Batman '89 'Shadows' Chapter One Retrospective

Dave Scrimgeour & Kevin McCluskey

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Writer- Sam Hamm
Artist- Joe Quinones
Colourist- Leonardo Ito
Letterer- Clayton Cowles
​Editors- Andrew Marino & Andy Khouri

Published by DC Comics 10/08/2021

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SYNOPSIS

Gotham explodes into chaos on Halloween night.  Perhaps not surprising for a city plagued by bats, cats, penguins and clowns.  As the looting begins, Batman thwarts the hijacking of a pair of armoured vehicles, whilst Harvey Dent foils a mugging of Barbara Gordon's purse.  However there is significant collateral damage, not least the death of the driver of one of the vehicles, and as a result, the National Guard is deployed in Gotham, with orders that include the detainment of Bruce Wayne's alter ego.  Undeterred, the Dark Knight takes to the streets, only to fall foul of the city's newest vigilante, a modern version of Robin Hood.

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Dave
Are you reading from the graphic novel or single issues?  ‘Cause normally I would ask about the cover.


Kev
I'm using a graphic novel for this "retrospective."  Seems weird referring to it in that sense considering it's still only a few years old at this point.  But, yeh, I got one of those lovely hardcovers that DC do in order to do this, purely because it'd take me an age to find my "floppies."  There's a cover gallery in the back, so we could still talk about the cover, if you wanted.


Dave
Yeah, I notice the first issue has multiple covers.  Which do you prefer?


Kev
I got cover A, which is the one that is the cover to the book as well, 'cause I love it.  It’s straight out of the movie, isn’t it?  Like when Batman descends upon the two muggers on the rooftop, or drops in on Napier’s goons in Axis Chemical.  It absolutely evokes the movie and completely sets the tone for this series.


Dave
It's a classic pose.  It was his first intro really.  The other ones are variant covers, it says.


Kev
Yeh, there's always a bunch of variant covers these days.  I can hear that Danny Elfman score in my head when I look at the cover.  And when I read the rest of the comic, to be fair.  I’m actually surprised that it took them THIS long to do anything like this.  It seems like such a no-brainer.


Dave
I quite like the 2nd one of the variants for issue one, as that Batman pose does resemble Keaton from the movie.  That’s a stark likeness to Billy Dee Williams in the background as well.  And Catwoman does look a bit like Pfeiffer too


Kev
Totally.  That Batman is definitely straight out of the scene in Axis Chemical as well.


Dave
The other one, with Batman swinging down from the building and Two Face in the frame, is more comic book looking, and would resemble less of the likeness in the ‘89 movie adaptation and is closer to the ‘Batman Returns’ type of artwork in that adaptation.


Kev
Oddly enough, that one is the Jerry Ordway and Steve Oliff variant, so a reunion of the Batman Movie Adaptation art team, which is a nice callback, to be fair.  


Dave
Yeah, there is a glimpse of Robin in the 2nd variant cover.


Kev
There certainly is.


Dave
Robin has a slight look of a ninja from the ‘American Ninja’ series of films in this.


Kev
He does actually.  That's a good spot, man.  I knew this Robin was reminding me of something, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

" I'm not much on rear window ethics."

Dave
I think there was probably a demand to do what they had originally planned with the movies, instead of what the studios did.  Or maybe it was just the harsh realities of the movie industry that gave us ‘Batman Returns,’ ‘Batman Forever,’ and ‘Batman & Robin.’


Kev
By the time we get to 'Forever' and 'Robin,' the "harsh realities." as you put it, of the movie business have certainly had an effect on the final product of this series of movies.


Dave
And Sam Hamm is at the writing helm for this one.


Kev
Yeh, having Sam Hamm write this makes all the sense in the world really.  In fact, they definitely had an effect on Hamm, as his scripts for 'Batman' and 'Returns' were both handed over to other people, Warren Skaaren and Daniel Waters respectively, and as a result, apparently both differ significantly from his original visions for them.  I wonder if he was perhaps quite keen to do this series as a way of exorcising that demon and seeing something closer to his original ideas for the character finally make it to the page, even if they never made it to the big screen.  Hamm wrote some good Batman comics, as well as writing for those Burton movies.  That ‘Blind Justice’ story he wrote has always stuck in my head for the scene where there’s a guy’s dead body, partially liquified, stuffed in a suitcase.  Lovely stuff.

