Keith Szarabajka (Stephens), Joshua Harto (Reese),
Melinda McGraw (Barbara Gordon), Nathan Gamble (James Gordon, Jr.),
Michael Jai White (Gambol), Beatrice Rosen (Natascha), Cillian Murphy
(Scarecrow), Colin McFarlane (Loeb), Michael Vieau (Rossi), Michael
Stoyanov (Dopey), William Smillie (Happy), Danny Goldring (Grumpy),
Matthew O'Neill (Chuckles), William Fichtner (Bank Manager), Olumiji
Olawumi (Drug Dealer), Greg Beam (Drug Buyer), Erik Hellman (Junkie),
Vincenzo Nicoli (Crime Boss), Edison Chen (LSI VP), Nydia Rodriguez
Terracina (Judge Surrillo), Andy Luther (Brian), James Farruggio (Man No. 1),
Tom McElroy (Man No. 2), Will Zahrn (Assistant DA), James Fierro (Thug at
Party), Patrick Leahy (Gentleman at Party), Sam Derence (Male Guest), Jennifer
Knox (Female Guest), Patrick Clear (Judge Freel), Sarah Jayne Dunn (Maroni’s
Mistress), Chucky Venn, Winston Ellis (Bodyguards), David Dastmalchian
(Joker’s Thug), Sophia Hinshelwood (Reporter), Keith Kupferer (Heckler),
Joseph Luis Caballero (Cop Heckler), Richard Dillane (Acting Commissioner),
Daryl Satcher (Officer at Intersection), Chris Petschler (Convoy Leader), Aidan
Feore (Fat Thug), Philip Bulcock (Murphy), Paul Birchard (Cop with Fat Thug),
Walter Lewis (Medic), Vincent Riotta (Cop at 250 52nd Street), Nancy Crane
(Nurse), K. Todd Freeman (Polk), Matt Shallenberger (Berg), Michael Andrew
Gorman (Cop at Hospital), Lanny Lutz (Bartender), Peter DeFaria (Civilian),
Matt Rippy (First Mate), Andrew Bicknell (Prison Ferry Pilot), Ariyon Bakare
(Guard Commander), Doug Ballard (Businessman), Helene Wilson (Mother),
Tommy Campbell, Craig Heaney, Lorna Gayle, Lisa McAllister, Peter Brooke
(Passengers), Joshua Rollins (SWAT Sniper), Dale Rivera (SWAT Leader),
Matthew Leitch (Prisoner on Ferry), Tiny Lister (Tattooed Prisoner), Thomas
Gaitsch (Reporter #3), William Armstrong (Evans), Adam Kalesperis (Honor
Guard Man), Tristan Tait (Uniform Cop), Bronson Webb, David Ajala (Bounty
Hunters), Gertrude Kyles (Fox’s Secretary), Jonathan Ryland (Passenger Ferry
Pilot), James Scales (Guardsman), Nigel Carrington (Warden), Ian Pirie
(Corrections Officer), Lateef Lovejoy, Grahame Edwardes, Roger Monk, Ronan
Summers (Prisoners), Wai Wong (Hong Kong Detective), Michael Corey Foster
(Honor Guard Leader), Hannah Gunn (Gordon’s Daughter), Brandon Lambdin
(Armored Car SWAT). Producers: Emma Thomas, Charles Roven, Christopher
Nolan. Executive Producers: Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De
La Noy, Thomas Tull. Director: Christopher Nolan. Screenplay: Jonathan
Nolan, Christopher Nolan (Story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer,
based upon characters appearing in comic books published by DC Comics,
Batman created by Bob Kane). Director of Photography: Wally Pfister.
Production Designer: Nathan Crowley. Editor: Lee Smith. Music: Hans
Zimmer, James Newton Howard. Visual Effects Supervisor: Nick Davis. Special
Effects Supervisor: Chris Corbould. Costume Designer: Lindy Hemming.
Casting: John Papsidera. Studio: Warner Bros. Length: 152 minutes. United
States Release Date: July 18, 2008.

Obviously, the strong commercial and critical success of Batman Begins led
Warner Bros. to hope that Christopher Nolan would want to write and direct a
sequel to the film. Nolan obliged the studio in this regard, although not right
away—his first project after Batman Begins was the 2006 mystery thriller The
Prestige starring Hugh Jackman and two of his Batman Begins actors, Christian
Bale and Michael Caine. But after The Prestige was finished, Nolan went to
work figuring out just how he was going to follow up his first Batman film. His
first order of business was to recruit David S. Goyer for the movie, and he and
Goyer laid out a story for the movie’s screenplay.

Since Warner’s Batman film franchise was now officially rebooted, Nolan and
Goyer were now given much more latitude in terms of just what characters they
could use in their new Batman movie. They wouldn’t have to pass on any of
Batman’s classic comic villains just because they had been used in either Tim
Burton’s or Joel Schumacher’s Batman films. Batman Begins had established
that Warner’s cinematic Batman was unquestionably in Nolan and Goyer’s
world now, and the two men had the power to shape that world in most any way
that they saw fit.

Not surprisingly, these new rules led them to choose two of Batman’s all-time
greatest villains for their film. Nolan and Goyer decided that they would create
brand-new interpretations of the Joker and Two-Face for the movie—
interpretations that were light years removed from the manner in which the Joker
was depicted in Burton’s Batman and Two-Face was depicted in Schumacher’s
Batman Forever. (Of course, having the Joker in the film was really a foregone
conclusion—after all, his first appearance in Gotham had been discussed by
Batman and Gordon during the final scene of Batman Begins.)

Christian Bale as Batman in The Dark Knight (2008).

As Nolan and Goyer put together their film’s story, they did not draw on nearly
as much classic Batman material as they had when they were writing Batman
Begins. However, they were greatly influenced by one particular Batman comic
work—that work was the 1996–97 13-part graphic novel series Batman: The
Long Halloween, which was written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Tim Sale. 1

(We’ll examine the similarities between Batman: The Long Halloween and
Nolan’s finished film later in this chapter.)

Nolan brought another writer onto the project as well—the finished script would
end up being penned by the director and his brother Jonathan. The Nolan
brothers and Goyer decided on a title for their new Batman film—it would be
called The Dark Knight. Of course, “The Dark Knight” was a nickname for
Batman that dated all the way back to Batman #1, Spring 1940. The phrase
essentially became DC Comics’ official second name for Batman after the 1986
publication of Frank Miller’s groundbreaking graphic novel series Batman: The
Dark Knight Returns.

Interestingly, longtime Batman fans knew just what the phrase “The Dark
Knight” meant when the film was given this title, but the title ended up causing
some confusion among moviegoers with a much more casual interest in the
character. A Batman movie called The Dark Knight? Just who was this “Dark
Knight,” anyway? (Of course, the film would end up being so incredibly
successful that most everyone in the world would come to understand just who
“The Dark Knight” was—but let’s not get ahead of ourselves here!)

Nolan was able to retain most all of the creative team that had worked with him
on Batman Begins. That team included producer (and wife!) Emma Thomas,
production designer Nathan Crowley, special effects supervisor Chris Corbould,
costume designer Lindy Hemming, and cinematographer Wally Pfister. All of
these talented individuals had come together to shape Batman Begins into a truly
great film, so they were confident that they could do the exact same thing for
The Dark Knight.

Nolan was also able to retain many of Batman Begins’ principal actors for The
Dark Knight. In the film, Christian Bale would play Batman/Bruce Wayne,
Michael Caine would play Alfred, Gary Oldman would play Jim Gordon,
Morgan Freeman would play Lucius Fox, and Cillian Murphy would make a
cameo appearance as the Scarecrow. However, one major cast member decided
not to make a return appearance in The Dark Knight—Katie Holmes bowed out
of the project, so the part of Rachel Dawes was given to Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Knight (2008).

Nolan’s choices to play the film’s main villains were every bit as inspired as his
casting of Batman Begins had been. In August 2006, Warner Bros. announced
that Heath Ledger had been picked to play the role of the Joker. Ledger was a
26-year-old Australian actor who was an extremely hot property mainly due his
memorable performance as Ennis Del Mar in the 2005 drama Brokeback
Mountain. Ledger’s turn as Del Mar, a Wyoming ranch hand who enters into a
deep yet troubled homosexual relationship with another ranch hand, was a major
component of the film’s resounding critical and commercial success. In fact,
Ledger’s performance in Brokeback Mountain was so well-received that it
earned him an Academy Award nomination for best actor. Brokeback Mountain
certainly proved that Ledger was an actor of great depth and emotional power—
so Nolan’s decision to cast him as the Joker in The Dark Knight seemed like one
that crackled with dramatic possibility.

Nolan chose Aaron Eckhart to play the role of Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Like
Ledger, Eckhart was a very charismatic and talented actor whose career had
been on a steep upward trajectory. Eckhart had won critical praise for his roles in
high-profile films such as Erin Brockovich (2000) and Thank You for Smoking
(2005).

As Nolan and Goyer had drastically changed the Scarecrow and Ra’s Al Ghul
from their classic comic incarnations for Batman Begins, the Nolan brothers and
Goyer drastically changed the Joker and Two-Face from their classic comic
incarnations for The Dark Knight. In terms of the characters’ appearance, they
looked generally similar their classic comic book counterparts—but their origins
and actions definitely deviated from the comic book Joker and Two-Face quite a
bit. (We’ll discuss these changes in more detail later in the chapter.)

Nolan made the decision to outfit Batman with a new costume in The Dark
Knight. The Batman Begins Batsuit had looked great on film, but it ended up
being so cumbersome that it had greatly compromised Bale’s mobility. So Nolan
had costume designer Lindy Hemming create a new Batsuit for The Dark
Knight, one that would allow Bale much more freedom of movement. This new
Batsuit was comprised of far more separate pieces of body armor than the
Batman Begins Batsuit—there were over 100 pieces that fitted together to make
up the costume.2

One of the main differences between the Batman Begins Batsuit and the Dark
Knight Batsuit was that the Dark Knight Batsuit had a cowl allowed Bale to
actually turn his head—none of the previous Warner film Batsuits had allowed
its wearers to perform that simple movement. One part of the Dark Knight
Batsuit that was unchanged from the Batman Begins Batsuit was the costume’s
cape—Nolan and Hemming felt that they had gotten the cape just right the first
time around, so it was not changed in any way. Incidentally, the changes that
3

were made to the Batsuit for The Dark Knight turned out to be more than just a
design element of the film—they were actually written into the film’s plot.

In The Dark Knight, Hemming had another character to costume whose visual
appearance was every bit as iconic as Batman himself—of course, that character
was the Joker. For the Joker’s main costume, Hemming stuck very close to the
character’s time-honored comic look—he was outfitted in a suit with a long
purple coat, purple pants and a green vest.

The most surprising aspect of the Joker’s appearance in The Dark Knight was
not his clothes, but his makeup. The traditional version of the character usually
had an evenly chalky white face, a broad red-lipped smile, and neatly slicked-
back green hair. The Dark Knight Joker sported unevenly applied white facial
makeup that was referred to as “war paint” in the film, heavy smears of blood
red lipstick on his lips, and hideous scars at the corners of his mouth that gave
the impression of a smile cut into his face. His hair was a dirty, disheveled mane
streaked with green dye. The Dark Knight Joker’s face gave the impression that
the character was decomposing before your very eyes, and seemed to be a direct
window into a corrosive soul.

The scars at the corners of Ledger’s mouth were accomplished through the use
of subtle silicone prosthetics. Ledger’s prosthetics were far less elaborate than
the ones Jack Nicholson had to wear when he played the Joker in the 1989 film
Batman—consequently, Ledger’s Joker ended up being a much more visually
realistic version of character than Nicholson’s Joker had been.

The first photos of Ledger as the Joker that were released to the public made it
very clear that his version of the character in The Dark Knight was going to be
completely different from any previous version of the Joker. This definitely
came as a surprise to most everyone, both serious Batman fans and casual
Batman fans alike—after all, the character had remained almost totally
unchanged for almost seven decades. From his debut in Batman #1, Spring 1940,
to Cesar Romero’s Joker in the 1960s Batman film and TV show, to Nicholson’s
Joker, the character’s appearance and demeanor had basically remained a
constant. Of course, the Joker had stopped killing his victims during the 1950s
and 1960s thanks to Comics Code Authority regulations—but hey, all of
Batman’s villains had to do that! At any rate, everyone’s long-held perceptions
of the Joker were about to change thanks to Nolan and Ledger’s interpretation of
the character.

Aaron Eckhart’s Two-Face was less of a departure from the traditional comic
book version of the character than was Ledger’s Joker—his grotesque
appearance reflected the character’s comic book look that dated back to the early
1940s. Of course, given the fact that The Dark Knight was going to be much
more adult and realistic in nature than many other Batman works, the film’s
Two-Face looked even more grisly than many previous versions of the character,
especially Tommy Lee Jones’ Two-Face in Batman Forever (1995). The
appearance of the Dark Knight Two-Face was accomplished not so much with
makeup and prosthetics as it was through digital effects—Eckhart performed his
Two-Face scenes wearing a skull cap and partial prosthetics, and the scarred side
of his face was digitally added in after filming.
4
Incidentally, while Ledger’s Joker would end up being a large part of the film
advertising strategy, Eckhart’s Two-Face would not be revealed to the public
until the actual release of the film. All of the movie’s publicity material would
only show Eckhart as the unscarred Dent, allowing Dent’s eventual
transformation into Two-Face to have even more impact on its audiences.

In addition to the Tumbler version of the Batmobile, Nolan would dream up

another unusual vehicle for Batman to use in The Dark Knight. The film’s script
called for the Batmobile to have a kind of “escape pod” that could detach from
the car if it ended up being catastrophically damaged—that “escape pod” was a
two-wheeled, motorcycle-like vehicle that was formed out of the detachable
front tires and suspension of the car. This vehicle became known as the “Bat-
Pod.”

Much like he did with the Batmobile, Nolan had come up with something
startlingly original when he conceived of the Bat-Pod. Though it looked much
like a motorcycle, its design was completely unlike any motorcycle ever built.
The Bat-Pod was well over ten feet long, it sat atop two huge tires, and it had no
handlebars—it was driven by stunt rider Jean-Pierre Goy, who had to operate it
from an almost horizontal, face-down position. Some of The Dark Knight’s
5

most exciting action scenes would prominently feature this innovative new
vehicle.

The biggest innovation found in The Dark Knight was one that wasn’t just a first
in the history of Batman films, it was one that was a first in the history of all
film. As we noted last chapter, Nolan decided to actually film a sizeable portion
of the movie with IMAX cameras. The Dark Knight was the first non-
documentary feature film ever made to include scenes that were shot using
IMAX technology. Filming in IMAX certainly posed a number of technical
problems for Nolan and his cinematographer Wally Pfister, because the huge
IMAX cameras were so much heavier and more unwieldy than standard 35mm
film cameras. Also, their depth of focus was much different from a standard
35mm film camera’s depth of focus, so setting up shots with them required extra
care and calculation.

All of this extra work was definitely worth it. Nolan’s decision to shoot some of
The Dark Knight in IMAX would make the movie a viewing experience that was
unlike any other in the history of filmed entertainment. The movie’s IMAX
sequences ended up being more expansive and detailed than any images ever
created for a non-documentary feature film.

The first scenes to be filmed for The Dark Knight were ones that were shot in
IMAX—in December 2006, the bank robbery sequence featuring the Joker was
filmed at the Old Post Office on Congress Parkway in Chicago, Illinois. This
sequence would end up opening the film, and it would also end up being one of
the film’s major promotional tools—dubbed “The Dark Knight IMAX
Prologue,” Warner Bros. released the sequence with selected IMAX screenings
of the film I Am Legend in December 2007. And as noted in the previous
chapter, “The Dark Knight IMAX Prologue” was also included as a special
feature on the Batman Begins Blu-ray which was released in July 2008, the same
month as the theatrical premiere of The Dark Knight. These advance releases of
“The Dark Knight IMAX Prologue” allowed the public to see firsthand the
extraordinary level of visual quality that high-resolution IMAX film was going
to bring to The Dark Knight.

After the filming of the bank robbery sequence was completed, the film’s cast
and crew returned to Cardington Sheds, the former airship hangar located near
London, England, where much of Batman Begins had been filmed. The
Cardington shoot for The Dark Knight commenced in January 2007, using a
number of new sets that had been constructed for the film there. Among these
sets were the “Bat-Bunker,” Batman’s temporary headquarters that he had to use
while Wayne Manor was being rebuilt. (Remember, in Batman Begins Ra’s Al
Ghul had burned the Manor to the ground when he tried to destroy Gotham.)
Also, an interior set of a skyscraper under construction was built—the film’s
climax featuring the final showdown between Batman and the Joker would be
filmed on this set.
6

Nolan had been so pleased with the Chicago location shooting he had done for
Batman Begins that he decided to use the city to even greater effect in The Dark
Knight. So once the Cardington shoot was finished, the film’s cast and crew
returned to United States for an extended shoot in Chicago—over three months.
From early June to early September 2007, “The Windy City” became “Gotham
City”—Nolan and company filmed in a myriad of locations throughout Chicago,
capturing many incredible scenes for their film.

The work that went into filming these scenes was often every bit as adventurous
as the action in the scenes themselves. Christian Bale stood atop the 110-story
Sears Tower in full costume to capture an unforgettable image of Batman
watching over Gotham. On LaSalle Street right in the heart of the city, one of the
film’s most breathtaking stunts was performed—special effects supervisor Chris
Corbould devised a way to flip the Joker’s large circus truck end-over-end and
have it land upside-down! This was accomplished by rigging a large pole to fire
out from the bottom of the truck’s cab, forcing the entire truck high into the air.
7

As incredible as the film’s truck stunt was, Nolan had another stunt lined up for
the film that was even more epic. An abandoned building that had once been
used by Brach’s candy company was outfitted with signage to turn it into
Gotham General Hospital—and then the building was completely blown up with
powerful explosives. Like the bank robbery sequence featuring the Joker, all of
these eye-popping action sequences were filmed with IMAX cameras. (We’ll do
a rundown of just which of the movie’s scenes were filmed in IMAX later in the
chapter.)

One of The Dark Knight’s most memorable action sequences was enhanced with
scenes filmed on a miniature set. The Batmobile’s pursuit of an armored police
truck being attacked by the Joker was partially realized through the use of
incredibly detailed miniature vehicles, including an over five-foot-long
Batmobile model. 8

The Dark Knight could certainly qualify as one of the largest film projects ever
undertaken—it had a budget of over $180 million, and it was using complex
IMAX technology in a way that it had never been used before. But in spite of
9

the film’s almost overwhelming size and scope, its cast and crew still enjoyed a
confident, relaxed working relationship with one another. Unfortunately, the
production’s remarkably positive atmosphere would end up being darkened by
several shocking tragedies.

The first of these occurred at a racetrack near Chertsey, England, on September

24, 2007. Corbould and his special effects crew were at the racetrack to do test
runs for one of the film’s stunts involving a police car. Cinematographer
Conway Wickliffe was operating a camera from the back seat of a vehicle
following the police car. That vehicle crashed into a tree during one of the test
runs, and Wickliffe was killed in the collision.
10

The film’s cast and crew were very shaken by Wickliffe’s death, but they
quickly had to get back to work in order to wrap up the production. In early
November 2007, Nolan and company traveled to Hong Kong for a week of
location shooting. Nolan had decided that he wanted to take Batman outside the
realm of Gotham City in The Dark Knight, and this decision turned out to be a
wise one—the movie’s scenes showing Batman high atop the skyscrapers in
Hong Kong ended up providing the production with some of its most iconic
Batman images.

By December 2007, principal photography for The Dark Knight had been
completed and Nolan was overseeing the film’s postproduction in Los Angeles.
Like Batman Begins, The Dark Knight would end up featuring many scenes that
were created using computer-generated images. These images included Batman
using his cape to glide between Hong Kong skyscrapers, and the Bat-Pod
detaching from the catastrophically damaged Batmobile. And as we noted
11

earlier in the chapter, Two-Face’s grotesque appearance was also accomplished

through digital effects.

Another shocking tragedy connected to The Dark Knight occurred on January

22, 2008, and this one was so sensational and unexpected that it ended up
affecting the entire world’s perception of the film. Heath Ledger was found dead
of a drug overdose in his New York City apartment—it was eventually
discovered that the 28-year-old actor had accidentally ingested a lethal
combination of prescription medications. Not surprisingly, Ledger’s tragic
12

death instantly became a huge news story—after all, he had come to be

recognized as one of the movie industry’s most charismatic and promising acting
talents. Plus, the fact that he had just completed filming his intense, disturbing
portrayal of the Joker in The Dark Knight made his untimely passing all the
more morbidly fascinating to the public.

Obviously, Warner Bros. was put in a very difficult position in terms of

aggressively promoting The Dark Knight after Ledger’s death. The theatrical
previews of the film had been so spectacularly-received by the public that there
was never really any doubt the film was going to be hugely popular once it was
released—and the unavoidable truth was that Ledger’s passing would definitely
make the film even more buzzworthy. But the studio certainly did not want to
appear as if they were callously trying to use Ledger’s death to build up even
more anticipation for The Dark Knight. So Warner wisely elected to fashion a
promotional campaign for the movie that was a little less Joker-centric, and
continue planning for the movie’s release in July.

And the studio had already created quite a bit of very innovative promotion for
the film. For example, in 2007 Warner and DC Comics had launched a direct-to-
video animated film series known as DC Universe Animated Original Movies,
and their first Batman film in that series was designed to be a tie-in to the release
of The Dark Knight. Batman: Gotham Knight was released to the home video
market on Blu-ray and DVD on July 8, 2008, less than two weeks before The
Dark Knight’s U.S. premiere.

The premise of Batman: Gotham Knight was very intriguing. Warner and DC
described it as a collection of “six spellbinding chapters chronicling Batman’s
transition from novice crimefighter to The Dark Knight.” Each chapter was a
stand-alone story created by different screenwriters and animators, so they each
basically presented their own unique vision of Batman. But these chapters did
have several unifying factors. First, all of the chapters were based on stories
originally written by Jordan Goldberg. And all of the chapters featured the same
actor voicing the part of Batman/Bruce Wayne—the role was well-played by
Kevin Conroy, who of course had previously voiced the character in Batman:
The Animated Series and several other animated works. Finally, since Batman:
Gotham Knight was designed to be a tie-in to The Dark Knight, all of the
chapters were obviously inspired by Nolan’s cinematic vision of Batman.

This is not to say that Batman: Gotham Knight was totally in synch with Nolan’s
Batman universe. In fact, the subject matter of most of the film’s chapters had
only passing connections to Nolan’s Batman movies. And since the visual style
of the film varied wildly from chapter to chapter, the film often did not look
much like Nolan’s Batman movies either. Truth be told, the most memorable
elements of Batman: Gotham Knight really had almost nothing to do with
Nolan’s work—the film’s powerful storytelling and incredible visuals made it a
very satisfying Batman screen production in its own right.

Several of Batman: Gotham Knight’s individual chapters were noteworthy

enough to warrant specific mention here. In Darkness Dwells was written by
David S. Goyer, who of course co-wrote both Batman Begins and The Dark
Knight with Nolan. In the chapter, Batman ventures down into the Gotham City
sewers to rescue a priest kidnapped by Killer Croc and the Scarecrow—while in
the sewers, the crimefighter engages the villains in fierce combat and saves the
priest. Deadshot was written by Alan Burnett, who wrote some of the most
memorable episodes of Batman: The Animated Series. In the chapter, Batman is
targeted by an incredibly skilled assassin known as Deadshot—the crimefighter
brings the assassin to justice by besting him in combat atop a fast-moving train.
In Darkness Dwells and Deadshot were so brilliantly written and animated that
they will probably always be remembered as two of the finest Batman animated
works ever created.

The Blu-ray and 2-disc DVD set of Batman: Gotham Knight included some
interesting bonus material along with the film—strangely, perhaps the most
memorable item found in this material had nothing to do with either the film
itself or The Dark Knight! The 2008 documentary Batman and Me: A Devotion
to Destiny examined the life of Batman’s creator Bob Kane. The production was
based on Kane’s autobiography Batman and Me that was first published in 1989.
What really made the documentary so fascinating was that it did not shy away
from addressing the fact that Kane was a highly unusual, self-centered man who
likely stretched the truth on many occasions in order to make his achievements
seem even more grand than they actually were.

Of course, Warner Bros. had planned on using the Internet to promote The Dark
Knight in a number of different ways. The Dark Knight’s official website was
launched by Warner Bros. about a year before the movie’s actual premiere date.
In the months leading up to the film’s release, the site featured a wealth of The
Dark Knight information—visitors could look at production photos, watch
videos of the film’s theatrical previews, and read biographies of the film’s cast
and crew. Incidentally, Warner has continued to maintain and update the site
right up to the present day, so it still functions as a marvelous resource designed
to enhance one’s appreciation of the film.

The Dark Knight’s official website was only one part of Warner’s strategy to
market the film via the Internet. Warner also developed a number of ingenious
fictional websites based on The Dark Knight—these websites were designed to
introduce their visitors to the movie’s vision of Gotham City. For example, the
“I Believe in Harvey Dent” website supported Dent’s political campaign, and the
“Gotham Cable News” website offered a wide variety of news stories about the
city.

The highlight of the “Gotham Cable News” material was Gotham Tonight, a
series of six short video programs first broadcast on the Internet in June and July
of 2008. The series was hosted by Gotham Cable News anchors Mike Engel and
Lydia Filangeri—of course, Engel and Filangeri were not real news anchors,
they were characters played by Anthony Michael Hall and Lauren Sanchez,
respectively. (Incidentally, Hall’s character would be featured in a number of
scenes in The Dark Knight itself.) Gotham Tonight caught viewers up on what
had been happening in Gotham during the roughly year-long period between
Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

Viewing Gotham Tonight was not an absolute requirement to fully appreciate the
intricacies of The Dark Knight. That said, however, the series greatly enhanced
one’s appreciation for the film because they presented so much information
relating to the film’s complex plot. And this information was not simply created
from footage pulled from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight—rather, Gotham
Tonight contained newly-filmed scenes featuring some of The Dark Knight’s
integral characters. The actors who appeared in the series included Gary Oldman
(as Jim Gordon), Aaron Eckhart (as Harvey Dent), Eric Roberts (as Sal Maroni)
and Colin McFarlane (as Gotham City Police Commissioner Loeb). So in effect,
Gotham Tonight played like a stand-alone Batman mini-movie that could well
have been entitled The Dark Knight Begins!

And Gotham Tonight perfectly dovetailed into the film itself. The sixth and final
episode of the program featured Engel interviewing Harvey Dent, but that
interview had to be cut off so that Engel could allow Filangeri to report on a
breaking news story. Filangeri then reported that a daring bank robbery had just
taken place in Gotham—of course, the robbery Filangeri was speaking of was
the Joker’s bank heist that opened The Dark Knight!

Warner Bros. was also able to promote the film through two documentary
programs produced for the cable television network The History Channel.
Batman Tech and Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of The Dark Knight both
were originally broadcast on the network in July 2008, right around the time of
The Dark Knight’s U.S. premiere date. Batman Tech explored forms of modern
technology that might allow some of Batman’s crimefighting equipment to exist
in real life. Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of The Dark Knight examined
how the real-life discipline of psychology might be used to interpret the
thoughts, actions, and motivations of Batman character. Both programs featured
a wealth of footage drawn from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, as well as
commentary from some of the individuals who played a major role in the
creation of the films, including Nolan and Bale.

Let’s get back to discussing The Dark Knight itself. Hans Zimmer and James
Newton Howard’s musical score for Batman Begins had turned out to be so
effective that Nolan brought the composers back to create the soundtrack for The
Dark Knight. Like their Batman Begins music, the music they wrote for The
Dark Knight was very ambient in nature, often consisting of hypnotic percussion
patterns and long-held musical tones. But unlike their Batman Begins music, the
composers chose to give their compositions for The Dark Knight titles that were
related to scenes in the film, titles such as “I Am the Batman” and “Harvey Two-
Face.” (As we discussed last chapter, all of Zimmer and Howard’s Batman
Begins compositions were named with Latin words describing various species of
bats.)

The world premiere of The Dark Knight was held in the IMAX theatre at AMC
Loews Lincoln Square in New York City on July 14, 2008. Much of the film’s
principal onscreen and offscreen talent attended the event, including Bale, Caine,
Eckhart, Oldman, Gyllenhaal and Nolan. The film’s Bat-Pod was also in
attendance—it was parked out front of the theatre for everyone to see as they
made their way inside. Several days later, on July 18, The Dark Knight opened
in theatres throughout the United States.

The Dark Knight opens with an image of a bat silhouette coming through a wall
of blue flame and smoke. We are then taken to the streets of Gotham in the
daylight hours, where a bank robbery is being staged by a gang of criminals in
rubber clown masks. Several of the criminals talk about their unknown leader
who has orchestrated the heist—he calls himself “the Joker.” The Joker’s target
is a bank that the Gotham mob has been funneling their money through. The
robbery goes off like clockwork—the Joker has ruthlessly set up the heist so that
his henchmen will be killing each other off one by one just as they each perform
their appointed tasks.

In the end, it turns out that the Joker himself was one of the clown-masked
criminals, and he is the last one left alive. He reveals his face to one of the mob
bank employees just before he escapes. His stringy hair is colored green, his face
is covered with white makeup, his eyes are ringed with black makeup, and his
lips are painted with bright red lipstick—he looks like some sort of ghoulish
clown. His appearance is made even more frightening by the hideous long scars
at the corners of his mouth that seem to force his face into a grotesque parody of
a smile. The Joker escapes the bank in a school bus he has loaded with the mob’s
money.

That night, Gotham Police Sergeant Jim Gordon shines his spotlight with a bat
silhouette on it into the sky above the city. Gordon is now the head of his own
unit known as the Major Crimes Unit. But Batman doesn’t come to meet with
Gordon—Gordon hopes this is because Batman is “busy.” It has been a year
since Batman has appeared in Gotham, and he has already helped to dramatically
lower the city’s crime rate.

It turns out that the crimefighter is indeed busy—in a nearby parking garage, a
mob boss known as the Chechen is meeting with Dr. Jonathan Crane, who is
wearing his scarecrow mask. The Chechen is angry because Crane sold him
illegal drugs laced with Crane’s fear-inducing hallucinogen. The conversation is
interrupted when Batman confronts them. Or rather, Batmen confront them—it is
not actually Batman, but a group of gun-wielding Batman copycats dressed in
capes and cowls.

The real Batman arrives on the scene, driving his tank-like armored automobile
known as the Tumbler through one of the garage’s walls. As the Tumbler fires
missiles meant to intimidate everyone, Batman jumps into the battle between the
criminals and the copycats, subduing all of the combatants. Crane tries to escape
the scene in a van, and Batman leaps off of one of the garage’s ramps and lands
on the van’s roof, crushing it.

Later, Gordon arrives at the mob bank that the Joker robbed. Batman is there as
well, and the two men discuss the fact that much of the cash that was in the bank
was currency that they had been tracking—it had been used in illegal drug buys.
So they know for certain that they have found one of the banks where the mob’s
dirty cash is being held. They have tracked these bills to four other Gotham
banks as well, so they actually know where most all of this cash is being held.
They agree that it is time to move on the mob and seize all of this money.

Gordon wonders if they need to step up their efforts to find the Joker—the
criminal has hit a few other mob banks before this current heist. Batman tells
him going after the mob is top priority, and the Joker can wait. Gordon tells
Batman that Gotham’s new District Attorney Harvey Dent is going to want to
join this fight against the mob—Batman wonders whether or not Dent can be
trusted.

The next morning, Bruce is at his underground bunker that serves as a makeshift
Batman headquarters while Wayne Manor is being rebuilt. (Remember, Ra’s Al
Ghul burned the Manor to the ground when he tried to destroy Gotham.) He
talks to Alfred about taking Dent into his confidence—Alfred wonders if
Bruce’s interest in Dent stems from the fact that the D.A. is dating Gotham’s
Assistant District Attorney Rachel Dawes, the woman that Bruce would have
ended up with if not for his double life as Batman. Alfred also worries that Bruce
is pushing himself too hard as Batman, and that he should know his limits.

