"The Real Batman Vanished Two Years Ago": Burton’s Batman 89 Is Merging with the Dark Knight Trilogy to Create an Even Darker Gotham

Warning: Spoilers for Batman ’89: Echoes #1!As Gotham suffers through a period without the Caped Crusader in the continuity of Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman movie, vigilante civilians take his place in a seeming nod to Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight. DC’s Batman ’89 comics serve as the official continuation of the Burtonverse, acknowledging Batman and Batman Returns while neglecting Joel Schumacher’s Batman sequels. The series and its new sequel Echoes are largely influenced by film projects that fell into Development Hell, like Tim Burton’s Batman Continues and Batman Triumphant.