Batman Takes Down a Villain in a Moment Straight out of Batman 1989

When you really look back at it, Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) is a pretty bold departure from DC Comics lore. Burton changed everything from Batman‘s costume look (black and gold), to the origins of Batman and The Joker, and of course, The Batmobile. Burton’s Batman ‘89 Batmmobile reset the standard for the Dark Knight’s main ride – and not just on the movie screen. Many versions of the Batmobile that have appeared in comics have taken clear inspiration from Batman ’89 – including one of the most recent ones, used for an epic action moment in DC’s Batman: Curse of the White Knight finale.

Warning – Batman: Curse of the White Knight SPOILERS Follow!

The final chapter of Batman: Curse of the White Knight is an all-out war across Gotham between Batman and Azrael. The deranged religious vigilante wants to blow up Gotham’s dam and flood the city (a la The Simpsons), and its up to Bruce Wayne to stop him. However, because Azrael has wreaked so much havoc on Bruce’s life (like killing Jim Gordon), Batman has been pushed to the brink, and is ready to break every code he has to bring Azrael down.

Curse of the White Knight’s Batmobile is clearly inspired by Batman ’89, down to the twin machine guns that pop out of the hood to shoot down Azrael. However, in a sequence that could’ve been lifted right out of Burton’s films, Batman shoots a hook-line onto Azrael to pull him out of the air. With Azrael grounded, Batman reverses into the craze vigilante, driving backwards at high speed, right into a grounded plane on the tarmac. Thanks to the Batmobile’s armor Batman is unharmed as the plane explodes, and he takes the fight to Azrael, hand-to-hand (or gun-to-hand, rather).

The Batman ’89 nods don’t stop there: later in the fight, when Azrael launches a missile to blow up the Gotham dam, Batman converts the Batmobile into a mobile launcher (again, in the exact style of Batman ’89s Batmobile or Batwing) and intercepts the missle, mid-air.

All in all, Curse of the White Knight #8 is a great bit of Batman action, perfectly attuned to a series that was spun out of the mythos that Burton established (namely, The Joker’s civilian persona as Jack Napier. It’s a testament to Sean Murphy’s work that the references to the milestone Batman movie come through so well – and of course to Burton, whose influence on the Batman character remains indelible.

You can read Batman: Curse of the White Knight online Here.