Later that day, Dent and Rachel are in court to try to secure a conviction for Sal
Maroni, the mob boss who took over Carmine Falcone’s operations. (Remember,
Falcone was driven insane when Crane gave him an overdose of his fear-
inducing hallucinogen.) Their case against Maroni falls apart when their star
witness changes his testimony—in fact, the witness even tries to shoot Dent with
a smuggled-in gun while on the stand. That same day, Dent meets with Gordon
—Dent doesn’t like the fact that Gordon has been put in charge of his own unit,
and that this unit contains some cops that Dent had investigated for corruption.
Still, Dent tells Gordon that he will give him the warrants he needs to raid the
mob bank. Dent also says that he wants to meet Gordon’s shadowy ally the
Batman.

That same day, a businessman named Lau tries to sell Wayne Enterprises on
going into a joint venture with his company Lau Security Investments. After
meeting with Lau, Bruce reveals to his right-hand man at Wayne Enterprises
Lucius Fox that he did not really want to go into business with Lau. Bruce just
wanted a closer look at Lau’s books because he had figured out that Lau was the
mob’s main money launderer. Bruce also tells Fox that he needs to make some
modifications to his Batsuit, and Fox says he will oblige. (Remember, Fox was
the one who first outfitted Bruce with crimefighting gear from technology
stockpiled at Wayne Enterprises.)

That night, Dent and Rachel are dining at a fancy restaurant, and Bruce is there
as well. They talk, and Bruce is so impressed with Dent that he tells the D.A.
that he will throw him a fundraiser. A different kind of gathering is happening in
Gotham at about the same time—the leaders of the mob, including the Chechen,
Maroni, and another boss named Gambol, are meeting to discuss their cash
storage problem. Lau meets with them via a video hookup, and tells them that he
has moved their money and fled for Hong Kong before Gordon could carry out
his raid.

The Joker crashes the mob’s meeting. He kills a mob henchman by performing a
“magic trick”—that is, smashing a pencil through the henchman’s skull. The
Joker says he will take care of the mob’s real problem, the Batman, by killing
him. The Joker goes on to say that will perform this service for a steep price—
half the mob’s take. Enraged by this brazen offer, Gambol puts a bounty on the
Joker’s life.

Later, Dent, Gordon and Batman meet on the roof next to Gordon’s spotlight
with a bat silhouette on it. In order to bring down the mob, Batman says that he
will go to Hong Kong to apprehend Lau. The crimefighter will have a new
costume and new equipment for this challenge—Fox has made all of the Batsuit
modifications that Bruce asked of him. This new Batsuit sports lighter armor,
and a cowl that allows Bruce to turn his head much easier.

Meanwhile, a group of thugs report to Gambol, saying they have killed the
Joker. These thugs have the Joker’s body in a bag to prove this to the crime boss.
But the thugs actually work for the Joker, who is very much alive—he jumps up,
grabs Gambol, and holds him at knifepoint. The Joker tells Gambol that the scars
on his face were inflicted on him by his father, who assaulted him on a drunken
rampage while saying “why so serious?” After telling this chilling tale, the Joker
kills Gambol.

Bruce and Fox travel to Hong Kong—Fox meets with Lau, and tells him that his
deal with Wayne Enterprises is dead. But Lau’s problems are just beginning—
Batman swoops from out of the sky into Lau’s office building, apprehends the
crooked businessman, and uses a ground-to-plane cable system known as
“skyhook” to pull them both into a huge cargo aircraft. Back in Gotham, Rachel
interrogates the imprisoned Lau, who agrees to testify against the mob if he is
granted immunity and a plane back to Hong Kong. Maroni and the Chechen now
know that the Joker was right, Batman is their real problem—the Chechen says
that the only way to fix this problem is to “hire the clown.” After the Chechen
makes this assessment, Gordon arrests him, Maroni, and all of their underlings.

Gordon, Dent and Gotham Police Commissioner Loeb meet with Gotham City
Mayor Anthony Garcia to discuss all of these arrests. Their discussion is
interrupted by a corpse dressed as Batman, its face smeared with Joker makeup,
hitting the outside of the Mayor’s window. It is not the real Batman, but one of
the Batman copycats, that the Joker has killed. The Joker has killed this copycat
to send a message to Batman—the madman says that until Batman reveals his
true identity, he will keep killing people.

Bruce makes good on his promise to throw a fundraiser for Dent—at the event,
he says that he believes in Dent, and that the D.A. has the power to bring
Gotham’s crime problem under control. Meanwhile a Major Crimes Unit officer
named Ramirez tells Gordon that there is DNA from three people on the Joker
card that had been pinned to the dead copycat’s body. The DNA is from Dent,
Loeb, and Judge Surrillo, the judge who is hearing the cases against the mob.
Gordon thinks the DNA is meant to be a tip-off as to who the Joker will target
next, so he orders protection for all three people. Gordon is too late to save two
of them—Loeb dies from drinking poisoned whiskey, and Surrillo is killed by a
car bomb.

And the third is in grave danger—the Joker crashes Bruce’s fundraiser, hoping
to kill Dent there. Bruce gets to Dent before the Joker can—he puts the D.A. in a
sleeper hold, knocks him out, and hides him. The Joker then grabs Rachel,
telling her a story about how he got his scars that is completely different from
the story he told Gambol. Bruce quickly spirits away to change into his Batman
costume, and then bursts back on the scene to confront the Joker. Batman saves
Rachel by engaging the Joker and his men in hand-to-hand combat, but the
confrontation ends when the Joker throws Rachel out of a window, which is
many stories above the ground. Batman dives after her, and using his glider-like
cape, he is able to stop her from falling to her death.

The next day, Dent goes to the Major Crimes Unit to bring Lau to trial. But Lau
now refuses to cooperate given the fact that Gotham can’t even seem to protect
its own police officers and judges. Meanwhile, Bruce and Alfred discuss the
Joker’s motives in their makeshift Batman headquarters. Alfred tells Bruce that
the Joker is a man that can’t be reasoned with—some men “just want to watch
the world burn.” Later, Gordon gets a phone message from the Joker about
where to find Harvey Dent. Batman and Gordon rush to the site of the Joker’s
tip, but it is not really Dent they find there—it is two other men that the Joker
has murdered, one with the last name of Harvey and one with the last name of
Dent. They also find a paper that announces the Joker’s next target—Mayor
Garcia.

The next day, Fox meets with a Wayne Enterprises employee named Coleman
Reese. In examining the company’s records, Reese has figured out that Bruce is
Batman. Reese tells Fox that he wants Wayne to pay him a huge amount of
money to keep quiet about his double life. Reese gives up on his bribery scheme
when Fox gently reminds him that Bruce is not someone to be trifled with—after
all he is bringing down the city’s most dangerous men with his bare hands.
Bruce and Fox are able to use advanced computer technology to get a fingerprint
off of a bullet fired at the scene of Joker’s recent double murder. Bruce traces the
fingerprint to someone who owns an apartment overlooking the route that
Commissioner Loeb’s funeral procession will take that day. In that apartment,
Bruce finds members of the Gotham Police’s Honor Guard, bound and
blindfolded—the Joker and his men have taken the Guard’s place in the funeral
procession. Dressed as a Guard member, the Joker tries to shoot Mayor Garcia.
Gordon jumps in to shield the Mayor, and he is struck and killed by the Joker’s
bullets.

Dent tries to interrogate one of the Joker’s men that has been captured, with no
success. Dent then spirits the man away to an undisclosed location to interrogate
him quite a bit more roughly. At the same time, Batman performs some rough
interrogation of his own—he tries to get Maroni to tell him where the Joker is by
throwing him off of a fire escape and breaking his legs. Maroni says that the
only way Batman is going to find the Joker is by taking off his mask and letting
the madman come to him.

A gun-wielding Dent threatens to kill the Joker’s henchman if he will not reveal
where the Joker is. Dent flips a coin, saying that if it comes up heads he will not
shoot, but if it comes up tails, he will shoot. As the coin comes up heads, Batman
arrives on the scene and stops this interrogation. Batman tells Dent that the D.A.
is Gotham’s hope now—the Joker’s reign of terror has convinced him that it is
time to hang up his cape and cowl and leave the city in Dent’s care.

Bruce tells Rachel of his plans to quit being Batman—since Rachel had told
Bruce she would be there for him when he gave up his double life, she now will
have to choose between her old love (Bruce) and her new love (Dent.) Bruce and
Alfred shut down their makeshift Batman headquarters and prepare to reveal
their secret to the world. The next day, Dent holds a press conference to reveal
Batman’s decision to turn himself in to the authorities. Dent defends Batman,
while everyone else at the conference thinks that Batman should turn himself in
to appease the Joker. Dent then turns the tables on everyone, including Bruce—
Dent says that he is Batman, and the police take him into custody. Rachel, angry
that Bruce did not turn himself in like he said he would, gives Alfred a letter for
Bruce before going to see Dent in jail.

Dent is going to be transferred to jail via an armored police truck. When Rachel
asks Dent why he falsely confessed to being Batman, he says that now Batman
will be able to bring the Joker down as the Joker tries to bring him down. Rachel
tries to talk Dent out of this plan—he pulls a coin out of his pocket and says,
“Heads I go through with it.” He then flips the coin to Rachel, and she sees that
it is a two-headed coin—obviously this is the coin he used while interrogating
the Joker’s henchman.

On the streets of Gotham, the police convoy that is escorting Dent’s armored
truck encounters a fire truck engulfed in flames, forcing them to turn onto an
underground road. On that road, the convoy is ambushed by the Joker and his
men. The Joker is in the semi-trailer of a large circus truck that has the words
“Laughter is the best medicine” painted on it—an “S” has been sloppily painted
in front of the word “Laughter” so that the truck actually reads “Slaughter is the
best medicine.” Just as the Joker is about to shoot Dent’s armored truck with a
bazooka, Batman races up next to the truck in the Tumbler and blocks the
Joker’s shot. The Tumbler absorbs the full blast of the bazooka, destroying the
car. Batman is able to escape from the vehicle when its two front wheels
disengage to form a motorcycle-like vehicle.

The Joker keeps chasing Dent’s armored truck in his circus truck—Batman uses
cables fired from his motorcycle to bring the circus truck to a halt, flipping it
completely over. The Joker gets out of the truck unharmed, and Batman charges
him on his motorcycle—the crimefighter does not hit him, but goes into a skid
and wrecks. The Joker goes to Batman lying on the pavement, and just at that
moment, Gordon comes out of the armored truck and holds a gun on the
madman.

The Joker is taken to a cell at the Major Crimes Unit, where Gordon tells Mayor
Garcia that he faked his death because he didn’t want to risk his family’s safety.
The Mayor appoints Gordon the new Gotham Police Commissioner in front of
everyone, including the Joker. Gordon goes home, but goes right back to the
M.C.U. when Dent turns up missing. Gordon unsuccessfully tries to interrogate
the Joker—Batman has been hiding in the interrogation room, so he tries to find
out what happened to Dent. The Joker tells Batman that he kidnapped Dent and
Rachel and hid them in separate locations. The madman tells Batman where they
are located—Batman goes to rescue Rachel, and Gordon goes to rescue Dent.

Dent is bound in a warehouse wired with explosives, and Rachel is bound in a

different warehouse wired with explosives. Batman makes it to his warehouse,
but it turns out the Joker lied about which person was held at which warehouse
—so Batman saves Dent, not Rachel. Gordon does not make it to his warehouse
in time—it explodes, killing Rachel. Batman’s warehouse explodes as he is
rescuing Dent, and the flames horribly burn the D.A. on one side of his face.

At the same time, the Joker escapes from the M.C.U. by detonating explosives
rigged in the stomach of one of his henchmen. The madman is able to take Lau
with him as he escapes. As Batman surveys the damage caused by the explosion
that killed Rachel, he finds Dent’s lucky two-headed coin. He leaves the coin for
Dent as he lays unconscious in the hospital. Later, Bruce and Alfred discuss
Rachel’s death, and Alfred hides the letter that Rachel had left for Bruce—in it,
she had told Bruce that she was going to marry Dent, not him.

Gordon goes to see Dent in the hospital, who is now awake. Dent makes Gordon
say the nickname that M.C.U. officers had for Dent while he was investigating
them—Harvey Two-Face. Dent turns to reveal the half of his face that is burned
—he truly is Two-Face now. Gordon wants to know which of his officers took
Rachel to the Joker, but Dent won’t tell him. At the hospital, Maroni is there to
talk to Gordon. The mobster has decided that the Joker is so dangerous that it is
time to turn him over to the police in the hope that they can stop him. He tells
Gordon that he knows where the Joker will be that afternoon, because he is
supposed to meet with him. He gives Gordon this location, and Gordon starts to
organize a police detail to apprehend the Joker there.

It turns out that the Joker is in a warehouse loaded with the mob’s money. The
criminal has Lau sitting atop the huge pile of cash. The Chechen comes in—the
Joker kills him, takes over his men, and sets the pile of money ablaze. The Joker
then calls a TV talk show that Coleman Reese has decided to appear on in order
to reveal Batman’s real identity. The Joker puts a bounty on Reese’s life—he
says that if Reese is not dead within one hour, he will blow up one of Gotham’s
hospitals. The madman does not specify just which hospital he will target.

Gordon calls off his search for the Joker that was based on Maroni’s tip, and
sends all of his officers to the city’s hospitals. Gordon himself goes to find
Reese, who is already faced with scores of Gotham citizens trying to kill him.
Bruce also races to Reese to ensure that he is not harmed—he even crashes his
Lamborghini into a pickup truck that is trying to ram the police van Reese is
riding in.

Dressed as a nurse, the Joker visits Dent at Gotham General Hospital—the

madman convinces the D.A. to give up his war on crime, and to give into chaos.
Dent flips his now-scarred two-headed coin to decide whether or not to kill the
Joker—it lands good side up, so Dent lets the Joker live. As the Joker leaves the
hospital, he detonates the explosives he has hidden there, reducing it to rubble.
The Joker then delivers a new threat to Gotham via hijacked TV cameras. He
says that he is taking over the whole city, and anyone that doesn’t want to play
by his rules should flee.

Batman meets with Fox at Wayne Enterprises—the crimefighter has set up a spy
system that taps into all of the cell phones in Gotham that he will use to find the
Joker. Fox is troubled by the ethical ramifications of the system, but he will still
use it to help Batman save Gotham. At the same time, Dent goes on a rampage,
attacking everyone that set up Rachel and himself—he violently beats Ramirez
(the M.C.U. cop who took Rachel to the Joker), and kills Maroni and Wuertz
(the M.C.U. cop who took him to the Joker). Dent also sets a trap for Gordon
since Wuertz and Ramirez were his officers—the two-faced killer kidnaps
Gordon’s wife and children.

Large ferryboats are being used to transport Gotham’s citizens out of the city.
The Joker rigs two of these ferryboats with explosives. One of these boats is
carrying average people, and the other is carrying inmates from Gotham’s
prisons. The Joker has given a detonator to each boat, giving each boat the
chance to destroy the other boat. The Joker tells the boat passengers that the first
boat to destroy the other boat will be allowed to live. The “average people” boat
starts a paper vote to decide whether or not to blow the “inmate” boat up—the
final tally is in favor of blowing the “inmate” boat up, but no one will actually
use the detonator. In the “inmate” boat, a prisoner convinces the prison warden
to give him the detonator—but instead of using it, the prisoner surprisingly
throws it off the boat and into the water.

Meanwhile, Batman races to an under-construction high rise building where the

Joker is overseeing his ferryboat takeover. Batman fights his way up to the
Joker’s position, subduing henchmen and saving hostages along the way. The
crimefighter makes it to the Joker, but the madman overpowers him and prepares
to blow up the boats himself. Batman hits the Joker in the face with spikes from
his gauntlets and throws him off of the building. The Joker is saved from certain
death when Batman uses his grapple gun to catch the madman on his way down.
The Joker is captured, but he still takes delight in telling Batman what he did to
Dent.
Gordon has raced to the site of the explosion that killed Rachel because Dent is
holding his family there. Dent decides that the best way to take his revenge on
Gordon is to kill the cop’s young son. Before Dent can do this, Batman arrives
on the scene and knocks Harvey off of the charred building. Dent is dead, and
Gordon and Batman worry that their dreams of reforming Gotham have died
with the city’s once-heroic D.A. Batman convinces Gordon to accuse him of
killing all of Dent’s victims so that they can maintain Dent’s spotless reputation.
Gordon does this, and Gotham’s true hero, its “dark knight,” is made out to be
the city’s biggest villain in an attempt to give its citizens hope in the wake of
Dent’s demise.

The critical and commercial success of The Dark Knight was so overwhelming
that the film created a wave of Batmania that surpassed even the incredible
phenomena surrounding the 1960s screen Batman and Tim Burton’s 1989
Batman. It won almost universally rave reviews from major film critics all over
the world—and its box office numbers weren’t just tremendous, they were
downright historic. The Dark Knight earned over $150 million in its U.S.
opening weekend alone, and ended up grossing over $530 million during its U.S.
theatrical run. When the film finally finished its worldwide theatrical run, it had
reached a pinnacle that only a handful of films had ever been able to reach—its
worldwide total gross ended up topping just over a billion dollars! Before the
13

release of The Dark Knight, there might have been a fair number of people in the
world who did not know that “The Dark Knight” was a commonly-used name
for Batman—but the film most definitely made sure that practically every last
person on the planet knew exactly who “The Dark Knight” was!

I personally found it fascinating that the initial success of The Dark Knight led to
the general public occasionally perceiving “Batman” and “The Dark Knight” as
somewhat separate entities. The most striking example of this phenomenon I
ever encountered occurred in October 2008, when my family and I were
attending a Halloween event at the Columbus Zoo in our hometown of
Columbus, Ohio. I was intrigued to learn from Zoo publicity material that on the
day of our visit “Batman (From DC Comics)” would be appearing in live shows,
and “Batman, The Dark Knight” would be appearing in the Zoo’s character
parade!

These character appearances were officially licensed by Warner Bros. and DC

Comics—so I was a bit surprised that the companies were willing to market their
iconic character in a manner that basically split him into two separate personas.
But sure enough, that is just what they did—that day at the Columbus Zoo,
“Batman” and “The Dark Knight” were markedly different from one another.
The same actor played both characters, but “Batman” was dressed in a comic-
style costume that looked a lot like Alex Ross’s interpretation of Batman in the
1999 oversize graphic novel Batman: War on Crime, and “The Dark Knight”
was dressed in a costume that looked just like Christian Bale’s movie costume.

All of the people that I saw interacting with either “Batman” or “The Dark
Knight” on that day didn’t seem to care just which version of the character they
were getting—to them “Batman” was just, well, Batman, whether he looked to
be from a comic book page or a movie screen. And the general public has
seemed to hold onto that perspective in the years following the release of The
Dark Knight—some people might have been making a distinction between
“Batman” and “The Dark Knight” right after the movie came out, but that
distinction did not ever become a common way to view the character. Like the
words “autumn” and “fall,” “Batman” and “The Dark Knight” have remained
words that are just two different ways of saying the same thing.

Whether he was referred to as “Batman” or “The Dark Knight,” the character

brought in a lot of money from the sale of merchandise inspired by the film. The
wide variety of The Dark Knight action figures, statues, toys, books, clothing,
etc., available for purchase made the summer of 2008 a very enjoyable (and
expensive!) time for all Batman collectors.

Obviously, the breathtaking success of The Dark Knight was thrilling to most all
of us serious Batman fans. That said, however, I must say that I personally have
always had very conflicted feelings about the film. I was thrilled by its success,
and there was a lot about the film that I loved—but there were just as many
things about the film that left me deeply disappointed. Here’s the best analogy I
can come up with to explain how I feel about The Dark Knight. Many of us have
a close relative who is in possession of a number of really annoying traits—we
love that relative dearly, but often they just drive us out of our minds. The Dark
Knight is my own personal film version of that relative!

I realize that I will probably have a very hard time convincing many of you to
see The Dark Knight as a noticeably flawed work, which is obviously the way
that I see it. But before I start laying out my case against The Dark Knight, let
me assure you that I have not come to this conclusion about the film lightly. This
is a film about a character I have loved most all of my life, and it was so
staggeringly successful that it was seen by millions upon millions of people
around the world. It made over a billion dollars—a billion! It stands as such a
stunning achievement in the history of the Batman character that I wish I could
love it without any reservations at all. However, I personally cannot overlook the
film’s many flaws just because it was such an incredible success.

But before we get into examining these flaws, I’d like to go over the many things
that I love about The Dark Knight. The cinematic vision of Batman that
Christopher Nolan kicked off in Batman Begins is continued in grand fashion in
The Dark Knight. In the film, Nolan takes the character and his world every bit
as seriously as he did in his first Batman film. Because of this, so much of The
Dark Knight ends up being exactly what a great Batman story should be—it is
thrilling, thought-provoking, tragic, and ultimately uplifting.

Probably my very favorite part of the film is Christian Bale’s portrayal of

Batman/Bruce Wayne. As I said last chapter, I felt that Bale’s performance in
Batman Begins captured both of the character’s identities to a degree that was
almost startling—and I believe that he is every bit as wonderful in The Dark
Knight as he was in Batman Begins. (However, I feel that The Dark Knight’s
overall interpretation of Batman/Bruce Wayne is nowhere near as good as
Batman Begins’ interpretation of the character—but we’ll get to that later in the
chapter.) Bale’s legacy as a truly great screen Batman is further cemented by his
incredible work in The Dark Knight.

There is one aspect of Bale’s Batman performance in The Dark Knight that is
markedly different from his Batman performance in Batman Begins. When Bale
is wearing the cape and cowl in The Dark Knight, he speaks in a deep, throaty
whisper that sounds nothing like his regular voice. Bale did not change up his
voice nearly as much in his Batman Begins Batman scenes. This change in the
character’s voice in The Dark Knight received a fair amount of criticism from
moviegoers who felt that it was too absurdly dramatic. I personally find the
change to be quite appropriate—to me, it captures the physical and emotional
strain that being Batman is starting to have on Bruce.

Bale’s performance in The Dark Knight is definitely helped by the new Batsuit
that Lindy Hemming created for the film. This new costume obviously allows
Bale much more freedom of movement in his Batman scenes—and every bit as
importantly, it looks just as great on film as the Batman Begins costume did.
As tremendous as Bale was in The Dark Knight, the performance in the film that
really transfixed audiences was Heath Ledger’s turn as the Joker. Sadly, it must
be pointed out that at least some of the public’s fascination with Ledger’s Joker
stemmed from the actor’s untimely death not long before the movie was
released. But even if this tragedy had not occurred, Ledger’s electrifying
interpretation of Batman’s greatest foe would almost certainly still have been the
most talked-about aspect of the film. Both Ledger’s appearance and his acting
ended up painting a portrait of the Joker that was very unexpected.

In The Dark Knight, Ledger’s Joker is light years removed from the traditional
comic book version of the character. Gone is the villain’s nerve toxin that causes
his victims to die with a grotesque smile on their faces, and in its place is
nothing more than a knife. In the film, that knife turns out to be a horrifyingly
realistic way for the Joker’s victims to “go out with a smile,” because the villain
often cuts “smiles” into the faces of his victims. But just because the Joker often
chooses to murder his victims with a knife, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t
other weapons he relishes using as well. He every bit as lethal when using guns
and explosives—and in The Dark Knight, he uses a lot of guns and explosives.

And as we noted earlier in the chapter, gone is the comic books Joker’s evenly
chalky white face, broad smile, and neatly slicked-back green hair in The Dark
Knight. Instead, the character sports unevenly applied “war paint,” hideous self-
inflicted scars at the corners of his mouth that give him his own “cut smile,” and
a dirty, disheveled mane streaked with green dye.

Obviously, Nolan chose not to use one of the most time-honored elements of the
Joker character for The Dark Knight—namely, the explanation of how the villain
had ended up with his bizarre appearance. In the classic comic story “The Man
Behind the Red Hood!” which was first published in Detective Comics #168,
1952, it was revealed that the Joker had ended up with white skin and green hair
after he had fallen into a vat of acid. That origin was incorporated into some of
the most famous versions of the character, such as the Joker found in the 1988
graphic novel Batman: The Killing Joke, and the Joker found in the 1989 film
Batman. (Obviously, we discussed these different Jokers earlier in the book.) But
even if Nolan’s Joker is markedly different from the conventional depiction of
the Joker in terms of origin, appearance and choice of weapons, the essence of
character is unchanged—he is an insane, murderous and diabolically clever
criminal. And it should be pointed out that Nolan did choose to hang onto one
crucial element of the comic book Joker’s origin. Like the comic book Joker,
The Dark Knight Joker has no known pre–Joker identity, so no one knows where
he came from or who he originally was. His villainy just seems to materialize
from out of nowhere.

Ledger’s acting is every bit as unsettling as his appearance in the film. He brings
the Joker’s insanity to life in a manner that is almost casual, as if the Joker sees
hurting and killing people as nothing more than an instinctive act, like breathing.
I must admit that it makes me uncomfortable that Ledger is so effortlessly
creepy in the role—his frightening performance, coupled with his tragic death
right after the film was released, makes his performance hard to watch and even
harder not to watch. Ledger’s amazing work in The Dark Knight won the actor a
number of posthumous awards. The most notable of these was an Academy
Award for Best Supporting Actor, which members of his family accepted on his
behalf on February 22, 2009.

I’m sure there are those serious Batman fans who feel that Ledger’s performance
as the Joker in The Dark Knight is less than satisfying because it is so far
removed from the traditional comic version of the character. I do not count
myself among those fans. To tell you the truth, I do find the traditional comic
version of the Joker to be a generally more compelling character than Ledger’s
version of the character. In fact, you asked me to pick my own personal favorite
interpretation of the Joker, I would probably point to the version of the character
found in one of the works we just mentioned, Batman: The Killing Joke. That
said, however, I feel that Ledger’s performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight
has a gritty realism that meshes perfectly with Nolan’s real world take on
Batman.

Aaron Eckhart gives a very strong performance as Harvey Dent/Two-Face in

The Dark Knight. His acting wonderfully captures the earnest determination of
Dent, as well as the unimaginable physical and emotional pain that the character
is put through when he is transformed into Two-Face.

However, in this author’s opinion, Nolan kind of misses the mark with his
interpretation of Dent/Two-Face in The Dark Knight. In the comics, it has often
been suggested that Dent has had to struggle with a dark side to his personality
even before his transformation into Two-Face. This makes his slide into villainy
much more logical. But in The Dark Knight, Dent is so good and incorruptible
throughout most of the film that it seems completely improbable for him to
become so evil just because of Rachel’s death and his own disfigurement.
I personally feel that the version of Dent/Two-Face found in the outstanding
animated TV series Batman: The Animated Series captured the essence of the
character much better than The Dark Knight. As we noted in Chapter 11, that
series depicted Dent as a person plagued by dual personality disorder long before
the accident that disfigured half of his face and turned him to a life of crime. So
the dark side of Dent was very much there even before his disfigurement—his
transformation into Two-Face basically just revealed the troubled person that he
had always been. The Dark Knight would have done well to borrow this page
from Batman: The Animated Series when constructing their real world
interpretation of the character.

Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman are every bit as wonderful in
their respective roles of Alfred, Gordon, and Fox in The Dark Knight as they
were in Batman Begins. The actors settle right back into their characters without
missing a beat, and their performances are definitely enhanced by the powerful
material that the Nolans have given them to work with. And of course, there is
another Batman Begins actor who ends up making quite an impression in The
Dark Knight as well—Cillian Murphy’s repeat performance as the Scarecrow
might be very brief, but it is still a real pleasure to see the actor’s memorable
interpretation of the villain on the big screen again.

Maggie Gyllenhaal does a nice job of taking over the role of Rachel Dawes in
The Dark Knight—of course, the part was originally played by Katie Holmes in
Batman Begins. Gyllenhaal conveys Rachel’s conflicted feelings about both
Bruce and Dent in a manner that is very believable. That said, however, the
character as a whole still comes off as rather forced—this is because her main
function in the film is to lead Bruce to the conclusion that he should give up
being Batman. (I personally am very uncomfortable with Bruce being led to this
conclusion in The Dark Knight—I’ll explain just why I feel this way when we
discuss The Dark Knight’s interpretation of Batman/Bruce Wayne a bit later in
the chapter.)

There is one more cast member of The Dark Knight who I feel warrants special
mention. Patrick Leahy, the longtime U.S. senator from Vermont, plays the
small part of “Gentleman at Party” quite nicely in the film—he is the one who
says “We’re not intimidated by thugs” to the Joker when the villain crashes
Wayne’s fundraiser for Dent. The Senator had been an avid Batman fan ever
since he was a child—the film not only gave him the chance to share the screen
with his boyhood hero, but also to be threatened by that hero’s greatest villain.
One of The Dark Knight’s most potent strengths is the film’s incredible
production design. The collaboration between Nolan and his production designer
Nathan Crowley yields the same spectacular results that it did when the two
were realizing Batman Begins together—in The Dark Knight, they bring
Batman’s world to life in a way that is both wonderfully atmospheric and
strikingly realistic. Interestingly, The Dark Knight chooses to step away from
two of the Batman character’s most iconic locales—the film features no Wayne
Manor set or Batcave set. But even without these familiar places, The Dark
Knight still constructs a meticulously-detailed world for the character that totally
draws audiences into the production. Perhaps the most memorable aspect of the
film’s production design is the Bat-Pod—the vehicle’s odd yet imposing
presence definitely heightens the excitement of all the action scenes it is featured
in.

The high quality of the film’s production design is matched by the incredible
scope of its location shooting. The scenes filmed in Chicago and Hong Kong
help to bring Batman’s world to life in a grand manner that would not be
possible by filming on cramped soundstages. Of course, Batman Begins featured
a number of scenes that were filmed in Chicago as well—but the Chicago
location shooting that Nolan chose to do for The Dark Knight went well beyond
the scope of the Batman Begins Chicago location shooting. In fact, The Dark
Knight Chicago location shooting ended up producing some of the most
spectacular scenes ever to appear in a motion picture. The flipping of the Joker’s
large circus truck and the Gotham General Hospital explosion were just two of
the unforgettable Chicago-shot scenes in the film.

And of course, these incredible scenes in The Dark Knight were made even more
incredible due to the fact that they were filmed in IMAX format. As we noted
earlier in the chapter, the movie was the first non-documentary feature film ever
made to include scenes that were shot using IMAX technology. The Dark
Knight’s IMAX sequences ended up being more expansive and detailed than any
images ever created for a non-documentary feature film. The sequences not only
gave you a much clearer image, they also gave you a much wider frame—so it is
really no exaggeration to say that they made the movie into a viewing experience
that was unlike any other in the history of filmed entertainment.

But the only way to get that experience was to actually see The Dark Knight in
an IMAX theatre. Those theatres were the only ones with the projection
equipment to screen IMAX prints of the film with the enhanced picture quality.
In this author’s opinion, there was a huge difference between seeing the film in a
regular movie theatre and seeing the film in an IMAX theatre—I saw The Dark
Knight once or twice in a regular movie theatre just for comparison, but my
IMAX screenings of the film went well into double digits!

Many establishing shots filmed in IMAX were used throughout The Dark
Knight, but less than ten of the movie’s sequences were actually filmed entirely
in the format. Those sequences included the Joker’s bank heist, Batman’s
capture of Lau in Hong Kong, Batman’s pursuit of the Joker using the Batmobile
and the Bat-Pod, the aftermath of the explosion that killed Rachel, Bruce’s
Lamborghini crash, the Gotham General Hospital explosion, the battle between
Batman and the Joker on the under-construction high rise building, and the
film’s closing montage.

