Will The Real Batman Please Stand Up!

Will The Real Batman Please Stand Up!

Editorial about the future direction of the world's greatest detective.

Editorial Opinion
By thecomic - Feb 03, 2014 11:02 AM EST
Filed Under: Batman vs. Superman
Source: Christopher Hammond

When it was announced that Ben Affleck was playing Batman the overriding concern was that Affleck, based on his portrayal of Matt Murdock/Daredevil, was not capable of playing Batman. I don’t share this worry. However Affleck’s age and the few snippets we’ve heard about ‘this’ vision of Batman do concern me. I have read that the Batman of Batman Vs Superman will be “semi-retired” and “world weary”. Below I give three reasons why I find this interpretation of the character to be short sighted on WB/DCs part.

1. We just had this

In the last Batman film a couple of years ago we had a Bruce Wayne who had given up the cowl for 8 years, whose body was broken after only 18 months of crime fighting as Batman. I have seen Batman attaching Braces to his legs to enable him to walk. I have seen batman retire, happily from Gotham to spend his twilight years (ahem late 30s) globe trotting with his hot girlfriend. I am not sure I want to see another semi-retired, aging vision of the character. I think giving audiences something which at face value appears very similar to the last Batman film causes two problems. It either implies continuity with the Dark Knight Trilogy, which I think is a mistake for the character as that vision was very specific and not in keeping with a shared Dc universe. It is also giving audiences a redress of what weve had before, which was Superman Returns mistake.

2. Its not the character

I don’t know if its just me but isn’t a semi retired Batman an oxymoron. In The Dark Knight/Rises Batman, after 18 months, is eager to hand over the role first, to Harvey Dent and then to John Robin Blake in order to pursue romance and happiness. My view of Batman is that his grief, determination and drive to ensure crime is punished and the innocent are protected is what catapults Bruce Wayne, an ‘ordinary’ human being, into someone who can hold his own amongst the superpowered. That Batman’s relentlessness IS both the defining point of his character and ultimately his superpower. To me Bruce Wayne is a modern Captain Ahab with an indelible desire for justice in place of a desire for revenge.

To continue this analogy, imagine a Moby Dick Trilogy patterned after The Dark Knight Trilogy, part one would show Ahab’s first confrontation with the whale, so far so good. Part two would have Ahab in pursuit of the whale but keen to hand over his pursuit to another sea captain so he can be with his childhood sweetheart. Part three would be a retired Ahab, drawn out of retirement by a femme fatale and mortally wounded, then having defeated a whale (not Moby Dick) retiring with said femme fatale knowing that the great whale that wounded him was still out at sea. However good these films were (the middle one at least!) I can’t imagine anyone suggesting it was an accurate portrayal of one of fiction’s great characters. Finding new ways to explore a character is one thing, fundamentally mis understanding their raison daitre is something else.

Simply put, “semi retired Batman” is as consistent with the character as saying benevolent Fagin, selfish Cinderella or kind Jophrey Beratheon.

I don’t want a Bruce Wayne, dragged out of retirement occasionally when there is a city threatening problem, I want a Bruce Wayne who will not rest until crime and criminality however big or small has been stopped. I think Goyer/Nolan forget Batman was created by a back street mugging gone wrong not a terror plot involving a nuclear explosion.

3. Is semi retirement really how you start a franchise?

Well the simple answer is if you are rebooting Cocoon maybe! We are making an assumption that Batman will have solo films following his introduction in Batman Vs Superman/Justice League/Man Of Steel 2. Is “semi-retired” really the best first position for the character? Imagine if Lucasfilm had recast Indiana Jones 10/15 years after last Crusade, announced that Tommy Lee Jones was the new Indy and then made Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as the first instalment??? Imagine if JJs new star trek had not begun with the births of Spock and Kirk but instead with their return from the 5 year mission and them taking desk jobs at Starfleet HQ? Admittedly, I am not ready for a new take on Batman’s origin, although a film version of the excellent Zero year may make me reconsider! But I do want to see a Batman at the height of his powers doing battle with his rogues gallery in a film series that looks something like a combination of the Arkham Games, the 90s Animated Series and the current Batman comic.

Hopefully the conclusion of Batman Vs Superman/Justice League/Man Of Steel 2 is one where Batman is fully back out of retirement, that Affleck can give us ten years of the Batman I describe above, because between Adam West, Tim Burton, Joel Schumacher and Christopher Nolan I do find it an oddity that cinema goers have never been treated to the character I know and enjoy (Burton/Keaton 1989 being the closest).

