Film director Tim Burton is remembered for popularizing goth culture in American cinema, but let us not forget his brief heroic stint. Burton granted audiences two very solid Batman films – Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992) – both of which transformed how superhero movies were imagined on screen. Both films (more so the latter) reflect Burton’s gothic visual style, blending dark atmospheres, grotesque villains, and offbeat humor with comic book spectacle. Given that this past Saturday was International Batman day, it seemed appropriate to revisit them.
Batman (1989) redefined the title character for mainstream audiences, two decades removed from the campy 60s TV series. Burton, working with Michael Keaton as Batman/Bruce Wayne, delivered a darker and more psychologically complex interpretation. Before Christian Bale, Keaton was everybody’s household Batman and the one whom “I’m Batman” was attributed to.
This was the first time Batman’s morbid origins were explored in its true nature – and, in a controversial decision among comic book fans – was tied to the Joker. Speaking of the Joker, it is impossible not to discuss Jack Nicholson’s take on the character. This is who comes to mind when I think of “stealing the show.” The Joker serves as excellent comic relief for the film, with an anarchic energy that contrasts Keaton’s restrained, brooding hero. Lines such as “Well, Ms. Vale, another rooster in the Hen House?”, “there’ll be a hot time in the old town tonight”, “where does he get those wonderful toys?”, and many more are hilariously memorable.
In Batman Returns (1992), Burton was given far more creative control and thus doubled down on his personal style in the sequel, creating a film that is even darker and stranger (no Nicholson-sized comedy this time around). The story focuses less on Batman himself and more on the villains—Danny DeVito’s Penguin and Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman—both of whom are tragic, grotesque, and oddly sympathetic figures. Once again deviating from the comics, Burton forgoes the Penguin’s arc as a mobster and decides to mold him as a deformed, outcast product of a cruel world – a decision that oddly works. Next is Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman, the best iteration of the character in my opinion. Selina Kyle is easily the film’s breakout. Starting as a meek secretary, she transforms into Catwoman after a traumatic “rebirth.” Pfeiffer’s performance blends seduction, rage, and vulnerability, making Catwoman a symbol of female empowerment and rebellion. Her dual identity mirrors Bruce Wayne’s own struggles with balancing personal life and masked persona. But the man behind it all, greedy industrialist Max Shreck, is played to a tee by Christopher Walken. Unlike Penguin and Catwoman, he lacks any tragic backstory—he is simply a man of power exploiting others, making him, in some ways, the film’s most realistic antagonist.
Gotham is likewise more stylized than ever, transformed into a snowy nightmare of gothic excess (Hey, it’s also a Christmas movie). Themes of alienation, dual identity, and societal rejection run throughout, making the film as much a Burton character study as a superhero story. While less commercially friendly than its predecessor and having a controversy involving McDonald’s toys to boot, Batman Returns has grown in reputation for its boldness, surreal imagery, and mature themes. For any comic bookies, I highly recommend “Batman ‘89”, the story that gives Returns a proper follow-up.
In conclusion, Burton’s films succeeded because they not only foregrounded the villains, but established Batman as a haunted crusader, paving the way for Christopher Nolan’s lauded trilogy.
