Ranking Every Cinematic Version Of Batman’s Origin
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Batman’s origin has been told on screen time and time again – but which are the best versions of the Bruce Wayne backstory?
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As a young lad, Bruce Wayne was walking home with his folks, Thomas and Martha in the mean streets of Manhattan (before it was officially named Gotham City). They had run afoul of a mugger, no crazy supervillain, just a mugger.
He shot the boy’s parents. With the exception of a few storylines, Batman’s origin has not changed no matter what timeline or who is writing the story. It’s not just canon at this point, but it’s biblical. Here’s every cinematic version of Batman’s Origin, ranked.
19 Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians – “The Fear” (1985)
The very first time that Batman’s origin story was told anywhere besides the comics was during the last season of the Super Friends, which was now called Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians. In a pretty dark story for a kids Saturday morning cartoon, the Scarecrow has Gotham gripped in fear and Batman trapped in Crime Alley cowering at memories of the fateful night his parents were murdered.
18 Beware The Batman – “Secrets” (2014)
It’s a brief appearance, but as Bruce is doing some detective work posing as himself to see psychiatrist Dr. Bethanie Ravencroft to talk about new supervillain, Magpie. In her office, Bruce sees a Rorschach picture that reminds himself as a young boy on his knees crying in anguish over what just happened.
17 Batman (1989)
While the story has always been better presented as a nameless mugger or Joe Chill, Tim Burton changed the story for Batman. The culprit in the second Bat-flick since the ‘66 movie was changed to be Jack Napier who eventually becomes the Joker.
As a stand alone story, it helped fit the narrative. But the overall saga of the detective has always worked better with a two-bit mugger committing the atrocity.
16 Batman: The Animated Series – “Nothing To Fear” (1992)
The Scarecrow strikes again, for the first time in The Animated Series. His fear toxins have always had a way to messing with Batman’s head. Similar to his appearance in Super Powers Team, the toxins bring The Dark Knight to his knees, feeling the pangs of failure for the murder of his parents that he couldn’t possibly have stopped as a boy.
15 Batman Forever (1995)
While trying to deal with the threat of both Two-Face and the Riddler, Bruce also is also getting to know Dr. Chase Meridian and trying to comfort the newly orphaned Dick Grayson. Considering how Dick’s parents were murdered, Bruce confronts his own origin as a therapy session with Dr. Meridian brings Bruce back to Crime Alley and the fateful night that changed his life forever.
14 Gotham – “Pilot” (2014)
While Thomas and Martha’s murders have always fueled Bruce’s journey, they never fueled an entire show before. Gotham changed all of that during the first season of the show. A young Jim Gordon vows to solve the Wayne murders. In a departure, it is revealed that they were killed by a hitman on orders from Hugo Strange. The killer’s identity would eventually become a secret identity of Bruce when he goes undercover – Matches Malone.
13 Batman Vs. Robin (2015)
While the bulk of the story in Batman Vs. Robin has to deal with trying raise and tame a wild Damian Wayne both as his son and as Robin. In a flashback, Bruce once again relives his nightmare. Within the context of the movie, he learns about The Court Of Owls, who he believes were behind the murders but can’t prove it.
12 Batman: Bad Blood (2016)
In this sequel to Batman Vs. Robin, the detective is missing, leaving Damian, Nightwing, and Batwoman to pick up the slack in Gotham and try to find Bruce. Batman is actually being held captive by Talia Al Ghul and being brainwashed by The Mad Hatter – cue up obligatory dream sequence which must constantly play in Bruce’s head all day long.
11 Teen Titans Go! To The Movies (2013)
In the only entry played up for laughs, Robin convinces his Teen Titan pals to time travel to erase the Justice League, since they all have their own movies already. They wind up protecting the Waynes.
But after realizing they have to undo their time crimes, the Titans head back and this time, they push Thomas and Martha into Crime Alley.
10 The Batman – “The Big Chill” (2004)
Over the years, Mr. Freeze has proven to be Batman’s physical and intellectual equal. In The Batman’s first encounter with Victor, he handed Batman his bat-cheeks and froze him to near hypothermia. As he was recovering, he began to hallucinate that he was back at Crime Alley, with Freeze standing for Chill (obviously terrible pun intended).
9 JLA Unlimited – “For The Man Who Has Everything” (2004)
Joe Chill makes his first appearance in what’s called the DCAU in the second ever JLU episode. In “For The Man Who Has Everything,” as parasite is feeding off of Batman, who is happily recalling a false memory of his dad beating back the mugger. As the parasite weakens so does the “happy” memory.
8 Batman: Gotham Knight (2008)
If you’ve never seen Gotham Knight before, it’s an interesting take. Several creators and artists get together for anthology movie featuring Batman on the trail of Deathstroke. In the film’s final chapter, Bruce recounts his parents being gunned down and his vow to never use a firearm, but he admits to Alfred that he can understand why a person might use one.
7 Joker (2019)
Joaquin Phoenix’s performance of the Joker in the 2019 film instantly grabbed viewers the same way that Heath Ledger, Mark Hamill, Jack Nicholson, and to a lesser extent, Jared Leto had done, but in his own unique way. As the entire city descended into the kind of madness that could foster a psychopathic clown, right at the film’s riotous climax, the Waynes are murdered as the Clown Prince Of Crime ascends to his throne.
6 Batman: The Brave And The Bold – “Chill Of The Night” (2010)
After watching his parents die, Bruce Wayne swears an oath to avenge their death by fighting the criminal element. The Phantom Stranger and The Spectre serve as facets of Bruce’s consciousness as he finally finds out the name, Joe Chill. In this story, Chill is selling weapons to Batman’s Rogues’ Gallery. Batman has to wrestle with arresting Chill or getting his ultimate revenge.
5 Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016)
Much ballyhoo has been made about the “Martha-ness” that surrounds BVS. But that’s only because it seems hokey. But underneath the surface, Bruce spends the entire movie dehumanizing “the alien,” making it easier for him to be able to stop Superman without impunity. But once The Man Of Steel mentions Martha, it snaps Bruce back into humanity, as he realizes that Superman is actually one of the good guys.
4 Batman: The Dark Knight Returns: Part One (2012)
It’s been ten years since The Batman went into hiding. But a rash of attacks from a gang of Mutants and Bruce’s own restlessness bring the old man out of retirement. But not before he spends a night or two drinking and remembering the night his parents were gunned down after seeing Zorro.
3 Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)
Batman and The Joker are born in the same tragic murder during The Flashpoint Paradox. Barry Allen, The Flash wakes up and realizing things aren’t quite right.
When he heads to Gotham to try and get Batman’s help, he learns that this Batman is actually Thomas Wayne. In this reality, it was Bruce that was murdered turning Thomas into Batman and Martha into the Joker.
2 Batman: Year One (2011)
It was Frank Miller’s groundbreaking tale, Year One that has become the definitive origin tale of Bruce Wayne. The now iconic shot of the boy on his knees in agony over what just happened and it sets Bruce off on his path to leaving Gotham to train and return to become Batman.
1 Batman Begins (2005)
Everything about Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy changed comic book movies forever. The origin is the same, but before Bruce leaves he almost chooses to do the unthinkable and murder Joe Chill in a cold blooded act of vengeance.
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