Rebooting a Superhero

For over seventy years, ever since he first appeared in a ten-cent issue of Detective Comics, the mythology of Batman has captivated audiences of all ages. When five-year-old leukemia patient Miles Scott was given the opportunity through the Make-A-Wish Foundation to be San Francisco’s pint-sized superhero for a day, United States President Barack Obama joined the millions on social media who were expressing their support for “Batkid.” News that Ben Affleck will play Batman in the upcoming Justice League film sparked a similarly widespread media firestorm driven by outraged fans protective of their hero (and perhaps, still scarred from Gigli). There is something special about Batman that has drawn us to his timeless narrative: a disguised millionaire becomes a superhero without superpowers, driven instead by a sense of justice instilled after his parents are killed. Aided by high-tech gadgets and a complex partnership with law enforcement, the “caped crusader” pledges to save Gotham, his home city, from its own demons that besiege it.

The Batman story has endured the test of time in large part because of the creativity of those who have dared to reimagine the character and redefine his quest. From authors Frank Miller and Neil Gaiman, to directors Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan, an impressive guild of artists has imbued the character with generations of political and social commentary. Gotham, a dark metropolis weighed down by its excesses, is a projection of our insecurities about urban America and greed-driven economics. We identify with Bruce Wayne, the mere human behind the mask, who disguises his conscience through pleasantries with his fellow One Percenters. Batman even inspires our inner geek to fawn over the tools in his crime-fighting arsenal, including sophisticated hand-combat weapons and the car of our dreams.

Projecting the future of Batman gives us an opportunity to approach the narrative with a blank canvas, shaping the character by the challenges he, and we, will likely face. Through brainstorming, scenario planning and other forms of forecasting and trend analysis, we can fuse the fiction of Batman’s world with the realities of our own to design the superhero of tomorrow.

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History & Evolution

The flexibility of Batman’s tale and the relatability of his struggle have allowed the character to convincingly exist amid changing historical backdrops. The character first appeared as "the Bat-man" in 1939 in DC Comics Inc.’s Detective Comics #27, created by writers Robert Kane and Bill Finger. Designed to be a counterbalance to the successful Superman comic in its early years, Batman’s creators borrowed attributes from other heroes and stories to develop him into his characteristic dark and grim form, dispatching villains in the "bleak and menacing world." After World War II, however, DC Comics was eager to bring Batman out of the darkness to reflect a more positive worldview and repositioned the character to illustrate the optimism of the age.

This lighter side of Batman was further evident in his campy television persona in the 1960s, in which Adam West’s portrayal of the hero brought true innovation to the absurdist comedy genre: the tongue-in-cheek, self-aware humor of the series poked fun at the comic medium and the very idea of a costumed superhero.

But interest in the campy character and associated comics waned, giving writers the opportunity to return Batman to his dark and gritty roots in the 1980s, where the character continues to reign today. The story has capitalized on particularly dark periods of American history to keep the Batman narrative in the shadows: in 1989, for example, the Joker was appointed as Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, emblematic of the United States very strained relations with the theocratic regime at the time.

Two more recent cinematic interpretations of Batman are worth mentioning in this historical review as they were particularly successful in anchoring the narrative to modern times. The first is director Tim Burton’s series of Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992). Burton’s famous cartoonish yet gothic aesthetic was well-suited to evoke the original Bob Kane series, all while painting a haunting portrayal of Gotham’s rotting core. The films flourished through the talents of actors like Michael Keaton as Batman, Jack Nicholson as the Joker, Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent, Michelle Pfieffer as Catwoman and Danny DeVito as the Penguin. In its review of the first film, Variety captured the uniqueness of this approach to Batman in describing Nicholson’s performance:

“Nicholson embellishes fascinatingly baroque designs with his twisted features, lavish verbal pirouettes and inspired excursions into the outer limits of psychosis. It’s a masterpiece of sinister comic acting.” Variety, December 31, 1988

Unfortunately, Burton’s nightmarish cinemascape was also not particularly child-friendly, prompting negative backlash from parents and disappointment from commercial partners. Warner Bros. decided to move in a different direction and bumped Burton in place of Joel Schumacher, who would go on to direct the disappointing films Batman Forever (1995) and Batman & Robin (1997).