".....as if hell had erupted through the sidewalks and kept on growing."

Dave
So, Chapter one of ‘Shadows.’  How long after the ‘89 movie does this take place?


Kev
I'd say at least six months after ‘Returns.’  Sam Hamm apparently said that it took place somewhere in the mid-'90s.  Which clearly means we're not in 1989 anymore, so the title of the comic is false advertising really.  It would appear that Hamm and Quinones have taken the movie characters look and aged them up a bit to account for the passage of time, and as a fellow grey-hairer, I love that they’ve taken what was Keaton’s already greying hair, certainly by the time of ‘Returns,’ and had it spread ever further.  His winged tips are fantastic.  Paulie Walnuts would be so proud.


Dave
Ah. so it’s set after ‘Returns’ then.  I do like the story about the copycat vigilantes.  Granted it is something that gets used a lot, but in the context of this story it makes perfect sense, as something like a Batman or a Joker would inspire this type of behaviour.  Batman's copycats are like the Guardian Angels of Gotham.


Kev
Ha, ha!  They really are.  I'd like to see those red berets with the Bat ears burst through them.  It's something that they make a point of in 'The Dark Knight' as well, isn't it?


Dave
Yep, that was used in Nolan's film.


Kev
It’s great to see a Billy Dee Williams-looking Harvey Dent again for a start.  And Hamm is wasting no time in getting right into the thick of the story here; Gotham (despite Batman’s best efforts) is still not safe for kids.  As you've said, we have vigilante groups patrolling the streets dressed up like Batman, whilst others prefer to cosplay as The Joker.  Good ol’ Gotham.  Nice place to raise a family.


Dave
The 2nd page is cracking.  The way it's composed is practically as a splash page, just interspliced with other panels.  

The

Kev
Yeh, that page is fantastic.  I also love the fact that it's a splash page that that you could layer a classic nine panel page layout grid on top of it, and it works almost perfectly as that too.


Dave
The attention to details is great.  I can see a mini Penguin look-alike in it.  The colours are rich and vibrant also.  Even the sewer where Penguin's hand emerged from in ‘Batman Returns’ is drawn in there for good measure.


Kev
Yeh, all this attention to detail really helps sell you on the idea that this is the same world as the movies, and that you are right back in there.  I love that we’re keeping with the aesthetic of the movie.  The fashion and dress sense, the architecture of the city, and the facial likenesses of the characters.  All stuff that I think Quinones does an excellent job of, I must say.  And I suppose Gotham City has a lot of characters to choose from to dress up as at Halloween.  

Short

Dave
Totally.  I would have liked to have seen Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face instead of Tommy Lee Jones’s very hammy and tiresome performance in ‘Batman Forever.’  Tommy Lee Jones is a brilliant actor, but his performance in that, and a lot of it has to do with the direction he was given, was OTT, to say the least.

Halloween.

​Kev
Yeh, by the time we get to 'Forever,' we really are starting to stray back into 'Batman '66' levels of camp, aren't we?


Dave
Definitely.  Plus, Billy Dee Williams had a collectedness about him in 'Batman' but also a strong willingness behind his Harvey Dent.  I’m all for this homage to Billy Dee Williams as Two Face/ Harvey Dent.


Kev
Me too.  It's scratching an itch that is over 35 years old at this point.


Dave
Page 3 is a good page as well, with the street scene and juxtaposition of Harvey and his two headed coin.  Again, used in Nolan's 'Dark Knight.'


Kev
Yeh, that page layout is very effective storytelling as well.


Dave
‘Batman Forever’ was aimed at being more of a family film, after ‘Batman Returns’ gained much controversy in America for being a PG-13, but was deemed too violent and dark for kids to watch.  Plus, the whole McDonalds advertising fiasco which backfired on them as well. 


Kev
There was definitely a course-correct at work, wasn't there?


