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| Returns and the comics |
Author: BatmAngelus, thecolorsblend, greggbray, ZUPERZERO & Silver Nemesis
Sun, 5th October 2008 |
| Analysis of Batman Returns |
 By BatmAngelus
There's no denying that screenwriter Sam Hamm, who wrote a draft for this film, and director Tim Burton had read comics (mainly, the 1939-1940 comics, Steve Englehart's 1970s run, and The Killing Joke) for the first film and perhaps those influences from those comics crept into the film. But while the B89 anaylsis was put up to argue that Burton's first film was VERY faithful to the certain comics, this anaylsis is here to argue that Burton's second film wasn't that unfaithful to the mythos.
Carrying Over the B89 Influences- Possibilities?
First off, we've covered Batman killing criminals in the B89 Comic Comparison . Same goes here.
I'm sure the 1939 Batman wouldn't hesitate to turn the Batmobile around and burn the fire eater or blow up the Strongman. This guy threw a thug off a rooftop in his first appearance and put a lasso over a henchman to choke him to death in another issue.
Bruce Wayne himself is a brooding figure, who waits in his manor, as if waiting for news of a crime for him to go out as Batman. Notice that Bruce in the 1939 comics is not really the public figure that he became in the later comics. He mainly stayed at home.
This standard Bruce Wayne brooding pose in Detective Comics #33 is quite similar to his pose and situation in Batman Returns. Both see their calling through a window...:
 
Then, there's Commissioner Gordon, who also gets a rather small role in the early comics. In fact, I can't really remember him being in more than two issues in the pre-Robin era.
Lastly, the 1939 comics also had somewhat of a supernatural element that is similar to, if not more far fetched than, what's in Returns, in my opinion. Dr. Death survived burning to death and looked like a mummy in Detective Comics #30. There were vampires in Detective Comics #31 and 32 and giant monster men in Batman #1. In fact, Hugo Strange unleashing his monster men attacking the city in #1 feels quite similar, to me, to Penguin sending out his goons (and even his penguins) out on Gotham. Both plans (well Penguin's with the Red Triangle Circus anyway) are to hide the actual scheme that the villain has in mind. Both also feature the villain falling into water thanks to Batman.
A deformed Oswald Cobblepot doesn't seem too far offbase, huh?
 Max Shreck could be Tim Burton's answer to Rupert Thorne, a Steve Englehart creation who was changed to become Carl Grissom in the first film. White haired, middle aged corrupt businessmen that Batman knows he can't trust. Remember Shreck's first scene in promoting the power plant in the beginning? Thorne's first appearance was in Detective Comics #469 in which he exploits a man into investing in a power plant (the man later becomes Dr. Phosphorus).
Shreck talking to Bruce at a party? Thorne was at a party with Bruce in the next issue. I'm sure Thorne trying to get rid of the Batman through legal issues was also influential on Penguin trying to frame Batman. And how does Thorne meet his downfall? When the man he killed (Hugo Strange) comes back to haunt him in Detective Comics #476. Replace Strange with a woman...you get the point.
Then, there's The Killing Joke. You may ask - what possible influence could a Joker story have on this movie?
Well, in my opinion, the actual story elements of The Killing Joke are more evident in Batman Returns than in the original film with Joker in it.
Now, Batman Returns may not have Joker, but how about a gang of circus-type freaks that make our villain feel at home- in an abandoned place typically used for children's attraction and amusement? In TKJ, it's a carnival; in BR, it's a zoo. Very fitting for the respective villains, in my opinion. Let's not forget Alan Moore's influential tragic origin for Joker. Adding a pregnant wife and a destitute life of rejection, we are almost asked to sympathize for The Joker in The Killing Joke. Burton's Penguin has a tragic origin as well- born with a deformity, Penguin- like Moore's Joker- is rejected from the world, driving him into madness.
Let's also not forget the tragic origins of Two-Face (who was who they originally wanted as a villain in the film) and Mr. Freeze (as Burton changed Penguin's origin, Paul Dini and others changed Freeze's).