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GoldSlayer1
GoldSlayer1 - 2/3/2014, 11:49 AM
I Always thought Batman to be in his mid 30s when he starts the justice league, so i doubt he's in retirement.

I commented about something like this before, when they said it would be an older more experienced batman, most people kept assuming it would be one thats near retirement or coming out of retirement.
BenjiWest
BenjiWest - 2/3/2014, 12:53 PM
His solo films could be prequels.....showing his exploits in prime
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 2/3/2014, 1:08 PM
First of all, almost 1 year passes between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Take into consideration the fact that Batman Begins spans over a time period of several years. Then add to that that Batman DOESN'T retire immediately after the events of The Dark Knight, and that's much more than "18 months" of Bruce being Batman. And he's obviously much older than "late 30s" when he's retired in TDKR. Come on, do your research and don't hate just to hate.

But besides that, I actually do agree that the Affleck Batman should be as different as possible from Bale's.

As for the 2nd point, I'm not a comic reader by any means. But I've seen it pointed out constantly how Bruce does retire in the comics, so I don't get this complaint of a semi-retired Batman not fitting into your personal version of him.

And I wholeheartedly agree with your last point. You might be taking the off-handed comment about Batman being "semi-retired" a bit too literally though, as he most likely will just be older and more experienced and not quite as active as he was in his prime. We'll just have to wait and see!
kong
kong - 2/3/2014, 2:28 PM
They never said he was retiring. They said he'd be tired. A 28 year old Bats would be tired after just one night as Batman.
thecomic
thecomic - 2/3/2014, 2:48 PM
@redhood13 http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/notyetamovie/news/?a=90093 is where I read the semi retired comment, if that isn't true then I wasted 20 minutes writing my article!
thecomic
thecomic - 2/3/2014, 2:49 PM
@benjiwest I did wonder that, it's a good solution.
thecomic
thecomic - 2/3/2014, 3:02 PM
@sauronsBANE1 I don't really see where the "hate" is in my article, that's a pretty strong term to use about allegedly miscalculating the short time Bruce Wayne is Batman active in Gotham? I think Bruce is Batman in costume for 6 months in Begins, and that as you say a year passes between begins and TDK, he is then quiet for 8 years before coming out of retirement for a couple of days in TDKR. Even if I am wrong to he tune of two years that's still only 3 1/2 years as batman, hardly a life's work. To clarify I think Begins is OK I think TDK is a brilliant film and I think TDKR is structurally poor but a decent character study, no hate on this bus!

As for he comment that Batman has retired in the comics, yes in the six thousand issues of batman comics and appearances (http://www.comicvine.com/batman/4005-1699/issues-cover/) he has retired, after breaking his back (knight fall) or because of government intervention (dark knight returns) or because he is 80 (batman beyond), lets say that in 6000 appearances bats has been in or considering retirement for 100 issues, that's 1.6% of the time. Therefore Batman retiring is hardly a defining feature of the character, and yet in 2/3 of the dark knight trilogy he either retired or was considering retirement, and as per the quote I cite above he is apparently in semi retirement in MOS2, including the West version that's retirement featured in 3/9 batman films, 33% of the time. Therefore cinematic Batman is out of step with both the accepted norms o the character and the reasons and frequency with which he deviates from that norm.
thecomic
thecomic - 2/3/2014, 3:03 PM
@doopie the campaign for Cocoon the reboot starts here!
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 2/3/2014, 3:43 PM
Yeah you're right man, hate was definitely way too strong. My mistake!
feedonatreefrog
feedonatreefrog - 2/3/2014, 5:27 PM
I'm fine with an older Batman.

I think after the death of Robin, he becomes so obsessed with preserving human life that he turns to drones instead of partners (going by the rumours). He doesn't want to risk the lives of others or his own anymore.

That sounds very Batman to me.
MightyZeus
MightyZeus - 2/3/2014, 5:58 PM
I think the solo films should be prequels and maybe even a sequel after Justice League. I think the DCCU can pull off this Batman.

I'm okay with an older experienced Batman it seems like an interesting take on the character.
feedonatreefrog
feedonatreefrog - 2/3/2014, 8:35 PM
Batman retires for the first time because he wouldn't want to jeopardize the Dent Act by having Batman be seen as a hero.

Regarding the second retirement: Batman's body had reached its limit, and with the big immediate threat neutralized, he believes the right thing to do is to leave the job with a younger, healthier willing individual.
BenjiWest
BenjiWest - 2/3/2014, 8:55 PM
@thecomic - also if his solo films are prequels, it frees the narrative from having to explain things like, where are the Justice League?
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