“The Batman” is long overdue.
The first trailer for Robert Pattinson’s take on Batman was released on Saturday during the DC FanDome, giving fans their first look at the Caped Crusader, Catwoman, the Riddler, Commissioner Gordon and director Matt Reeves’ Gotham City. Reeves explained that the film takes place in “Year Two” of Batman’s career, in which he is still beginning and his rogue gallery has not yet become full-fledged supervisors.
The trailer opens with the very loud ripping of duct tape then offers a brief glimpse of a masked man in a green jacket. Many fans speculate that this is Paul Dano’s Riddler, which leaves a grim hint for Batman. The new appearance of the character leaves behind the iconic sugar of the Riddler and the question mark meant suit, but falls in line with the creepy, grounded tone of the trailer.
Riddler’s victim is a man whose face is covered with duct tape with the words “No more reads” in red ink scratches. Lies are a recurring theme in the Riddler’s scheme for Batman and the Gotham City Police Department. The word is written in red about issues of the Gotham Gazette affixed to the wall.
Commissioner Gordon (Jeffrey Wright) investigates the crime scene, discovers a card with a cryptic message inside. ‘Do you have no clue? Let’s play a game, just me and you, ‘reads the card, with some mysterious symbols at the bottom. Handwritten on the other side of the map seems to be a riddle, “What does a liar do when he’s dead?” The green envelope is specifically aimed at “the Batman.”
Next, we finally get a look at Batman fit up, appearing to want to work with Gordon and the GCPD. In the comics, Batman’s brand of growing justice sometimes puts him in line with the police, so this points to a cooperative relationship for now. However, that may change later in the trailer.
At a press conference held outside, perhaps after discovering Riddler’s crime, Bruce Wayne hangs back from the crowd of reporters and puts on a fire helmet. He’s out of his Batsuit, but still has black makeup around his eyes, left over from his latest suit. He drives to the Batcave, which is a lot more low value and instead of toilets than we have seen before.
“You’ll become quite a celebrity,” says an unseen British voice, probably the butler of Bruce Alfred Pennyworth, played by Andy Serkis. Bruce Wayne is typically portrayed as a billionaire playboy, so it is believed that Alfred is referring to the growing notoriety of Batman.
The next scene shows Riddler again, this time sending a car with a victim taped with what appears to be a funeral. Bruce is in the crowd, diving to save someone from the path of the car. The driver steps out with another letter addressed to Batman taped to his chest, a suspicious coincidence, given that Bruce was there as well.
Zoe Kravitz’s Catwoman makes her first appearance in the next scene, robbing a safe who seems to be in Wayne Manor or maybe another building. Later in the trailer, she and Batman have a brief fight in the same area. Like Riddler’s outfit, the costume of the iconic villain is a simple black mask and bodysuit.
The trailer shows a brief glimpse at the crime Mr. Penguin, played by an unrecognized Colin Farrell. He stands in the rain outside the depot of Gotham Sanitation, perhaps a hiding place for his goons. A group of henchmen with black-and-white face paint – usually a calling card of the Penguin crew – take on Batman later in the trailer. The dark knight easily hits one of the boats, causing him to shrink to the ground with a broken arm.
We then see flashes of Batman scurrying with a crowd of GCPD officers, the Batmobile roaring to life during a hunting scene with Penguin and the Caped Crusader shaking a point-blank shot to the chest. Batman also uses a joke hook to pick up a ladder filled with what appears to be GCPD officers shooting at him, a 180-degree turn from previous peace work with her.
At the last moment, Bruce sees his cap in the Batcave take off as a mysterious voice says “You are a part of this too.” It does not sound like Alfred’s accent of the past, which makes many wonder if it could be Riddler. “How do I make this part?” asks Batman, to whom the voice replies “You will see.”
Could Riddler have discovered Batman’s true identity? Where’s mob boss Carmine Falcone, played by John Turturro? What destruction will Catwoman, Penguin and Riddler do to Gotham? Hopefully all these questions and more will be answered when “The Batman” hits theaters next year.