Daniel Waters's first draft of Batman Returns (or Batman 2 as it was originally called) even has a carnival near the zoo. Batman and Penguin fight on the roller coaster and even have a TKJ-like moment in which they laugh at each other's follies. Whenever reading that part, I'm reminded of Joker telling his joke to Batman before the two laugh at each other in the closing panels:
PENGUIN
Oh, stall for time, much....Life
is scary. You're a man who wants
to be a bat, I'm a freaky bird who
wants to be a man. Did you know
that I found out tonight that Max
Shreck is my brother. Can you
believe that?
Batman snorts, then laughs. Slowly. Deeply. Penguin
contorts in a wild cackle of camaraderie.
PENGUIN
Hey, I wonder what Catwoman's deal
was?
BATMAN
Actually, she's my girlfriend...
Batman and Penguin roar even louder.
Batman Returns and The Other Comics: Are They Really That Different?
Let's start with The Penguin. Is he true to the character in the comics? The Pre-Crisis elements are there. He still uses gadgets in his umbrella. He still uses birds for his crimes (in this case...real penguins). Both are also well spoken - Penguin's speeches to the people of Gotham, for example. That was about it for the Pre-Crisis Penguin since the mob boss and Iceberg Lounge owner didn't exist before Batman Returns. And in terms of minor aesthetic, he wears a monocle once and has a cigarette holder in his mouth for a second. His costume isn't that far off, with the top hat and suit.
And in his first appearance he tried to frame Batman:
Then, there's a ridiculous story from the 1960s called The Catwoman's Black Magic in which Penguin and "Catwoman" meet. It seems to introduce Penguin's helicopter umbrella since Penguin's dialogue explains that a "touch of a hidden button turns my umbrella into a helicopter!" Penguin, upon meeting "Catwoman," attempts to woo her, saying, "Let's get married! We'll combine your feline felonies and my bird banditry! We'll become the King and Queen of Crime!" which seems similar to Penguin's attempts in Batman Returns.
I put Catwoman's name in quotes here because it's actually Lois Lane in a Catwoman suit who has been hypnotised by the real Catwoman into believing that she's Catwoman.
In 1989, years before Returns obviously, there was a Secret Origins comic that featured the origins of Penguin, Riddler, and Two-Face. The segment with Penguin was called "The Killing Peck" (I'm not joking).
This Penguin was perhaps the darkest interpretation I've read pre-Batman Returns. The first thing he does in the story is shoot a helpless police guard in the head. Batman later comments that "The Penguin leaves corpses behind him the way other men leave footprints." He was quite homicidal, not unlike the film Cobblepot who didn't hesitate to attempt to bite your nose off in public and wasn't bothered with the idea of killing children.
The plot of the story? Revenge on someone who made him an outcast. Penguin vows revenge on Sharkey, who used to terrorize Penguin as a child. Penguin takes him to his underground lair and tortures him by feeding raw fish, caviar, etc while recounting his old story. The lair turns out to be a zoo (sound familiar) and attempts to throw Sharkey into the tigers' pit and leave him for dead. Batman comes in to save the day, of course.
The Alan Grant origin here seems to be quite similar to Scarecrow's in which he was taunted as a young bookworm child for his looks. Add to the fact that his mother forced him to go outside all the time with an umbrella since Oswald's father died of pneumonia as well as a bird store where he became obsessed with his beloved birds. At Halloween when he was a senior in high school, he was forcedto change into a suit and top hat and be taunted as "penguin" by Sharkey and his cohorts. Fed up, Oswald took to physically training himself and ended up beating Sharkey and his pack in a fight. In revenge, however, Sharkey and the others killed his beloved birds.
Obviously, it wasn't the basis for the Returns origin. All in all, though, it gave the lonely outcast angle that Burton enhanced, the dangerous homicidal angle to Penguin, and even the use of a zoo as a hideout.
 What about Catwoman? The origin seem a bit weird? It's about 80% true to everything Pre-Crisis. How so?
