Batman - No Man's Land Screenplay

[Buttman]

Just a draft, albeit Draft #4 of a script I wrote for a guy off another board. (BFF) He plans to make it into a fanfilm using Brickworkmation. I could really use some criticism to improve before I hand this over to the director of the movie. The idea was No Man's Land, using the brick gimmick. I liked it, and I was actually only coming on for the second draft. A first draft had been painstakingly adapted from the comic by CFE, but it just didn't seem practical to be made into an actual fanfilm (It was like, 160+ pages, word for word from the comic.) So I started over, doing everything from the scratch. I did plan to just adapt the novel, but somewhat to do with my laziness about copying, and general arrogrance, I rewrote it from scratch. NML in name only folks.

The Batman characterisation is fairly modern, in that he's not a complete nutjob or an "Anti-hero." There's a few homages dotted about it, a particularly obvious one at the end. This would be Part 1 of 3 stories. I have.. plans for the other 2 parts. Well..

"BATMAN - NO MAN'S LAND"


A Blokovision Production
A Tommy M. Production

Story - Steven Shanahan & Beast Boy

Screenplay - Steven Shanahan

With special thanks to;
Jonathan Markiewitz & Chas Blakenship


Characters -

Batman
Nightwing
Robin
The Joker
Jim Gordon
Harvey Bullock
Alfred Pennyworth
The Penguin


A siloute of something passing the screen, blocking the view of the logo.

A TOMMY M. PRODUCTION

The sound of falling rubble is heard.

The piece contines past, revealing the next opening credit introduction.

BLOCK-O-VISION

Establishing Shot - Gotham City, an Earthquake is ripping it apart. The road begins to rip in half, as the camera continues to shake. Cars are thrown off balance. Street lamps break and fall. People scream in panick, fleeing from the destruction and falling rubble. Utter chaos.

PRESENTS

A lone figure sits on the edge of a building back to frame, as two towers fall to the ground in the foreground. A third tower falls behind it. Smoke and rubble pours from them all. More things break. His shoulders slouch in dispair, but the lone figure is never identified.

NO MAN'S LAND

A row of judges look down on a man with his back turned, stood in isle while they're perched above all on their "thrones." They squabble amongst themselves, but the audience can't hear what. They all start nodding to each other.

STEVEN SHANAHAN

Close up of Bruce Wayne, listening to their squabbles. His face slowly twists into a grimace, they're decision obviously not being good news.

ERIC SMIGIEL

"Gotham City Limits" ("No Trespassing" has been stamped across it)

NIKI NOTARIE

"You are now leaving the United States"

BATMAN CREATED BY BOB KANE

"By Federal Authority This Area Has Been Declared OFF LIMITS"

WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO BILL FINGER

The final sign reads: "Welcome to Gotham City" but has been vandalised with red paint to instead read: "HellcomeS to Gotham City"


FADE IN:

EXT. GCPD ROOFTOP

To the night sky, illuminated by the bat-signal. (Not the regular Bat-signal, but a "home-made" one, in light of the quake. It's a simple sky-light with a metal twisted bat over it.) The camera pans diagonally along the light’s beam. We stop panning at the light’s source, on the G.C.P.D building. Commissioner James Gordon stands next to the signal, his head gazing skyward. Jim Gordon checks his watch, with a thoughtful moan.

Three other police officers stand behind the signal. Their discussion can be heard as they approach the frame Jim Gordon is in.

COP;
"So, uhh.. whatcha think the
government’s got in mind
for us?"

A DIFFERENT COP turns;
"They ain’t got no plan. This was the
cheapest solution. Shut it down,
cut it off. No federal aid, no state aid,
no disaster relief. Save tax dollars."

ANOTHER COP;
"I reckon it was a ploy by the insurance
companies to not have'ta pay any
claims after the quake."

COP;
"Maybe they’ll bulldoze it. Make a parking lot."

A heavy voice is heard (O.S.)

