I grew up with a single mother. She worked hard and we were not left wanting for much or at least that is how I remember it and she hid our money problems well. Now that I am an adult (word used loosely) I think it was the latter. As a summer treat she let me and my best friend pick one movie a month that we would go see in the theater. June, July and August. 3 whole movies. We got to go to the movies 3 times during the summer. Seems quaint now but to an 8 year old in the late 80's that was so much.
Our local newspaper would run a summer movie special and would let you know what were the big movies coming. There was only one movie in June I wanted to see. That would be Batman.
Growing up a comic book nerd is not what it is today. Avengers: Endgame has been seen by everyone on the planet...twice. You are not cool today if you have not seen a comic book movie. In the 80's you would get beat up for wearing a Joker shirt and reading a comic in front of the wrong people. That was nerd stuff. There is a reason a series of movies called Revenge of the Nerds was made. It wasn't cool to like that stuff.
We went to the theater on opening weekend and I had not seen a line that long in all of my 8 years. What was this? This many people wanted to see Batman too? I thought this was just for people that loved comic books. This many people like comic books?
I waited as my mother bought tickets and looked around at the arcade in the lobby. It consisted of Tron, Splatterhouse, the Star Wars arcade game where you are flying an X-Wing down a wire frame Death Star trench, Ms. Pac-Man. If you grew up in the 80's, you know. The Tron machine would become a part of the theater like it was melded to the floor. I remember going to see The Matrix in 1999 and it was still there along with Revolution X. Cause nothing says fun like killing bad guys at an Aerosmith concert.
Anyway, back to Batman.
The movie was a thing of wonder. Danny Elfman's score starts out low and ominous then crescendos with cymbals into a gothic militant march. Because he is Batman and he is on a mission. That mission includes kicking dudes through doors, believing Vicki Vale actually weighed 108 pounds and dancing with the devil in the pale moonlight.
Like watching Superman for the first time there was a definitive version of Batman on screen that made your child brain do some weird internal squeal. Like when girls would see Scott Baio at mall autograph sessions. Again...80's.
In my mind Michael Keaton was Batman. There was no social media like today so I didn't know or care what anyone thought about Mr. Mom being Batman. The nerd talk was relegated to groups of friends and editorials in newspapers and magazines. You couldn't get online and see why xxxreaganlover84xxx thought Keaton would suck and wasn't going to the movie to prove something.
Jack Nicholson was the definitive Joker (until 2008) for a reason. I knew who Jack Nicholson was, but I did not know of Jack Nicholson the actor. Remember I was 8 so I didn't have the chance to watch One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or Prizzi's Honor yet. He was terrifying, yet made you laugh with the gleefulness he took in the things he was doing. Watching it as an adult actually makes him a bit forlorn. Sure he was a homicidal thug that was sleeping with his bosses girlfriend, but he worked so hard only to be betrayed by Curly and not even get to hunt for his gold with Billy Crystal and Curly's twin brother.
And let's pour one out for Bob. He served The Joker faithfully and died only because he didn't know Batman had one those..those things.
Yes there will always be problems with the movie. Jack Napier being the man that killed the Waynes to make things tie together, or Alfred bringing Vicki in to the Batcave (which Burton hated but the studio made him do). For a kid these aren't things to think about because the movie was so great.
When we left the theater the line was longer than when we got there for people seeing Batman. It made a kid that loved comics when it was not cool feel a little more accepted, if only for a day.Now a kid that liked comics and wrestling while having a mullet and wearing Jamz shorts? That is another tale for another day.