The latest addition to my pirated DVD collection contains all the five Batman movies, two by Tim Burton, two by Joel Schumacher, and the latest by Cristopher Nolan. I’ve been watching the series for the past days and somehow, I have become a fan of the Dark Knight.
A Brief History About Myself and Batman
a) Poppa rented Batman Returns a long time ago…and it was in laser disc. I just idolized Penguin. Never cared with the story.
b) I was a kid who was always excited with the Friday night cartoons (X-Men, TNMT, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Ewoks, name it). Batman: The Animated Series arrived on Kapamilya screen and so I met Bruce Wayne. I found the series gory, mysterious, traumatizing…never liked it that much.
Master Bruce Wayne
Speaking of the real people behind heroes’ masks, I love more Peter Parker. But I admit, Bruce Wayne’s personality is fascinating from a certain point of view, and he has unique biography. He lost his parents when he was a young boy and was then taken care by a loyal butler. Whoa! The billions were then his. He’s got a gargantuan mansion, not to mention his business empire. As I researched, Bruce Wayne is among the richest fictional characters.
His story is quite enigmatic to me. Well, I’m expecting it from a pesona made famous in comics. There were novelizations. There were TV-series. There were animations. There were movies. Some facts don’t correlate. Well, it depends on what a fan prefers. As for me, I would rely with what I see in the movies.
What bothers me is something I read in Wikipedia. Batman is a homosexual? It’s not Alfred linked to him. Robin. In the comics, there were scenes that they slept together and bathed together. And to think, Batman never had a serious relationship with women. Too many ladies. No commitments.
As Batman, I salute him. He has no supernatural powers, mutations, or whatsoever. He’s just skilled in ninjitsu. His weapon is technology. Some of his nemeses have super powers but he still manages to survive.
In the movies, he was portrayed, so far, by four different actors: Michael Keaton (Batman and Batman Returns), Val Kilmer (Batman Forever), George Clooney (Batman and Robin), and Christian Bale (Batman Begins). Of the four, my favorite is Val Kilmer.
The Sidekicks
a) ROBIN. His real name is Dick Grayson. He’s an acrobat, a member of the Flying Graysons who were eventually killed in Batman Forever. Batman adopted him to be part of his family. But his curiosity led him to discovering the Dark Knight. No choice, he got himself a superhero uniform and vehicle. His only problem was gaining the trust of his partner. He was portrayed by Chris O’Donnel in the films which made me doubt about Batman’s sexuality.
b) ALFRED PENNYWORTH. He is Batman’s trusted butler. Bruce Wayne treats him a family, after he took care of the young boy whose parents were murdered until he began playing girls. Aside from fixing everything in the Wayne Manor, he also manipulates Batman’s vehicles and paraphernalias. In Batman and Robin, he was sick with McGregors Disease but Batman managed to look for a cure. I would laugh at his looks in the cartoons. But he has my respects in the movies because only one person has ever portrayed him in the first four Batman flicks: Michael Gough. He was replaced by Michael Caine in Batman Begins and I dunno why. He’s dead?
c) COMMISSIONER JAMES GORDON. He’s the head of police and a friend of Batman. He operates the latter’s bat-signal. In the earlier movies, he was more of an extra…a typical fat man in uniform. In Batman Begins, he’s young and thin…also saying, ‘Gordon Begins’. I always see him and Batman talk in the dark. Havin’ secrets?
d) LUCIUS FOX. In Batman Begins, he was portrayed by Morgan Freeman. He was the head of Applied Sciences Department of Wayne Enterprises. Through his technology, Batman got his wonderful costume and amazing Batmobile.
e) BATGIRL. Her real name is Barbara and I dunno what’s her last name coz in the comics, she’s Gordon’s daughter, while in the movies, she’s Alfred’s naughty niece. But since I’m into movies, then she’s Alfred’s relative. She eventually joined Batman’s family in Batman and Robin. There’s chemistry between Alicia Silverstone and Chris O’Donnel. Incest?
