A Christmas miracle. To close out 2023, we’re taking the plunge into the kinky, gender-bending world of Batman Returns, the strangest blockbuster ever to have a Happy Meal tie-in. After the many compromises involved in making Batman ’89, Tim Burton used his newfound freedom to take the biggest swings he could imagine—and with the help of one of the most stacked casts in any superhero movie, he ended up with a bizarre masterpiece. We have a Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! You can find The Black Casebook on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, on Bluesky ⁠⁠@blackcasebook⁠⁠, and Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@blackcasebookpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and you can write in to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to share any Bat-thoughts you have. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Theme by Black Plastique⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Intro music: "Greensleeves" by klankbeeld, via freesound.org.