What If Harvey Dent Was In Batman Returns?
Billy Dee Williams's Harvey Dent was one of the biggest missed opportunities in the early Batman films. After being featured in Tim Burton's 1989 epic, he went missing in the sequel, Batman Returns. But what would have happened to the character if he showed up in this 1992 cult favorite?
This Fanscription contains examples of:
- Adaptational Nice Guy: One change made is making the Penguin more sympathetic. This is done by changing his implied serial child killings during his time as a circus freak to him robbing rich peoples' homes. He only resorts to child murder after a severe mental break caused by the rejection of wealthy donors to his political campaign, which he views as a betrayal — and even then, he only targets those peoples' children, rather than indiscriminately lashing out at every family in Gotham.
- Alternate Aesop Interpretation: Brought up In-Universe in a discussion between Shreck and Penguin about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and how it relates to the latter. Shreck thinks the moral is "the best way to be loved is to be indispensable". Penguin sees it as Rudolph being exploited.
- Bittersweet Ending: Like in the original film, Penguin's plans are thwarted, but due to the above Adaptational Nice Guy treatment, his death is more tragic. Also, Harvey Dent is arrested and his career ruined for accepting illegal evidence, whilst Batman is still wanted for a murder he didn't commit.
- Comic-Book Fantasy Casting: Kelly McGillis as Grace, Harvey Dent's wife.
- Related in the Adaptation: Just like in one of the early drafts of Batman Returns, the Penguin is Max Shreck's brother.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Dent is arrested at the end of the film while recovering from his accident due to him accepting illegal evidence provided to him by Batman to use against Shreck and Cobblepot. When Bruce brings up Batman vouching for him to Commissioner Gordon, Gordon points out that due to the Ice Princess' murder, Batman is wanted himself and with everyone who might be able to clear his name seemingly dead, no one in Gotham would accept his word either.
