Similarities between Burton, Schumacher and Nolan's Batmen

[The Laughing Fish]

What are some things that these three live-action interpretations have in common?

• They all had Alfred lend a helping hand i.e. finding Jack Napier's criminal record in B89, changing the kamikaze penguins' frequency in BR, working together with Bruce in figuring out Riddler's true identity by solving the riddles in BF, testing the cowl in BB, and passing on information to Bruce in TDK and TDKR.


• All three versions were tempted to retire by the love of their lives - Selina Kyle, Chase Meridian, and Rachel Dawes.


• A villain played a part in Bruce's destiny to become Batman (Joker for Burton/Schumacher and Ra's al Ghul for Nolan).


• All three interpretations wore black Batsuits equipped with body armor. Except Schumacher was the only director who didn't copy the gold utility belt.


• Burton and Nolan had Batman disappear into thin air whenever someone turned their attention away for a second.


• Schumacher and Nolan had Bruce falling underground as a child and witnessing bats.


• All of their Batmobiles were sabotaged at one stage.


• All of them have killed at least once.

Thoughts? 

[The Laughing Fish]

Another couple of things:

• All three interpretations say "I'm Batman" when they first appear on screen at some stage i.e B89,
  B&R and BB.
• Batman could glide in the air with his cape (Burton and Nolan).
• Wayne Manor was ambushed by the villains at one stage (Schumacher and Nolan).

[Edd Grayson]

Great stuff. There are also similarities between BR and TDKR.

[riddler]

Every film the bat signal itself has significance

Batman; shown at the end given to gordon
Batman Returns; shown twice in the film; once just before the first time we see Bruce Wayne, once right after the last time we see Bruce Wayne
Batman Forever; turned into a giant question mark by the riddler
Batman and Robin: a Robin signal created
Batman Begins; the subject of the last scene of the film
the dark knight; destroyed at the end setting up the next film of the framed Batman
the dark knight rises; Batman recreating the bat logo on the bridge signifying his return

Every film at least one character finds out Bruce Wayne is batman

[The Laughing Fish]

Great stuff. There are also similarities between BR and TDKR.

Thanks Edd.  You're right about the similarities between those two movies too, i.e. Penguin and Bane hiding in the sewers, snow time in Gotham, and Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle dancing at a ballroom.

Another thing the three interpretations had in common was that they relied a lot on their grapple guns. But then again, that has become a common thing in the franchise since 1989.

[The Laughing Fish]

A couple of more things to add:

• Each interpretation had Batman cause villains to fall to their deaths, i.e.the Joker and the big henchman in B89, and both Two-Faces in BF and TDK.


• Each interpretation had Batman navigating his own aircraft. Burton and Nolan had Batman use his plane to latch onto hazardous objects (Joker's Smilex balloons and nuclear bomb) and flew them away from the city to safety.


• Schumacher and Nolan had Batman using sonar vision at one stage.

[OutRiddled]

• All three versions were tempted to retire by the love of their lives - Selina Kyle, Chase Meridian, and Rachel Dawes.

I disagree with that.  Keaton was never tempted to retire, he flat out states "This is how it is".  And Kilmer didn't retire because of Chase Meridian, I forget the actual reason why but it's there somewhere in the deleted scenes.

[Silver Nemesis]

I disagree with that.  Keaton was never tempted to retire, he flat out states "This is how it is".

He says that in Batman 89, but in Batman Returns he wanted to retire and settle down with Selina. He unmasks himself right in front of Max Shreck, having previously announced his intent to send Shreck to prison. There was no going back after that. Batman's secret identity was compromised, and Shreck would have told everyone in prison it was Bruce Wayne beneath the cowl. But by that point Bruce didn't care. He just wanted to be with Selina. Forsaking his duel identity was his way of demonstrating his commitment to her and setting an example he hoped she'd follow.

Similarly Kilmer's Batman also wanted to quit and settle down with Chase. He tells Dick as much during the scene where he says "So from this day on, Batman is no more [...] Chase is coming to dinner. I'm going to tell her everything." Until then, Bruce had been driven by guilt stemming from repressed memories of his father's journal. But he'd failed to achieve catharsis through his crusade as Batman and had instead become locked in a cycle of violence; each night replacing the face of his parents' killer with a never-ending gallery of substitutes. He believed he could free himself from that cycle, from his repressed memories and the guilt attached to them, through Chase's help. It was only after he confronted those memories that he became liberated from his guilt and the compulsion to fight crime. And from then on out he chose to continue being batman as a matter of his own volition. But at one point, he definitely intended to discard the cowl and settle down with Chase.

[The Dark Knight]

I think the message Burton gave with the ending of Batman Returns is that Bruce doesn't get a conventional happy ending. Much like Batman Beyond. Keaton's Bruce finds a true kindred spirit and is willing to live happily ever after with her. But instead, he's rejected and injured. He also assumes his lover has committed suicide. That quickly turns a ray of light into a deep scar. Thus...Keatonverse Bruce has no other passion to embrace other than crimefighting.

[The Laughing Fish]

I think the message Burton gave with the ending of Batman Returns is that Bruce doesn't get a conventional happy ending. Much like Batman Beyond. Keaton's Bruce finds a true kindred spirit and is willing to live happily ever after with her. But instead, he's rejected and injured. He also assumes his lover has committed suicide. That quickly turns a ray of light into a deep scar. Thus...Keatonverse Bruce has no other passion to embrace other than crimefighting.

This. It's also similar to Bruce Wayne and Andrea Beaumont's relationship in Mask of the Phantasm.

Now that we're introduced to the DCEU Batman, let's make draw some parallels with the other live action interpretations.

• This Alfred continues the trend of helping Bruce out while on duty, but he is the first live action version to no longer serve as a butler; at least not in the events leading up to and during BvS.
• The DCEU Bruce witnessed bats after falling into a cave, but the difference is it's heavily implied that they've inspired him to adopt the symbol as a bat, instead of being afraid of them. Hence the Beautiful Lie monologue.
• DCEU Batman navigates his own aircraft yet again, and like Burton and Nolan, he has machine guns mounted on his Batwing. It should be noted that Schumacher's interpretation is the only exception in this area to date.
• The DCEU Batmobile continues the trend of live action Batmobiles being sabotaged at one stage, albeit rather minor. This time by Superman.
• Finally, Batman in this universe continues the trend of killing villains. And yet, wankers still treat it as if it's an anomaly in live action. Grrr.

Every film the bat signal itself has significance

Batman; shown at the end given to gordon
Batman Returns; shown twice in the film; once just before the first time we see Bruce Wayne, once right after the last time we see Bruce Wayne
Batman Forever; turned into a giant question mark by the riddler
Batman and Robin: a Robin signal created
Batman Begins; the subject of the last scene of the film
the dark knight; destroyed at the end setting up the next film of the framed Batman
the dark knight rises; Batman recreating the bat logo on the bridge signifying his return

Every film at least one character finds out Bruce Wayne is batman

BvS continued this by having Batman light up the signal to confront and fight Superman.