The Iconic Scene That DC Fans Are Glad Is Missing In The Batman

Although it took far longer than expected, Matt Reeves' "The Batman" finally arrived in theaters in March 2022 — after a troubled production that was heavily disrupted by the pandemic and various release date delays. Robert Pattinson himself even caught COVID-19 while working on set, which was a frustrating setback for the entire cast and crew (via Variety). But it was worth the wait, being met with rave reviews from critics, and it raked in $754 million worldwide (via Box Office Mojo). Although there hasn't been any official word on whether "The Batman 2" is going ahead, Reeves previously revealed that he's got a good idea of what to do with the iconic Batman bad guy Mr. Freeze.

The film was so refreshing for fans largely because it had a unique atmosphere and style in the same vein as thrillers like David Fincher's "Se7en" and "Zodiac" thanks to the sadistic nature of the Riddler (Paul Dano) and how he wages his own war on corruption in Gotham City. The masked villain is a far cry from the spandex suit-wearing version of the Riddler played by Jim Carrey in "Batman Forever." It was also interesting to see a younger Batman (Pattinson) in his second year of crime-fighting. Although he's already weaponized fear and has become a terrifying legend on the streets, he's still not an expert at being a vigilante.

Although the film has a lengthy running time of two hours and 56 minutes, there are a few things missing from the theatrical cut, including a chilling interrogation scene involving the Joker (Barry Keoghan) that eventually made its way online. But DC fans were pleased that one iconic scene was left out of the 2022 movie.

Because the film throws the audience right into the action with Bruce Wayne already on the streets, Matt Reeves completely forgoes the traditional origin story structure. So thankfully, fans aren't forced to watch Thomas and Martha Wayne get gunned down in Crime Alley once again. Instead, it reexamines Bruce's saintlike opinion of his parents as the Riddler targets their involvement with corruption in the city. But all this means there isn't another painful slow-motion shot of Martha's pearls cascading to the ground, and fans on Reddit are incredibly pleased about it.

Redditor u/a_lonewolf writes, "Aren't we all so sick of seeing that murder scene and those pearls falling in almost every iteration of Batman? I was so happy that this movie was not about that at all!" Meanwhile, u/TheBoyWonder13 adds that the mayor's death is a small nod to Bruce's origin, saying, "Batman locking eyes with the mayor's son as the Nirvana track kicks is a great way to include Batman's origin right at the beginning of the movie in a fresh way."

Redditor u/ScholarlyHeathen, on the other hand, thinks the film could've used the pearls in a more stylistic way: "You know what? I agree with you, but at the same time, I think it would have been really cool if at the very beginning of the movie, before the title fills the screen, we just had some slow, forboding [sic], 4k shots of some pearls."

It may have been a good thing that Reeves left the Waynes' deaths out of the theatrical cut — because they've been killed so many times on-screen in the last few decades that everyone even remotely familiar with the character knows what happens.