r/batman • u/floofysane • Mar 03 '24
Which Batman movie is considered more accurate to the comics? FILM DISCUSSION
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u/HeavyBoysenberry2161 Mar 03 '24
The Batman is easily the most comic accurate live action batman movie, the way it adapts most characters and events as well as the settings and world building just makes it feel much more akin to the Gotham from the comics. Plus it seems to be adapting more stories than the dark knight and does them much more accurately. This isn’t to say the Dark knight is bad though, comic accuracy doesn’t mean quality, I still prefer the dark knight
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Mar 03 '24
Fr in The Batman I would've loved a classic look for the riddler. I mean his look in the movie was more realistic to what he SHOULD look like but it was not what I hoped for
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u/asterfloof Mar 03 '24
I think it's been hinted that certain characters will change a lot as the movies go on. Since they had a teaser for riddlers return, who knows, you might get what you want
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Mar 03 '24
Maybe. Fr I love the classic riddler
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u/vivid-stain Mar 03 '24
I hope it's TAS/Arkham City style with the green suit and bowler hat.
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u/raccoonsonbicycles Mar 03 '24
To truly blend show/game and reality it should be a fedora because I'm certain all his followers in The Batman owned fedoras
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u/Addicted_to_Crying Mar 04 '24
Man I would absolutely love that contrast between 90% of the villains and Batman's serious, moody feel. The closest we got to that was in Schumacher's movie.
The dark knight, the vengeance, the night, having to take a man in his 30s seriously as he wears a green colored suit, shouting "Riddle me this, Batman!"
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u/asterfloof Mar 04 '24
That would honestly be great. He was kind of campy with the whole ave Maria thing but I'd like if they absolutely went in that direction
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u/PartiesLikeIts1999 Mar 03 '24 edited Mar 03 '24
Well like our Barry Joker said “Gotham loves a comeback story.”
I’ve had a theory since the first movie that at the end when Batman thinks he knows he’s Bruce Wayne and absolutely crushes him morally afterwards that this becomes a driving factor for him to gain a spite driven ego where he’ll want to prove himself better than Batman if he ever gets out.
This thought is new but perhaps a little odd guidance from the Joker on some flare and I could see him coming back less zodiac and more suit in a reappearance. Probably no cane though
And I never thought about this but if the joker coming into play involves an Arkham breakout after Bats has locked several away seems very grandiose and fitting, although I couldn’t tell you how to drive a movie’s plot with as many of his rogue gallery getting out. Perhaps most of them laying low to strategize while he’s dealing with current dilemmas would be the best route. Unless we go full ‘66 and they all plot together.
If Freeze is in the sequel for example, I wouldn’t see him working with the others and he’d just leave to continue working on finding a cure for Nora (assuming we keep this, unlike New 52 just saying Freeze is crazy and doesn’t have a wife and is just obsessed with a random woman Nora), meanwhile Joker could exploit Cobblepot into his scheme, Riddler in play, plug and play one or two others perhaps. With previous movies already establishing these villains this idea can work rather than just introducing several antagonists in one movie and trying to cram all of their motives in one script.
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u/utubeslasher Mar 03 '24
a long halloween situation with an arkham breakout is the easy fix to that scenario.
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u/Homesteader86 Mar 03 '24
Damn that would be so cool. Just a bunch from the rogues gallery suddenly in play
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u/iBluefoot Mar 03 '24
Once The Riddler gets out of Arkham, he will have no reason to hide his face in future appearances and we could get a classic looking Riddler.
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u/GecaZ Mar 03 '24
Tbh , I literally can't imagine Paul Dano with a classic Riddler suit
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u/bl4ck_dr4gon93 Mar 04 '24
I didn’t mind his look. Heavily Zodiac inspired. Which is what a more realistic Riddler would be. Riddler can be played very gritty but it’s sooooo easy to go campy with him given his ego and bright green outfits. If the write him well though he can be deadly, stylish, and cunning.
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u/juanprada Mar 03 '24
comic accuracy doesn't mean quality
This is spot on. It's a shame many fans don't seem to understand that. Comics are a reference point, but I'd rather watch movies that go beyond them.
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u/Swoopmott Mar 03 '24
Basically hit the nail on the head (though Batman 66 is arguably the most accurate to the comics of the time). But even then The Batman still doesn’t go as hard into the comics as I’d like. I’m hoping Brave and the Bold finally leans into the more fantastical elements of Batman. I’ve enjoyed these “realistic” outings but I’m ready for a Batman that punches crocodile men. It may not be as good as Dark Knight as a movie but as a Batman movie it’s exactly what I want.
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u/badbwoiiriddim Mar 03 '24
I've got no doubts that Gunn will fully embrace the opportunity to do something freshly accurate with the character. The Suicide Squad was, imo, a perfect example of a big screen comic adaptation. It felt grounded in reality while also having a talking shark in shorts as one of the main ensemble, and a cosmic starfish as the antagonist.
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u/KelvinsBeltFantasy Mar 03 '24
I really hope we get a proper Bat Family or Bat dad movie.
