One of the best things to ever happen to Batman was the '90s animated series, which was an absolute showcase of some of the most talented artists to ever create stories for the Caped Crusader. Twenty years later, Batman: The Animated Series is still incredibly entertaining and influential -- and it's also the source of some great behind-the-scenes tidbits of Batman stories that never got made! There were plenty of times the show's creators were censored. The comics and movies have also hit walls when it comes to certain taboos, especially when trying to cater to both adult and young audiences.
Things get plenty dark in the world of Batman -- and they sometimes get weird, too. In fact, there have been quite a few times in the Dark Knight's long history when you can't help but wonder how certain storylines or characters ever saw the light of day. Say what you will about censorship and a certain prudishness when it comes to issues of race, gender and sex, but Batman has been able to get away with a lot over the years -- and not all of it's been good. In fact, there are a few things below that never should've seen the light of day.
15 ROXY ROCKET
Considering the other stuff that was cut from Batman: The Animated Series and The New Batman Adventures before it could hit the air -- much of which wasn't all that taboo or dark -- it's absolutely unbelievable that the no one at the WB thought to stop Roxy Rocket from moaning while riding a big, phallic-shaped rocket across Gotham. That's not even the worst of it.
The villain screams, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" as they come within inches of certain death.
When Batman decides to call Roxy on her bluff (she plans to crash them into a rock wall), the villain screams, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" as they come within inches of certain death. Roxy is a very saucy former stuntwoman and infamous for her appearances on both the Batman cartoon and Superman: The Animated Series. In the latter appearance, Roxy complimented the Man of Steel's hot bod.
14 CAUGHT: THE GUN STORY
In the years since its final episode, we've learned many of the behind the scenes secrets from Batman: The Animated Series, arguably the greatest superhero cartoon ever made. The people behind the show, such as Bruce Timm, Paul Dini and Alan Burnett, have all been very vocal through the years about the making of the series and the ideas that didn't quite make it onto the air.
One such idea was a proposed episode called "The Gun Story," which followed the creation of the gun that killed Bruce Wayne's parents.
It was to be a dark episode with a unique structure, as it showed how the gun passed from one person to another until it reached the hands of the man who killed the Waynes on that fateful night. Fox decided to pass on an episode so focused on a deadly weapon. It's a shame.
13 PERCHANCE TO DREAM
The fact that "The Gun Story" didn't pass the Fox's censorship guidelines makes "Perchance to Dream" all the more unbelievable. After all, it shows a dreaming Bruce Wayne solving his problems by jumping off the top of a bell tower to his presumed death (an obvious homage to Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, by the way). Bruce doesn't actually die in the episode, instead waking up from the Mad Hatter's latest scheme to boggle his mind and stopping the villain once again.
Still, there's enough in the "suicide" solution to totally censor this episode -- not that we're mad about the finished product. "Perchance to Dream" is one of the absolute greatest stories ever told in a Batman cartoon. We're just wondering how it got on the air and "The Gun Story" didn't. Yeah, we're really salty about "The Gun Story."
12 CAUGHT: BATMAN THE VAMPIRE
One more Batman: The Animated Series idea that was cut down in its prime: Bruce Timm almost turned the Dark Knight into a vampire. Yeah, that's right. Things could've gone completely Elseworlds on this cartoon had Fox not shot the idea down -- and it was for a pretty simple reason, too: the network would not allow any blood on the animated series.
That sort of defeats the purpose of having a vampire on your show, doesn't it?
The episode would have seen Nocturna, who first appeared as a brief love interest for Batman in the comics back in the '80s, bite Batman and turn him into a creature of the night. Not much else is known about the episode, except that Timm drew a "hot model" of the character, according to writer and producer Alan Burnett.
11 BATMAN AND BLACK CANARY GET BUSY
You can't help but laugh out loud when you think of All-Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder. It's the most extreme example of "superheroic" machismo ever put on the page, and it could only come from the mind of Frank Miller, a man known for his hardcore depictions of Batman. (Anybody else thinking about the Dark Knight riding through Gotham on horseback?) Say what you will about The Dark Knight Strikes Again, but All-Star Batman might be Miller's Dark Knight at his most ridiculous.
