Holy old-age Batman!

The very idea that 20 years has passed since the opening of Tim Burton's Batman movie seems like a plot cooked up the Mad Hatter. For up until this day when most people thought of Batman they thought Adam West, Neal Adams, Frank Miller or Bob Kane. No one had ever heard of Bruce Timm, Shane Glines, Paul Dini, or Dywane McDuffie-- Let alone Harley Quinn or Terry McGinnis. Hell, that dumbass Bane wouldn't be created -- or yell "I will BREAK YOU!"-- for years yet. Even Tim Burton himself was hardly a household name, having only two other feature films (Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice) under his directing belt. Still, outside of Vicki Vale, a Bat-suit that couldn't turn it's head and a weak climax there was a lot to like about the 1989 Batman. People freaked out when they heard Jack Nicholson had been cast as the Joker. Even more freaked out when they heard comedian Michael Keaton was going to be the new Batman! (- and who knew he'd be better than Clooney?)

A lot of water has gone under the ol' bat-bridge since then. The consecutive sequels to this film would eventually crash and burn then be re-invented by Chris Nolan and Bale to come back even stronger. The animated series would live and die and live and die again - then spawn it's own subsequent sequel series... which would eventually lead to the Justice League Unlimited show (for my money, the best animated superhero program ever created for television.)
So, as I sit waiting for the next Bat-chapter in the Gotham Lexicon (which I assume will be the upcoming Arkham Asylum game that will feature the return of the animated series voices of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill! ) I raise an appropriate glass of La Batts to the next twenty Bat-years!

Here's guano in yer eye, Keed!