The PROBLEM with a GROUNDED Batman 

How can he be grounded when he doesn't have parents?

I wish films would take inspiration from the Arkham games, which is both dark and gritty but also isn’t afraid to use the more fantastical members of his rogues gallery.

Give me killer croc, clayface, poison ivy, mr freeze, man-bat and comic accurate Ra’s al ghul.

Idk why no one does a mix of a Grounded Batman and a Fantastical Batman. Start off as him fighting Mobsters and Insane Criminals then little by little introduce Meta Human, Supernatural Villains, and Aliens.

It's annoying that these hollywood directors are so ashamed of the more fantastical aspects of these characters

The first mistake is believing that a guy wearing a bat suit was somehow grounded

Grounded Batman really limits his storytelling and rogue's he can go up against

Why the 4 Arkham games are my goats. Perfect blend.

Hard to ground a guy wearing a batsuit with pointy ears

Ever since Joel Schumacher’s Batman and Robin and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy, everyone has been trying so hard to one up themselves on how grounded Batman should be and are basically afraid of a fantastical Batman because they don’t want to run the risk repeating the same mistake Batman and Robin did. Slightly off topic, but they even based the DCEU banking off the success of The Dark Knight Trilogy with Man of Steel who had Christopher Nolan as a producer alongside Zack Snyder until it went on to fully be Zack Snyder’s thing entirely. That’s how scared they were. Trying to make everything like Batman.

In my opinion, Batman needs to be less realistic and more fantastical. When you take into account his history, Bruce as a character shouldn’t really be grounded because it downplays what he’s capable of. Look at Ben Affleck, he’s the best looking Batman in film and he’s the best with physicality. I want the dcu Bruce to be a master martial artist, gymnast, acrobat and detective, I want to see Bruce actually use his legs, do back flips, do somersaults, roundhouse kicks. Ben was the only Batman that felt like he actually could live in a world with Superman, flash, Wonder Woman, gods, aliens, supernatural stuff and etc… I want a Batman that’s tall and buff, that’s fighting the real bane that’s Hispanic and using the actual venom serum. I want a joker that fell into the vat of acid and it turned his skin white and his hair green, I want a poison ivy that has green skin and can control plants, I want a Mr freeze that’s in the suit and has the big red goggles and the big freeze gun and have where he can only survive in sub zero temperatures. I liked the dark knight trilogy and even the Matt reeves movie, but I’m tired of grounded/realistic Batman. Batman is not supposed to be realistic, he’s supposed to be a peak human. Case in point, I want comic book Batman🤷‍♂️

Just give me a Batman movie with Clayface 🙏

Have Reeves make the noir grounded Batman with villains like Hugo Strange or court of owls The DCU could embrace Batman "comic side" and have villains like Ivy, Clayface, mr freeze...

I knew things were going well when directors and "show runners" were saying things like "I wanted to make my Star Wars", or "I never read Lord of the Rings,"

I love how all the discourse around grounded Batman is like "We don't want grounded Batman anymore... let Matt Reeves cook though."

I think the main issue all these adaptations are missing is that a major trait of Batman is that while he is a more or less grounded character, the world he inhabits is not. Big part of the character's appeal is to see a relatively normal person having to deal with crazy, abnormal out-of-this-world threats as much as he has to deal with street-level crime. One day he'll be fighting drug lords who take advantage of the pains of the lower class and the next one he'll be traveling to the other side of the galaxy to deal with a despot making superhuman aliens fight each other for sport.

As great things as grounded Bats has brought us like the Nolan Trilogy and so far Reeves Batman Universe i feel feel it benches and gets rid of aspects that makes Batman so special like the sidelining of the Batfamily for almost 30 years and villains like Clayface and Killer Croc as well as borrowing elements from the same storylines like Year One and the Long Halloween over and over

We've gotta stop trying to convince ourselves that comic book characters could exist in our world. They can't. That's why they're special.

Lets hope james gunn pulls through i want batman being dragged building by building by manbat using a grappling hook in the next dcu batman movie

I hope dcu Batman is more fantastical

Batman could be 30-36: he was around 19 when he began training, knocked up Talia around that time and was 25 when his mission began. Damian should be 11-13 in this first one, so he’ll be in his early 30’s when the brave and the bold began. But then you’d have to account for The other robins, so I think 35 is best, 10 years is enough to age up nightwing and red hood. If they wanna fit in tim and Barbra they could

I love Colin Farrell’s Penguin, but it’s strange that he was made Italian for a few reasons: -Irish actor -Penguin usually has an upper class/posh accent, even the American versions -His friggin’ name is British -He’s supposed to be the desperate remnant of a wealthy family, clinging to a status they don’t have anymore

