The Most Disturbing 5 Minutes In Every Batman Movie

The character of Batman is one of the darkest to exist in the DC Universe, and his movies prove that by each including at least one disturbing scene. The Dark Knight is one of DC’s most iconic and grounded heroes, and the more plausible nature of the character often leads to stories that are significantly more realistic than those of other comic book movies. However, the world in which Batman is needed to exist often needs to be incredibly dark and dangerous by its very nature, leading to the vigilante finding himself surrounded by bleak, dark, or unsettling occurrences.

With upcoming DC movies set to introduce even more Batman stories into the DCU, one thing seems all but certain: they’ll each contain something disturbing. This has been proven by Batman’s cinematic history, as even the hero’s campiest outings have contained a scene that could be considered dark or unsettling. This isn’t always down to Batman himself, either – though the hero occasionally resorts to extreme tactics, his villains often escalate proceedings into deeply disturbing territory. With that in mind, here are the most disturbing 5 minutes in every Batman movie.

10 Batman (1966) – Villains Dehydrate The World Security Council

Adam West’s iteration of Batman isn’t generally known for his edginess. The campy tone of Batman‘s media in the ’60s extended to the live-action movie, but the film still had a fairly disturbing early scene. Towards the start of the movie, Penguin, Riddler, Catwoman, and Joker team up to attack the World Security Council by dehydrating them and gathering their dusty remains. The scene is pretty disturbing on multiple levels: the members of the council are little more than a band of dated stereotypes who are swiftly converted into colored ashes. The villains’ laughter as they look at the dried human remains is as chilling as it is wacky.

9 Batman (1989) – The Joker’s Museum Scene

Tim Burton’s 1989 film Batman introduced one of the best Batman movie actors and remains popular even decades after its release. Though it certainly didn’t shy away from the zanier aspects of the Batman mythos, it also provided a number of chilling moments. However, none stand out as quite so disturbing as the sequence in which Joker arrives at the Flugelheim Museum to meet Vicki Vale. He enters without his characteristic clown makeup, kills multiple civilians with poison gas, then dances wildly to Prince’s “Partyman” as he destroys a number of artifacts. He then proceeds to flirt with Vicki to cap off the film’s most unhinged and disturbing scene.

8 Batman Returns – Max Shreck Creates Catwoman

Following up on 1989’s Batman, Burton managed to make a sequel that was somehow even creepier. After Max Shreck catches his secretary Selina Kyle discovering his illicit business practices, he proceeds to menace her. He both flirts with and threatens the incredibly meek and anxious woman, before casually disclosing that he intends to kill her. He moves to kiss her, then laughs at her, then throws her out of the window of his office. She falls several stories to her death, only for stray cats to gnaw on her until she returns to life. All told, the scene is incredibly disturbing.

7 Batman Forever – Two-Face & Riddler’s Endings

Though Batman Forever is often considered among the worst Batman movies, it boasts a fairly disturbing ending. Immediately after sending Two-Face tumbling to his death, Batman proceeds to locate Riddler, who was injured by the overload of his brainwave receiver machine. The hero encounters Riddler, lying among the wreckage, his head misshapen, and his ability to speak significantly reduced. Despite his obvious brain injury, Batman needlessly taunts him with his true identity, then has him placed in Arkham Asylum, where he remains due to the irreparable damage to his brain. It’s an unexpectedly dark turn for an otherwise lighthearted film, making the scene seem all the more disturbing by comparison.

6 Batman & Robin – Introducing Poison Ivy

When it comes to Batman movies, Batman & Robin is almost universally considered the worst. Though it’s far too silly to deliver anything overly disturbing in the traditional sense, it does feature a scene that is altogether disconcerting. After Pamela Isley becomes Poison Ivy, she makes an appearance at a charity event, dancing provocatively in a yeti costume and slowly revealing herself to the crowd. The dance number goes on for a minute or two too long before the villain begins to encourage Batman and Robin to compete for an evening of her time. It’s incredibly campy and super creepy, making it the most unsettling scene in the film.

5 Batman Begins – Scarecrow’s Fear Toxin Spreads

As the first entry in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy primarily explores the concept of fear, it’s hardly a surprise that Batman Begins features a number of disturbing moments. However, when it comes to an extended scene that is decidedly unsettling, this comes late in the film after Scarecrow’s fear toxin is dispersed throughout the city. The unsuspecting citizens of Gotham are dosed with the gas and begin to experience horrific hallucinations, and even as Batman fights to save them, they scream in terror and descend into violent chaos. It’s a dark and horrifying scene that shows the torment of countless innocents, and it’s Batman Begins‘ most disturbing five minutes.

4 The Dark Knight – The Joker’s News Bulletin

The Dark Knight is widely considered the best Batman movie ever made, and much of that reputation is down to Heath Ledger’s unforgettable performance as the Joker. The way the villain announces himself to the city is by far the film’s most terrifying sequence: a video of him taunting and torturing a hostage appears on the Gotham City News, but, as disturbing as the Joker’s video is, its presentation makes it worse. Seeing it reported on the news draws similarities between the scene and real-life incidents of terrorism, making the scene feel almost too real to bear. Even years later, it continues to make for incredibly dark and difficult viewing.

3 The Dark Knight Rises – Bane’s Trap

The Dark Knight Rises ends Nolan’s trilogy by pitting Batman against Bane. The muscular villain is depicted as more than a match for Batman, and the film’s most disturbing five minutes come when the pair finally face off. It begins with Catwoman betraying Batman to Bane, then the hero being routinely beaten as Bane taunts him. Eventually, Bane breaks the hero’s spine and then has him locked away in a faraway prison to witness the downfall of Gotham from afar. The ease with which the villain beats the hero is unsettling, but his casual approach to psychological torture is genuinely chilling.

2 Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice – Lex Luthor Creates Doomsday

Though it’s seen as one of the worst movies of Snyder’s DCEU, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice wasn’t entirely without merit. It introduced Ben Affleck’s Batman, who was a much darker figure than previous iterations of the hero. However, it’s the film’s villain, Lex Luthor, who’s responsible for its darkest and most disturbing scene. Eisenberg’s unhinged portrayal of Luthor builds tension as he talks at length about his mad desire to harness Kryptonian technology, and then he uses General Zod’s remains and his own blood to create the monstrous Doomsday. It’s all just rather unsettling, and of course, ultimately ends with Superman’s untimely death.

1 The Batman – The Riddler Cult Reveal

There are many moments within The Batman that could be classed as the film’s most disturbing. The film’s iteration of the Riddler as a serial killer intent on exposing corruption makes for intense viewing at times, but when it comes to extended sequences, none are more disturbing than the film’s final twist. After capturing Riddler, Batman realizes all too late that the villain has already inspired dozens of loyal followers who plan to attack a public event. Batman’s slow realization, followed by the incredibly tense (and all too plausible) active shooter scenario, is as dark as they come, and is by far one of the most disturbing Batman movie moments.