3 new Batman All properties in 2024 explore the same basic theme. THE Batman mythos – which turns 85 in 2024 – has grown to encompass more media than its original comic strips, with Batman The TV and film adaptations are exceptionally popular and successful. Batman, his supporting characters, and their collective corner of the DC Comics universe are perhaps the most malleable in the superhero genre, but even the most distinctive interpretations of Batman tend to share certain thematic elements.
Appropriately for Batman’s 85th anniversary, 2024 included several Batman properties. The Matt Reeves universe that began in 2022 received a spin-off TV series – The penguin – which takes place between the events of Batman and its upcoming sequel. Joker: Folie à Deux continues the story of Arthur Fleck from 2019 Clownexploring the dark consequences of his murders and adoption of the Joker persona. The story of Tim Burton and Michael Keaton’s Batman also gained a new chapter through John Jackson Miller’s novel Batman: Resurrectionwhich bridges the gap between 1989 Batman and Batman Returns.
Batman: Resurrection, The Penguin and Joker: Folie à Deux all deal with legacy
Each of the three properties explores themes of legacy and living symbols somehow. The Penguin deals with the fallout from the Riddler’s plot in Batmanwith Gotham City still recovering from the flood damage he orchestrated and some citizens – like Victor Aguilar – suffering from PTSD due to the attack. Even with Riddler incarcerated, his terrorist cult continues to operate, with one member doing so openly in an episode of The penguin. All of the Riddler’s extremists wear nearly identical clothing to the Riddler’s, serving as his figurative and literal legacy.
These themes appear again in Joker: Folie à Deuxwhich sees Arthur Fleck abandon his Joker persona at the end of the film, enraging his own cult following. The film’s ending shows a Joker cultist murdering Fleck and inflicting facial scars on himself as Arthur dies, heavily implying that he will take his place as the Joker. Batman: Resurrection focuses entirely on the aftermath of the Joker’s 1989 crime spree Batmanwith the devastating consequences of his poisoning by Smylex continuing to wreak havoc on the citizens of Gotham and resulting directly – albeit unintentionally – in the creation of the villain Clayface.
Christopher Nolan was the first to explore the power of symbols in Gotham
One of the first Batman adaptations for Properly exploring these exact themes was the work of Christopher Nolan The Dark Knight trilogy. 2005 Batman begins saw Bruce Wayne create the Batman persona to, among other things, become an incorruptible symbol of fear in Gotham’s underworld. Batman willingly took credit for Two-Face’s murders in The Dark Knighttarnishing its symbolism to preserve that of Harvey Dent. Batman’s symbolism would be repaired in The Dark Knight Riseswho also saw Batman the title will be passed from Bruce Wayne to John Blake – the Nolan trilogy’s iteration of Robin.
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