1997’s Batman and Robin was the first time that Batman joined forces with another hero; though it bombed at the box office, it ended up having an enormous influence on subsequent DC live-action films. Joel Schumacher’s adaptation of Grant Morrison’s father/son story took some liberties but ultimately stayed faithful to its source material; additionally it established Damian Wayne as Bruce’s biological son as opposed to being fostered into Bruce’s care.

Dr. Freeze, a molecular biologist, uses cryonics to preserve his terminally-ill wife Nora before freezing Gotham Observatory with her. Batman and Robin attempt to stop Dr. Freeze; however Ivy, a botanist-turned-ecoterrorist using pheromone dust and poisonous lips as weapons against Freeze arrives secretly at Gotham Observatory with plans of retrieving his diamonds as well as Nora; she convinces Freeze that Batman killed Nora, leading him down this path towards total destruction of all humanity he intends on freezing all humanity as revenge against mankind’s creation.

As Batman and Robin arrive to save the day, they’re met by an army of baddies armed to the teeth. When Batman attempts to negotiate, however, the thugs become startled but not scared; while this behavior doesn’t feel out of character for Batman (it seems more like soft or stupid behavior compared to smashing computer monitors!). Gunn has noted that The Brave and Bold movie will introduce an alternative DCU Batman that does not feature Robert Pattinson or Ben Affleck; rather Tom King will help build this universe; thus suggesting it will feature “the whole Bat-family.”