There simply isn't enough supernatural stuff in Batman movies, despite the inherent link between The Dark Knight and fear. We got a brief flash of it in Batman Begins with the Demon Bat, but only Tim Burton has really embraced the darkness properly. His Gotham, after all, was a carnival of grotesques and freaks and in Batman Returns, he was really off the leash.
We see his delicious appetite for creepiness in the way he shoots Catwoman's origin
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45. The Dark Knight Lives - The Return Of Bruce Wayne
DC Comics
If you've ever wanted to see Batman as a caveman, a pirate, a Witchfinder, a bounty hunter in the Wild West or as a vigilante in the early 20th century, then you have to read The Return of Bruce Wayne.
Grant Morrison wrote the book while Bruce was presumed dead in the wake of Final Crisis, and it's just pure fun. Along the way, Bats encounters the legendary pirate Blackbeard and even Jonah Hex, easily making it one of the character's most memorable exploits to date.
Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
