The new Batman 1989 sequel admits a huge plot hole from Tim Burton’s original and finally fixes it

The smart thing about the new Batman (1989) sequel Batman: Resurrection is that writer John Jackson Miller sought to use the gaps in the original plot to build a story. In doing so, Miller manages to write two of the most famous Batman villains to never appear in a live-action DC film, as well as center the story around the extremely popular figure of Jack Nicholson’s Joker. It’s a brave thing to do, given the belief in Tim Burton’s Batman films, but Resurrection is a resounding success.

Not only does the novel present Clayface as a natural continuation of the Joker’s story, but it also raises a question that many Batman fans have been asking since 1989: was the Joker really dead? It always felt so definitive, and the character’s imprint was so strong that his abrupt end turned the desire to see more of him into that irresistibly nagging question. That’s the same anxious question Batman faces, as a new villain uses Bruce Wayne’s troubled psyche against him to give the Joker a new life in the DC movie timeline.

That it all comes down to Miller’s own fandom and the question of some long-discussed subjects Batman ’89’s plot holes make this entire endeavor even more impressive. And to enjoy how it’s done and how the plot holes are resolved, you need to start where they start.

Batman 1989’s Big Plot Holes Explained

Batman ’89Jack Nicholson’s finale saw the Joker fall from a helicopter onto the edge of Gotham City’s imposing cathedral. He landed in style, crumpling the street that became his grave, with his laugh box initially offering a chilling tease of his eternal life even after his death. Go back a little and you’ll come to one big plot hole and one very confusing.

Let’s deal with the last one first: faced with the man responsible for the death of Bruce Wayne’s parents, Batman struggles with his need for revenge:

Batman: I will kill you!

The Joker: You IDIOT! You made me. To remember?

You threw me into that vat of chemicals. It wasn’t easy to overcome this and don’t think I didn’t try.

Batman: I know you did… You killed my parents.

The Joker: What? What? What are you talking about?

Batman: I made you, you made me first.

The Joker: Hey, bat brain, I mean, I was a kid when I killed your parents. I mean, I say “I made you”, you have to say “you made me”. I mean, how childish can you be?

That phrase “I was a child when I killed your parents” never made sense, because the Joker never knew that Bruce Wayne was Batman. Accepting what he did creates a lot of other plot holes, and there’s just no hint of that in the rest of the film.

The other issue arose a little earlier, when Batman chases Joker to the roof of the Cathedral, with both emerging in absurdly quick time up the spiral staircase. The Joker radios that he is heading there to reunite with his escape helicopter, but when Batman arrives on the roof, several of the Joker’s men. Henchmen include Lawrence, the boombox-carrying henchman who returns in Resurrection as a key figure, as well as the Martial Artist and the Boxer.

But their appearance on the roof is impossible: They didn’t know Joker was heading in that direction with enough time to get there, and they aren’t with Joker and Vicki Vale when they enter the Cathedral. This plot hole was never resolved and became the catalyst for Miller’s sequel in a clever way.

The entire issue was created thanks to the interference of producer Jon Peters (the same man who tried to catch a giant spider to fight Superman), who changed the ending, moved it to the top of the cathedral, added Vicki Vale and the fight, and forced the creation of a 40-foot miniature model of the Cathedral, which increased the bloated budget by another $100,000.

Batman Resurrection Finally Admits There’s a Hole in Tim Burton’s Plot

The plot of Batman: Resurrection centers on the Joker’s return, apparently dead, with Bruce Wayne chasing shadows to determine if Napier has truly died. Cleverly, the goons on the Cathedral’s roof become part of his investigation – as well as part of his repeated nightmares about the night Joker died. Combined with some carefully placed evidence (like the Joker’s corpse being swapped with an imposter in his grave) and the real villain pulling the strings, it’s an impressive exercise in shining a light on Batman.

The question of how the Joker knew who the Waynes were and their connection to Batman also plays a role in the deception, as the Dark Knight tries to figure out how this could be possible. It’s not that the answers that emerge are particularly complex or change Batman ’89 in substantial ways: what’s impressive is how Miller crafts a story around uncertainty. He uses them to unravel the plot of an iconic DC villain – revealed to be a secret accomplice of the Joker and the key to creating the chemical weapon Smylex – which traps Batman in a web of deceit that almost unravels him.

How Batman’s Resurrection Fixes Joker’s Plot Hole

Batman: Resurrection deals with the plot holes right at the end, revealing that after his arrest, henchman Lawrence divulged the information about how the henchmen were on the roof. At this point, in a near-death experience, Batman also received an answer from the Joker himself in what initially appears to be a fantasy sequence, but which eerily it appears to be a genuine glimpse of the afterlife.

It is eventually revealed through Lawrence’s confession that, as Joker told Batman in his vision, the goons were stationed on the roof as lookouts, anticipating the arrival of the feds to stop Joker’s attack on Gotham. This explains why so few of them are there – to the point where they pose no real threat to Batman. It’s a simple solution that also explains why Joker chooses to make the climb to rescue him, even if it’s a bit contrived.

“All the questions I had about Jack Napier’s last night have been resolved. Gordon found a prison informant who said that Lawrence confessed that the Joker had sent him and the other two guys to the cathedral in advance to keep watch.”

The Joker’s vision also reveals that his comment about being a “child” when he killed the Waynes was empty braggadocio. Bruce tells Vicki Vale that she is about to leave Gotham for good:

“What about the Joker saying he was a child when he killed his parents?”

“He didn’t know I was Batman when he said that. It was just blabbering on his part. He babbled constantly. The fact that it was accurate was a coincidence.”

“A stopped clock is right twice a day.”

“Or broken. My mistake was taking all this to heart.”

So there you have it, two plot holes resolved in a way that actually helps improve Batman (1989) thanks to how Resurrection builds your compelling story. It’s a shame we won’t see it all play out in live action.

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