3 new Batman properties in 2024 all explore the same basic theme. The Batman mythos – which turns 85 in 2024 – have grown to encompass more mediums than their original comic books, with Batman TV and film adaptations being exceptionally popular and successful. Batman, his supporting characters, and their collective corner of the DC Comics universe are perhaps the most malleable in the superhero genre, yet even the most distinctive interpretations of Batman are prone to sharing certain thematic elements.

Fittingly for Batman’s 85th Anniversary, 2024 has included numerous Batman properties. The Matt Reeves universe that began in 2022 received a spinoff TV series – The Penguin – which is set between the events of The Batman and its forthcoming sequel. Joker: Folie à Deux continues the story of Arthur Fleck from 2019’s Joker, exploring the bleak consequences of his murders and adoption of the Joker persona. The story of Tim Burton and Michael Keaton’s Batman has gained a new chapter as well via John Jackson Miller’s novel Batman: Resurrection, which bridges the gap between 1989’s Batman and Batman Returns.

Batman: Resurrection, The Penguin, & Joker: Folie à Deux All Deal With Legacy

Each of the three properties explores the themes of legacy and living symbols in some way. The Penguin deals with the fallout of the Riddler’s plot in The Batman, with Gotham City still reeling from the damage of the flood he orchestrated and some citizens – such as Victor Aguilar – suffering PTSD from the attack. Even with Riddler incarcerated, his cult of terrorists continues to operate, with one member doing so openly in an episode of The Penguin. The Riddler’s extremists all wear nearly identical outfits to the Riddler, serving as his figurative and literal legacy.

Part of Batman’s character arc in
The Batman
was turning the Batman symbol into one of hope rather than fear.

These themes appear again in Joker: Folie à Deux, which sees Arthur Fleck abandon his Joker persona at the end of the film, infuriating his own cult of followers. The film’s finale sees one Joker cultist murder Fleck and inflict facial scars on himself as Arthur dies, strongly implying that he will take his place as the Joker. Batman: Resurrection centers entirely on the fallout of the Joker’s crime wave in 1989’s Batman, with the devastating aftermath of his Smylex poisonings continuing to wreak havoc on Gotham’s citizens and directly – albeit unintentionally – resulting in the creation of the villain Clayface.

Christopher Nolan Was The First To Explore The Power Of Symbols In Gotham

One of the first Batman adaptations to properly explore these exact themes was Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy. 2005’s Batman Begins saw Bruce Wayne create the Batman persona to, among other things, become an incorruptible symbol of fear to Gotham’s underworld. Batman willingly took credit for Two-Face’s murders in The Dark Knight, tarnishing his symbolism to preserve Harvey Dent’s. Batman’s symbolism would be repaired in The Dark Knight Rises, which also saw the Batman title be passed down from Bruce Wayne to John Blake – the Nolan trilogy’s iteration of Robin.

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