Dave
Yeah, I think ‘Batman Forever’ was done like that to maximise a family audience, and seemingly McDonalds insisted on getting a copy of the script before they would endorse any advertising for the film.  Money!!!  That's why we didn't get this type of version of the story in the films, which is what the fans want to see, or in this case, read.


Kev
True.  I suppose, there was quite a significant drop-off in terms of box office performance between ‘Batman’ and ‘Returns,’ so they would've been looking to maximise their investment with 'Forever.'


Dave
I see the goon on page 4 still wears the Joker's henchman jacket.  I guess there is still work going for them, even though Joker is no longer around.  "Let the looting begin.”  Pretty much sums up the crime issue in Gotham.


Kev
They must be running around Gotham, rudderless, now that their boss is no more.  Still, there is looting to be done, yes.  I always take bad when I see a movie-styled Batman with the white eye lens in a comic though.  I still really like it, but it does throw me a little bit.  How do you feel about Quinones’s Batman?


Dave
I like it as well.  They are not going for exact likeness here, as that would probably take too long and require more time spent on detail.  Plus, it has to set its own tone and mood for us, the reader.


Kev
Yeh, as we discussed when we covered the '89 movie adaptation, what works on the screen, doesn't necessarily work on the page, so you have to tailor to the medium you're working in, I suppose.  Batman’s grappling hook on page 5 is very symbiote Spidey web shooter-esque, in that it fires from the top of the wrist rather than the bottom.  Going back to 'Forever;' this opening heist job reminds me a bit of the opening to that film.  Not that I ever particularly want to be reminded of ‘Batman Forever.’


Dave
And Batman's getting in the thick of it already.  They are using the Bat wings as well for him soaring through the air on page 5.


Kev
Yep.  Nice to see some of the "wonderful toys" as well.  Hamm is already beginning to establish that Harvey is not particularly well, mentally (something we never really had the time to get round to in the movie), as he has impulse control issues and an over-reliance on his coin flipping crutch.


Dave
True.  Yeah, it's a big set piece to open, like in ‘Batman Forever.’  He is certainly showing him as being headstrong, for sure.  And we get the classic "Shields! " command from Batman to bring it back to the movie era it's set in.


Kev
Yeh, and the Bat suit is taking a lot of fire too.  Almost as much as Battinson's took in 'The Batman.'  That costume is definitely “Some kind of body armour."


Dave
I do like the lower part of page 7, as Batman is swinging through the air, and the Batmobile is speeding around the corner.

Coins, coins, and more coins. It's almost as if duality was a theme in this story, or something.

​Kev
Me too.  There's a lot of energy and movement in those panels.


Dave
Actually, that page has an interesting panel layout on it as well.  Upon looking at it further, there is a lot of detail on that page that isn't instantly noticeable, but it’s effective nonetheless in its storytelling.  On page 8 Barbara’s just had her handbag stolen by the goon from ‘Escape From New York’ who warns Lee Van Cleef they have 30 seconds to leave before the President dies.


Kev
Ha, ha!  All these little details draw me further and further back into Burton's (and Anton Furst’s to give credit where credit is due), world of Gotham City.  It's interesting how Dent wants to take down Batman (for his own, selfish, political gain, of course), but I agree with him on the collateral damage.  I did wonder just how much damage it caused when that helicopter hit the building.


Dave
Yeah, we are getting some major character development with Harvey here.  To be fair, he was just a background character in 'Batman' with very little involvement whatsoever.  This Gotham is certainly a bright and visceral city, with a multitude of characters in it, and this version of Harvey Dent is closer to Aaron Eckhart’s in ‘The Dark Knight’ as he starts to become more unhinged.


Kev
I agree.  It feels like a bit of an amalgamation of both versions of Harvey from those films.  Yeh, they were clearly setting the table to do more with Harvey further down the line, but like you said earlier, forces combined to deny us that.


Dave
I'm not entirely sold on Bruce Wayne having the Mad Max grey side patch on his hair though.


Kev
You don’t like Bruce’s wingtips!?!?  Man, I love them.  Maybe it's just grey old me projecting.