Fans of the franchise can be thankful for these flops, however, as it prompted Warner Bros. to approach the narrative with a newfound seriousness that would bring about its best cinematic interpretations yet. Christopher Nolan’s trilogy of Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012) are modern masterpieces, expertly weaving together basic elements of the Batman mythology into a world that audiences can painfully recognize as their own. Powerful performances by Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson and Morgan Freeman, among others in their deep bench of talent, transformed the tale into a visceral chronicle of all the threats we fear in a post-9/11 environment. Ledger’s terrifyingly convincing Joker thrived in the chaos of terrorism, eager to exploit the cynicism and paranoia of Gotham’s populace to "see the world burn." Lucius Fox, Bruce Wayne’s scientific advisor played by Freeman, used hidden discretionary research and development funds to build prototypes for the military that Batman would repurpose, including an NSA-style surveillance command center. Nolan’s scripting of Tom Hardy's Bane was particularly unsettling, as his violent takeover gave voice to the frustrations of the Occupy Wall Street movement happening off-screen.

Given this rich history of the character, the next installment of Batman will need to be similarly relevant to the concerns, fears and threats our society will face. These social issues and themes can serve as driving forces that shape many elements of the narrative, from the technology at Batman's disposal to the characteristics of Gotham and its villains. However, certain aspects of Batman's myth will remain unchanged, including Bruce Wayne’s quintessential internal conflict as a masked vigilante: whose side is he really on?

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Driving Forces

The world in 2020 will be full of possibilities and rife with predicaments, so singling out those issues that would be valuable as themes in the future Batman narrative is a fascinating forecasting challenge. We can focus our search by identifying the areas with particularly nuanced developments, as they will make for more compelling themes in the story and provide morally ambiguous choices for Batman to address. One must also eliminate factors from consideration that, while interesting to discuss on their own, lack relevance to Batman’s central purpose of fighting crime and saving lives. Through this process, we can identify certain driving factors that would most greatly impact Batman’s development, the justice he must preserve and the agency he has in affecting change:

Income Inequality

Certain themes are more likely to be revisited than others given Bruce Wayne’s wealth and power, and the access and limitations that his elite status presents for on his superhero alter ego. The rising gap between the richest and poorest Americans is one that has been at the center of most Batman stories because of the moral quandary it places him in. Increased inequality begets an increase in organized crime, and Batman’s villains often exploit working class frustrations over the excesses of Gotham’s aristocracy. It is also often a driver of greater corruption and abuse of power, a major motivation for Batman to operate outside of the lines of the law. 2020 will be a presidential election year in America and we can reasonably expect that economic opportunities, tax policies and class differences will all be primary issues in the national debate that seep into fiction like Batman.

Climate Change

Environmental issues have been well represented in Batman's world for many years, and the continued deterioration of our planet makes it highly likely that climate change will play a prominent role in the 2020 version of the tale. Batman's creators have incorporated the environment in many ways, including a prominent villainess's occupation, frequent use of chemical spills as subplots, and Wayne Enterprise's nuclear energy R&D in the Nolan trilogy. In a world of 8 billion people, environmental issues and their side effects will be especially pronounced in the Gotham of 2020, as it will endure a greater strain of overcrowding on infrastructure and the rule of law. The important role of nature in the Batman mythology may serve a literary purpose, too, as Gotham’s natural elements serve as powerful metaphors throughout the series. We can expect that the climate crisis will continue to play a multifaceted role in Batman, from setting the scene to taking on a life of its own.

