Before The Dark Knight Rises: 10 Baffling Decisions By Batman Directors

7. The Statue of Liberty (Batman Forever)

Now I can understand the presence of the massive gothic statues in Gotham, because they're an iconic part of the architecture, but what the hell was the Statue of Liberty doing in Batman Forever exactly? What the film-makers were trying to attempt is up for debate, but presumably, as fans will no doubt point out in the comments, it was actually Lady Gotham in the film, so there is actually no link to the New York landmark other than a similar look (and no geographical proximity since Schumacher's Batman & Robin suggests Gotham is close to Maine). But that isn't strictly true, because adding "Gotham" to the statue's head-dress is no way to convince that she is in fact Lady Gotham. Because Lady Gotham holds a sword and shield, and not a torch and book, as she clearly does in Batman Forever (certainly in terms of the book, and what you can see of the torch it is identical to Liberty's). Crucially, the presence of the Statue of Liberty (or something looking so much like her) fundamentally undermines the importance of Gotham as an identity all of its own (regardless of the fact that the DC universe is different to our own). Especially since the similarity to the Statue of Liberty is just too strong, and the intention in the film too unclear to not inspire a million fans asking the exact same question that opened this page.
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