You guys have seen my lists for moments that I loved from all the Batman movies. Not too long from now (well long enough for me) a new actor will take up the Batman role. Many have said that he’ll suck. Many have said that he won’t. Some are just excited that Batman is finally going to be sharing the screen with Superman. Well, I’m one of those people that believes that Ben Affleck will be a terrific Batman. I actually thought he was great as Matt Murdock/Daredevil. Little did I know that 10 years later he would be cast as Batman. As I think about what he could do with the part, I realized there are certain things that Affleck and company need to do in order to properly convince me that he is Batman. The things on this list may seem familiar but that’s only because they are some of my favorite aspects of past Batman movies and I think they need to be carried on to the next incarnation.
For example, Batman must be sad despite being rich and handsome
Keep in mind that some of these are out of Ben Affleck’s control (you’ll see what I mean when you read it) but they are still important moments. Here is my list for the 10 THINGS I WANT TO SEE BEN AFFLECK DO AS BATMAN:
KEEP BRUCE WAYNE AND BATMAN SEPARATE:
Kevin Conroy is cemented in most fans’ minds as the definitive Batman. He voiced the character in the original Batman: the Animated Series and has continued to do so for the last 20some years. He tapped into something with Bruce Wayne that had not really been done before – He treated Bruce Wayne and Batman as two separate characters. More than that, he treated Batman as the true personality and Wayne was his disguise. Bale did something a little similar, he had 3 portrayals – the public Bruce Wayne that was a drunk playboy, the private Bruce Wayne that was his true self, and the Batman who was the beast that Bruce could become to fight criminals.
I'm gonna beat the shit out of you!
Bale and Conroy definitely got it right with treating Bruce and Batman as separate entities. If Affleck is going to win over audiences then he’ll need to have Bruce Wayne be the public face while Batman is his true identity. Batman is the embodiment of everything Bruce has built himself up as. Bruce is just the face he puts on at board meetings and dinners with his "friends." It will be great to see Bruce reveal this side of himself to Clark (you know after they're done punching each other). Plus it would be great to see Clark notice that there is something off about that Wayne guy . . .
AWESOME REVEAL FOR THE BATMOBILE:
The Batmobile is one of the most famous cars ever. It’s easily the most recognizable Batman gadget and has been a huge part of every Batman film to date. We already know what the car will look like but it’s gotta have a cool reveal. Think of Batman’s “Get in the car” or in Batman Begins “I brought mine!” Those were great reveals to the greatest car in the world. Affleck’s Batman is taking on a character that can fly, shoot lasers from his eyes, and can travel faster than a speeding bullet.
Not to mention those muscles! Damn son!
It’s best that his car get a good reveal that can make even Superman say, “Wow.” I mean, you can’t just bring in the Batmobile like any old car. It’s gotta have its moment! Roaring through the streets of Metropolis and Gotham and everything in between, the Batmobile will get its reveal and OWN the streets!
UNMASKED:
Hear me out here because I don't mean that the whole world finds out Bruce Wayne is Batman at the end of the film. This might sound strange and it really isn’t a requirement per se but I really like scenes where the hero is wearing the full costume except for the mask. Spider-Man was the first one to do this on a regular basis.
So much for a secret identity, you moron!
It’s rarely done in the Batman films except for one scene in The Dark Knight Rises when Alfred and Bruce are arguing in the Batcave. I just think it’s a cool image seeing the costume on but the mask is off. I think nowadays it’s done as part of the actors’ contracts to give them more “face time” but I don’t care. I still think it looks cool. Plus, Ben Affleck is a good looking dude. Why not give him some time to show off his face. If for no other reason than to remind the naysayers that Affleck is Batman. Haha . . . That will show them . . .
A GREAT THEME:
This one is pretty much out of Ben Affleck’s control. However, in order for his Dark Knight to stand out, he’ll need to have a kick ass theme song. Everyone knows the Na na na Batman song from the Adam West TV show, and the first Lego Batman video game featured all of Danny Elfman’s score from the 89 Batfilm. Hans Zimmer’s score from the Dark Knight Trilogy totally fit into those films. Zimmer is supposedly coming back for Batman v Superman and that’s good news, but it’s also a little scary considering that Affleck’s Knight will need a brand new theme. He’s gonna need something to make him stand out from the previous films score and a great way to do that is with music.