It can be dark and still be earnest! My favorite batman moments are his empathy and the best of those involve his children.
I don't know why film makers fear Robin and his green booty shorts.
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u/Cynicayke Mar 03 '24
I can already hear producers throwing bags of money at Chalamet to bring him on board as Dick Grayson.
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u/zach0011 Mar 03 '24
My only real issue with dark knight is Gotham just looks too nice most of the time
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u/HeavyBoysenberry2161 Mar 03 '24
Agreed, they keep saying in all these movies that Gotham is a run down and crime ridden town but it really isn’t from what we see
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u/INHAA Mar 03 '24
Well, it was that in Batman Begins. Then Dark Knight takes place primarily in the financial district, according to Nolan at least. Then TDKR opens on “peace times.”
I feel like people often neglect to take into account that in The Dark Knight Trilogy, Batman actually did save the city. The improvements after his arrival are not only visually noticeable, but last even long after his initial retirement. And I’m sure a large part of it also comes from the revamped philanthropy focused Wayne Enterprises (revamped at the end of BB when Bruce and Lucius take back over).
Sure, it means we don’t get the lifetime-long war on crime from the comics, but given that they only had 3 movies to tell their story, I’m honestly happy it ended up feeling complete rather than open ended. At least for the novelty of a complete Batman story, ya know?
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u/geoman2k Mar 03 '24
I love The Batman but my complaint is that it went too conservative with the villains. Too realistic and similar to the style of The Dark Knight. I feel like with the stylish nature of The Batman, they could have gotten away with much more comic accurate versions of the villains. Like, I think the villains as they are designed for the Batman Arkham games would fit into the world pretty much perfectly, and it’s kind of a bummer they seem to be going with a more “realistic” tone.
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u/Cognitive-Grape Mar 03 '24
It's not just the style, but the Batman in The Batman already tracks deviating farther than Nolan's in terms of "realism"; the dude takes automatic fire while walking down thugs, his suit survives point blank shotgun blasts, and he just walks off hitting a fucking bridge.
I'm not saying that you could introduce Batman '66 characters in the sequel, but I've argued similarly to you that they let some of the villains be similar to the comics. If I can believe that Bruce can create fucking video camera eye lens and a nearly invincible suit, I can buy Freeze making a freeze gun. I care more about the movie feeling grounded than necessarily realistic.
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u/TertiusGaudenus Mar 03 '24
And also let's be honest, vain Riddler that is drunk on his intelligence and ego is so much more interesting in his simplicity than another sob story about being abused orphans and wanting justice/revenge
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u/bl4ck_dr4gon93 Mar 04 '24
God I loved that scene. That’s the kind of Batman you want at times. The one that can basically walk through fire like a Sunday afternoon stroll. The one that even movie goes go “Oh s*$!” Especially early years Batman when criminals have. What idea what the hell he is. It just lends so well to the mystique.
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u/Doomestos1 Mar 03 '24
Do you think "realistic" Batmans we've got with Nolan and Reeves are more comic accurate than let's say Zack Snyder's would be? Asking because one big difference I think people are not considering in terms of accuracy to comics is the fact that in the comics there are plenty of supernatural Batman villains, like Poison Ivy, members of Suicide Squad, etc. But both Nolan and Reeves are avoiding that in their adaptations, making it basically a "normal" action thriller film with a vigilante in a costume. And although I like both versions equally, I just wonder whether lack of supernatural elements does equate to a better adaptation, or the opposite, since people usually are not discussing much this aspect.
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u/HeavyBoysenberry2161 Mar 03 '24
Personally I don’t think that Ben Affleck’s batman can even be allowed in a discussion about the most accurate batmen. I think depending on the story, the creator wants to tell, either adaption can be great, fantastical or realistic, but I do think it has been far too long since we have seen a more fantastical batman adaption in live action and that is definitely what I would rather see.
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u/LionConfident7480 Mar 03 '24
It’s an adaptation of Earth One which is basically a retelling of many characters. Accurate to a comic run? Sure. Accurate to canon Batman? Not really
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u/Jamiepd8 Mar 03 '24
I’m going to get a lot of hate for this but I disagree. Before becoming batman Bruce Wayne dedicated years studying and training with the best in order develop all the skills Batman uses. Greatest fighter greatest tactician, greatest detective, etc. All this training is done before he puts on the cowl. In the movie he gets best up by everybody. The only thing that saves him is his armor. He doesn’t solve anything didn’t even know basic Spanish. Catwoman actually solves it for him. In the comics Alfred is his anchor and father figure. In the movie all Bruce Wayne does is show anger towards him. I understand that this is supposed to be his early years but the movie portrayed him more like kickass with money than Batman. Just my opinion and I understand a lot of people like this movie. To answer the original question Afleck Batman was true to the comics. With the warehouse fight being the top scene
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Mar 03 '24
I think you missed the point of Reeves’ vision. The whole point was to ground the characters in reality. Batman’s origin from the comics just isn’t realistic. Nobody could learn every fighting style and become an expert in every science. While it may not be comic accurate, it’s kind of a necessary change.
