Bat-mania struck at just the right age for me. I was 11 when the first Tim Burton Batman movie was released and Batman merchandise was all over the place. The thought that still lingers with me today, was that EVERYBODY I knew went to go see this movie. On the Friday that it opened, I remember my grandparents stopping by the house. They gave me a brochure with all of this awesome looking Batman stuff on it. I asked where they got this from and they flat out told me: the movie theater. My Grandparents had seen this movie before me!?! They weren’t even fans! I had been collecting a couple comics and toys, drooling over commercials and tacking the movie trading cards to a cork bulletin board in my bedroom. This was the first movie I remember getting psyched for.
The following Saturday, I got to see it for Kevin Stafford’s 11th birthday. We sat in the front row (the equivalent of IMAX today.) I’d like to say that seeing the movie was transformative. I’d like to say that I walked out of that movie a different person than when I walked in.
But I can’t. The seeds of nerdom had been planted long ago. But this movie was like WATER, SUNLIGHT, MIRACLE GROW, and STEROIDS all rolled into one. I walked out a bigger nerd.
To make matters worse, the local Fox affiliate (Fox13 or Fox 17 at the time) ran the Adam West Batman every night. By Halloween 1989, my brother and I were equally fanatical about Batman and Robin. And Warner Brothers wouldn’t let up: Batman Returns, Batman the Animated Series, Batman Forever, Etc.) Not to mention that the gaps between these movies were filled with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Flash TV series, and the Rocketeer!
As a side note: My wife just asked me, “So, you’re like, 11 in that picture?”
Well somebody had to take my little brother trick-or treating.
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