The Villains
I admire Batman’s enemies because they have one thing in common: psychosis. They usually end up in Arkham Asylum or get killed with their crazy plans. In comparison, Spiderman fights mad scientists and Superman fights extraterrestrials. There are hundreds of villains in the Batman universe but I’ll only focus to who showed up in the films.
a) JOE CHILL. I consider him as a minor villain though he is responsible for the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents. In the earlier films, he appeared as just a clouded shadow in the memory of Batman. In Batman Begins, he is given importance. He was a mugger who was nervous when he stole Mr. Wayne’s wallet and Mrs. Wayne’s pearls. He accidentally pulled the trigger. He was assassinated however when he dared to speak against Falcone, another villain.That assassination made Batman angry since he desired to kill him with his own pistol.
b) JOKER. His real name is Jack Napier. In Batman, he was the one responsible with the death of Batman’s parents. He was a young mugger when he did the crime, went crazy, and was then a dangerous criminal years later. That confuses me; Jack Napier or Joe Chill? Neways, his psychosis is into chemicals, though, he is also a frustrated artist. He was running an illegal factory producing Smylex, a gas which kills the inhaler and leaves a smiling face. That’s weird. As with his anger to the Dark Knight, it was Batman who made him fall to the drum of chemical which destroyed his facial nerves giving him a permanent smiling face. Thus, his desperation is to make everyone smile like him. His minions are criminals who also wear clown costumes. He was portrayed by Jack Nicholson.
c) PENGUIN. His real name is Oswald Cobblepot. He was born abnormal and was thrown by his disappointed rich parents in the canal.So Penguin grew up in the sewers beneath Gotham, with his brothers and sisters, the penguins. He is a fat, short gentleman who always wear tuxedo, and rides in a duck boat. His weapons are his umbrellas who can turn into guns, helicopter, hypnotic devices, etc. In Batman Returns, his desperation is to know who his parents are. He is an urban legend who rarely appears in street holes. Driven by his desperation, he sought the help of a wealthy businessman for him to resurface and gain the respect of the people. He later runs for mayor of Gotham, thinking he is reclaiming his birthright. But then the Dark Knight interferes. Penguin fought Batman with the help of Catwoman by diverting the thought of the people that Batman is the real villain. His minions are the circus criminals and his penguins, controlled through their little brains, carrying missiles to destroy the city. Penguin was portrayed perfectly by Danny deVito.
d) CATWOMAN. Her real name is Selina Kyle. She’s the partner-in-crime of Penguin in Batman Returns. Her desperation is to have a lovelife, to the extent that she seduced Bruce Wayne. She’s a clumsy woman, working as a secretary to her boss who eventually murdered her after she discovers his evil plans. She’s brought back to life by street cats, gaining her nine lives. She wears a sexy leather costume; her fingers tipped with sharp metal claws. In a separate movie Catwoman (with Halle Berry), her fingers were tipped with diamonds so she can break glasses perfectly and steal jewelries. She also has a whip for a weapon. Batman, at the end of Batman Returns, offered for her to live with him. But she wanted vengeance to his boss which finally killed her. She was portrayed bitchily by Michelle Pfeiffer.
e) TWOFACE. His real name is Harvey Dent. He is a district attorney and is a close friend of Bruce Wayne. He is a man with MPD. Half of his face is monstrous, courtesy of an accident with corrosive chemicals when Batman once attempted to rescue him. His desperation: kill Batman who is responsible for his chaka-face. His weapon is his money which he uses to destroy Batman in any way he could. His minions were men dressed in doble-kara. His hideout is divided into two sides, one being the white part with an angelic woman (portrayed by Drew Barrymore in Batman Forever), and the other side being the black part with a devilish woman. He smokes two cigars, one for each side of his face. He does the same with drinking liquors. He finally combined powers with The Riddler in Batman Forever. It turned out that his weakness was his coin he loved tossing which Batman used to defeat him. He was portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones.
f) THE RIDDLER. His real name is Edward Nygma. In Batman Forever, he is a genius working with Wayne Enterprises. His psychosis began when Bruce Wayne, his idol, rejects his proposal of a 3D Television invention. He became a murderer and decided to use his invention to suck up all the people’s IQs. To do such, he needed Twoface’s money so they combined powers. Actually, the main reason why he wants to suck Gotham’s minds is his desperation to know the secret identity of Batman. He leaves a riddle in every crime he does. He eventually knew that Bruce Wayne is Batman but his idolatrous nature made him mad and he ended up in Arkham Asylum telling everybody that he is the real Batman. He was portrayed brilliantly by Jim Carey.