Both The Dark Knight’s IMAX and non–IMAX scenes were brilliantly captured
by the film’s director of photography Wally Pfister. Pfister’s work on Batman
Begins had been unforgettable, but this time around his work could only be
described as “history-making” since he was using IMAX technology in a way
that it had never been used before.

Last chapter, we noted that so much of the production design and

cinematography of Batman Begins seemed to be tied to a sepia-toned color. The
production design and cinematography of The Dark Knight changes up that color
design—this time around, much of Batman’s world is bathed in shades of deep
blue. In this author’s opinion, this is the perfect color for the Batman character,
because it gives his black costume an overall blue/black color—much like the
costume appears in the comics. And this color also works well visually for the
Joker’s purple-toned costume. The Dark Knight’s shades of blue don’t just show
up in the film itself—blue was also the dominant color in most of the theatrical
posters used to advertise the film’s release.

Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s excellent musical score is another
essential component in establishing The Dark Knight’s overall atmosphere. Like
the music they composed for Batman Begins, their music for The Dark Knight
has a power and intensity that perfectly complements the Nolan’s real world
interpretation of Batman. And one other aspect of The Dark Knight’s audio
landscape needs to be noted here as well—sound editor Richard King won an
Academy Award for Best Sound Editing for his fine work on the film.
In the end, I feel that The Dark Knight is an amazing movie—and I give
Christopher Nolan all the credit in the world for creating such a powerful
cinematic interpretation of Batman. And with those words of praise, I will end
my long list of things that I like about the film.

But as I warned you just a bit earlier, there are just about as many things about
The Dark Knight that I don’t like that I feel we need to discuss. Most all of these
things are connected to what I consider to be The Dark Knight’s two most
troubling flaws. The first of these flaws is the film’s woefully inconsistent story
construction. The second is the film’s poorly-thought-out portrayal of Batman.

I want to start off my analysis of The Dark Knight’s shortcomings by looking at

the film’s story construction issues, because I feel these issues are what really
bog the film down. I am not talking about elements of its plot that simply go
against my own personal interpretation of the Batman character—I am talking
about elements of its plot that simply make no sense whatsoever. To put it
bluntly, there are many times in The Dark Knight when its characters end up
saying and doing things that completely defy real world logic. And the longer
The Dark Knight goes on, the more convoluted its plot seems to get—in fact, by
the time the film has reached its final scenes, even the film itself can’t seem to
keep up with everything that is going on! I will now take some time to lay out
the elements of The Dark Knight’s story construction that I find to be the most
ridiculous and unrealistic.

I can point to a very specific moment in The Dark Knight when I feel the film
really starts to lose command of its ambitious narrative. That moment is the very
end of the first face-to-face confrontation between Batman and the Joker at
Bruce’s fundraising event for Dent. For some reason, Nolan chooses to leave this
critical sequence in the film completely unresolved.

Please allow me to lay this moment out for you in detail. The Joker throws
Rachel out the window, and Batman saves her from falling to her death. After
this scene, the film never returns to the fundraising event to see just what
happened after the Joker was left alone at the event with many of Gotham’s most
wealthy and powerful citizens. Are we to assume that the Joker chose not to
menace them at all? Did he just gather up his men and walk out? It certainly
seems highly implausible that the Joker would have not further threatened these
citizens in some way or another in an attempt to get to Dent. And after saving
Rachel, wouldn’t Batman have raced back up to the event to try to keep the
Joker from harming Dent or anyone else? No matter what Batman and the Joker
chose to do after their initial confrontation, the film should have found some way
to inform us of their actions.

Interestingly, the film was originally supposed to do just that. The final shooting
script of The Dark Knight included a scene that showed the Joker leaving the
event in a car driven by one of his henchmen. In the scene, the henchman asked
the Joker, “What do we do about Dent?” and the Joker replied to him, “I’m a
man of my word.” This concise scene would have been more than enough to let
14

us know that the Joker left the event before he could find Dent, and that the
villain was still intent on trying to murder the D.A. The scene would also have
let us know that Batman was not able to race back up to the event in time to fight
the Joker again. Presumably, this brief scene was cut from the film in the interest
of time—but in this author’s opinion, this scene was so essential in helping to
clarify a pivotal moment in the film that it never should have been cut.

And while we are on the subject of this sequence, why are we never informed of
just what Dent’s reaction was to everything that happened at the fundraising
event? Wasn’t Dent the least bit curious about finding out just who put him in a
sleeper hold and hid him away right before the Joker arrived? Also, wasn’t he
curious about Rachel’s encounter with the Joker, or how traumatized she was by
the madman’s assault on her? After all, he did throw her out of a window that
was hundreds of feet off the ground! The Dark Knight should have slowed down
and filled in all of the blanks regarding this sequence, not just breathlessly
rushed on to continue its narrative.

Unfortunately, this sequence only marks the beginning of the film’s unfortunate
lack of narrative clarity. Here is another sequence that ended up leaving me
completely baffled. Dent holds a press conference to reveal Batman’s decision to
turn himself in to the authorities. Dent defends Batman, while everyone else at
the conference thinks that Batman should turn himself in to appease the Joker.
So, the Joker is the one killing public officials and ordinary citizens, and there
are Gothamites who think that Batman is the problem that needs to be dealt with
immediately? Worse yet, they think that following the Joker’s instructions
regarding how the city should deal with Batman is a sound idea? You’ve got to
be kidding me! All of the evidence points to the fact that the Joker is the
problem, not Batman—so why in the world would these people at the press
conference be demanding action against Batman instead of the Joker? This
simply makes no logical sense at all.
The Dark Knight’s story continues to get even more confusing. Right before the
movie’s climax starts, Maroni goes to Gordon and tells him exactly where he can
find the Joker that afternoon. Maroni knows where the Joker will be because he
is supposed to meet with him—but the mobster decides that this madman is so
dangerous that it is time to turn him over to the police in the hope that they can
stop him. Based on this information, Gordon starts to organize a police detail to
apprehend the Joker.

We then see the Joker in a warehouse, which is the location where Maroni said
the madman would be. The Joker lights a huge pile of mob money with Lau atop
it on fire, and then calls a talk show in order to threaten to blow up a Gotham
hospital. Gordon then switches gears to deal with the Joker’s new threat—but
incredibly, he completely gives up on his plan to send a police detail to check
out the location where he knows the Joker is! Now, Gordon has solid information
that will lead him directly to the man who is the source of all of the city’s
trouble, and he doesn’t bother to send at least a few officers to go after the man?
Again, you’ve got to be kidding me!

Unbelievably, The Dark Knight ends up making no attempt whatsoever to

explain just what happens at this warehouse. It appears that Lau will be killed by
the Joker’s fire—but instead of letting the viewer know just what happens to this
character, the film’s narrative breathlessly rushes on to its climax. Did Lau die?
Did Gordon ever get some officers to this location to find out just what went
down there? In this author’s opinion, this entire sequence suffers from poor
storytelling.

We are now getting to what I consider to be one of The Dark Knight’s most
baffling sequences. The whole scenario of the Joker pitting one ferryboat packed
full of average people against one ferryboat packed full of prison inmates is so
poorly-conceived that there is simply no way to make much sense out of it. In
the sequence, we see a relatively small number of people on each boat talking
over whether or not they should blow the other boat up. Now, the boats that are
used in the sequence actually hold over four thousand people. So there would be
no way in the world to have effective communication between all of the
passengers on either boat—that being the case, how could these passengers
possibly reach a consensus about how to handle their predicament?

And let’s take just a moment to consider the numbers that the film comes up
with when the “average people” boat takes a paper vote on whether or not to
blow the “inmate” boat up. Three hundred forty people vote to blow the boat up,
and 196 people vote not to blow the boat up. So the votes are cast by a total of a
little over five hundred people—and as I just mentioned, that boat would have
had over four thousand people on it! This discrepancy in numbers certainly does
not help to clarify just how many people are on the boat, and how they are able
to communicate with one another.

Furthermore, why would so many passengers on the “average people” boat ever
come to the conclusion that it was morally defensible to blow up the “inmate”
boat just because it was packed with inmates? Obviously, the “inmate” boat
would have been carrying a lot of people other than inmates—so blowing up the
“inmate” boat would have also meant blowing up scores of noble individuals
such crew members, police officers, and National Guardsmen. One would think
that anyone with a basic capacity for rational thought would have grasped this
fact—but evidently, the Nolans chose to stock the “average people” boat with a
large number of passengers that did not have this capacity!

And on the flip side of this coin, just why does one of the most fearsome
prisoners on the “inmate” boat throw their boat’s detonator into the water,
effectively saving everyone on the “average people” boat? It seems that the
Nolans wanted to use the whole ferryboat sequence to make some sort of social
commentary about how “good” people and “bad” people are really not that far
removed from one another. But whatever commentary they were trying to make
was certainly obscured by the overall silliness of the sequence. In fact, I find the
sequence to be such a head-scratcher that I can’t believe that audiences generally
accepted it without question.

The Joker’s actions in this ferryboat sequence bring me to another problem I

have with The Dark Knight’s narrative, one that is more general in nature. I find
it ridiculous that the film endows the Joker with a seemingly all-powerful
capability to commit evil. In fact, I feel that The Dark Knight Joker eventually
stops being a believable character because he is constantly doing things that no
one could ever do in real life. In order to best illustrate my point, take a moment
to consider the following questions regarding the Joker’s actions that the film
raises.

How can the Joker find a way to get himself and his henchmen, all of them
disguised as Gotham Police, into a very prominent spot into the funeral
procession for Commissioner Loeb? And then once they are in the procession,
how is it that none of the real policemen standing right next to them ever take
notice of them?

How can the Joker steal a Gotham fire engine and set it ablaze in the middle of a
major Gotham street, and do this completely undetected? And how can the Joker
set enough explosive charges in Gotham General Hospital to bring the entire
structure to the ground without any of these charges being detected by the police
and hospital workers who are swarming through the building? And finally, how
can the villain fill those large ferryboats with massive amounts of explosives
without any of these explosives being detected by the boats’ crew members?

Let’s move on to the last few problems I have with The Dark Knight’s story
construction. I feel that by the time the film is reaching its final climax, its
ambitious narrative has really fallen into disarray. Batman has stopped Dent
from killing Gordon and his family, Dent has fallen to his death, and so much of
what has transpired between those characters makes very little sense.

First off, Gordon talks to Batman about the consequences of Dent’s murderous
actions being “five dead, two of them cops.” How could Gordon possibly know
about any of the people Dent had killed? Gordon had been occupied trying to
save all of the hostages taken by the Joker during the villain’s assaults on the
hospital and the ferryboats—and then things got even more frantic for the poor
man as he tried to save his family from Dent. And just who are these “five dead”
in the first place? The film showed Dent killing Officer Wuertz and the driver at
the wheel of Maroni’s car—that’s two victims. And we assume that Maroni was
also killed while riding in that car—that’s three victims. But who in the world
are the other two?

But wait, let’s go back to the three victims we do know about for a second. All
of those murders took place with no witnesses present—so how could Gordon
find out about the murders so quickly? And even if he could have found out
about them, how could he have known that it was Dent that committed them?
Simply put, this exchange between Gordon and Batman about the people that
Dent murdered is a narrative mess.

The solution that Gordon and Batman come up with to hide Dent’s
transformation into a villain makes even less sense than the “five dead, two of
them cops” scenario. The men think that Dent’s murderous actions will cause the
citizens of Gotham City to totally lose hope, so they decide to blame Batman for
Dent’s villainy. Excuse me? Why in the world would Gothamites be moved to
not lose hope because Batman, their onetime hero, is now a villain? And make
no mistake, most Gothamites would have been perceiving Batman as a hero after
the events of both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. After all, by now
thousands of Gothamites have seen him in action firsthand, gallantly fighting
dangerous criminals.

In fact, it probably would have been easier for Gothamites to accept the fact that
Dent had snapped and committed several murders rather than Batman. After all,
the emotional and physical trauma he had endured from the Joker’s attack had
left him in a horrifying state—wouldn’t most people understand that he was not
in his right mind when he did the terrible things he did? At any rate, one would
think that if the actions of any one person were going to make Gothamites lose
hope, it would not be the actions of either Batman or Dent—it would be the
actions of the Joker. Wasn’t it the Joker who left countless people dead and
dozens of buildings burned to the ground?

Simply put, Nolan’s fixation on the Dent character is a major impediment to The
Dark Knight’s narrative. The character’s transformation into Two-Face is
shoehorned into the film way too late, and then way too much importance is
placed on the character’s actions. It just doesn’t make any sense that Gordon and
Batman would sacrifice Batman’s reputation, not to mention his crimefighting
mission, in order to hide the truth about Dent from all of Gotham City.
Incidentally, Nolan’s odd fascination with the Dent character would carry over
into The Dark Knight Rises—obviously, the character was not even alive during
the events of that film, and he still ended up playing much larger of a role in its
plot than seemed logical. (We’ll discuss this in detail a bit later in the book.)

All right, The Dark Knight’s story construction problems have probably taken up
enough of our time by this point. Let’s move on to my other major problem with
the film—its poorly-thought-out portrayal of Batman/Bruce Wayne really
troubles me. Nolan obviously decided to rely on his own artistic sensibilities
rather than classic Batman material when creating the film’s interpretation of
Batman and his world—and in this author’s opinion, Nolan did the character no
favors when he made this decision. As we discussed last chapter, Nolan drew on
a wide array of classic Batman material when he created Batman Begins,
showing more respect for the time-honored traditions of the character than any
filmmaker had ever shown. The Dark Knight does not draw on nearly as much
classic Bat-man material as Batman Begins did—in fact, there is really only one
classic Batman work that really inspires the film in any direct way. That work is
the 1996–97 13-part graphic novel series Batman: The Long Halloween written
by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Tim Sale.

And even then, The Dark Knight only borrows bits and pieces from the series.
The first scene in the film that is directly pulled from Batman: The Long
Halloween is the one that shows Batman, Gordon and Dent standing by the
Batsignal, discussing their plan to attack organized crime in Gotham City. And
the scene showing the Joker burning a huge pile of mob money stored in a
warehouse is also inspired by the series—though in the series, it is not the Joker
but Batman and Dent who set fire to the money. And the phrase “I Believe in
Harvey Dent” that is repeated a number of times in the film as both a campaign
slogan and a personal vote of confidence for Gotham’s new D.A. is pulled
directly from dialogue found in Batman: The Long Halloween.

Obviously, The Dark Knight has many scenes that recall classic Batman comic
stories, especially its scenes showing Batman and the Joker fighting one another.
Still, there is no way to escape the fact that the Batman of The Dark Knight is
almost solely a Nolan creation, with very little connection to any previous
versions of the character. This in itself is not a problem—the problem is that
there are elements of The Dark Knight Batman that run counter to time-honored
traditions of the character.

Far and away the most troubling aspect of The Dark Knight Batman is the notion
that he would ever consider ending his war on crime in order to appease the
demands of the Joker. I don’t think I can overstate just how wildly off base this
notion is to the character’s basic principles. For generations, Batman has seen
the Joker for just what he is—he is a cold-blooded killer, a maniac who is a
danger to every last soul in Gotham if he is not locked up. If the Joker is on the
loose, Batman has to track him down, subdue him and lock him up again—the
situation is as simple as that, there are no other options.

In The Dark Knight, the Joker may be new to Gotham, but Batman has already
seen enough of him to know the evil he is capable of. So Batman is going to try
to stop that evil by simply giving in to it? He is going to leave the Joker, this
maniac that has already killed a large number of Gothamites, out on the streets
where he can have the potential to kill again and again? The Batman character as
I understand and appreciate him would never do this. I see this aspect of The
Dark Knight’s depiction of Batman as a total affront to everything that the
character stands for.

And it should be mentioned that the person who seems to be truly at the heart of
Batman’s decision to cease fighting crime in The Dark Knight is Rachel—
apparently he loves her so much that he can’t stand the thought of her being
harmed in any way. This also runs counter to the time-honored traditions of the
Batman character—for generations, Batman has not allowed his personal
feelings to completely compromise his mission as a crimefighter. At any rate,
Batman should know that no one is really safe if the Joker is on the loose—and
that includes Rachel. So if Batman wants Rachel and every last person in
Gotham to be as safe as possible, he needs to get going and stop the Joker!

In discussing this problem I have with The Dark Knight’s depiction of Batman, I
am reminded of a scene from the 1989 film Batman. Near the end of the movie,
Vicki Vale presses Bruce about the status of their relationship. Bruce can’t really
give her a definitive answer because he has much bigger worries—the Joker is at
large. All he can say to her is “He’s out there right now—and I’ve got to go to
work.” We sure could have used that kind of determination in the The Dark
Knight version of Batman, Mr. Nolan!

All right, I think I’m done airing all of my grievances against The Dark Knight!
Let’s take the film from the big screen to the small screen and examine its home
video release history. Needless to say, The Dark Knight was such a gigantic box
office hit that it was also tremendously successful when it was first made
available to the home video market by Warner Home Video in early December
2008. At that time, Warner released the film on both Blu-ray and DVD format.

There were several different DVD versions of the film. It was offered as two
separate single-disc releases, one in its original widescreen format and one in a
format cropped to fit a standard television screen. The Dark Knight was also
released as a 2-disc set which contained the widescreen version of the film, as
well as several bonus features. One of these bonus features was a collection of
mini-documentaries called Gotham Uncovered: The Creation of a Scene, which
contained over 80 minutes of material detailing the making of the film—this
material included commentary from members of the film’s cast and crew, and
behind-the-scenes footage showing that cast and crew at work. None of the DVD
versions of The Dark Knight presented the film with its IMAX sequences in their
original large-frame format—however, one of the 2-disc set’s other bonus
features was a stand-alone presentation of those IMAX sequences in large-
frame.

The Blu-ray version of The Dark Knight was the one that really delivered the
goods. The high-definition Blu-ray format allowed viewers to truly appreciate
the extraordinary level of visual quality that high-resolution IMAX film had
brought to the movie. And needless to say, the movie was presented with its
IMAX scenes in their original large-frame format. The Blu-ray also contained
the bonus features found on the 2-disc DVD set, as well as a number of
exclusive bonus features. This wealth of material included the just-mentioned
Gotham Uncovered: The Creation of a Scene, the History Channel programs
Batman Tech and Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of The Dark Knight, and
all six episodes of the Internet video series Gotham Tonight. (We discussed
Batman Tech, Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of The Dark Knight, and
Gotham Tonight earlier in the chapter.)

I think I’ll close my discussion of The Dark Knight with these thoughts. The film
left a legacy that was every bit as far-reaching as Tim Burton’s groundbreaking
1989 film Batman. The staggering success of The Dark Knight catapulted the
Batman character to a level of artistic and commercial prominence in the
entertainment industry that few could have ever imagined. The character that not
too long ago could be dismissed as nothing more than a silly diversion for kids
was now the subject of dramatic film with an Oscar-winning acting performance
and a billion dollar gross. How could this be anything less than thrilling to a
serious Batman fan? As for me, I will love The Dark Knight for the rest of my
days—though its annoying traits will continue to drive me crazy! I’m afraid that
I can’t be quite as positive about Nolan’s third and final Batman film, The Dark
Knight Rises (2012). We’ll get to that story a bit later in the book.
 19
“Non-Nolan” Batman Works During the Nolan Cinematic Batman Era

Christopher Nolan’s three Batman films form such a cohesive narrative that I
really would prefer to examine them in direct order in this book. That said,
however, quite a few notable “non–Nolan” Batman works were released during
the period of Nolan’s Batman films. So in this chapter, we are going to take a bit
of a break from Nolan in order to examine those works.

From early 2005 to early 2006, the Batman comic title featured a story arc called
“Batman: Under the Hood” written by Judd Winick. The story arc introduced a
mysterious character known as the Red Hood—the Red Hood fought crime like
Batman, but unlike Batman he was more than willing to kill the criminals he
fought. Batman eventually learned the Red Hood’s true identity, and it was a real
shocker—he was really Batman’s second Robin Jason Todd, who was thought to
have been killed by the Joker years ago.

Jason was killed by the Joker, but he was brought back to life through a fairly
convoluted plot trick that allowed DC Comics to change the fates of a number of
their characters. It is hardly worth trying to sum up that plot trick because it is so
confusing, but here goes—in the 2005–06 comic series Infinite Crisis, a
character known as Superboy-Prime assaulted the barrier of reality, causing a
number of past events in the DC Universe to be altered. Truth be told, it is
probably just easier to say that DC elected to revise the histories of some of their
characters!

At any rate, in “Batman: Under the Hood,” Jason adopted the Red Hood persona,
brutally fought crime, and was eventually confronted by Batman after he had
kidnapped the Joker. Jason held the madman at gunpoint and tried to convince
Batman that they needed to kill him, but Batman was able to disarm Jason before
he could pull the trigger. Both Jason and the Joker escaped from Batman after
their altercation, leaving both characters free to plague the crimefighter in the
future.

Jason’s resurrection spawned an enjoyable 2010 direct-to-video DC Universe

Animated Original Movie called Batman: Under the Red Hood. (We’ll examine
that project in detail later in the chapter.) Incidentally, it should be pointed out
that the work that laid the foundation for Jason’s return was the 2002–03 Batman
comic story arc entitled Hush—as we discussed in Chapter 16, Hush ended with
Batman discovering that Jason’s body was missing from his grave. And it should
also be pointed out that the inspiration for Jason’s Red Hood persona came from
a classic Batman comic story from many years back—as we discussed in
Chapter 5, a 1951 Detective Comics story called “The Man Behind the Red
Hood!” revealed the Joker to have originally been an unnamed criminal who
called himself the Red Hood.

The Infinite Crisis series helped to bring about another change to Batman’s
comic world. DC’s 2006–07 series called 52 chronicled the 52-week period of
time directly after the events of Infinite Crisis—during that time, Superman,
Batman and Wonder Woman stopped fighting crime, and other DC heroes
stepped in to fill the void that the three legendary heroes had left. Some new
heroes were even created for 52—the series introduced a new version of
Batwoman into the DC Universe. The character initially created quite a stir—her
real identity was Kate Kane, and she was a lesbian. Many major news media
outlets ran stories about the Kate Kane Batwoman’s comic debut, because she
was one of the first openly gay comic book characters ever created.

Obviously, the character was a reworking of the Kathy Kane Batwoman

character that had appeared in Batman comic stories of the 1950s and early
1960s. (We discussed her back in Chapter 5.) In fact, this new Batwoman’s
black and red bat-themed costume even looked a bit like the original
Batwoman’s costume. Ironically, the original Batwoman was introduced into
Batman’s world in order to refute the assertions made by Fredric Wertham in his
book Seduction of the Innocent that Batman and Robin were homosexual—and a
half century later, this new Batwoman was a champion of gay rights! Take that,
Wertham! At any rate, the Kate Kane Batwoman’s debut was well-received by
comic fans, so she became a fairly regular fixture of Batman’s comic book
world.

In late 2005, DC launched a highly unusual and controversial Batman comic

series called All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder. The premise of the
series was that it would retell the history of Batman and his world in continuity
that was in no way bound to the character’s regular comic book continuity. The
reason that DC was willing to give this particular series such latitude on what it
could do with Batman was simple—it was going to be created by a “dream
pairing” of one of the greatest comic book writers of all time and one of the
comic industry’s hottest artists. All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder was
written by Frank Miller and illustrated by Jim Lee, and comic fans were
extremely anxious to see how these huge talents would end up interpreting
Batman when they joined forces. The series’ first issue released in September
2005 was a smash hit, selling hundreds of thousands of copies.

Ironically, the series quickly became one of the most widely hated Batman
comic works ever created even though it sold remarkably well right out of the
gate. To put it bluntly, DC entrusted the wrong creative team with such an open-
ended project—Lee’s art was spectacular as usual, but Miller’s writing was
completely off the mark. All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder was
shockingly mean-spirited and violent, even more brutal than any of Miller’s
previous Batman comic works—and those works contained their fair share of
violent and disturbing images.

Miller’s earlier interpretations of Batman showed the character to be in

possession of a very troubled psyche, and obviously those interpretations
resonated resoundingly well with serious Batman fans. But Miller’s take on
Batman’s mental state in All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder pushed the
envelope way too far for many of those fans. The series’ Batman was in the very
early stages of his crimefighting career, and he was well beyond “troubled”—he
was actually downright psychotic. For example, he took delight in seriously
injuring the criminals he fought, and he basically held a grieving Dick Grayson
prisoner in the Batcave after Dick’s parents had been murdered. He even told
Dick to eat freshly-caught rats in the Batcave instead of letting Alfred give the
boy a proper meal!

When we discussed several of Miller’s previous Batman comic book works

earlier in this book, we noted his intense dislike for the traditional version of the
Robin character. Apparently, Miller’s hatred of Robin had gotten so out of
control by the time he was writing All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder
that he was intent on piling as much abuse on the poor kid as he possibly could!

At any rate, most comic book readers were incensed by Miller’s antics in the
pages of All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder, which brought the series
both bad press and declining sales. It ended up running for only ten issues, the
last of which was published in late 2008. In 2010, DC announced that Miller and
Lee would return to the series for a number of issues in order to wrap up its
storyline, but this return never ended up happening. Lee has continued to provide
illustrations for Batman-related works in the years since All Star Batman and
Robin the Boy Wonder folded, but to date Miller has not undertaken any new
Batman-related projects.

As always, new Batman works kept right on being released—so those fans
disappointed by All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder had plenty of new
Batman comic stories that they could turn their attention to. In fact, the early
years of Batman’s crimefighting career were re-interpreted in a separate series of
comics released between late 2005 and early 2006, right around the time that All
Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder debuted. The six-issue tale Batman and
the Monster Men written and illustrated by Matt Wagner was an expanded
retelling of a story that was first published in Batman #1, Spring 1940—in that
story, Batman faced off against the evil scientific genius Hugo Strange for the
first time. Wagner followed up Batman and the Monster Men with another six-
issue series called Batman and the Mad Monk, which was released between late
2006 and early 2007. The series retold a two-part story that was first published
in Detective Comics #31 and #32 in late 1939—in that story, Batman battled a
vampire known as the Monk. Wagner’s take on Batman’s early years in these
two series was very well-received, and both were eventually released as stand-
alone graphic novels.

In 2006, the Batman character entered a new realm of merchandising that ended
up winning over both the young and the young at heart. Lego Toys began
manufacturing Batman-related building block sets that offered a whimsical
interpretation of the character and his world. Lego fans could create their own
Batman adventures one block at a time by assembling Batcave, Batmobile,
Batwing, and Batboat kits. Each kit included several different Batman-related
figures, so these fans could collect a wide variety of figures to use with their
Lego Batman structures and vehicles.

Lego Batman toys ended up becoming so popular that they entered the world of
video gaming—Lego Batman: The Videogame was released on major gaming
platforms such as PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii in late 2008. The game’s
lighthearted take on Batman and his world could be enjoyed both by younger
players and longtime fans of the character. Lego Batman: The Videogame
enjoyed enough success to spawn a sequel—Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
was released in mid–2012, and it featured DC heroes such as Superman and
Wonder Woman fighting crime alongside of Batman. That game was adapted
into an animated film entitled Lego Batman: The Movie—DC Super Heroes
Unite that was released directly to home video in mid–2013.

Grant Morrison became the writer of the Batman comic title in 2006, and he
quickly began to shake up Batman’s comic world. In a story arc called “Batman
& Son” that ran in Batman #655 through #658, Morrison brought Bruce
Wayne’s pre-teen son Damian into Batman’s life. Damian sprang from a comic
work that was almost two decades old—he was the child of Bruce and Talia Al
Ghul that Talia gave up for adoption in the 1987 graphic novel Batman: Son of
the Demon. (We discussed that graphic novel in detail in Chapter 7.) In “Batman
& Son,” Damian was a spoiled, violent child who made things very difficult for
Bruce and his allies when he first came to live at Wayne Manor—but he
eventually became an important part of their crimefighting team.

Bringing Damian into Batman’s world was a big change, but Morrison was just
getting warmed up. In his 2008 DC crossover storyline called Final Crisis, he
had the villain Darkseid kill Batman! Of course, it was quickly revealed that
Batman was not really killed—Darkseid was actually sent him into past worlds.
So Batman had to make his way through time and return to the present in order
to truly resume his stature as Batman. As Bruce made his way back, Dick
Grayson and Tim Drake disagreed over who should take his place as Batman—
eventually Dick assumed the role, Damian became his Robin, and Tim assumed
the guise of Red Robin. Bruce was eventually able to return to the present and
again become Batman, but it took him a couple of years to do that—not comic
years, our years. We’ll get to the return of the Bruce Wayne Batman later in the
chapter.

Incidentally, the idea of Red Robin character actually originated in the 1997
graphic novel series Kingdom Come—in that series, Robin donned a new
costume that featured a full Batman-like cowl, and was then known as “Red
Robin.” In the years after Kingdom Come was released, there were a number of
characters that donned the Red Robin mantle, but none of them stuck. With Tim
Drake, Morrison finally found an established character to fill the Red Robin
costume.

Let’s step away from Morrison’s complicated storylines now. The Essential
Batman Encyclopedia by Robert Greenberger was released in 2008; it was the
most comprehensive reference work on Batman comic history ever created. The
book provided a wealth of information on the thousands of characters appearing
in Batman comic stories between 1939 and 2007. The Essential Batman
Encyclopedia was a welcome reference tool for serious Batman fans. There had
been only one other attempt at creating a Batman encyclopedia before, the 1976
book The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes Volume 1: Batman by Michael J.
Fleisher—and obviously, it was woefully out of date. (We discussed that book in
Chapter 7.)

Another fascinating Batman book released in 2008 was Bat-Manga!: The Secret
History of Batman in Japan, which was designed by Chip Kidd. The book was a
collection of Japanese comic works (known as “manga” in Japan) that featured
Batman—these works were created by the famed manga artist Jiro Kuwata in the
1966 and 1967, during the height of the camp Batman craze. Bat-Manga!: The
Secret History of Batman in Japan gave Batman fans a rare opportunity to see
the character interpreted in a manner that had almost no connection to his
creators in the United States.

Interestingly, even though Batman’s return to the big screen through Christopher
Nolan’s films had been so tremendously successful, Warner Bros. elected to
keep their Batman animated TV series completely separate from Nolan’s
Batman universe. As we discussed in Chapter 16, the 2004–08 series The
Batman offered a take on the character that was markedly different from the one
offered by the classic 1990s series Batman: The Animated Series—and that take
never connected to Nolan’s Batman films in any way.

When The Batman’s run ended, Warner developed a new Batman animated
series called Batman: The Brave and the Bold. The series premiered on the
Cartoon Network in November 2008, and it ran for 65 episodes before it ended
its run in November 2011. The creative forces behind the series were producers
James Tucker and Michael Jelenic. In Batman: The Brave and the Bold, the part
of Batman/Bruce Wayne was voiced by Diedrich Bader.

Batman: The Brave and the Bold’s take on Batman was light years removed
from Nolan’s Batman universe, and the series’ title was a perfect indication of
what its interpretation of Batman was all about. As we discussed way back in
Chapter 6, The Brave and the Bold was a DC comic title that featured Batman in
“team-up” stories from late 1966 all the way up until 1983—these stories gave
the character the chance to interact with DC heroes he would not normally have
worked with in his other comic titles. In fact, Batman ended up sharing
adventures with most every major hero in the DC universe in the pages of The
Brave and the Bold.

Batman in the animated television series Batman: The Brave and the Bold
(2008–11).

Basically, Batman: The Brave and the Bold was a screen version of that classic
comic title. Throughout the series, Batman shared adventures with dozens of DC
characters—and not just well-known characters such as Robin, Superman,
Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Green Lantern. Batman also teamed up with
lesser-known characters such as the Atom, Hawkman, Black Lightning, Plastic
Man, and the Elongated Man—good grief, even the goofy 1950s characters Bat-
Mite and Ace the Bat-Hound showed up in a number of episodes!
Obviously, Batman: The Brave and the Bold was designed to be a lighthearted
action show that harkened back to the more kid-friendly comics of the 1960s and
1970s—in fact, many of its episodes were so absurdly wholesome and fantasy-
oriented that they ended up being every bit as comedic in nature as the 1960s
Batman TV show and film. But that did not stop the series from being a hugely
enjoyable viewing experience for longtime Batman fans—it was loaded with
subtle Batman references and in-jokes that only a serious Batman fan would be
able to understand and appreciate.

