No, Matt Reeves Did Not Plagiarize for 'The Batman'

A former artist for DC Comics alleged that the hit film stole a pitch from the 90s. The Bat, the Cat, and the Fox debunks his claim.

When it comes to blockbuster franchises, director Matt Reeves has a formula for declining any potential offers; “insist on doing the story he wanted to do, the studio’s franchise-development apparatus be damned,” per Variety.¹

Author’s note: I am currently in Florida on my vacation, so I am typing this article on my phone. Substack does not allow for linking properly on mobile. Attached at the bottom of this dispatch are footnotes linking to the articles cited.

Mr. Reeves originally used this formula when offered to helm the second installment of the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy. “I was initially excited, and then I saw the [studio’s] outline and I said, ‘this isn’t really the story I would want to tell, I don’t think this is for me. To my shock they said, ‘no, no, wait, just tell us the story you want to do.’ I said, ‘I don’t see what the point of that is, because you’ll probably try then to get me to do some version of 20% what I want and 80% what you want, and I’ll have to do a big showdown at Candlestick Park or something.’”²

Mr. Reeves ultimately won that showdown. His two films with the franchise grossed over a billion dollars at the box office. When Warner Bros. approached him to direct The Batman, Mr. Reeves tried to use that formula again. He found himself penning an original script for an established franchise — deja vu of sorts.

Despite his well-known penchant for original material amidst a landscape of genre adaptations and his humble personality, Mr. Reeves has a few detractors. Former DC Comics artist Chris Wozniak made a YouTube video alleging that Mr. Reeves’ screenplay stole several critical plot points from a storyline he pitched to producer Michael Uslan in the early 90s.³

After The Bat, the Cat, and the Fox reviewed these allegations, Mr. Wozniak’s accusations of plagiarism are not credible. In addition to the lack of evidence regarding correspondence in Mr. Wozniak’s video (at the timestamp 00:25, Mr. Wozniak relies on hearsay which is not admissible in civil court, where accusations of plagiarism are dealt with in the legal system), the allegedly copied plot points are commonly found across interpretations of the Dark Knight’s story. Below is a breakdown of Mr. Wozniak’s video and the evidence that rebukes his allegations.

1. At 01:04, Mr. Wozniack alleges that a line from The Batman referring to Gotham City as “hidden in chaos” steals his storyline’s premise: “At the beginning of the Batman’s career, Gotham City is in complete chaos.”

Chaos is a general term used to describe Gotham City. In the 2019 online game Justice League Dark, its main open-world zone is called Chaos Gotham.⁴ Several entities in Batman lore, all of which Mr. Uslan was not involved in, use the term “chaos” in their titles. The 2001 video game Batman: Chaos in Gotham City⁵ and a book promoting The Lego Batman Movie⁶ both use the term in their titles.

2. At 01:18, Mr. Wozniak alleges that a plot point from his storyline (“Both the government and police force have been overtaken by organized crime syndicate causing complete systematic corruption”) is used in the film without credit.

Corruption is a recurring theme throughout Batman lore. Entries such as comic-book series The Long Halloween and the 2016 video game Batman: The Telltale Series tap into this theme.⁷ Is Jeph Loeb copying Mr. Wozniak? Distributors Telltale Games?

3. At 01:31, Mr. Wozniak alleges that his plot point, “All of Gotham City’s top cops are renewal fund [sic],” is copied.

Mr. Wozniak provides no evidence that he came up with the renewal fund. Instead, he offers an original statement (“All of Gotham City’s top cops are on the take”) edited with the term “renewal fund” in it.

4. At 01:39, Mr. Wozniak alleges that the film copies his plot point, “Protests against the corruption, riots, and looting are everywhere. Martial law is implemented.”

The Dark Knight Rises (2012) dir. Christopher Nolan illustrates the former sentence, particulrly through the arc of Anne Hathaway’s Selina Kyle. In Gotham City’s home country, martial law was established in Article 1, Section 9 of the US Constitution through habeas corpus way before Detective Comics was founded.⁸

5. At 02:00 and 02:09 respectively, Mr. Wozniak alleges that the film copies his plot points, “At the scene of a grisly homicide, the Batman finds a taunting note from the Riddler promising more murders to come” and “the Riddler is reimagined as a lonely, morbid, gruesome serial killer and mass murderer.”

Matt Reeves continually cited The Long Halloween as inspiration for the Riddler’s character arc in his film.⁹ Again, is Jeph Loeb copying Mr. Wozniak?

The same point can be made for Mr. Wozniak’s claims at 02:29 (“The Batman and Jim Gordon must team up to use their combined detection skills to solve a distinctly horrific investigative thriller”) and 02:40 (“With each gory serial killing comes a new riddle that puts the Batman through a trial that solves for the answer.”)

