Batman Forever, Begins, and The Dark Knight’s Weird History

Posted on June 16, 2025

by Eric S

This month, we celebrate two major Batman cinematic milestones: the 20th anniversary of Batman Begins (released on June 15, 2005) and the 30th anniversary of Batman Forever (released on June 16, 1995). Ostensibly, these two films represent totally different understandings of the Dark Knight, with Batman Forever marking a turn toward kid-friendly camp (not unlike the ‘60s Batman show, or ‘60s comics, for that matter) and Batman Begins embracing the dark, brooding, vigilantism of the late ‘80s (embodied by Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns and the first Tim Burton Batman film). Supposedly there’s a longer and darker version of Batman Forever (“The Schumacher Cut”), but very few have seen it.

While the serious tone of Batman Begins has, with a few exceptions, been the prevailing approach to the Caped Crusader over the past few decades, it’s easy to look back on Batman Forever as a silly outlier. However, looking at both films in the context of Batman’s almost 90-year history reveals an important truth: Batman media has always been a site of both light-hearted fun and mature, violent, and grim storytelling. Author Grant Morrison brilliantly addressed this in their hugely popular comic run, in which they essentially asked the question, “what if it all happened?” (as in, the darkness, the silliness, and everything in between), although many fans have a hard time reconciling these seemingly incompatible versions of the character (Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Returns came out when I was in preschool, so campy Batman never even stood a chance with me).

Two things are certain, though: both Batman Forever and Batman Begins were hugely popular upon release, and each stood as formative texts for impressionable, young fans who were first discovering the Dark Knight. So, we’re celebrating both films with Batman comics that embraces the spirit of each movie.

For more great stories featuring the Caped Crusader, make sure to check out our list of the 10 best Batman comics, as well the offerings of your local branch and the Hoopla app.