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Batman: 10 Changes That Revolutionized His Story

There are a lot of Batman adaptations and these often change what we know about Gotham, adding interesting facts and stories to the comics and their big-screen incarnations. But there's a great deal of Batman out there!

Changes That Make The Story Even Better

You can't avoid it: changes that improve Batman's stories in film or television happen all the time and these can really make for great movie experiences that fans won't be able to resist! If anything, there is so much creativity! It's really awesome! There are times when they go beyond the pages of these classic comics. It’s interesting, there's no way for directors or writers to create all of these complex storylines!

It's an epic amount of content and a lot to keep in mind! There are times when they just take these famous characters like Batman, and make some great changes! There are tons of famous, iconic changes that were made!

Top Ten Changes Made To Batman's Story

Liam Neeson's Ra's Al Ghul meditating in Batman Begins and Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne happy in The Dark Knight Rises' ending Image
  • The first notable, exciting change is that "Batman Begins", the big screen adaptation. One of the biggest changes that it created had a great impact on Batman’s story. Instead of the normal stories, and the heroes that Batman was trained by, we get Liam Neeson as Ducard, a character who's later revealed to be "Ra’s al Ghul!" This film decided to bring Ra’s al Ghul back in the storyline. Not as an enemy. But someone who shaped Bruce Wayne's history! Bruce Wayne had many masters in Batman comics, but this change made a new and unique character who became so famous that DC Comics changed his official back story to include him,
  • The Mad Hatter - You'll find plenty of interesting changes and one of the more impressive ones is "Gotham" Fox's television series about Batman's city that created the show. While The Mad Hatter was really the focus of this one! "Gotham" took one of the show's biggest, most iconic and infamous characters! The Mad Hatter! A well-known character with lots of dark moments. A very intriguing twist as Gotham didn't take a story where "The Mad Hatter" was obsessed with those named Alice but gave him an intense background story. Jervis Tetch. His power of hypnotism, turned Tetch into a character who's scary and unique in "Gotham!" Not only did this change Jervis Tetch to become something more compelling but stopped the storyline that he just comes from the pages of "DC Comics." That's pretty smart!
  • In Matt Reeves' "The Batman" the world of Gotham just became more interesting, and it added something to the main series! You may know this famous character Carmine Falcone? In the series, this big boss had a complex, even tragic, relationship to Thomas Wayne, a person Bruce Wayne really looks up to! But with this added detail, Reeves showed that Wayne wasn't perfect. The addition made Bruce Wayne see things differently! Bruce Wayne has to grapple with how much his family, especially his dad was truly involved with this dark, powerful side of Gotham.
  • Another great alteration from the comics, which Christopher Nolan was able to create in "Batman Begins" takes the spotlight. You won't believe this one! But when you are introduced to Bruce Wayne's story in Batman Begins, there is an important, memorable moment, which makes Bruce Wayne such a unique, complex character! That's when we learn, he doesn't have this no-kill rule from the very start, and what's worse is that he wanted to avenge the deaths of his parents! He wants to take out Joe Chill.
  • Batman Forever is really well known! What was really unexpected from this Batman adaptation? The film's villain, "The Riddler," had some really fascinating moments! The director, "Joel Schumacher," had such a unique style in filmmaking! He had Jim Carrey star as The Riddler, with tons of awesome comic moments. Schumacher, and his writer took a super different direction! What happened? In this "Batman Forever movie, he revealed that "Edward Nygma", known as "The Riddler," had worked at Wayne Enterprises before Bruce Wayne made it big. Nygma had even worked on some technology! "Nygma," felt betrayed. Then his anger made him become this devious character who made so many people question what they saw. What's remarkable about these changes? This creates such a cool angle and brings to life just how Wayne Enterprises and Gotham are really interwoven. Bruce Wayne is now no longer so untouchable.
  • The Batman - a different approach as a sequel to the first film and "The Riddler" as a key villain, but with one great twist! If you thought his riddles were a silly detail, it seemed like they served Reeves to create a much darker and more terrifying character in "The Batman!"

  • Harley Quinn, in many ways, changed the comic book universe! "Batman: The Animated Series" created a whole new villain who took over. She had some major successes. What was really remarkable, she was given a super important role! Even being used as a figure to take on some big heroes!

  • A big-screen moment with Tim Burton's Batman had something that many fans will recognize, an almost haunting scene of a well-known event that took place, as Joker killed Bruce Wayne's parents, Thomas Wayne, and Martha Wayne.
  • "Batman Begins", the "Dark Knight Trilogy," was the next set of big changes to "The Batman" universe and one "The Dark Knight" would leave a lasting legacy. Here was something very different and a cool addition, as well! Lucius Fox had been Bruce Wayne’s top aide, a true "Batman" fan who was always loyal to his boss, Bruce Wayne, while Wayne battled all kinds of villains in the night.

  • Batman: The Animated Series! We get more Harley Quinn but there's also Mr. Freeze, known for his special chilly power. Batman has a long history and a large list of his famous antagonists! Mr. Freeze is iconic but he really took a big jump after his time in the series. Victor Fries (as Mr. Freeze is sometimes known), had a makeover! Not just his design, it included his motivation.

All of these are really big and fascinating changes made over decades, creating such a vibrant world for these iconic characters to evolve!

What was once something limited to a series of comic books became something that could be played, seen and understood in these big film adaptations! Some of these creative, original details had such a huge impact! Some made their way into the "DC Comics Universe." And the characters, it just gives those of us who love to be fans even more to look forward to, as DC Comics continues to change and deliver new exciting comic books!

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