Batman Forever was a huge success

I just want a more fantastical in live action…GIVE ME AN 10ft mud man who can shape shift…I want a 8ft ripped alligator man who wrestles and eats people, Give me A Sexy plant lady who controls Giant Plants Plz Oh and one more thing give me a Joker who ACTUALLY FALLS INTO ACID AND IS BLEACH WHITE SKIN etc Thx 🙏 😅

Personally the one issue I’ve always had with Batman is just how obvious it is that writers love him. He always has to be the one on the spotlight. It awfully comes off like the only way Batman can remain relevant is to just make him superhuman while claiming he’s just a man. Batman’s appeal to me has always been that despite standing amongst gods, he’s clearly not one of them. But the insane feats he has brings that into question. Sokka from Avatar is how I wish writers treated Batman. He’s outmatched by every one of his friends. Hell even the non benders like Suki and Ty Lee could probably beat him easily. But that’s not why he’s needed. He doesn’t need to be a heavy hitter. It’s his tactical mind and ability to stay moral that make him valuable. Things like punching Flash, evading Superman’s superhearing or Omega Beams and being the best fighter ruin Batman for me. Writers need to stop making Batman the best at literally everything.

Because the "Batman wins because of prep time" thing makes no f'n sense when you have an actual person in the suit. It becomes very clear there is nothing stopping someone from just shooting him in the face.

Batman isn't a street level character. He's not only grounded. He's a mix of campy and gritty. He's a complex character with multiple aspects to him. Denying an entire side of the character is limiting the character and only focusing on some aspects. Holding him back. Directors need to learn from Raimi who was able to balance Spiderman as both campy and grounded. Start thinking more like the cartoons that have given us the most iconic depictions of these characters. They DCAU is written mature but still accessible to children.

Grounded Batman stories are fucking great and are some of his best stories, however the problem like you said is the lack of variety. We need more varied mainstream representations of the character in film. Even the Long Halloween which is a more grounded stakes detective story if filled with fantastical gothic elements of his mythos. A good balance would be nice to see.

Please don’t get rid of Tim and Jason and use pre new 52 Tim not 52 bro

3:43 When I saw the Robin costume, I'm going to be honest, I got a little excited because I thought "Oh that's Jason! We're going to do Death in the Family or Under the Red Hood. Those stories actually fit the Synderverse dark and gritty tone. Maybe we'll get Nightwing or Tim Drake-" Nope. Zach Synder specifically said that the Robin that died was Dick Grayson. And my expectations dropped so fast. If the director is too scared to use Dick Grayson, then that means he's too scared to use Jason, Tim, or Damian. And if he's scared of the Robins, then he's scared to use any of the Batgirls. And since Dick Grayson is the leader of the Titans, that means there'd be no Titans because it means acknowledging all the other young heroes/former sidekicks. That's a lot of characters to bench for your 'expanded universe'. It's almost like 'grounded' superhero is code for 'we're embarrassed that we're adapting a whimsical genre'.

And here I am still asking for a live action Batman Beyond movie…

I can't stand directors, producers, & writers who are ashamed of the fantastical elements of these properties and/or don't care about being true to the source material! People like that should stay the f@@@ away from our beloved IPs and create their own!

The more "realistic" they try to make Batman, the more outlandish & ridiculous the concept becomes. When you break Batman down to its very core, it sounds like one of the most ludicrous concepts for a franchise: A man dresses up in a knock-off Superman suit with a cape shaped like bat wings & a cowl with bat ears stuck onto it for the express purpose of scaring the crap out of criminals, his side kick is his adopted son whose costume is one of the most colorful & garish outfits a superhero could wear, & some of his biggest threats are a man in clown makeup, a man with physical abnormalities that make him look like an aquatic bird, a man who wears suits laden with question marks from head to toe & is obsessed with riddles, & a woman in a leather skin-tight suit & cowl with _cat_ ears stuck on. The only reason that we think Batman is as awesome a concept/franchise as it is is because of the craft that goes into making the world of Batman feel so stylized & operatic. We know it's completely fictional, but it's so atmospheric & immersive that we get sucked into it & buy all of the insanity mentioned above. When they try to make Batman's world feel like it could take place just beyond your own backyard, the suspension of disbelief collapses entirely & the concept becomes laughable.