In Batman #62, it is revealed that Catwoman (after a blow to the head jogged her memory) is an amnesiac flight attendant who had turned to crime after suffering a prior blow to the head during a plane crash she survived. So essentially a traumatic-near death incident motivated her to become Catwoman. Sound familiar?
The Brave and The Bold #197 retcons that to have this new origin: "My husband was very wealthy. He also liked to beat me. When I divorced him, he responded...by using his connections to try and ruin me financially, professionally, emotionally. I hated him, wanted to get back at him. But the only loss he understood was material loss, so...one night, when he was out of town, I sneaked onto his estate...ransacked his office, his safe, the jewels he'd bought me and then kept...It felt so good! Too good. It was so easy to continue...to convince myself that I deserved the things I stole, because of all the pain I'd been through."
Now replace the husband with an abusive boss. Replace the divorce with the meek Selina Kyle trying to get back at her boss, yet failing. Replace Selina stealing from his "office, his safe" with her destroying his store and killing him. Notice the psychological dilemma she feels in being Catwoman and being caught with her duality.
In 1989, a story called Catwoman: Her Sister's Keeper came out. Selina was primarily vengeful and was not a thief, which seems to be similar to the Catwoman portrayal in Batman Returns. Selina is found beaten and unconscious. The man who did it was her pimp, Stan. She spends the story trying to take revenge against him. She also claws Batman at the end before disappearing.
Haven't read it myself, but here it is: http://www.thebatsquad.net/continuity/cat_hersisterskeeper.htm
Then, there's Batman: Year One from 1987 in that Batman Returns predates Batman Begins in adapting the Year One Batman's use of a bat-glider and bats as weapons.
Lastly, I just have to say this but Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth from 1990 reminds me a great deal of Batman Returns in this quote:
Sometimes...Sometimes I think the asylum is a head.
We're inside a huge head that dreams us all into being.
Perhaps it's your head, Batman. Arkham is a looking glass. And we are you.
This feels quite similar, to me, to Batman Returns. You've got the psychologically scarred orphan (The Penguin), the costumed vigilante seeking vengeance (Catwoman), and a well known, influential citizen who has a dark secret (Max Shreck). All of the villains are dark reflections of Batman and all of them collide, just like the inmates in Arkham Asylum, when facing Batman in this storyline.
Well, that's all. Again, I want to stress that I can't say that these influences are definite. They could all be coincidences. Or they could have subconsciously influenced them. I can't say for sure.
By thecolorsblend
Batman #257 shows the Penguin eating raw fish.
Y'know, just for the folks who say he never did such a thing in the comics...
By greggbray
In the story, The Emperor Penguin, while probably not a direct influence feels like it worked its way into the story. You have a woman who is held more or less against her will (Ice Princess, anyone?). Penguin using birds for the purposes of execution (Penguin army, anyone?) and Penguin eating the raw fish.
Now while the narrative itself moves the story in a different direction, these minor elements are very much present in both this story and in the final BR script.
As mentioned earlier, the more direct influences are Nosferatu (Max Shreck, by name; Max coming up the stair case into the coffin lining..er..lined office) Penguin's resemblance to Dr. Caligari, the sets evoking 'The Man Who Laughs..in other words, expressionism.
The intertextuality works for me, as Kane/Finger/Robinson were influenced by German silent pictures, right down to 'The Man Who Laughs' inspiring the Joker. Of course, in The Man Who Laughs, the title character is the misunderstood protagonist (played to perfection by Conrad Veidt--also see as the Somnabulist in the Cabinet of Dr. Caligar), as opposed to a villain, but the aesthetic is there.
In fact, The Mad Monk, and Strange's Monster Men' seem to evoke equal parts Expressionism and the melodramatic horror pictures of the Universal era. Batman Returns is steeped in melodrama, in particular in the handling of the Penguin.