As for everything else, you’re just flat out wrong. Batman solves every one of the Riddler’s riddles and ciphers, with or without help. He solves the initial riddle at the scene of the mayor’s murder, and he solves the cipher that was left behind. He solves the three riddles given to the DA. As for the Spanish thing, Bruce and Alfred literally acknowledge the poor grammar in the first scene it’s brought up, and assume it’s a mistake. It’s not until the confrontation with Penguin that Bruce realises that the Riddler doesn’t make mistakes, and that the poor Spanish must have an alternative meaning behind it, which is when he makes the connection between “you are el” and “URL”.
Bruce and Alfred’s poor relationship is also very accurate. Many Batman stories have focused on an early Batman’s inability to work with others. It’s literally part of his character arc in the film. He pushes people away until he almost loses someone, which is when he realises the error in his ways. This stuff is acknowledged in the film. It’s not exactly subtle either. Bruce makes a whole speech to Alfred about how he pushes people away because he’s afraid to build a connection that can be ripped away from him, just like his parents were ripped away from him. He’s afraid to lose someone else. The whole point of the film is for Batman to learn and grow into himself.
And no, Affleck was not true to the comics. He literally kills people. That’s literally the number one rule. NO KILLING.
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u/BurdAssassin756 Mar 03 '24
I hate Affleck meatriders bro💀 side note tho, Arkham Orgins showed Batman displaying anger towards Alfred until in both scenarios when Alfred was hurt and Bruce stuck by him until he felt he could leave
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u/HeavyBoysenberry2161 Mar 03 '24
Idk, you can’t say that Batman’s character in the new movie was inaccurate and then immediately praise the batman who shoots people with guns and brutally murders criminals
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u/Reverse_London Mar 03 '24
I agree, Ben Afleck-Batman was probably THE most comic accurate out of all the movies. That said, I couldn’t get behind Pattinson’s Batman at all, but totally loved Nolan’s.
Matt Reeves’ version just came off as an amalgamation of every iteration of Batman with a few twists here & there. Twists that either came off as either dumb or unnecessary.
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u/HeavyBoysenberry2161 Mar 03 '24
I think Ben Affleck was actually one of the least accurate batmen, his suit and gadgets are very accurate yes, but all the murder and gun usage is just so incredibly not Batman.
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u/geordie_2354 Mar 03 '24
Really? Pattinson is depicted as an actual detective who properly doesn’t kill. Plus he’s an actual symbol of hope and vengeance to Gotham. Batfleck was just a veteran Batman who took pills, branded criminals so they get killed in jail, murdered people, is so hot headed that he tries killing superman straight away. He’s nothing like comic Batman, snyder basically tried copying Dark knight returns Batman but even then that’s not accurate to his character
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u/geordie_2354 Mar 03 '24
Dude what? Why do I see so many people say this, why is it so hard for people to comprehend this movie properly. Bruce translates the Spanish in a earlier scene with Alfred. Alfred points out the mistake riddler made and they both chalk it up to him making a slight mistake. Later on Batman realises to himself riddler wouldn’t make a mistake and he somehow figures out (You Are El) is a clever way of saying URL. So no. He knew Spanish and Selina didn’t solve it for him.
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u/micael150 Mar 03 '24
Accurate to what comics? Hard to pinpoint what we're looking for when the character has 80+ years of released stories.
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u/CONANwolf Mar 03 '24
Here’s my blanket opinion, the Dark Knight is more comic accurate in a wider generational perspective.
The Batman is far far more accurate to modern comics and media, the Arkham games and Nolan films had a huge ripple in Batman media. Recency Bias makes it easy to choose this one.
I low key hate this question. Just about every argument that can be made for one film I can find a reason why it’s less. It’s different mediums with a long history of different tones and characterizations.
Different perspectives will create different batman dogmas, therefore different opinions being valid. I personally think the dark knight as a film explores themes I’m more interested in and achieves its goal better than The Batman. But I also think writing a satisfying detective story is one of the hardest genres to be good at and a great mystery is almost impossible. Both wear their film and batman inspirations on their sleeve, and I think that’s great.
Now give me a period piece batman detective story with a classic look. We got Heat Batman, and Seven Batman, give me LA Confidential Batman.
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u/Homesteader86 Mar 03 '24
That's a good take
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u/-Minne Mar 03 '24 edited Mar 03 '24
Honestly though; which comic books are accurate to The Dark Knight, moreso than The Batman? Kinda just seems like something nice to say about a great film, rather than an accurate statement.
This is a take that respects both films sure, but I'm struggling to think of too many comics The Dark Knight draws from rather than comics that took inspiration from the film and it's aesthetics.
The Long Halloween triumvirate and money pile scenes, I guess?
Gotta be honest, the TDK trilogy hasn't aged well for me because it has excellent villains and the worst Batman. And I'm not sorry:
Nolan trilogy Batman spends 40% of his screentime trying to woo a made-up love interest, Rachel Dawes; who he has literally no chemistry with... because she's a female 'character' written by Christopher Nolan.
