On the podcast this time, Steven and Sean are donning their capes, cowls, and gauntlets to fight crime in a city that no one should live in with the Tim Burton film from 1992, Batman Returns.
But really, why does anyone choose to live in Gotham City? It appears to be one of the most crime-riddled cities in the entire world. I’m sure it’s entirely inadvisable to venture out at night. Doing so is tantamount to signing your own death certificate.
If there wasn’t a costumed superhero to help keep the city safe from all those evildoers, then the city would be nothing but unmitigated chaos. Which makes a person wonder, is Batman in Gotham because there are loads of criminals to capture or did the criminals come to Gotham because there’s a Batman to conquer?
It’s a real chicken and egg problem we’ve got on our hands here. I hope that our dear Caped Crusader is there to fight the crime and corruption that has always been present in Gotham. But who’s to say that’s the case? If Batman were to leave for good, would the city clean itself?
Am I claiming that Batman is the real menace to Gotham? I mean, I don’t think so. There’s no doubt that he does good work. I’d like to see what Gotham would turn into if the city enacted a Year Without Batman policy. Who knows, maybe things would improve? Perhaps the sun would be able to break through the dark clouds above the city?
On the other hand, we wouldn’t have cool superhero movies to talk about, so screw all that nonsense. Bring on all the supervillains and the heroes in tight tights that fight them off! Long live Batman!
(Recorded on October 15, 2021)
Links to Stuff We Mentioned:
Batman Returns trailer - YouTube
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) - IMDb
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (TV Series 1993–1996) - IMDb
Batman: The Animated Series (TV Series 1992–1995) - IMDb
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) - IMDb
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) - IMDb
Gotham (TV Series 2014–2019) - IMDb
