Batman Ends

Introduction

So this actually started as a screenplay for my idea of what a third Michael Keaton/Tim Burton Batman movie would look like, but I quickly ran into a couple of problems. First of all, it would make a four hour movie, and second of all it would cost $300 million (not to mention the fact that I don't own the rights to Batman). So I decided to turn it into fanfic instead. But I kept the screenplay style, which is why it has very minimalist descriptions, a focus on action and dialogue, and a quick pace. The idea is to imagine it as a movie while you read.

If you haven't seen the two Tim Burton Batman movies, I highly recommend watching them before reading this. This story hopefully works as a standalone tale about Batman solving a series of killings with ties to his past while passing the torch to a new generation, but it will have much more resonance if you're familiar with those films. It also draws on many other DC sources, including Batman Beyond, The Dark Knight Returns and The Long Halloween, but the Burton films are the primary influence. I won't waste time recapping those movies, but if you read the "story so far" that follows, it will give you a brief summary of the events that have happened between the end of Batman Returns (1992) and this story, which takes place several decades later.

So put on some Danny Elfman music, turn out all the lights and prepare to enter a Gothic nightmare world of the Bat, the Bird and the Scarecrow.

Note: this story is not in the same continuity as The Flash movie that bombed. That was cashing in on Burtonverse nostalgia to prop up a mediocre movie. This is the real deal.