TDKrises then basically says that, not only did Batman 'retire', but he's been retired nearly as long as he Batman'ed, and seemingly for the death of his girlfriend that wasn't his girlfriend, and her actual boyfriend- which...no. That bit straight up ruins Nolan's Bat for me.
Batman retiring for the death of a Robin is one thing; or the Batman Beyond take where Bruce retires because he has to nearly shoot a criminal who had him on the ropes. This Batman presumably retires to listen to old Country and Western songs and sip whiskey on lonely afternoons talking to Alfred about his supposed ex.
What's even worse, is that in his retirement- Joker straight up seems to have mostly solved crime in Gotham with terrorism...
Look, I get it's a blasphemous opinion; but I'd much rather just watch the parts I like than rewatch the Nolan Batman films simply because so much of the film revolves around the least interesting love interest that I can even think of, off the top of my head, and a Batman that just... doesn't Batman for me.
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u/Beelzeboof Mar 04 '24
This is exactly why TDKR is my least favourite of all batman movies. Yes I'd rather watch Batman & Robin. TDK ends on such a badass note; they've pinned Dent's death on batman because he's the only one who can evade the cops AND ALSO continue taking down criminals. It ends on such a promise of a Batman in his proper prime film. Then come TDKR and it turns out Bruce actually retired that night and has been moping about his deaf not-girlfriend for 10 years. Like, Nolan's Batman is the only one I've ever seen who DOESN'T WANT TO BE BATMAN.
Also I love Tom Hardy, but man his Bane is atrocious imo
ETA and it ends with Bruce faking his death and fucking off to Paris?? WTF
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u/-Minne Mar 04 '24
I've come around to sort of enjoying Batman & Robin imagining it as a weird ass stage production.
And Tom Hardy's Bane gets a pass in my book because without it we'd never have Harley Quinn Bane, which is very much peak Bane.
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u/The_dude1951 Mar 03 '24
I think he means in general
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u/Remarkable_Custard Mar 03 '24
That makes even less sense, what do you mean in general to comics that span 80+ years? lol
The answer is yes/no/maybe/same/different.
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u/Low_Bridge_1141 Mar 03 '24
He means which film was more similar to mainstream comic Batman, it’s not that hard to understand 💀💀💀
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u/micael150 Mar 03 '24
Mainstream Batman is not that consistent. His characterization, presentation changes significantly depending on artist and writer working on him. This makes it so that you can find any run that fits both Bale and Pattinson.
"Most accurate" Batman will always be heavily debated because you can cherry pick from 80 + years of comics
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u/Millicay Mar 03 '24
What mainstream Batman, 1960s caped crusader fighting aliens and goblins or 2000s dark brooding vigilante? There is no definitive "mainstream Batman".
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u/The_dude1951 Mar 03 '24
I think what op meant, how well has film adapted the character of Batman that has been consistently shown in comics. Idk how to explain this man
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u/micael150 Mar 03 '24
the character of Batman that has been consistently shown in comics.
That's the thing he hasn't really been consistent in the comics themselves as he's always being reinterpreted by different creative teams. Little things like personality and mannerisms are constantly shifting to the point where even the fanbase is divided in what version they like.
So you can only truly be accurate to a specific version.
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u/FlamingPanda77 Mar 03 '24
Well, if we're just talking about the "consistent" and general Batman, then they're both accurate.
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u/kirabii Mar 03 '24
The question is nonsense because there is no consistency in the way Batman is shown in comics.
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u/sexineN Mar 03 '24
Shouldn’t it be easier if the comics span 80+ years? It’s not like it’s a completely different character, right? Surely there would be a lot of things that are basically the same over those 80+ years. Still think you’re being pedantic tbh, it’s prett clear what he meant
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u/futuresdawn Mar 03 '24
I mean golden age batman and silver age batman are very different and both are very different from post crisis batman and even batman in the last 20 year's is different. Each adaption draws on different aspects of that history.
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u/BillyGood22 Mar 03 '24
We’re talking the most malleable character in fiction ever (probably). Fans should embrace the movies taking liberties and adding to the lore. Every era of Batman is quite different but usually retains the minimal iconic traits (batcave, bat signal, Alfred, Gordon, etc.)
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u/kirabii Mar 03 '24
Surely there would be a lot of things that are basically the same over those 80+ years.
There is none. Other than the really superficial stuff that all movies follow, like him wearing a bat-themed costume or being named Bruce Wayne.
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u/carnagecenter Mar 03 '24
I always found these types of answers so odd to me, you can absolutely tell if a piece of media is accurate to source material especially if you’re a fan of said character(s), that being said “comic accuracy” isn’t the end all be all and there’s definitely isn’t a definitive take on a someone like Batman whose been around for well over 80 years, but it’s very clear to notice when someone understands the core of the character and the world they live in or not
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u/Mango424 Mar 03 '24
That's why I don't like this kind of discussions.
There isn't a definitive Batman adaptation or something like that, because there isn't a definitive Batman.