6. At 03:12, Mr. Wozniak alleges that the film copies a plot point, albeit the plot point itself is inconsistent; “While home, Barbara Gordon receives a riddle that is booby trapped as a firebomb. The Batman finds out via a phone call that it’s too late to save her. Alfred remains hospitalized for rest of story.” Which is it, Barbara or Alfred?

7. At 07:28, Mr. Wozniak alleges that the film copies the plot point, “Gotham City is ready to explode. Even if a single prison guard learns of the Batman’s true identity, all of Gotham will be lost.

Both Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises deal with citywide explosions. Did Christopher and Jonathan Nolan copy Mr. Wozniak? While examining Mr. Wozniak’s allegations, a pattern emerges: if you believe Mr. Wozniak, you have to believe that Matt Reeves, Jeph Loeb, the late Tim Sale, publishing houses, video game developers, the Nolan brothers all conspired to plagiarize Mr. Wozniak’s storyline.

8. At 08:32, Mr. Wozniak alleges that the film copies his plot point, “The method of retribution the Riddler chooses is a Biblically inspired plague.”

Nowhere in The Batman does Reeves imply that the Riddler’s motives are Biblically-inspired. His character arc as an antagonist is purely agnostic.

9. At 09:01, Mr. Wozniak alleges that the film copies his plot point, “During the final battle with the Riddler, the Batman is incapacitated, having been slowly poisoned all along.”

This is similar to the premise in the video game Batman: Arkham City, albeit the Joker poisons Batman with his Titan-infused blood. Add Rocksteady Studios to the list of people copying Mr. Wozniak’s storyline.

This same premise can also be used to debunk the plot point at 9:12 (“He lies helpless in need of the antidote.

10. At 9:33, Mr. Wozniak alleges that the film copies his plot point, “Acknowledging the duality between them, the Batman tells the Riddler they’re both in their own private hells.”

Throughout Batman lore, duality between Batman and various rogues is a recurring theme. Joker, Scarecrow, the Riddler are several examples of these rogues. Mr. Reeves is simply incorporating a theme used countless times.

11. At 10:11, Mr. Wozniak alleges that the film copies his plot point, “The Joker, who is not seen or mentioned throughout the entire story, appears only at the very end as an unnamed ‘mystery man.’”

Christopher Nolan did this at the end of Batman Begins (2005) when Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) shows Batman (Christian Bale) a calling card — a Joker card. Is Christopher Nolan copying Mr. Wozniak? While it’s a repetitive question, being faithful to the source material is not plagiarism.

12. At 10:19, Mr. Wozniak alleges that the film copies his plot point, “And we learn it was the Joker who secretly masterminded the Riddler’s entire scheme… by anonymously befriending and radicalizing him online.”

Reeves talked about Barry Keoghan’s Joker and his role in The Batman to Variety.¹⁰ “I said to Barry, right from the beginning, ‘Look, I don’t know where this is going to go. I can’t promise that it’ll even ever come back. I don’t know.’ And I still feel that way now. I’m not sure exactly.” How can a mastermind play such a minor role?

Conclusion: The facts, evidence, and Batman history speak for themselves. There is no credibility to Mr. Wozniak’s allegations. Reeves uses Batman lore as inspiration for his original screenplay — a screenplay he wrote without the influence of Mr. Uslan. If you believe his word, you have to believe that Matt Reeves; Jeph Loeb; the late Tim Sale; Christopher Nolan; Jonathan Nolan; Rocksteady Studios; publishing houses; Telltale Games all conspired to steal his work. Being faithful to the beloved source material is not plagiarism; it is good diligence.

1. https://variety.com/2017/film/spotlight/war-for-the-planet-of-the-apes-matt-reeves-1202491565/amp/

2. "

3. https://youtube.com/watch?v=sEVb1A5ymhM

4. https://dcuniverseonline.fandom.com/wiki/Chaos_Gotham

5. https://www.ign.com/games/batman-chaos-in-gotham

6. https://books.google.com/books/about/Chaos_in_Gotham_City.html?id=m4UTvgAACAAJ&source=kp_book_description

7. https://www.ign.com/articles/the-batman-carmine-falcone-john-turturro?amp=1

8. https://books.google.com/books?id=ZP1oAgAAQBAJ

9. https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/the-really-clever-way-matt-reeves-the-batman-drew-inspiration-from-the-long-halloween-according-to-tim-sheridan

10. https://variety.com/2022/film/news/the-batman-ending-joker-barry-keoghan-matt-reeves-1235196812/amp/