Dave
It's a great plot twist that Harvey Dent is confiding in Bruce Wayne to take down Batman, and that Dent doesn't like Jim Gordon.


Kev
I liked that too.  It takes the story in a direction that I wasn't expecting.  “You think one human being could take that sort of punishment?”  Yes, Harvey, I do.  And so does Bruce, yes!


Dave
And that he believes Batman(s) is/are a personal hit squad of Jim Gordon.  I like this angle.


Kev
Yeh, it's something a bit different and unexpected, eh?  It’s interesting that Bruce is responsible (inadvertently or otherwise) for the death of an innocent man, in the truck driver that fell from the suspended vehicle here.  That's very movie Batman, in that he's always inadvertently killing someone, without any real remorse, or consequence.


Dave
Harvey is a bit of a lone wolf on this one.  He was fully expecting help from Bruce, but luckily for Bruce he has got a heads-up as to what is going on.


Kev
That's a good point, yeh.  Harvey is definitely going into business for himself here.  Again, for his own, selfish, political gain.  And they tie the Jim Gordon being the cop on duty the night the Waynes were gunned down in there as well.  That’s more of a ‘Begins’ thing than a ‘Batman’ thing, right?


Dave
Indeed.  Jim Gordon in the movie was another background character with essentially no backstory provided.  On page 13, when Harvey phones Barbara, they still have a Batarang in police custody.  Probably from when it was used on The Ice Princess in ‘Returns,’ which is another movie tie-in link.


Kev
Yep.  That's another nice callback to the “toys."  And yeh, I like that we have a reference to the targeting Batarang from ‘Returns’ as well.  Yet another nice touch.  This has been chock full of attention to detail and references so far.  It's Easter egg city.  It's good stuff.


Dave
Harvey's backstory is certainly getting explored in this issue.


Kev
Absolutely.  It's definitely a Harvey-centric story, thus far.  Although, we are starting the B storyline here as well, with the introduction of Robin, and how Harvey has to hide his “real face,” (interesting choice of words) and his background, in order to get to the level in the high society to which he aspires.


Dave
It's showing that Harvey is from working class stock, and he just knows how to play the game with those in high society to fit in.

Jeez, Bruce! Get yourself a nice TV stand or something. You're a millionaire. You can afford it.

Kev
Oh, yeh.  Harvey knows how to play the game alright.


Dave
For a multi millionaire surely he could afford a TV stand though?


Kev
Ha, ha!  I like Bruce’s roaring, open fire.  It looks cosy.  I also like that pink Batman hoodie that the kid has.  It reminds me of all that awful bootleg Batman merch you were able to get in ‘89.  None of it looked authentic or legit in any way, shape, or form.


Dave
Yeah, right enough.  Anything to sell the brand though.


Kev
Definitely.  Otis has been kind-of like a father figure/mentor to Harvey.  Including giving him the coin and the use of it to determine actions and outcomes too apparently.  And I like that he is smart enough to see right through Harvey’s emotional manipulation.  “Well, now that you’ve got me all softened up, so tell me what you want……because you must want something awful bad.”  I like that he catches the coin mid toss here.  That’s a nice touch too.


Dave
It provides a backstory as to where the two headed coin comes from, plus Harvey had a tough, no nonsense mentor in his life, who is straight talking, and you can see how he has adopted this approach in his own life.   But obviously Otis is psychotic, though he can keep it together.  The old bait with the Bat Signal and Harvey, as well as a quick introduction to Bullock as well.


Kev
Yeh, it's interesting that Bullock (nice to see him make an appearance here too) states that they haven’t used the Bat Signal in six months, and that Commissioner Gordon and Batman must have some sort of “electronic back channel” (like a red telephone?), to communicate with each other.  Which also means that this takes place at least six months after the end of 'Returns,' as 'Returns' ends with Catwoman looking up at the Bat Signal.


Dave
Getting heavy duty with the snipers though, and Gordon don't like Harvey much either.


