Originally posted by: Darth Chaltab
Batman knowing who killed his parents has been true of most all his history. It was only changed after Zero Hour in attempt to make Batman more dark and gritty. (Implying that he wouldn't even bother fighting crime if he didn't know who had killed his parents)...
After Infinite Crisis, they've changed it back so that Joe Chill was captured and brought to justice.
Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
I'm referring to the shift from Batman: The Animated Series to The Adventures of Batman and Robin, which I do believe was a decision from higher up in order to safeguard the kiddies by having Robin's constant presence lighten the mood. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Robin, and I really liked that version of Robin and didn't mind the switch, but it does kinda wrinkle my nose when a network starts demanding a shift in the direction of the show, and I think it was simply the first nail that led to the horrible animation shift later on with the WB.
I don't know, I liked most of the redesigns on TNBA. Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, Pengiun, ESPECIALLY BANE, and Scarecrow. The only ones I really disliked was the new Joker and Riddler. Well, Ventriloquist too. I don't know what they were thinking with that one. That said, paving the way for the "The Batman" designs is a sin in and of itself.
Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
Even in the comics, Batman figured out who killed his parents relatively early on. In a comic in the 1950s, Joe Chill is revealed to have been the thug who killed Thomas and Martha Wayne. Batman actually reveals himself to Joe, demasking and everything. Chill runs away to tell his goons in an attempt to get backup, but they get so pissed that Chill created Batman that they shoot him down in anger before getting to ask him who Batman was.
I'm not sure if any of this still holds in Post Crisis/Modern Era comics, but it wasn't just the movies that had that. Regardless, Batman still continued to fight crime.
I'm referring to the shift from Batman: The Animated Series to The Adventures of Batman and Robin, which I do believe was a decision from higher up in order to safeguard the kiddies by having Robin's constant presence lighten the mood. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Robin, and I really liked that version of Robin and didn't mind the switch, but it does kinda wrinkle my nose when a network starts demanding a shift in the direction of the show, and I think it was simply the first nail that led to the horrible animation shift later on with the WB.
I don't know, I liked most of the redesigns on TNBA. Batman, Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, Pengiun, ESPECIALLY BANE, and Scarecrow. The only ones I really disliked was the new Joker and Riddler. Well, Ventriloquist too. I don't know what they were thinking with that one. That said, paving the way for the "The Batman" designs is a sin in and of itself.
Originally posted by: Gaffer Tape
Even in the comics, Batman figured out who killed his parents relatively early on. In a comic in the 1950s, Joe Chill is revealed to have been the thug who killed Thomas and Martha Wayne. Batman actually reveals himself to Joe, demasking and everything. Chill runs away to tell his goons in an attempt to get backup, but they get so pissed that Chill created Batman that they shoot him down in anger before getting to ask him who Batman was.
I'm not sure if any of this still holds in Post Crisis/Modern Era comics, but it wasn't just the movies that had that. Regardless, Batman still continued to fight crime.
Batman knowing who killed his parents has been true of most all his history. It was only changed after Zero Hour in attempt to make Batman more dark and gritty. (Implying that he wouldn't even bother fighting crime if he didn't know who had killed his parents)...
After Infinite Crisis, they've changed it back so that Joe Chill was captured and brought to justice.
Well, if you're talking about the Frank Miller Batman (who is pretty much THE Batman these days), then he doesn't know who killed his parents (though he suspects it may have been John Corben/Metallo); he has nightmares about the event almost every night; and he dances on the edge of justice and revenge.
So yeah, while it may have been true to most of his history, I'd have to say that the character of Batman was almost untenable pre-80s, particularly from the point of view of making a Batman film today. Read any 70s Batman comic and tell me that it doesn't just read like Spiderman dialogue dressed as Batman. When I read the monologues of DKR, I think finally, someone has found the voice of Batman.
Sure, some people may not be as fond of the DKR/Year One Batman as I am, but he is pretty much the entire basis for Burton's and Nolan's films (and for the comics ever since then). Since they are going for Batman as The Dark Knight, it seems to me that dark and gritty is the order of the day, and that it would be great to see Batman pushed to the edge of his sanity. They can still do it, but how can Batman's enemies (or indeed Batman himself) question his motives now when they rest on a nobler platform: "it's not who I am, but what I do that defines me" instead of "I made a promise to my parents, that I would rid the city of the evil that took their lives."
Don't get me wrong, I still like a lot of the 70s Batman comics (Strange Apparitions, Tales of the Demon), but I like them in the same way as I like the Rocky films: poor dialogue, poor acting, but a great story arc with enough charm to carry it.