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1989's "Batman" was a pivotal moment for superhero movies. Richard Donner's "Superman" established the blueprint for the modern blockbuster back in 1978, but without Tim Burton's late-'80s take on the Dark Knight, the trajectory of the superhero tentpole itself would look a lot different. It's a good thing the film was so influential, too, considering what Burton went through to make it.

Casting controversies, grueling shooting schedules, and the fact that Batman as a character had yet to prove himself as a box office draw all made for what was surely an extremely stressful time for the director. Recall that, at that point in his career, Burton had only helmed two major studio movies: "Pee Wee's Big Adventure" and "Beetlejuice." While both films are fondly remembered today, they were hardly the $35 million blockbuster that "Batman" represented, and for Burton the whole experience was somewhat of a baptism of fire.

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There are plenty of Batman cartoons out there, from the superlative "Batman: The Animated Series" to the underrated 2004 series "The Batman" to the new and fresh "Batman: Caped Crusader." But there's another cartoon even the most ardent Bat-fans may not have heard of — because it was never actually made.

"Gotham High" would've shown Bruce Wayne's teenage years as he attends high school alongside Batman's future villains, who all already resemble their costumed selves. Pitched in 2009 or so, the series never made it past the concept stage. Warner Bros. had previously floated a teen Batman cartoon in the late '90s to cash in on "Buffy The Vampire Slayer." That resulted in "Batman Beyond," a cyber-noir imagining a future where an aged Bruce Wayne trains teenager Terry McGinnis to be a new Dark Knight.

"Gotham High" would've been a more literal...

In the "Batman" comics, Vicki Vale has almost always been just a love interest for the titular caped crusader. The Alan Grant/Norm Breyfogle era of these comics saw Vale embody some agency, with a focus on her skills as a competent Gotham photojournalist. However, traditional interpretations of Vale are that of a damsel in distress or a vehicle for Batman to tussle with his fractured identity. She's meant to highlight how heroic Batman is, which is contrasted with Bruce Wayne's inability to be honest and vulnerable with someone who only knows half of him. The only exception to this treatment in the comics is 2009's "Batman: Battle for the Cowl," where Vale figures out the Batman-Bruce connection and plays a seminal role in uncovering the truth about Two-Face's nefarious plans for Gotham City. 

When Tim Burton honed in on Vicki Vale for 1989's "Batman," it was an opportunity to reinvent this oft-sidelined character.

For some time, we've been hearing about how there are no more movie stars, to the point where it's become trite to suggest as much. Still, with the monoculture that defined the pre-internet years now a distant memory, talking about the death of the movie star is really just a way of pointing to the shifting cultural landscape, one of which Hollywood is no longer the vanguard.

Culture is now fragmented in a way it never was before. The public no longer looks mainly to Hollywood to shape their cultural ideals, but it would be silly to argue that actors like Zendaya or her "Dune" co-star Timothée Chalamet don't possess star power. These are names that are going to be a boon to any production. The thing is, being a movie star was never solely about such a thing. For those in the business, being a star was about more...

Warning: Spoilers for Batman '89: Echoes #5!Jack Nicholson's Joker might be jealous of Harley Quinn's new digs. Harley Quinn has become one of the latest additions to the Burtonverse, as the scrapped concept of a sequel to 1989's Batman featuring Madonna in the role has been repurposed for Batman '89: Echoes, a comic series that continues the continuity of Tim Burton's movies.

In Batman '89: Echoes #5 by Sam Hamm, Joe Quinones, Stacey Lee, Paolo Rivera, Leonardo Ito, and Carlos M. Mangual, Harley Quinn enacts the latest step of her plan. As a Jeff Goldblum-esque Scarecrow plunges Gotham into chaos with his fear juice, Harley creates a hostage situation at the Acn news station.

Much of the story has seen her dressed like a court jester, but for this hostage crisis, she arrives in style with a brand-new costume reminiscent of the Joker as...

The Joker is regarded as one of the greatest villains, not just in Batman comics or even just in the DC Universe, but in comic book history. The Joker is brilliant, ruthless, and cunning, but more than anything else, he’s totally insane - and his level of insanity is always in flux. Sometimes the Joker is presented as a deranged serial killer, while other times he’s more of a practical joker. But the one thing the Joker is not is sane - at least, until he is.

The Joker is such an unpredictable character that there are moments in DC lore where he has actually regained his sanity (as if he ever had it to begin with). But, in all honesty, the Joker’s sanity is just an aspect of his insanity, as the Joker acting sane is more insane than his usual brand of insanity. And these...