By ZUPERZERO
I just checked my "Batman archives Vol 1" and reading the 2nd Batman apareance in Detective comics(#28) i realize that has similaritys with Batman 2(Returns)
the 1rst frame of Detective 28 show a paperboy selling and yelling that reminds me a lot of the 1st scene in Batman Returns(present) remember that paperboy yelling to alfred: "The Man pinguin check it out, man or myth!!!" well check it out:
Then in the same Detective # 28 comes a part where Batman is fighting with some gangsters on a rooftop, then the 2 cops apears and batman escape, i found a little similar to that Batman Returns scene where Batman is fighting with catwoman and then the Pinguin to save the ice princess, but she is is throwed from the rooftop and then the 2 cops apear and Batman escapes:
Batman was blamed (in the Gotham media)for crimes in "Batman Returns", that was Pinguin & Catwoman's plan, like the ice princess murder; in Detective #28 Batman is also blamed in the media by crimes and his enemy tries to get advantage of that, take a look:
Other detail i found very funny, when i was scanning the comic, i saw at the enemy's face and realize that he looks like The Pinguin's father, look:
Tim Burton makes Batman's 2nd enemy in comics like the Father of the 2nd Batman enemy in movies: The Penguin.
By Silver Nemesis
Here are a few similarities between the comics and the movie that I noticed.
In The Blackbird Banditry! (Batman #43, 1948) the Penguin keeps Batman captive inside a giant birdcage like he did with Max Shreck.
 
In The Penguin Goes A-Hunting! (Batman #17, 1943) the Penguin has a trap delivered to a birthday party disguised as a giant gift-wrapped present.
 
In The Penguin on Parole! (Batman #38, 1946) he sends out a bunch of penguins with explosives strapped to their backs to try and blow up a zoo.
In this same story the Penguin is seen using a variety of trick umbrellas, including a flame thrower…
 
...and an umbrella-copter.
 
This isn’t a comic book influence per se, but the plot about the Penguin attempting to become Mayor was inspired by two episodes of the old Adam West TV show: Hizzoner the Penguin and Dizzoner the Penguin.
CATWOMAN: HER SISTER’S KEEPER (1989)
Years ago I owned a copy of the Batman Returns ‘Making Of…’ book, and I remember there was a two page section on Catwoman featuring images from comics that related to scenes in the movie. Amongst the artwork included were two pages from Catwoman: Her Sister’s Keeper (there were also images from an earlier comic, but I’ll get to that later) depicting a rooftop confrontation between Batman and Catwoman. Whether or not this was a deliberate citation, or merely a coincidence, I don't know. I sold the book years ago, so I can't check up on this.
But there is still good reason to believe that this may have influenced the film.
At the time of Batman Returns’ pre-production, Catwoman: Her Sister’s Keeper was Catwoman's canonical Post-Crisis origin story. It follows on from Batman Year One’s depiction of Selina Kyle as a prostitute, and like Batman Returns, it was met with controversy regarding its violent and sexual content. So much so in fact that in 1993 it was retconned out of existence during the events of Zero Hour: Crisis in Time and, the current Catwoman was introduced in her own series of comics. But I think this was the only Modern Age Catwoman story (excluding her brief cameo in Year One) at the time of Batman Returns’ production.
Selina Kyle is not a socialite in this book, but a vengeful woman who snaps after being attacked by her boss and goes on a rampage of mayhem and violence. While the plot is clearly different from Returns, the characterization is very similar, and there are a number of scenes in the movie that are strikingly reminiscent of moments from this book.
First of all there is the opening scene where Selina lies unconscious in an alleyway having being assaulted by Stan (the book’s equivalent of Max Shreck). The scene is set with images of cats lurking in the shadows around a bunch of dustbins.
The image of the unconscious Selina lying in the alleyway, bathed in pale moonlight as a cat curiously inspects her motionless form, appears to have been taken directly from this comic.
Selina gets the idea of dressing in a costume after witnessing some of the events from Batman Year One and seeing Batman in action. I’m guessing the reason she decided to dress up in Returns had something to do with the impression Batman made on her when he saved her from that gang member earlier in the film.