DOES THIS MAN EVER SLEEP? You gotta stop cooking bro, for my health, too fire🙏

The batman animated show would be a perfect live action

This is why Caped Crusader threw me off so much. His Rouge's Gallery were all street-level crime bosses or maniacs, but then all of a sudden, mfing GENTLEMAN GHOST and a child VAMPIRE (they play it off as a medical condition, but it's not fooling anyone) show up. How can they have an actual, on-god ghost, yet Clayface is only a dude who can mold his face? Even Onomatopoeia got shafted. He's not a man who can perfectly recreate any sound to fool people. He's just a weird hitman who *speaks* sound effects. GG and Nocturna give me hope they're willing to go fantastical with the series, but this trend of a grounded Batman seems hard to shake off, even for Caped Crusader.

I think Batman should always be pretty grounded in his first year or two at least, and over time, more fantastical elements appear throughout his time as Batman.

I want a less sci Fi Batman trilogy that's ALSO heavy in the medieval and gothic imagery. Not excessively (tbh that'd be fun too) but really the subtle dark fantasy castle inspired sky scrapers, armor like DARK KNIGHT bat suit, fuck it, berserker Bane (NOT JUST A MINDLESS BRUTE, maybe like Lanius from Fallout?) and a slightly more draconic Killer Croc than we've ever gotten. Tbh doubling down on the classic monster house vibe of some villains would be cool too.

Realistic Batman just doesn't work for me. The idea that one guy however skilled and rich he might be can take on the mob by just putting on a bat costume and being spooky is on it's face ridiculous but in a heighten reality, I can buy it much more

As much as I love the Nolan films (being a bit generous with Rises), I think they really did damage to Batman's public image where the only way he can have good, thoughtful stories is if he was in a 100% realistic setting.

I understand Nolan because it was after Batman and Robin but by now we need more comic book y batman

The Arkham games are my favorite...just make those a live series.

Honestly, it's less of a problem with realistic Batman, and more of an issue with companies milking the shit of something that receives any positive feedback. (Example: The Batman who snickers)

Batman can be both grounded & fantastical

I really do hope the DCU Batman touches on the more fantastical aspects of the character, while Matt Reeves Batman focuses on the realistic side.

A secondary problem with a grounded Batman is the villains become less fantastic. No Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc, Clayface, or other oddballs. In the greater scope, it helps adding such characters because then It makes sense if Batman's in the Justice League dealing with villains way off his ability to fight by himself.

As much as I like Matt Reeves' The Batman universe, but I want Matt Reeves' version to be the last "realistic Batman" ever.

These directors need to start thinking more like the cartoons. The DCAU gave us incredibly mature takes, while still providing the fun and making it accessible to children. The new movies are just trying to one up the Nolan trilogy by being grittier and more grounded.

I need my boy Tim Drake to receive love from the GA.

The Batman 2004 show probably one of the best early years Batman imo

DCU Batman should be around *40-45* An established veteran like the Affleck Bats. Meanwhile Pattinson can play the young Millenial Batman in his 30s.🫡

I would much rather watch a Batman who fights gangsters and solve murder cases instead of a Batman who fights aliens with a lazer gun. Simple as that.

At least Batman and robin had some kind of respect for the source material.

A real life Batman would die pretty quickly.

Dang hot take, the Dark Knight trilogy ruined the DCU. It made warners bros believe that only gritty real world superheroes could work. But this type of story is only really done well with Batman because he doesn’t have any powers.

Im gonna say it. I like a grounded Batman, I think Batman needs a more realistic and more detective style because it gets little acknowledgement if not completely neglected in a lot media. His rogues might be more limited, but I’d argue that’s where good writers can come in and actually make a new rogue and maybe even a new good nemesis so we don’t have to keep watching Batman and Joker fight for the millionth time. I found this new movie to be a breath of fresh air. The soundtrack, set design, the darkness and grittiness of it was great, I would like to see Batman get some upgrades to his suit and tech as long as the series keeps going, but it’s been awesome so far.

people need to realize the most fantastical thing about robert patterson's batman is his suit. it's completely bulletproof minus point blank shot gun blasts

Gary Oldman said it best in The Dark Knight - The hero we need but not the one we deserve...Batman is a silent guardian and a watchful protector...I don't think grounded - in whatever respect - really comes into it 🙂

I just hope they keep the idea of 2 Batmans. Not really a fan of merging the Reevesverse into the DCU. You can still have the Batmans be similar ages theyll just need to have different costumes, physiques, and different tones, also DCU Batman will have the Bat Family

A really don’t blame Matt Reeves for not wanting his Batman to be in a cinematic universe especially after The Batman’s production history.

We literally had a fantastical but also gritty Batman with Ben Affleck, but y’all hated on him because the story was of a fallen Batman who had broken his rule. If that story continued, we could’ve had it all

How can he be grounded when he's portrayed as the Bat-God?

