Dent is also engaged to Barbara Gordon, who in this universe is a GCPD sergeant tasked with hunting down Batman (and whose appearance is modeled after a young Winona Ryder). The book offers insight into his childhood in the Burnside slums and his relationship with auto body shop owner Jerome Otis. Here, Dent is modeled on actor Billy Dee Williams rather than Tommy Lee Jones.Īs the story opens, Dent is shown to be a charismatic District Attorney whose career is on the rise. With Batman ‘89 ignoring the events of Batman Forever, that frees the book to deliver its own take on Harvey Dent’s tragic downfall. When he sees the Bat-Signal once again shining in the city, Bruce takes out Harvey Dent’s coin and flips it to decide whether or not he’ll go out on patrol. Bruce returns to the Batcave wracked with guilt.Įven though he ultimately saves the day, Batman ‘89 ends its run on a somewhat ambiguous note for the Dark Knight. By this point, the National Guard has been called in to help hunt Batman, and they open fire on the Caped Crusader and wind up killing the thief. He confronts a thief whom he discovers stole food to feed their family. Keaton’s Batman experiences his first real failure on the job during the course of this story. Amusingly enough, the Joker Gang leader is modeled after Prince's appearance in the music video for “Batdance.” Making matters even worse is that Gotham is swept up in gang violence, as the Joker Gang (inspired by the group seen in Batman Beyond) wages war on a group of fanatical Batman copycats (a la The Dark Knight Returns). Though he continues to work closely with Commissioner Gordon, many on the force and in the city government are tired of vigilantes operating outside of the law. It doesn’t help that his relationship with the GCPD is strained at best. By this point in the Burtonverse timeline, Batman is beginning to feel the weight of the job and grapples with the knowledge that he’s not always strong or fast enough to save everyone. (Image Credit: DC)Īs mentioned, Batman ‘89 features a visibly older version of Keaton’s Bruce. An Older Bruce Wayne Joe Quinones' concept art for Batman '89's Bruce Wayne. However, the two characters have yet to cross paths in a comic, and The Flash instead treats Reeves’ Superman as living in a separate branch of the multiverse. However, despite the passage of time, the architecture and tone of Gotham City are still directly channeling the work of designer Anton Furst from the original film.ĭC has since established that the worlds of both Batman ‘89 and Superman ‘78 (a similar series built around Christopher Reeve’s Superman) are set in the same world, Earth-789. This is reflected in the way Quinones draws Bruce as a slightly older hero with graying temples. Thanks to the George Clooney cameo at the end of the movie, we know that Batman & Robin is part of an alternate timeline, and we assume the same holds true for Batman Forever, too.Īccording to artist Joe Quinones, Batman ‘89 takes place in the mid-’90s, putting it roughly three years after the events of Batman Returns. That approach is in keeping with how The Flash handles Burton and Joel Schumacher’s respective movies. Batman ‘89 acts as an alternate sequel to Batman Returns, ignoring the events of both 1995’s Batman Forever and 1997’s Batman & Robin.
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