HARVEY BULLOCK;
"Whatcha’ doing up here?"

Bullock climbs on the rooftop.

JIM GORDON;
"Waiting."

HARVEY BULLOCK;
"Sorry Comish’ buses don't run on rooftops,
only freaks stop here."

BEAT

HARVEY BULLOCK;
"He aint’ coming, yer wasting police resources.
God knows, we can't afford to uhh..
over-indulge on these kinda, toy things anymore."

Jim Gordon continues staring skyward, ignoring Bullock.

HARVEY BULLOCK;
"Jim, if he were here, he wudda’ shown himself
months ago. I figure, he’s eithah' abaddoned
the sinkin' ship ...or he’s..
(trails off.) Well, he's gone.
He's gone."

Bullock pats Gordon on the shoulder, then returns to the other officers.

Jim Gordon hangs his head. All is quiet. Gordon tilts his head skyward. His lips don't move, showing this is a voice-over not him actual character dialogue.

JIM GORDON; (voice-over):
"Gotham is dead. The world has gotten smaller.
Simpler. The only possessions
that matter anymore, are the one’s that
stop hunger. People trade guns
for orange peel. It makes my job a little
easier. It’s still the hardest thing I’ve
ever had to do. Without him. Coward.
The GCPD has a few supplies stockpiled.
They won’t last. We won’t last. I thought
about leaving with everyone else.
With my daughter. A sense of duty I
can't shake. I hate myself for it.
I don't know how to do anything else. The people..
Why do they stay? Some had little choice;
the poor, the destitute, the immigrants, the
criminals. Some saw it as an adventure.
An opportunity. Others have their
own take on realilty. Fuedalism is alive, feed by
Jeremiah Arkham's decision to release all the inmates
in the asylum before fleeing town.
The neighbourhood's are controlled by gangs.
Tagging. Hell, even we do it now.
All animals mark their territory.
Gotham needs a saviour."

(All during the voice-over) Angled Bird's Eye View. The big reveal of the city, half destroyed, a large fire still raging in a corner. Quick cuts of between the stuff below and shots of the destroyed city. Kids fighting with knifes, over a sandwiched lying on the ground. Someone trading an expensive watch for an apple. A priest walking to the gates holding a box with a "+" on it. An army major barks orders at him and turns him away. Shots of The Joker, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze, and Scarecrow are also combined with the montage. Alfred, at a destroyed Wayne Manor, looks at a newspaper headline beside a picture of Bruce Wayne. “Billionaire fails to change Congress' mind in Washington.” (No spoken dialogue should be needed.)

JIM GORDON;
"Gotham needs her hero."

When Gordon finishes, a distant voice is heard.

THE JOKER;
"Oh, Jim! I do LOVE the way you refer to Gotham
as a she! So.. vintage of you. Makes
sense though, you being
alive since Stalin 'n all. God, I did love
that man. Then again, I'm quite fond of jackets
with straps and rooms with padding,
so what the hell do I know?

Everyone turns their heads toward the bat-signal - only to find The Joker standing on it. He's in his usual purple suit getup, but also wearing a cap with "Bat ears" attached. The cops whip out their guns.

COP;
"Freeze! Uhh, put your hands in th--"

THE JOKER; (tauting with a grin)
"--Can you afford the bullets? Oh, do pardon me,
I happened to overhear tubby earlier."

The cops look around at one another confused, lowering their guns slightly, unsure of what to do.

JIM GORDON; (says cooly)
"What do you want, Joker?"

THE JOKER;
"It’s not what I want.. it’s what you need!
A new Batman!"

Jim Gordon turns away from the peculiar visitors, as The Joker indicates the "Bat-suit" on his head.

THE JOKER;
"Oh c’mon, Jimbo! As you quite rightfully stated:
Gotham needs her hero! And here I am!
Ready to make my list of naughty and nice,
then give them all a good spanking!
(Indicating Bullock) Espically you, handsome.
I'm a vampire, and I need my fix for
the evening. Help me, help you!"