Kev
No, there's definitely significant tension between the two of them.  I wonder if it stems from Barbara, and a dad not liking his daughter's boyfriend.  That old chestnut, eh?  “Dent, I already knew about.  Bruce Wayne told me today.”  Ha, ha!  That is VERY ‘60’s TV show Batman stuff, right there.  I love it.  I also like Batman playing dumb with the, “The jerk is engaged to my daughter” line.  Good cover, Bruce.


Dave
Indeed.  Good cover there.  Nice to see a short cameo by Jim Gordon.


Kev
Yeh, I suspect he'll be back in later issues though.


Dave
So there's a curfew in Gotham due to the epidemic of crime and vigilante copycats.


Kev
We're getting into full-on, totalitarian, marshal law here, aren't we?  I like that third panel on page 17, of Gordon hinting that he and Barbara are somewhat estranged.  Nice us of shadow, and him taking a drink to calm his nerves a bit too?

Jim and Bruce providing therapy session support for each other. And they just missed Men's Mental Health month.

Dave
I do like how the writing keeps throwing up unexpected plot turns.


Kev
Me too.  Hamm is taking what you think is going to happen (probably informed by decades’ worth of reading comics), and then subverts your expectations by going off in a different direction.  He's using your experience against you here.


Dave
And now we are slowly getting introduced to Robin as well.


Kev
Yeh.  I think, ultimately, this is going to be a Two Face and Robin story.  “We tried.”  That’s a good line.  Simple, effective, and charged with emotion.


Dave
And also a realization of where things are at.


Kev
Definitely, yes.  There's a resignation there, alright.


Dave
And we are seeing Batman going into the more run-down, poverty stricken areas of Gotham, as a so-called "thief" was just trying to get necessities for a baby.


Kev
Absolutely.  Hamm is really going for a realistic and grounded (relatively speaking) take on Batman as a symbol of crime fighting, and who the criminals are that he’s fighting against, and what it is exactly that makes them criminals.  People stealing food and nappies for their kids because they can’t afford them, or get them by any other means?  That’s going to be a tough pill to swallow for any billionaire with a conscience (if such a thing even exists), never mind one who dresses up like a bat to strike fear into criminals' hearts and fight their criminal activities.  So we’re dealing with poverty Vs. the ruling, billionaire classes here.  Seems timely for some reason.  Can't think why.


Dave
This is a different version of Robin.  A streetwise kid who can clearly look after himself, as shown by him sucker flying kicking Batman.  Impressive.

A Robin Vs. a Bat, and the Robin is ahead on points.

​Kev
Yep, here we have our Robin.  Who is literally a Robin in a hood.  Robbing money and giving it to the poor, in THE hood, whilst literally wearing A hood.  And therefore, arguably doing more good than the billionaire who dresses up as a bat.


Dave
Yep, as Bruce stated earlier, he still sees himself as doing good, but is he being blinded by his own perspective?


Kev
Yeh, Hamm is definitely setting this up as being one of the main themes of this story, by the looks of it.  This issue doesn’t half end abruptly though, does it?  This is giving me the impression that this has perhaps been written and produced for the trade, and then just carved up into six individual issues.


Dave
It don't half.  Trigger happy national guards and Bat gadgets cause a total cluster of a situation though.


Kev
They certainly do.  You got any other points you want to cover?


Dave
It's going for a far more grounded and gritty story here, with the death of the kid who was literally just standing in the wrong place.  This first issue is certainly laying down the themes and there seems to be a lot to explore in this story.  It hasn't quite gained any momentum yet, but it's early days when it's still laying the foundations for the rest of the series, but all in all, it's a good start, and a good issue.  What do you make of it?


Kev
Same as you.  You took the words right out of my mouth there, Sir.  Yeh, there is definitely a lot of social commentary going on here.  And I’m here for it.  Personally, I love it when superhero comics tackle sociopolitical issues.  They CAN be more than fights in tights.  I would go as far as to say that, at least sometimes, they SHOULD be more than fights in tights.  Don't "keep politics out of my superhero comics," put more in, I say.
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​Dave
Yeah, if it works, keep using it.

​Next: 'Chapter Two.' (In Which.....)

(D) & (K)