Lower the lights, close the curtains, and leave one headphone halfway off your ear to detect outside noise because Rory Culkin and Paris Jackson will lead the 1990s-set softcore porn comedy Skinemax. The project comes from Adam Sigal, who directs Skinemax from a script he wrote. Production for Skinemax recently wrapped in Budapest, with the film sounding like it could deliver some blush-worthy laughs.

Skinemax focuses on the softcore porn industry in 1990. You know, the decade when adult film icons like Silvia Saint, Asia Carerra, Peter North, and Jack Napier were the kings and queens of fictitious bedroom gymnastics, and adolescents prayed for scrambled channels to display even a single private part long enough to feel as if they’d won the porn lottery. Yeah, that magical time. The film follows Morgan Sands (Culkin), a failing indie film director, and his unlikely friendship with Jessie Hudson (Jackson), a popular adult film star.

Quick Links Richard Donner's Superman Avoided This Trope, But Batman Didn't Villains Killing Their Own Goons Is a Tired Trope That Should End Every Character Death Should Have Meaning, Even Villains' Victims

With Creature Commandos, the DC Universe under co-CEOs Jamess Gunn and Peter Safran is officially underway. Their new strategy for building a shared continuity faces different challenges than their predecessors or the Marvel Cinematic Universe did. Audiences are more familiar with comic book storytelling than before. While viewers expect certain archetypal story elements, the Dcu needs to avoid the confusing superhero trope where the villain kills their own henchmen to show how mentally unstable they are.

Movies and shows about superheroes have evolved from their inception in the early 20th Century to the modern day. In most cases, live-action adaptations of these characters try to avoid the campy, silly side of comics. As these stories shifted into darker narrative territory,...

The origin of Batman has seen many different iterations over the decades, but one of the most prominent versions involves Bruce Wayne’s parents being shot and killed by a robber following his attempt to steal from them as they leave a theater one night. The death of Bruce’s parents is very rarely changed completely, but the robber who carries out the killing does frequently have alternate versions. For James Gunn, there is one specific way that scene plays out that works the best.

For those who first entered the world of Batman through the Tim Burton and Michael Keaton movie in 1989, Bruce’s parents were killed by Jack Napier, the man who would then become the Joker after being tossed into a vat of toxic chemicals. However, in other versions, such as Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, it is a different person pulling the trigger. While speaking...

Christopher Nolan's reasoning for making The Dark Knight trilogy feature Batman's origin story also serves to explain why the DC Universe should avoid treading the same path. The Dark Knight trilogy is rightfully regarded as one of the best superhero movie series of all time, and has served to help define not only Batman, but also the genre itself and further expand what a superhero film could be. Even over a decade after the trilogy's ending, conversations dissecting what made the franchise work and why are still commonplace, as are hopes that upcoming DC releases will mirror its success.

In the years since The Dark Knight trilogy's release, director Christopher Nolan has shed more light on much of the process behind making the live-action Batman movies, and why certain decisions were made for this iteration of the iconic DC hero - especially when some went against the grain in many ways.

The next sequel to 1989’s Batman has the perfect opportunity to explain one plot element of Batman Returns. The Tim Burton Batman films are part of multiple timelines with overlapping canon. One such continuity includes both 1989’s Batman and 1992’s Batman Returns, but expands on the iconic films with non-movie materials – including Sam Hamm and Joe Quinones’s Batman ’89 comics and John Jackson Miller’s 2024 novel Batman: Resurrection. Resurrection – which is set between Batman and Batman Returns – has made both films even better by providing additional connective tissue and deploying fascinating retcons.

Batman: Resurrection deals with the fallout of the events of 1989’s Batman and helps set up elements of Batman Returns and Batman ’89. In doing so, it explains some of the more confusing elements of the two live-action Batman movies. Resurrection explains how Joker could down the Batwing with a single shot of his oversized revolver, as well as...

1989s Batman retroactively gained a new villain, thanks to John Jackson Millers Batman: Resurrection, and we already know what becomes of this antagonist. Set between 1989s Batman and Batman Returns, Resurrection explores the fallout of Jokers lethal crime wave in the first film while setting up the rise of Returns villains like Max Shreck and The Penguin. Additionally, Resurrection introduces Basil Karlo Clayface to its Burton Batman universe and retroactively adds Hugo Strange who serves as the books true villain to 1989s Batman as a background character.

