Review: ‘Batman: Resurrection’ restores Michael Keaton’s Dark Knight to his former Gothic noir glory

Not every Batman should return. DC fans found this out the hard way in 2023 when Michael Keaton’s long-awaited third outing under the cowl in The Flash ended in dismal box office business and shell-shocked audiences. Not to mention that we later discovered its spin-off — Batgirl, intended to cement Keaton as DC’s main Batman again — had been canned by Warner Bros.

You might think the legend of this particular Dark Knight should have been left in the 1990s, then, and yet here comes Batman: Resurrection to drive the bats from the belfry again with another attempt to, well, resurrect Keaton’s incarnation of the Caped Crusader. Thankfully, the old adage that third time’s the charm is correct in this case as this direct sequel to Tim Burton’s 1989 classic is the true continuation of the character and his lore that Bat-brains have been waiting for.

Set in the wake of Joker’s attack on Gotham, Resurrection depicts a city still suffering the lingering effects of the Smylex crisis — the villain’s toxic contamination of all cosmetics — as lawlessness runs rife, thanks to the remnants of the Joker’s gang. With his dedication to his double life killing his relationship with Vicki Vale, Bruce Wayne/Batman is pushed to his limits as Gotham is brought to the brink of another crisis. But has the Joker really returned from the dead, or is Batman himself going mad?

Author John Jackson Miller (whose Star Trek and Star Wars novels you may well have read befoe) deserves to take a bow as Resurrection truly reads as Batman 1.5. At 400 pages, it’s a hefty tome of a book which allows time for the writer to weave a twisting, turning tale of intrigue, thrills, action, and detective work. The greatest compliment I can give is that it reads like a novelization of a 1990s superhero movie we never saw.

Superheroes don’t necessarily lend themselves to prose, as translating such a visual genre can be difficult. Miller wisely avoids this problem by leaning into the crime fiction elements which are so intrinsic to Batman’s character in general and Burton’s noir-inspired take, in particular. That said, anyone who loves “those wonderful toys” will not be disappointed by the many gadget-laden set pieces which are vividly brought to life.

Resurrection really is a book for Burtonverse fans, written by a passionate Burtonverse fan himself — in the acknowledgements, Miller admits to seeing Batman 12 times in the theater back in ’89. There’s not much connective tissue between Keaton’s two movies, and Miller uses that to his advantage, smartly sowing the seeds for what we know about Gotham’s future. Various fan-favorite characters from both films make appearances, from Billy Dee Williams’ Harvey Dent to Christopher Walken’s Max Shreck, and the result is some excellent world-building that helps this Gotham City to feel like a real place with a real history.

Penguin Random House elected to keep the identity of the novel’s villains a secret in the book’s blurb, which only aids the mystery-heavy plot. Even so, comic book readers will likely see where things are going as soon as certain well-named characters are introduced, but their descent into darkness remains compelling nonetheless. If there is a flaw to Resurrection, it’s that its villains fall short of the sharp characterization and charisma of the likes of Jack Nicholson’s Joker, Danny DeVito’s Penguin, and Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman, but that’s almost churlish to say given how those actors brought so much to their roles. Characters in a book can’t hope to compete.

Speaking of actors, Miller has an uncanny knack for capturing the voices of the various carry-overs from the films, nailing Keaton’s monosyllabic Batman, specifically. Not to mention Michael Gough’s Alfred plays an unexpectedly prominent part in proceedings, much to this reader’s delight (he’s still the definitive Alfred, sue me). A modicum more of Burton’s quirky sense of humor wouldn’t have gone amiss, but Miller was clearly keen to ensure his book didn’t crossover into Schumacher Land — in fact, the novel’s best joke comes at the expense of an infamous Batman Forever moment.

With Michael Keaton’s cinematic resurrection as Batman turning out to be a bust, let’s be thankful he has been restored to his former Gothic noir glory on the page instead. And with the promise of a sequel, Batman: Revolution, on the way, it seems the Burtonverse Dark Knight is here to stay — despite the (professor) pig’s ear WB made of Batgirl. Bring it on, Random House. Let’s get nuts.