Even though the vast majority of people are fully aware of Batman’s origin story, Warner Bros. love nothing more than showing audiences Thomas and Martha Wayne getting gunned down in the street every few years.
At this stage, it would be more of a surprise if it didn’t happen in any live-action project featuring the Dark Knight in some capacity, to the extent that we saw it once again as recently as Joker, a movie that exists on the fringes of the DC universe but still found a way to shoehorn it in.
Matt Reeves’ The Batman, meanwhile, picks up with Robert Pattinson’s rookie crimefighter in his second year on the job, and let’s hope that the director is aware of how many times we’ve seen Bruce Wayne’s defining moment of childhood trauma play out on the big screen. Thomas and Martha Wayne have a huge influence over their son’s bizarre decision to use his vast wealth to suit up as an armored bat and pulverize the criminals of Gotham City, but that doesn’t mean we have to see their demise every time a new actor plays the role.
There’s no word on if they’ll even factor into The Batman as of yet, but the latest addition to the rumor mill is claiming that Bruce’s parents could fit into Reeves’ brand new mythology as villains, or at least a pair of happily married individuals with sinister intentions. As per Giant Freakin Robot, it’ll be revealed that Thomas and Martha were knee deep in all sorts of shady dealings in and around Gotham, and Paul Dano’s Riddler will use his inside information to make their son’s life a living hell having been directly affected by their actions.
That would definitely be a fresh and interesting spin on the standard backstory, and if The Batman is looking to distance itself as far as possible from what’s come before, then shaking up the Caped Crusader’s origins would be a great way of going about it.
Published: Feb 16, 2021 11:13 am