Finally hitting theaters this year, The Batman is the newest cinematic take on Gotham City’s Caped Crusader. Unfortunately, he’s one of several in just the past decade, with The Dark Knight Rises only now being 10 years old. This has led to some people questioning why all of these different but similar versions of the classic character exist, especially when they often accomplish the same things. However, that doesn’t seem to be the case with The Batman.
Even though the movie features a younger, more inexperienced Batman, the film will gloss over the Dark Knight’s incredibly well-trodden origin. This separates the reboot not only from past takes on Batman but other familiar superheroes as well. Here’s why this is a great decision for both the movie and superhero films in general.
The Batman Is Skipping the Death of the Waynes
Batman’s origin is incredibly well-known, which makes sense given how many times it’s been portrayed both within and outside of the comic books. First being portrayed in, ironically, the relatively kid-friendly classic cartoon Super Friends, Batman’s origin has since been shown in the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher movies, the Christopher Nolan movies, multiple cartoons, Gotham, Batman v Superman and Joker, with the latter being less than three years old. Due to this, it’s wise that his newest movie is not retreading the same ground.
Director Matt Reeves has come out and said that The Batman will not feature Batman’s origin in any way, as it’s been done too many times, both on the big screen and just in general. As mentioned, the Caped Crusader in the movie is younger than usual, though he’s not quite a novice, either. Described as Batman in “Year Two,” it’s obvious why this movie’s story will avoid showing the death of the Waynes again. In doing so, it not only further separates itself from past Batman movies, but also other reboots featuring the two other biggest superheroes.
Batman, Superman and Spider-Man’s Origin Stories Are Played Out
Despite the rise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the past 14 years, Batman, Superman and Marvel’s chief character Spider-Man are still the most recognizable and well-known superheroes worldwide. This means that everyone knows their origin stories, especially in the case of Batman and Spidey. The death of Thomas and Martha Wayne for Batman is analogous to the death of Uncle Ben for Spider-Man, which has also been told multiple times on screen.
Though Uncle Ben’s death has only been shown in two movie universes, the fact that one of these, the world of The Amazing Spider-Man, came so soon after the other made replaying this iconic scene seem trite. Superman doesn’t have a particular scene that’s as overdone as this besides maybe Krypton’s destruction, but his origin as a whole is more than common knowledge. In the case of 2013’s Man of Steel, even though Superman’s early days hadn’t been shown on film in decades, the movie came just two years after Smallville, an extensive Superman origin TV series, finally finished its run.
In not making the same mistakes as these other reboots, The Batman won’t be unfavorably compared to a beloved take on Batman’s origins, allowing it to be judged more on its own merits. It also frees the movie up to tell its own story instead of trying to check off narrative boxes.
To see a Batman movie without his origin story, The Batman arrives in theaters on March 4th.
About The Author