g) MR. FREEZE. His real name is Dr. Victor Fries, an expert in cryogenics. In Batman and Robin, his beautiful beloved wife was sick of McGregor’s Disease. His desperation was to find the cure. But there was no cure yet. Using ice, he preserves the body of his wife and places her inside an aquarium until he discovers the cure. Unfortunately, he encountered an accident in his laboratory which mutated his body systems. He could only live in temperatures below zero. So he got himself a suit which freezes him and a high-tech gun that can freeze the environment, as well as humans. He uses diamonds for his suit and gun so he became a criminal stealing the precious gems all over the city. His minions are criminals in hockey costumes. His psychosis began when he learned that Batman defrosted her wife leading her death. He joins forces with Poison Ivy to take revenge and to give Gotham City eternal winter as punishment. He never knew, it was Poison Ivy who defrosted his wife. Batman, at the end of Batman and Robin, revealed to him that his wife was alive after he refreezed her. In return, Mr. Freeze gave Batman a temporary cure for McGregor’s Disease which Batman used to cure Alfred his butler. Mr. Freeze was portrayed by macho Arnold Schwarzenegger.
h) POISON IVY. Her real name is Pamela Isley. She is a psychotic doctor whose desperation is to make plants the supreme beings in the face of earth. She’s fond of calling herself, "Mother Nature". She performed experiments like crossbreeding snakes and vines in attempt to give plants power to strive against those who harm them. Her experiment failed at first but it finally succeeded when her laboratory undergone pandemonium. Her chemicals and plant specimens covered her entire body in an accident which turned her into Posion Ivy, with skin of chlorophyll, and kiss of venom as her fatal weapon. Her other weapon is seducing pheromones which she blows from her palms. In Batman and Robin, she was protected by Bane. Her psychosis began when Bruce Wayne denied her proposal to save the environment. Driven by her desperation, she combines forces with Mr. Freeze and to do this, she tried to unplug his wife from the freezing machine. Their plan, bring back Ice Age with only the two of them existing on the planet, and thereby making plants superior. They failed, however, and she was confined in Arkham Asylum. She was portrayed by lukaret Uma Thurman.
i) BANE. In Batman and Robin, he is an escaped convict used by a mad doctor as a guinea pig in his experiment. The doctor introduced to his body some chemicals which transformed him into a deadly giant criminal. The doctor was planning to sell him, as well as the others that he would be making, to some countries for them to be used in the army. The doctor, however, was killed by Poison Ivy and Bane was bound to serve the doctor-turned-bitch Mother Nature. Robin and Batgirl destroyed him by making the chemicals ooze out of his body.
j) THE ROMAN. His real name is Carmine Falcone, a mafia who controls Gotham’s powerful men. In Batman Begins, he’s into drug shipments and his desperation is to make Gotham his city. For his caught minions not to rot in the jails, he makes them plea insanity through the help of Dr. Jonathan Crane who runs Arkham Asylum. In the end, Batman caught him, and he was diagnosed by Dr. Crane as psychotic himself - his ticket to Arkham. He was portrayed by Oscar-nominee, Tom Wilkinson.
k) SCARECROW. His real name is Dr. Jonathan Crane, a psychiatrist whose expertise is his clients’ fears. In Batman Begins, he is the head of the management of the Arkham Asylum. His desperation is to know the fears of everybody so he can play with them. Carmine Falcone pays him to make his convicted men plea insanity. To do this, Dr. Crane employs his Scarecrow alter-ego. He uses a gas chemical with hallucinogenic effects and when the inhaler is high, he would manipulate his or her fears with his sack mask and horror sounds from his briefcase. He had to make Carmine Falcone insane with his evil gas because the mafia threatened him of revealing his modus operandi. In the movie, it is revealed that he works for Ra’s Al Ghul, who supplies him with blue flowers where he gets his gas chemicals. Batman defeated him by spraying back to himself his fear-causing gas. He was portrayed by Irish actor, Cillian Murphy.