Plus, the series’ flamboyant visual design could be enjoyed by both younger
viewers and longtime Batman fans. Batman himself was rendered in a style that
recalled both the 1940s comic art of Dick Sprang and Adam West’s 1960s
screen Batman—he wore a blue and gray costume with a flowing cape and short
ears on its cowl that was a perfect summation of the character’s basic appearance
from the 1940s through the 1960s. Most of the series’ heroes and villains were
designed to reflect the way they looked during that time period in Batman
history as well—for example, the Joker, the Penguin, the Riddler, Two-Face and
the Catwoman all looked as if they had been pulled from the colorful pages of a
1940s comic story.

And even though the tone of Batman: The Brave and the Bold was normally
very lighthearted, it was also capable of delivering some astonishingly powerful
episodes from time to time. One of the series’ most unforgettable episodes was
“Chill of the Night!” which was written by Paul Dini, one of Batman: The
Animated Series’ most noted writers, and directed by Michael Chang. The
episode told the story of Batman hunting down Joe Chill, the villain who
murdered Thomas and Martha Wayne.

In “Chill of the Night!” Batman’s pursuit of Chill is being followed by two of

DC’s ghostly crimefighters, the Spectre and the Phantom Stranger. The Spectre
believes that Batman should go down the path of vengeance and kill Chill, while
the Phantom Stranger believes that Batman should continue on the path of
justice and simply apprehend Chill. They even make a very high-stakes wager
on just which path Batman will follow. They agree that if Batman kills Chill, the
crimefighter will become an agent of the Spectre and continue to wreak
murderous vengeance on criminals—and if Batman does not kill Chill, he will
be free to continue making his own moral choices.

The Phantom Stranger takes Batman back into the past to reveal just why Chill
killed the Waynes—the crimefighters travel to the night the Waynes were
holding a charity masquerade ball at their home. Batman is shocked to see that
his father is dressed in a batlike costume that looks so much like his own. During
that event, a gangster named Lew Moxon tries to rob the Waynes—Batman and
Thomas fight and capture Moxon, and the gangster is sent to prison. The Spectre
then takes Batman to another moment in the past to reveal more details relating
to the Wayne murders. Seeking revenge against the man who sent him to prison,
Moxon had ordered his henchman Joe Chill to murder Thomas Wayne. The
night of the hit, Chill ended up panicking and killing both Thomas and Martha.

Once Batman knows that it was Chill who killed his parents, he tracks the
criminal down—he finds Chill in a Gotham warehouse, where the criminal is
trying to sell a high tech weapon called a “sonic disrupter” to a number of
Batman’s most dangerous foes, including the Joker, the Penguin and Two-Face.
Batman corners Chill in a secluded room, takes off his mask, and tells Chill that
he is the son of the man Chill murdered so many years ago. At this moment,
Batman makes his moral choice—he does not kill Chill. In panic, Chill runs
away from Batman, but he is killed when a stray blast from the sonic disrupter
brings part of the warehouse down on top of him. At the end of the episode, it is
implied that the Spectre had made sure that Chill would pay for his crimes with
his life, even if Batman himself did not actually do the killing.

“Chill of the Night!” is every bit as good as the very best episodes of Batman:
The Animated Series—in other words, it is unquestionably one of the finest
Batman animated works ever produced. Dini seamlessly blends several classic
Batman comic stories into the episode—for example, the episode’s opening
scenes depicting the Wayne murders and Bruce’s transformation into Batman are
drawn from 1939 comic story “Legend—The Batman and How He Came to Be.”
And the scenes depicting Batman’s quest to bring Joe Chill to justice are drawn
from the 1948 comic story “The Origin of Batman.” (We discussed both of these
stories earlier in the book.)

Finally, the scenes involving a bat-costumed Thomas Wayne fighting Lew

Moxon, and Moxon ordering Chill to kill Wayne, are drawn from the 1956
comic story “The First Batman.” This is the first time we’ve mentioned “The
First Batman” in the book—the story was originally published in Detective
Comics #235, September 1956. The reason we had not discussed it earlier is
because its embellishment of the Wayne murder story did not really take root in
Batman mythos. Most of the Batman comic stories dealing with Batman’s origin
that were created after the publication of “The First Batman” did not feature
Thomas Wayne’s batlike costume or the Lew Moxon character in any way. That
said, however, the story did fit very nicely into the plot of “Chill of the Night!”

And Dini’s decision to work the Spectre and the Phantom Stranger into the
episode gives Batman an opportunity to face the moral conflict that has so often
been a major element of his character—does Batman stand for justice or
vengeance? To this particular Batman fan, the character’s decision to choose
justice over vengeance in “Chill of the Night!” perfectly sums up what Batman
is really all about.

“Chill of the Night!” is made even more special by its stellar voice cast, which
spans several generations of Batman history. Adam West, the legendary 1960s
screen Batman, voices the part of Thomas Wayne. Julie Newmar, the actress
who played the Catwoman during the Batman TV show’s first two seasons,
voices the part of Martha Wayne. Kevin Conroy, the voice of Batman/Bruce
Wayne in Batman: The Animated Series, voices the part of the Phantom
Stranger. Mark Hamill, the voice of the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series,
voices the part of the Spectre. And Richard Moll, the voice of Harvey
Dent/Two-Face in Batman: The Animated Series, voices the part of Lew Moxon.
Of course, all of these actors are excellent in their respective roles.

I’ve discussed the voice cast of “Chill of the Night!” at length and I haven’t even
gotten around to mentioning the actor voicing Batman/Bruce Wayne yet!
Diedrich Bader does a wonderful job voicing the part both in this episode and in
the entire Batman: The Brave and the Bold series.

And I need to point out that even though I’ve gone over “Chill of the Night!” in
great detail, that does not mean I believe that it is the only Batman: The Brave
and the Bold episode that is worthy of praise. In fact, there is one more episode
that was also written by Dini that I just have to take note of before we move on.
In “Bat-Mite Presents: Batman’s Strangest Cases!,” the interdimensional imp
Bat-Mite introduces several priceless Batman-mini-adventures—one is based on
the Batman manga works found in the book Bat-Manga!: The Secret History of
Batman in Japan that we just discussed. Another is a team-up of Batman, Robin
and the Scooby-Doo gang that is a parody of the Batman/Scooby team-ups found
in the 1970s animated TV series The New Scooby-Doo Movies.

We did not discuss The New Scooby-Doo Movies earlier in the book, so here’s
just a bit of background information on the series—it featured Scooby and the
gang sharing adventures with a host of guest stars, including Batman and Robin.
The series’ silly plots and poor animation made it forgettable at best, so having
Batman mixed up in it certainly did not thrill most longtime fans of the
character. But Batman fans could certainly get a kick out of seeing Batman: The
Brave and the Bold do such a wickedly funny spoof of the series.

Examining “Chill of the Night!” and “Bat-Mite Presents: Batman’s Strangest

Cases!” back-to-back is probably the perfect way to sum up just how wide-
ranging of a series Batman: The Brave and the Bold really was. The series’
generally sunny depiction of Batman might have run counter to the tastes of
many serious Batman fans—still, its engaging and affectionate take on the
character and his world ended up making it a high point in the history of Batman
screen works.

Earlier in the book we discussed a number of Batman video game titles that
helped to further the character’s overall popularity. As well-received as these
games had been, their success paled in comparison to the spectacular success of
video game Batman: Arkham Asylum, which was released on major gaming
platforms such as PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in late 2009. Batman: Arkham
Asylum had a number of notable connections to Batman: The Animated Series—
the game was written by Paul Dini, and it featured some of the series’ major
voice talent. In the game, Kevin Conroy voiced Batman, Mark Hamill voiced the
Joker, and Arleen Sorkin voiced Harley Quinn.

In Batman: Arkham Asylum, the Joker hatches a diabolical plot to create an army
of chemically-enhanced henchmen to terrorize Gotham City. These henchmen
are created through the use of a drug known as Titan, which is a variation of the
Venom drug used to create the villain Bane. Batman must fight his way through
Arkham Asylum and defeat some of his most dangerous foes in order to thwart
the Joker’s plan.

Simply put, most everything about Batman: Arkham Asylum was flat-out
stunning. Its incredibly lifelike graphics, intricate plot, excellent voice acting,
and wonderful attention to detail took the Batman video game genre to a level of
sophistication that it had never come close to reaching before. The game’s
spectacularly-rendered version of Batman was one of its primary strengths—the
character looked like an Alex Ross Batman painting set in motion. And of
course, since the character was voiced by Kevin Conroy, he sounded every bit as
good as he looked. Batman: Arkham Asylum was richly rewarded for its
extremely high quality—the game enjoyed almost universally positive critical
reviews, and it sold over 4 million copies.

In fact, Batman: Arkham Asylum was so successful that it spawned a sequel—the

game Batman: Arkham City was released on major gaming platforms such as
PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in late 2011. It was co-written by Dini, Paul
Crocker and Sefton Hill, and featured the voices of Kevin Conroy as Batman and
Mark Hamill as the Joker. (Arleen Sorkin did not return to voice Harley Quinn,
so the part was played by Tara Strong.)

In Batman: Arkham City, Batman is locked up in Arkham City, a newly-formed

prison that encloses some of Gotham’s worst slums. The reason that Batman is
being held in the prison is because it is being run by Hugo Strange, a warden
who is as unbalanced and dangerous as any of the prison’s inmates. (As we
noted earlier in the book, Strange was a villain that had been featured in Batman
comic stories since the early 1940s—but in the game’s storyline, Batman had no
prior history with the character.)

While Batman is in the prison, he learns of Strange’s initiative known as

“Protocol 10,” which is a plan to murder all of the prison’s inmates. As Batman
works to keep Protocol 10 from being carried out, he ends up clashing with some
of his longtime foes who are being held in Arkham City, including the Joker,
Harley Quinn, Two-Face, Mr. Freeze, and the Penguin. Luckily, Batman has
some allies to help him with his mission—Robin comes to his aid, and so does
his occasional adversary the Catwoman.

Batman: Arkham City lived up to the very high standards set by Batman:
Arkham Asylum in every way—it was just as brilliantly written, animated and
acted as its predecessor. And like Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman: Arkham
City enjoyed almost universally positive critical reviews. Commercially,
Batman: Arkham City performed even better than Batman: Arkham Asylum—it
sold over 6 million copies. Playing the two games back-to-back created a
completely immersive experience for serious Batman fans that was
unprecedented in the history of the character.
 Batman in the video game Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009).

All right, it’s finally time to get the comic book version of Bruce Wayne back
into his Batman costume. In Grant Morrison’s 2010 comic series Batman: The
Return of Bruce Wayne, Bruce adopted all sorts of crimefighting personas as he
traveled forward in time. He eventually returned to the present, where he learned
that Darkseid’s attack on him was never meant to kill him—it was designed to
load him up with a form of negative energy as he made his way through time.
That energy would then completely destroy reality when Bruce returned to the
present. (Oh, and it should be pointed out that Bruce was not able to travel
through time by himself—a servant of Darkseid’s had been sent to follow Bruce
and initiate his time jumps.) But Bruce did not destroy reality when he returned
to the present because he devised a plan to have his Justice League allies briefly
stop his heart just as he returned—this allowed the energy to leave his body.

So Bruce was back in the present day again, and ready to resume the mantle of
Batman. Of course, the present already had a Batman now—remember, Dick
Grayson had taken over the role upon Bruce’s “death.” Well, Morrison had an
answer for this problem as well. In his ongoing comic series Batman
Incorporated launched in late 2010, Morrison had Bruce take his Batman
crimefighting operation worldwide—the series followed the exploits of the
Bruce Batman, the Dick Batman who fought crime with the Damian Robin, the
Tim Drake Red Robin, as well as a host of Batman-led costumed operatives
around the globe.

A few of these operatives were noteworthy enough to warrant specific mention

here. In 2009, Cassandra Cain passed her Batgirl mantle on to a character named
Stephanie Brown. This is the first time in the book we’ve mentioned the
Stephanie Brown character—she was first introduced into Batman’s world back
in 1992, and over the years she went through a lot of changes. At first she
assumed the guise of a costumed adventurer known as the Spoiler, then she
became Robin for a very short time when Tim Drake vacated the position, and
then she was killed in the 2004–05 Batman comic story arc Batman: War
Games. But we’re not done yet—then it was revealed that Stephanie’s death was
faked, and then she became Batgirl. Talk about a nomadic character! At any rate,
Cassandra eventually returned to fighting crime after giving her Batgirl role to
Stephanie—she adopted a new bat-themed persona known as Black Bat.
For those of you who have been determined enough to keep up with all of these
developments, here’s a snapshot of Batman’s comic world in late 2010. Dick
Grayson was now the main Batman character in the long-running comic titles
Detective Comics and Batman, as well as in a newer comic title, Batman and
Robin. And Bruce was now the main Batman character in two newer comic
titles, Batman Incorporated and Batman: The Dark Knight. These Batmen
shared their adventures with allies such as Robin, Red Robin, Batgirl, Black Bat,
and Batwoman. (Things have gotten so hectic that I’ll bet many of you have
already forgotten about the new Batwoman we discussed earlier in the chapter!)
And a number of these characters not only appeared in Batman comic titles, but
also had comic titles of their own. So needless to say, it had gotten pretty
crowded and confusing in Batman’s comic book world by this point. In late
2011, DC would undertake a revamp and relaunch of all of their comic titles in
an attempt to sort out the continuities of their characters. We’ll discuss how this
revamp and relaunch (known as The New 52) affected Batman and his world a
bit later in the chapter.

Last chapter, we discussed Warner and DC’s direct-to-video animated film

series known as DC Universe Animated Original Movies and the first Batman
film in that series, Batman: Gotham Knight (2008). Over the past several years,
DC Universe Animated Original Movies has continued to produce new films
based on DC comic works. A number of these productions were ensemble
stories that featured Batman working with a host of other DC heroes—these
productions included Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009) and
Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010).

In Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Superman and Batman teamed up to stop

a gigantic meteorite from destroying the earth, and in Superman/Batman:
Apocalypse, Superman and Batman witnessed the arrival of Superman’s cousin
Kara to the earth. (Of course, by the end of Superman/Batman: Apocalypse,
Kara would adopt the character’s traditional guise of Supergirl.) Kevin Conroy,
who had voiced the part of Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman: Gotham Knight,
returned to voice the role in these two films. Both productions were based on
story arcs that had appeared in Superman/Batman, a comic title that featured
Superman and Batman appearing in adventures together much like the old
World’s Finest comic title. (Superman/Batman ran from 2003 to 2011.)

The series released its second Batman film, Batman: Under the Red Hood, on
Blu-ray and DVD in July 2010. The film’s screenplay was written by Judd
Winick, author of the 2005–06 Batman comic story arc “Batman: Under the
Hood” that the film was based on. (Remember, we discussed that story arc at the
beginning of this chapter.) The production was directed by Brandon Vietti. In
Batman: Under the Red Hood, the part of Batman/Bruce Wayne was voiced by
Bruce Greenwood, the part of the Red Hood was voiced by Jensen Ackles, and
the part of the Joker was voiced by John DiMaggio.

Batman: Under the Red Hood opens with Batman’s second Robin Jason Todd
being killed by the Joker—the madman severely beats the young man with a
crowbar, and then leaves him in a building he has wired with explosives. Batman
arrives on the scene after the explosion goes off, but he is too late to save his
partner. Five years later, Batman faces a dangerous new adversary in Gotham
City known as the Red Hood. The Red Hood has taken over Gotham’s illegal
drug trade, and is intent on wielding even more power in the city—he wants to
take over the operations of the Gotham crime lord Black Mask. When Batman
confronts the Red Hood, he is surprised to learn that the Red Hood considers
himself not a criminal, but a crimefighter. He feels he is taking the drastic
measures needed to bring Gotham’s rampant crime under control—measures
that Batman himself should have taken years ago.

But Batman’s problems with the Red Hood turn out to be much bigger than just
a struggle with an out-of-control vigilante—the crimefighter is shocked to learn
that the Red Hood is really Jason Todd. Batman’s quest to find out how Jason
came back from the dead leads him to his longtime adversary Ra’s Al Ghul. Ra’s
tells Batman the truth about Jason—five years ago, Ra’s had hired to Joker to
fight Batman in order to distract the crimefighter from one of Ra’s’ terrorist
plots. The Joker ended up killing Jason, and Ra’s was so remorseful over Jason’s
death that he tried to bring the young man back to life with his Lazarus Pit. Ra’s’
attempt to resurrect Jason went horribly wrong—the young man came out of the
pit severely mentally damaged.

Armed with this knowledge, Batman again confronts the Red Hood—but that
confrontation has become much more complicated, because Black Mask has
freed the Joker from Arkham Asylum. Black Mask has done this so that he can
hire the Joker to take down the Red Hood. Instead of the Joker taking down the
Red Hood, the Red Hood abducts the Joker, and Batman sets off in pursuit of
both of them. Batman and the Red Hood engage in a fierce fight in an abandoned
apartment which ends with an unmasked Jason holding the Joker at gunpoint,
trying to convince Batman to kill the madman. Batman refuses, and disarms
Jason—this leads Jason to set off a bomb he has planted in the building. After
the explosion, Batman is able to find the still-alive Joker in the rubble, but there
is no sign of Jason.

Winick changed quite a few of the plot details found in “Batman: Under the
Hood” for Batman: Under the Red Hood. The most notable of these changes was
that Jason’s resurrection in the film had nothing to do with Superboy-Prime
assaulting the barrier of reality—instead, Ra’s Al Ghul was responsible for Jason
being brought back to life. And “Batman: Under the Hood” featured a complex
storyline that was filled with a wide variety of DC characters, both heroes and
villains. The storyline of Batman: Under the Red Hood featured far fewer DC
characters, and was greatly simplified to fit the film’s 75-minute running time.

Also, the film’s depiction of the Joker was obviously greatly influenced by
Heath Ledger’s interpretation of the character in the film The Dark Knight. Like
The Dark Knight Joker, Batman: Under the Red Hood’s Joker was much more
quietly sinister than his usually over-the-top comic book counterpart, and he
sported a dark, disheveled mane of hair. The way that the character was used in
the film’s plot was obviously inspired by The Dark Knight Joker as well. In
Batman: Under the Red Hood, the Joker was called on by other criminals to
work with them, but these other criminals had no idea what they were really
getting themselves into when they forged ties with such a dangerous madman.

Batman: Under the Red Hood was very well-received by critics and longtime
fans of the character when it was released—in fact, it ended up being
considerably more popular than the comic work that inspired it. It is easy to see
why the film was so successful—it was beautifully animated, and its voice cast
was excellent. It also contained a wealth of interesting bonus material, including
a short documentary about the evolution of the Dick Grayson Robin character
entitled Robin: The Story of Dick Grayson. The Blu-ray release of the film
included all of this bonus material as well as a short documentary about the
evolution of the Jason Todd character called Robin’s Requiem: The Story of
Jason Todd. (Given the fact that Batman: Under the Red Hood was basically
about the Jason Todd character more than any other character, it seems that all
releases of the film should have contained this documentary, not just the Blu-
ray!)

The third Batman title produced by DC Universe Animated Original Movies was
far more faithful to its source material than Batman: Under the Red Hood had
been. Batman: Year One was released on Blu-ray and DVD in October 2011,
and it was almost a panel-for-panel adaptation of Frank Miller and David
Mazzucchelli’s 1987 groundbreaking comic series of the same name. It was
written by Tab Murphy, and directed by Sam Liu and Lauren Montgomery. The
film featured Benjamin McKenzie as the voice of Batman/Bruce Wayne and
Bryan Cranston as the voice of Jim Gordon. Obviously, since Batman: Year One
was such a literal reworking of a classic Batman comic series, it was heartily
embraced by most serious fans of the character. And the fact that it was as well-
animated and acted as all of the other films in the DC Universe Animated
Original Movies series made those fans appreciate it all the more.

Also like the other films in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series,
Batman: Year One contained a wealth of interesting bonus material. A short
documentary called Heart of Vengeance: Returning Batman to His Roots
chronicled the character’s Denny O’Neil–Neal Adams led revamp of the 1970s,
and Frank Miller’s 1980s reinvention of the character through his works
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One. Ironically, even
though so much of the documentary was about Miller’s work, Miller himself
declined to take part in the production in any way. He obviously chose to
continue his separation from the Batman character that began with the 2008
cancellation of his controversial comic title All Star Batman and Robin the Boy
Wonder.

In November 2010, the Cartoon Network premiered a new Warner Bros.

animated TV series called Young Justice created by Greg Weisman and Brandon
Vietti. It featured a new animated version of Batman, though the character was
not really the focal point of the series. The premise of Young Justice was that the
Dick Grayson Robin was leading a team of young DC superheroes that was
basically an offshoot of the Justice League. Batman often stepped in to counsel
Robin and the team during their adventures. In the series, the part of
Batman/Bruce Wayne was voiced by Bruce Greenwood, and the part of
Robin/Dick Grayson was voiced by Jesse McCartney.

The series underwent a number of major changes for its second season, which
premiered in April 2012. It was retitled Young Justice: Invasion, and it was set
five years in the future from the events of the first season. By this point in time,
Dick Grayson had become Nightwing, Tim Drake had become Robin, and the
Barbara Gordon version of Batgirl had begun to work with the crimefighters. In
Young Justice: Invasion, Greenwood and McCartney reprised their roles from
the first season, Cameron Bowen voiced the part of Robin/Tim Drake, and
Alyson Stoner voiced the part of Batgirl/Barbara Gordon. Obviously, the
continuity of Young Justice was in no way connected to Batman’s official comic
book continuity, and Batman himself did not play a very large role in the series
—but the series still contained moments that provided a very enjoyable depiction
of the character and his world.

As we noted in Chapter 16, director Sandy Collora’s 2002 independent short

film Batman: Dead End inspired the creation of scores of fan-made Batman
films that could be viewed on the Internet. And the exploding popularity of
video-sharing websites such as YouTube made these films readily available to
anyone with Internet access—so Batman fans were essentially given a new
format that allowed them to sample a wide variety of unofficial screen
interpretations of the character. As we also noted in Chapter 16, most of these
Batman fan films were forgettable, amateurish efforts, but a precious few of
them were so elaborate and well-made that they ended up winning critical praise
and drawing huge online audiences.

For example, in 2003 a filmmaker named Aaron Schoenke formed his own
production company called Bat in the Sun Productions and started making his
own Batman films. Schoenke’s first few Batman films such as Dark Justice
(2003) were very well-received by the online Batman community, which led his
subsequent Batman productions to become more and more ambitious. In fact,
Schoenke’s City of Scars (2010) was a tremendously ambitious work—it was 30
minutes in length, it was shot on high definition video cameras, and it had a
budget of over $25,000. The film starred Kevin Porter as Batman and Paul
Molnar as the Joker, and it chronicled Batman’s efforts to stop one of the Joker’s
murderous crime sprees in Gotham City. City of Scars was certainly not a
production that rivaled the overall scope and quality of Warner’s best Batman
films. But even still, it could be argued that its powerful interpretation of Batman
and his world was far closer in look and spirit to the character’s best comic
adventures than any of Warner’s Batman efforts.

I feel that in the interest of full disclosure, I should state that the Batman fan film
movement took hold of me several years ago. I became fascinated with the idea
of being able to create my own screen interpretation of Batman, so in 2007 I
decided to make my own Batman fan film with my sons Taylor and Keaton. The
result of our efforts was a three-and-a-half minute video called Batman:
Watching Over Gotham that was inspired by my all-time favorite Batman work,
the 1999 oversize graphic novel Batman: War on Crime by Paul Dini and Alex
Ross. I just used the word “amateurish” to describe the majority of the Batman
fan films that have been produced, and I suppose that word could be used to
accurately describe our little film. Still, it was great fun for me to prowl the
rooftops of Columbus, Ohio late at night dressed as Batman while we made our
movie. (Of course, given my lifelong Batman obsession, you know that I just
had to play the part in my own Batman film!)

In September 2011, DC Comics premiered The New 52, which was a revamp
and relaunch of all of the company’s comic titles. The New 52 was designed to
follow the events of DC’s 2011 system-wide crossover Flashpoint, in which the
Flash reset the timeline of the entire DC Universe. The New 52 was an ambitious
project, to say the least—DC canceled all of their monthly comic titles and
replaced them with 52 new comic titles, all of them starting with a ceremonial
“issue number 1.” Of course, this project was not really as radical of a restart as
DC made it out to be. For example, the comic titles Batman and Detective
Comics continued to feature Batman stories just like they had been doing for
over 70 years—they just had their issue numbers reset back to 1.

That said, however, The New 52 did bring some major changes to Batman’s
comic book continuity. Some of the complicated plotlines that Grant Morrison
had set in motion over the last few years were negated—Bruce Wayne was again
the only Batman, and Dick Grayson was again Nightwing, having adopted that
persona after stepping down from being the original Robin. But some of
Morrison’s other plotlines stayed intact—Damian Wayne remained Robin and
Tim Drake remained Red Robin, even though both of their backstories were
greatly revised.

The New 52 also retained Jason Todd as the character who had been killed by the
Joker when he was Robin, and then brought back from the dead to assume the
persona of the Red Hood. But the details of Jason’s story as laid out in Judd
Winick’s story arc “Batman: Under the Hood” were significantly altered, much
like the backstories of Damian Wayne and Tim Drake had been.

No member of Batman’s crimefighting team was changed as much for The New
52 as the character of Batgirl was. The injuries that Barbara Gordon suffered
when she was shot by the Joker in the classic 1988 graphic novel Batman: The
Killing Joke no longer left her permanently paralyzed—instead, she was able to
regain the use of her legs and return to her crimefighting activities as Batgirl.
This retooled Barbara Gordon Batgirl was given a costume that looked much
like the costume the character wore when she debuted all the way back in 1967
—and then she was given her own The New 52 comic title, simply titled Batgirl.
Incidentally, the Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown versions of Batgirl
basically just disappeared from the DC Universe after the Barbara Gordon
Batgirl was reintroduced. The new Kate Kane version of Batwoman fared much
better than Cain and Brown—The New 52 gave the character her own comic title
(simply titled Batwoman), and did not change her backstory in any way.

All of the changes that the Batman character had been put through over the years
were very difficult to keep up with—even for serious Batman fans. The excellent
2012 reference book Batman: The World of the Dark Knight by Daniel Wallace
helped to accomplish this task. The lavishly-illustrated book followed the history
of Batman and his world from his 1939 origin all the way through The New 52,
and provided a concise overview of the many incarnations of the character
created over the decades.

Batman was prominently featured in the DC Universe Animated Original

Movies production Justice League: Doom, which was released on Blu-ray and
DVD in February 2012. The film was based on Mark Waid’s story arc “JLA:
Tower of Babel” that had appeared in the DC comic title JLA in 2000. In Justice
League: Doom, Batman has developed a plan to incapacitate League should they
ever go rogue and threaten the human race. These plans are stolen by the villain
Vandal Savage, who attempts to destroy the League with them. Batman is able
to stop Savage, but the League’s faith in having Batman as a teammate is
seriously shaken. Kevin Conroy provided the voice of Batman/Bruce Wayne in
Justice League: Doom, just as he had for several previous DC Universe
Animated Original Movie projects.

I’m going to close out this chapter with a bit of an “author’s choice”—that is, a
few sentences about one of my own personal all-time favorite Batman works that
debuted during the Nolan cinematic Batman era. The graphic novel Batman:
Noel written and illustrated by Lee Bermejo was released in November 2011,
and it told a tale of Batman hunting down the Joker that was blended with
Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella A Christmas Carol.

Batman: Noel was a remarkable work on a number of levels—first and foremost,

Bermejo’s incorporation of A Christmas Carol into the book’s plot was
beautifully done. The other aspect of the book that was so amazing was that
Bermejo’s story and artwork managed to take in huge amount of Batman history
in just over 100 pages. The book was not tied to any particular Batman
continuity, so Bermejo was free to draw on a wide variety of notable
interpretations of the character.

For example, some scenes in Batman: Noel invoked the look and spirit of the
1960s screen Batman, while others invoked the look and spirit of Christopher
Nolan’s Batman films. The book contained scenes that recalled Batman’s team-
ups with Superman in their long running comic title World’s Finest, as well as
scenes that recalled Batman’s classic comic battles with villains such as the
Catwoman and the Joker. Bermejo used his incredible talent to create his own
unique vision of Batman and his world in Batman: Noel, one that struck just the
right balance between being innovative and being respectful of the character’s
rich history.

Speaking of Nolan, I think it is probably about time for us to return to his

cinematic vision of Batman. In the next chapter, we’ll discuss the final film in
his Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
 20
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Cast: Christian Bale (Batman/Bruce Wayne), Michael Caine (Alfred), Gary

Oldman (Jim Gordon), Anne Hathaway (Selina Kyle), Tom Hardy (Bane),
Marion Cotillard (Miranda), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Blake), Morgan Freeman
(Lucius Fox), Matthew Modine (Foley), Ben Mendelsohn (Daggett), Burn
Gorman (Stryver), Alon Moni Aboutboul (Dr. Pavel), Juno Temple (Jen), Daniel
Sunjata (Captain Jones), Chris Ellis (Fr. Reilly), Tom Conti (Prisoner), Nestor
Carbonell (Mayor), Brett Cullen (Congressman), Aidan Gillen (CIA Op), Sam
Kennard (Special Ops Sergeant), Aliash Tepina (Hooded Man #2), Nick Julian
(Caterer), Miranda Nolan (Maid #2), Claire Julien (Maid #3), Reggie Lee
(Ross), Joseph Lyle Taylor (DWP Man), Tyler Dean Flores (Mark), Duane
Henry (SWAT in Dive Bar), James Harvey Ward (SWAT in Alley), Gonzalo
Menendez (Cop in Manhole), Cameron Jack (Sewer Thug #1), Lex Daniel
(Sewer Thug #2), Thomas Lennon (Doctor), Trevor White (Yuppie), Rob Brown
(Allen), Fredric Lehne (Exchange Security Chief), Courtney Munch (Female
Security Guard), Chris Hill (Paparazzi #1), Travis Guba (Paparazzi #2), Jay
Benedict (Rich Twit), Will Estes (Officer Simon Jansen), David Dayan Fisher
(Shoe Shine Man at GSE), P. J. Griffith (Sniper at Exchange) Glen Powell
(Trader #1), Ben Cornish (Trader #2), Russ Fega (Trader #3), Andres Perez-
Molina (Valet at Museum), Brent Briscoe (Veteran Cop), John Nolan
(Fredericks), Oliver Cotton (2 Star Air Force General), Mark Killeen (Airport
Cop), Sarah Goldberg (Analyst #1), John Macmillan (Analyst #2), Robert
Wisdom (Army Captain at Bridge), Ronnie Gene Blevins (Cement Truck
Driver), John Hollingworth (CIA Analyst), Ian Bohen (Cop with Gordon), Uri
Gavriel (Blind Prisoner), Noel G. (Ex-Prisoner at River), Max Schuler (Foley’s
Kid), Daina Griffith (Foley’s Wife), Hector Atreyu Ruiz (Gangbanger), Patrick
Cox (Huge Inmate), Aramis Knight (Kid with Apple), Josh Stewart (Barsad),
William Devane (President), Harry Coles (Younger Prison Child), Joey King
(Older Prison Child), Liam Neeson (Ra’s Al Ghul), Julie Mun (Reporter at
Stadium), Cillian Murphy (Dr. Jonathan Crane), David Gyasi (Skinny Prisoner),
Patrick Jordan (Special Forces #2), Joshua Elijah Reese (Mercenary at City
Hall), Desmond Harrington (Uniform), Mychael Bates (Bomb Truck Driver),
Rory Nolan (Little Boy at Bridge), Tomas Arana (Wayne’s Lawyer), Peter
Holden (Applied Sciences Tech #1), David Monahan (Applied Sciences Tech
#2), Jillian Armenante (Lawyer’s Clerk), Aja Evans (Greeter at Museum),
Aldous Davidson (Valet at Wayne Enterprises), Michael James Faradie (Guard
at Blackgate), Wade Williams (Warden at Blackgate), Antwan Lewis (Reporter
at Wayne Enterprises), Jake Canuso (Waiter in Florence Café), Josh Pence
(Young Ra’s Al Ghul), India Wadsworth (Warlord’s Daughter), Kevin Kiely
(Thug #1 in Basement), Daniel Newman (Thug #2 in Basement), Massi Furlan
(Janitor at GSE), Warren Brown (Mercenary Security #1), Luke Rutherford
(Mercenary Security #2), Phillip Browne (Mercenary Security #3), Christopher
Judge (Mercenary Security #4), Aldo Bigante (2nd Cop with Gordon), Charles
Jackson Coyne (Anthem Singer), Patrick Leahy (Board Member #2), Todd
Gearhart (Uniform #2). Producers: Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan, Charles
Roven. Executive Producers: Benjamin Melniker, Michael E. Uslan, Kevin De
La Noy, Thomas Tull. Co-Producer: Jordan Goldberg. Director: Christopher
Nolan. Screenplay: Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan (Story by Christopher
Nolan and David S. Goyer, based upon characters appearing in comic books
published by DC Comics, Batman created by Bob Kane). Director of
Photography: Wally Pfister. Production Designers: Nathan Crowley, Kevin
Kavanaugh. Editor: Lee Smith. Music: Hans Zimmer. Visual Effects Supervisor:
Paul Franklin. Special Effects Supervisor: Chris Corbould. Costume Designer:
Lindy Hemming. Casting: John Papsidera. Studio: Warner Bros. Length: 165
minutes. United States Release Date: July 20, 2012.