The Joker prances in front of Jim whilst talking. Jim ignores him.

THE JOKER;
"Awww.. Jimbo, what gives? If you don’t
want me as your Dark Night...
then find the real BAT!"

The Joker strides to the edge of the building.

THE JOKER;(deeply saddened - the only time he's not in absolute hysterics)
"It just.. doesn't make sense without him.."

THE JOKER; (Reverted back)
"Oh and.. Jimmy? Seeing as your wallet's so tight
these days, I figured I'd help out a little. Consider
this pay cut my thank you card for all
the years of fun."

The Joker spins around, and aims his gun at one of the officers. His face shrivels up, he wants to laugh so much he's almost crying. The cop buckles, in fear.

JIM GORDON;
"Joker, NO!"

The Joker pulls the trigger, revealing a "BANG" flag. The cop relaxes, realising Joker isn't going to shoot him. Joker lowers the gun with a giggle.

THE JOKER;
"Relax Jimbo, I was kidding."

Gordon mutters, putting his gun away. Suddenly, the cop is gunned down by a sniper shot from another building. One of The Joker's men.

THE JOKER;
"--Well obviously, I mean --he wasn't kidding
-- but I, you get the point."

Joker finnally loses it and laughs manically. Gordon redraws his gun, in a fit of rage aiming it at the Joker.

The Joker; wiping his brow impaitently:
"Oh c'mon now, you know how our little game
works. "You shoot me, he shoots you.
The others. Your wife, your daughter--
well what's left of her anyway--
anyone you've ever met, etc etc" I really
didn't think I needed to explain this--
you must be getting old..
in your age. Well anyway, love to stay
and kill, but I have a City to
decorate red. Ta-tar!"

Joker turns, tossing 2 cents over his shoulder for Gordon's trouble, and as the ultimate tease he can afford to shoot whereas the GCPD can't. He walks out, disappearing into the darkness. His sick laughter builds as he gets further and further away.

Jim Gordon rushes over to see to his fallen comrade. He checks his pulse, realising he's dead. He looks across at the Bat-signal with a scowl. He throws his gun at the signal, smashing the light.

A shot of the dying Bat signal as we fade to black.

FADE IN: Gotham Sewer system.

INT. GOTHAM SEWERS

A large pipeline is threw directly at the camera. Nightwing flips around the small condensed Sewer system while Robin kicks Killer Croc in the back. Croc grunts and growls, brawling with the two heroes. They fight however, until Nightwing and Robin defeat him.

ROBIN;
"Look out! Walking clisques!"

Serveral sterotypical dim witted thugs try to get the drop on Nightwing. Nightwing spins around, hitting one in the face. He walks towards the other two.

NIGHTWING;
"Walk away."

The two men suddenly gain a strain of courage when it's only Batman's "side-kick" they have to deal with, and not Batman himself.

THUG 1;
"Why, what you gonna do?"

THUG 2;
"Yeah, you ain't The Bat!"

Nightwing knocks one down.

NIGHTWING;
"No. I'm much worse."

He knocks the other clean off their feet, cleaning house.

BEAT

NIGHTWING;
"That wasn't a cool line was it?"

More goons arrive, for Nightwing & Robin to fight.

ROBIN;
"I think Batman has better puns."

NIGHTWING;
"Hey c'mon now, be reasonable."

ROBIN;
"Speaking of which, what's happened to tall,
dark and brooding?
(Aside)--That one was good.--"

NIGHTWING;
"I'm not sure, neither is Alfred. Maybe he flew
the coop-"

ROBIN;
"-Not remotely witty. What do you wanna
do about these guys?"

Robin swings the last punch, knocking the last Thug outcold.

NIGHTWING;
"I don't know, not like we can drop them
off at Police Headquarters anymore.
Um, well like, we could just y'know..
leave them tied up here?
I'm sure this fairly serve
beating will keep
them off the streets.
For a while, at least."