Gun Proliferation

In July 2012, moviegoers in Aurora, Colorado attended a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises when James Holmes opened fire on the audience, killing twelve people. This macabre spectacle was part of a wave of mass shootings in America over recent years and opened the nation’s eyes to its unchecked gun violence epidemic and its disproportionate impact on young people. The tragedy’s juxtaposition to the grisly Batman tale was significant, and Gotham’s violent culture mirrors the painful reality of many real cities plagued with gun violence. Nonetheless, the gun lobby continues to be incredibly effective in fending off any restrictive measures aimed at curbing this disturbing trend, meaning we may see many more Auroras, Newtowns, and Navy Yards by 2020. We can predict that the next iteration of the Batman story will recognize its moral imperative to comment on America’s gun violence issue. Batman’s writers may also make artistic adjustments from past narratives so as to not romanticize use of these deadly weapons, given its impressionable audience.

Digital Control

Technology has consistently played a major role in Batman's world, primarily as his means of compensating for his lack of true superpowers: each retelling incorporates more sophisticated (and yet, more plausible) technological innovations into his arsenal. Digital media is a key influencer in our social culture, accompanying our daily use of goods and services and documenting many of our actions. The future of power is in the control of data, and we are increasingly wary of the drawbacks to an online existence. These questions will continue to be salient for Gotham of 2020 and can manifest themselves in two counterbalancing ways. On one hand, seven more years puts us that much closer to the concept of technological singularity, meaning we will have discovered new ways to incorporate digital mechanisms into our lives and be increasingly interconnected through “smarter” devices. On the other hand, rising inequality described earlier can also make the digital divide more pronounced, depriving the disconnected poor of their agency. We can predict that our uncertainties about our digital future and the vulnerabilities it may expose will be an important aspect of Batman's development.

Brains or Brawn?

Although the majority of driving factors are external social forces that will inform Batman’s crime-fighting agenda, it is worth noting that internal forces--the personal characteristics of the superhero himself--can be similarly influential. One knob Batman’s creative engineers often fiddle with is the level of physicality embodied by the character. While Nolan’s Batman was undoubtedly a sharp detective, a greater cinematic emphasis was placed in his physical confrontations with villains and his hand-to-hand combat abilities. The criminals of the future may be more interested in psychological warfare or data destruction than physical harm, shifting the focus from Batman’s muscular toughness to his mental fortitude.

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New Tools of the Trade

As previously mentioned, one of the greatest opportunities that comes with designing the future Batman is determining what technology is at his disposal. While the possibilities are seemingly endless, the narrative is most believable when his arsenal is filled with technology we can reasonably expect to see in the real world. There are two aspects of Batman's technology about which we can make reasonable predictions:

The Next Batsuit

The strength and functions of the Batsuit are the main factors that transform Bruce Wayne into a feared creature of the night. Thus his constume must incorporate a number of factors, from aerodynamic movement to camouflage to adequate protection from prospective villains. Kevlar serves its protective function, but a Batsuit constructed of it would be far too heavy and bulky. The most realistic replacement option for 2020's Batsuit is the use of so-called liquid armor, which consistents of a super-charged gel that is pasted between sheets of Kevlar. The fluids particles are freely suspended,, but collide and lock together when experiencing a large disturbance. The gel then absorbs the impact energy to harden very quickly. Liquid armor will give Batman the flexibility to operate in different settings and climates while giving him the security he needs. Advancements in nanotechnology will also make their way into the next edition of the Batsuit, as it will enable him to quickly repair damages to his exterior and communicate information automatically based on his physical well-being back to the Batcave.

The Batmobile's Green Future

The enthusiasm and energy around green automobile design has brought about many sophisticated possibilities to America's dream car, the Batmobile. While the Tumbler in Nolan's trilogy was large and tank-like, designed with urban warfare in mind, the next Batmobile will be an electric car that recalls the sleek, silent, aerodynamic design of the animated series. The Batmobile's sustainable turn will be in response to environmental driving factors in the narrative, and will incorporate design elements of new green car prototypes from Nissan, Tesla, Drayson and other manufacturers who are looking to contribute to this expanding field.