Batman: Resurrection cleverly retcons Hugo Strange into 1989s Batman, revealing that the previously unnamed Axis Chemicals scientist was actually the classic Batman villain. Stranges machinations continue to threaten Gotham City in Resurrection, with Strange having Clayface masquerade as the Joker and leading Gothams citizens, including Batman himself, to believe that Jack Napier faked his death. Resurrection ends with Strange being arrested and presumably sent to Blackgate Penitentiary,...

Cinephiles disagree on many things, but regarding the greatest American film critic, there is a consensus about Roger Ebert. Eleven years after his death, the Chicago Sun-Times columnist is remembered for his insightful film commentary. Ebert never calibrated his enthusiasm to the views of the masses. Occasionally, he would praise films that the public or his peers hated or lambaste the ones they loved.

Eberts great work paid off and quarter-way into his career, he would become the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Additionally, he was the first 'non-industry' figure to be included in the in-memoriam montage of the Academy Awards.

As any critic should, Ebert loved all genres equally, but he appeared to have a fondness for superhero films. He was impressed by the work done in Blade II, Superman, and Spider-Man 2, among others. Surprisingly, he rebuked Tim Burtons Batman, balking at the...

The latest installment in the Tim Burton Batman universe makes one of its darkest death scenes even darker. John Jackson Millers 2024 novel Batman: Resurrection is set between the events of 1989s Batman and 1992s Batman Returns, revealing the aftermath of the former and introducing classic Batman comic characters to the Burton Batman timeline. The novel also uses retcons to explain some of the 1989 films potentially confusing moments and retroactively add at least one major character to the movie.

One of the most entertaining elements of Resurrection is its inclusion of characters previously exclusive to one of the two Burton Batman films. Readers learn that a pre-Catwoman Selina Kyle met the Joker during the timeframe of 1989s Batman and that the Penguin respected the audacity of the Jokers mass poisoning of Gotham City (despite the Red Triangle Gangs irritation at another crime organization using the clown gimmick). Resurrection also reveals some...

One of the bedrock notions of Batman's traditional origins story is the disposition of Gotham City's organized crime syndicates in the first years of his operation. As he successfully shuts down various traditional mobsters, his efforts give rise to the more outlandish villains of his rogues' gallery. With the Carmine Falcones and Sal Maronis behind bars, Two-Face, The Joker and the rest of Gotham's classic super-baddies rise to fill the vacuum. The prospect has fueled several classic storylines from the comics, as well as multiple live-action adaptations. Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight hinges on that transition, as does the Gotham TV series. Tim Burton's groundbreaking Batman takes the idea literally, with high-ranking mob lieutenant Jack Napier transformed into The Joker, and wiping out his former associates.

Matt Reeves' The Batman does much the same, though it takes place earlier in the cycle than others. His version of...

Joker: Folie Deux has a few connections to Batman lore, but I'm disappointed that it abandoned one of its coolest changes from the first film. Joker 2 is not a standard comic book film, and follows its predecessor by being a slow-paced crime thriller - but this time while balancing also being a musical. There were hopes that the movie would serve as a follow-up that continued Arthur's transformation into Joker, but that's not strictly what happened. Outside a few references to Gotham, like introducing Joker 2's Harvey Dent, the sequel is almost completely severed from its DC ties.

What's frustrating about Joker 2 is that it doesn't do much with its comic book ties. It provides some interesting changes, such as Harley Quinn's origin story, but these alterations mean she resembles Harley essentially in name only. She doesn't embody that role, similar to how Arthur Fleck doesn't fully embody the Joker.

A Still From Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Movie. (Photo Credit – Facebook)

While many view the Joker as pure evil, a closer look reveals he might not be so one-dimensional. Beneath his chaotic facade, he’s a complex character who deeply craves heroism. Most comic villains have clear motivations, but what if the Joker’s twisted psyche hides a hero waiting to emerge?

Sure, he wreaked havoc in the DC Universe, causing immense suffering and claiming countless lives. It’s easy to dismiss him as unspeakably evil, and who can blame readers for that? But after diving into the depths of his character—like in Jason Aaron and John Timms’ I, Bizarro—I discovered intriguing hints that suggest there’s more than just madness at play.

The Joker’s Regret

One compelling moment occurs in Jla #15. In this story, Martian Manhunter temporarily reorganizes the Joker’s mind, granting him brief lucidity.

The 1989 Batman film's Joker twist, revealing he killed Bruce Wayne's parents, was so good that no future Batman movie will likely attempt to mirror it. The idea that Joker unknowingly created his own arch-nemesis received high praise and elevates both Joker and Batman. The shocking twist in 1989's Batman worsk well, but repeating it would be a bit less exciting now that it's already been seen on-screen.

