History Film / Batman

* RaceLift: Harvey Dent. Burton changed him from the brown-haired Caucasian he was in the comics to.... Billy Dee Williams.

* AbortedArc: Billy Dee William's [[RaceLift version]] of Harvey Dent.

** Eventually, the mayor does give in when it becomes obvious that it's simply too dangerous to hold a festival... Which is The Joker's cue to pick up the slack. And he's giving out free money! Why, how could ''that'' hurt anyone?

* BadassGrandpa: Commissioner Gordon, although in subsequent films he suffers BadassDecay.

* NoOSHACompliance: The Axis chemical plant is falling to pieces. It's little wonder that Jack Napier fell into a vat of chemicals. The cathedral from the film's climax is falling to pieces by the time Batman manages to get to the top.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Joker's murder of Lt. Eckhart, Grissom, Rotelli, and Ricorso.

* TalkingToTheDead: The Joker does this to Antoine Rotelli's fried corpse shortly after dismissing the mob summit (He was the one who murdered Rotelli with a joy buzzer.), and he apparently is "told" by Rotellei's corpse to "grease" the mob bosses immediately, to which Joker complies and responds "You are a vicious bastard, Rotelli. I'm glad you're dead" before laughing hysterically.

* AwardBaitSong: [[http://video.yandex.ru/users/crow-jane/view/10/ Scandalous!]] by Prince may be considered this.

Sequels included: ''Film/BatmanReturns,'' ''Film/BatmanForever,'' and ''Film/BatmanAndRobin.''

* WouldHurtAChild: Jack Napier attempted to murder Bruce Wayne shortly after [[YouKilledMyFather he murdered his parents]]. Although he ultimately didn't go through with it due to his accomplice, the mere fact that he attempted to do so, and gave a nightmarish grin while doing so indicates that Jack Napier had absolutely no problem hurting or murdering children.
** While it's glossed over, a news report mentions ''baby powder'' is one of the products found to contain Smylex

* [[YouKilledMyFather You Killed My Parents]]: ComicBook/TheJoker, while he was still Jack Napier, murdered young Bruce Wayne's parents while he was a child, and came very close to murdering Bruce Wayne himself as well that same time. The experience, just like in the comics (minus the Joker's involvement), turned Bruce Wayne into Batman, and during the final confrontation between himself and the Joker, he flat out tells Joker that Joker murdered his parents, meaning they created each other.

* SoundtrackDissonance: Happens in a strange way with this series; the first movie was a dark, serious gothic film that featured a Prince pop number as its soundtrack's main single, apparently because [[ExecutiveMeddling it was the song the executives wanted]]. ''Film/BatmanForever'' and ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'', on the other hand, are much, much LighterAndSofter but have songs like U2's "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" and Smashing Pumpkins' "The End is the Beginning is the End" as the major soundtrack songs, both of which sound like they should be on the soundtrack of much darker, deeper, better movies. Indeed, a remixed version of the latter song was on the soundtrack of the ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'' movie. (''Film/BatmanReturns'' averts this; see the page for more information.)
** In a straighter example, during TheReveal of the TheJoker during the ThatManIsDead scene, which he starts shooting Grissom, a circus calliope breaks out.

* FiveBadBand: The Grissom gang in the first part of the movie.
** BigBad: Carl Grissom
** CoDragons: Jack Napier and Eckhardt
** TheBrute: Bob
** EvilGenius: Grissom's accountant [[AllThereInTheScript (named Luce in the script)]] and Vinnie Ricorso [[WrongGenreSavvy {or so he'd like to believe} ]]
** DarkChick: Alicia

** In 1989 pausing a live broadcast was the sort of thing only the Batcomputer could do.

** The film forgoes Joe Chill and makes [[spoiler:a young Jack Napier into the murderer of Bruce Wayne's parents.]]

* AmusingInjuries: [[spoiler:When Batman finally catches up to the Joker at the top of the cathedral, he starts to ''brutalize'' the hell out of him. The Joker makes his injuries even worse when he attempts to fight back, only to hurt his fist after punching Batman in the abdomen, instead hitting Batman's suit.]]

* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: Batman dishes a pretty brutal one to the Joker in the final climax, complete with PunchPunchPunchUhOh from the latter. However, Joker manages to escape further wrath by using his own PlayingPossum technique against him (which Batman had used only two minutes ago to evade a similarly nasty beatdown from one of his goons).

* ArtAttacker: The Joker describes himself as this: "I make art until someone dies. I am the world's first fully functioning homicidal artist."

** Jack's partner didn't anticipate him shooting at Bruce's parents.

* FamousLastWords: When Joker is about to make his escape via the chopper, he says "Sometimes I just kill myself!" A few seconds later, his leg is attached to a Gargoyle, that promptly breaks off, and then he falls to his doom.

* HorrifyingHero: This film is the first, and one of only two (the other being ''Film/BatmanBegins'' to ''truly'' invoke this trope: A flawless combination of Bob Ringwood's theatrical costume design, Michael Keaton's performance and the visceral musical score of Danny Elfman, Bruce Wayne becomes a mythical, demonic figure that struck such raw terror into the heart of evil that the average petty thug could only incoherently scream to the police: "I'm telling ya man: '''A Giant Bat!'''"

* HorrifyingHero: This film is the first (and only) one to ''truly'' invoke this trope: A flawless combination of Bob Ringwood's theatrical costume design, Michael Keaton's performance and the visceral musical score of Danny Elfman, Bruce Wayne becomes a mythical, demonic figure that struck such raw terror into the heart of evil that the average petty thug could only incoherently scream to the police: "I'm telling ya man: '''A Giant Bat!'''"

* PocketProtector: The metal tray Bruce Wayne puts under his coat before confronting the Joker at Vicki Vale's apartment, which ends up saving him when the Joker shoots him.

* PsychoticSmirk: ComicBook/TheJoker, and surprisingly, Batman too. Two examples: when he says, "I'm Batman" to the initial mook, then when Jack Napier comments "Nice outfit".

* GoOutWithASmile: The Joker's Smilex poison is [[DieLaughing all about this]], and as the trope entry reminds us, he goes out this way himself. (Though considering his smile is a scar, he didn't have any real choice in the matter.)