Favorite Interpretation of the Wayne Murders

[Grissom]

Excellent breakdown Batmangelus! The death of the Waynes is one of the most important yet saddest moments in comicdom. I loved how it was protrayed in the '89 film and the other films did it justice as well with their interpretations.

Wonderful job with the information!

[Silver Nemesis]

Silver Nemesis hasn't been seen here for years,

so I'm taking over

I can't think of a more knowledgeable guy for the job. And besides, I've switched major to Daredevil comics history. If anyone wants to know how many of Matt Murdock's love interests have been killed/committed suicide/gone insane, I'm your man..... Does anyone want to know that specific piece of information? Anybody?

Well regardless, I nominate the content of this thread for site feature. I see there haven't been many features posted in my absence (we'll have to rectify that), and all this info would make for a really informative one.

[johnnygobbs]

I can’t think of a more knowledgeable guy for the job. And besides, I’ve switched major to Daredevil comics history. If anyone wants to know how many of Matt Murdock's love interests have been killed/committed suicide/gone insane, I'm your man..... Does anyone want to know that specific piece of information? Anybody?

Well regardless, I nominate the content of this thread for site feature. I see there haven’t been many features posted in my absence (we’ll have to rectify that), and all this info would make for a really informative one.

Welcome Back!

A Daredevil feature sounds like a great idea.  But are you aware of (possibly you were involved with) a recent SuperheroHype feature: http://www.superherohype.com/features/365973-from-comics-to-screen-visual-references-in-marvels-daredevil-season-one#/slide/1

[BatmAngelus]

Silver Nemesis hasn't been seen here for years,

Great seeing you here, SN!

Just glimpsed at your Daredevil posts and am blown away.

As for the feature, when I get around to it, I will post it for the site, with more pictures.

[Silver Nemesis]

Thanks for the warm welcome, guys, and for not saying, "Look who's come crawling back."

A Daredevil feature sounds like a great idea.  But are you aware of (possibly you were involved with) a recent SuperheroHype feature: http://www.superherohype.com/features/365973-from-comics-to-screen-visual-references-in-marvels-daredevil-season-one#/slide/1

I saw some discussion on the SHH message boards last year, but I hadn't seen that feature until now. Thanks for the link, Gobbs. I'll have a look through it when I get the time. I bet they've spotted a load of stuff I've missed. 

I swear I wasn't lurking waiting for someone to say my name (you have to say my name 3 times for that to work anyway). I chose now to return because I wanted to post the DD season 1 analysis before season 2 next month, plus I missed the old gang. And I've heard some rumours about there being a couple of new Batman movies out this year...

Just glimpsed at your Daredevil posts and am blown away.

It's sad, isn't it? Almost 11,000 words and over 100 pictures. I actually noted all those references back in April. It's just taken me this long to write the damn thing up and scan the images. I think for season 2 I'll just post one episode at a time. It's less geeky that way.

As for the feature, when I get around to it, I will post it for the site, with more pictures.

I'll look forward to it. Let me know if you need a hand with any scans. At some point this year we should also get the Batman Begins and TDK comic analysis features up. But there's no rush for those.

Besides, something tells me we'll have our hands full with another comic analysis feature by the end of March.

[Silver Nemesis]

New feature, folks: http://www.batman-online.com/features/2016/3/29/the-many-deaths-of-the-waynes-and-the-men-who-killed-them#sthash.rbQrA11n.dpbs

Fantastic job, Ben! Thoroughly researched and intelligently analysed. I consider myself fairly well versed when it comes to Batman history, but I can honestly say a lot of this stuff was new to me.

I remember reading about the Joker ice cream van scene in your analysis of the Burton-Hickson treatment a while back, but I didn't know the idea of the Joker killing the Waynes originated in the Mankiewicz script. Nor did I know about the 1998 musical version of the killings, or Tim McCanlies' take on the sequence (I hadn't even heard of that pilot until you told me about it when we were working on the Batman Begins feature). And I can't believe I've never read that Superboy/Batlad story. I'm going to have to track down a copy.

Its funny how many of Batman's enemies conveniently die from freak accidents immediately after discovering his true identity. They inadvertently race into traffic, get crushed by falling slot machines, or just happen to get bumped off by a third party. It reminds me of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, where any time a villain discovered Clark's secret you knew they were destined for the morgue. Still I prefer plot contrivances like that if it means preserving the hero's moral code. See the end of Daredevil season 2 for a perfect example.

And thanks for providing links to those unproduced screenplays you covered. I'm going to have a look through some of those when I get the time. I'm particularly keen to read Mankiewicz's treatment.

[BatmAngelus]

Thanks a lot, SN.  Looking forward to your thoughts on the unproduced scripts as a lot of them make you think "What if?" Mankiewicz's script had a lot of ideas ahead of its time. Hamm's Batman 2 script is more of a direct sequel to the 1989 film.

As for the Batlad comic, it is collected in the Superboy: The Greatest Team-Ups Ever Told: http://www.amazon.com/Superboy-Greatest-Team-Ups-Ever-Told/dp/1401226523
The idea of young Bruce getting help from Superboy into investigating his parents' deaths (while wearing a costume before the Bat cowl) is absolutely insane and it's even crazier how obscure the comic turned out to be. You'd think something like that would be talked about. I didn't even know it existed until I read a Batman Encyclopedia that mentioned that he had previously teamed up with Superboy as "The Flying Fox" and "The Executioner." I then had to do some digging.

Now that BvS is out, I'd like to address the topic again: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has the most comic accurate take on the murders. I still find the 1989 film to be more haunting and the Batman Begins take to have more of an emotional impact simply due to spending some time with Thomas and Martha Wayne beforehand. If there was a way to combine all three of those interpretations' strengths, it'd be perfect.

[Catwoman]

I've switched major to Daredevil comics history. If anyone wants to know how many of Matt Murdock's love interests have been killed/committed suicide/gone insane, I'm your man..... Does anyone want to know that specific piece of information? Anybody?

I'll bite. How many?

lol

[The Dark Knight]

The Burton sequence is still my favourite. The Snyder one is very comic accurate, though.

[johnnygobbs]

The Burton sequence is still my favourite. The Snyder one is very comic accurate, though.

The Burton one is my favourite too.  It's very affecting and powerful, mainly because it's done as a dream/flashback taken from Bruce's POV.

It's also one of my all-time favourite scenes in any Batman film/TV show.