Batdance

And I don’t mean the Batusi (Spoilers)

One of the movies I loved growing up was Batman (1989), directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton. Over the years, I’ve also come to regard Batman Returns as an underrated film. So today, I will do something I’ve never done before. Review a comic book. Specifically, Batman ’89, which takes place in the continuity of the Burton films while ignoring the Joel Schumacher entries.

This comic was written by Sam Hamm, who wrote the screenplay for Batman (1989) and a Batman 2 script, which Burton and the studio didn’t further develop in favor of Returns. You can find the latter online, and if you’re a fan, I highly recommend reading it. It’s not necessarily better, but it is interesting. For instance, much like ’89, it’s much more of a direct continuation, with Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) making another appearance.

Gotham City is in the middle of another crime spree, with a gang of Batman wannabes joining in on the chaos. In response, D.A. Harvey Dent begins a crusade against Commissioner Gordon and Batman for letting the city get so out of control. However, that inadvertently sends Harvey on a collision course where he winds up with two faces and making decisions based on a coin toss. In addition, Batman also has to contend with the return of Selina Kyle/Catwoman and the new boy wonder vigilante.

All the returning characters are drawn to resemble the actors who portrayed them in the films. The one exception is Commissioner Gordon, who looks like a more portly version of his usual comics self than Pat Hingle. All the new characters are also visually modeled after actors who would have played them had this been made as a movie in place of Batman Forever.

The famously red-headed Barbara Gordon is a brunette due to being drawn to resemble Winona Ryder. You know, an actress whose breakout role was in the movie Burton and Keaton made before they made Batman. Towards the start of the ’89, you can even see someone dressed up as Lydia Deetz. The purists among us will probably wonder why Barbara couldn’t have been Ryder wearing a wig, like in Edward Scissorhands.

Robin, aka Drake Winston, is drawn to look like a young Marlon Wayans, who was Burton’s top choice for the character when he was supposed to appear in Returns. For those of you who are having trouble picturing that, I’d like to direct you toward Requiem for a Dream and Respect, both of which show that Wayans is a decent dramatic actor.

A minor character who appears is “Dr. Q,” who looks like Madonna. What that’s in reference to is an awesome-sounding third Schumacher movie. Harley Quinn was going to be one of the main villains, with the Queen of Pop and Courtney Love eyed for the part. The character would have been rewritten to be the Joker’s daughter to keep continuity with the 1989 film.

What’s interesting about Batman (1989) is that its version of Harvey Dent being, well, black, is something that’s never addressed (though he is a relatively minor character). It is here, though, and is, in fact, a significant part of his characterization. His backstory is that he grew up in Burnside, a poor, predominantly black neighborhood, before entering rich white society. At one point, he even mentions code-switching (NSFW). Both play nicely into the duality motif of the character.

A subplot within the comic is the National Guard accidentally (?) killing a black civilian while trying to take down Batman. In real life, the release of this comic coincided with the George Floyd protests. It’s also worth noting that had this been made as a movie in the ’90s, it would have been when Rodney King and the L.A. Riots would still be on everybody’s mind. Don’t you love how nothing’s changed?

Feeling responsible for the death, Bruce decides to pay for “every school-age child in the Burnside District” to attend either college or a trade school. I like how “our problems run deep,” “throwing money around is not a solution,” and “philanthropy is a function of inequality” is at least mentioned, even if the comic doesn’t engage with those themes to a meaningful extent.

Something I like about this comic is that in Forever, Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones) had a case of Joker-itis. It is a condition that leaves Batman villains acting more like the Joker than their comic book selves. Examples include the Penguin (Danny Devito), Anarky (Wallace Langham), Black Mask (Ewan McGregor), Scarecrow (Vincnt Kartheiser), and Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg)(he was in Batman v. Superman, so it still counts)

Here, Harvey becomes not another eccentric crime boss but a violent vigilante serving as a dark mirror to Batman, similar to the version in The Dark Knight. His split personality, an informed attribute in Forever, is also depicted here. He’s also characterized as a very tragic figure, with his death being pretty somber in particular.

Eventually, Bruce tries to turn Harvey back to the side of the angels by replacing his coin with a two-headed one. Not knowing the plan, Catwoman causes Harvey to fall to his death first. Bruce gets angry with her, saying that Harvey still could have been redeemed, and gives up on saving Selina. Though given that this version of Batman has killed criminals, it comes off as much more hypocritical and self-righteous than it would in other continuities.

Batman ’89 is a fun nostalgia for Batman and Burton fans alike, filled to the brim with Easter Eggs to keep an eye out for. My biggest problem with it is how Batman feels like a supporting character in his own story. This is a recurring problem with Batman movies that I was hoping they would avoid with the comic book format. However, I still recommend reading it and would be interested in more continuations in comic form.