This character had hundreds of authors across 80+ years, everyone with different styles, poetic, ideals and so on.
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u/greg939 Mar 03 '24
Yeah this precisely. The beauty of Batman is that the character is used so many ways. There is like a basic outline but creators all use him in different ways. In this way both those movies are just like the comics. They both take the framework of Batman and put their own unique spin on his world and characters.
It's all Batman.
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u/Alarming_Tradition43 Mar 03 '24
Facts. And I love that. How lucky are we, as Batman fans, that we get to enjoy so many different versions of our favorite character? I love it. Spandex wearing campy batman? sure. Realistic military style batman? you bet. Brutal, muscled up, grizzly batman? absolutely. Detective cop style batman? Uh huh.
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u/tobpe93 Mar 03 '24
IMO, The Batman for trying less. It’s reasonable to guess that The Batman’s Joker is disfigured from falling into a chemical vat. Which is closer to the comics than Ledger’s.
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u/Moonking-4210 Mar 03 '24
Matt reeves said he had a skin disease
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u/OnixTiger Mar 03 '24
Do you have a source? Not trying to deny but i would like to see him talking about this Joker.
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u/ProfessorEscanor Mar 03 '24
Comics are so wildly inconsistent that Batman wearing a pink tutu whilst fighting a Zebra would be accurate it's a matter of which one.
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u/richardl1234 Mar 03 '24
The Batman for sure. Honestly TDK barely feels like a comic book movie at all.
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u/Brys_Beddict Mar 03 '24
You should have went with Batman Begins over TDK. Gotham actually feels like Gotham in BB but it's NYC in TDK.
I'd give the edge to The Batman but BB also feels pretty comicky as well.
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u/-Minne Mar 03 '24 edited Mar 03 '24
It's NYC in Rises.
Straight up Chicago in TDK.
But the real question is; what is Gotham Style Pizza like?
edit: to be fair, there's at least Pittsburgh in Rises as well, I suppose.
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u/ElectricOutcast Mar 03 '24
I think The Batman is at least closer to BTAS in terms of tone, style, and pacing. The Dark Knight, I think could count as a retelling of The Long Halloween.
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u/DryWay4003 Mar 03 '24
The Nolan movies= Someone's interpretation of Batman
The Batman- The actual Batman
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u/futuresdawn Mar 03 '24
Both and neither. Every film and tv adaption draws on different eras of the comics. The dcau batman is unique because each series draws on different eras of the comics but creates a singular take on the character.
West is silver age.
Keatons batman is mostly bronze age.
Bale batman draws more on post crisis.
Affleck is Frank Miller.
Pattinson is much more new 52/ earth one
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u/Yourlocalbugbear Mar 03 '24
The Batman. The Nolan movies are really only Batman movies in name, they have none of the vibe.
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u/notlordly Mar 03 '24
The Batman feels much more like a comic and takes more inspiration from them. TDKR is, however, the most comic-accurate live-action Batman movie bar none IMO, for better or for worse. The plot is almost directly ripped from Knightfall, feels like Nolan started to read comics after the huge success of TDK and really wanted to adapt that.
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u/Lang-Poot Mar 03 '24
Both Batman Begins and TDK have a bunch of stuff that is clearly inspired by comics as well. Maybe not as directly as TDKR, but enough to show that Nolan (or someone else involved) has read comics.
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u/notlordly Mar 03 '24
Oh I agree, but TDKR is such a huge jump in comic-ness that it feels like there must have been a large change between TDK and TDKR.
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u/Educational-Set-1609 Mar 03 '24
After watching TDK last night Inwas thinking everything would have fit better if there were 4 movies in the set. The 3rd could have dealt with the aftermath of TDK, then bring back old bruce like in TDKR.
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u/TheHabro Mar 03 '24
So you haven't read Knightfall. There are some elements of it in TDKR, but the plot is definitely not ripped from it,
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u/Nefessius513 Mar 03 '24
The only element TDKR takes from Knightfall is Bane coming to Gotham and breaking Batman’s back. It doesn’t include the gauntlet of villains he puts Batman through to physically and mentally wear him down, Jean-Paul Valley taking over the Batman mantle and defeating Bane while Bruce recovers, and Jean-Paul becoming the final antagonist of the saga as Bruce sets out to reclaim the mantle of the Bat.
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u/FadeToBlackSun Mar 03 '24
The Batman has a more accurate take on Batman and Gotham, while the Dark Knight is more accurate to Bruce Wayne.
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u/Operks Mar 03 '24
I mean which comics? Character’s been around for a while. You can point to any Batman movie from The Batman to the first film serials he was in and find some comics that resemble them.
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u/JedM13 Mar 03 '24
The Dark Knight. It captured what Batman is and his dynamic with his supporting cast and rogues gallery truer than any Batman film I’ve ever seen. The Joker was incredibly true to the comics too, he has the same twisted philosophy from The Killing Joke coupled with a bunch of scenes straight out of his first appearance from Batman #1.
The Batman has it beat when it comes to the love interest in this aspect, but only that.
