History YMMV / BatmanReturns

** Catwoman has her villainous qualities, but being so mistreated in the work place and her mental health issues still make most viewers feel sorry for her.

* HarsherInHindsight: In China, there have been [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_attacks_in_China school stabbings]] committed by adults on children as "revenge on society" that's been happening every year since the beginning of the 2010s. What makes it more disturbing is that these attacks bear an eerie resemblance to Penguin's disturbing plan to murder Gotham's newborns as revenge on society.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Originally there was the idea that Oswald Cobblepot and Max Schreck were brothers (Max being younger), which could've added more depth to their dynamic together, and would've tied in nicely with Penguin's plot to kill only the first born children in Gotham.

* MisaimedMarketing: This movie had a ''lot'' of tie-in merchandise aimed at children despite not being a kids' movie by a long shot. UsefulNotes/{{McDonalds}} pulled their Happy Meal toys after parental backlash.

* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames: The UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis and UsefulNotes/SuperNintendo game adaptations are actually fairly good, fun adaptations.

** The {{Creator/Konami}} games for the Nintendo systems were well-received. For several years, the UsefulNotes/SuperNintendo version was considered the best Batman game ever released.

** The UsefulNotes/AtariLynx version is this in spades, with NintendoHard difficulty, awkward controls, and only four levels.

** Did the Penguin himself at one point decide that he did want more than just to [[spoiler:avenge himself by means of targeting all other firstborns in Gotham]]? While it clearly was his plan right from the start, there appears to be part of him that also enjoyed all the attention and praise he got for appearing to be a hero despite his appearance--so much so that he did seem to get caught up in the idea of being the Mayor as a means of continuing to develop and grow beyond that. This would also indicate that his desire to be accepted despite how hideous he was on the outside being rejected once his deception of being a good person was exposed could've resulted in him defaulting back to his own plan--thus indicated by the aspects of him still being a TragicVillain through and through despite his sadistic actions and that his ultimate fate being an AlasPoorVillain would also show that as psychotic as he could get, it's genuinely something he actually always did want after all.

** Does Batman himself have any kind of actual character arc in the film that could then reasonably be reflected in ''Film/BatmanForever''? He goes about his work in much the same way as the previous film, with the death of at least one mook on his hands, yet in ''Forever'' he seemed to regret doing things like this. Could it be that seeing firsthand what the cycle of revenge and violence did to Catwoman and Oswald gave him a wake up call, forcing him to rethink his own life?

** Was Selina actually hoping to blackmail Schrek with the information she found in the hopes of [[TookALevelInBadass taking a level in badass]], and just chickened out at the last minute? Or maybe she was hoping she could become part of his inner circle in exchange for keeping the information to herself?

* EvilIsSexy: Catwoman. Just look at that outfit. If you look at her behaviour though, you may argue that anti-heroic is sexy.

** The Red Triangle Circus Gang, too. In 2012, the FBI designated the {{Juggalo}}s (fans of Music/InsaneClownPosse) a gang!

** The mixed tone of the movie is probably typified by the scene where Penguin is giving a LargeHam RousingSpeech to his missile launching penguin army… that includes direct references to people’s genitalia and a random reference to the Persian Gulf War.

* AudienceColoringAdaptation: Creator/MichellePfeiffer's version of ComicBook/{{Catwoman}} has left a long impression on general audiences. While Catwoman can't really be considered a full-on villain anymore as she's settled into being a stable romantic partner for ComicBook/{{Batman}}, she had always been more of an AntiVillain. She was never crazy and was always one of the least bad of his villains. In this film, she's straight-up crazy and the idea of her being this way still sticks in people's heads. Creator/HalleBerry's [[Film/Catwoman2004 take on the character]] was widely mocked (but more due to poor filmmaking). Creator/AnneHathaway's version from ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', while getting a bit closer to Catwoman's personality from the comics, didn't really stick, possibly due to Creator/ChristopherNolan removing much of the cat-theming due the trilogy's more grounded take on the Batman mythos. The movie is also a bit divisive in and of itself which probably explains some of it as well. Creator/ZoeKravitz's take on the character in ''Film/TheBatman2022'' has earned praise and there can be parallels drawn between that version and Pfieffer's (Kravitz's Catwoman is more mentally stable than Pfieffer's and more closely resembles the comic book versions, yet is also presented as a hard-done-by woman who seeks vengeance against powerful, morally-bankrupt men who wronged her); Kravitz also stated that Pfeiffer's Catwoman partly inspired her own performance.

** This can also extend to the Penguin’s various goals throughout the last act of the movie which all get thwarted by Batman in rapid succession with little build-up between them. His bid for Mayor is sabotaged by Batman playing Cobblepot’s disparaging comments about the Gotham population to his supporters. Then, he resolves to kidnap all the firstborn sons of Gotham but his goons are stopped by Batman. After that, he has a meltdown and resolves to use his penguins to bomb all of Gotham with missiles but the signal is scrambled by Batman and Alfred. Then, finally, he just wants to bomb his own compound in the vague hope that he kills Batman along with himself. By the time he’s dead, it’s been a whirlwind of conflicting and contradicting plans and motivations that can leave the viewer drained.

* MagnificentBitch: [[Characters/CatwomanSelinaKyle Catwoman]], real name Selina Kyle, was [[FromNobodyToNightmare once the put-down secretary]] of [[CorruptCorporateExecutive shady businessman Max Shreck]]. When Shreck pushes her out of the window of his building for learning too much, Selina is given cat powers by strays out on the streets and uses them to become a vengeful vigilante herself. As Catwoman, she overcomes a thug mugging a woman with ease, blows up one of Shreck's stores while timing her escape perfectly and, on more than one occasion, bests [[Characters/BatmanFilmSeriesBatman Batman]] in a physical fight. Catwoman also briefly teams up with [[Characters/BatmanThePenguin the Penguin]] to successfully pull off a scheme to frame Batman, and later saves the Dark Knight while finally taking out Shreck once and for all.