This guys right, Lego Batman is the most accurate movie depiction

Every good Batman live action movie has one thing in common, they all don't go all out in being fantastical

The Dark knight originally took place 6 months - 1 year after Batman Begins But that was changed to 5 years and some months for the dark knight rises Ra's al ghul mentions that he was fighting crime for years Also the definitive guidebook for the dark knight trilogy supervised by Nolan States that 5 years passed between Batman begins and the dsrk knight That also can be see in both movies with Gordon sons The boy was a baby in the first movie no more than 3 years ANd in the sequel he have a daughter of 4-5 years old and he is around 8-10

Grounded Batman worked after the Schumacher failure of 90s so Nolan needed a fresh take on the character for the big screen but its really been done to death now. Audiences are ready for more fantastic take on the character and world that isnt limited by whats “realistic” something akin to Batman the animated series or Arkham series would be a great visual take for him to evolve again

Agreed, I’m praying they don’t make Batman 40-50 starting out in the DCU. Bruce in Main Continuity gets Damien at age 36 and a new 52. He was even younger at getting him at age 33. Making 10 years older than Clark ruins the dynamic to me of them being brothers. It’s easily doable to make him mid 30s starting out with a full family & I hope they cast that Brandon Sklenar actor from 1923 for Batman he would cook.

I honestly have no problem with live action Batman being grounded and realistic, that said though it still sucks that Affleck never got his own series of Batman films because his version of Batman was perfect for a live action Batman with fantastical villains.

Contemporary Batman needs a lot more Adam West and a lot less Frank Miller and Alan Moore in the recipe

If they introduce another elseworld Batman, I would love a 1950's setting filled with the supernatural. Maybe even a JLD adaptation.

Grounded batman was interesting the first time around but it shouldn't be the norm for live action batman. Hate on me all ya want but the snyderverse was the best we're gonns get for a long time

I think a Batman with a SinCity vibe and aesthetic would be perfect. That comic feeling setting is absolutely perfect.. Somehow Spider-Man 3 does a better job and how its New York has bottomless subway systems and endless alleyways

DC has been making batman lack luster fr, limiting his villian roster in movies. Ngl, we NEED an animated TV series or movie using a close reference to the Arkham game series.

"Batman is the most believable and realistic superhero!" "The billionaire who wants to help people by dressing as a giant bat with an arsenal of Goth-James Bond weapons and gadgets?"

The main problem with a "Realistic" and, inaccurately phrased, "Grounded" is the overzealous Fanboys actually; in the good sense for once These cult members are going to go around saying that Batman can beat anybody in comics in general, yet overall with the majority of live-action films, he is primarily fighting normal people. Post the Adam West show, Batman and Robin and Batman v Superman are the only films where he's fought superpowered characters

I don't mind a grounded Batman but I prefer a Batman movie that is dark but isn't afraid to be comic book movie, that's one of the reason why I like Burton's Batman movies.

Oz Cob, the secret long lost brother of Mob Cob from Garden Warfare 2

Nightwing, Damien, Jason and Drake would be dope. Have them as their own characters and Bats having to keep them in check. The villain should be Ras and Shiva!

affleck physicality and Pattinson detective skills is my ideal Batman

Remember the episode of BTAS Batman and Robin, where Bruce gave the tranquilitist a job and a second chance to reform himself? I want a movie that is based on a Batman who wants to help his villains.

Brandon Sklenar for DCU BATMAN 🙏

I still don't get how people look at this costumed crime-fighter dressed as a bat whose enemies count amongst them a clown, a man wearing question marks, a lawyer who's literally split down the middle, a woman who controls plants, a mobster who's a ventriloquist dummy and an actual crocodile man, among others, and declares "the only appropriate tone for this character is sober grounded naturalism."

Ground batman 😎 is cool and all but it gets old pretty fast

I don’t know why they can’t get Patterson to just play both iterations of Batman 🤷🏽‍♂️ It’s not like we don’t have different styles & tones of Batman in the comic running concurrently at anytime

I get that making Batman grounded & realistic would get your Batman movie an Oscar nomination, but like… he’s Batman. Where’s the silly villains like Condiment King. Where’s the Colorful costumes with Blue Spandex. Where’s the White Eyes. I want a live action Batman movie where he’s hanging out with the Bat Family, including Ace the Bat Hound. Its weird how the “realistic” Batman movies are more goofy & dumb, when the source material & other media makes him an actually grounded character. And those were silly.