And now you've got Danny Elfman's theme stuck in your head. You're welcome
Some of the greatest movie scenes of all time have only been great due to the addition of music or the lack thereof. In Batman’s case, his best moments are closely associated with a great score. The music will help get the audience cheering or groaning. Elfman and Zimmer were masters at getting just the right note (lol) to get the audience cheering for Batman. Danny Elfman's score was so good that a separate soundtrack was commissioned with just his score. Let's hope Zimmer will give us a new theme to fit our newest Batman.
WORLD'S GREATEST DETECTIVE:
One thing that’s never really been touched upon in the films is Batman’s detective skills. He did a little bit in The Dark Knight but it would be interesting to see Batman try to deduce Superman’s identity and/or weakness. Bruce is supposed to be one of the smartest men in the world and that needs to be shown in the film. If he’s gonna take on the most powerful man in the world, there should be at least a scene or two with him figuring out what he needs to do to beat Superman.
Preparation is key.
There probably won't be much of a mystery in the film, but given that the two main characters are a detective and an investigative reporter, a mystery would be really awesome to see. The main mystery for Batman is how to beat Superman and for Superman it's "Who is Batman?". I'd like to see these aspects of the characters shown off and then they can compare notes later. We all know that eventually they'll be buddies!
Such good buddies that Batman will carry Superman home when he's had too much to drink
ALFRED:
Alfred is a bit of a tricky situation. On the one hand, he’s technically just Bruce’s employee. On the other hand, he’s Bruce’s surrogate father, mentor, confidant, and conscience. One thing that the first couple of episodes of Gotham got wrong about Alfred was that he needs to care for Bruce. One thing that the later episodes got right is that Alfred is Bruce’s enabler. In real life, the family butler would have probably sought psychiatric help for a young boy traumatized by the death of his parents. In the fictional world, it’s much more interesting in that Alfred has enabled Bruce’s vigilante behavior. For whatever reason, Alfred believes in Bruce’s crusade and would never, ever betray his trust. Before there were any Robins, Batgirls, Justice League, or even Commissioner Gordon, Alfred was Bruce’s most trusted ally. That relationship is key to every incarnation of Batman. Luckily, Alfred has come around on Gotham and is a more likable character (and kind of a bad ass, which is cool) and I suspect we’ll being seeing that type of relationship develop in Batman v Superman as well. Jeremy Irons isn’t the kind of actor to just sit around the Batcave, he’s much more of the “Earth One” Alfred that Geoff Johns and Gary Frank gave us. I could be wrong and we’ll just see Irons in a tuxedo getting tea for Clark and Lois in the Batcave but I doubt that. Regardless of how much we see Alfred in the final film, one thing must be clear – While he’s technically just an employee, he’s much more than that to Bruce. That relationship between these two men needs to be established clearly from the get-go.
NO LOVE INTEREST:
I went to a lecture a couple years ago by Will Brooker AKA Dr. Batman. This guy has specialized in dissecting Batman’s whole world from the comic books, video games, movies, cartoons, etc. He had an interesting theory on Batman. He thought Batman was asexual. Batman’s one true love is Gotham City. I don’t necessarily agree with that idea but it is intriguing. One thing that I think Ben Affleck could do in his performance that would be vastly different than what has come before is not have a love interest. As much as I don’t care for the term, I’d much rather see the “bromance” between Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne develop during Batman v Superman than have Bruce be interested either in Lois Lane or Wonder Woman.
Could you pick between these three hotties? I know I couldn't!
A love story can always be done in a later film (or not at all, to be REALLY different). I’ve never understood why love interests and romantic subplots are so important to the superhero stories. In a lot of cases they are unnecessary and shoehorned in to get that coveted “female audience.” What they fail to realize is that women don’t need a “love story” to get them to see an action movie, they want the same thing the men want – a good story. But that's a debate for another day!
