The DC Animated Universe had a host of versions of Batman strewn across the timeline, but one DC film portrayed the character a little differently than what is usually the tone that is taken for him. Bruce Timm talked to ScienceFiction.com about how he saw Batman, and how one particular film approached the character differently.
Gotham by Gaslight is a film that is different than other Batman films, given that the story is set in an Elseworlds, which means it might not necessarily be part of the main DCAU continuity. The film takes Batman and sets him in Victorian London, where the story follows a completely separate trajectory from what is normally expected out of a Batman story.
Bruce Timm does not look at Batman as Gotham by Gaslight portrays him
Bruce Timm revealed his personal vision of Bruce Wayne, and how the film deviated from it. Speaking with ScienceFiction.com, the creator revealed what he personally thought Batman was about, and by extension, Bruce Wayne. He also talked about how Gotham by Gaslight took a different approach to the character. He said:
“In this particular movie, I think he’s a lot more human than we normally portray him. I have a tendency to kind of treat Batman a little bit distant because I think just of who he is. Personally, my own feelings about Batman are that he is a bit remote, a bit removed from people because of what happened in Crime Alley and his whole persona.”
Timm believes that Batman in general is a little removed from society, which makes sense for a man who spends most of his time being a vigilante, working alone more often than not. Timm’s interpretation of the character has a hint of realism, in that it takes an authentic approach towards the Bat of Gotham’s inner turmoil and how he functions in society while being so alienated from it.
Multiple actors have interpreted Batman, each bringing a unique flavor
Bruce Timm might have revealed his unique take on the portrayal of Batman, but multiple creators have tried their hand at interpreting the character and have come up with some unique version of Batman in their own right.
There have been versions like Christopher Nolan‘s, that lean in more with the ideology and philosophy of Batman, while there is the Zack Snyder interpretation that deals with a more no-nonsense aspect of the character, almost taking it to an extreme. The most recent live-action run of the character with Matt Reeves showed us a Batman that lives up to his monicker as a detective, as opposed to versions that have seen him as a vigilante and a superhero.
Animated versions of the Bat of Gotham have been largely dominated by Bruce Timm and Kevin Conroy, who have perhaps generated the most iconic version of the character, one that still remains the quintessential version of Batman for a generation of viewers.