The first time Selina dons the Catwoman costume, she confronts and fights a criminal in an alleyway. This is actually Stan, whereas in the movie it was just some nameless lowlife creep.
But Stan is a lowlife creep anyway, so the analogy still stands.
During the fight she uses her claws for the first time, slashing her opponent’s face and leaving bloody cuts on his cheeks.
One of the main themes explored in the book is Selina Kyle’s Catholic upbringing and the relationship she has with her sister, who happens to be a nun. There is an allusion to Kyle having attended a convent school in Returns when she is talking to Bruce Wayne and Max Shreck:
SELINA
I remember Sister Mary-Margaret puking in
Church, and Becky Riley said it was
morning sickness.
This line wasn’t actually in Waters’ original script and must have been amongst the revisions made by Wesley Strick.
While I’m on the subject of Waters’ script, I thought I’d just address one of the most common criticisms I’ve come across regarding Catwoman in this movie. Many people seem bothered by the fact that they never explicitly state how she learned to fight. In Catwoman: Her Sister’s Keeper Selina is trained after a cop recommends a martial arts instructor to her following her assault at the beginning of the book. In Waters’ original screenplay there is a scene where Bruce and Selina are attacked by two muggers while out in the park. They fight them off, then Bruce asks Selina how she learned to fight. Here is an extract where she explains her skills:
SELINA
Didn't. At least I thought I
didn't. I won some karate
lessons. Radio thing. I'd been
calling for Grateful Dead tix...
anyway, I take the course. I was
a most serious failure. The
instructor kept chanting "Your
mind isn't clear, your mind
isn't..."
(disturbingly)
It is now...
Bruce massages a tickled Selina under her shirt.
BRUCE
Why is your body so alive?
SELINA
("You don't wanna
know")
Uh...Uh-robics. I was very
athletic as a girl. It's cute
thing for agirl--to be athletic,
aggressive....but you grow older,
everyone tells you…
It may be that this scene was shot, but cut from the film due to time constraints. Or perhaps it was omitted during one of the rewrites. Either way, there's your explanation of how she learned to fight.
After Catwoman has killed Stan she goes after a corrupt policeman and tries to kill him too. But Batman shows up and stops her. This incident is a bit like the scene where he tries to stop her from killing Max in the movie, only in the book he is more successful in his appeal.
Finally, there's a scene right at the end of the book where Batman and Catwoman have their first fight/talk on a rooftop. I’ll post these two pages in their entirety because these were the two presented in the official Batman Returns Making Of… book. As you can see, this is where the Batman/Catwoman relationship really starts. The lines are drawn and the tensions, both violent and romantic, are established. This is very similar to two scenes in the movie: firstly when Batman and Catwoman fight on the rooftop, talk for a bit, then Catwoman claws him; and secondly when Batman is dazed after being shot at by the police, and Catwoman tries to claw him a second time.
 
Here are some other possible influences on the depiction of Catwoman from other eras.
GOLDEN AGE CATWOMAN (1940s)
In ‘The Batman vs. The Cat-Woman!’ (Batman #3, 1940) the feline villain is seen wearing a blonde wig styled in a similar fashion to how she appeared at Shreck’s masquerade in Batman Returns. There is a definite visual resemblance, even though it is just a wig and her natural hair colour is black.
Also in this same story is a scene where Batman sends someone a letter signed with the Bat-emblem.
SUPERZERO pointed out some interesting visual similarities between Batman Returns and Detective Comics #28. That issue also has a panel where we see a letter from Batman signed with the Bat-emblem.
In fact, this crops up in quite a few stories. Here’s another example from Batman #224...
...Batman #234…
...and one more from Batman #368.
In ‘Your Face is Your Fortune!’ (Batman #15, 1943) we’re given a more three-dimensional depiction of Catwoman than in previous stories. This was where the writers really started to develop Catwoman’s alter ego as a sympathetic character, and she is shown tirelessly keeping up a regular job during the daytime, living in a small apartment alone with her cat, and constantly talking to herself.
