1. The year is 1947 (sort of).*

Gotham City in 1989's Batman is a surreal place. There are hints of the then-recent past — pretty much all the cars are '70s-era domestics, for example. But the newspapermen use flashbulbs. The villains dress like Capone's mobsters and use Tommy Guns. And the Gotham Globe newspaper, if you look closely, refers to events in 1947.

Exhibit A: When Alexander Knox (the great Robert Wuhl, aka Arli$) meets Vicki Vale in the newsroom, the paper's headline mentions Mexican president Miguel Aleman being hailed at a parade. That's in 1947, which you can see in this (actual) newspaper clipping (above).

2. Vicki Vale is the only modern woman.

Vicki wears a Parisian frock, a beret, and drives a 1980 Chevy Citation. She has teased-out hair. She takes photos of modern (albeit fictional) war zones. But every other woman in the movie appears to be a contemporary of the 1940s.

Take, for instance, Jack "The Joker" Napier's girlfriend Alicia (actress Jerry Hall). Alicia only appears in '40s period costume, with a swept and parted hairstyle that's pure gangster moll.

3. Bob Kane has a cameo.

Bob Kane, creator of Batman, was supposed to be in the film. But his only appearance ended up being his signature on a satiric drawing of Batman, which was handed to Knox in the newsroom.

4. Bob the Goon is the only modern villain.

Where the other villains use six-shooters and Tommy Guns, Bob wields a Colt M1911A1 — a pistol that is slightly more modern than its revolver counterparts. Batman, by the way, isn't thoroughly modern. The guns on the Batmobile are Browning M1919s (ended production in 1945).

5. Batman wore Nikes.

Nike partnered with Warner Brothers for Batman and created the Bat-Boot: basically, the Air Trainer III customized with a boot extension.

*The movie doesn't literally take place in 1947, but there are certainly plenty of allusions to that period.

PLUS: Why Tim Burton's Batman Is Still the Best >>

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