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New Villains

One of the most powerful aspects of scenario planning is the ability to create personas and characters that we can imagine would thrive in each potential future, as it helps give greater context and an atmospheric sense of alternate realities. Creating characters for a timeless story like Batman is a similar endeavor, as there are certain mainstay characters in the history of the series that are animated by different issues as the years progress. Jack Nicholson's 1989 Joker as compared to Ledger's take on the same character two decades later is a perfect example of a successful reinvigoration of a classic Batman villain to account for new story elements and issues at play. The themes and driving factors for 2020's narrative discussed earlier will necessitate updates to these archetypes that will test Batman's mettle and impact Gotham with sinister power. Here are a few possibilities of Batman villains of the future:

Dr. Pamela Lillian Isley: Poison Ivy

Gotham's most prominent eco-terrorist is due for starring role in the 2020 story given the high likelihood of the climate crisis issues being incorporated into the plot. In this scenario, Dr. Pamela Isley is a climate scientist by day with specialties in botany and infectious diseases. She is well-known in political circles for actively promoting her environmental research in search of meaningful consequences against Gotham's biggest polluters, many of whom are titans of industry with their hands in politicians' pockets. Her frustrations reach their breaking point when she experiences the personal tragedy of a late miscarriage due to toxic materials in the water, and she experiences her maternal grief through obsessive care of her large vegetable garden. Dr. Isley's research becomes increasingly experimental and dark, and she becomes fixated on a revenge mission to target Gotham's industrial giants, inevitably harming the many innocents that work for them. The scientist transforms into a homicide artist, and Poison Ivy terrorizes Gotham with subway gas attacks, coordinated syringe stabbings and other disturbing violent outbursts. Batman's great dilemma is to stop her mass violence from escalating any further, all while her grief and values resonate deeply with Bruce Wayne, who is too frustrated to see his fellow millionaires make such reckless environmental choices.

Oswald Cobblepot: Penguin

Few can rival Danny DeVito's masterful portrayal of Oswald Cobblepot in Burton's film, but the character is due for a reboot as a small arms smuggler in 2020's gun-obsessed Gotham. Originally a small-town politician in Maine, Cobblepot gains a reputation among conservatives as the Second Amendment's pudgy posterboy, valued for his zingers in press conferences and his "straight-talk" soundbytes. He is brought into Gotham by political kingmakers to help to combat legislation that would restrict assault weapons. Cobblepot is quickly corrupted by persuasive, seedy financiers in his adjustment to the big city, and is soon the major firearms supplier for Gotham's resurgent gangs under the pseudonym "The Penguin," a throwback to his days in Maine. The gangs get younger, and guns find their way into Gotham's public schools. Batman is on the hunt for the Penguin as a mass violence wave sweeps over the city's youth can be tracked back to his supply chain, all while maintaining a surprisingly collegial relationship as Bruce Wayne with Cobblepot and his refreshing, unpretentious presence in Gotham's stuffy social circles.

Edward Nygma: The Riddler

Jim Carrey's absurd, spandexed portrayal of The Riddler in 1995 could use a complete overhaul for the purposes of this 2020 edition, and this updated take on the villain can deliver it. Often likened to a young Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs, wunderkind computer programmer Edward Nygma made headlines for the popular apps he developed as a first-year Stanford student. While gifted at code, he is an unsavvy business leader and is unceremoniously swindled and stripped of his role in his own start-up. Dejected and bored, Nygma develops an online identity, "_Ridlr", and creates hacking challenges and puzzles for other programmers like Anonymous alumni who are eager to expose Gotham's corrupt industrial complex. Nygma's start-up funding leftovers quickly dry up, and soon "_Ridlr" puts the banking industry into his coding crosshairs. He capitalizes on frustrations of unemployed digirati to recruit them for major theft. In this quest to punish Gotham's elites, he is able to access Bruce Wayne's hidden digital archives, and may reveal all of his superhero secrets. Can Batman solve the riddles embedded in the code before his identity is revealed, or worse, before his technology gets into the wrong hands?