With Michael Keaton set to reappear as the Caped Crusader in the upcoming feature-length The Flash film, co-starring Ezra Miller, fans everywhere are suddenly turning the clock back to 1989, when Tim Burton directed and released the iconic Batman. With Jack Nicholson in tow as the Joker, the film set the cinematic tone for every Batman film that followed, taking its cues from Frank Miller’s much darker interpretation of the character.
For those who were alive during that time period, it’s easy to remember how Batman became a pop culture phenomenon that swept the nation, with Bat-Mania in full swing on everything from lunch boxes and T-shirts, to cassette tapes and video games.
Burton’s script was witty, sharp-tongued and stuffed with fantastic quotes that resonate to this day. The best, however, came directly from Batman/Bruce Wayne and his ultimate nemesis, the Joker/Jack Napier.
1. [Batman] “I’m not going to kill you. I want you to do me a favor. I want you to tell all your friends about me.”
While the Batman of the comics refrained from murdering his enemies, Tim Burton’s interpretation was quite different. He was certainly no Punisher, but he had no qualms about offing threats to his life, or someone else’s. This quote from the opening of Batman sums up the titular character perfectly by insinuating that just because he won’t kill this particular bad guy, doesn’t mean he wouldn’t.
Frozen with fear over being dangled over the ledge of a building, the perp in question simply asks “What are you?” Batman responds by tugging hard on his collar and delivering a line that would continue to resonate with fans for decades – “I’m Batman!”
2. [The Joker] “Winged freak…terrorizes? Wait’ll they get a load of me!”
After falling into a vat of harsh chemicals, mobster Jack Napier’s face and body were disfigured to the point where he was forced to endure painful back-alley cosmetic surgery to correct the damage. It didn’t exactly go as planned, and the newly-christened “Joker” was driven insane, taking revenge on mob boss Carl Grissom, who set him up. After killing him and seizing his operation, Napier’s attention turned to the front page of a newspaper talking about Batman.
After scoffing at the headline, the Joker contemplated just how he was going to steal Batman’s thunder, by turning Gotham into a panic zone. It was comical, it was frightening, and it summed up Batman’s arch-nemesis in a way never before depicted on the big screen.
3. [Bruce Wayne] “It’s Japanese.” [Knox] “How do you know?” [Bruce Wayne] “Because I bought it in Japan.”
Tim Burton’s version of Bruce Wayne was designed to ask a simple question – who really is the alter-ego? Is Batman the natural evolution of Bruce Wayne as a man, while Wayne himself is the secret identity? It’s a formula that worked, and Burton played it up by making Bruce Wayne the odd man out who didn’t really fit in.
When Vicki Vale and Alexander Knox make their way into Wayne Manor’s art collection, Knox wonders where a particular suit of exotic-looking armor came from. Wayne strolls up and engages in this exchange that is typical of his dry and awkward personality. The rest of the exchange further demonstrates his eccentricities before shifting to Batman, who seems to have it all together.
4. [The Joker] “You are a vicious bastard, Rotelli. I’m glad you’re dead!”
The most sinister moment of Batman occurs when the Joker decides to upend the various organized crime families by demonstrating what happens when they cross him. He fries Antoine Rotelli to a burnt crisp using an enhanced Joy Buzzer that pumped 40,000 volts into the unsuspecting foe, leaving his charred remains to serve as a reminder to the others.
After giving the other mob bosses a chance to think over his proposal, he has a morbid conversation with Rotelli’s corpse, where he asks for advice on how to handle the others. It isn’t known if the Joker was just being cheeky, or actually heard Rotelli’s voice in his own head, but he appears to look shocked when the corpse “tells” him to kill the others immediately. He then utters this quote before laughing in a manner far more malicious than any other moment in the film.
5. [Bruce Wayne] “You know how a normal person gets up and…goes downstairs…eats breakfast…and kisses somebody goodbye, and goes to a…job, and…you know?”