There's one scene that stands out above all the rest: Batman stops a gang of criminals from stealing a shipment of... bleach... and then lights them on fire with said bleach. THEN he gets busy with Black Canary about ten yards away from the burning corpses. What?
10 CAUGHT: JOKER AND HARLEY IN WHITE KNIGHT
Although Batman: White Knight, a brilliant new series from talented writer-artist Sean Murphy, was never quite advertised as as a "Teen+" comic -- it's a book about the Joker becoming the good guy Gotham needs -- DC found it necessary to censor at least one aspect of the story. We're talking about the intimate scene between Jack Napier (a cured Joker) and Harley where they're in bed.
The art in question is not quite so graphic, but it was still too much for DC.
Although Murphy said he pushed for an adult rating on the book, DC asked the creator to cover certain body parts with word balloons. Before the censored love scene made it to comic book racks, Murphy released the uncensored pictures on Instagram to show the original intent of the art.
9 BATMAN VS. ROBIN
This panel from All-Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder is just foul. If Batman getting busy with Black Canary next to a pile of burning corpses didn't do it for you in terms of EXTREME, maybe the Dark Knight calling a young (kinda kidnapped) Dick Grayson a horrible name will. Throughout the series, Batman is abusive to the Boy Wonder, whom he treats more like a soldier than a sidekick. At one point, the Dark Knight even leaves the kid locked in the Batcave and tells him to eat rats and bats when he gets hungry.
Then there's this scene where Dick questions why he has to listen to Batman at all. (After all, Frank Miller's Caped Crusader is the WORST.) That's when Bats completely snaps and asks Dick if he's "dense" or if he's "retarded." The vigilante asserts that he's "the goddamn Batman." Uh.
8 CAUGHT: THE EXPLETIVE-FILLED GADGET JOKE
Much has been said about Justice League's deleted scenes. Not only do some fans want the mythical Zack Snyder cut of the film, despite the fact that it's been recently reported that the director was fired from the film because of his "unwatchable" rough cut, but there's also all the talk about Superman's black suit, which was finally revealed in a deleted scene released on the internet.
Then there are the smaller flourishes, funny little moments we'll probably never get to see.
One such moment was revealed by Ezra Miller. According to the actor who played The Flash in the movie, a line delivered by Batman was altered because there was an expletive in it. When Aquaman starts playing around with one of the Dark Knight's gadgets in the Batcave, the Caped Crusader warns the King of Atlantis not to do that because "a lot of my s--- explodes."
7 JOKER ATTACKS BARBARA IN THE KILLING JOKE
While Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's The Killing Joke is still considered a seminal Batman story and is oft-regarded as the Joker's definitive origin (although it's not been canon since Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's "Zero Year" arc), the public's perception of the book has changed over the years. These days, it's often cited as one of the main examples of rape culture and fridging in the world of comics -- for good reason.
Joker's attack on Barbara Gordon in The Killing Joke is so violent and disturbing that it's absolutely shocking that it made it to comic book racks. To make matters worse, DC barely bothered to censor the heinous act, even allowing panels with pictures of Barbara in agony. It's no wonder Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher and Babs Tarr sought to wipe the event from continuity altogether during their Batgirl run.
6 CAUGHT: THE ORIGINAL ART FOR THE KILLING JOKE
Things only get worse with The Killing Joke. The art included in the book is not what Brian Bolland originally drew for Barbara Gordon's attack. DC did censor the most gruesome of the bunch, including depictions of a bleeding and naked Barbara writhing in agony in the polaroids shown to Commissioner Gordon in the aftermath of the attack by the Joker. It is pretty tasteless to say the least.
"I drew what was in the script. That’s my job."
While DC never meant for readers to ever see the uncensored art, someone leaked inked pages back in 2013. Bolland commented on the leak, saying, "Here’s a page I drew for Killing Joke. I drew what was in the script. That’s my job. I was asked to tone it down a bit. I don’t know how the person who posted it got this image.”
