11 Most Compelling Pieces Of Evidence That Batman Triumphant Would Have Been Great

9. The Joker Factor

There's a simple, enduring rule in Hollywood that says that iconic characters transcend the material they're framed with. It's true of Darth Vader, Boba Fett, Indiana Jones and even The Punisher, and most pertinently, it's also true of The Joker.

Bad things have been committed in his name, but if there's one lesson from the change in reaction from the unveiling of Jared Leto's tattooed Joker to the excitement after the first trailer, it's that fans' capacity to change their mind is a lot more maleable for certain characters. (See also: Batfleck) So it would have been good news for Triumphant that Schumacher planned to bring the Clown Prince back as a hallucination to torment Batman, at the centre of a complex insight into his psychological state.

Even better, it would have been Jack Nicholson playing him again (if the director had got his way). That's two big positives in one. And again, consider the impact the Joker's presence had on Arkham Knight; the idea of him as a deranged, provocative Jiminy Cricket type was the best part of the game, and ALMOST made up for the fact that The Riddler seemed to have been watching too many Fast & Furious movies.

To have had Nicholson sitting on Batman's shoulder and f*cking with him would have been delightful, particularly as it fits with the idea of the pair needing each other to exist that has been explored so well elsewhere.