There aint no bat. Yes, there is. The audience knew this before the two muggers who were too busy counting their ill-gotten money to notice an iconic, bat-shaped silhouette descending behind them. They had no idea how much trouble they were in. Batmans (Michael Keaton) entrance in Tim Burtons 1989 film immediately separated the character from the Adam West version of the 1960s. Of equal importance was the way this scene redefined what was tonally possible in superhero movies, showing that filmmakers could go dark. Batman is scary in this scene, entering in a fashion befitting a monster of the night. He stalks his prey and seemingly cannot be killed, rising to his feet after being shot four times in the chest at close range. When he strikes, he does so quickly. His aim is to make a lasting impression so that stories about him will spread and strike fear in the hearts of criminals, and he succeeds. That success stretched beyond the confines of this one film. Without question, this one of the genres most iconic scenes. Keatons closing line of Im Batman is one of the most repeated lines of dialogue in any film and for good reason. Based on everything we saw in the previous 60 seconds, there could be no doubt Keaton was telling the truth.