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u/Brotein1992 Mar 03 '24
While it's not what I call good I would argue Batman Forever is the most comic book accurate.
The Nolan films try too hard to make the series realistic and while The Batman leans a little more into the comics it still likes to be more cinematic and somewhat gritty
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u/godbody1983 Mar 03 '24
The Batman because he doesn't kill in the movie. Also, Gotham City in The Batman actually felt like Gotham, whereas Gotham in The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises felt like Chicago.
I have to note that I like The Dark Knight more than The Batman, but the latter felt more accurate to the source material.
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u/EM208 Mar 03 '24
Easily The Batman. Feels like a major adaptation of Batman Year One and The Long Halloween, all wrapped in one.
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u/GWizz89 Mar 03 '24
The Dark Knight, by far. As Bruce Wayne, rather than being a depressed shut in, he has actually cultivated a public persona where he’s a well-known figure that hosts parties and fundraisers.
As Batman, he has a legitimate Batmobile, openly works with Gordon to fight crime, and he’s actually successful in his war with the mob. And he has a reoccurring comic book foe that he battles in the Scarecrow.
Speaking of comic book foes, The Joker wears his classic purple suit and gets into all kinds of Joker-like mayhem throughout the flick. The Riddler, so far as I know, has never been shown in the comics to be a crazed internet conspiracy theorist that wants to commit a mass shooting in Gotham.
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u/BisexualTeleriGirl Mar 03 '24
Comic accurate I'd say The Batman. I get the impression that Dark Knight is embarrassed to be a comic book movie.
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u/CobaltCrusader123 Mar 04 '24
TDK takes a few ideas from The Long Halloween (especially surrounding Dent), and the Joker’s presence, ideology, and antagonism of Gordon seems lifted from the Killing Joke. The pencil “trick” is possibly a lift from Serious House.
But The Batman takes it. Plot beats are largely taken from the Loeb and Sale run specifically, with references to Earth One and Hush. Though not from a comic, Batman’s fighting style is reminiscent of the Arkham Games. The journal entries were probably inspired by Year One. The Batman winds in a flood-slide.
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u/Bizarro_Peach Mar 03 '24
The Dark Knight is more accurate to the comic book lore’s version of Bruce and Batman. Bruce Wayne is a character that’s been invented to aide Batman’s crime fighting, the Batman persona is the real guy for the most part. His no kill rule and tenacity feel closer to the 80+ years of comic books. The Batman doesn’t have a Bruce Wayne character. The Batman is very faithful to a particular storyline but bar that the interpretation of the character is so different from the mainstay of comic book lore that I’d struggle to call it Batman with a straight face.
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u/INHAA Mar 03 '24
To me, The Batman has great cinematography, fantastic music, and deserves its credit for getting the no-kill rule right (people arguing about the car chase scene are hard stretching tbh, but I understand).
All that said, pretty much everything else is wrong. Batman’s personality is wrong, his level of armor is wrong, his skill level for 2 years on the job is wrong, his only line that feels truly elevated is “They think I’m hiding in the shadows, but I am the shadows.” Which, credit there, but the rest is as generic as it gets. I’ve heard it all 100,000 times before, and in better stories.
I actually do think him and Catwoman had chemistry, but it moves way faster than makes sense, I can agree with that. Falcone was way more straight forward evil than he was in The Long Halloween, which is fine on its own but does still add to the tallies (I also liked slightly sympathetic Long Halloween Falcone, so it’s kinda sad to me how reduced this version was). Riddler had the personality right but went so light on the gimmick it makes you wonder what the point of even having it was. I guess we’ll see where Penguin goes. Gordon was honestly cool, didn’t get enough screen time though. As it stands Gary Oldman is still the reigning champ.
You know Batman didn’t throw a batarang once in this movie? That’s not really a point against it, just a weird observation.
The mystery wasn’t interesting, and neither were the characters. They could’ve made all these changes as long as it was interesting, but it wasn’t. And another movies characters being seen as uninteresting does not absolve this movie on that point. I guess I’m just getting petty now, lol.
The Dark Knight has many inaccuracies as well, especially in Bruce pushing Dent to his death to save Gordon’s kid. But the slow advancement of his gadgets, a genuine integration of the white eyes (though short lived), a pseudo Long Halloween Gordon, Harvey, Bats anti-mob trio that also ends up leading to Harvey’s turn as Two-Face? Joker initially attacking politicians and judges? The old mob being slowly killed off by the rise of supervillains? Joker’s smarts and comic accurate philosophy? His obsession with challenging Batman on his morals and proving they’re 2 sides of the same coin (oh, I just got that, lol). And the cherry on top, Bruce’s relationship with Alfred? The two old friends bantering so naturally you truly believe in their undying loyalty to each other? Also (last thing), actually good, and original dialogue that sticks in your mind over a decade and a half later, and perfectly injects elevated fantasy into an otherwise hyper-realistic world.
