My hero rides again...

[HuManBing]

Ken W was 'wasted' but it was necessary. If they'd cast a no-name the end plot twist would have been a non-event. It would be like hiring Jack Nichelson and generic extra X and trying to convince people GEX would end up as Joker at the end of the movie.
They hired a name knowing it would distract the fanboys.

And Ra's al Ghul is more Arabian, but his true comic origins are mysterious. And playing him as an Arab in BB would be even more distracting with the accidental terrorist conotations. And it's harder to tie into ninjas and showing Batman's ninja background does help make him believable.

So many issues with this post. (This is a critique of the Batman universe, not Jester. Jester is evenly reasoned and coherent. The Batman universe is a completely different issue.)

1. The plot as written may necessitate a sacrificial Asian character to take the bullet for a dominant Caucasian character. This does not in any way reduce my personal opposition to the bad writing of the plot having put that requirement there in the first place.

2. Ra's al-Ghul shouldn't be Arabic because that might be racially insensitive... so we'll make him white with a series of expendable Chinese (or Tibetan or Japanese) dudes acting as cover for him. This strikes me as being a somewhat incomplete remedy.

3. {Ninja != Chinese}, in the same way as {Beefeaters != Americans}.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Batman Begins was great, at least until the end. (Sorry, Batman doesn't even willingly "let" bad guys die. Not in his moral code.)

Sure? - Nolan's more Miller's Batman, than anyone else's, and that is a very sinister figure.

I love the first DKR and Year One as much any other fanboy, but outside of those, Miller's Batman often bears very little resemblance to Batman, IMHO. (Like in that panel, for instance. I couldn't get past issue 1 of all-star Batman & Robin. ugh.)

Has even Miller stretched Batman's no-kill code as far as the movie did?

[Le Noir Faineant]

I do wonder why you used some of Miller's cheesiest writing as an example of his Batman...

Well, exactly because it IS that trademark moment for Miller's Batman, as annoying as it is. Like I would always reference our EtCR with a picture of Dread Pirate Strahd.

I actually liked the basic idea of All-Star Batman & Robin for that new interpretation of their relationship. - Though I still have to meditate on why Miller sees the need for showing how the Dark Knight is getting it on with some blonde lady...

I love the first DKR and Year One as much any other fanboy, but outside of those, Miller's Batman often bears very little resemblance to Batman, IMHO.

Yeah, I totally agree - Miller should have stopped writing for Batman after Year One. His interpretations are mostly exaggerated, and lack taste, IMHO.

I personally believe that he just recycles a few older scripts for Daredevil and Sin City now and then, when the old Ferarri needs an overhauling...

Has even Miller stretched Batman's no-kill code as far as the movie did?

I am not sure what Miller would have done with Batman if DC hadn't forced him to make a comic book that is at least rated for adolescents (no idea of how age ratings are handled in the US, btw)...

Now, in general, I think the way violence is depicted in Batman - movie and recent comics - I see a tendency that people move away from that killing code. Especially the fighting scenes in BB strongly suggest that Batman killed his enemies. - So, why stop with Rhaz?

That said, I dislike the violent turn most DC comics are taking lately.
Some years ago, there was a reason why more mature people read books from Vertigo, but now it seems all the same narrative style to me...

[Ornum]

It's not as though Burton's film didn't have its flaws. I mean, Batman was more than willing to let someone die. He purposesly let Jack Napier fall into the vat of chemicals by letting go, and you can't tell me that Batman thought he would survive, or he would have fished him out. Also, at the end of the movie, he did nothing but watch Joker fall to his death.

Still, I'll agree that I was disappointed with Ken W's use in Batman Begins. And I can't say that I was a fan of the Lava Machine/dune buggy hybrid that was the Batmobile.

[HuManBing]

I clicked through back to this thread without quite reading closely, and for a few moments I was trying to figure out what Steve Miller had to do with this.

[Jester of the FoS]

1) The script likely in no way implied Lian Nielson's character was white. That was casting. More than likely that came about because mister Nielson was hired for the role. In many ways it was a colourless role that could have been played by anyone.

2) Did it ever really emphasis it was China? Couldn't it have been Tibet or Mongolia or Vietnam?