l) RA’S AL GHUL. His name means ‘demon’s head’. He’s the ultimate nemesis of Batman in Batman Begins. In the comics, he has a daughter whom he wants Batman to marry. But let’s focus in the movie. He knows that Bruce Wayne is Batman. In the movie by Cristopher Nolan, two people portrayed him, Ken Watanabe and Liam Neeson. Watanabe was the fake and Neeson emerged as the real one. Batman Begins is set on the time that Batman was just discovering himself. After his failure to kill Joe Chill, he desired to know the ways of a criminal. So he got himself in jail and studied the behavior of convicts. However, he was discovered by Ra’s Al Ghul and was brought to the mountains for him to be trained in ninjitsu. Ra’s Al Ghul wanted him to be a member of the League of Shadows - a secret society aiming to destroy great cities who have become sinful. But Batman refused to join. The League of Shadows is said to be responsible for the sack of the Roman Empire, the great fire of London, and havoc in other great empires in history. Ra’s Al Ghul’s desperation is to destroy Gotham. His plan, destroy the city by making people mad with Dr. Crane’s gas coming out as vapors in the city’s water systems. In the ultimate fight, Batman killed him on a running train.
m) MR. ZSASH. His real name is Victor Zsash. He’s a mass murderer in Gotham City. He cuts a wound on his skin to leave a scar with every victim. In Batman Begins, he was just an extra; one among those psychos released from Arkham Asylum to wreak havoc in the city.
The Leading Ladies
a) VICKI VALE. She’s a photojournalist who wants to capture Batman with her camera for a Pulitzer Prize. In Batman, Batman screwed her and she forgot everything about the prize.
b) CHASE MERIDIAN. She’s a psychiatrist whose expertise is multiple personalities. In Batman Forever, portrayed by pretty Nicole Kidman, she helps the Dark Knight decoding the plans of his two psychotic adversaries, Twoface and The Riddler. She lusted to be screwed by Batman. She later discovers Batman’s secret identity and swears to keep it.
c) RACHEL DAWES. She’s not in the comics. Swear. But in Batman Begins, she’s Batman’s love interest. Portrayed by Katie Holmes, she was Bruce Wayne’s childhood friend whose mother worked in the Wayne Manor. She turned out to be an attorney and was fighting crime against Carmine Falcone.
Of the Movies and their Directors
a) BATMAN and BATMAN RETURNS by TIM BURTON. If there’s one director deserving to direct Batman in films, I say it’s Mr. Burton. It’s his genre. Burton loves dark comedy, mystery, pitch black, nutty characters (thinking of Corpse Bride, Nightmare Before Christmas, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). In the first two films, he has captured the comic Batman. There’s fun and childishness and wackiness. It’s good that Joker’s the first villainto appear. Speaking of Batman, that villain appears first in my mind. I just want to stress out, in Batman Returns, the focus of the villains is FAMILY. Penguin wants his Mom and Dad. Catwoman wants a husband.
b) BATMAN FOREVER and BATMAN AND ROBIN by JOEL SCHUMACHER. Mr. Schumacher just continued what Tim Burton had began. He made Gotham funnier and wackier. Another thing: color. The child in me loved the bright and colorful cinematography. In Batman Forever, the focus of the villains is PSYCHOLOGY. Twoface has multiple personalities. The Riddler is mad over mind bogglers. In Batman and Robin, the focus of the villains is ENVIRONMENT. Mr. Freeze wants eternal winter. Posion Ivy wants Garden of Eden.
c) BATMAN BEGINS by CRISTOPHER NOLAN. After many years, Batman conquers the big screen once again, and thanks to Mr. Nolan. Batman Begins, as the title suggests, is the beginning of Batman. The director might be planning to have a formal Batman trilogy. The cinematography is serious, and yes, more budgeted. A new Gotham has appeared in my eyes. No more dark comedies. Neways, a sequel is coming out next year. I’m quite excited.
The Bompertsian Conclusion
After studying the life of the Dark Knight, aka Batman, aka Bruce Wayne, Bomperts have the following conclusions:
a) Batman is one of the most fortunate superheroes;
b) It’s okay for me if Batman’s gay;
c) It’s an envy that Batman’s villains were portrayed by Hollywood’s great names;
d) Batman is a man who, like his enemies, has mental problems;
e) The reason why I’m liking Batman is that I’m psychotic myself.
References: Wikipedia.com