BEAT

ROBIN; (Shrugging)
"Works for me."

Nightwing and Robin walk down the tunnel, walking down the long alley away from shot, you can just hear them talking to each other.

NIGHTWING;
"So, where do your Superhero
lines come from?"

ROBIN;
"Y'know, the book."

NIGHTWING;
"Wait, what? There's a book? Why wasn't
I told about the book? Did Batman
give you the book? Oh for theloveof,
this is so typical of him-"

ROBIN;
"I was kidding."

NIGHTWING;
"There's no book?"

ROBIN;
"There's no book."

 

[Buttman]

CUT TO:

EXT - THE THOMAS WAYNE MEMORIAL CLINIC/LESLIE THOMPKIN'S CLINIC

Alfred Pennyworth and Leslie Thompkins stand behind a desk, handing out relief aid packages to a crowd of people. Alfred and Lesile exchange looks.

ALFRED PENNYWORTH;
"They're running out."

BEAT

ALFRED PENNYWORTH
"We'll make do."

Alfed continues to hand out packages. A gang of men walk push past the cue (3-4 of them) all holding burning matches, and knives. Two at the back carry a barrel. Alfred goes to hand a package to an old woman beside them, but his hand is stopped by Thief 2.

THIEF 2;
"Listen old man, we're just here for
that there relief whatsyamacallit.
Penguin is offerin' alot for it,
you know how it is."

ALFRED PENNYWORTH;
"But.. but.. you can't. This is
the relief aid..
for the people who need it."

THIEF 2;
"Maybe we's the one's that needs it.
You think of that, Grandpa?"

THIEF 1;
"Yeah, uhh, just like, do what we say, and like, no one gets hurt. Cool?"

They both threaten him with their knives. Alfred buckles, not wanting anyone to get hurt. He hands them the package in his hand.

THIEF 2;
"Johnny, search the hospital thing.
See if they've got anymore
stashed someplace. Pack the truck."

The thieves with him (apart from Johnny, whose already headed inside) begin lifting the packages from the desk, and tossing them into the barrel they carried with them. All the thieves throw their heads around, hearing an ear-aching scream.

THIEF 1;
"Ohmigod! What was that?!"

THIEF 2;
"I dunno, Johnny probably stubbed his
toe or somethin' dumb.
Y'know Johnny."

THIEF 1;
"Man.. what.. what if it was.. was y'know.. 'Him'."

THIEF 2;
"Shutup man, he's gone. You don't know nothin'
'bout what you're talkin' 'bout."

THIEF 1;
"What about Jimmy Figgs? He said
he saw 'im."

THIEF 2;
"Figgs would say anythin' to
get somes' attention."

THIEF 1;
"Whatever, you were thinkin' it too."

Johnny is thrown out the window, smashing through the wooden planks holding it shut. He lands on the gravel, infront of all the other men. They all jump and scream, as a smoking bomb is tossed out the open window behind him. It hits the ground, and hisses releasing massive ammounts of smoke. Batman follows him out the open window, in silloute against the smoke. Johnny goes to crawl away. Batman steps onto his back, pinning him to the ground. He cries out in fear, as Batman walks over him.

A different thug runs towards frame fleeing. A set of bat-bolas wraps around his ankles, dropping him to the ground.

Thief 2 tries to sneak up on Batman, who raises his fist over his shoulder, back-punching him in the nose. He tumbles out of frame.

Batman ducks the swipe of another thug, and blocks his hand as he tries a second swipe. Batman yanks down on his arm, pulling the Thug's gut into his thigh kicking him. As the thug keels over, Batman punches down across his jaw flooring him. Teeth and blood fly free of his mouth as he goes down from the knockout blow.

Batman fans his cape aside, scanning for the remaining Thugs. His eyes narrow as he glares down the street, seeing 3 Thugs fleeing down it.

