BATMAN | WARNER BROS. PICTURES
Page 3 | Introduction!
Page 5-6 | The Meaning of the Bat!
Page 7-8 | Batman Movie Rankings!
Page 9 | The Picks Are In!
Welcome to this special issue of Movie Mag where we celebrate the Caped Crusader on Batman Day!
Celebrated the third Saturday of every September we pay homage to the superhero that has captivated audiences for over eight decades!
Find out what Batman means to us, especially Kory, who if you don’t know might be Batman himself (We have never seen Kory and Batman in the same room)!
We also rank all the live action Batman movies from best to worst and, spoiler alert, our top threes are the same, but see where we both shake it up in the middle!
We also have a little fun with the Picks Are In segment, theming it to the Dark Knight himself for his special day!
We hope you enjoy this special issue for Batman Day 2023 and we look forward to bringing you more movie content every month!
“I’m Batman.”
By: Kory King
Where to begin, right? Cliché opening, I know. But it truly is a hard question for me. A bit dramatic as well but just as valid. Batman has been a part of my life every single day of my life so far, and I don’t think that’ll change anytime soon. Batman has inspired me or motivated me just as much as anyone or anything in this world has. He may have even saved my life in the real world at one point in ways people will never understand. But maybe this will help.
The Childhood Years: The first memory I have of Batman is from Tim Burton’s classic, Batman (1989). As a kid, I didn’t understand what Batman was really about. I just saw a man in dark black rubber using expensive gadgets to strike fear in the eyes and hearts of criminals. I didn’t care about much else except how cool Batman looks when beating up the bad guys. My grandpa saw how much I loved it and immediately flooded my collection of cartoons and movies with Batman. From there I started watching Batman through home DVD’s including Batman ‘89, Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman and Robin. Still, I couldn’t get enough of Batman. After a while, I discovered Batman: The Animated Series on DVD, as well as Batman Beyond, Justice League, and Justice League: Unlimited. Luckily, I was growing up in a new era of Batman, so I also got to grow up on Warner Bro’s, The Batman (2005 animated series), and Christopher Nolan’s 2005 hit, Batman Begins. My life truly revolved around Batman, Spider-Man, Superman, and the X-Men. But I could not have picked a better time to grow up on Batman media. Eventually, I fell so in love with Batman’s sidekick, Robin so much, that I begged my parents to let me watch/have anything Batman-related with Robin in it. Even the 1950s classic Batman black and white show, just so I could spend time with the boy wonder. Eventually, in kindergarten I started renting the Batman (1966) movie repeatedly through our local library system until I was revoked access to that DVD (Not exaggerating). As a kid, I wanted nothing more than to be Batman’s sidekick through all his adventures. Even the less talked about ones like the Scooby Doo/Batman (1966) crossover animated movie. I had Batman costumes, batarangs, utility belts, and action figures. Heck, one of my pillowcases is still a Justice League: Unlimited pillowcase that has Batman at the very front. I didn’t have the best childhood, but I had Batman every step of the way. If I hadn’t had Batman through video games, movies, cartoons, and my imagination: I’m not sure I’d be the same person I am today.
The Teen Years: Batman and I were at a pivotal turning point in my life. In middle school, everyone I knew decided to turn their backs on cartoons, superheroes, and comic books. In hindsight, they were just pretending because girls were starting to seem cute for the first time, but for me, it left me sad and confused as a middle schooler. I started getting jealous of my friends who had girlfriends, and I decided to hide my passions for nothing. Batman strictly became something I had to closet until I
was home because I thought that’s what I had to do to “grow up”. Eventually one day I realized I was never going to be happy until I started being honest and bold about the things I loved. Around the age of 15, Suicide Squad came out and the Joker’s, “laugh because I’m in pain” ideology started resonating with a teen Kory who was starting his path to understanding his existence. So, I picked up Batman: The Killing Joke, which I knew was a Joker-heavy story. Even though Jared Leto’s Joker was far from being the best, I still must give credit for the fact that Suicide Squad was a factor in me starting my journey with comics. No one taught me how to start or where to start, but I finally just jumped in myself without any helping hands. Eventually my depression ended, and my obsession with “the clown prince of crime” ended. As a young teen I embraced the joy and camp of my favorite hero, and reading Batman comics was an enormous factor in me starting my path to self-discovery. I’m still not a self-actualized version of myself but at that moment I knew Batman goes wherever I go.
The Modern Day: To this day I love Batman with every fiber of my being. After my teen years I began to read more complex and interesting stories about the Dark Knight. I even learned to love the parts of Batman I lost as a kid including Batman (1966) and Batman and Robin. One of my favorite recent Batman stories that came as a surprise to me was, Batman vs The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. A Movie with darker implications, with a fun and lighthearted tone thanks to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But I cannot end my story with the Dark Knight without mentioning the most important piece of media to me... Matt Reeves’, The Batman (2022).
