The Rise of the Black Bat (2012)

It’d be hard to underestimate the impact that Batman has had on popular culture.

In money alone, Batman’s status as a cultural icon is staggering. The character has grossed over $4.4 billion at the box office and $500 million in global retail sales annually.

His popularity is in large part due to what his character and story represent.

He’s a boy riddled with trauma and fear. But instead of wallowing in his depravity, he takes control of it and uses it for good.

He’s sort of a Robin Hood-type character. Except instead of stealing from the rich and giving to the poor, he takes the fear of the dark and turns it against evil in order to protect the innocent.

This film, if you can even call it that, throws all of that out of the window.

The story follows a district attorney, Tony Quinn, who is blinded by acid when he gets too close to convicting the crime boss he’s been trying to take down.

Except he doesn’t stay that way, because , as the tagline states, “Justice is blind… no more.” He gets surgery that corrects his vision, but he can only see at night.

His next step: become a nocturnal vigilante!

If this sounds familiar to you, yes, this is basically the origin of Daredevil. The Black Bat, is in fact, a combination of the two.

But what makes it so bad?

Well, for starters, the costume just looks bad. It’s basically the Batman cowl sans the pointy ears. The result is a strange bald look that just doesn’t feel right.

Next, the Black Bat uses a handgun! Are there no values in ripoffs? Everyone knows Batman never carries a gun.

Finally, the Black Bat himself sounds like John Mulaney voicing Spongebob! It’s really shocking. And because the Black Bat narrates the film, you’ll have to think about it the entire time.

Ultimately, this is just a piece of trash. If a movie contains a man breaking into a house to warn the occupants that someone is about to break into the house and be serious about it, it’s not worth your time.

Or maybe it is, you do you.

Guess Tomorrow’s Film