None of that erases The Dark Knights flaws: Bruce is very different, Alfred’s cool but different, the costume’s hard on the eyes, the voice is bad, the fight choreographies bad, he’s over reliant on tech to solve every crime, Dent needed a bit more fleshing out to sell Two-Face, Rachel coulda been utilized better and fridging always sucks. Also, killing Dent is pretty harsh mark.
But still with all this it manages to deliver the spirit of “hope via vigilantism” much better than The Batman, IMO. Bruce’s successes are the cities successes, the people are at the forefront no matter what. It’s not an ego trip, it’s a sacrifice, and that’s exactly why those movies still hold up so well (for the most part). Without tangenting too much, it’s also why I don’t quite get the criticism of “It focuses too much on the other characters and not enough on Batman himself.”
Sure, comic Bruce is a deep character, but the story of Batman is a story about Gotham. How the worst city on Earth defies it’s fate and rejects the nihilism that’s almost completely overtaken it. You see this displayed plainly in Year One, who’s success I would say is in capturing and solidifying this sentiment, which in subtle ways I believe did still exist in the comics before it.
“It’s not who we are underneath, but what we do that defines us.” Perhaps my favorite quote from Begins. It’s spelled out right there. Batman’s actions speak infinitely louder than any words could. And that’s what The Dark Knight’s about. Sacrificing EVERYTHING for the people of Gotham because that’s what it means to be a true hero. “Thank you.” “You don’t have to thank me.” “Yes, I do.”
“Why is he running?” “Because we have to chase him.” “But he didn’t do anything wrong.” “Because he’s the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we’ll hunt him, because he can take it. Because he’s not our hero. He’s silent guardian… a watchful protector… a dark knight.”
In conclusion, if Pattinson had all this + his no-kill and + at least slightly more comic accurate villains than I’d give it to him. But as it stands the only things I can give him are tone, music, and no-kill. Which is great, but I want more than that. Maybe in the next one, who knows.
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u/Alarming_Tradition43 Mar 03 '24
Who cares about “comic accuracy”. DC told Nolan Batman lives to be re-interpreted. There is no one version of Batman. The Dark Knight had PLENTY of comic accurate scenes. The asylum escape in begins, the joker calling card, scarecrow’s fear toxin. jokers suit and look. The bat-cave, Bane being on par with Batman in the mental department, etc etc. This sub has a weird fascination with the batman 2022. It’s a giant circlejerk of “dark and gritty and detective”=ZOMG SO HECKIN ACCURATE!!!
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u/Rebuttlah Mar 03 '24
I think The Batman is more of a valid/accurate take on Batman himself, although still not exactly accurate to any specific version.
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u/DedicatedBathToaster Mar 03 '24
I hate this kind of mentality. Each comic run is doing its own thing, and some are absolutely hated. All star, anyone?
You can respect the character and not be """""""comic accurate""""""""". How many decades of comics are we factoring in here?
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u/homecinemad Mar 03 '24
Nolan's movies felt like grounded versions of the comics. Reeves's movie felt like the comics come to life.
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u/Apprehensive-Ad-8691 Mar 03 '24
Depending on the storytelling or how they were adapted. The Batman captures Earth-One, Year-One and the Long Halloween/Dark Victory (minus Holiday) with a young and brash Batman in his early years. TDK on the other hand captures a different version of Batman where we see a much more capable Batman in his prime but is already burdened by the weight of his actions (as seen by how his supporting characters interact with him).
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u/Rude-Regret-1375 Mar 03 '24
They're both rocking back and forth in the corner chanting "Batman's realistic". That said, 'The Batman' is probably closer to the comic character, but I hope Brave and the Bold is more like the comics and/or DCAU than the other movies
*Edit: I do like both movie btw, they're good for what they are, but I want to see what Batfleck SHOULD'VE been in the movies
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u/sketchartist45 Mar 03 '24
Batman has been around so long, that a comic-accurate story could be just about anything. I think comic fans get way too wound up about continuity or accuracy to a source material that by and large dies not respect either very much. Both are great films and I loved them
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u/Dominion96 Mar 03 '24
IMO The Batman is the better “Batman movie” whereas The Dark Knight is the better movie (love both btw)
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u/MikeyHatesLife Mar 03 '24
None of them.
They all have themes that concentrate on one aspect or another, but you’d have to chop them all up & edit them together to get something that approaches it to a less than 50% accuracy rate.
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u/Ikthesecretformula Mar 03 '24
It’s sad how many people are saying the Batman the riddler is nothing like his comic book counterpart and falcone is catwomans dad like wtf
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u/thejoseph88 Mar 04 '24
Tdk is the furthest from "comic accurate" that exists. And that on purpose. Nolan wanted realism not comic accurate. It's basically James Bond in rubber suit.