A "WTF" MOMENT:
In just about every Batman film, and the comic books do this too, Batman does something that should not be humanly possible. You can chalk this up to it being a comic book film and suspension of disbelief is necessary for the overall story to work, but I think that Batman needs to have at least one moment where you say, “WTF? How did he do that?” If I had to guess, I’d say that this would be during the fight with Superman. Superman will get the upper hand and rip off all of Bruce’s protective armor and then suddenly, Bruce will pull out a kryptonite baseball bat and beat Clark senseless. I mean, he is called Bat-Man. This actually happened in an episode of Batman: the Animated Series.
When you say Batman TAS was amazing just remember this moment
Ok so it probably won’t be that exactly, but I’m willing to bet that given Snyder’s love of great action beats we’ll see Batman do something so cool that we’ll all cheer. After all, he wouldn't be Batman without some sort of crazy moment where we all let our jaws hit the floor. Ben Affleck will need to have a moment where he reminds us that Batman is a total bad ass. And it needs to be good!
THE VOICE:
The biggest complaint from Christian Bale’s performance was always his voice. I never really was bothered by it. In fact, I always felt it was just people complaining just to complain. I kind of get it, but I never had trouble understanding what he was saying. In any case, to avoid such criticism, Affleck will need to find the character’s voice, and I mean that in a literal sense not in a literary sense. Haha! That was a clever joke. Anyway, Michael Keaton, Christian Bale, and Val Kilmer each found a voice that worked for them when they were in costume. After all, Bruce Wayne is a recognizable figure in Gotham City, he should find a way to hide his voice. Adam West and George Clooney either never thought of this or didn’t care. Probably both. Since Keaton’s portrayal, the voice has become an important part of the character of Batman. We may not know what the actual voice sounds like till the film is released (the early trailers for Batman Begins had Christian Bale speaking fairly normal). Affleck will need to dig deep to find his inner Batman. It's not written in stone that the voice needs to be dark and gravely, but it still needs to be imposing. As I said before, he's taking on a man that can move mountains with his pinky finger, so an imposing voice is vital. Batman needs to scare the shit out of criminal scum in Gotham City and sometimes that translates to him scaring normal people too. The scarier he is to Superman, the better.
"I'M BATMAN":
Jeez, JJ! This is like the third time you’ve made this your #1 request! Well, yes. And for good reason. I’ve already stated how Michael Keaton’s “I’m Batman” defined the character for me, how Bale’s “I’m Batman” instantly convinced me he was Batman, how Clooney’s “I’m Batman” is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, but I never said how Will Arnett’s “I’m Batman” from the Lego Movie made me laugh because in my mind, it’s a staple of the Batman films and Arnett delivered it so hilariously.
I've made a huge mistake
Affleck NEEDS to say it in the film. Granted it may not make a lot of sense for a character to just go around stating who they are every time they meet someone new. I mean it’s pretty clear who you are with that get up. It’s more important that a new actor state it at least once to establish to the next generation that they are Batman now. This is just a selfish request, but if I don't hear Affleck say it I'll be very upset. So you better say it Affleck! You hear me! . . . Sorry for losing my temper there . . .
HONORABLE MENTION:
COOL GUYS DON'T LOOK AT EXPLOSIONS:
Because they don’t. And we haven’t had a cool moment where Batman walked away from an explosion in slow motion. Many thanks to the Lonely Island for bringing this to my attention.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqz5dbs5zmo
These are all the things that I believe will help sell Ben Affleck as Batman. Granted, some of these we may not get right away, after all he is technically just the co-star in a Man of Steel sequel. However, these are key things that sold me on Batman when I was a kid and kept my love of the character as I got older so I believe they are necessary to ensure an accurate portrayal of the Dark Knight. Or they could really mess with us and Ben Affleck will wear a baseball uniform and take his enemies out to bat. Stranger things have happened . . .
Till next time!
JJ - The Comic Junkie
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