Thief 2 is the only one still uninjured, trying to crawl away. Batman saved him for last. Batman drags him up, lifting him off his feet. He holds him dangling infront of him.

BATMAN;
"CHANGE YOUR LIFE!"

Batman pulls him forward, headbutting him outcold. He drops him down by the floor, then walks over to the barrel. He pours the relief aid back onto the desk, where it originally lay. Thief 2 scurries away in the background, crying with fear.

BATMAN; handing the old woman a ration out of the open trunk.
"Here."

OLD WOMAN, taking it;
"Tha-Thank you."

BATMAN;
"Keep in-doors for aslong as you can. Only
leave the house when absolutely nessicary."

OLD WOMAN;
"Will.. will we see you again? Or.. or..
are you leaving again? With
the others? I mean.. we
weren't sure.."

BATMAN smiles slightly;
"I'll be around."

She nods politely, then hurries away. Alfred takes Batman aside, to talk in private.

ALFRED PENNYWORTH;
"Where have you been, sir?"

BATMAN;
"I had some things to work out."

ALFRED PENNYWORTH;
"And.. are they? 'Worked out,' sir?"

BATMAN;
"Yes Alfred, thank you."

ALFRED PENNYWORTH;
"And so.. what now?"

Batman;
"We move on The Penguin soon. He has an iron
grip on Newtown. Prostitution and Drug
racktering are at an all-time high,
seems people need to be.. 'happy' right now.
They mostly orginate from him. Makes sense,
to strike their first, cripple the market."

ALFRED PENNYWORTH;
"Very good, Master Bruce."

A pause. Batman glances around, then notices the grafitti tagging on the walls indicating which gang owns each area of the City.

BATMAN, indicating the tagging;
"What's that?"

ALFRED PENNYWORTH;
"Oh, the grafitti? The gangs do it,
helps them to.. if I put this correctly
'keep off their turf,' or 'out of
each other's hoods.' I'm not
quite sure of which.
Do they mean the same thing?"

BATMAN;
"Hm."

A police siren. Batman gives a quick salut to Alfred, then fires his grapple hook to an opposing building. He swings away. Jim Gordon approaches, with a few GCPD officers with him as back-up.

ALFRED PENNYWORTH;
"Commisioner, what are you doing here?"

JIM GORDON;
"We thought your little charity store here
might attract a little.. 'attention.'
Bullock was across the street the whole time,
gave me a call when it started to go down.
Got here as quick as I could.
Where are the thieves?"

ALFRED PENNYWORTH;
"Changing their undergarments, I'd assume."

Gordon is puzzled by the strange statement. Bullock approaches Gordon.

HARVEY BULLOCK;
"Your buddy was here. He.. well,
he ain't gone."

Gordon looks across to Alfred, who nods confirming the return of Batman.

HARVEY BULLOCK;
"He was talkin' to this guy. What was
that about, anyway?"

ALFRED PENNYWORTH;
"We share a tailor. Clearly, I've
misplaced my cape."

Bullock smiles with slight irritation, as Alfred stands smugly. Gordon rubs the brim of his nose.

JIM GORDON; (Voice-over during the next shot)
"Gotham needs her hero.."

FADE OUT

FADE IN TO - EXT. THE WAYNE'S GRAVE

Subtitle - Earlier

Batman knelt before his parent's grave, mask dropped. His hand reaches up, tracing the "WAYNE" engraving.

BRUCE WAYNE;
"Tell me what to do. My..-Your City.. is
in.. ruins.. I couldn't stop it..
I couldn't.. save them.. I couldn't
save.. you.. I'm sorry."

The big reveal of the Wayne's grave. The tombstone is cracked down the centre, a tree lodged in the break. Large boulders of destroyed buildings line the grass.

BRUCE WAYNE Cont;
"Tell me what to do !"

Bruce clenches a fist, in a fit of rage. He drags the mask off himself, throwing it to the ground. He spits at it, ashamed of Batman and himself. He slams his palm into the tombstone furiously.

