Batman 89 review: DC Comics gives Burton and Keaton a worthy sequel

If you’re like me, a staunch Tim Burton fan bat Man Y Batman Returnsyou probably wondered how Third Bat movie proposed by the director it might have turned out if Warner Bros. had moved forward with the sequel instead of spinning Joel Schumacher Batman forever.

While the window of possibility for a proper sequel may have passed, DC Comics has delivered the best. The new series Batman ’89 continues the adventures of Michael Keaton’s version of Batman in Burton’s gothic metropolis of Gotham City. At this point in the story, District Attorney Harvey Dent, played by Billy Dee Williams, is mounting a campaign to see the vigilante unmasked and his associates exposed. Batman ’89 delves into the background and motivations of an incarnation of Dent who never got his due on the big screen, and in doing so reveals a more complicated and understanding side to the character than readers have ever seen before.

Who is making Batman ’89?

Batman ’89 find original bat Man screenwriter Sam Hamm along with artist Joe Quinones (Dial H for Hero), the colorist Leonardo Ito (Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons) and sign writer Clayton Cowles (The wicked + the divine). The creative team’s goal is to “pull a string of strings that were left hanging” from earlier theatrical installments of the Keaton-era Batman.

What is Batman ’89 about?

Image: Sam Hamm, Joe Quinones / DC Comics

In addition to reintroducing familiar faces like Keaton’s Bruce Wayne / Batman, Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman, and Williams’ Harvey Dent / Two-Face, Batman ’89 it also features remakes of some familiar characters who never got a chance to appear in Burton’s verse as Barbara Gordon and the unique version of Robin from this continuity. Batman ’89 sees Batman and District Attorney Harvey Dent clash as the National Guard is called in to bring order to Gotham City in the wake of a disastrous Halloween terrorist attack perpetrated by the former Joker’s gang.

Why is Batman ’89 happening now?

Last February, DC Comics announced that it would publish two limited series to tell new stories set in the worlds of Richard Donner. Superman: The Movie and Tim Burton bat Man, titled respectively Superman 78 Y Batman ’89.

Although the official announcement of the series was as recent as this year, the history of the project dates back to 2016, when artist Joe Quinones posted mockups and character sheets on his blog for a proposal Batman ’89 pitch him and writer Kate Leth (Patsy Walker AKA Hellcat!) had collaborated the year before. At the time, Quiñones stated that the release had been rejected, but it seems the last five years have been kind to the project, albeit with Hamm at the helm rather than Leth.

Are there any required reading?

Required reading? Not required looking? Yes!

If you hadn’t already guessed from the title (or by reading the previous sections of the review), Batman ’89 takes place in the same universe as Tim Burton’s Batman movies, appropriately titled bat Man Y Batman Returns. If you haven’t seen them yet, well, 1) you’ll be pretty lost and 2) what do you think? to mean you haven’t seen them yet; they are amazing Y available to stream on HBO Max.

Is Batman ’89 any good?

What establishes Batman ’89 Besides, as a significant continuation of Burton’s films, and not just as fodder for frivolous nostalgia, is his multifaceted portrayal of people of color, particularly in the case of Harvey Dent. Williams’ portrayal of the character was relegated to just a handful of scenes in the original 1989 film, and Batman ’89 Wastes no time delving into the complexities of the character’s background and motivations.

Image: Sam Hamm, Joe Quinones / DC Comics

We already see the basic traits of Harvey Dent in the opening pages of the first issue; ambition, confidence, and a fixation on the duality of chance and destiny. It’s not until later that we get a glimpse of how Harvey’s struggle with his identity and race, something that sets this particular incarnation of Dent from all others, can influence his inevitable transformation into the villain Two-Face.

There are plenty of omens here, from Janus, the name of the restaurant he and Barbara Gordon are dining at in the opening panels, to the tense resolution of his confrontation with a gang of Jokers. In general, people of color play a much more prominent and transcendent role here than ever before in any of Burton’s Batman films, investigating themes and ideas that feel distinctly new and contemporary in this universe. Combine that with thrilling action sequences, a stakes escalation with the introduction of the National Guard, the introduction of an exciting new character, and some impeccably clever Easter eggs scattered throughout the issue. Batman ’89 it is the best possible continuation of a beloved continuity.

A panel that appeared

Image: Sam Hamm, Joe Quinones / DC Comics

Two words: GIANT PENNY.