This weekend, I watched The Batman in theaters, for no other reason than the fact Robert Pattinson is in it. The experience was two and a half hours of me going, “They can act in this one?!” in addition to complete confusion. From what I do know about the movie, is that Robert Pattinson is Batman, and Robert Pattinson was Edward from Twilight.
Below are the principal thoughts I gathered through those 2.5 hours.
Before we begin, I would like to set the disclaimer that I did not watch previous DC Comic Universe movies, nor have I followed the comic books. These opinions will be based entirely of what I know of the Twilight franchise, Robert Pattinson, and very little else.
The purpose of this article is to indulge my own bad sense of humor, and to somehow connect a decade-old franchise to a subject of current pop culture. So if you believe that these opinions are badly founded upon, you are correct. If you are offended by my gross misunderstanding of the depth and layers of “The Batman,” then you are also correct in feeling so.
Spoiler Warning: Obviously.
1. He looks at girls through their bedrooms in this one, too?!?!
Fans may remember the infamous scene from the first Twilight movie, and subsequent films of the franchise. The creepy habit that Edward Cullen had with his vampire powers where he’d sneak into Bella’s room while she was sleeping to stare at her is creepy, yes.
It appears that this habit still persists in The Batman. When suspicious of Selina, a.k.a. Catwoman, after meeting her, Bruce Wayne spies on her and her roommate through their apartment window. Not only is this a felony (or is it? We are in Gotham, after all), but he uses binoculars to ogle at her stripping and changing through her bedroom window. In both movies, this staring-at-girls-in-their-rooms is supposed to set up some romantic tension, but there are much better ways to pull this off!
Bad habits die hard, but I guess for vampires, they don’t die at all.
2. How sure are we that Bruce isn’t just Edward in true vampire form?
This is probably an overused joke on Twitter, but hear me out! There’s loads of similarities between Eddie Cullen and Bruce Wayne! They both live in dreary, rainy cities where there’s barely any sunlight. For Edward, this is because he wants to hide his sparking skin from the sun. Is this perhaps the same reason for Bruce?
Both men seem to share some passion for the vigilante lifestyle: Bruce with his Batman, Edward with his creature-of-the-night savior complex.
And, there’s even the fan theory that Bruce Wayne is simply a vampire in his purest form… a bat.
3. Unless… Edward is Bruce’s origin story?
“I know what you are.”
“Say it. Out loud. Say it.”
“…Vengeance.”
Or, alternatively, The Batman suffices as an answer too, but “Vengeance” is much more referential to what happens in the movie! It makes sense, doesn’t it? Edward’s whole lack-of-parents thing aligns with Bruce, and they both share the same passion for vengeance and justice.
4. Is this where Edward disappeared to during New Moon?
During Twilight: New Moon, Bella spends most of the novel wondering where her beloved vampire boyfriend disappeared to… It might be possible that Edward decided to change his persona to Bruce Wayne and done a bat costume in honor of his vampire identity. Maybe he wanted to revisit another dreary, rainy city where he found his roots!
5. So… The Batman is just Pattinson being wealthy and emo and angry… again?
The dark eyeshadow around Bruce’s eye rims; the shaggy, unkempt hair; the complete black attire. We know the jokes about this Batman’s emo-ness. Paired with the painful-sounding throaty voice, and the luxury, billionaire-level of living, Bruce Wayne is just the modern, 2022 version of the 2000s’ tortured wealthy emo- a.k.a. Robert Pattinson’s own Edward Cullen!
Agree or disagree, or willing to debate with my opinions, The Batman was overall an enjoyable experience, even if you’re a bigger Edward Wayne fan or a Bruce Cullen fan, or whatever.
However, if we are looking at the casting perspective, then I can safely say that Cedric Diggory was the best Robert Pattinson character ever played – but that is a conversation for another day!