*** Selina is the film's hero. She wasn't hoping to blackmail Shreck. She was trying to be industrious and prepare for Shreck's meeting with Bruce Wayne, but in the process made a mistake and accidentally blurted out that she'd discovered Shreck's plan. Remember, Selina is already nervous around Shreck.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Music/DannyElfman is on point, arguably even more so than the previous film.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: Not only for this series but the entire genre; Catwoman was arguably the first ever secondary villain in a superhero film. With Penguin and Shreck as the main villains, Selina was mostly in her own plot throughout the movie, and she only briefly works with the Penguin. And even then, her job--distracting Batman while the Penguin's mooks hack into the Batmobile--could have been done by another mook. She’s still probably the best example of this, as she is a really well-rounded character with emotional depth and impact and much symbolism that fits perfectly into the film's themes and mirrors the primary villain's case.

*** Speaking of the above, the Ice Princess says this when Batman tried to rescue her:

** In Max Shreck's office, several pictures show him alongside various real-life celebrities, including Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger. The latter ended up playing ComicBook/MrFreeze [[Film/BatmanAndRobin two movies later]].
*** Schwarzenegger not just only would play the aforementioned Mr. Freeze ([[CelebrityParadox without any characters remarking on his resemblance]]) but also would run for public office in real-life (as Governor of California in the 2003 recall election) and, unlike his ''{{Film/Twins|1988}}'' costar [=DeVito=]'s character Penguin in this film, succeed in being elected.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Despite being a DarkerAndEdgier movie from a DarkerAndEdgier time, the primary villains have major callbacks to their [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] incarnations: Penguin's gang and weaponized penguins wouldn't have been terribly out of place in the Creator/AdamWest TV show, and Catwoman's personality shifts were the explanation given in comics for why Batman was DatingCatwoman -- he wanted her good personality.

** The {{Creator/Konami}} games for the Nintendo systems were well-received. For the longest time, the UsefulNotes/SuperNintendo version was considered the best Batman game ever released. ([[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum Until,]] [[VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity you know...]])

** While the penguins themselves are an example of SugarWiki/VisualEffectsOfAwesome (even the live penguins used for filming were convinced the animatronic ones were real to the point where they could be occasionally found sleeping with the puppets), they're clearly not touching [[spoiler:the Penguin's body as they cast him off during his funeral]].
*** In this same scene, the platform used to transport Danny [=DeVito=] to the water can be seen floating out from under him right as soon as he lands in the water.

** Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken would meet again in the 2007 film version of ''Film/{{Hairspray}}'', but instead of killing him, she tries to ''seduce'' him.

* EvenBetterSequel: Creator/TimBurton and Creator/MichaelKeaton consider this to be superior to the first film, with Keaton saying that it spoke to him more. Critics even think so too, with this movie having an 80% Rotten Tomatoes score compared to its predecessor's 71% score. [[CriticalDissonance Audiences and fans]], however, [[ContestedSequel are more divided over if this is the case or not]].

* EvenBetterSequel: Creator/TimBurton and Creator/MichaelKeaton consider this to be superior to the first film, with Keaton saying that it spoke to him more. Critics even think so too, with this movie having an 80% Rotten Tomatoes score compared to its predecessor's 71% score.

* TrueArtIsAngsty: Easily the darkest ''Batman'' film for many years, bordering on nihilistic, from the grotesque villains to the ending that sits somewhere between BittersweetEnding and DownerEnding. It was also the darkest Creator/TimBurton movie at the time, and the backlash pushed him back to his comedic roots with ''Film/EdWood''.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: While Max Shreck ended up being a strong villain in his own right, the original plan was for Creator/BillyDeeWilliams to reprise his all too short role as Harvey Dent from the previous role, occupying the role that Max took in the actual movie, which would've set him up to take on the identity of Two Face in the sequel after being disfigured in climax. Sadly, Dent is nowhere to be found here, and Williams would go on to be replaced for the next film when the character finally took center stage.

* {{Anvilicious}}: "It is human nature to fear the unusual. Perhaps, when I held my Tiffany baby rattle with a shiny flipper instead of five chubby digits, they freaked." (Subverted as Oswald is just milking the citizens for sympathy).

** The brilliance of Penguin's character in ''Returns'' is that he was already on the other side of the line from the start of the movie. His re-emergence into society, his attempts to gather census data on the populace of Gotham, all done from the start so he could identify and kill the first born children of every wealthy family in the city. It is even implied that he's already murdered children back when he was the "bird boy" at the Red Triangle Circus's freak show.

** Creator/MichellePfeiffer's Catwoman became a popular feminist icon, which is somewhat understandable since such characters were relatively few and far between in 1980s and early '90s mainstream films. However, Selina herself realizes that she is not an empowering figure at all, but [[HeWhoFightsMonsters just as much a thug as the men who have persecuted her]]. This should be clear from the guilt-ridden scolding she gives herself while looking in a shop window, as well as the fact that she ''cries'' when Bruce challenges her to explain what she's really feeling. Of course, since she becomes a full-on antihero by the midway point, she's still a compelling example of a flawed and relatable heroine that isn't a FlawlessToken.

* HollywoodHomely: Creator/MichellePfeiffer as Selina Kyle. In the time period the movie seemed to be mimicking, plenty of executive assistants and secretaries weren't hired for their office skills but for their... ahem... other assets. The movie itself showed that Selina was treated bad mostly because she was so timid she was intimidated just by being in the same room as a bunch of people. But, in her favor, she is also shown pre-transformation as intelligent... just overlooked due to the sexism of her workplace.