Batman for two assignments in a row?! Someone pinch me. Again best class ever. Today's installment is Batman: Year One by Frank Miller. Mr. Miller is one of the most significant contributors to the Batman anthology. This story, though, is important because it shows Batman in a completely different light. It shows him struggling, unsure, not confidant, and making mistakes. Something we almost never see in the caped crusader. It tells the story of two men. Both struggling to make sense of chaos that is Gotham city. Bruce Wayne and James Gordan.
Bruce Wayne fresh home from his journeys, training and honing his skills. He returns to a city overrun with corruption and the force in place to protect its citizens is just as corrupt. He wants to honor his vow to rid Gotham of crime but is frustrated because he can't find the right method, the right way to strike fear into the hearts of men. It shows his fumbling with fighting crime and how he becomes the Bat. A great insight into the first year of a legend and how he meets his biggest ally in fighting crime, James Gordan.
James Gordan is a fresh lieutenant just transferred to Gotham City. From the context I gather that he wrongfully accused a cop of a crime and was transferred because of it. As soon as he gets to Gotham he knows something is wrong. He is a good man in the middle of a corrupt infrastructure. He is just shocked to see it goes all the way up to the commissioner. Struggling to be a good man in a sea of corruption he sees the good that Batman is doing despite his methods and this his help takes down the bad cops and vows to clean up the department.
The film that we paired with this story is surprisingly enough Batman: Year One. A new animated feature film. This is the definition of a close adaptation. This is basically a panel by panel recreation of the graphic novel. Some of the narration was omitted and they took out Gordan smoking, but other than that it is the same exact story, even down to the dialogue. So this is a transposition adaptation at it's finest. Highly recommended.
bonus note: Batman Begins would be consisdered a loose analogous adaptation of Batman: Year One.
bonus bonus note: We also get a nice little glimpse into the beginnings of Selena Kyle as Catwoman.
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