Bruce Wayne wasn’t used to relationships, what with beating criminals to a pulp on a nightly basis, and running a billion-dollar conglomerate during the daytime. Vicki Vale changed all that by attempting to force her way past the emotional defense barriers he had set up in the wake of his parents’ deaths. Yet, for all his resistance, he couldn’t help but imagine a life for himself with her in it.
He decided to give love a try by heading over to visit her in an attempt to apologize for hurting her feelings, while revealing his secret identity to her. It didn’t exactly go as planned, with Bruce stumbling over his words in an attempt to make her understand just how complex his life really was. In the end, he was denied the big reveal when the Joker decided to crash the party.
6. [The Joker] “That luscious tan! Those ruby lips! And hair color so natural, only your undertaker knows for sure!”
One of the Joker’s principle methods of turning Gotham upside down was to create a concoction of chemicals that, when used together, could kill a human being while leaving a chilling grin across their face. He decided to advertise his newest line of tainted products – which he dubbed “Smylex” – by broadcasting a TV commercial cut with unusually high production values.
Though designed to be comical, the sheer malice and sadism of the message was obvious. The Joker was intent on killing as many people as he could, while throwing the city into a complete state of panic.
7. [Batman] “I made you. You made me first!”
Batman’s final confrontation with the Joker occurs after he comes to the conclusion that Jack Napier was the man responsible for the murder of his parents. That singular revelation changes the entire dynamic between the two, turning their antagonistic relationship into a personal vendetta. Batman demonstrates this by showing utter disregard for members of the Joker’s gang, slaughtering several of them without batting a lash.
The Joker, for his part, has yet to realize that Batman is a creation of his own actions, but he soon comes to grips with it. That is, until Batman manages to get the upper hand by entangling the Joker’s leg on a statue, dragging him off the ladder of his escape chopper.
8. [The Joker] “I’m only laughing on the outside. My smile is just skin deep. If you could see inside, I’m really crying! You might join me for a weep!”
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It’s hard to tell if the Joker was actually being serious, or merely mocking the notion that he had any feelings worth mentioning. We’re inclined to go with the latter, especially given how callously evil and psychopathic he was, even long before he lost what little remained of his sanity. The Joker says this to Vicki Vale shortly after shooting Bruce Wayne in the chest.
It’s his way of tormenting her with a never-ending series of encounters devoid of any clear motivation. The way he laughs at the end of the quote is suggestive that he’s biding his time with Vale, but it’s the simulated fart at the end that truly sealed the scene and made audiences laugh.
9. [Bruce Wayne] “I’ve tried to avoid all this, but I can’t. This is how it is. It’s not a perfect world.”
Alfred knew more than anyone that Bruce Wayne’s current life trajectory would swallow him whole one day, especially given the increasingly violent nature of the criminals he was contending with. Vicki Vale represented an off-ramp that could allow Bruce to live something resembling a normal life, while letting go of his past trauma.
He allowed Vale into the bat cave to confront Bruce about his dual identity, while pleading with him to abandon his cause and leave with her. Bruce responded with this quote, which demonstrated his devotion to the cause of fighting crime, while also highlighting his obsessive view of his own destiny. He was prepared to give a relationship with Vale a try, but he’d never hang up the cape and cowl.
10. [The Joker] “You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?”
The Joker wasn’t keen on waxing poetic, but this single line became one of his most ominous moments in the entire film. For a brief moment, the demented mind of Jack Napier conjured up an image far more unsettling than Smylex gas or random acts of terrorism and violence. For the Joker, this was something personal that spoke to the deepest reaches of his blackened soul.
It would also prove to be his undoing. He utters the quote to Bruce Wayne before shooting him in Vicki Vale’s apartment, which in turn acts as a catalyst that allows Bruce to access a repressed memory of his parents’ murder. There stands a young Jack Napier who also utters the line with a gun pointed at young Bruce Wayne, and a chilling grin plastered across his face.