Back in the year 2019 I learned to love Ben Affleck and Zack Snyder’s distinct version of the Dark Detective of the night. Affleck was my definitive version of Batman purely out of potential rather than what I saw on screen. I understood that this was Snyder’s interpretation of an iconic character that had an unusual take. I learned of the concept of Else World stories, and I fully accepted this to be the most comic accurate depiction of Batman. Sadly, I knew I was never going to see Affleck at his peak with Batman due to frustrating Warner Brothers executives ruining Snyder’s vision post-tragedy. I also know Affleck was drained and devoid of joy for the character. So, I accepted that it was time for a reboot. I supported the Snyder-Cut from the beginning, but I knew we needed our first long-term Batman. That’s when Matt Reeves stepped in. I had gotten over my teen angst and saw Robert Pattinson as a gifted and professional actor. The minute he was rumored I was sold on Pattinson being my definitive young Batman. Unlike the internet Pattinson had no need to try and turn me around on his casting.
Fast forward to 2020 I’m in my second semester of college eating in the mess hall, and we have our first look at Pattinson in the Bat-suit. A one-minute teaser of an outof-focus Batman shrouded in red lighting and shadows, walking towards the camera. I wasn’t totally sold on the suit because of the lack of Bat-ears on the chest, and the neck collar. But the one thing that did sell me… was the music. Michael Giacchiano’s Gothic detective take on the imperial march made me hungry for more of what was to come. Later in the year we got our first trailer at DC Fandom, and I couldn’t be more in love with the suit, the music, the casting, the tone… everything was perfect. I couldn’t be more excited. I even came around big-time on the vampiric collar, and the homage chest symbol that resembles Batman’s first appearance. The following year I’m in the middle of the hardest breakup of my life and fighting depression. The second trailer drops at DC Fandom 2021 and I’m even more in love with that trailer. At this point I know the goal is to hold onto The Batman for dear life. The end of February comes four months later and I’m heartbroken even worse, penniless, recently jobless after being fired from my dream job, and fighting harder than I ever have before. The only thing I saw left to live for was this silly Batman movie that comes out in a few weeks. So, I stayed busy absorbing every piece of relatable Batman media in preparation for The Batman including reading certain comics, rewatching every Live action/animated Batman film at the time, and even replayed every Batman game I had. Eventually I saw the movie and my heart began to feel hope again. The ending of that movie when Batman lets go of Vengeance and steps into the hero Gotham needs him to be, gave me the will to keep fighting even after the movie was done and out. I ended up watching the film 10 times in theaters, and still credit The Batman as one of the soul reasons I made it through the darkest time of my life. My hero is scarred, angry, like me. “But if we can survive them, [the Scars] they can transform us. They can give us the power to endure, and the strength… to fight”.
For me, I don’t have a super deep connection to Batman like Kory, but that doesn’t mean I have no connection at all. Tim Burton’s Batman was one of the first comic book movies I ever watched along with the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films and at a young age it made those two my favorite superheroes. As I grew up Marvel continued to succeed, but for DC if Batman wasn’t a part of the project, it didn’t pique my interest.
Looking at what we have today, not much has changed. In the world of DC, there are movies outside of Batman worth talking about, but if one thing has stayed consistent, it is the Caped Crusader producing hits on the big screen. From the late 80s to just last year, Batman rarely misses.
Looking at how Batman affects me today, Danny Elfman’s score from the 1989 Batman will always be one of my favorite scores of all time, and just hearing it takes me back to my grandparents’ house where I watched the movie on repeat. The scene in The Dark Knight Rises, where Bane blows up the football field, still ranks highly when it comes to villain success scenes in comic book movies. Every time I see it, I am mesmerized by it. Also, shout out to Hines Ward for outrunning the bombs, but I still hate the Steelers. Finally, The Batman, it combined a comic book movie with what felt like David Fincher’s, Se7en, and made a three-hour masterpiece. I will never forget seeing The Batman for the first time, and the feeling of satisfaction I had with what I watched that night. Paul Dano delivered a phenomenal performance (once again) and for me stole the show, not to take away from Robert Pattinson, who also solidified himself towards the top of the rankings for those who played the Dark Knight. It makes
of Matt Reeves
The biggest takeaway for me is that Batman is a superhero who took his pain and turned it into good and as the only superhero that could feasibly happen in the real world, you can’t help but love everything the character touches.
BATMAN|WARNERBROS.PICTURES
THEDARKKNIGHT|WARNERBROS.PICTURES
Best Batman
Best Villain
Best Gordon Best Alfred
Best Batcave
Best Batmobile
Best Gotham Best Music
Michael Keaton Michael Keaton as Batman as Batman
Paul Dano Paul Dano as the Riddler as the Riddler
Robert Pattinson Robert Pattinson as Batman as Batman
Aaron Eckhart Aaron Eckhart as Two-Face as Two-Face
Jeffrey Wright Jeffrey Wright as Jim Gordon as Jim Gordon Jeremy Irons Jeremy Irons As Alfred Pennyworth As Alfred Pennyworth Andy Serkis Andy Serkis as Alfred Pennyworth as Alfred Pennyworth
Gary Oldman Gary Oldman as Jim Gordon as Jim Gordon
Batman Batman ((1989) 1989)
Batman Batman ((1989) 1989)
Batman Batman ((1989) 1989)
Batman Batman ((1989) 1989)
The Batman The Batman ((2022) 2022)
The Batman The Batman ((2022) 2022)
Danny Elfman Danny Elfman Batman (1989) Batman (1989) Michael Giacchino Michael Giacchino
The Batman (2022) The Batman (2022)
