Summary
Batmanhas gone through different versions on the big screen, but DC almost did the same storyline in four different Batman movies, though with different contexts. TheDC Universewouldn’t be the same without Batman, and the Caped Crusader is already a film veteran by now.Batman’s history on the big screenbegan in the 1940s with two serial films, followed by an adaptation of the 1960sBatmanTV series starring Adam West and Burt Ward in 1966. In 1989, Tim Burton brought his version of the Dark Knight inBatman, followed byBatman Returnsin 1992.
Joel Schumacher’sBatman ForeverandBatman & Robinclosed the character’s film run in the 1990s, and it wasn’t until 2005 that the Caped Crusader returned to the big screen in Christopher Nolan’sBatman Begins. After the success ofThe Dark KnightandThe Dark Knight Rises, the DC Extended Universe introduced its version of Batman inBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and now Matt Reeves has brought his own inThe Batman. All of these have given Batman different stories and conflicts, but four of them almost repeated the same storyline, though for different reasons.
The Best Quote From Each Batman Movie
Every Batman movie has at least one iconic quote, whether spoken by The Dark Knight himself or by one of his villains. Here are our favorites.
3 Different Live-Action Batman Movies Make Bruce Wayne Quit
These Batmen Retired For Different Reasons
Batman retired twice in theDark Knighttrilogy: the first one was a temporary retirement and the second one was a definitive one.
The appeal of Batman is watching him be the mysterious vigilante of Gotham City as well as his dynamic with some of Gotham’s most colorful and dangerous characters. While all that has been present inallBatmanmovies, three of them went deeper into Bruce Wayne’s struggles as Gotham’s vigilante and saw him retire from his Batman duties. First was Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne/Batman inChristopher Nolan’sDark Knighttrilogy, in which he retired twice: the first one a temporary retirement and the second one a definitive one.
The events ofThe Dark Knightwere too traumatic for Batman: the Joker’s chaotic plans led to the death of Rachel Dawes as well as to Harvey Dent’s villainous transformation into Two-Face Harvey. Atthe end ofThe Dark Knight, Dent fell to his death after Batman tackled him to save the son of Jim Gordon, as Dent was holding his family hostage. To not taint Dent’s legacy, as his villainous turn wasn’t known to the public, Batman took the blame for his death and actions, and while Gotham mourned Dent, the police launched a manhunt for Batman.
Because of this, and still mourning Rachel’s death,Batman retired afterThe Dark Knight, but he returned to action inThe Dark Knight Riseswhen Bane showed up to create chaos. Atthe end ofThe Dark Knight Rises, and to save Gotham from destruction, Batman used his aerial craft to take the bomb far over the bay and to an area where it could explode safely, but that also meant Batman wouldn’t survive. However,The Dark Knight Risesended in a twist as Bruce was revealed to be alive and living a quiet, normal life in Europe with Selina Kyle, finally retiring for good.
How Batman Escaped At The End Of The Dark Knight Rises
The Dark Knight Rises made the audience believe Batman died, only to reveal right at the end that he was alive and well. So, how did he do that?
Muschietti revealed that Keaton’s Batman retired because he broke his own code.
Andy Muschietti’sThe Flashbrought Michael Keaton’s Batman back as Barry Allen arrived in a different timeline to his.The Flashrevealed that Keaton’s Batman retired at some point afterBatman Returns, but he agreed to help both Barrys and Kara Zor-El, dying in battle. In a behind-the-scenes featurette, Muschietti revealed that Keaton’s Batman retired because he broke his own code by killing a criminal in front of his child, thus becoming what he hated the most (viaIGN).
Batman v Superman Almost Made Batman Quit AGAIN
Batman Almost Quit In His First DCEU Appearance
Snyder initially took inspiration from the comic bookThe Dark Knight Returns, in which a retired Batman resumes his crime-fighting career.
The DCEU introduced its version of Batman inBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, directed by Zack Snyder.Batman v Supermanwas the debut of Ben Affleck’s Batman, and unlike past versions, it didn’t explore his origin story, instead bringing a mature Batman who had already seen and gone through a lot.Batman v Supermanalmost made Affleck’s Batman quit as well, as Snyder initially took inspiration from the comic bookThe Dark Knight Returns, in which a retired Batman resumes his crime-fighting career.
However,Snyder later saidBatman v Supermanwouldn’t be an adaptation ofThe Dark Knight Returns, though it was definitely one of its influences. In the end,Batman v Supermannever had a retired Bruce Wayne, and Affleck’s version continued to be an active vigilante up until his final appearance inThe Flash.
Why Batman Movies Love Retiring Batman So Much
Batman Has Been Through A Lot
Bruce Wayne’s trauma is what led him to become a vigilante in the first place, but being Batman doesn’t mean that his pain has gone away.
What makes Batman one of the darkest superheroes is all the trauma he carries. Bruce Wayne’s trauma is what led him to become a vigilante in the first place, but being Batman doesn’t mean that his pain has gone away – quite the contrary, he’s often faced with his own demons and trauma, forcing him to confront and overcome them. It’s a very heavy weight to carry, so having Batman retire makes sense while also creating more challenges for the character (and Gotham City).
It’s worth noting thateach Batman retirement on the big screen so far has been justified, as he has either earned it (as Bale did inThe Dark Knight Rises) or was a consequence of his own actions, as was Keaton’s case. It’s unknown if Robert Pattinson’sBatmanwill also retire at some point as well asThe Brave and the Bold’s version of the character, but in both cases, there have to be strong reasons to do so.