There's plenty to love about 1989's Batman starring Michael Keaton as the titular Dark Knight, especially its major Joker twist, which will never be beaten. Played by Jack Nicholson, who provided the first truly dark on-screen portrayal of the Clown Prince of Crime, the script features compelling deviations from Joker's origins in DC Comics. Likewise, one change in particular was so good, no future Batman movie will likely ever attempt to mirror it.

In 1989's Batman by director Tim Burton, the Joker's original...

Batman fans have argued for decades over who was the best actor to play The Dark Knight. But what about the performers who portrayed Bruce Wayne as a boy? Batman wouldn't be Batman without witnessing his parents' murder, so audiences have been subjected to that event again and again. While it might seem repetitive to viewers, it means they've also had a chance to see multiple child actors tackle the role. However, that raises the question: Who were those young actors, and whatever happened to these little Caped Crusaders?

The history of seeing Bruce Wayne as a child onscreen dates back to 1985, when B.J. Ward pulled double duty as both Wonder Woman and a young Bruce, as Adam West's Batman remembered his parents' death in the Super Friends episode "The Fear." However, due to the recent explosion of DC animated content in the past 15 years, this article will limit...

Tim Burton's Batman became a phenomenon when it swooped down in the summer of 1989, changing the rules of what a comic book movie could be. However, it's easy to forget that the film didn't look like a sure thing when it was announced. A former animator, Burton scored an unexpected hit in 1988 with Beetlejuice. But for Warner Bros. to place its trust in him to jump-start one of its most popular heroes looked like a long shot.

That skepticism informed a number of aspects of production, including casting. While Jack Nicholson famously landed the role of The Joker, Burton approached another respected actor to play the villain: John Lithgow, who talked the young director out of casting him. In the process, Lithgow was responsible for one of the greatest regrets of his own career.

Related: Tim Burton's Batman Has the Best Opening of Any Dark Knight Movie

John Lithgow...

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Batman #135!The ending of the 1989 Batman movie has been completely undone thanks to the resurrection of the Joker. A new Dark Knight villain has given the world of Batman '89 one of its most fearsome foes back thanks to their experiments with the multiverse.

In Batman #135 by Chip Zdarsky, Mikel Janín, Mike Hawthorne, and Jorge Jiménez, Darwin Halliday, aka the Red Mask and a Joker variant, is going forward with a plan to break his mind and become his world's Joker. But Halliday breaks a different way when he realizes his destiny isn't to become the Joker but to create them.

Red Mask evades Batman by throwing himself into a portal that takes Halliday across the multiverse. Bruce is kicked into the portal by a variant of Catwoman, and while Batman doesn't have the material that can take him to his own universe, he can still follow Red Mask.

Tim Burton’s Batman is one of the most popular adaptations of the Dark Knight, and Michael Keaton’s version of Bruce Wayne holds a special place in the hearts of fans, and the movie almost had a scene that would have completely ruined Keaton’s Bruce Wayne. After starring in two serial movies in the 1940s and the film adaptation of the 1960s Batman TV series, the Caped Crusader returned to the big screen in 1989 in Tim Burton’s Batman, which took the audience to a dark Gotham City with the gothic, horror, and fantasy elements that can be found in every Burton movie, bringing a unique version of the famous vigilante and his chaotic city.

Batman follows the title character in his first years of fighting crime in Gotham City and coming across a unique villain: Jack Napier (Jack Nicholson), who after falling into a vat of chemicals,...

The most memorable line in 1989's "Batman" is undoubtedly Michael Keaton's delivery of "I'm Batman." Growled in the opening moments as Batman dangles a thug off a Gotham high-rise, it's become as legendary a moment as any in the Dark Knight's cinematic saga. Since then, Batman movies have provided a steady stream of memorable quotes, from Christian Bale's snarling, "Swear to me" in "Batman Begins" to Robert Pattinson's emo Batman announcing "I'm Vengeance" in "The Batman."

But Tim Burton's "Batman" is notable for the sheer amount of quotable lines it packed into its 126 minutes. Alongside, "I'm Batman," which Keaton revived for his return as the Dark Knight in "The Flash" trailer, there's the moment Jack Nicholson's Joker famously wonders out loud about his nemesis' gadgets, "Where does he get those wonderful toys?" In fact, screenwriter Sam Hamm gave The Joker plenty of delectable lines,...

