The Batman’s universe would benefit from replicating one crucial Arrowverse trick that started with Arrow. Released 10 years apart, The Batman and Arrow season 1 share a lot of similarities. Two DC properties focused on superhero vigilantes with no superpowers, both Arrow and The Batman borrowed a lot from the noir, realistic take on superheroes that has set the tone for some of DC and Marvel’s most successful movies of the past decade. This realistic take on the DC characters worked well for Arrow and The Batman, but the former would later find the perfect balance between Green Arrow’s usual realism and what a larger DC universe asks for.
Now that The Batman has become one of the most successful and well-reviewed DC movies in years, it will be interesting to see how the newly-formed DC Studios will manage two different movie franchises – the DCU and The Batman’s universe. Even if Matt Reeves’ Batman franchise doesn’t lead to a new DC universe, Batman’s mythos is large enough to sustain a cinematic universe by itself. At the same time, the possibility of an alternate DC universe building up from a widely praised Batman movie cannot be ruled out. However, neither of those scenarios can work if The Batman’s universe doesn't evolve into a more fantastical world, something that Arrow did perfectly years ago.
The Batman’s Realism Can Play Against The Franchise
Between Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League, audiences got to see Batman interacting with a larger, more fantastical DC universe – which was a first for Batman in the movies. Matt Reeves' The Batman, which began development once it was clear that Ben Affleck’s solo Batman movie would not happen, went in a completely different direction and brought Batman back to its detective roots. The Batman was closer to Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy than it was to Zack Snyder’s Justice League franchise, and it borrowed from more grounded Batman stories such as Year One and The Long Halloween. The result was a modern reincarnation of Batman and his iconic rogues' gallery.
The Batman’s take on the Dark Knight and his villains worked for the most part and set up an exciting series of Batman films. However, considering how large the Batman lore is in the comics, limiting the character to a sense of realism can play against The Batman’s universe. Batman is more than realism, and some of the best Batman comic book stories involve sci-fi, magic, and even elements of horror. Even without considering Superman, Wonder Woman, and the Justice League, a large part of Batman’s mythos only makes sense if placed in a more fantastical world. In other words, limiting The Batman’s universe to its realism would reduce the franchise’s potential.
Arrow Was As Realistic As Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy (Initially)
Arrow premiered in 2012, right as The Dark Knight and Nolan’s realism, to the point, it would be no exaggeration to say that the Dark Knight trilogy along with the MCU shaped the past decade of superhero movies and shows.
It was no different for Arrow. A Green Arrow TV show would naturally be more realistic than Oliver Queen was interacting with superheroes, time travel, multiverse, magic, and aliens regularly, showing that this approach does not need to be an obstacle.
How Arrow Evolved Into A Fantastical World
For those who might have stopped watching Arrow after season 1 and then watched the show during its final season, it must have been shocking to see how much the universe around Oliver Queen had changed. However, Arrow’s journey from a realistic, Batman Begins-like world to the anchor of a comic-accurate DC universe named “Arrowverse” made a lot of sense. Arrow’s change was not abrupt but rather slowly built starting with season 2. For example, Slade Wilson’s storyline introduced the Mirakuru, Arrow’s version of Marvel’s super soldier serum. The concept of super soldiers was then expanded with the arrival of Barry Allen, the scientist who would become the Flash.
With DC planning The Flash.
The regular crossovers between Stephen Ameel’s Green Arrow and Grant Gustin’s Flash by themselves would have been enough to completely change Arrow’s universe. If Oliver Queen was able to fight the Flash and other metahumans, then Green Arrow could face most DC villains on his show – whether they were realistic or not. Arrow season 3 introduced Ra’s Al Ghul, and unlike Batman Begins, the DC villain had a supernatural side to his story. Damian Dark and his magic, John Constantine, the effects of Flashpoint, and multiversal team Arrow doppelgangers are just some of the examples of other fantastical elements that Arrow incorporated at some point.
How Arrow’s Tone Change Can Inspire The Batman
As significant as Arrow’s tone change was, it happened in an organic way that never broke the show’s universe. That is how Matt Reeves could incorporate the more fantastical side of Batman into his The Batman universe, slowly adding more sci-fi concepts while never breaking the sense of realism so well established by the first movie. Although The Batman 2 and other sequels could still focus on Batman & Robin, are great examples.
For example, Clayface, one of Batman’s most intriguing villains, has never been featured in a live-action Batman movie. Many hope to see Clayface in The Batman 2 or other sequels, yet such a character only works in a universe that is opened to Batman’s fantastical side. For that reason, introducing villains like Clayface, Mr. Freeze, and Poison Ivy in The Batman 2 or 3 can lead to a larger, more comic-accurate Batman universe. Similar to Arrow, The Batman's sequels can first expand the world with small sci-fi concepts such as Mr. Freeze’s ice gun and only then incorporate elements like Ra’s Al Ghul’s Lazarus Pit or Poison Ivy's powers.
