Batman (1989)

Batman (1989), a superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, is directed by Tim Burton. It marks the beginning of Warner Bros.’ original Batman film series. At a fundraiser hosted by billionaire Bruce Wayne, who is secretly Batman, reporter Alexander Knox and photojournalist Vicki Vale investigate sightings of the ‘Batman’, a masked vigilante targeting criminals in Gotham City. It was during this event that Wayne becomes enamored with Vale. On the other hand, mob boss Carl Grissom tasks his sociopathic right-hand man Jack Napier with retrieving incriminating evidence from Axis Chemicals. This mission doubles as a setup for Napier’s assassination as he has been sleeping with Grissom’s mistress Alicia Hunt. The corrupt Lieutenant Max Eckhardt orchestrates Napier’s death through an unauthorized police operation.

As Commissioner James Gordon arrives, he takes command and orders the officers to capture Napier alive. Batman also appears, but during a scuffle with him, Napier gets revenge on Eckhardt for his betrayal. In the chaos, Napier falls into a vat of chemicals and is presumed dead. However, he survives with disfiguring white skin and green hair and nails. Despite undergoing surgery, he is left with a permanent rictus grin. Now calling himself ‘the Joker’, he becomes obsessed with Vicki and begins terrorizing Gotham by lacing hygiene products with a deadly chemical called ‘Smylex’. In his madness, he kills Grissom and takes over his operations before targeting Vicki at the Flugelheim Museum which his henchmen have started to vandalize.