Tim Burton has become known for mixing fantasy, horror, and gothic elements with drama and comedy in his movies, and while some of them have relied on music as part of the story, some of his projects almost became stage musicals, but ultimately never did. Tim Burton's career as a filmmaker began in 1985 with Pee-wee's Big Adventure, after which he brought a more sinister yet fun story in Beetlejuice, which was more fitting with his unique visual style and gave the audience a clearer idea of what to expect from his works.

Since then, Burton has explored a variety of worlds and genres in his movies, telling original stories, adaptations, or real-life stories, as he did in projects like Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, and Ed Wood, and many characters from his movies have become part of pop culture. Of course, Burton hasn’t limited himself to just making movies, and...

Don’t know if you’ve heard, but Batman is in The Flash movie. Although the film stars Ezra Miller as the Barry Allen of two worlds, the movie also features not only Ben Affleck’s Batman of the Snyderverse but the return of Michael Keaton as the Dark Knight.

With his appearance in the canceled Batgirl movie all but buried, The Flash will mark the first time Keaton has donned the cape and cowl since 1992’s Batman Returns. But a Batcave shot included in a recent TV spot for the film hints at a longer legacy for Keaton’s Batman, one that we unfortunately didn’t get to see back in the heyday of the Burtonverse.

In the teaser, we get a brief glimpse at several Batsuits, giving us a better look at the unseen history of Keaton’s Batman. Some of these suits are familiar — two of them...

Warning: contains a preview of Batman: White Knight Presents: Generation Joker!The White Knight universe of DC Comics has given an unbelievable makeover to iconic characters such as Joker and Harley Quinn, taking their lives in shocking new directions. However, things are about to get even freakier, as Joker's kids begin a wild quest to revive their father.

The White Knight universe gives fascinating new takes on Gotham's heroes and villains, such as Joker suffering from a dual personality similar to Two-Face, and Batman becoming so consumed with his quest that he becomes a terrifying zealot. Writer Sean Murphy has used this surprising status quo to explore the characters in new and unique ways, which is precisely what readers got to see when Harley Quinn shot the Joker dead to protect her twin children from him. This was seen way back in Batman: Curse of the White Knight...

The Batman proves that director Tim Burton was correct about his depiction of the Caped Crusader in his own live-action movies. When 1989's Batman was produced, most people associated Batman with either the campy 1960s TV series or Hanna-Barbera's Super Friends cartoon. As only his third feature following Pee Wee's Big Adventure (1985) and Beetlejuice (1988), Tim Burton had much to prove with Batman.

In the Batman: The Animated Series documentary The Heart of Batman (via YouTube), franchise executive producer Michael Ulsan talked about how Tim Burton wrestled with the concept that any creative move he made could make the audience unintentionally laugh. Ulsan described how Burton figured it out by telling him, "You know, Michael, in order to do this seriously, this movie is not going to be about Batman… No, this movie’s got to be about Bruce Wayne." More than three decades later, The Batman proves Tim Burton's...

It's one of DC's greatest mysteries involving the Joker. What exactly is the Batman rogue's real name? The Clown Prince of Crime has been great at hiding it through various false identities, but could the villain have accidentally revealed his real name?

Since he first burst onto the scene to tormet his foe, Joker has only ever been referred to by his villainous moniker. His adversaries, his underlings, even other villains have no idea what to call him other than his ghastly stage name. As far as the villain himself is concerned, whatever life he had before becoming the Joker is over, and only the grinning criminal mastermind is left. However, even though Joker is perfectly content with his flashy persona, he's used a number of fake identities as part of his many criminal endeavors over the years. And true to his style, there's always some gag hidden in his fake names and personalities.

The Crown Prince of Crime is one of the most mysterious characters in all of Gotham, with more secrets than even the enigmatic Riddler. The Joker's real identity has always been a question mark, in part because he's scarier if we don't know what made him an evil megalomaniac. Heath Ledger's take on the character in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" riffed on the idea of a shifting backstory by having Ledger's Joker tell different stories about how he got his scars to different people. Besides, how could anyone trust the word of a madman? No matter what Joker might say about his own past, it's very unlikely to be true. 

While some adaptations of the character have given him a name beyond the Joker moniker, like Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck in "Joker," there hasn't been a single consensus on his official comics canon name... until now.