 
She goes by the name of Elva Barr, and it is in this public guise that she meets and falls in love with Bruce Wayne.
The two of them embark on a whirlwind romance and Catwoman soon decides to give up her life of crime, settle down and get married. It doesn’t quite work out like that of course, but for a brief time she genuinely intends to go legitimate in order to marry Bruce. I think this was the first time that the Batman/Catwoman romance was extended to show them courting as their real selves, and not just flirting as their costumed alter egos. If there’s one Golden Age comic that might have influenced the sympathetic depiction of Selina Kyle in Batman Returns, then I’d say it was this one.
One last thing I’ll mention about this story is a scene towards the end where Catwoman is fleeing from Batman. A group of ordinary household cats rally to her defence and attempt to impede Batman’s pursuit, almost as if they were naturally drawn to assist one of their own.
This reminded me a little of the way the cats gravitate towards Selina in Batman Returns: firstly when she is unconscious in the alleyway and a second time when she is constructing her costume in her apartment. There seems to be an almost supernatural affinity that exists between her and the cats.
In the story ‘Nine Lives Has the Catwoman!’ (Batman #35, 1946) we are presented with a blonde Catwoman for the very first time, although I think this was the result of an error on the colourist’s part rather than a deliberate decision to change to her appearance. We also see her wearing the familiar cowl for the first time, instead of the more animalistic cat-mask she’d worn up until this point. As the title of this story suggests, it plays upon the idea of Catwoman being able to endure various potentially lethal encounters, each time counting down how many “lives” she has left.
One of her “lives” is lost when she seemingly plummets to her doom during a fight with Batman, similar to the outcome of their first encounter in Batman Returns.
 
Over the course of the story she continues to lose “lives” one by one until finally she perishes for good. But the comic ends with Batman reflecting that she might have survived because she still “had one life left”.
‘A Christmas Tail!’ (Batman #39, 1946) has a few similarities with Batman Returns. It begins with an image of Christmas shoppers happily walking through the snow-covered streets, their arms filled with gifts. Then the peace is disturbed by a robbery, the Bat-signal shines into the night’s sky, and the next moment the Batmobile rockets into town.
 
And there is a scene with Batman and Catwoman beneath the mistletoe.
In ‘The Lady Rogues!’ (Batman #45, 1948) we see Catwoman using her claws to climb up the outside of a building, similar to how she did in Batman Returns.
There are many examples from 1940s comics of Catwoman reclining in a leisurely manner whilst planning her next heist. Almost every Catwoman story from the 40s features at least one image of her in this position, often with her cat stretched out beside her.
  
  
SHADOW OF THE CAT
I mentioned earlier that I’d seen Her Sister’s Keeper referenced in the Catwoman chapter of the Batman Returns: Making Of… book. But there was one other comic that was featured in that chapter, and that was a story called ‘Shadow of the Cat’ (Batman #323, 1980). But to be honest there isn’t too much to say about this story, nor is there anything noteworthy in it that’s particularly relevant to Batman Returns. There are a few things I could mention about it though.
The story sees a reformed Selina Kyle once again donning her Catwoman costume in order to track down a mysterious criminal who is carrying out robberies for which she is being blamed. I suppose the biggest similarity with Batman Returns is the way Batman spends the whole story trying to guide her away from vigilantism and back to a normal, law-abiding existence. He twice appeals to her to step back from the brink, firstly as Bruce Wayne…
...and then as Batman. The second time he tries to assuage her anger he ends up getting hit in the face, similar to what happens when Batman tries to stop Catwoman from killing Shreck at the end of Batman Returns.
One last thing I’d like to mention about this issue is a panel showing Batman’s shadow cast against a wall in such a way that it more closely resembles the Batsignal than it does his real shape. The idea of indicating Batman’s presence in this way has been used in countless comics, but I thought this was as good an example as any other to demonstrate it.
