New Batman: Resurrection Book Fills In The Gap Between Batman 1989 And Batman Returns

"Batman: Resurrection" by John Jackson Miller is a new book from Random House Worlds that feels like it came out of nowhere. The last thing I expected in the year 2024 was a novel that filled the gap between Tim Burton's "Batman" (1989) and "Batman Returns," but it is here — and it is incredible. 

I was almost nine years old when Tim Burton's first "Batman" film was released and almost 12 when "Batman Returns" came out. Sitting in the theater for the freak flag that was "Batman Returns," I can tell you it felt like so much time had passed in that universe, and the sequel didn't really address many of the most obvious questions left by the first one. It also left out some of my favorite and most intriguing characters. Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) and Alexander Knox (Robert Wuhl) simply disappeared. Gotham City seemed to have forgotten the entire Smylex outbreak. Furthermore, Batman (Michael Keaton) seemed to have simply become a household name, along with businessman Max Schrek (Christopher Walken).

Even as a young kid, there were so many questions I wanted answered, and they just got skipped over. That doesn't mean I didn't love "Batman Returns," but I couldn't help but feeling like I'd missed a few issues of the comic and picked up another one randomly.

Thankfully, reading "Batman: Resurrection" made me feel like I'd finally gotten a chance to pick up those missing issues after 35 years.

Jack Nicholson crafted one of the most terrifying and unpredictable comic book movie villains with his iteration of the Joker in Tim Burton's film, though he had to be convinced to take the role in the first place. Every version of the Joker who has come since owes his interpretation a debt of gratitude, and to my mind, his is still the superior cinematic Clown Prince of Crime.

But from the standpoint of the people living in that version of Gotham City, how do you reckon with the aftermath of living through Joker's Smylex attack and his parade through Gotham? This was a massive terrorist attack. With Joker presumably dead, how does his shadow live on in the city? With so many victims still bearing his scars, either with Joker smiles, or with thugs and copycats bearing clown masks, how does a city move on from such shared trauma? The book explores this in great detail, showing us exactly what that would be like, starting from its beginning pages, even in the middle of the Smylex scare.

Miller takes it one step further though. What happens if Joker isn't dead? How would people react if it seemed like Joker returned? How would people react then? Fully exploring the realistic ramifications of Joker's potential — especially its effect on Bruce Wayne, Alfred, Knox, and Vicki, as well as the police and the average citizens — Miller digs into that while also providing an incredible character-driven look that still feels like a Tim Burton film in every sense. And Jack Nicholson haunts so many of its pages.

"Batman: Resurrection" also has the courtesy to bring back some characters that simply vanished after "Batman" and puts them in places that make sense leading up to "Batman Returns."

Even as a kid, one of my favorite characters was Robert Wuhl's Alexander Knox. His smart ass reporter persona was responsible for all of the most quotable lines in the movie (lines I still quote to this day), but he simply vanished without explanation in "Batman Returns." Likewise, Kim Basinger's Vicki Vale disappeared, too. Both seemed incredibly important to the narrative and Bruce Wayne's continuing story and we got no answers to wrap up their threads, merely dangling questions. My siblings and I debated endlessly about whether or not Knox even survived the Smylex attack at the parade. After all, he had covered his mouth up during the attack, but he had gotten hit by that car. Meanwhile, Vicki seemed very into Bruce, and he'd revealed her secret to her! How can she just be gone?

John Jackson Miller was clearly a fan of both of these movies, and he's able to take all of these threads and tie them up in ways that make sense and feel satisfying. But he took it one step further, because on top of that, "Batman: Resurrection" also sets up threads that feel like they came out of nowhere in "Batman Returns," such as the metoric rise of Christopher Walken's Max Schrek, which is woven into the narrative of the gang wars from the first film. Another thread that begins in the book allows for a cameo by Selina Kyle, Michelle Pfeiffer's character who would go on to become Catwoman.

By making both movies feel so much more united, Miller made the world between the movies feel so much more whole and lived in. Perhaps that wasn't something anyone needed 35 years after these films earned their blockbuster status, and we've had countless "Batman" movies since then, but I think these two in particular stand the test of time and deserve this treatment still. I think most will also agree if they give this book a shot.

More than anything, John Jackson Miller was able to capture the voice of Tim Burton's "Batman" movies and the superhero's portrayal within them. The quirky, modern but 1940s-ish Gotham City of these movies is there on full display in the writing, but Miller's also able to capture the voice of the characters along with that. 

Each take on Batman and Bruce Wayne has been different, and you can't say Val Kilmer's Bruce Wayne has the same voice as Michael Keaton's take on the billionaire, and Miller understands this. Every word out of this Bruce's mouth feels like it is coming out of Micheal Keaton's mouth. In fact, every word that comes out of every returning character's mouth feels like it was written specifically for the actor who played them in the movie. Miller has an uncanny ear for the movie dialogue and delivered it perfectly in this book. 

If you read the book and play the scenes in your head like you were watching a Tim Burton "Batman" sequel, that's a you problem. Sitting there, reading the book, I was gobsmacked by how often I could fool myself into feeling like I was watching a deleted scene from a movie rather than reading a book. In fact, when I finished reading, I felt like I'd just watched the "Batman" sequel that I wish we could have gotten in 1990. Don't get me wrong, I love "Batman Returns", but John Jackson Miller made me wish we could have had this movie in between. 

For those interested, Miller has another book coming next year that is also set before "Batman Returns." It's called "Batman: Revolution," and early details tease a certain riddling presence. I have a sneaking suspicion it will be the movie I wish I had in 1991, a take on the green-clad villain (one of my favorites) that was far-removed from what Jim Carrey would give us in "Batman Forever."

"Batman: Resurrection" by John Jackson Miller is out in bookstores everywhere now.