35 years after the release of 1989 Batmana published sequel makes more sense of three potentially confusing scenes. Tim Burton Batman was a smashing success, instantly becoming one of the most iconic and influential superhero films in the genre. The live-action Batman movie not only contributed to the superhero movie becoming a pop culture sensation, but it also forever changed the way big Hollywood blockbusters are marketed. On my own, 1989 Batmansurprisingly, it still holds up, even at a time when superhero movies have become much larger in scale and more complex.
With the superhero genre now being defined by comic book-style continuity and interconnectivity, the Burton Batman universe has retroactively become an ever-growing multimedia franchise, with the first two films – Batman and Batman Returns – inhabiting multiple timelines. A timeline ignores Schumacher Batman films and continues the story of Michael Keaton’s Batman with comics like Batman ’89 and the recent romance Batman: Resurrectionby John Jackson Miller. Resurrection takes place between 1989 Batman and Returnsand not only does it include characters from both films, but it also recontextualizes key moments from the first film, including the following three scenes.
Joker’s “Go With A Smile” Line Is Now Even Darker
During the Joker’s horrific attack on Gotham City during its bicentennial celebration, the Joker refers to his plastic surgeon, whose failed attempt to patch up his bullet-ravaged face resulted in his signature ghastly smile. Just before the Joker launches his lethal Smylex gas into a crowd of citizens, he says: “But, as my plastic surgeon always said: if you have to go, go with a smile.“The The Joker notably spares his plastic surgeon in the film, but the line implies he killed him off screen. Resurrection explains what happened to the Joker’s surgeon, giving the phrase a much darker meaning.
Resurrection reveals that after killing other Gotham crime bosses, Joker and his men tracked down the surgeon – Dr. Davis – and kidnapped him, taking Davis to Axis Chemicals, where he was the first victim of Joker’s Smylex toxin.. Davis’ body was then painted and dressed to resemble the Joker, but his corpse would be used again by Professor Hugo Strange, not the Joker. Hugo Strange – who is the main villain in Resurrection – used Davis’ body to trick the police and Batman into thinking the Joker faked his death while making Clayface assume the Joker’s identity.
The resurrection reveals what really happened at the Flugelheim Museum
The Joker sets a trap for Vicki Vale in 1989 Batmanluring her to the Flugelheim museum and sending her a gas mask. In a disturbing scene, Joker fills the museum with gas, affecting all guests and staff except Vale. While it is reasonable to assume that the Joker killed everyone in the museum except Vicki, the staff and patrons notably do not laugh or smile when they pass out, making it unclear whether the Joker actually murdered them or used a non-lethal gas. Resurrection has “Hugh Auslander” (Hugo Strange) visit Flugelheim, where he reveals what really happened.
Strange speaks to a waiter – apparently the same one who served Vicki Vale in the film – who tells Strange that “people come for the environment”, leading Strange to think “and occasional knockout gas attacks”, confirming that the Joker did not kill anyone in Flugelheim. The Joker probably didn’t want to risk killing Vicki Vale if she didn’t put on the mask in time. The Joker’s vandalization of the museum’s artwork is even more cruel now, as patrons and staff would have woken up to see the art they were admiring now defaced.
How the Joker took down the Batwing is properly explained
During the Batman parade sequence, Batman uses the Batwing to pick up the Joker’s Smylex balloons and carry them safely away from the city before opening fire on the Joker and his gang with the aircraft’s weapons. Although the Batwing kills most, if not all, of the Joker’s henchmen on the ground, is surprisingly unable to hit the Joker himself, who uses a long-barreled gun to shoot down the Batwing with a single shot. Both surreal moments are explained in Resurrection.
Resurrection succinctly describes the Batwing’s targeting system as having little difficulty in hitting multiple grouped targets – like the Joker’s henchmen – but it was “a rather blunt instrument”When it came to hitting single surface-based targets. While 1989 Batman implied that the Joker fired an explosive shot at the Batwing, Resurrection goes even further. The Joker took down the Batwing with “an experimental military rifle cartridge that fried electronics”, making the moment fit much better with the film’s logic, considering the Joker’s access to experimental weaponry.
Batman is a 1989 superhero film directed by Tim Burton and starring Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne. The film features Jack Nicholson’s chilling portrayal of Jack Napier, who transforms into the Joker and reigns terror in Gotham. Kim Basinger also stars in the film as Vicki Vale, along with Michael Gough as Bruce’s faithful butler named Alfred.
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