For my money, director Tim Burton and star Michael Keaton’s second Caped Crusader collaboration Batman Returns (1992), written by recurring podcast guest Daniel Waters and Tfh Guru Sam Hamm, might very well be the best theatrical Batman flick ever. The Dark Knight has appeared in 15 theatrical feature films as of this writing, if you include his two Lego movie appearances. Released 30 years ago today, Returns was a definite hit, but received a slightly more muted box office reception than its 1989 smash predecessor.

When it was first unspooled, the moody, morbid and magnificent sequel grossed 162.8 million stateside (and 266.8 million worldwide), making it the third-biggest domestic blockbuster of 1992. Per The Numbers, that sum is equivalent to 359.8 million in 2022 dollars, a tastier tally than that brought in by the latest celluloid matchup between the Bat, the Cat, and the Penguin, the Robert Pattinson-starring three-hour crime epic The Batman.

The film received mixed-to-positive notices from critics,...

Few movie villains (not named Dracula or Darth Vader) have been portrayed as many times on the big screen as the Joker, DC’s infamous agent of chaos, the Clown Prince of Crime himself. Ever since Jack Nicholson brought this laughing madman to theaters in 1989, film-goers have been obsessed with the supervillain who plagues Gotham City and haunts the Batman‘s nightmares.

His unique appearance, unpredictable methods, indecipherable past, and insatiable hunger for evil have kept filmmakers and actors coming back for more over 30 years later, which has resulted in several reinventions of the character, most of which feel definitive for their moment. Nicholson’s turn in ’89 felt like the perfect marriage between the campy version played by the legendary Cesar Romero in the ’60s and the much darker sadist featured in the comics of the late ’80s. The late, great Heath Ledger’s Academy Award-winning performance brought us a...

After countless delays, it’s beginning to feel like Warner Bros.’ long-gestating The Flash movie is never actually going to see the light of day. But the studio wants to keep the hype train rolling anyway. WB has just unveiled new footage from The Flash at this year’s CinemaCon, and the big focus is (unsurprisingly) the return of Michael Keaton as Batman. The promo even shows Keaton back in the Batsuit for the first time since 1992’s Batman Returns.

The audience attending the Las Vegas event were also treated to glimpses of Wayne Manor, “iconic” Batsuits from the hero’s past, and the new Batcycle, which is described as being like the Batpod from The Dark Knight films but with two wheels at the front, according to IGN. The footage also shows Keaton’s Bruce living like a recluse inside his mansion, with long hair and a beard now adorning his aged face.

This article contains Batwoman spoilers.

Batwoman Season 3 Episode 13

This season of Batwoman gave us new twists on classic characters, after relics of Batman villains’ past washed up in Gotham. And while the Bat Team set off to secure the dangerous artifacts, the past caught up with Ryan when she discovered her birth mother was still alive. As the powerful pieces of villain paraphernalia put the team in peril—respect this wordplay—Ryan’s complicated reunion with her family proved to be more volatile than anyone could’ve prepared for.

Batwoman season 3 successfully introduced legendary Batman rogues to the Berlantiverse. While the existence of some famous comic book villains have been alluded to—an O. Cobblepot is currently detained in Arkham Asylum, for example— the show has mostly stayed away from the Dark Knight’s headliners.

Last season, after Circe liberated the trophies from the Batcave, Agent (of the devil) Tavaroff was Baneified.

This week on Batwoman, Alice’s not-so-warm reunion with Safiyah bore most unexpected fruit. But are you buying what the queen of Coryana is selling?

Ko’d on the streets of Gotham last week by henchwoman Tatiana, Alice and Sophie woke up on the sun-dappled shore of Coryana, the idyllic island ruled by Safiyah. While Tatiana kept watch over a cuffed Sophie (and wondered why she had to keep her alive), Alice caught up with Safiyah — and by “caught up with,” we mean, “Repeatedly accused her of blowing up Kate’s plane.” Safiyah maintained that while she was angry with...

Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson | Art by Dexter Soy | Published by DC Comics

I’ve been dipping into these Dark Multiverse books and crossovers for a while now, and as you would expect they have been of mixed quality. Generally, though, they’ve hit more home runs than strikes. The positive thing is that as they are essentially glorified ‘What If?’ books, and the possibilities are endless. Any creator can take a major storyline from the past in the DC Universe that they enjoyed, or more likely have an editor assign it to them, and run with it in a different direction. Heck, I could write those. This time round, Phillip Kennedy Johnson gets that job, with co-conspirator Dexter Soy having fun on the art. Let’s take a look.

So, first things first, this is a dark take on the Hush storyline that ran back in the Batman books nearly twenty years ago now.