It’s been almost thirty years since Michael Keaton last donned the cape and cowl to play Batman – last seen facing off against the Penguin, Catwoman and Christopher Walken in the iconic Batman Returns. Other Batmen have come and gone since, but fans have held out hope that one day Keaton might reprise his most famous role. And, with Keaton set to step back into the rubber suit for The Flash, those fans are about to get their wish.
But first, Batman screenwriter Sam Hamm and artist Joe Quinones bring back the Burton-verse with this six-part miniseries, picking up where Batman Returns left off. With Gotham beset by roving gangs of Joker wannabes and copycat Batmen (what, no hockey pads?) ambitious District Attorney Harvey Dent blames the Dark Knight for the steep rise in crime. Pursued by the GCPD, Batman attempts to subdue Gotham’s criminal gangs while also avoiding its increasingly militant police force.
It took almost thirty years, but fans finally get a glimpse of what could have been, had the Burton-verse not been hijacked by Joel Schumacher, bat-nipples and a neon-crazy art department. Batman ’89 brings the return of Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent, an older, greyer Bruce Wayne, and teases a very different kind of Robin.
The Gotham City of Batman ’89 will be immediately familiar to fans of the Tim Burton Batman movies. Dark and imposing; its alleyways packed full of violent criminals and dangerous thugs. Its Batman, too, has been unchanged by his 28-year absence. Kicking off the book’s first big action sequence by blowing up a helicopter full of goons, this Batman is as blasé about life and death as he ever was. It’s no wonder Dent wants the Dark Knight apprehended.
Familiar as Hamm and Quinones’ Gotham City may be, Batman ’89 is modernised with a vibrant and inclusive cast of supporting characters, diving into what a black Harvey Dent means for the character and his city. For the first time, audiences get to know Billy Dee’s Dent, discovering what makes him tick before… well, you know what comes next. Robin, too, is introduced, and in a manner which is set to explore the chasms of difference between a rich white vigilante and his city of the oppressed and underprivileged. While, at the same time, casually blowing up a helicopter full of living, breathing miscreants (who, granted, do appear to escape at the last minute, A-Team style).
Batman ’89 could well have been content to trade purely on nostalgia, but this story feels new and vital while also delivering on everything fans want to see. The book is packed full of Easter Eggs for the eagle-eyed – introducing new versions of old characters, celebrity likenesses, and giant pennies.
Quinones’ art is more stylised than one might have expected (reminiscent of Paul Gulacy’s work on Batman: Prey) – his Batman more svelte and lithe than Keaton ever managed to be. But his Gotham looks great, and the character work is incredibly expressive. Leondardo Ito’s colour work is particularly impressive too, delivering a lush and vibrant Gotham City.
Bat-fans have long resigned themselves to the fact that Burton’s Batman universe was cut short before its time, bastardised into unsanctionable (but fun!) buffoonery. Burton, Keaton and Billy Dee may never have gotten their dues, but Batman ’89 is the next best thing.
