Batman ’89: 6 reasons it’s more comic-accurate than you think
By Mike McNulty
Credit
: Warner Brothers; from
Batman
(1989)
4. An actual Dark Knight Detective
What’s been sadly lacking in many modern live-action interpretations of Batman is that, for someone known as the “World’s Greatest Detective,” he doesn’t do a lot of detective work. There may have been some actual investigating in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight (2008) but, as great as the film is, even it put greater emphasis on Batman as an urban, gadget-wielding ninja. You can certainly forget about Batman Vv Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017), as Batman in those movies is just a glorified bruiser.
But if you rewatch Batman, you might be surprised that Bruce Wayne does some actual sleuthing. During the scene where he reads Jack Napier’s arrest record and learns that he has an aptitude for chemistry, Bruce casually tells Alfred, “Let’s go shopping.” Later as Batman, he explains to Vicki Vale how it’s a certain combination of cosmetic products, not one product in particular, which triggers Joker’s “Smylex” poison. In other words, Bruce bought a bunch of household items and actually conducted his own chemical analysis and research, no help from Lucius Fox required.
The film also shows this a Batman who prepares ahead of time. Whether it’s conducting surveillance on his own charity ball or obtaining case files, Bruce, like in the comics, plans accordingly and never acts on impulsive. Even when time is of the essence, he’s deliberately strategic. Take, for example, the scene where Bruce confronts Joker at Vicki’s apartment. The whole time, he’s intentionally goading Joker to shoot him in order to distract his attention away from Vicki. It helps, too, that he’s slipped a silver tray under his coat beforehand to stop the bullet.
While Batman doesn’t fully explore his more investigative talents, it certainly explores it more than most. Likewise, it stresses more than once that this Dark Knight relies on intelligence and quick strategic thinking more so than other Batmans who came after.