USA TODAY International Edition
Holy anniversary! ‘Batman’s’ legacy reigns at 30
KEATON, NICHOLSON BY WARNER BROS.
Superhero movies took wing into a new era after Caped Crusader left his Bat-Signal to light the way.
“I’m Batman.” ❚ Back in the summer of 1989, when a cape-andcowled Michael Keaton made that simple and effective declaration to a criminal lowlife in “Batman,” it was the first of many great moments coming out of director Tim Burton’s superhero movie. The blockbuster took over the box office (with a then-massive $251.3 million haul) and pop culture, but the movie’s real influence on Hollywood is best seen three decades later.
Comic book characters weren’t in vogue then like they are now. When “Batman” (which celebrated its 30th anniversary Sunday) descended on theaters, it had been years since Christopher Reeve’s “Superman” had taken over film fans’ hearts in 1978 – and nearly a decade since a good Man of Steel movie – so it was a big deal seeing DC Comics’ Caped Crusader knock Indiana Jones down a few rungs on the hero ladder.
We’ve seen many cinematic Batmen since then and loads more do-gooders, but here are five ways Burton’s flick changed the superhero movie game forever:
The Dark Knight’s place officially was cemented as a cultural icon.
In 1989, when Iron Man, Captain America and Thor were nowhere close to being A-listers, Batman wasn’t exactly the coolest guy in the mainstream, either. Most still had Adam West’s campy TV version in their heads. However, a gritty revamp of the character in the 1986 DC comic “The Dark Knight Returns” made him super-popular in that crowd, and Burton’s well-received film was the final push to the top. Everyone was wearing T-shirts of the Bat-Signal that summer as the movie sold more than $500 million worth of merchandise.
Michael Keaton was the first of many risky (and worthwhile) superhero casting decisions.
Whenever a new Batman is announced, a troll gets its wings and the internet freaks out, from Ben Affleck to, most recently, Robert Pattinson. So just imagine the cyber rage that would have met Keaton, who was mostly known for his comedic work (“Mr. Mom,” “Gung Ho,” “Beetlejuice”) until then and sparked an angry letter-writing campaign to Warner Bros. Yet Keaton had a square-enough jaw for the part and gave just enough crazy energy to believe this dude might actually dress like a bat in public. Without his success, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man would have seemed like much bigger stretches.
It made comic book characters cool for Oscar winners.
Well-regarded thespians have been as much part of the superhero world in recent years as cool powers and tight spandex, from Patrick Stewart in the “XMen” movies and “Spider-Man 2” villain Alfred Molina in the 2000s to appearances by Robert Redford, Glenn Close, Anthony Hopkins, Cate Blanchett and Tommy Lee Jones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sure, Gene Hackman and Marlon Brando were in “Superman,” but it wasn’t the popular thing to do until Jack Nicholson’s Joker, with clownish façade, disfigured grin and insanity in spades, blew the doors off Gotham City and was as much the star of “Batman” as Keaton. His portrayal was arguably theiconic supervillain until the late Heath Ledger made the Joker his own in “The Dark Knight” 19 years later.
Tim Burton proved visionaries could put their own stamp on the genre.
With “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” and “Beetlejuice,” the filmmaker already had crafted a dark and quirky signature style, and married that in “Batman” with a “Brazil”-influenced architectural aesthetic for Gotham City and a Batmobile that looked like it was geared up for a World War II bombing run. Not every superhero flick that followed took as many chances, but “Batman” opened the door for directors who wanted to, including Guillermo del Toro (“Blade II”), James Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) and Taika Waititi (“Thor: Ragnarok”).
Without ‘Batman,’ there’s no Marvel movie universe.
That point could be argued by fanboys who’ve spent hours debating the best Dark Knights and if Superman could beat Hulk in an arm-wrestling match. But consider this: Even though a Bat-nippled George Clooney and 1997’s “Batman & Robin” sunk superheroes, the character obviously proved bankable enough for him to come back in Christopher Nolan’s massive Bat-films. More importantly, “Batman” paved a path for Marvel Studios to put its heroes on screen, first making hay with X-Men and Spider-Man in the 2000s and then spawning the Marvel Cinematic Universe with 2008’s “Iron Man.” So when Downey says, “I am Iron Man,” it’s a meta tip of the cap to his Batarang boasting peer from yesteryear.