I love the early years of Batman stories where he’s more of a myth and fighting the falcone and maronie crime families ect. But that’s doesn’t mean that’s all I want to see. I also love the more fantastical elements of the character and the robins and everything. We can have both

I am tried people keep making Deathstroke a Batman villain. Deathstroke is teen titans villain not a Batman villain. 5:06 Really? That is actually real? There is so many Batmen that has their own continuities and they want Matt Reeves’ Batman to be part of James Gunn’s DCU? They just want No Way Home version of Batman, which is beyond dumb. No more multiverse stories. 11:32 You think James Gunn will adapted Battle of the Cowl story? But without Tim Drake, Jason Todd and other characters? 12:14 I agree I prefer other Batman villains like Philo Zeiss. But we gonna go non grounded villains Doctor Phosphorus(DC has an obsession with Green skeletons), Zebra Man, Orca, Eraser The only Batman that is non Grounded is Batman: The Brave and the Bold. 13:07 It the same for the Dark Knight trilogy. Seriously Christopher Nolan original pitch was not a Batman movie until WB made it the pitch into a Batman movie. 13:17 I seen a lot of thumbnails. I just not going to see Joker 2. Ever Back then when first The Joker movie was successful, there people who criticized the movie calling it *“White Man Rage”* I do remember one of the critics like the bird of prey movie. Oh hypocrisy you are a mystery. 14:43 Man….. Where is the Love for Tim Drake. Before Fitzmartin and Wielgoz retcon Tim drake. Never forget. 14:48 But you should check out The Boy Wonder by Juni Ba. It is a Great Robin and Good Damain Wayne story.

If you ask me the best way to do a grounded batman is like character from a stealth video game, a proper stealth game like Hitman not an action game with stealth elements. Batman can fight but it's not ideal, he's better at stealth and strategy. Batman's smart, he knows the issue with Gotham is the corruption at the top not the thugs at the bottom. So his initial goal would be to get evidence against and leverage on the corrupt elite. His equipment would primarily be designed to help him infiltrate places like a ninja, then later on when he's in a bad position he improvises and figures out how to use them as weapons. Then after he's caught and escapes a couple of times he see's how much he scares the lower tier criminals.

Ben Afflecks batman is only one that is close to the comic when it comes to gadgets,moves,death of aside kick and costume I hope Gunns batman is unrealistic as hell in this new universe.

Could you imagine if they did a Batman pov movie like hardcore Henry? Like you follow Batman through one night out from his actual pov - whether it be a Arkham game styled story or something new. Either way that would be a crazy ahh movie

Wake up babe, new M Enterprises Video dropped

As a Tim Drake fan, I feel like a beggar. "Please, sir. Anything you can spare will be appreciated. "

The biggest flaw in a 'realistic' Batman is that most of the problems could be solved just by throwing money at them, rather than beating people up in a bat costume.

gets his back blown out? give that a pause cousin 2:25

i would limit the bat family down to: batman nightwing oracle alfred jason (believed to be deceased) i love tim, cassandra, etc. but i think it would be stronger to have damian be introduced as the third robin, to a batman that hasn't had a real partner for several years after dick's resignation, barbara's retirement, and jason's death. and we could always introduce cassandra and etc with later projects

Finally people are waking up and starting to realize why I absolutely can’t stand The Batman. In reality it isn’t that bad of a movie but seeing batman use a 1970’s Plymouth Barracuda instead of an actual armored vehicle and a wing suit instead of his actual wings to glide was way too weird for me. It felt like I was watching a John Wick movie instead of a Batman movie. Not to mention the slow pacing and dumb plot twist at the end

13:10 yeah and the worst part is that if that video gets big enough, all the sudden a mass flow of people will swear they felt that exact same way when watching the movie and all the sudden Joker 2 has a fan-base who will say bs like "you just didn't understand the film because you aren't smart poopy pants, and that's why you think it's bad" or even worse because "there's a woman lead" or whatever other shit they want to cook up

I have no problem with a grounded Batman. I have no problem with a more fantastical Batman either. Just make it good.

I’m happy to have a grounded Batman universe. It means it’s not just a shitty looking cgi-fest with ragdoll physics. When there are no flying cgi monsters they can actually put effort into the filmmaking and making it visually look amazing. Which they have. The Batman universe so far has been the best live action shit DC has ever put out. They’re not going to be able to make a Batman’s universe more fantastical until they can properly handle a live action justice league, which they have not been able to. Hopefully with James Gunn we can finally have a true Batman and dc lineup, but I’m just glad to have a universe where the storytelling and characterization is fucking amazing. And James Gunn isn’t afraid to get unrealistic with his movies, so if anyone is gonna be able to do it, it’s him.

It's interesting how people are tired of grounded Batman movies and multiverse Spider-Man movies (even though there have only been three Spider-Verse movies)