When I sat down to watch Batman Returns in 1992, even though I was only 11 years old, I was amazed that Kim Basinger was not in the movie. By then, I had seen Batman (1989) probably a hundred times – thanks to a worn-out VHS copy of the stunning Diet Coca-Cola ad earlier, and as many theater viewings as I could in between viewings of Indiana Jones and Indiana Jones. The Last Crusade” – and I knew Vicki Vale had to come back. You had to at least say goodbye to her or mention her somewhere, right?
Well, she was definitely mentioned. In passing. Short. And it was easy to miss if you weren't listening.
Since it was such a vital and important part of the first film, it felt like something was missing. After Batman, jumping into the narrative landscape of Batman Returns felt like we were missing a few issues of comics in between. For movies that were comic book adaptations, especially when there were so few of them at the time, it seemed acceptable, especially when both movies were so great in their own right. But Vicki Vale deserved better.
Fortunately, after 35 years, we can revisit the gap between “Batman” and “Batman Returns” thanks to John Jackson Miller's new book, “Batman: Resurrection,” which helps fill in the missing details between both films. This includes the return of Kim Basinger's character, showing us once and for all what happened to Vicki Vale and what really happened between her and Bruce.
Vicki's career takes her elsewhere, but she soon returns to Gotham
Like “Batman Returns,” “Batman Rise” begins with Vicki's mysterious absence. She went somewhere. Bruce isn't even sure where she is, much less how to contact her. When the specter of the Joker returns to haunt him, and knowing how obsessed the Joker was with Vicki, he decides to find a way to inform her of the possible threat. Bruce Wayne goes to see Alexander Knox (Robert Wuhl in “Batman”), her colleague from the Gotham newspaper. Although the Joker's return is still a mystery and Knox works at the newspaper that picks up the story and publishes it, Bruce decides it is worth the risk. He discovers that Vicki has returned to Corto Maltese, the site of a cruel war, to return to war photography.
When he finally learns that the Joker has seemingly returned, he returns to Gotham, but is still afraid of returning to his relationship with Bruce and prefers to chase his career. Before she came to Gotham to take photos of Batman, she was a war photographer, but she just as easily returned to her regular career. It was her previous work at Corto Maltese that caused the Joker to rate her work so highly during their visit to the museum, a location that receives more screen time in Batman: Resurrection.
Bruce couldn't let go of Batman and pushed Vicki away
However, the reason Vicki decided to leave in the first place was because of Bruce's choice. She thought she had a chance at a real relationship with Bruce after the events of “Batman” when he discovered that Jack Napier, also known as the Joker, was the one who killed his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne. He vowed to avenge his parents' murder, and since the Joker was seemingly dead at the end of the events of the film and he had gotten his revenge, she thought he might be able to hang up the cape and cowl for good.
Unfortunately for Vicki, Bruce's obsession with fixing Gotham with his fists rather than wealth only deepened, so she threw herself into her work. When she got word from Knox that the Joker was back, she returned to Gotham, both because the safest place to be was with Batman and because she knew Bruce would need support as he went through the trauma of being in the presence of a man who killed his parents to return seemingly from the dead. She still cared deeply about him, and this cognitive dissonance of caring for him but not being able to be with him frames much of the interpersonal drama of this book.
John Jackson Miller is able to describe Vicki and Bruce's relationship so well in the novel, not to mention perfectly capturing the voices of Michael Keaton and Kim Basinger in these roles. If you've been a fan of the original film since its release or touched upon it at any point over the past 35 years, you'll be happy to see this relationship develop, even just in text.
Batman: Resurrection by John Jackson Miller is now available in bookstores worldwide.
