2022’s The Batman marks the 12th live-action Batman film in a history spanning all the way back to two serial films of the 1940s. Robert Pattinson is thereby also the ninth live-action Batman actor in that history, with his new spin on the character still reverberating in cinemas months after release.
Batman has been so frequently adapted, in fact, that movie lore can give viewers a false impression of the comic-book version of the character, or lead to the comic books adapting an aspect from the films into later comics canon. Which common comic misconceptions originate from the movies?
10 Rachel Dawes
The Dark Knight The trilogy is perhaps the most acclaimed cinematic outing of Batman to date, but one of the biggest deviations it took from the source material was in adding the character of Rachel Dawes to Bruce Wayne’s backstory, as a love interest across the first two movies.
The character fits in so organically with Nolan’s realistic take on the character, and plays such an integral role in Batman and Harvey Dent’s development that it feels like she was adapted from the books, but any movie fan who dives into the comics will find her nowhere in them, to their surprise. Rachel hasn’t even been incorporated into the comics in any form, a rare occurrence for DC film characters.
9 Catwoman began as Batman’s love interest
Rachel Dawes may be The Dark Knight trilogy’s longtime love interest for the Caped Crusader, but Batman’s best love interest is Catwoman. Over decades, even going back to the Adam West version in the 1960s, the character has shifted from supervillain to anti-hero, and has been the most long-lasting of Batman’s love interests.
However, this isn’t how she started out in the comics. Catwoman debuted in Batman # 1 as a cat burglar appropriately called “the Cat,” and was imagined as another fitting antagonist for Batman to face. She manages to escape him in the first several of her appearances, which made her quite a unique and enigmatic character for readers. A true mutual attraction became a part of their dynamic much later.
8 The Joker began as Batman’s archenemy
Another villain to debut in Batman # 1 (which was not Batman’s debut, which came in the earlier Detective Comics # 27) was the Joker. Depending on who you ask, he was a gimmick character dreamed up by Bob Kane, Bill Finger, and / or Jerry Robinson. Regardless, he was merely another criminal to be defeated.
It’s only the final panel of Joker’s story that shows he survived his first encounter with Batman; without this, his death would have been permanent, as was the original plan. His survival instead allowed him to develop into Batman’s archenemy over the decades, where he also was imagined as a prankster and as a character defined directly in opposition to Batman. At first, though, he was just a criminal with a gimmick.
7 Batman was originally campy
The 1966 Batman TV series helped define camp by taking itself seriously while having some of the goofiest Batman villains take center stage in certain episodes. It’s hard not to laugh at the show in hindsight, but that’s part of why it’s so enjoyable. Still, this did not happen in a vacuum: the tone was inspired directly by the post-Comics Code Batman comics from the 1950s and 60s.
Before moral concerns and the Code sanitized him, though, Batman was actually a pretty dark, violent individual in his early stories. He even carried a gun in some of his earliest appearances, although this accessory did not last too long, mostly because it was used by so many other pulp heroes of the time. People who see Adam West’s reflecting the original Batman comics aren’t familiar with his first issues.
6 Batman never kills
On that note, Batman is also known for his one rule, the one Joker taunts him about throughout The Dark Knight: Batman doesn’t kill. Except, he carried a gun in his first appearances, and was in that same time frame seen snapping criminals’ necks and even hanging them from a rope. This was 70 years ago!
Of course, Batman has killed people in the movies, too, from Ra’s al Ghul in Batman Begins to the warehouse goons in Batman v Superman. This moral code, however, not only made sense for the 60s TV show and the comics, but it also gives Batman narrative restraint. It also fits with his backstory, not wanting to be like his parents’ killer, and helps his crusade (seem to) be more than just revenge.
5 Bane is related to the League of Shadows / Assassins
The idea that Bane has any relation to the League of Shadows (or Assassins, as they’re called in the comics) is integral to The Dark Knight Risesas he is completing the mission Ra’s al Ghul began in Batman Beginsto “cleanse” Gotham City.
While the film gets Bane’s backstory as a prisoner correct, it places that prison in a vague Middle East, rather than a comic-accurate fictional Caribbean island, Santa Prisca. Bane escapes that prison on his own, and challenges Batman as a personal crusade. The Dark Knight Rises did thankfully help audiences realize that Bane is actually intelligent, which was the complete opposite of his depiction in Batman & Robin.
4 Batman originally did not get along with Superman
Batman v Superman might have you believe that Batman and Superman’s relationship has always begun with the two at odds before they become friends. The 2016 Zack Snyder movies take inspiration for their fight from Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returnswhich features their showdown as its climax.
However, in their original comic appearances together Batman and Superman were on fine terms, both fighting crime even if their powers and methods differed to some degree. Even most animated adaptations do not depict animosity between them, although the DC Animated Universe notably did take this route, with the first crossover on Superman: The Animated Series having the two initially at odds.
3 The Penguin isn’t sane
The Penguin is one of Batman’s most iconic adversaries, and has featured in every live-action cinematic iteration of the character. except for The Dark Knight trilogy. Danny DeVito’s unhinged portrayal fit right in with Tim Burton’s world, and the idea of an insane Penguin fits with Batman’s rogues gallery.
However, in the comics Penguin is one of Batman’s few adversaries who actually remain sane (in most instances, he is, at least). The two have often even formed alliances of convenience, with Penguin feeding Batman information on the underworld. Only The Batman has really delved into this idea on the big screen, but it’s a very recent iteration that’s only just starting to influence viewer understanding of the classic character.
2 There’s only one Robin
Today, there are many versions of Robin in Batman canon, but those who have seen the live-action movies have only been exposed to one version (not counting Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character in The Dark Knight Rises): Dick Grayson.
Grayson as Robin was introduced in 1940 to capitalize on the trend of kid sidekicks in comics, and remained the only one in comics canon until 1983, when Jason Todd was introduced as his replacement since Dick Grayson was starring in Teen Titans; shortly after, Grayson would assume the Nightwing mantle. Plenty more have come since then, but the movies rarely delve into any Robin, let alone these.
1 The Wayne family was corrupt
For anyone who watched The Batman, it would be easy to get the impression that the Wayne family are actually quite a corrupt force in Gotham City, and their deaths might not have been random. The Telltale games and Gotham TV show have also played into this idea.
However, throughout most of Batman’s comics run it has was the case that, whether they were killed by Joe Chill or a random mugger, their deaths were merely a tragic accident that set Bruce Wayne down his path to becoming a vigilante. It’s a fascinating angle to explore, but it’s very new to the comics, and anyone who’s exposed to this idea first could easily be led to believe it’s always been that way.
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