Obviously, the history-making success of The Dark Knight led Warner Bros. to
give Christopher Nolan free rein in terms of exactly where he would decide to
take the studio’s Batman film franchise next. After the release of The Dark
Knight, the director did exactly what he did after the release of Batman Begins—
he chose to tackle a non–Batman film project before returning to his cinematic
vision of Batman. This particular project brought Nolan almost as much mind-
boggling success as The Dark Knight had brought him—the 2010 science fiction
film Inception starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-
Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page and Tom Hardy was a gigantic commercial
and critical hit, grossing over $820 million worldwide.
1

Inception’s triumph had to be a deeply personal one for Nolan, because the film
was truly his in almost every way. It was written by him from the ground up—in
other words, he did not have to work with a bunch of characters created by
someone else like he had to do when he was scripting his Batman films. And of
course, it was directed and co-produced by him as well. (His wife Emma
Thomas was the film’s other producer.) The Dark Knight and Inception had
catapulted Nolan to the very top of the motion picture industry, and the director
was now considered to be one of the most influential and respected filmmakers
in the world.

Christian Bale as Batman in The Dark Knight Rises (2012).

Nolan decided that he only had one more Batman film in him, and he wanted to
bring his cinematic vision of the character to a definite close with that film. As
he had done with his two previous Batman movies, he laid out a story for the
film with David S. Goyer. That story was turned into a finished script by Nolan
and his brother Jonathan. Of course, this was the second Batman screenplay the
two brothers had written together—they had previously collaborated on the
script for The Dark Knight. The classic Batman villains that the Nolan brothers
and Goyer decided to feature in this new screenplay were Selina Kyle/the
Catwoman and Bane. Of course, both of these characters had been used in
Warner’s Batman film franchise before—Catwoman had appeared in Tim
Burton’s Batman Returns, and Bane had appeared in Joel Schumacher’s Batman
and Robin.

While the script was still taking shape, the Nolan brothers decided that the title
of the finished film would be The Dark Knight Rises. This title hinted at the
film’s overall concept—its plot would center around Batman coming out of a
long, self-imposed retirement, and rising to prominence in Gotham City once
more.

Most all of the creative team that had been with Nolan throughout his directorial
career was back on board for The Dark Knight Rises. That team included
producer (and wife!) Emma Thomas, production designer Nathan Crowley,
special effects supervisor Chris Corbould, costume designer Lindy Hemming,
and cinematographer Wally Pfister. Nolan also retained many of the principal
actors who appeared in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight for The Dark
Knight Rises. In the film, Christian Bale would play Batman/Bruce Wayne,
Michael Caine would play Alfred, Gary Oldman would play Jim Gordon,
Morgan Freeman would play Lucius Fox, and Cillian Murphy would make a
cameo appearance as Dr. Jonathan Crane, a.k.a. the Scarecrow. The cast and
crew of Nolan’s Batman films already had two incredibly successful productions
under their belt, and they were very confident that this third production would
also be a smash hit.

Nolan’s choices to play the new main characters appearing The Dark Knight
Rises were definitely influenced by the casting choices he had made for
Inception. Indeed, three of those roles went to actors who had received top
billing in that film. Tom Hardy was picked to play Bane, Marion Cotillard was
picked to play Miranda Tate, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt was picked to play John
Blake. (Obviously, there ended up being a lot more to both Cotillard’s and
Gordon-Levitt’s roles than them just being “Tate” and “Blake,” respectively—
we’ll discuss the full nature of their roles in detail later in the chapter.)
However, the role of Selina Kyle/the Catwoman went to someone who would be
working with the director for the first time—the director chose Anne Hathaway
for the part. Hathaway had first achieved wide recognition through her starring
roles in light comedies such as The Princess Diaries (2001), but she showcased
her range as a dramatic actress when she appeared in the critically acclaimed
film Brokeback Mountain (2005).

In casting The Dark Knight Rises, Nolan had definitely followed the pattern he
had established for Batman Begins and The Dark Knight—he had loaded the
film with a truly stellar ensemble of well-known actors. And once again, cost
was certainly no issue in terms of Nolan picking the actors he wanted for the
film. Given the director’s recent track record at the box office, Warner Bros.
gave him an even bigger budget for The Dark Knight Rises than they had for The
Dark Knight—about $250 million. 2

The Dark Knight Rises’ gigantic budget also allowed Nolan to shape the film
into an even more grandiose production than The Dark Knight had been. This
time around, Nolan’s cinematic vision of Batman would take on the feel of an
epic war movie rather than an urban crime drama. In this author’s opinion,
Nolan’s decision to realize Batman and his world in this fashion in The Dark
Knight Rises did not end up meshing very well with the time-honored traditions
of the character—but we’ll get to that later in the chapter.

As he had done with his previous two Batman films, Nolan dreamt up a brand-
new unusual mode of transportation for Batman to use in The Dark Knight Rises.
In the movie, Batman would take to the skies in a futuristic wingless aircraft that
was kind of a hybrid between a jet and a helicopter. The aircraft was dubbed “the
Bat,” and it looked very much like a flying version of the Tumbler. A full-size
model of the Bat was constructed for use in the film—but like the Batwings
featured in Burton’s and Schumacher’s Batman films, the Bat could not actually
fly in real life. So all of The Dark Knight Rises’ scenes showing the aircraft in
action were realized through the use of special effects. (We’ll discuss the
different special effects that were used to create the film’s Bat scenes a bit later
in the chapter.)

Like The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises would be partially shot in IMAX
format. But the film’s IMAX footage would not be limited just to establishing
shots and a relatively few number of sequences like The Dark Knight’s IMAX
footage had been—Nolan would end up using roughly twice as much IMAX
footage in the film as he did in The Dark Knight. So IMAX would bring even
more grandeur and detail to The Dark Knight Rises than it had brought to The
Dark Knight.

Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/The Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises

(2012).

Shooting for The Dark Knight Rises commenced in May 2011, when Nolan and
company traveled to Jaipur, Rajasthan, a rural area of India. In Jaipur, scenes
showing Bruce escaping from an underground prison run by Bane were filmed.
The production then returned to film in the United Kingdom at the massive
Cardington Sheds hangar. That hangar had served Nolan very well during the
making of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, and it was again used to great
effect for The Dark Knight Rises. Two massive sets were constructed there—
those sets were Bane’s lair located deep in the sewers of Gotham City, and parts
of Bane’s underground prison located in an unspecified foreign country. 3

The interior shots of a CIA plane hijacked by Bane were filmed just outside of
Cardington Sheds. The fuselage of the plane was mounted on a hydraulic lift
which allowed it to be tilted into a near-vertical position—this was done in order
to show Bane’s men wrecking the plane by attaching cables to it from a much
larger plane flying above. The exterior shots of the plane hijacking were filmed
in the skies over Inverness in the Scottish Highlands.
4

This spectacular sequence was filmed entirely in IMAX, and it would end up
opening the film. It was completely finished up well before the release of The
Dark Knight Rises so that it could be used as one of the film’s major
promotional tools—dubbed “The Dark Knight Rises IMAX Prologue,” Warner
Bros. released the sequence with selected IMAX screenings of the film Mission:
Impossible—Ghost Protocol in December 2011. (As we noted earlier in the
book, this marketing strategy was first employed to promote the release of The
Dark Knight—“The Dark Knight IMAX Prologue” was released with selected
IMAX screenings of the film I Am Legend in December 2007.)
Christian Bale as Batman and Tom Hardy as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises
(2012).

After nine weeks of shooting in the United Kingdom, the film’s cast and crew
traveled to the United States for about a month of location shooting in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Nolan had used the city of Chicago to realize his
vision of Gotham City in his first two Batman films, but he decided that it was
time for a change of scenery in The Dark Knight Rises—so for several weeks
during the summer of 2011, “the Steel City” became “Gotham City.” 5

Some of the film’s most memorable sequences were filmed in Pittsburgh. Bane’s
attack on the Gotham Rogues’ football stadium was filmed at Heinz Field, the
home of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team. In the sequence, Bane detonates
massive explosives in the stadium as the Rogues face off against the Rapid City
Monuments in front of a huge hometown crowd. This sequence was filmed with
over ten thousand extras in the stadium, most all of them wearing the Rogues’
team colors of black and yellow. Some of the Rogues football players were
portrayed by real-life Steelers—in fact, the Rogues player that returns the
Monument’s kickoff for a touchdown in the film is the team’s longtime wide
receiver Hines Ward.

Of course, the explosives that destroy the stadium in the sequence were all
created through the use of special effects—the only explosives that were actually
detonated while the scene was being filmed were relatively small charges set in
piles of turf located on the stadium field. Incidentally, I can’t resist pointing out
that my wife and I traveled from our hometown of Columbus, Ohio to Pittsburgh
in order to be extras in this sequence—it was fascinating to watch Nolan and
company work on such an incredibly large and complex scene. Oh, and if you
want to pick us out in one of the sequence’s crowd scenes, we are two of the
yellow dots!

Several important sequences found in the climax of The Dark Knight Rises were
filmed in Pittsburgh as well. The fight between Batman and Bane that takes
place in the middle of the battle between the Gotham City Police and Bane’s
men was filmed at Carnegie Mellon University, and the Bat’s pursuit of a truck
carrying a nuclear bomb was filmed on several of the city’s downtown streets.
These shots of the Bat in action were accomplished by mounting the aircraft atop
a crane truck. Cameras filmed the Bat being driven around by the truck—and
then the truck was digitally removed from the shots, making it appear as if the
Bat was really flying.6

Most all of the film’s scenes that were shot in Pittsburgh were supposed to be
taking place in the cold of late fall and winter—since these scenes were being
shot in the stifling summer heat, drastic measures had to be taken to get them
into the “right” season. Those measures included a lot of heavy clothes being
worn by cast members and extras in near–100 degree temperatures, and a lot of
fake snow on the ground!

After the Pittsburgh shoot was complete, Nolan and company headed to Los
Angeles, California for about nine weeks of filming. There was one particularly
important set for the film constructed in Los Angeles—the rebuilt Batcave was a
gigantic set that rivaled the scope and size of the Batcave set built for Batman
Begins at Shepperton Studios in England. Like the Batman Begins Batcave, The
Dark Knight Rises Batcave was outfitted with scores of water pumps to create a
huge waterfall and underground river that ran through the set. The main thing
7

about the set that was so different from the Batman Begins set was that it housed
Batman’s costume and crimefighting equipment under the river—Batman’s
costume and equipment were encased in waterproof cubes that could be
hydraulically lifted out of the water when needed.

The Dark Knight Rises wrapped up filming in New York City in November
2011. The movie’s climactic battle between the Gotham City Police and Bane’s
men was shot on Wall Street using over a thousand extras. The New York City
shoot also included scenes showing the Bat in flight—these scenes were
accomplished by suspending the aircraft from cables. 8

After the principal photography for The Dark Knight Rises had been completed,
Nolan began work on overseeing the film’s postproduction in Los Angeles. Like
his previous two Batman movies, The Dark Knight Rises would end up featuring
many scenes that were created using computer-generated images. These images
included scenes showing the Bat in flight, and scenes featuring Catwoman
performing incredible maneuvers on the Bat-Pod. 9

And also like Nolan’s previous two Batman movies, The Dark Knight Rises
utilized miniature sets to realize several of its spectacular scenes. The
previously-mentioned sequence in which Bane wrecks a CIA plane used a
miniature of the plane in the filming of the actual crash scene. Also, a scene
showing Bane using explosions to gain access to Wayne Enterprises from his
underground lair was shot using a one-third scale model of that lair.
10

Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard had worked together to compose
musical scores for both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight—but this time
around Howard bowed out of the project, so Zimmer composed the score for The
Dark Knight Rises on his own. Like the soundtracks for Nolan’s first two
Batman films, the soundtrack for The Dark Knight Rises was very ambient in
nature, featuring compositions that consisted of hypnotic percussion patterns and
long-held musical tones.

However, this new score was different from its predecessors in one noticeable
way—Zimmer chose to feature human voices performing a rhythmic Moroccan
chant as part of the score. The chant’s loose English translation was “he rises,”
which fit in very nicely with the film’s concept of Batman rising to prominence
in Gotham once more.

The manner in which Zimmer decided to record the chant was a very novel one
—he invited fans of Nolan’s Batman films to record themselves performing the
chant, and then send those recordings to him via the Internet. Zimmer received
an overwhelming response to this invitation—around 180,000 people ended up
chanting for him! All of these chant recordings were then mixed together to
realize the final chant heard in the film.
11

As we discussed earlier in the book, Warner Bros. created quite a bit of very
innovative promotion for The Dark Knight such as the direct-to-video animated
movie Batman: Gotham Knight, several History Channel documentaries, and a
number of fictional websites based on the film. The studio’s promotion for The
Dark Knight Rises was nowhere near as diverse as this promotion for The Dark
Knight—still, Warner did end up producing one Batman television documentary
that tied into the film. The Batmobile premiered on the CW Network (a network
partially owned by Warner) in mid–July, 2012, and it examined the history of
Batman’s famous ride in the comics and on the screen. The highlight of the
program was footage showing the first-ever gathering of the five big screen
Batmobiles that took place in Burbank, California in April 2012. The Batmobiles
in attendance were the 1966 Batman Batmobile, the 1989 Batman Batmobile, the
Batman Forever Batmobile, the 1997 Batman and Robin Batmobile, and the
Tumbler.

And of course, Warner Bros. promoted The Dark Knight Rises by creating an
elaborate official website for the film—the site was launched by the studio about
a year before the movie’s premiere date. In the months leading up to the film’s
release, the site featured a wealth of The Dark Knight Rises information—
visitors could look at production photos, watch videos of the film’s theatrical
previews, and read biographies of the film’s cast and crew. Incidentally, Warner
has continued to maintain and update the site right up to the present day, so it
still functions as a marvelous resource designed to enhance one’s appreciation of
the film.

The world premiere of The Dark Knight Rises was held in the IMAX theatre at
AMC Loews Lincoln Square in New York City on July 16, 2012. Much of the
film’s principal onscreen and offscreen talent attended the event, including Bale,
Oldman, Hathaway, Hardy, Cotillard, Gordon-Levitt, Freeman, and Nolan.
Several days later, on July 20, The Dark Knight opened in theatres throughout
the United States.

Tragically, the U.S. opening of The Dark Knight Rises cannot be recounted
without taking note of the horrifying events that took place in Aurora, Colorado,
on the night of the film’s premiere. During a midnight showing of the film at a
movie theatre in that city, a crazed gunman opened fire on the audience inside
the theatre, killing 12 people and injuring 58 others. The terrible attack shocked
the entire world, and cast a pall over the movie’s highly-anticipated release.
Needless to say, the tragedy deeply affected the cast and crew of The Dark
Knight Rises. Bale chose to reach out to the victims of the shooting personally—
he visited with a number of them at an Aurora hospital several days after the
incident.

It is hard to move on after having to discuss this awful event—but let’s try to do
just that and go through the film itself. The Dark Knight Rises opens with an
image of a bat silhouette coming through layers of ice. We are then taken to a
memorial service for Harvey Dent for just a moment, where Gotham City Police
Commissioner Jim Gordon is speaking. The meaning of Gordon’s words might
not be clear to those in attendance, but they are certainly clear to us—he says “I
believed in Harvey Dent.” Obviously, Dent’s murderous actions as Two-Face
right before his death shattered Gordon’s belief in Gotham’s heroic D.A. into a
million pieces.

The scene shifts to an airstrip somewhere in Eastern Europe, where a CIA plane
is taking a nuclear physicist named Dr. Leonid Pavel into their custody. The CIA
agent in charge of the operation is persuaded to take several other men wearing
shackles and hoods into custody as well, because he is told that the men worked
for a dangerous mercenary known only as “Bane.” Once aboard the plane, the
CIA agent interrogates the men, trying to gain information about Bane. He is
shocked to learn that Bane himself is actually one of the men—Bane’s demeanor
is oddly serene, and he wears a strange-looking mask over his nose and mouth.

For a moment, the CIA agent thinks he has bagged himself a major prize, but
Bane has orchestrated a daring plan to grab Pavel for himself and crash the CIA
plane. Bane’s own plane, a much larger aircraft, swoops in and drops cables that
connect to the CIA plane. The cables force the CIA plane to tip forward, ripping
its wings off. Right before the CIA plane is completely destroyed, Bane grabs
Pavel and spirits him onto his plane using one of the cables. Just what Bane
intends to do with Pavel is not made clear at this point.

Back in Gotham City, a new holiday known as “Harvey Dent Day” is being
celebrated. It has been eight years since Dent’s death, and a bill called the “Dent
Act” passed after Dent was killed has virtually ended organized crime in
Gotham. At Wayne Manor, a charity event honoring Dent’s memory is being
held, but Bruce Wayne is nowhere to be found—he has become a total recluse
over the past few years, hiding in his rebuilt mansion. (Remember, Ra’s Al Ghul
burned the Manor to the ground when he tried to destroy Gotham, and it was still
being rebuilt at the time of Dent’s death.) Batman has also vanished from
Gotham as well—the crimefighter completely disappeared after he supposedly
murdered Harvey Dent.

Gordon prepares to speak at the Wayne Manor event. He has written a speech
telling the truth about Dent—the speech will reveal that Dent was the insane
murderer the night he was killed, not Batman. But as Gordon steps to the
podium, he changes his mind about delivering the speech, instead slipping it
back into his pocket. Gordon then says that Dent’s death was not in vain because
there are over a thousand inmates being held without bail in Blackgate Prison as
a result of the Dent Act. As Gordon speaks, a shadowy figure watches him from
the roof of Wayne Manor—it is Bruce.

Inside the Manor, a waitress named Selina Kyle delivers a plate of food to
Bruce’s room on Alfred’s order. Bruce confronts Selina there, because she has
stolen his mother’s pearls from a high-tech safe that was supposedly
uncrackable. Bruce’s years as a recluse have not been kind to him—he is
bearded, disheveled, and using a cane to help him walk. Selina kicks Bruce’s
cane out from under him and jumps out of the window, making off with the
pearls. She hitches a ride with a congressman who is leaving the party.

Bruce examines the safe that Selina robbed, and he realizes that for some
unknown reason she had dusted it for prints. Meanwhile, Gordon is back at the
Gotham City Police Station, where a rookie cop named John Blake talks to him.
Blake tells the Commissioner that the congressman never made it home after
leaving the Wayne event. Blake also asks Gordon about Batman—it is obvious
that Blake doesn’t buy the story that Batman killed Dent eight years ago.

Back at Wayne Manor, Alfred finds Bruce in the Batcave, where he is

investigating Selina Kyle. He learns that she was only posing as a waitress—in
reality she is a master cat burglar, and she had dusted the safe for his prints while
she was robbing it. Alfred interrupts Bruce’s investigation to tell him that Bruce
needs to get back out into the world, but Bruce says that there is nothing out
there for him since Rachel Dawes died. Alfred responds to this by telling Bruce
a story. During the seven years that Bruce had left Gotham, Alfred would take a
summer holiday to Florence, Italy. Alfred hoped to see Bruce there, maybe with
a wife and children—then he would know that Bruce had made it out of his
tragic life. Alfred ends this story by saying that he never wanted to see Bruce
return to Gotham because there was nothing there for him but pain.

The next day, Officer Blake goes to the scene of a mysterious death—the body
of a young man from a Gotham orphanage has washed out of one of the city’s
sewers. Blake goes to the orphanage to inform them of the boy’s death—
coincidentally, it is the same one where he grew up after his parents were killed.
Blake learns that boys have been going down into the sewers because they have
heard that there is some sort of “work” for them down there.

That night, Selina goes to a seedy bar to take copies of Bruce’s fingerprints to a
man named Stryver, who works for a powerful but corrupt Gotham businessman
named John Daggett. Daggett runs his own very successful construction
company, and he also sits on the board of Wayne Enterprises. Stryver is
supposed to have something for Selina in return for the fingerprints, but instead
of giving her anything he is simply going to have some of Daggett’s henchmen
kill her. But Selina has planned ahead—she brought the missing congressman
with her and used his cell phone so that the Gotham Police will track the number
and immediately storm the bar. They do just that, and some of the cops pursue
Daggett’s henchmen as they try to escape into the sewers under Gotham. Selina
is then able to escape the scene unnoticed.

Gordon is one of the cops that go into the sewers, and down there he is
overpowered by a number of men. The men are working for Bane, who has
established a headquarters in the sewers. They take Gordon to Bane—the
mercenary searches the Commissioner, and takes his speech that tells the truth
about Dent from him. Gordon is able to escape from Bane by rolling into the
sewer waters, which carry him out to the sewer tunnel where the young man’s
body had recently washed up. Blake, playing a hunch that Gordon might end up
at that tunnel as well, goes to the tunnel and finds the Commissioner there,
gravely wounded. Deputy Commissioner Foley, one of Gordon’s friends on the
Gotham Police force, takes command of the force after Gordon is hurt.
The next day, Blake goes to see Bruce at Wayne Manor to tell him that Gordon
has been injured, and that Gordon spoke of a masked man with an underground
army. Blake tells Bruce that Gordon needs Batman. Bruce wonders why Blake is
telling him all of this, and Blake responds by saying that he knows Bruce is
Batman. Blake met Bruce at his orphanage years ago, and somehow during this
meeting Blake just instinctively knew that Bruce was the crimefighter.

Blake’s visit spurs Bruce into action—he learns that Bane is financially
connected to Daggett. Bruce surmises that Daggett must have brought the
mercenary to Gotham so that the two men could join forces. Bruce also goes to
the hospital to have his leg examined, but his doctor’s appointment is only part
of the reason why he has gone there. He puts on a mask and sneaks into
Gordon’s hospital room in order to visit his wounded ally. Bruce tries to
convince Gordon that “Batman wasn’t needed anymore” after the passage of the
Dent Act, but Gordon says that Batman must return to fight this new evil that has
come to Gotham.

Bruce follows Selina to a charity ball held by Miranda Tate, who had been
working with Bruce on a Wayne Enterprises nuclear fusion energy project some
years ago. Miranda chides Bruce for giving up on the project and going into
seclusion, but Bruce has more pressing concerns than Miranda’s disapproval. He
finds Selina, dances with her, and takes back his mother’s pearls. But Selina still
ends up getting the better of Bruce—she leaves the party before him and steals
his Lamborghini!

The next day, Bruce goes to see Lucius Fox at Wayne Enterprises because he
wants to know why the company has been in such dire financial straits as of late.
Fox tells Bruce that all of the company’s fiscal woes stem the fact that Bruce
spent so much money on the energy project and then completely mothballed it.
Fox also sees Bruce’s visit as a chance to show him some of the new Wayne
Enterprises equipment that Fox has been safekeeping over the years. Bruce tells
Fox that he has retired from crimefighting, and that he has no interest in such
equipment—even still, Bruce cannot help but be impressed by a futuristic
aircraft that Fox shows to him. Fox says that the aircraft has a long, uninteresting
name, so he has just taken to calling it “the Bat.” The Bat has a problem with its
autopilot system, so Fox suggests that Bruce look into fixing it.

Back at the Batcave, Bruce straps on a futuristic knee brace that gives his leg full
mobility again. Alfred then tells Bruce what he has learned about Bane—the
mercenary was born and raised in a horrible prison on the other side of the
world. Bane managed to escape the prison, and he was taken in by Ra’s Al Ghul
—Ra’s trained him to be a part of his band of mercenaries known as the League
of Shadows, but Bane was so extreme that Ra’s excommunicated him from the
League. Alfred is afraid that Bruce will not be able to defeat Bane as Batman—
in fact, Alfred believes that Bruce has become so troubled that he will want Bane
to defeat him. In other words, Alfred sees Bruce’s potential return to the cape
and cowl as nothing more than an elaborate suicide attempt.

At the Gotham Stock Exchange, traders are frantically doing their business as
usual when they are attacked by Bane and his men. They shoot their way in with
automatic weapons, killing at least one person in the process, and then Bane
hacks into the Exchange’s computer system. The Gotham City Police
Department rushes to the scene, but Bane and some of his men escape on
motorcycles while carrying hostages. The police give chase, and so does Batman
on his Bat-Pod. Batman is armed with an electromagnetic pulse gun that enables
him to shut down all types of machinery, so he brings several of the motorcycles
that Bane’s men are riding to a dead stop.

Deputy Commissioner Foley gets word that Batman is back, and he immediately
suspends the force’s pursuit of Bane and his men in order to apprehend the
crimefighter. Blake is skeptical of this decision, but Foley says to him, “Who do
you want to catch? Some robber, or the son-of-a-bitch that killed Harvey Dent?”
Just as scores of police are bearing down on him, Batman overpowers one of
Bane’s men—he is carrying the laptop computer that was used to hack into the
Exchange’s computer system. The crimefighter is able to drive off on his Bat-
Pod with the laptop just before the police reach him. Batman rides into a dead-
end alley, and Foley thinks he has the crimefighter trapped. The assumption
turns out to be spectacularly wrong when Batman files out of the alley in the Bat.

While Batman has been in action, Selina has been at Daggett’s home dressed in
her black cat burglar outfit. She is trying to steal a computer program known as
the “clean slate,” which can erase a person from every computer database in the
world—the program is the item that Daggett had promised her if she could come
up with Bruce’s fingerprints. Daggett interrupts her burglary and tells her that
the clean slate is nothing more than a myth—it does not exist. Selina does not
believe Daggett, and she whisks him out of his home to interrogate him further.
But she is not able to do this when Daggett’s heavily-armed men arrive on the
scene and begin firing on her. Batman bursts into the fray—he and Selina fight
off the men, jump into the Bat, and make their escape. Bane arrives on the scene
just in time to see them fly away.

Batman learns from Selina that she sold Bruce’s fingerprints to Daggett, and the
crimefighter quickly realizes the connection between the stolen prints and the
stock market raid. Back at the Batcave, Alfred scolds Bruce for assuming the
guise of Batman again—Alfred still believes that Bruce simply cannot defeat
Bane as Batman. Alfred is so convinced that Bruce is wrong to again don the
cape and cowl that he leaves Bruce for good. Before he leaves, Alfred reveals to
Bruce that he burned the letter that Rachel had written to Bruce before she was
killed by the Joker—in that letter, Rachel had told Bruce that she was leaving
him for Harvey Dent. Bruce, crushed by Alfred’s deception, bids a tearful
goodbye to his closest confidant.

The next day, Fox comes to Wayne Manor to see Bruce. Scores of fake trades
were made using Bruce’s stolen fingerprints, and these trades have completely
bankrupted Wayne Enterprises. Bruce, fearing that the company will fall under
the control of Daggett, arranges a meeting with Miranda Tate to show her their
nuclear fusion reactor. It turns out that the reactor is completely operable—
Bruce chose to shut the project down several years earlier because Leonid Pavel
had published a report that detailed how the reactor could be converted into a
nuclear bomb. After showing Miranda the reactor, Bruce convinces her to run
his company while he sorts out the fake trade problem.

Later, Daggett meets with Bane—Daggett is angry that Miranda was chosen to
run Wayne Enterprises over him, but he has no idea of the trouble he has put
himself in by aligning himself with Bane. Bane no longer needs Daggett’s help
to take over Gotham City, so he casually breaks the corrupt businessman’s neck,
killing him instantly. Meanwhile, Bruce goes to Selina’s apartment, and he asks
her to help Batman find Bane’s sewer headquarters. At the same time, Officer
Blake meets with Gordon in his hospital room—Gordon promotes Blake to the
rank of detective in order to help him track down Bane.

That night, Bruce arrives back at Wayne Manor to find Miranda waiting for him.
They give into their attraction for one another and sleep together. But Bruce does
not stay at the Manor with Miranda for long—he dons his Batman costume and
meets Selina down in the Gotham sewers. Selina takes him to Bane’s
headquarters, but it turns out that she has set a trap for the crimefighter—Bane
knows she is bringing Batman to him. In fact, Bane even knows that Batman’s
true identity is Bruce Wayne. Batman and Bane engage in a ferocious fight, but
the crimefighter is defeated by the mercenary—Bane lifts Batman into the air
and brings Batman down hard on his knee, breaking the crimefighter’s back.
Bane then sets off a series of explosions that allow him to gain access to Wayne
Enterprises—he then commandeers all of the equipment Bruce had used to fight
crime as Batman, including several Tumblers.

The next day, Blake tries to locate Bruce, but he instead finds Selina, who is
trying to flee the city. Selina is taken into custody and held at Blackgate Prison.
Bruce, who has survived his backbreaking encounter with Bane, is also taken
into custody—Bane takes him to the horrible underground prison where the
mercenary was born and raised. Bane tells Bruce that he is going to torture all of
Gotham and eventually destroy the city entirely, and Bruce will be forced to
watch his actions from prison.

Back in Gotham, Bane breaks into a Wayne Enterprises board meeting, kidnaps
Fox and Miranda, and takes them into the sewers. Gordon learns of the
kidnappings and sends every Gotham cop into the sewers to find Bane. Bane
makes Fox and Miranda power up the nuclear fusion reactor, and then he makes
his other hostage Dr. Pavel turn the reactor into a nuclear bomb. But Bane’s
insane scheme to destroy Gotham has only just begun. For months, he had been
directing Daggett’s construction crews to pour cement mixed with explosives all
over the city. This allows him to detonate explosives throughout Gotham that
destroy every bridge and tunnel that connects the city with the rest of the world.
These explosions also trap most all of Gotham’s police officers in the sewers. In
an instant, Bane is able to separate Gotham from the world and hold the entire
city hostage.

In order to make everyone in Gotham aware of what he has done to the city,
Bane has also had his explosive cement poured underneath the field of the
Gotham Rogues’ football stadium. So as he detonates all of his explosives, the
Rogues’ football field is blown to bits along with all of the city’s bridges and
tunnels. Bane’s timing is horrifyingly perfect—the field is blown up just as the
Rogues are facing off against the Rapid City Monuments in front of a huge
hometown crowd. Bane walks out to address the stunned crowd after the field
has been blown up—he has Dr. Pavel explain how powerful the nuclear bomb
really is, and then he kills Pavel. Bane then tells the crowd that the bomb can be
detonated by an anonymous citizen who is in possession of a remote trigger to
the bomb, and that person will trigger the bomb if anyone should try to enter or
to leave the city.