5 CATWOMAN IS NOT FOR KIDS
There's never been a Catwoman quite like Tim Burton's version in Batman Returns. Sure, the way she was played in the 1960s live-action show turned the character into a bit of a sex symbol, but nothing could prepare '90s audiences (especially parents) for Michelle Pfeiffer's turn as the Cat. In fact, those audience members with children were pretty angry about the incredibly sexualized Catwoman Burton brought to the screen.
Even McDonald's was annoyed at Warner Bros. for releasing a movie where Catwoman licks Batman's face on a rooftop (these two have a long history of doing things on rooftops, as you'll see in a minute). Why didn't WB censor some of this stuff? Well, the only way the studio could get Burton to return for a sequel was to give him more creative control. Apparently that means Catwoman licking herself and stuffing a bird in her mouth.
4 CAUGHT: THE KILLING JOKE VARIANT
Discussion surrounding The Killing Joke's less savory moments returned to the forefront of the comic book industry when a special Killing Joke cover for the New 52's Batgirl #41 was announced by DC. The variant, which you can see part of above, was drawn by Rafael Albuquerque (who consistently does excellent work on Batman stories and covers). It depicts the Joker threatening a clearly distressed Batgirl. She is crying and has a smile drawn on her face with what looks like blood.
DC won't make the mistake again.
Needless to say, this did not go over well with DC fans, who quickly called for the variant's cancellation. DC did eventually pull the variant. It just seemed like a bad idea from the start to do a Killing Joke variant for Batgirl. Hopefully, DC won't make the mistake again.
3 BATMAN HAS A GUN IN YEAR TWO
Mike W. Barr is one of the most bonkers writers to ever tell a Batman story. Whether his tales involved Ra's al Ghul or the Outsiders, Barr's Batman adventures were consistently awe-inspiring and eyebrow-raising. Of all his stories, "Year Two" takes the cake. It was written as a follow-up to Frank Miller's seminal "Year One" Batman origin story, except that it was nuts.
In "Year Two," Batman faces off against a new rival, the ruthless vigilante known as the Reaper, who doesn't hesitate when it comes to executing criminals for the greater good. The Dark Knight wants this guy off the streets, but soon discovers that he's outmatched. So what does Batman do? He decides to CARRY A GUN and team up with JOE CHILL. Batman decides that shooting the Reaper is the only solution to the problem. Really?
2 CAUGHT: THE COMICS CODE "SOFTENS UP" BATMAN
We can all agree now that the Comics Code was almost entirely the worst and it's a good thing none of the major publishers have to follow that joke anymore. But back in the 1950s, parents and a very paranoid government thought that superhero comics were poisoning the youth. One of the main targets of the Comics Code, which censored all superhero comics for decades, was Batman, who was seen as too dark, too violent and entirely too homoerotic.
After all, what was he doing hanging out with another dude in his underwear?
So for the next few decades, Batman fought aliens, dealt with the annoying Bat-Mite and even met a rainbow-colored version of himself in strange dimensions and alternate Earths. Batman and Detective Comics largely became sci-fi books. The only good thing to come out of this censorship was Grant Morrison's incredibly weird Batman run in the 2000s.
1 BATMAN AND CATWOMAN DO IT ON A ROOFTOP
Batman getting engaged to Catwoman is one of the best things to happen to the Dark Knight as a character in years. There, we said it! Tom King's run has been brilliant thus far and much of that success has to do with the smaller stories he's told about the Bat and the Cat and their nightly romps on rooftops.
King introduced romance to Batman at a time when he was seen as a snarling maniac obsessed with killing Superman by the general public. Meanwhile, the New 52 got the Bat and the Cat's relationship ALL WRONG. This is most evident in Catwoman #1. In that inaugural issue, these two get it on in a way that's meant to titillate teens into buying more issues. They do it like "wild animals," with several panels showing Catwoman straddling the Bat...