The Batman: 10 Things That Make Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne Unique

Matt Reeves’ The Batman is a poignant character study of the titular DC Comics icon that adheres to many familiar traditions of his characterization: brutal hand-to-hand combat, Bruce Wayne is the real mask, representing hope for Gothamites in despair, etc. But there are also a lot of things that make this Batman different.

Robert Pattinson has won over even the bitterest of Twilight-hating naysayers with a performance that captures both sides of the Caped Crusader beautifully: he both carries himself with authenticity in the Batsuit and nails Bruce’s painful awkwardness in social situations. Pattinson’s Batman performance evokes some of his predecessors, but he also stands out as a wholly fresh take on the Dark Knight with several distinguishing characteristics.

10 Inexperienced Crimefighter

Batman movies usually jump from the origin story to the crimefighting crusade of an efficient, highly skilled vigilante. The Batman mercifully skips the well-worn origin story, but follows a young, inexperienced Dark Knight in his second year of fighting crime.

Pattinson’s Batman isn’t yet the best Batman he can be – he’s still figuring it out. He takes as many punches as he throws, he’s too trusting of people like Carmine Falcone, he stalls the Batmobile during its big debut, and he deploys the parachute of his flight suit under a bridge.

9 No Playboy Facade

Traditionally, in his downtime, Bruce Wayne puts on the mask of a confident, promiscuous billionaire to keep up appearances. But Pattinson’s Bruce doesn’t bother with that. He’s so committed to his superhero career that Bruce hardly exists.

He doesn’t give himself any downtime to keep up that facade. This Bruce barely functions as a human being in society. He’s confident in the cowl, but he’s painfully awkward in social situations.

8 Lives In The Middle Of Gotham

Bruce usually resides in Wayne Manor, a big mansion in the middle of nowhere, and has to commute in and out of Gotham to fight crime as Batman. The Batman takes a more realistic approach and has Bruce residing in Wayne Tower at the center of the city.

It’s still a big, cavernous, luxurious home, but it’s closer to the action than a dusty mansion in the countryside. In this version of the Bat mythos, the Batcave is an abandoned underground train station beneath the tower.

7 Inspired By Kurt Cobain

While Michael Giacchino’s original score captures the character and the moody atmosphere of the film perfectly, two of The Batman’s most memorable musical moments are provided by Nirvana’s “Something in the Way.”

Reeves used the Nirvana song on the soundtrack because his take on Bruce Wayne was heavily inspired by late frontman Kurt Cobain. Batman is an addict, but his addiction is to vengeance.

6 Doesn’t Get Along With Alfred

Alfred Pennyworth has a much smaller role in The Batman than he usually does, because Bruce spends most of the movie in the cowl, fighting crime. And when Alfred does appear, played brilliantly by Andy Serkis, he and Bruce don’t share their usual heartwarming father-son dynamic; they can hardly stand each other.

This Bruce doesn’t fully appreciate everything that Alfred has done for him. He tells him, “You’re not my father,” even though he kind of is. Alfred disagrees with Bruce’s vigilante career, so he rejects him at every turn. It’ll be interesting to see how this dynamic develops in The Batman’s upcoming sequels.

5 Insomniac

The Dark Knight’s vigilante crusade in The Batman has a few parallels with Travis Bickle’s war on New York’s criminal underworld in Taxi Driver – particularly the insomnia. This Batman doesn’t take any time off from being Batman to be Bruce for a while. He barely takes a break from being Batman to get some sleep.

Pattinson’s Batman spends all night fighting bad guys, then spends all morning reliving the whole thing as he reviews the footage from his contact lens camera and fills his journal (another similarity with Travis) with thoughts and ideas.

4 World’s Greatest Detective

In addition to “Dark Knight” and “Caped Crusader,” one of the Bat’s many nicknames from the comics is “World’s Greatest Detective.” But the movies usually sideline or completely ignore the Bat’s detective skills in favor of the more visually exciting capabilities of his utility belt.

Reeves finally shed a spotlight on the Bat’s sleuthing talents with The Batman’s noir-inspired investigation storyline. The nickname “World’s Greatest Detective” is even used by the Penguin at one point, but he’s being sarcastic.

3 Eyeshadow

One of the first things Batman fans noticed from this movie’s first-look stills is that Reeves and Pattinson weren’t shying away from the Bat’s use of eyeshadow.

Most Batman movies pretend the eyeshadow just disappears when he takes off the cowl, but Pattinson’s Batman has smeared eyeshadow around his eyes whenever he’s in the Batcave. It’s a great way to visualize his insomnia (and the darkness in his soul) and adds another degree of believability to the film’s portrayal of Gotham’s masked protector.

2 Spends Most Of His Time In The Batsuit

Batman movies usually have about a 50/50 split between brooding Bruce scenes and butt-kicking Batman scenes to round out the dichotomy of the Dark Knight, but The Batman has way more Batman scenes than Bruce scenes.

This Batman has no interest in ever being Bruce Wayne. He only takes off the cowl to shower, eat berries, and inspect Riddler clues in the Batcave. He makes a public appearance as Bruce, but only because he thinks the Riddler might attack the same event (and, lo and behold, he does, at which point Bruce quickly changes back into the Batsuit).

1 Symbol Of Vengeance

Cinematic incarnations of Batman usually announce themselves by saying, “I’m Batman.” But Pattinson’s Dark Knight has a unique twist on the line: “I’m vengeance.” For most of the movie, the Bat is committed to serving Gotham as a symbol of vengeance, striking fear into criminals.

When he realizes his vengeful crusade is sending the wrong signal – striking fear into civilians and inspiring criminals – he rebrands himself as a symbol of hope. The Batman eschews the usual origin story, but this vengeance-to-hope symbolism shift tells a different kind of origin story.

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
(3465 Articles Published)

Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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