Luckily, there are still some people in Gotham who are trying to oppose Bane’s
takeover of the city. Blake is able to rescue Gordon from his hospital room, and
the two do their best to stay hidden from Bane’s men and to work on piecing
together a resistance movement.

Some time later, Bane goes to Blackgate Prison to hold a makeshift press
conference. He reads Gordon’s speech that tells the truth about Harvey Dent and
Batman. Bane then declares that since the Dent Act is based on a lie, all of the
prisoners in Blackgate should be set free. So Bane frees all of these prisoners,
including Selina. People all over Gotham start rioting and taking over the posh
homes that belong to wealthy Gothamites.

In Bane’s prison, an inmate tells Bruce the story of how Ra’s Al Ghul and his
wife were once held there. Ra’s married the daughter of a wealthy warlord, but
the warlord did not approve of Ra’s, so he sentenced Ra’s to the prison. The
daughter took Ra’s’ place in the prison, and she was pregnant with Ra’s’ child.
But before Bruce can find out just who Ra’s’ child was, the inmate works on
fixing Bruce’s broken back by punching his displaced vertebrae back into place.
Bruce can walk again, and he begins to work on rebuilding his body so that he
can escape from the prison and save Gotham. During this time, Bruce also learns
that Bane wears his mask because he was injured in a prison fight, and his
injuries never healed properly—so the mask helps to keep his constant pain
under control.

To escape the underground prison, Bruce has to climb up a well-like pit that
leads to the outside world, and then leap from one ledge to another ledge that
appears to be impossibly far from the first ledge. Bruce makes the climb with a
rope tied around his waist, but he cannot make the jump between the ledges, so
he takes a very hard fall. Bruce learns that the child of Ra’s made this jump and
escaped the prison many years ago—Bruce assumes that this child must have
been Bane himself.

Back in Gotham, U.S. Special Forces officers manage to infiltrate the city, and
they meet with Gordon and Blake. All of these lawmen are briefed by Fox and
Miranda, who have been working to keep themselves hidden from Bane. They
explain that the bomb’s fuel cells are decaying—this means that the bomb will
go off in a matter of weeks if it is not reconnected to its reactor. And the bomb
has been almost impossible to locate, because it is constantly being transported
in a lead-lined truck. The Special Forces officers have no time to digest all of
this bad news, because they are attacked and killed by Bane and his men.

Bruce makes another attempt to escape the prison, but he again fails to make the
jump between the ledges. However, the third time he is successful—he is able to
rise from the prison, and make his way back to Gotham so that he can try to save
his city. Once he is back in Gotham, he finds Selina, and he asks her to find a
way to get him to Fox. Bruce even has a present for Selina—it turns out that the
clean slate program is real, and he gives her a copy of it so that she will be able
to start her troubled life over. Meanwhile, Gordon is out on the streets of
Gotham, trying to figure out where the bomb is, and he is captured by Bane’s
men. Selina gets Bruce to Fox, but the men are also captured by Bane’s men.
Selina is able to free them so that they can formulate a plan to disable the
bomb’s remote trigger.

Gordon is forced to stand trial in front of Bane’s perverse version of a court that
is presided over by none other than Dr. Jonathan Crane, a.k.a. the Scarecrow.
Crane sentences Gordon to “death by exile,” which means Gordon will have to
walk across the dangerously thin ice covering the river that separates Gotham
from the rest of the world. Batman shows up just in the nick of time to save
Gordon—he attacks Bane’s men that are sending the Commissioner out onto the
ice. Batman then gives Gordon a device that will block the remote trigger to the
bomb—the crimefighter instructs Gordon to find the bomb and place the device
on it.

Batman is also able to save Blake from Bane’s men, and the two clear a path out
of the sewers that allows all of the Gotham police to finally get above ground
again. Batman then sets Selina up on his Bat-Pod so that she can clear a path out
of one of Gotham’s tunnels so that Gothamites can get free of the city before the
bomb goes off.

The entire Gotham Police force plans an attack on Bane’s men, who are
stationed at Gotham City Hall. As Batman flies over the building in the Bat, the
officers race down the street on foot, attacking Bane’s men and engaging them in
hand-to-hand combat. Batman suddenly emerges in the middle of the fray to
battle Bane, and the mercenary does not get the best of the crimefighter this
time. Batman punches Bane repeatedly, and the mercenary is rendered helpless
when his mask is damaged by Batman’s blows. Batman then tries to get Bane to
tell him where the trigger to the bomb is, when all of a sudden he is attacked by
a very unexpected assailant—Miranda stabs Batman in the side with a long
knife. Batman is shocked to learn that she is the child of Ra’s Al Ghul who made
the climb out of the prison many years ago, not Bane. And her name is not really
Miranda—it is Talia. Bane was her protector in the prison, and she returned to
the prison with her father to free Bane after she had escaped.

Talia tells the wounded Batman that both she and Bane have come to Gotham to
carry out Ra’s’ plan to destroy the city—the crimefighter might have been able
to stop Ra’s, but he won’t stop them. Talia is the person that Bane had entrusted
with the bomb’s remote trigger, and she shows Batman the trigger right before
she pushes its button. But the bomb does not go off, because Gordon has been
able to find the bomb and disable its remote trigger mechanism with the device
given to him by Batman. In fact, Gordon has climbed into the truck carrying the
bomb, so he is right in the middle of all of the action.

Talia leaves City Hall in one of the Tumblers in order to find the truck with the
bomb and keep Gordon from returning the bomb to its power source at the
reactor. Bane is just about to kill Batman when Selina comes charging in on the
Bat-Pod—she shoots Bane with the vehicle’s guns, killing him. Batman and
Selina go to find the truck carrying Gordon and the bomb, Selina on the Bat-Pod,
Batman in the Bat. A furious chase takes place, and Talia is able to climb on
board the truck—Batman and Selina are able to crash the truck and bring it to a
stop, and Talia is killed in the crash. But the bomb cannot be returned to the
reactor—just as she was about to die, Talia was able to send a remote command
to the reactor that destroyed it. So now there is no way to keep the bomb from
exploding.

Batman has no choice but to tether the bomb to the Bat, and fly the bomb out
into the middle of the ocean so it does not destroy Gotham City. Right before he
does this, he lets Gordon know who he really is. He then flies off, and the bomb
explodes far away from Gotham. It is assumed that Batman was killed in the
blast.

Some time later, Gordon, Blake, Fox and Alfred hold a memorial service for
Bruce at Wayne Manor. Bruce’s will leaves most everything to Alfred, but the
Manor itself is left to Gotham City to be used for the care of orphans. An
intriguing item is left for Blake, who turns out to have a legal first name that is
different from John, the name he normally uses—his real first name is Robin.
The item is a bag that contains directions leading to the Batcave—Bruce has left
Blake the tools to carry on his work as Batman. At Wayne Enterprises, Fox
looks into what he could have done to fix the Bat’s autopilot, because it would
have saved Bruce’s life. Fox is surprised to learn that Bruce himself fixed the
autopilot months ago. Could it be that Bruce is not really dead?

Yes, it turns out that Bruce is actually alive and very well. Alfred visits Florence,
Italy, just like he used to do during the years that Bruce was away from Gotham.
At a Florence café he spots Bruce sitting with Selina, looking happy and
contented. The two men smile at each other, neither of them saying a word.
Batman may endure in Gotham, but it seems very unlikely that Bruce Wayne
will ever again be the one donning the cape and cowl.

The critical and commercial success of The Dark Knight Rises was so
gargantuan that it was even able to top the overwhelming success of The Dark
Knight in some respects. The film won resoundingly positive reviews from
major film critics all over the world, and its box office returns kept pace with the
historic box office returns of The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight Rises earned
over $160 million in its U.S. opening weekend alone, and ended up grossing
almost $450 million during its U.S. theatrical run. Actually, that U.S. box office
total actually ended up being over $80 million less than the U.S. box office total
of The Dark Knight, but the film more than made up for this deficit in foreign
box office returns. Those returns totaled well over $630 million—so when The
Dark Knight Rises finally finished its worldwide theatrical run, its worldwide
total gross reached over one billion, 80 million dollars, even higher than the
worldwide total gross of The Dark Knight. 12

In our discussion of The Dark Knight earlier in the book, I spent a good deal of
time explaining my love/hate relationship with the film. Its iconic Batman scenes
and its staggering success thrilled me, but its woefully inconsistent story
construction and its poorly-thought-out portrayal of Batman seriously
disappointed me. I’m sorry to have to say that my feelings about The Dark
Knight Rises are far less ambiguous. I feel that the film also suffers from these
two flaws that so compromised The Dark Knight—but this time around these
flaws are so prevalent that they end up preventing me from being able to truly
enjoy the film.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad that The Dark Knight Rises was such an incredible
commercial and critical success—after all, it was a Batman film, and I’m always
going to be happy when a film about my all-time favorite character does so well.
But my enthusiasm for the film pretty much ends there. In my opinion, the
movie’s story construction is so haphazard, and its portrayal of Batman is so
completely off the mark, that I frankly am baffled as to why so many people
liked the film so much in the first place.

I want to start off my analysis of The Dark Knight Rises by looking at the film’s
story construction issues, because I feel these issues are what really make the
film such a mess. I am not talking about elements of its plot that simply go
against my own personal interpretation of the Batman character—I am talking
about elements of its plot that simply make no sense whatsoever. To put it
bluntly, characters in the film are constantly saying and doing things that
completely defy real-world logic. I will now take some time to lay out the
elements of The Dark Knight Rises that I find to be the most ridiculous and
unrealistic.

First off, Bruce Wayne’s physical condition is a variable that is laughably

inconsistent throughout the entire film. At the opening of The Dark Knight Rises,
we are led to believe that Bruce’s exploits as Batman have left him nearly
crippled—when he is examined by a doctor, the doctor tells him he has no
cartilage in his knee, very little cartilage in his elbows and shoulders, scar tissue
on his kidneys, and residual concussive damage to his brain tissue. Bruce
supposedly sustained all of this damage during the time he was fighting crime as
Batman, which was a period of about one year! Many real-life professional
athletes take about as much physical abuse in a year as Bruce ended up taking as
Batman, and they are left in far less deplorable condition.

Furthermore, in the film Bruce has had a full eight years of rest to recover from
his Batman-related injuries, but those years appear to have done him no good at
all. And then when Bruce all of a sudden decides to return to action as Batman,
he appears to be able to regain full strength and mobility just by strapping on a
futuristic knee brace—the film never makes any sort of attempt to explain just
how this miraculous brace works so many wonders for Bruce.

Things get far more confusing in terms of Bruce’s physical condition as the film
goes on. Looking much like his old self, he ferociously fights crime as Batman
until Bane breaks his back. Barely able to move or even turn his head, he is
taken to Bane’s prison—but his broken back is totally fixed when a prison
inmate punches his displaced vertebrae back into place! So for eight years,
Bruce could not get over some relatively minor injuries he suffered while
fighting crime as Batman, but he could get over a broken back in a matter of a
few months without receiving any skilled medical attention? You’ve got to be
kidding me!

And things get even stranger from there. To escape the underground prison,
Bruce has to climb up a well-like pit that leads to the outside world, and then
leap from one ledge to another ledge that appears to be impossibly far from the
first ledge. Bruce makes the climb with a rope tied around his waist, but he
cannot make the jump between the ledges, so he takes a very hard fall. This fall
is so hard that it looks like it would seriously injure anyone—so it would almost
certainly kill a man who just had his back broken a few weeks before! But Bruce
not only survives this fall, he survives it twice—when he makes a second attempt
to escape the prison, he falls when he fails to make the jump between the ledges.
Again, you’ve got to be kidding me!

Finally, Bruce escapes the prison and makes his way back to Gotham for his
final confrontation with Bane. He is again looking much like his old self,
decisively defeating Bane in hand-to-hand combat, until Talia stabs him in the
side with a long knife. But this serious knife wound doesn’t slow Batman down
one bit—he is able to board the Bat, pilot it on a wild chase through Gotham,
and fly the bomb out into the middle of the ocean so it does not destroy the city!
In fact, Batman appears to be almost completely unaffected by his wound—we
never even see one drop of blood from it!

This observation about Batman’s knife wound leads me to another huge problem
I have with The Dark Knight Rises—this is a movie that is filled with hundreds,
if not thousands, of casualties, and the entire movie only shows very few people
actually bleeding during its running time. The only people who are shown with
blood on them are Bruce, Bane and Talia—and even they have barely more than
a few drops they have to deal with.

I am not bothered by the lack of blood in The Dark Knight Rises because I am
bloodthirsty and I like to see a lot of gore in movies. I am bothered by this
because I feel that violence in movies should not be presented in a manner that is
so sanitized that it appears to have no consequences. One of the most important
elements of the Batman character is that violence does have terrible
consequences—the character would not even exist if his parents had not been
murdered. The Dark Knight Rises is a film that is loaded top to bottom with a
shocking amount of violence, but that violence is presented in such glossed-over
fashion that it ends up having very little meaning or emotional impact—it plays
out like some sort of elaborately-choreographed dance that exists only for the
sake of grand spectacle.

For example, the climactic battle between Bane’s men and the Gotham Police at
Gotham City Hall is so glossed-over in terms of its violence that it ends up
having no connection whatsoever to the horrifying results of real-world violence.
Policemen charge up a relatively narrow city street to face an army of men who
are directly firing on them with scores of automatic weapons—a few of these
policemen fall, but the vast majority of them keep on running, sustaining no
injuries. In real life, a charge such as this would be akin to suicide—in just a few
minutes of unimaginable carnage, all of the policemen would be killed or
wounded. Again, a scene such as this seems to exist only for the sake of grand
spectacle, and its unwillingness to acknowledge the terrible consequences of gun
violence strikes this author as not only illogical, but also somewhat
irresponsible.

So far, we’ve only scratched the surface of The Dark Knight Rises’ story
construction problems. I will now lay out a large number of these problems in
rapid-fire fashion by asking you to consider all of the following questions that
the film raises upon viewing it.

Why would a CIA agent ever take men into his custody without making even the
most rudimentary checks to see just who these men were, or what they might
have been hiding on their person? One quick peek under the hoods covering the
heads of Bane and his men sure would have saved that CIA agent and everyone
on board his plane a whole lot of trouble!

How in the world could John Blake have deduced that Batman was actually
Bruce Wayne? After all, Blake only met Bruce one time in his entire life, and
that meeting took place when he was a young man—plus, the meeting only
lasted for a minute or two!

How could the “clean slate” computer program possibly erase a person from
every computer database in the world? And even if such a program could be
created, wouldn’t paper records still exist that could provide information about
the people who were trying to “erase” themselves?
Why would Deputy Commissioner Foley pull every cop off of the pursuit of the
criminals who perpetrated the takeover of the Gotham Stock Exchange, and
order all of those cops to pursue Batman? Those criminals terrorized hundreds of
people with deadly weapons during their attack—worse yet, their attack left a
number of people dead or seriously injured. Wouldn’t Foley think that it would
be wise to at least have a few cops continue their pursuit of a group of criminals
who had proven themselves to be so dangerous?

Wouldn’t the fake trades that were made using Bruce’s stolen fingerprints be
instantly nullified since they were executed during the takeover of the Gotham
Stock Exchange?

Why in the world would Commissioner Gordon ever order every one of his
available cops to go into the city sewers at the exact same time? Wouldn’t he
want to keep a reasonable number of cops above ground in case of emergency?

How could both Gordon and the nuclear bomb not be smashed to bits as they
were bouncing around the inside of a truck trailer that was in such a violent
wreck? And wouldn’t all of that impact somehow have affected the bomb’s
functionality?

How could Batman possibly have survived the nuclear bomb blast? He was still
piloting the aircraft connected to the bomb just before it was set to explode, and
the bomb was said to have a six-mile blast radius!

Wouldn’t everyone in the world make the connection that Bruce was Batman
when the two ended up “dying” at the exact same time? And wouldn’t someone
other than Alfred recognize the world-famous, supposedly recently-deceased ex-
billionaire casually sitting in a café in Florence, Italy?

Christopher and Jonathan Nolan wrote the script for The Dark Knight Rises with
the intention that they were going to make a deadly serious Batman film that was
deeply rooted in reality, one that was filled with thought-provoking social and
political commentary. If the Nolan brothers wanted The Dark Knight Rises to be
a truly realistic, serious and thought-provoking movie, then they should not have
loaded it to the brim with so many outrageously illogical scenes. In this
particular Batman fan’s opinion, The Dark Knight Rises is such a silly exercise
in screenwriting that the film cannot be taken much more seriously than Tim
Burton’s Batman Returns or Joel Schumacher’s Batman and Robin.
And I haven’t even gotten into my objections over how the Nolan brothers chose
to interpret Batman and his supporting characters yet! I believe that the Nolan’s
Batman in The Dark Knight Rises runs counter to several important, long-
cherished elements of the Batman character. My main disagreement with the
Nolans about the film’s Batman is over these following questions. Why does
Bruce Wayne don the disguise of Batman? What satisfaction does Bruce get
from being Batman? In The Dark Knight Rises, the Nolans answered these
questions very differently from the way that I would answer them, and very
differently from the manner in which Batman has been portrayed in comics for
generations.

As to this first question, in the comics Bruce becomes Batman to fight crime in
order to avenge his parents’ deaths—all crime. His relentless quest for justice
can never end, because there will always be someone in the world who is being
adversely affected by crime. Simply put, as long as there’s a breath left in
Bruce’s body, he will don his costume in order to fight crime and seek justice.

In order to best illustrate my point here, I’m going to cite a classic Batman comic
story that we did not get around to discussing earlier in the book. “There Is No
Hope in Crime Alley” was written by Denny O’Neil and illustrated by Dick
Giordano, and was first published in Detective Comics #457, March 1976. The
story chronicles a pilgrimage that Batman makes every year on the anniversary
of his parents’ murders—he visits the street where they were gunned down,
which has come to be known as “Crime Alley” in the years since their deaths.

On these visits, he always makes a point of meeting with an elderly woman

named Leslie Thompkins, who runs a shelter there. Leslie does not know why
Batman always seeks her out, but readers of the story are let in on that secret.
Leslie has lived on that street ever since she was young, and she was there the
night Bruce’s parents were murdered—in fact, she was the first person who
reached out to comfort Bruce after his parents were so brutally taken from him.
Even in the face of his terrible loss, Batman believes that there is still hope left
in Crime Alley—that hope is embodied in Leslie’s kindness.

I cannot think of a better way to sum up why Bruce dons the disguise of Batman
than to quote the following dialogue from “There Is No Hope in Crime Alley.”
Early in the story, Batman stops a mugger from robbing a poor old man in Crime
Alley, and the man asks Batman why he would bother with such a small crime.
Batman tells the man that “crime is crime … and to you the loss of a dollar is
more important than the loss of thousands to a banker.”

The Batman of The Dark Knight Rises is nowhere near as focused or determined
as this classic comic Batman. In the film, Bruce actually tells Gordon that he quit
being Batman for eight years because “Batman wasn’t needed anymore.”
Batman wasn’t needed? You’ve got to be kidding me! In the movie, crime in
Gotham City has become less rampant because of the passage of the Dent Act.
But obviously, there is still crime in the city—for example, the bodies of young
men who died under mysterious circumstances are regularly being discovered in
Gotham’s sewer system.

Batman as I understand and appreciate him would be down in those sewers in a

heartbeat investigating those deaths, but that is not what the Batman of The Dark
Knight Rises does. In the film, Bruce is in the prime of his life and has a lot of
fight left in him—yet in the face of adversity, he chooses to give up being
Batman, hide out in his mansion, and ignore mysterious deaths such as the
bodies being found in the sewers. This is just not what my vision of what the
character’s basic motivation is.

I’ll bet a lot of you would counter this viewpoint by bringing up Frank Miller’s
classic 1986 Batman graphic novel Batman: The Dark Knight Returns to me—in
that work, Batman has retired for a decade, much like he did in The Dark Knight
Rises. I would answer you by saying that Miller’s graphic novel takes place
much later in Batman’s career, after he has fought crime for decades—in fact,
Bruce is all the way up in his mid–50s when he decides to again don the cape
and cowl. The Dark Knight Rises’ interpretation of a younger Batman who fights
crime for about a year and then quits for eight years is a far cry from the
determined, relentless Batman of the comics—and that includes the version of
the character found in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.

This leads me to second question I posed—what satisfaction does Bruce get

from being Batman? In the comics, Bruce is most always able to take some
satisfaction in knowing that his mission is truly helping Gotham City and its
citizens. This mission has helped him to make sense of his life in the wake of
terrible tragedy. In other words, Bruce sees being Batman as doing something
positive with the hand that fate has dealt him.

In The Dark Knight Rises, both Bruce and Alfred look upon Bruce’s costumed
adventures as some kind of curse. Alfred even suggests that Bruce is nowhere
near up to the task of being Batman, so he is in effect trying to commit suicide
by donning the cape and cowl. This line of thinking is about 180 degrees
removed from how Bruce and Alfred view Bruce’s Batman persona in the
comics. In the comics, Bruce and Alfred are very much partners in Batman’s
amazing, ongoing adventures. Bruce is a hero as Batman, and Alfred’s ability to
aid and care for Bruce makes him very much a hero as well. There are times
when Alfred is bemused or even alarmed by Bruce’s obsession—but on the
whole, both men see Batman as a very noble, worthwhile endeavor. I feel that
the film’s premise that Bruce and Alfred view Batman as an overwhelming
negative is a giant and unwelcome departure from the character’s time-honored
mythos.

The film’s interpretation of Batman is certainly further degraded by the fact that
the character is barely in the film. The movie has a running time of 2 hours and
45 minutes, and its scenes that actually feature Batman clock in at not much over
a half hour! Call me crazy, but I expect to be able to see Batman on the screen
when I go to see a movie that is supposed to be about Batman! I find this to be
perhaps the most telling sign of how disinterested Christopher Nolan had
become in the character by the time he was making The Dark Knight Rises—the
director certainly had an ax to grind in terms of the social and political
commentary that he wanted to make in the film, but all of his heavy-handed
musings left him with little time to deal with the character that the film was
actually supposed to be about.

In fact, repeated viewings of The Dark Knight Rises have led me to believe that
Nolan wasn’t interested in making a Batman movie nearly as much as he was in
making an epic war movie. And in my opinion, this is a problem—the character
just does not mesh all that well with the trappings of an epic war movie. Now
don’t get me wrong, it is not the worst kind of movie for Batman to be in—it’s
not like Nolan put the character into a light romantic comedy, a western, or a
musical! But in my opinion, the overall feel of The Dark Knight Rises is just too
big and bombastic to fit with the classic interpretation of Batman as a lone
crimefighter, a creature of the night.

As we noted in our discussion of The Dark Knight, Nolan chose to draw on a

very small amount of classic Batman material for that particular film. The
director followed that same course of action for The Dark Knight Rises—very
few of the film’s scenes were inspired by great Batman works of the past.
Obviously, the Batman work that had the most profound influence on the movie
was the 1993 comic book series Knightfall—in that series, Bane broke Batman’s
back, forcing the crimefighter to give up the mantle of Batman for a time.
Obviously, the film’s scenes showing Bane breaking Batman’s back were
directly inspired by Knightfall. (We discussed that series in detail in Chapter 12.)

And in the scene when Batman is sighted in Gotham for the first time in eight
years, a veteran cop says to a rookie cop, “You’re in for a show tonight, son.”
That line of dialogue is pulled from Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns.
Finally, in the scene when Catwoman abruptly disappears from Batman’s sight,
Batman says to himself, “So that’s what that feels like.” That line of dialogue is
pulled from the 1996 graphic novel series Kingdom Come written by Mark Waid
and illustrated by Alex Ross. (But in Kingdom Come, Bruce says it to himself
when Superman abruptly disappears from his sight.) These three Batman scenes
in The Dark Knight Rises are basically the only ones that have any ties to classic
Batman material.

It should be pointed out that in The Dark Knight Rises, the Nolans seemed to be
trying to capture the spirit of the Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Batman,
even if they were not using many of the particular aspects of that character. After
all, the idea of Batman returning to action after a long retirement was basically
the very essence of what Batman: The Dark Knight Returns was all about. I
would argue that the Nolan’s plan to draw on the Batman: The Dark Knight
Returns Batman for their The Dark Knight Rises Batman was ill-fated from the
very start. To have Batman properly return to action after a long retirement, you
really need to let the character have a decent career as Batman in the first place
—and I would hardly call the year that Bruce spends wearing the cape and cowl
in Nolan’s Batman film series a “decent career!”

Christian Bale gives his usual stellar performance as Batman/Bruce Wayne in

The Dark Knight Rises, though the impact of that performance is definitely
compromised by the substandard quality of the material he is given to work with.
Who knows, Bale might well have enjoyed making the film far more than he
enjoyed making Batman Begins or The Dark Knight—after all, he didn’t have to
put up with wearing that cumbersome Batman costume nearly as much as he had
to when he made those earlier films!

Michael Caine, Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman also turn in their usual
excellent performances in The Dark Knight Rises, though they too are adversely
affected by the lackluster material handed to them. Caine’s performance as
Alfred is particularly moving at the end of the film, when he cries over Bruce’s
“death” as if he had lost his own son. (Of course, when I give into my cynical
side, I think that it serves Alfred right to be so heartbroken—after all, he didn’t
support Bruce’s decision to return to action as Batman at all!) And Oldman’s
performance as Gordon is every bit as earnest as his earlier turns in the role—I
just wish that Gordon wouldn’t have had to make stupid decisions like sending
most all of Gotham’s police force into the sewers! Freeman fares a bit better than
Caine and Oldman—his scenes as Fox are infused with the same kind of wry
humor that made his scenes in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight so effective.

Anne Hathaway’s self-assured, sultry performance as Selina Kyle in The Dark

Knight Rises is definitely one of the film’s high points. The actress is definitely
helped by the film’s wonderful characterization of Selina—she is sharply
realized as the complex antihero that the character has been in the comics for
decades. The Nolan brothers definitely based their version of the character on
the Selina found in Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli’s 1987 comic series
Batman: Year One. Like the Batman: Year One Selina, the film’s Selina is a not
so much an out-and-out criminal as she is a wily, Robin Hood–like thief—and
she is so unpredictable that she is every bit as likely to come to Batman’s aid as
she is to fight him.

Interestingly, Selina is never referred to as “Catwoman” by name in the film, but

she does not need to be. Without question, she simply is the Catwoman—she is a
master cat burglar, and she wears a skintight black outfit with black night vision
goggles that look like cat ears when she flips them on top of her head. In this
author’s opinion, the Nolans were decidedly unsuccessful in their attempts to
bring Batman and his world to life in The Dark Knight Rises—but they sure
found a perfect way to work the Catwoman into their cinematic vision of
Batman. In fact, The Dark Knight Rises paints a portrait of the Catwoman that is
far closer in spirit to the modern comic book version of the character than any of
the previous big screen Catwomen had been. Thank goodness the character
finally got a chance at big screen redemption after the disastrous 2004 feature
film Catwoman starring Halle Berry! (We briefly discussed that movie in
Chapter 10.)

Tom Hardy’s performance as Bane isn’t bad, though it is nowhere near as

memorable as Hathaway’s performance as Selina. Truthfully, it seems unlikely
that Hardy really could have found a way to do much more with his role than he
did—Bane’s mask obscures the actor’s facial expressions and his dialogue to the
point that his character comes across as rather bland. To make matters worse,
much of Hardy’s dialogue is delivered in a pleasant, almost cheerful voice that is
presumably supposed to serve as a chilling counterpoint to his character’s
murderous actions. But in this author’s opinion, this cheerfulness makes the
character seem far less menacing than he ought to be.

The serum that Bane ingests in The Dark Knight Rises is very different from the
serum that the character ingests in the comics. In the comics, an experimental
drug known as “Venom” is dispensed into Bane’s body, and this is what gives
him his incredible strength.

In the film, Bane’s industrial-looking, tubed mask dispenses some sort of

anesthetic that gives him relief from the constant pain he is in—that pain stems
from unhealed injuries he suffered while he was in prison. In this author’s
opinion, changing the purpose of Bane’s serum also negatively impacts the
character’s sense of menace.

The most problematic aspect of the Bane character in The Dark Knight Rises has
nothing to do with Hardy’s performance. The main thing that is wrong with
Bane in The Dark Knight Rises is that the film’s screenplay ends up leaving the
character so poorly developed. Exactly what injuries did he suffer that led him to
need his mask? Just how did he find out that Batman was actually Bruce Wayne?
And why did he spend so much time and effort trying to torment Bruce instead
of just carrying out his former mentor Ra’s Al Ghul’s plan to destroy Gotham?
After all, Ra’s’ original goal was simply to bring down Gotham, and that goal
had nothing to do with wreaking vengeance on Bruce—Ra’s just believed that
the city had become so corrupt and unjust that it needed to be destroyed. The
film’s screenplay could have answered all of these questions about Bane’s
actions and motivations very easily, but it didn’t.

Incidentally, the close connection between Ra’s and Bane in The Dark Knight
Rises was an invention of the Nolans—in the comics, Bane’s origin was in no
way tied to Ra’s. And before we leave the Bane character behind, I can’t resist
making this last observation. We have just noted that The Dark Knight Rises
version of Bane has been drastically changed from the comic version of Bane in
terms of the character’s origin and appearance. So it really is not too much of an
exaggeration to say that the Bane in Joel Schumacher’s Batman and Robin might
actually be a bit more faithful to the comic version of the character than The
Dark Knight Rises Bane! (This is probably one of the most positive things I’ve
said about Batman and Robin in the entire book, by the way.)

The Dark Knight Rises leaves the Miranda Tate/Talia Al Ghul character even
more underdeveloped than Bane. As Miranda, the character is heroically
working to save the world through the Wayne Enterprises clean energy project.
Miranda’s actions throughout the film clearly reflect the fact that she
passionately cares about finding a way to better the lives of everyone around the
world. And then right at the end of the film the character suddenly is revealed to
actually be Talia, and she only cares about exacting revenge on Bruce and killing
millions of people in a giant nuclear blast! If Talia’s main goal all along was to
carry out her father’s plan of destroying Gotham and all of its citizens, then she
certainly could have worked toward that goal a lot faster by curtailing all of her
admirable activities!

And speaking of her activities, just why did she sleep with Bruce? Was that just
a bit of a recreational break from her plan to destroy both Bruce and Gotham?
Again, the film could have better explained the character’s actions and
motivations very easily, but it didn’t. Presumably the Nolan brothers tried to
keep Miranda/Talia a mysterious figure so that she could provide them with a
whopper of a plot twist just like the Ra’s character did in Batman Begins. But in
this author’s opinion, both of the Al Ghuls would have been much stronger
characters if they had been allowed to be known by the name of Al Ghul from
the beginning of their respective films—enough with the labored Al Ghul plot
twists already, Mr. Nolan!

At any rate, Marion Cotillard as Miranda/Talia looks lovely on the screen in The
Dark Knight Rises, but her performance cannot possibly rise above the half-
baked material she is given to work with. Simply put, both Cotillard and the
Talia character deserved much better than what the Nolan brothers had prepared
for them.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives a very solid, likeable performance as John Blake in

the film. That said, however, the Blake character falls so far outside the realm of
Batman mythos that the idea of him taking over the mantle of Batman from
Bruce Wayne does not sit well at all with this particular Batman fan. And giving
the character the legal name of Robin certainly does not instantly give him some
sort of “Batman legitimacy”—in fact, it could be argued that throwing the Robin
name into The Dark Knight Rises is nothing more than a rather cheap plot trick
on the part of the Nolan brothers. Plus, as we discussed earlier in the chapter, the
manner in which Blake deduces that Batman is actually Bruce Wayne makes
practically no sense at all—this poorly-thought out aspect of the character
certainly makes him even more difficult to warm up to.

