‘The Batman’ slips in a huge retcon to Bruce Wayne’s family tree

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Batman.

The Batman slips in a huge retcon to Bruce Wayne’s family tree that could have major repercussions for the franchise. Though it is more standalone than most superhero films these days, director Matt Reeves’ new movie still has an eye on the future, and feeds in a few details that will no doubt be picked up in further installments of the so-called Batverse. One of these connects to the Dark Knight’s own heritage in what is a subtle, yet significant, rewriting of comic book lore.

Spoilers to follow.

When the Riddler targets Bruce Wayne as part of Gotham’s elite, the serial killer exposes various dark secrets about Bruce’s parents; he even accuses Thomas Wayne of ordering a hit on a journalist who planned to expose his wife’s traumatic past. While this revelation — which, incidentally, turns out to be false — is the main purpose of the scene, it’s also explained that Martha Wayne is part of the Arkham bloodline, the city’s other founding family.

This is an original concept specific to The Batman, as Martha’s maiden name in the comic books is Kane, and it’s through his mother that Bruce is related to his cousin Kate Kane, aka Batwoman. This erasure of the Kanes from the movie’s continuity could have key consequences. Specifically, it looks like the Scarlet Knight doesn’t feature in any of Reeves’ plans. While that might be disappointing for Batwoman fans, the tradeoff is that it makes Bruce’s lineage even more interesting.

Despite lending their name to the infamous asylum, the Arkhams have always been depicted as a family plagued by mental illness and tragedy. Martha herself is confirmed in the film to have spent time in psychiatric care as a child, after witnessing her father murdering her mother. The fact that Martha also suffered from PTSD after a parent’s death creates a fascinating parallel with her son. Plus, the idea that Bruce’s own ancestors created the place where he locks away his enemies adds a fascinating new wrinkle to the mythos.

It’s possible the Arkham family history will be further explored in the Arkham Asylum spinoff series that is confirmed to be in development. For now, catch The Batman in theaters.