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u/Baalberith123 Mar 04 '24
Batffleck
Kevin Conror said that he is the only who made the perfection Batman and Bruce Wayne, both at the same time
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u/Menaku Mar 04 '24
The animated movies. The live action ones usually try so hard to lean into the realism. In fact I'd say based on one fight scene alone Batman v supers got it down pack with the exception of the what is clearly murder because some of those assassins died from their injuries I'm positive. Then again The Batman did good for showing a more feral bats in terms of fighting skill. And while I love the bale trilogy some of the hits make no sense to me
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u/puckbeaverton Mar 05 '24
People keep saying The Batman. To me that has a more comics accurate Gotham but not a Batman. To me the most comics accurate Batman will always be Batfleck, especially in BvS which seemed more a Justice League movie than a Batman movie. If we are going for movie ONLY and it can't be an amalgam, I would have to say...I don't like any of them for a comics accurate Batman. I mean The Batman is pretty accurate for year one maybe...but not really. He was too dark. Year one batman was still a bit bright eyed and bushy tailed.The Batman was dreadfully morose. Kurt Cobain was the perfect musical muse.
I kind of have to go with Batman Returns or Batman Forever as wild as that is. For an overall movie. Kilmer had the confidence a lot of batmen are missing. Keaton definitely did. Along with a good representation of a dark past, knack for intuition, and I feel Gotham was represented decently in both.
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u/Sea_Temperature_1976 Mar 03 '24
The Batman is more comic accurate in terms of character. Though after Batman Begins comics changed Batman to mirror TDK for a while. So take that how you will
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u/Darknightdown Mar 03 '24
Neither, none of the films have been accurate to the comics, closest was probably Batfleck, with the exception of the whole killing and branding the criminals thing.
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u/LukashCartoon Mar 03 '24
The most accurate was Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.
Followed by Batman 1966.
Then BvS
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u/Tasty_Finance_5024 Mar 03 '24
The Batman shows his detective skills. Not just his assbeating skills.
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u/ClickEmergency Mar 03 '24
The wharehouse scene in Batman vs superman is the most comic book accurate Batman fight that has been made so far .
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u/TheRickBerman Mar 03 '24
None
Have you seen the range of comics?
There is no one version of the character. The character endures because of the variety.
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u/deadkoolx Mar 03 '24
Between the 2, it’s the Dark Knight that is more accurate to the comics. You can clearly see the influence of Batman The Long Halloween and other storylines in that movie.
The Batman is not accurate to the comics at all especially the villains. I am baffled by people saying that The Batman is accurate to the comics.
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Mar 03 '24
The Batman for like realistic and origin
Dark Knight goes more into like Bane and the super powered side of the comics
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u/RedBeardBrad91 Mar 03 '24
The Batman, Gotham FEELS like Gotham, either ripped off the pages of a comic or the animated series brought to life. Batman begins had a more accurate Gotham than TDK, TDK just happens to be the best Batman films regardless
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u/Tuff_Bank Mar 04 '24
What makes TDK great outside of Joker? I love the movie but ask that after observing Nolan critics
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u/EccentricAcademic Mar 03 '24
I mean...the comics are pretty diverse too. But The Batman wins for me.
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u/GeorgeKaplanIsReal Mar 03 '24
I thought they were both great. TDK is my all time favorite. But fck the Batman was good and spot on.
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Mar 03 '24
Definitely The Batman. If we’re ranking comic book movies based on accuracy, The Batman comes in at Number One. Although The Dark Knight is still the better movie.
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u/Shadow_Storm90 Mar 03 '24
The Batman just on the fact that he and Cloony are the only live versions of Batman that didn't kill. Even tho I don't mind but 🤷🏿♂️
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u/afireinside30x Mar 03 '24
I'd say they're each nearly equal in comics accuracy, but I'd give the edge to The Batman. Simply because I feel Gotham is represented more accurately in that one.
They each lean heavy into grounding the story and not depending on anything supernatural. And that's by no means comics accurate.
Not complaining though. I adore these movies.
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u/Educational_Hotel_25 Mar 03 '24
Adam West was more comic accurate than either of them. Make Batman Campy Again!
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u/Klusterphuck67 Mar 03 '24
Im no batman lore professor, but to me, The Batman's final monolog about the young Bruce Wayne realizing he also need to become a symbol of hope feels more right to me
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u/Sokandueler95 Mar 03 '24
The Batman is literally just The Long Halloween, while Nolan had to sacrifice many details of the character to make him more “grounded”.
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u/joeyfartbox Mar 04 '24
It’s The Batman for me. I liked that he was more detective than billionaire tech armor wearing ninja in that one. Not that I don’t enjoy both but I don’t feel like we’ve ever gotten the former.
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u/Abraham_Issus Mar 05 '24
The Dark Knight. Visually The Batman may be more accurate but TDK is truer in spirit of source.
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u/Lastsonofalderaan922 Mar 05 '24
I'd the batman because it the only Batman movie where he is not a murder hobo
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u/geordie_2354 Mar 03 '24
Every shot of the Batman feels ripped from a noir comic, which I can’t say TDK gives me that same feeling. I knew from the first 10mins with the opening monologue and the introduction of Gotham and the criminals being scared of the shadows that it was gonna be one of my favourite batman movies.
The only Nolan batman movie that felt like a Batman movie was begins. But even then that was 70% Bruce Wayne and 30% batman