What The Dark Knight’s Batman Villains Would Have Looked Like In Black And White Movies Imagined In DC Art

Creative DC fans imagine what Batman and Gotham would look like if the Dark Knight existed in the early 20th century. The DC Multiverse has introduced many versions of Batman throughout the years, from the Soviet Red Son Batman to the Batman Who Laughs and the Apokoliptian Darkfather — not to mention all live-action Batman portrayals on the big and the small screen. Batman's DC lore is highly adaptable in every medium, which explains why the Dark Knight is constantly reinvented.

Die-hard Batman fans on the YouTube channel The Batfeed create a whole DC continuity set in the years 1919-1939, complete with realistic black-and-white footage of Gotham City, Batman, and several Gotham villains. The series follows "Bat-Man" as he faces multiple enemies such as Joker, Two-Face, the Penguin, and Catwoman. Watch the full first season below:

Why Imagining Batman Villains In Classic Black And White Style Works So Well

Gotham City Is An Inherently Dark And Gritty DC Location

Since Batman's comic book debut in 1939, the Dark Knight and Gotham City have been inspired by classic film noir and pulp fiction. Across most DC continuities, Gotham has been portrayed as a grimy, crime-ridden city, and its characters have often been portrayed as either corrupt or morally ambiguous. Batman's enemies also blur the line between grounded and fantastical. In black-and-white, these two extremes are highlighted.

Villains like Joker, Penguin, and Two-Face feel even more menacing in a realistic black-and-white setting, as they seem like believable threats in the real world. Part of the reason why live-action movies and shows like Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy, Matt Reeves' The Batman, and The Penguin have been so successful is that their villains could exist in real life. Couple that sentiment with a vintage look and realistic narration, and a 1919 setting suits Batman perfectly.

Our Take On The Batman Villain Black And White Art

A Noir Batman Movie Or Show Could Be A Massive Hit

DC Comics has already explored Batman's noir aspects in the comic book storyline Gotham by Gaslight, which takes place in the 19th century. Gotham by Gaslight was adapted to animation in 2018, but there have been no plans to adapt it to live-action yet. Since a Spider-Man Noir series is currently in production at Sony and Matt Reeves' The Batman franchise continues to thrive parallel to James Gunn's DCU, now could be the perfect time for an Elseworlds Batman movie or show based on Gotham by Gaslight or a similar noir-inspired project.

Source: The Batfeed / YouTube

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