Interestingly, in Batman Begins Nolan put a lot more time and care into setting
up a separate character that could have ended up being Robin. As we noted in
our discussion of that film earlier in the book, the character of the “Little Boy”
played by Jack Gleeson certainly seemed to be on a fast track to becoming
Batman’s junior sidekick. The boy received a small flexible periscope from
Batman as a kind of “souvenir.” And then at the end of the film, the boy was by
Rachel Dawes’ side when she realized Batman’s true identity and called the
crimefighter “Bruce.” This character undoubtedly had a much more concrete
connection to Batman/Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins than Blake has to
Batman/Bruce Wayne in The Dark Knight Rises. But we have to play by Nolan’s
rules in his Batman films, so Blake is the character who gets to be Batman’s
official Robin, not the “Little Boy!”

Nolan does find a way to incorporate a number of other characters from his
previous Batman films into The Dark Knight Rises. Perhaps the most memorable
of these Dr. Jonathan Crane, a.k.a. the Scarecrow, played by Cillian Murphy—
the scenes showing Crane serving as a judge for Bane’s perverse version of a
court are both chilling and funny. Crane turns out to be the only Batman villain
that appears in all three of Nolan’s Batman films, by the way. And Ra’s Al Ghul,
played by Liam Neeson, shows up in the film as well. However, he is not really
a physical part of the film’s action—he appears as a hallucination that Bruce is
having while he is being held in Bane’s prison. Harvey Dent, played by Aaron
Eckhart, is also very briefly in the film—he appears in several quick flashback
scenes in his Two-Face form.

It is worth pointing out here that Dent’s importance in the film seems very
forced. As we discussed earlier in the book, Nolan started this trend of focusing
an inordinate amount attention on the character in The Dark Knight, and this
trend continues into The Dark Knight Rises. Why are so many of Gotham’s
major policy decisions based around this long-dead man who really spent so
little time as a city official there? It is this author’s opinion that Nolan’s fixation
on the actions and legacy of the Dent character in The Dark Knight greatly
compromises the logic of the film, especially when there is another character
that Nolan should be focusing on.
And just who is that character? Well, I’m sure all of you know just who I am
referring to! It is simply inexcusable that Nolan did not find some way to
account for the whereabouts of the Joker in The Dark Knight Rises. The
character’s effect on the psyche of Gotham as depicted in The Dark Knight was
so devastating that it certainly would have carried over to the time period of The
Dark Knight Rises. So how in the world could Nolan have ever thought it was
appropriate not to refer to the character in some way, shape or form in the film?

Obviously, Nolan felt uncomfortable dealing with the Joker in the film due to the
death of Heath Ledger, the actor who played the character in The Dark Knight.
But pointing out what happened to Ledger in no way answers the question of
what ended up happening to the Joker in Nolan’s cinematic Batman world. What
was the Joker doing during the years that Bruce Wayne stopped fighting crime
as Batman? Was he simply locked up in Arkham Asylum? Did he ever try to
escape? Was he ever tried in court for all of his hideous crimes?

Here is a Joker-related question that is even more pertinent to The Dark Knight
Rises. What were the Joker and all of the inmates being held at Arkham doing
during Bane’s takeover of Gotham City? We know that all of the inmates being
held at Blackgate Prison were set free by Bane—so wouldn’t Bane have had at
least some sort of interest in all of the Arkham inmates? And wouldn’t Bane
have had even more interest in the Joker, undoubtedly Gotham’s most notorious
criminal? As I just mentioned, we have to play by Nolan’s rules in his Batman
films—but even still, it must be pointed out that his stubborn refusal to find at
least some way to acknowledge the Joker in The Dark Knight Rises is a huge
impediment to the film.

Well, I’ve spent quite a bit of time knocking The Dark Knight Rises around—I
think it is time to focus on some of the positive things to be found in the film.
Lindy Hemming’s costume designs for the movie are every bit as wonderful as
the work she did for Nolan’s first two Batman films. The Dark Knight Rises
sticks with the exact same Batman costume found in The Dark Knight, so there
are no wardrobe surprises to be found in terms of the film’s cape and cowl
scenes. Hemming’s best work in the film is probably her sleek, no-nonsense
design for Anne Hathaway’s cat burglar outfit.

The movie’s production design also matches the same high standards set by
Nolan’s first two Batman films. Batman’s new ride the Bat helps to bring a
heightened level of excitement to the film’s action scenes, and his redesigned
Batcave is wonderfully atmospheric. Plus, The Dark Knight Rises’ many scenes
shot on location around the world make the film just about as visually
spectacular as any movie ever made.

And of course, the film’s scenes shot in IMAX are every bit as breathtaking as
the IMAX scenes featured in The Dark Knight. As mentioned earlier in the
chapter, there is far more IMAX footage in The Dark Knight Rises than there
was The Dark Knight—so it is not really possible to specifically list all of the
film’s IMAX sequences like we did in our discussion of The Dark Knight. At
any rate, seeing The Dark Knight Rises in IMAX format made the film into an
immersive experience that most any serious Batman fan would find
unforgettable. I’m including myself in that category, by the way—obviously, I
was not too crazy about the film from the very first time I saw it, but I still saw it
in IMAX format multiple times and always hugely enjoyed its spectacle.

Hans Zimmer’s musical score for The Dark Knight Rises also is every bit as
memorable and effective as the music he had written for Batman Begins and The
Dark Knight. One of the most powerful moments in the score occurs when
Alfred spots Bruce at the café in Florence right at the end of film. Zimmer’s
music delivers a marvelously powerful, percussive burst of sound just as Alfred
realizes that Bruce has been able to cheat death and leave his tragic life in
Gotham behind.

I should point out that even though I was not that thrilled with The Dark Knight
Rises itself, I still greatly enjoyed all of the enthusiasm there was for the
character during the summer of 2012. And being the serious Batman fan that I
am, I also very much enjoyed looking over all of the merchandise inspired by the
film that was for sale that summer. The wide variety of The Dark Knight Rises
action figures, statues, toys, books, clothing, etc., available for purchase
certainly kept the Batman merchandising machine chugging along at full steam.

There is one more thing about The Dark Knight Rises that I just have to point out
here. It is by no means something that I picked up on before anyone else, but it is
so oddly funny that I can’t resist making mention of it. At the end of the film,
Batman has to tether Bane’s nuclear bomb to the Bat, and fly the bomb out into
the middle of the ocean so it does not destroy Gotham City. This scene is
strikingly similar to one of the most memorable scenes in the 1966 film Batman!

As we noted way back in Chapter 6, in that particular scene Batman has to find a
way to dispose of a large lit bomb. Batman grabs the bomb and dashes outside to
try to find a place to throw it where it will not hurt anyone when it explodes. As
he runs around a waterfront area, he dodges crowds of people, mothers pushing
babies in strollers, and even a Salvation Army band! He is finally able to throw
the bomb into a deserted area and take cover just before it explodes. Just before
he does this he says to himself in exasperation, “Some days you just can’t get rid
of a bomb!” This line would have worked every bit as well if it had been spoken
by Batman during the climax of The Dark Knight Rises!

We have one more bit of business to attend to relating to The Dark Knight Rises
before we finish up our discussion of the film. Because the movie was so
incredibly successful, it sold extremely well when it was first made available to
the home video market by Warner Home Video in early December 2012. At that
time, Warner released the film on both Blu-ray and DVD format.

There were two different DVD versions of the film—it was offered both as a
single-disc release and as a 2-disc set. Both versions presented the entire movie
in basic widescreen format—in other words, they did not include the movie’s
IMAX sequences in their original large-frame format in any way. The 2-disc set
included a number of interesting bonus features along with the film. The most
notable of these features was Ending the Knight, a collection of 17 mini-
documentaries about the making of the film. These mini-documentaries included
commentary from members of the film’s cast and crew, and behind-the-scenes
footage showing that cast and crew at work. Another of the set’s bonus features
was the 2012 television documentary The Batmobile that we discussed earlier in
the chapter. The set’s version of The Batmobile was greatly expanded from its
original broadcast version—it was able to include more information on Batman’s
iconic car due to the fact that it had a much longer running time.

As was the case with The Dark Knight Blu-ray, the Blu-ray version of The Dark
Knight Rises was the one that really delivered the goods. The high-definition
Blu-ray format allowed viewers to truly appreciate the extraordinary level of
visual quality that high-resolution IMAX film had brought to the movie. And
needless to say, the movie was presented with its IMAX scenes in their original
large-frame format. The Blu-ray also included all of the bonus features found on
the 2-disc DVD set.

Throughout this book, I’ve had a difficult time deciding just what my final
thoughts would be for each of the Batman feature films we’ve examined.
Strangely enough, I’ve known exactly how I wanted to close out my discussion
of The Dark Knight Rises from my very first screening of the film. So without
further ado, here is that closer. I will always be grateful that Christopher Nolan
shared his cinematic vision of the Batman character with the world—but after
the release of The Dark Knight Rises, I would be every bit as grateful if Nolan
stood by his decision to never again make another Batman movie.

As we noted at the beginning of this chapter, Nolan has reached truly incredible
heights as a filmmaker with his last several productions. So when it comes right
down to it, he doesn’t really need Batman to help him make powerful artistic
statements anymore. I personally think that road runs both ways. The Dark
Knight Rises is all the proof I need to lead me to the opinion that Warner’s
Batman film franchise will be better off without Nolan in the future. So let me
just say this to you, DC Comics and Warner Bros.—if Nolan really does elect to
walk away from the Batman character for good, I wish you luck in finding a new
filmmaker to carry on your cinematic version of Batman. I may not love
everything that Nolan has done with your great character on the big screen, but I
will say this—he has left you with one incredible act to follow.
 21
The Adventure Goes On and On

And so we have reached the end of our journey through the history of Batman
feature films. Of course, we have to stop because we’re all out of that history
now—we have followed it right up to the present day. But because all of the
character’s recent big screen adventures have been so successful, it is a certainty
that more Batman feature films will be made in the years to come. Personally, I
just can’t wait to see what the future holds for the big screen Batman.

I feel that the best way for me to close out this book is to offer an observation
about just how important of a role Batman feature films have played in the
overall history of the character. Here is that observation. For many years, the
Batman character really only appealed to a small percentage of the population,
and that percentage was made up almost solely of children and hardcore comic
book fans. But during the past quarter of a century, Batman’s popularity has
taken a quantum leap—the character has now reached a level of appeal that is
almost universal. And the main reason the character has grown so staggeringly
popular with people from all walks of life over those years? That’s a very simple
question to answer—the reason is Batman feature films. Warner Bros.’ Batman
film series reached millions upon millions of people that would otherwise have
never been exposed to the character.

And even better, these people were exposed to a version of the character that
was based on the dark hero we serious Batman fans had always loved. For the
most part, the Warner films brought Batman to the big screen in a manner that
was in keeping with Bob Kane and Bill Finger’s original vision of the character.
And because of that, Batman has moved beyond being just kid stuff or a campy
joke—millions of people see him as an iconic, multi-layered character with both
a rich history and a limitless future. So thank you, Warner Bros.—you brought
Batman to a level of success that is absolutely thrilling to us serious Batman
fans.

Let’s take a second to consider just how limitless Batman’s future truly is. Think
about the huge variety of Batman merchandise that is readily available to the
public at this point in time. For example, right now Mattel Toys has a line of
popular Batman toys out through their Fisher-Price subsidiary that is designed
for children aged 1 and up. That’s right—a person can start becoming a Batman
fan by owning cool Batman toys before they have to worry about doing things
like walking or eating solid foods!

On the other end of the spectrum, DC Universe Animated Original Movies

recently released their productions Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 and
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 to the home video market on Blu-ray
and DVD. (Part 1 was released in late 2012 and Part 2 was released in early
2013.) These videos are wonderfully produced, very faithful adaptations of
Frank Miller’s groundbreaking 1986 graphic novel series Batman: The Dark
Knight Returns. Of course, given their source material, these productions are
undoubtedly intended for an adult audience—they are incredibly sophisticated,
and they contain their fair share of violent and disturbing images.

So, there is no arguing the fact that Batman has become an entertainment icon
with remarkably broad appeal—after all, he can hold the attention of 1 year olds
every bit as well as he can hold the attention of sophisticated adults. And of
course, the character’s growth into such a universal artistic force has made him
an increasingly potent commercial force as well. In other words, he can really
bring in the money—the character’s Warner feature films alone have made
billions of dollars. (In fact, as we discussed earlier in the book, both The Dark
Knight and The Dark Knight Rises made over a billion dollars each!) And the
sale of Batman comics, books, toys, clothing, television productions, and home
videos has raked in many more millions of dollars over the decades. Simply put,
Batman is not just big—he is also big business.

In fact, the world of Batman has grown to be so vast and far-reaching that I must
reluctantly admit that now I have a difficult time keeping up with it. The
character’s comic titles alone often bewilder me—there are so many of them,
and their complicated ongoing story arcs almost require an owner’s manual to
keep up with. Case in point—toward the end of the book we discussed the
Damian Wayne character assuming the mantle of Robin in Batman’s comic book
world. The character made his debut as Robin in mid–2009, and before he got
the chance to make much of an impression on readers, his place in Batman
mythos was being tinkered with as DC Comics premiered their 2011 system-
wide revamp/relaunch The New 52.

And the world of The New 52 ended up giving the Damian Robin even less of a
chance to make an impression on readers—he was killed off by a genetically-
altered clone of himself in early 2013. All in all, Damian’s turn as Robin lasted
about as long as the unpopular Jason Todd Robin. In fact, when you really think
about it, Damian had been given even more of an uphill battle to get noticed than
Jason ever had—after all, Damian had to share the stage with multiple Batmen, a
separate version of Robin (Tim Drake’s Red Robin), and numerous other bat-
costumed heroes. In other words, I feel like the hustle and bustle of Batman’s
comic world never really allowed me to get used to the Damian Robin—and
now he’s gone already!

Incidentally, this thought leads me to think what a truly impossible task it has
been to try to briefly sum up Batman’s comic book history in this book. Even
though we discussed a great number of incredible Batman comic works in this
book, there are many, many more equally fabulous Batman comic tales out there
that we couldn’t get around to discussing in order to hold the book to a
reasonable length. So if I neglected to note your favorite Batman comic work in
the book, please don’t be angry with me—I probably think as highly of that
work as you do!

In closing, I’m sad to say that the difficulty I’m having in terms of keeping tabs
on the character probably has a lot to do with where I am in my life. My Batman
obsession started when I was in preschool, and the character had only been
around for less than three decades. Now Batman is nearing his 75th year, and I
am nearing my 50th year—Batman is going stronger than ever at 75, but the
half-century mark has weighed me down a bit more than I thought it would!

But even if keeping up with Batman’s ongoing exploits both on and off of the
screen has gotten to be more of a challenging task for me, I’m far from done
with the character. As I write these words, a life-size mannequin outfitted in an
Alex Ross–style Batman costume looks across the room at me—the grim,
determined look in his eyes seems to say, “You’re still with me, aren’t you?”
And of course, my answer to that question is “Yes.” I feel that being an avid
Batman fan is simply way too much fun of a pastime to ever give up on. An avid
Batman fan is a person who always has something to look forward to, because
there is great new Batman stuff being released all the time. (Of course, our home
is already filled with Batman stuff, including a life-size Batman mannequin, but
there is always room for more!)

Here’s one of the main reasons why I could never even consider giving up on
Batman just yet. Just recently, Warner Bros. obtained the rights to use the
likenesses of the characters from the 1960s Batman film and TV show—so for
the very first time in history, Batman fans will soon be able to purchase an
official Batman action figure that actually looks like Adam West in costume! I
have been waiting ever since I was three years old to have my very own Adam
West Batman action figure. How could I possibly walk away from Batman right
now when I have the chance to bring this over four-decade-long wait to a happy
end in just a matter of weeks?

So keep those adventures coming, Dark Knight—keep them coming on the

printed page, on the screen, on the toy shelves, on amusement park rides, even
on the first T-shirt I put on when I wake up in the morning. There is no doubt
that you’ll long outlast me, but I’ll keep prowling the shadowy rooftops of
Gotham with you in my imagination for just as long as I can.
Chapter Notes

Chapter 1

1. Les Daniels, Batman: The Complete History (San Francisco: Chronicle

Books, 1999), pp. 17–18.

2. Bob Kane with Tom Andrae, Batman & Me: The Saga Continues (Van Nuys:
Zanart Entertainment, 1996), p. 38.

3. Daniels, p. 23.

4. Anthony Tollin, The Shadow Volume 9 (San Antonio: Sanctum Books, 2007),
“Foreshadowing the Batman.”

5. Daniels, p. 37.

6. Kane, p. 46.

7. Daniels, pp. 39–41.

8. Ibid., p. 40.

9. Kane, pp. 45–46.

10. Daniels, p. 47.

Chapter 2
1. Bob Kane, Batman: The Dailies Volume 1 1943–1944 (New York: DC
Comics and Princeton: Kitchen Sink Press, 1990), p. 4 (introduction by Joe
Desris).

2. Les Daniels, Batman: The Complete History (San Francisco: Chronicle

Books, 1999), p. 57.

3. “The Return of Batman,” Time, November 26, 1965, pp. 60–61.

4. Bob Kane with Tom Andrae, Batman & Me: The Saga Continues (Van Nuys:
Zanart Entertainment, 1996), pp. 125–27.
Chapter 3
1. Bob Kane, Batman: The Dailies Volume 1 1943–1944 (New York: DC
Comics and Princeton: Kitchen Sink Press, 1990), pp. 7–8 (introduction by Joe
Desris).

2. Bruce Scivally, Billion Dollar Batman: A History of the Caped Crusader on

Film, Radio and Television from 10 Cent Comic Book to Global Icon (Wilmette,
IL: Henry Gray, 2011), pp. 36–43.
Chapter 4
1. Bruce Scivally, Billion Dollar Batman: A History of the Caped Crusader on
Film, Radio and Television from 10 Cent Comic Book to Global Icon (Wilmette,
IL: Henry Gray, 2011), pp. 50–52.

2. Bob Kane with Tom Andrae, Batman & Me: The Saga Continues (Van Nuys:
Zanart Entertainment, 1996), pp. 130–131.

3. Ibid., pp. 127–31.

Chapter 5
1. Fredric Wertham, Seduction of the Innocent (London: Museum Press), p. 190.

2. Les Daniels, Batman: The Complete History (San Francisco: Chronicle

Books, 1999), p. 88.

3. Ibid., pp. 95–97.

Chapter 6
1. Joel Eisner, The Official Batman Batbook (Chicago: Contemporary Books,
1986), pp. 5–6.

2. Ibid., p. 52.

3. Ibid., p. 8.

4. James Van Hise, Batmania II (Las Vegas: Pioneer Books, 1992), “Burt Ward:
Ever at Batman’s Side.”

5. “The Return of Batman,” Time, November 26, 1965, pp. 60–61.

6. Eisner, p. 52.

7. Van Hise, “George Barris: Building the Bat-vehicles.”

8. Bruce Scivally, Billion Dollar Batman: A History of the Caped Crusader on

Film, Radio and Television from 10 Cent Comic Book to Global Icon (Wilmette,
IL: Henry Gray, 2011), p. 102.

9. Eisner, pp. 58–59.

10. Scivally, p. 118.

11. Van Hise, “The Year of the Bat.”

Chapter 7
1. Michael Evry and Michael Kronenberg, The Batcave Companion (Raleigh:
TwoMorrows Publishing, 2009), pp. 53–55.

2. Les Daniels, Batman: The Complete History (San Francisco: Chronicle

Books, 1999), p. 117.

3. Michael E. Uslan, The Boy Who Loved Batman (San Francisco: Chronicle
Books, 2011), pp. 183–184.
Chapter 8
1. Michael E. Uslan, The Boy Who Loved Batman (San Francisco: Chronicle
Books, 2011), p.183.

2. Ibid., pp. 183–185.

3. Ibid., pp. 191–193.

4. Ibid., p. 193.

5. Gary Collinson, Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the
Screen (London: Robert Hale, 2012), pp. 66–67.

6. Uslan, p. 186.

7. Jon B. Cooke, ed., Comic Book Artist Collection Volume 2 (Raleigh:

TwoMorrows Publishing, 2002), pp. 11–12.

8. Ken Hanke, Tim Burton: An Unauthorized Biography of the Filmmaker (Los

Angeles: Renaissance Books, 1999), pp. 75–76.

9. Bruce Scivally, Billion Dollar Batman: A History of the Caped Crusader on

Film, Radio and Television from 10 Cent Comic Book to Global Icon (Wilmette,
IL: Henry Gray, 2011), pp. 157–160.

10. Ibid., p. 167.

11. Nancy Griffin and Kim Masters, Hit and Run: How Jon Peters and Peter
Guber Took Sony for a Ride in Hollywood (New York: Touchstone, 1997), p.
166.

12. Scivally, pp. 225–226.

13. Ibid., p. 161.

14. Ibid., pp. 161–163.

15. Collinson, p. 71.

16. Ibid., p. 71.

17. James Van Hise, Batmania II (Las Vegas: Pioneer Books, 1992), “The Year
of the Bat.”

18. Scivally, pp. 182–183.

19. “Batman (1989),” Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), retrieved 1-

25-13.

20. Griffin and Masters, pp. 168–69.

21. Ibid., pp. 171–172.

22. Scivally, p. 189.

23. “Batman (1989),” Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com), retrieved 1-

25-13.

24. Van Hise, “The Making of the Batmobile 1990.”

Chapter 10
1. Ken Hanke, Tim Burton: An Unauthorized Biography of the Filmmaker (Los
Angeles: Renaissance Books, 1999), pp. 117–119.

2. Though Hamm’s Batman 2 script has never been published in any official
form, it can be found on a number of websites such as The Internet Movie Script
Database (www.imsdb.com).

3. Bruce Scivally, Billion Dollar Batman: A History of the Caped Crusader on

Film, Radio and Television from 10 Cent Comic Book to Global Icon (Wilmette,
IL: Henry Gray, 2011), p. 205.

4. Ibid., p. 207.

5. Mark Cotta Vaz, “A Knight at the Zoo,” Cinefex, August 1992, p. 25.

6. Jeffrey Ressner, “Three Go Mad in Gotham,” Empire, August 1992.

7. Hanke, pp. 120–21.

8. Ibid., pp. 118–19.

9. “Batman Returns,” Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), retrieved 1-

25-13.

10. “Batman Returns,” Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com), retrieved 1-

25-13.

11. Steve Daly and Anne Thompson, “Batlash,” Entertainment Weekly, July 31,
1992, pp. 32–35.

12. Ibid., pp. 32–35.

Chapter 11
1. Paul Dini and Chip Kidd, Batman Animated (New York:
HarperEntertainment, 1998), “Mask of the Phantasm.”
Chapter 13
1. Ken Hanke, Tim Burton: An Unauthorized Biography of the Filmmaker (Los
Angeles: Renaissance Books, 1999), p. 95.

2. Bruce Scivally, Billion Dollar Batman: A History of the Caped Crusader on

Film, Radio and Television from 10 Cent Comic Book to Global Icon (Wilmette,
IL: Henry Gray, 2011), p. 90.

3. Mitchell Fink, “Batman’s Star Wars,” People, July 18, 1994, p. 27.

4. Bruce Bibby, “Riddle Me This, Batman,” Premiere, May 1995.

5. Ibid.

6. Scivally, p. 248.

7. Mark Cotta Vaz, “Forever and a Knight,” Cinefex, September 1995, pp. 94–
97.

8. Benjamin Svetkey, “Holy Happy Set!” Entertainment Weekly, July 12, 1996.

9. Scivally, p. 253.

10. “Batman Forever,” Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), retrieved 1-

25-13.

11. Vaz, p. 113.

12. “Batman Forever,” Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com), retrieved 1-

25-13.
Chapter 15
1. Bruce Scivally, Billion Dollar Batman: A History of the Caped Crusader on
Film, Radio and Television from 10 Cent Comic Book to Global Icon (Wilmette,
IL: Henry Gray, 2011), pp. 273–274.

2. Mark Cotta Vaz, “Freeze Frames,” Cinefex, September 1997, p. 18.

3. Scivally, p. 291.

4. “Batman and Robin,” Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), retrieved 1-

25-13.

5. Vaz, p. 176.

6. “Batman and Robin,” Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com), retrieved

1-25-13.
Chapter 16
1. Gary Collinson, Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the
Screen (London: Robert Hale, 2012), pp. 120–121.

2. Bob Kane with Tom Andrae, Batman & Me: The Saga Continues (Van Nuys:
Zanart Entertainment, 1996).
Chapter 17
1. Gary Collinson, Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the
Screen (London: Robert Hale, 2012), pp. 120–121.

2. Simon Reynolds, “Escape from the Batcave,” Cinefantastique, July 2005, pp.
32–33.

3. Jody Duncan Jesser and Janine Pourroy, The Art and Making of The Dark
Knight Trilogy (New York: Abrams, 2012), pp. 38–40.

4. Ibid., p. 40.

5. Bruce Scivally, Billion Dollar Batman: A History of the Caped Crusader on

Film, Radio and Television from 10 Cent Comic Book to Global Icon (Wilmette,
IL: Henry Gray, 2011), p. 334.

6. Jesser and Pourroy, p. 60.

7. Claudia Kalindjian, Batman Begins: The Official Movie Guide (New York:
Time, 2005), p. 94.

8. Jesser and Pourroy, p. 60.

9. “Batman Begins,” Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), retrieved 1-25-

13.

10. Joe Fordham, Starting Over,” Cinefex, October 2005, p. 101.

11. Kalindjian, p. 82.

12. Ibid., p. 144.

13. Ibid., p. 145.

14. Ibid., p. 144.

15. Ibid., p. 147.

16. Fordham, pp. 108–112, 118.

17. Jesser and Pourroy, pp. 131–132.

18. Fordham, pp. 95–96, 108.

19. “Batman Begins,” Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com), retrieved 1-

25-13.
Chapter 18
1. Jody Duncan Jesser and Janine Pourroy, The Art and Making of The Dark
Knight Trilogy (New York: Abrams, 2012), p. 49.

2. Ibid., pp. 113–115.

3. Bruce Scivally, Billion Dollar Batman: A History of the Caped Crusader on

Film, Radio and Television from 10 Cent Comic Book to Global Icon (Wilmette,
IL: Henry Gray, 2011), pp. 374–375.

4. Jody Duncan, “Batman Grounded,” Cinefex, October 2008, pp. 84–86.

5. Jesser and Pourroy, p. 177.

6. Scivally, p. 381.

7. Duncan, pp. 82–83.

8. Ibid., pp. 73–75.

9. “The Dark Knight,” Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), retrieved 1-

25-13.

10. Scivally, pp. 386–387.

11. Duncan, pp. 71, 80–81.

12. James Barron, “Medical Examiner Rules Ledger’s Death Accidental,” The
New York Times, February 7, 2008 (www.nytimes.com), retrieved 1-25-13.

13. “The Dark Knight,” Box Office Mojo website (www.boxofficemojo.com),

retrieved 1-25-13.

14. Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan and David S. Goyer, The Dark Knight
Trilogy (New York: Opus, 2012), p. 227.
Chapter 20
1. “Inception,” Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com), retrieved 1-25-13.

2. “The Dark Knight Rises,” Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com),

retrieved 1-25-13.

3. Jody Duncan Jesser and Janine Pourroy, The Art and Making of The Dark
Knight Trilogy (New York: Abrams, 2012), pp. 194–197.

4. Ibid., pp. 198–202.

5. Ibid., pp. 202–203.

6. Ibid., pp. 208–210.

7. Ibid., pp. 213.

8. Ibid., pp. 213–217.

9. Jody Duncan, “A Farewell to Arms,” Cinefex, October 2012, pp. 53–55, 64.

10. Ibid., pp. 46–48, 57–58.

11. Jesser and Pourroy, pp. 257–260

12. “The Dark Knight Rises,” Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com),

retrieved 1-25-13.
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List of Names and Terms
ABC Television Network

Abercrombie, Ian

Abraham Lincoln on Screen (2009 book)

“Accidentally on Purpose” (Detective Comics #83, January 1944 story)

Ace the Bat-Hound

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994 film)

Ackles, Jensen

Action Comics (comic book title)

Acton Lane Power Station, West London, England

“Adam West: Behind the Cowl” (television documentary on Batman: Holy

Batmania! DVD set)

Adams, Jane

Adams, Neal

The Adventures of Batman (home movie version of 1943 movie serial Batman)

The Adventures of Batman and Robin (1994–1995 television series)

Adventures of Captain Marvel (1941 movie serial)

The Adventures of Superman (radio program)

Alfred

Al Ghul, Ra’s

Al Ghul, Talia

Alien (film series)

“All My Enemies Against Me” (Detective Comics #526, May 1983 story)

The All-New SuperFriends Hour (1977 television series)

All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder (2005–2008 comic series)

Alteri, Kevin

Alyn, Kirk

AMC Loews Lincoln Square, New York City, New York

American Psycho (2000 film)

Andrae, Tom

Aparo, Jim
Aquaman

Arkaham, Amadeus
Arkham Asylum

Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth (1989 graphic novel)

Arnold, Captain

Aronofsky, Darren

“Assembling the Arctic Army” (featurette on Beyond Batman video

documentary)
Atom

Aurora, Colorado

Austin, Terry

Austin, William

Austin, Texas
Azrael

Back to the Batcave (1994 book)

Bader, Diedrich

Baker, Rick

Bale, Christian
Bane

Barbeau, Adrienne

Barr, Mike W.

Barris, George

Bartram, Clark

Basinger, Kim
The Bat

The Bat (1920 stage play)

Bat-Girl

“Bat-Girl” (Batman #139, April 1961 story)

Bat in the Sun Productions

Bat-Manga!: The Secret History of Batman in Japan (2008 book)

Bat-Mite

“Bat-Mite Presents: Batman’s Strangest Cases” (Batman: The Brave and the
Bold television series episode)

Bat-Pod

The Bat, the Cat and the Penguin (1992 television documentary)

The Bat Whispers (1930 film)

Batarang
Batboat
Batcave

Batchler, Janet Scott

Batchler, Lee
Batcopter
Batcycle

“Batdance” (Prince song)

Bateman, Patrick
BatFilm Productions

Batgirl (Barbara Gordon alter ego)

Batgirl (Barbara Wilson alter ego)

Batgirl (Cassandra Cain alter ego)

Batgirl (comic book title)

Batgirl (Stephanie Brown alter ego)

Batman

Batman (comic book title)

Batman (1943 movie serial)

Batman (1966 film)

Batman (1966–1968 television series)

Batman (1989 album)

Batman (1989 film)

The Batman (2004–2008 television series)

The Batman (unfilmed script by Tom Mankiewicz)

Batman Adventures (comic book title)

The Batman Adventures (comic book title)

Batman and Captain America (1996 graphic novel)

Batman and Me (1989 book)

Batman and Me: A Devotion to Destiny (2008 documentary)

Batman and Me: The Saga Continues (1996 book)

Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero (1997 video)

Batman and Robin (comic book title)

Batman and Robin (1943–1946 newspaper comic strip)

Batman and Robin (1949 movie serial)

Batman and Robin (1997 film)

The Batman and Robin Adventures (comic book title)

“Batman & Son” (2006 comic story arc)

Batman and Spider-Man: New Age Dawning (1997 graphic novel)

Batman and the Mad Monk (2006–2007 comic series)

Batman and the Monster Men (2005–2006 comic series)

Batman: Animated (1999 book)

Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009 video game)

Batman: Arkham City (2011 video game)

Batman Begins (2005 film)

Batman Begins (2005 home video game)

Batman Beyond (1999–2001 television series)

Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000 video)

Batman: Black and White (1996 comic series)

Batman Collected (1996 book)

Batman: Dark Victory (1999–2000 graphic novel series)

Batman: Dead End (2003 film)

“Batman: Double for Superman!” (World’s Finest Comics #71, July–August

1954 story)

Batman Forever (1995 film)

Batman from the 30s to the 70s (1971 book)

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight (1989 graphic novel)

Batman: Gotham Knight (2008 video)

Batman: Haunted Knight (1996 book)

Batman: Holy Batmania! (DVD set)

“Batman: Holy Batmania!” (television documentary on Batman: Holy Batmania!