I would say that the Michelle Pfeiffer Catwoman was an amalgamation of the original Post-Crisis Catwoman seen in Her Sister’s Keeper and the Catwoman seen in the early Golden Age comics of the 1940s. Her origin story and costumed persona appear to have their basis in the short-lived BDSM-Catwoman of the late 80s/early 90s, while her alter ego seems to have been based on the more likeable “happy homemaker” version seen in the 40s.
Moving away from the topic of Catwoman and getting onto some more general stylistic points, here are some similarities I noticed with The Dark Knight Returns.
THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS (1986)
Although Burton’s films don’t literally adapt any of the plot points from this book, there are obvious aesthetic similarities. I believe this was the book that Burton gave to Keaton as a reference for how he should play Batman. Even the title of the movie sounds similar to the book. Here are a few stylistic similarities I noticed between TDKR and Batman Returns.
I should point out though that these are just my subjective responses to the book and the movie and I don’t really have any legitimate reason for thinking that the film consciously referenced this particular story. Hopefully you’ll see where I’m coming from with some of these comparisons though.
The scene in TDKR where the bat crashes through the window strikes me as being quite similar to Bruce Wayne’s first scene in Batman Returns. Both depict a troubled Bruce Wayne alone in a darkened room, lost in thought as the pale moonlight filters in through the window. Suddenly the silhouette of a bat is cast over the room. Wayne stands and gazes up into the pale light, awakened from his pensive trance by this call-to-arms. It’s a spiritually significant scene in both the book and the movie, representing the moment of psychological transition when Bruce Wayne becomes Batman.
 TDKR made prominent use of talking head news reports, a device that Burton employed throughout both of his films. Both TDKR and the Burton movies present these reports in a way that is simultaneously funny and dramatic. They often convey violent information regarding death tolls and criminal activities, yet they’re also laced with black humour and comedy. This point is mostly relevant to Batman ‘89, but it still applies to a lesser extent to Batman Returns. Throughout the film important plot points are communicated to the audience via news reports: Cobblepot’s first appearance where he saves the Mayor’s baby, Cobblepot’s challenge to the Mayor to relight the Christmas tree, the kidnapping of the Ice Princess, Cobblepot’s final speech where he is pelted with rotten vegetables.
When Batman first begins patrolling Gotham again in TDKR we only get glimpses of his hands while the rest of him remains hidden out of frame. There are several scenes where we see a crime in progress interrupted by Batman’s hands reaching into view from the shadows and taking down the bad guys. These scenes are all punctuated by lightening flashes for dramatic effect. They reminded me of the scene where Batman saves the children from the Red Triangle gang at the end of Batman Returns: we see the gang roaming the streets collecting the children, then suddenly there is a flash of lighting, Batman’s shadow is cast against a wall, then his hands reach out and grab one of the gang members while the rest of his body remains hidden out of shot.
Sam Hamm’s original screenplay for ‘Batman 2’ included a subplot about a gang of vigilante youths known as “the Order of the Bat” who were clearly modelled after “the Sons of Batman” from TDKR. Here is a brief extract from Hamm’s Batman 2 script.
INSERT - TELEVISION SCREEN
The evening news: a live, on-the-spot interview from Gotham
Square. A superimposed GRAPHIC identifies a surly kid in a
RED BERET as "MIKE SEKOWSKY -- SPOKESPERSON -- ORDER OF THE
BAT."
SEKOWSKY
And hey! Where does this --
(BLEEP; expletive deleted)
-- Gordon get off calling us ?
We're not breakin' any laws. We're a
group of concerned citizens, that's all --
just like Batman.
WOMAN IN CROWD
You people are nothing but hoodlums!
SEKOWSKY
Hey, lady -- we're out here on patrol
riskin' our necks to protect old biddies
like you.
(into mike)
If this lame-o Gordon could do his job --
MORE CATCALLS from the crowd.
I think there are some parallels between the Sons of Batman and the Red Triangle gang. Both are composed of vicious thugs looking for chaos and excitement. And both follow the directives of an ambitious leader without really understanding what their motives are to begin with. The Red Triangle gang don’t care about Cobblepot’s personal vendetta against his parents anymore than the Sons of Batman care about Batman’s motivation. They’re just out looking for kicks, using somebody else’s personal crusade as an excuse to justify their own actions.
Remember the way the Red Triangle gang members reacted when Cobblepot revealed his plan to murder the firstborn sons of Gotham? Clearly they hadn’t known what his master plan was prior to that point, and yet they still carried out his orders. I think they did this simply because they wanted action and thrills, and by latching onto an ambitious, motivated individual like Cobblepot they felt like their antics were serving some sort of higher purpose. The same could be said about the Sons of Batman. They were no better than the other gangs in Gotham and were actually planning to raze the city to the ground until Batman showed up and whipped them into shape.
A visual similarity can be seen in the way both gangs wore facial tattoos. For the Sons of Batman it was a blue bat-shape over both eyes; for the Red Triangle gang it was—appropriately enough—a red triangle over their left eye.
I’m not suggesting that the Red Triangle gang were in any way based on the Sons of Batman. That’s highly unlikely, and there are as many differences between the two gangs as there are similarities. But I do think the Sons of Batman—and the Mutant gang—demonstrate that the Red Triangle gang were not as out of place in the Batman universe as some of the film’s detractors would claim.
If I could just briefly deviate from TDKR to point out another possible comic book reference relating to the Red Triangle gang: ‘The Case of the Joker’s Crime Circus’ (Batman #4, 1940). This story shows the Joker carrying out nightly robberies with the help of a gang of circus performers. Amongst them is a shaven headed strongman who proves a particularly difficult opponent to take down. Ultimately Batman overcomes the strongman’s brawn using his wits and fast reflexes. He doesn’t shove a bomb down his pants though.
Anyway, back to TDKR.
Is it just my imagination or is there a certain resemblance between DeVito’s Penguin and the Mutant gang leader?
- both of them are homicidal freaks with pointy needle teeth
- both are shown attacking people in an animalistic fashion
- both appear on television to publicly challenge Batman and the city officials
- both are leaders of the most notorious street gang in Gotham
- both are shown delivering maniacal rallying speeches to their troops
Maybe I’m grasping at straws a bit with this one, but I thought it was worth mentioning anyway. If the Mutant gang leader had been an influence on the DeVito Penguin then it would explain the whole nose-biting scene.
This panel reminded me of the driving scenes from Batman Returns. Batman is normally filmed in profile, or semi profile, when he is driving in the movies. And while certain shots in Batman Returns show him from those kind of angles, many of them are shot looking directly at him over the steering wheel.
This scene from TDKR struck me as being quite similar to a scene from Batman Returns.
 
I was never quite sure whether the thug he shoots in TDKR actually survives this incident. Its another one of those morally ambiguous moments, like the “rubber bullets” Batman shoots from the Batmobile. If the gang member is killed then that draws a further parallel between Miller’s Batman and the zero-tolerance Batman that Keaton played.
Batman was shown throwing some kind of chemical capsule at the Mutant gang leader during their first fight in TDKR. Batman uses a similar device against Catwoman in Batman Returns.
I know many people still criticise Batman for setting that gang member on fire using the Batmobile’s exhaust flame. But there's a scene in TDKR where a trap Batman had rigged sets an innocent cop on fire.
I thought the depiction of Gotham City in Batman Returns was quite similar to TDKR: a bleak, snow covered dystopia stricken by power shortages and rampant street crime.
I also thought that Batman’s sadistic grin in the movie looked a lot like the one he wears when he attacks the Mutant gang leader in TDKR.
Well, that’s about all the references I can find. I think we may have exhausted the connections between Batman Returns and the comics, but hopefully we’ve gone some way to vindicating it and proving that its actually a lot closer to the comics than its reputation suggests.
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Last edited by Paul (ral) on Sun, 25th July 2010 at 12:43pm
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