DVD set)

Batman Incorporated (comic book title)

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight (comic book title)

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993 film)

“Batman Meets Bat-Mite” (Detective Comics #267, May 1958 story)

Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman (2003 video)

“The Batman Nobody Knows” (Batman #250, July 1973 story)

Batman: Noel (2011 graphic novel)

Batman-on-Film (Internet website)

Batman Original Motion Picture Score (1989 album)

Batman: Red Rain (1991 graphic novel)

Batman Returns (1992 film)

Batman: Son of the Demon (1987 graphic novel)

The Batman–Superman Hour (1968 television series)

The Batman Superman Movie (1998 video)

“Batman Takes Over” (1949 movie serial Batman and Robin chapter)

Batman Tech (2008 documentary)

Batman: The Animated Series (1992–1995 television series)

Batman: The Blue, the Grey and the Bat (1992 graphic novel)

Batman: The Brave and the Bold (2008–2011 television series)

Batman: The Complete History (1999 book)

Batman: The Complete Robin Storyboard Sequence (program on 1989 Batman

DVD set)

Batman: The Dark Knight (comic book title)

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (1986 graphic novel series)

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 1 (2012 video)

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 (2013 video)

Batman: The Dark Knight Strikes Again (2002 graphic novel series)

“Batman: The Journey Begins” (2005 video documentary)

Batman: The Killing Joke (1988 graphic novel)

Batman: The Long Halloween (1996 graphic novel series)

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne (2010 comic book series)

Batman: The Ride (roller coaster)

“Batman: The Tumbler” (2005 video documentary)

Batman: The World of the Dark Knight (2012 book)

“Batman Theme” (1966 Batman musical piece)

“Batman Theme” (1989 Batman musical piece)

“Batman Trapped” (1949 movie serial Batman and Robin chapter)

Batman Triumphant (unproduced Batman film)

Batman 2 (unfilmed script by Sam Hamm)

“Batman: Under the Hood” (2005–2006 comic book story arc)

Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010 video)

Batman Unmasked: The Psychology of the Dark Knight (2008 documentary)

Batman: Vengeance (2001 home video game)

The Batman Vs. Dracula (2005 video)

Batman Vs. Superman (unproduced Batman film)

“The Batman Vs. the Cat-Woman” (Batman #3 story)

“Batman Vs. Wizard” (1949 movie serial Batman and Robin chapter)

“Batman Victorious” (1949 movie serial Batman and Robin chapter)

Batman: War Games (2004–2005 comic book story arc)

Batman: War on Crime (1999 graphic novel)

“Batman Wars Against the Dirigible of Doom” (Detective Comics #33,

November 1939 story)

Batman: Watching Over Gotham (2007 film)

Batman with Robin the Boy Wonder (1969 television series)

Batman: Year One (1987 comic book/graphic novel series)

Batman: Year One (2011 video)

Batman: Year Two (1987 comic book/graphic novel series)

Batmania (Batman fanzine)

“Batman’s Last Chance” (1949 movie serial Batman and Robin chapter)
Batmobile

The Batmobile (2012 documentary)

Batrope

“The Bat’s Cave” (1943 movie serial Batman chapter)

“Bats, Mattes, and Dark Knights: The Visual Effects of Batman Returns”
(featurette on Beyond Batman video documentary)
Batsignal

Batson, Billy
Batwing

Batwoman (Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman character)

Batwoman (comic book title)

“The Batwoman” (Detective Comics #233, July 1956 story)

Batwoman (Kate Kane alter ego)

Batwoman (Kathy Kane alter ego)

Beaumont, Andrea

Beetlejuice (1988 film)

Begley, Ed, Jr.

Bell Helicopter Company

Bening, Annette

Bennet, Spencer

Bermejo, Lee

Berry, Halle

“Beware of—Poison Ivy!” (Batman #181, June 1966 story)

“Beware the Gray Ghost” (Batman: The Animated Series television series
episode)

Beyond Batman (multi-part video documentary on Warner Bros.’ Batman film

DVD sets)

“Bigger, Bolder, Brighter: The Production Design of Batman and Robin”

(featurette on Beyond Batman video documentary)

Bingham, Jerry
Biography Channel

Birds of Prey (comic book title)

Birds of Prey (2002 television series)

Black Bat
Black Canary
Black Lightning
Black Mask
Blackgate Prison

Blade (1998 film)

Blade Trinity (2004 film)

Blade II (2002 film)

Blake, John

Blick, Hugo E.

Blind Justice (1989 comic book series)

Bolger, Ray

Bolland, Brian

Bond, James
Bookworm

Boone, Jean

Boone, Mark Junior

Bowen, Cameron

Boy Wonder: My Life in Tights (1995 book)

Brainiac

The Brave and the Bold (comic book title)

Brokeback Mountain (2005 film)

Bronson Cave, California 66

Brown, Stephanie

“Building the Batmobile” (featurette on Beyond Batman video documentary)

Burbank, California

Burnett, Alan

Burnette, Smiley

Burton, Tim

Byrne, John

Cain, Cassandra

Caine, Michael

“Cape and Cowl” (2005 video documentary)

Capizzi, Duane
Captain America
Captain Marvel

Cardington Sheds, London, England

Carnegie Mellon University

Carrey, Jim
Cartoon Network
Casablanca FilmWorks

“The Case of the Chemical Syndicate” (Detective Comics # 27, May 1939 story)

“Case of the Costume-Clad Killers” (Detective Comics #60, February 1942

story)

Caspian, Judson

Caspian, Rachel

Cataclysm (1998 comic book series)

Catwoman

Catwoman (2004 film)

Cavendish, Dr. Charles

CBS Television Network

“Cesar Romero: In a Class by Himself” (television documentary on Batman:

Holy Batmania! DVD set)

“The Challenge” (Legends of the Super Heroes episode)

Challenge of the SuperFriends (1978 television series)

Chang, Michael

Chertsey, England

Chicago, Illinois

Chill, Joe

“Chill of the Night!” (Batman: The Brave and the Bold television series episode)

Chinatown (1974 film)

A Christmas Carol (1843 novella)

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cinefex (magazine)

City of Scars (2010 film)

Claridge, Henry

Clooney, George

Clueless (1995 film)

Cobblepot, Oswald Chesterfield

Codd, Matt

Cole, Royal K.
Collora, Sandy
Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures: The Condensed Features Collection (home movie series)

Columbus, Ohio

Columbus Zoo, Columbus, Ohio

Comics Code Authority

Conan Doyle, Sir Arthur

Condors, Jim

Conroy, Kevin

Conway, Gerry

Corbould, Chris

Corvette (Chevrolet)

Cotillard, Marion

Craig, Yvonne

Crane, Jonathan

Cranston, Bryan

“The Crimes of Two-Face” (Detective Comics #66, August 1942 story)

Crocker, Paul

Croft, Douglas

Crowley, Matt

Crowley, Nathan

Cruise, Tom

Cushenbery, Bill
CW Network

Daka, Doctor

Daniels, Les
Daredevil

Daredevil and Batman: Eye for an Eye (1997 graphic novel)

Dark Justice (2003 film)

“The Dark Knight” (nickname for Batman)

The Dark Knight (2008 film)

The Dark Knight IMAX Prologue (2007 film)

The Dark Knight Rises (2012 film)

The Dark Knight Rises IMAX Prologue (2011 film)

Darkseid

“Daughter of the Demon” (Batman #232, June 1971 story)

Dawes, Rachel
DC Comics

DC Universe Animated Original Movies (animated film series)

Deadshot (Batman: Gotham Knight video episode)

A Death in the Family (1988–1989 comic book/graphic novel series)

Del Mar, Ennis

Dempski, Dan

Dent, Gilda

Dent, Harvey

“Designing the Batsuit” (featurette on Beyond Batman video documentary)

Detective Comics (comic book title)

DeVito, Danny

Deyell, Peter

DiCaprio, Leonardo

Dick Tracy (newspaper comic strip)

Dickens, Charles

“Did Robin Die Tonight?” (Batman #408, June 1987 story)

DiMaggio, John

Dini, Paul

Dixon, Chuck

Dr. No (1962 film)

Dome, Long Beach, California

“The Doom of the Rising Sun” (1943 movie serial Batman chapter)

The Doors (1991 film)

Dozier, William
Dracula

Drake, Steven

Drake, Tim

“Dreams in Darkness” Batman: The Animated Series television series episode)

“Dressed to Thrill: The Costumes of Batman and Robin” (featurette on Beyond

Batman video documentary)

Ducard, Henri

Duncan, Johnny

Duquesne, Cathy

Dykstra, John

Eckhart, Aaron
Egghead

“Eight Steps Down” (1943 movie serial Batman chapter)

Eisner, Joel
Eisner Award

“The Electrical Brain” (1943 movie serial Batman chapter)

Elfman, Danny

Elliot, Thomas

Ellsworth, Whitney
Elongated Man

Elseworlds (DC Comics irregular graphic novel series)

“Embers of Evil” (1943 movie serial Batman chapter)

Empire (magazine)

Empire of the Sun (1987 film)

The Encyclopedia of Comic Book Heroes Volume 1: Batman (1976 book)

Ending the Knight (2012 documentary collection)

Engel, Mike

Englehart, Steve

Entertainment Weekly (magazine)

ER (television program)

Erin Brockovich (2000 film)

The Essential Batman Encyclopedia (2008 book)

Evans, John

An Evening with Batman and Robin (1965 re-release of 1943 movie serial
Batman)

“Executioner Strikes” (1943 movie serial Batman chapter)

Fairbanks, Douglas

Falcone, Alberto

Falcone, Carmine
Fantasia 2000 (1999 film)

Far and Away (1992 film)

“The Fatal Blast” (1949 movie serial Batman and Robin chapter)

“The Fear” (Super Powers Team: The Galactic Guardians television series
episode)

52 (2006–2007 comic series)

Filangeri, Lydia
Filmation

Final Crisis (2008 comic book series)

Finger, Bill

“The First Batman” (Detective Comics #235, September 1956 story)

Fisher, Tommy

Fisher-Price Toys
Flash

Flashpoint (2011 comic book series)

Flass, Arnold

Flatliners (1990 film)

Flattery, Tim

Fleisher, Michael

Florence, Italy

“Flying Spies” (1943 movie serial Batman chapter)

Foley

Ford, Glenn

Fox, Gardner

Fox, Lucius
Fox Kids Network
Fox Television Network

Fraser, Harry

Freeman, Morgan

Freeze, Mr.

“Freeze Frame: The Visual Effects of Batman and Robin” (featurette on Beyond
Batman video documentary)

“Freeze Frames” (Cinefex September 1997 story)

Friedle, Will

Fries, Nora

Fries, Dr. Victor

“From Jack to the Joker” (featurette on Beyond Batman video documentary)

“Frozen Freaks and Femme Fatales: The Makeup of Batman and Robin”
(featurette on Beyond Batman video documentary)

Furst, Anton

Futura (1955 experimental Lincoln automobile)

Geda, Curt

“Genesis of the Bat” (2005 video documentary)

Gervis, Bert, Jr.

Gibson, Walter

Giordano, Dick
Glastron Boat Company

Gleeson, Jack

Glover, John

Goguen, Michael

Goldberg, Jordan 237

Goldenthal, Elliot

Goldsman, Avika

Goodman, Robert

Gordon, Barbara

Gordon, Commissioner James

Gordon-Levitt, Joseph

Gorshin, Frank
Gossip Gerty

Gotham Adventures (comic book title)

Gotham City
Gotham City Police Department

“Gotham City Revisited: The Production Design of Batman Returns” (featurette

on Beyond Batman video documentary)

“Gotham City Rises” (2005 video documentary)

Gotham Rogues

Gotham Tonight (2008 internet video series)

Gotham Uncovered: The Creation of a Scene (2008 documentary collection)

Gough, Michael

Gould, Chester

Goy, Jean-Pierre

Goyer, David S.

Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Los Angeles, California

Gray Ghost

Grayson, Dick
Green Arrow
Green Lantern

Greenberger, Robert

Greene, Sid
Greenway Productions

Greenwood, Bruce

Griffith, D.W.

Grissom, Carl

Guber, Peter

Gyllenhaal, Maggie

Hall, Anthony Michael

Hamill, Mark

Hamilton, Neil

Hamm, Sam

Hanna-Barbera

Hardy, Tom

Harris, Stacy

“Harvey Two-Face” (2008 The Dark Knight musical piece)

Hastings, Bob

Hathaway, Anne

Hayes, Gabby

“Heart of Ice” (Batman: The Animated Series television series episode)

Heart of Vengeance: Returning Batman to his Roots (2011 documentary)

Hefti, Neil
Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Hemming, Lindy

Henry V (1989 film)

“Here Comes Alfred” (Batman # 16, April–May 1943 story)

“Hi Diddle Riddle” (Batman television series episode)

Hill, Sefton

Hillyer, Lambert

Hingle, Pat
Hirohito
The History Channel

“Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” (U2 song)
Holiday

Hollywood, California

Holmes, Katie

Holmes, Sherlock

Hopwood, Avery

Howard, James Newton

Hudson University

Hughes, Howard

Hugo, Victor

Hummer (General Motors truck)

“Hunt for a Robin-Killer” (Detective Comics #374, April 1968 story)

“Hunt the Dark Knight” (Batman: The Dark Knight Returns story, 1986)
Huntress
Hush

Hush (2002–2003 comic book story arc)

I Am Legend (2007 film)

“I Am the Batman” (2008 The Dark Knight musical piece)

“The Ice Crimes of Mr. Zero” (Batman #121, February 1959 story)
Image Entertainment

“Imaging Forever: The Visual Effects of Batman Forever” (featurette on Beyond

Batman video documentary)
IMAX Corporation

“In Darkness Dwells” (Batman: Gotham Knight video episode)

Inception (2010 film)

Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis, Indiana

Indiana University

Indianapolis, Indiana

Infantino, Carmine

Infinite Crisis (2005–2006 comic book series)

“Inside the Elfman Studios: The Music of Batman Returns” (featurette on

Beyond Batman video documentary)

Insomnia (2002 film)

Inverness, Scotland

Isley, Pamela

It Started with a Kiss (1959 film)

Jack the Ripper

Jackman, Hugh

Jaipur, Rajasthan, India

Jeffries, Dean

Jelenic, Michael

JLA (comic book title)

“JLA: Tower of Babel” (2000 comic book story arc)

The Joan Rivers Show (television series)

Johnson, Lyndon B.
Joker

“The Joker” (Batman #1, Spring 1940 story)

“The Joker Returns” (Batman #1, Spring 1940 story)

“The Joker’s Five-Way Revenge” (Batman #251, September 1973 story)

Jones, Tommy Lee

“Julie Newmar: The Cat’s Meow” (television documentary on Batman: Holy

Batmania! DVD set)

Justice League (2001–2002 television series)

Justice League: Doom (2012 video)

Justice League of America

Justice League of America (comic book title)

Justice League Unlimited (2003–2005 television series)

Kane, Betty

Kane, Bob

Kane, Debbie

Kane, Elizabeth Sanders

Kane, Gil

Kane, Kate

Kane, Kathy

Kasem, Casey

Katzman, Sam

Keaton, Michael

Kelley, Carrie

Kemp, Jan
Kenner Toys

Kent, Harvey

Kerns, Hubie

Kidd, Chip

Kidman, Nicole

Kid’s WB Network
Killer Croc
Killer Moth

Kilmer, Val

King Lear (play)

King Tut

Kingdom Come (1996 graphic novel series)

Kirkland, Boyd

“A Kiss from a Rose” (Seal song)

Kitt, Eartha

Knebworth House, London, England

“Knight Moves: The Stunts of Batman Forever” (featurette on Beyond Batman

video documentary)

Knightfall (1993 comic book series)

Knightquest (1993 comic book series)

KnightsEnd (1994 comic book series)

Knox, Alexander

Koenig, Andrew
Krypto the Superdog

Krypto the Superdog (2005–2006 television series)

Kuwata, Jiro

Kyle, Helena 203

Kyle, Selina
Lady Shiva

“Lady Shiva” (Birds of Prey television series episode)

Lamborghini Automobile Company

Lane, Lois
Larry Darmour Productions
Lau
Laurel and Hardy

Leahy, Patrick

Ledger, Heath

Lee, Jim

“Legend—The Batman and How He Came to Be” (preface to “Batman Wars

Against the Dirigible of Doom”)

“Legends of the Dark Knight” (New Batman/Superman Adventures television

series episode)

Legends of the Dark Knight: The History of Batman (video documentary on

1989 Batman DVD set)

Legends of the Super Heroes (1979 television program)

Lego Batman: The Movie—DC Super Heroes Unite (2013 video)

Lego Batman: The Videogame (2008 home video game)

Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (2012 home video game)

Lego Toys
Leonardo da Vinci

Lester, Loren

Lichtenstein, Roy

Life (news magazine)

Lincoln, Abraham
Lincoln Automobile Company

Ling, Barbara

Liss, Ronald

Little Barford Power Station, Bedfordshire, England

Little Women (1994 film)

Liu, Sam

“The Living Corpse” (1943 movie serial Batman chapter)

Locklear, Heather

Loeb, Gillian

Loeb, Jeph

London, England
Lone Ranger

A Lonely Place of Dying (1989 comic book/graphic novel series)

Loomis, Andrew
Looney Tunes cartoons

Los Angeles, California

The Lost Boys (1987 film)

Lowery, Robert

“Lured by Radium” (1943 movie serial Batman chapter)

Luthor, Lex

MacCurdy, Jean

MacGregor-Scott, Peter

MacPherson, Elle

Mad Love (1994 comic book)

“Mad Love” (The New Batman/Superman Adventures television series episode)

Madison, Julie

“Making-Up the Penguin” (featurette on Beyond Batman video documentary)

“The Malay Penguin” (Detective Comics #473, November 1977 story)

“The Man Behind the Red Hood” (Detective Comics #168, February 1951 story)

“The Man Who Falls” (Secret Origins of the World’s Greatest SuperHeroes,
1989 story)

The Man Who Laughs (1928 film)

Mankiewicz, Tom

“The Many Faces of Gotham City” (featurette on Beyond Batman video

documentary)
Marina Del Ray, California

Marineland, Palos Verdes, California

“Mark of the Zombies” (1943 movie serial Batman chapter)

The Mark of Zorro (1920 film)

Maroni, Sal
Martian Manhunter

Martinson, Leslie
Marvel Comics

The Mask (1994 film)

“Master of Fear” (Batman #457, December 1990 story)

Mattel Corporation

Mazzucchelli, David

McCartney, Jesse
McClure Syndicate

McCuistion, Michael

McCulley, Johnston

McDonald’s Restaurants

McDowell, Malcolm

McFarlane, Colin

McFarlane, Todd

McGinnis, Terry

McMahon, Ed

McKay, Norman

McKean, Dave

McKenzie, Benjamin

McLeod, Victor

Mefistofle (1868 opera)

Mego Toys

Melniker, Benjamin

Memento (2000 film)

Meredith, Burgess

Meridian, Dr. Chase

Meriwether, Lee

Merrill, Gary

Meyer, Dina 203, 204

MGM Studios

Miller, Frank

“The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl” (Detective Comics #359, January 1967
story)

Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol (2011 film)

Mr. Mom (1983 film)

Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (television program)

Moench, Doug

Moldoff, Sheldon

Moll, Richard

Molnar, Paul
Monk

Monroe, Marilyn

Montgomery, Lauren

Moore, Alan

Moroni, Boss

Morrison, Grant

Morrison, Jim

Moxon, Lew

Murphy, Cillian

Murphy, Tab
Mutual Broadcasting System

Mxyzptlk, Mr.

“The Mystery of the Menacing Mask” (Detective Comics #327, May 1964 story)

“The Mystery of the Waxmen” (1945 radio serial)

Naish, J. Carrol

Napier, Alan

Napier, Jack
National Helicopter Service
NBC Television Network

Neeson, Liam
Nestle Quik

The New Adventures of Batman (1977 television series)

The New Batman/Superman Adventures (1997–1998 television series)

The New 52 (2011 revamp and relaunch of all DC Comics titles)

The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972–1974 television series)

The New Titans (comic book title)

New York City, New York

New York ComicCon, 1980

The New York Times (newspaper)

Newmar, Julie

Newsies (1992 film)

Nicholson, Jack

“Night of the Reaper” (Batman #237, December 1971 story)

Nightwing

Nigma, Edward

“A Nipponese Trap” (1943 movie serial Batman chapter)

No Man’s Land (1999 comic book series)

Nock, Eugene

“Nocturnal Overtures: The Music of Batman”(featurette on Beyond Batman

video documentary)

Nolan, Christopher

Nolan, Graham

Nolan, Jonathan

Norvick, Irv

“Not Yet He Ain’t” (Batman television series episode)

“Nothing to Fear” (Batman: The Animated Series television series episode)

Nygma, Edward

O’Donnell, Chris

The Official Batman Batbook (1986 book)

O’Hara, Chief
Ohio State Fair

Oldman, Gary

“One Bullet Too Many” (Batman #217, December 1969 story)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975 film)

O’Neil, Denny
Oracle

“The Origin of Batman” (Batman #47, June–July 1948 story)

Ornithopter (da Vinci invention)

“Out of the Shadows: The Production Design of Batman Forever” (featurette on

Beyond Batman video documentary)

Pacino, Al

Page, Ellen

Page, Linda

Palance, Jack

Palos Verdes, California

Paramount Pictures

Paramount Theatre, Austin, Texas

Paris, Charles

“Partners of Peril” (1936 story)

Pasko, Martin

“Path to Discovery” (2005 video documentary)

Patterson, Shirley

Paul, Victor

“Pavane” Secret Origins #36, January 1989 story)

PBS Network

Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (1985 film)

Penguin

“The Penguin Goes Straight” (Batman television series episode)

Pennyworth, Alfred

“The People vs. the Batman” (Batman #7, October/November 1941 story)

Peters, Jon

Petersen, Wolfgang

Pfeiffer, Michelle

Pfister, Wally
Phantasm
Phantom Stranger

“The Phoney Doctor” (1943 movie serial Batman chapter)

Pike, Allen

Pinewood Studios, London, England

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh Steelers
Plastic Man

PlayStation 2

PlayStation 3

Plympton, George H.
Poison Ivy

“Poison Peril” (1943 movie serial Batman chapter)

Poland, Joseph F.
PolyGram Pictures

Porter, Kevin

Predator (film series)

The Prestige (2006 film)

Preminger, Otto
Prince

The Princess Diaries (2001 film)

Pulp Fiction (1994 film)

Qayin

Quinn, Harley

Quinzel, Harleen

Radomski, Eric

Ramey, Bill
Rapid City Monuments
Reaper

Reaves, Michael

Red Hood (Jason Todd alter ego)

Red Hood (Joker alter ego)

Red Robin (Dick Grayson alter ego)

Red Robin (Tim Drake alter ego)

Reeve, Christopher

Reeves, Buster

Reinhart, Keaton

Reinhart, Taylor

Relentless (1948 film)

Repp, Stafford

“The Return of the Batman” (unfilmed script by Michael Uslan)

Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt (2003 television
program)

Reynolds, Debbie

Riba, Dan

Riddle, Nelson

Riddle Me This: Why Is Batman Forever? (1995 television documentary)

“The Riddle of the Missing Card” (Batman #5, Spring 1941 story)
Riddler

Rienzi (1840 opera)

Rinehart, Mary Roberts

Ringwood, Bob

Ritmanis, Lolita

“The Roast” (Legends of the Super Heroes episode)

Robbins, Frank

Roberts, Eric

Robin (Carrie Kelley alter ego)

Robin (Damian Wayne alter ego)

Robin (Dick Grayson alter ego)

Robin (Jason Todd alter ego)

Robin (1991 comic book series)

Robin (Stephanie Brown alter ego)

Robin (Tim Drake alter ego)

Robin Hood

“Robin Meets the Wizard” (1949 movie serial Batman and Robin chapter)

“Robin Rescues Batman” (1949 movie serial Batman and Robin chapter)

“Robin Rides the Wind” (1949 movie serial Batman and Robin chapter)

“Robin—The Boy Wonder” (Detective Comics #38, April 1940 story)

Robin: The Story of Dick Grayson (2010 documentary)

“Robin’s Reckoning” (Batman: The Animated Series television series episode)

Robin’s Requiem: The Story of Jason Todd (2010 documentary)

“Robin’s Ruse” (1949 movie serial Batman and Robin chapter)

“Robin’s Wild Ride” (1949 movie serial Batman and Robin chapter)

Robinson, Jerry

Rockwell, Norman

Rogel, Randy

Rogers, Marshall

Rojas, Angel

Romano, Andrea

Romano, Rino

Romero, Caesar

Ross, Alex

Ross, Clark
The Saint (1997 film)

St. Cloud, Silver

St. Elmo’s Fire (1985 film)

Sale, Tim

Sanchez, Lauren

Sanders, George
Santa Claus

Sara, Mia

Savage, Vandal

“Saving Gotham City” (2005 video documentary)

Scarecrow

Scent of a Woman (1992 film)

Schoenke, Aaron

Schumacher, Joel

Schwartz, Julius

Schwarzenegger, Arnold

Scooby-Doo

“Scoring Forever: The Music of Batman Forever” (featurette on Beyond Batman

video documentary)

Scott, Ashley
Seal

Sears Tower, Chicago, Illinois

“The Secret Cavern” (Detective Comics #48, February 1941 story)

“The Secret of the Waiting Graves” (Detective Comics #395, January 1970
story)

Secret Origins of the World’s Greatest SuperHeroes (1989 book)

Seduction of the Innocent (1953 book)

Semple, Lorenzo, Jr.

Shadow

Shadows of the Bat: The Cinematic Saga of the Dark Knight (multi-part video
documentary on Warner Bros.’ Batman film DVD sets)

“Shaping Mind and Body” (2005 video documentary)

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England

The Shining (1980 film)

Shreck, Max

“The Sign of the Sphinx” (1943 movie serial Batman chapter)

Silver

Silverstone, Alicia

Sinclair, Alex
Six Flags Corporation

Six Flags Great America, Chicago, Illinois

Skaaren, Warren

“Slaves of the Rising Sun” (1943 movie serial Batman chapter)

“Sleek, Sexy and Sinister: The Costumes of Batman Returns” (featurette on

Beyond Batman video documentary)

“Smack in the Middle” (Batman television series episode)

Smith, Andy
Sony Corporation
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Sorkin, Arleen

Soule, Olan

Spears, Geoff
Spectre

Spider-Man

Spider-Man (2002 film)

Spider-Man and Batman: Disordered Minds (1995 graphic novel)

Spielberg, Steven
Spoiler

Sprang, Dick

Star Spangled Comics (comic book title)

Star Wars (film series)

Stoner, Alyson

Strange, Dr. Hugo

Strange Apparitions (1999 book)

Strick, Wesley

Strong, Tara

Stryker, Alfred

Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency in the United States

Sullivan, Vin

Super Powers Team: The Galactic Guardians (1985 television series)

Superboy Prime

SuperFriends (1973 television series)

SuperFriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show (1984 television series)

Supergirl
Superman

Superman (1948 movie serial)

Superman (1978 film)

Superman/Batman (comic book title)

Superman/Batman: Apocalypse (2010 video)

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies (2009 video)

Superman: Peace on Earth (1998 graphic novel)

Superman II (1980 film)

Swabacker, Leslie

Swank, Hilary

Swenson, Jeep

Swing Kids (1993 film)

Talbot, Lyle

“Target: Robin” (1949 movie serial Batman and Robin chapter)

Tate, Miranda

The Terminator (1984 film)

TFX Company

Thank You for Smoking (2005 film)

“There Is No Hope in Crime Alley” (Detective Comics #457, March 1976 story)

Thomas, Bruce

Thomas, Emma

Thompkins, Leslie

Thorne, Rupert

“Those Wonderful Toys: The Props and Gadgets of Batman” (featurette on

Beyond Batman video documentary)

“Three Go Mad in Gotham” (Empire magazine article)

Thurman, Uma

Time (news magazine)

Time Corporation
Time Warner Corporation

Timm, Bruce

Tinsley, Theodore

Todd, Jason

Todd, Joseph

Todd, Trina

Tracy, Dick

Trent, Simon

Tucker, James

Tumbler (nickname of Batmobile in Nolan Batman film series)

“Tunnel of Terror” (1949 movie serial Batman and Robin chapter)

20th Century–Fox

Two-Face

“Two-Face” (Batman: The Animated Series television series episode)

U2
United Artists Studios
United Nations
United States Senate

The Untold Legends of the Batman (1980 comic book series)

Urich, Robert

Uslan, Michael

Vale, Vicki

Valley, Jean Paul

Van Nuys, California

Vatnajokull Glacier, Iceland

Veight, Conrad

Vietti, Brandon
Village Roadshow Pictures
VIP Marine

“Visualizing Gotham: The Production Design of Batman” (featurette on Beyond

Batman video documentary)

Waggoner, Lyle

Wagner, Matt

Wagner, Richard

Waid, Mark

Walken, Christopher

Walker, Shirley

Wallace, Daniel

Wallach, Eli
Walt Disney Pictures

“War Is Declared” (Batman: Year One story, 1987)

Ward, Burt

Ward, Heinz

Warhol, Andy
Warner Books
Warner Brothers Animation
Warner Brothers Pictures

Warner Brothers Studios, Burbank, California

Warner Communications
Warner Home Video

Watanabe, Ken

Waters, Daniel

Wayans, Marlon

Wayne, Bruce

Wayne, Damian

Wayne, Helena

Wayne, Martha

Wayne, Thomas
WB Television Network

Wein, Len

Welch, Bo

Wertham, Fredric

West, Adam

West, Roland

Westwood, California

Wickliffe, Conway
Wii

Wilkinson, Tom

Williams, Billy Dee

Williams, Paul

Williams, Robin

Williams, Scott

Wilson, Barbara

Wilson, Charles

Wilson, Lewis

Winick, Judd
Wizard

The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)

“The Wizard Strikes Back” (1949 movie serial Batman and Robin chapter)

“The Wizard’s Challenge” (1949 movie serial Batman and Robin chapter)
Wonder Woman

Woodrue, Dr. Jason

World War II

World’s Best Comics (comic book title)

“World’s Finest” (The New Batman/Superman Adventures television series

episode)

World’s Finest Comics (comic book title)

The World’s Greatest SuperFriends (1979 television series)

Writer’s Guild of America

Wuertz

Wuhl, Robert
Xbox

Xbox 360
Yamaha Motorcycle Company

Young, Peter

Young, Sean

Young Justice (2010–2011 television series)

Young Justice: Invasion (2012–2013 television series)

Zahler, Lee

Zero, Mr.

Zimbalist, Efrem, Jr.

Zimmer, Hans
Zorro

Zurian, Charley
 Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1
The Creation of Batman and His World, 1939–1942
2
Batman (1943)
Chapter Titles
3
Between the Serials, 1943–1948
4
Batman and Robin (1949)
Chapter Titles
5
Changing with the Times, 1950–1965
6
Batman (1966)
7
Exile from the Big Screen, 1967–1989
8
Batman (1989)
9
Between Burton’s Batman Films, 1989–1991
10
Batman Returns (1992)
11
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
12
Between Burton and Schumacher, 1993–1995
13
Batman Forever (1995)
14
Between Schumacher’s Batman Films, 1996–1997
15
Batman and Robin (1997)
16
 Iconic Character, Dormant Film Franchise, 1998–2004
17
Batman Begins (2005)
18
The Dark Knight (2008)
19
“Non-Nolan” Batman Works During the Nolan Cinematic Batman Era
20
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
21
The Adventure Goes On and On
Chapter Notes
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 13
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 20
Bibliography
List of Names and Terms