BRUCE WAYNE Cont;
"Tell me what to do Father !"

A bolt of lightening, seemingly from nowhere, strikes down at the tree, setting it alight. The flames roar as Bruce pounds his hand into the headstone. Vines begin to snap. The tree cracks in two, the top half falling out of headstone, landing down beside Bruce, tears running down his face. The grass around him catches fire. The flames circle him, and the Batman mask laying on the ground beside him. The flames rage around him and the mask, growing larger. Bruce looks down at the mask, and then back to the gravestone, twice. Bruce stands instantly calmly, and looks to the sky, in silent understanding. Rain begins to pour, dousing the flames, and soaking Bruce. He leans down, and lifts the mask from the ground.

BRUCE WAYNE, whispering;
"Yes father.. I shall become a bat.."

Slow pan to one of the dying flames, dancing on the grass.

DISSOLVE INTO: INT - INSIDE THE THOMAS WAYNE MEMORIAL CLINIC

A flame, dancing on a lit match.

PAN OUT

A criminal walks petrified, a lit match in his hand. A sign reading "Thomas Wayne Memorial Clinic" is present in the background just lighted enough from the match to read.

The match is blown out, from something behind him.

THIEF 3 (JOHNNY);
"..Oh god.."

The criminal wimpers, and fumbles with the match. re-lighting it off the box.

BATMAN; (just as he's lighting it)
"Not even close."

It eluminates the symbol of a bat.

CUT TO: BLACK

An ear-aching scream is heard.


BEAT


BEAT


BEAT


A FLASH OF LIGHTENING

CUT TO

EXT. Outside The Iceberg Lounge

A canted camera angle, a large building. It's raining outside. A sign hangs from the front of it "The Iceberg Lounge." Voices can just be heard from the inside. Lights flash from the inside through the window, it's clearly a bar.

THE PENGUIN (O.S);
"..And so.. so he.. --heh-- he says..
you'll turn it off
when I'm halfway across!"

Laughter can be heard from the room, as The Penguin finishes the joke.

A GIRL (O.S);
"Oh Ossie, you're wild!"

The camera begins to pan, upwards. The sound of the club begins to die out, as the shot continues to pan upwards. The musical score begins to build. The camera continues to pan up floors and floors of the building. The musical score continues to grow louder. The camera reaches the roof of the huge building. A lone figure stands above it..

..THE BATMAN!

He grimaces, one of his legs resting on the ledge of the roof. Lightening strikes. Thunder booms. Rain pours. He looks out at the destroyed Gotham before him. He has alot of work to do. It's time for him to begin. Batman cracks his knuckles, pressing his fingers against each other. An angry, frustrated, growl. He cracks his neck to either side, and lifts his other foot onto the edge. The muscial score builds to it's climax, as Batman grins wickedly. Throwing his arms into the air, his cape flows free as he dives off the edge of the building.

His heavy black cloak fills the screen.

BLACK

The credits roll on No Man's Land.

 

[Buttman]

Tough crowd.

 

[J.Jonah Jameson]

What's with the "BEATS"?
And we didn't find out where Batman was, and if he wanted to come back, and why he didn't if he couldn't, which takes away from the story. It just seems like he didn't care about what had happened with the city and then just decides that one day he wants to be Batman again.
The funeral scene, after he takes off his mask it seems sorta corny, with the whole," Yes father, I will become a bat..." thing.

 

[Buttman]

What's with the "BEATS"?
And we didn't find out where Batman was, and if he wanted to come back, and why he didn't if he couldn't, which takes away from the story. It just seems like he didn't care about what had happened with the city and then just decides that one day he wants to be Batman again.
The funeral scene, after he takes off his mask it seems sorta corny, with the whole," Yes father, I will become a bat..." thing.

A beat is a dramatic pause.

This script was written with a specfic audience in mind, Bat-fans. EVERY bat-fan, and most normal people know Bruce Wayne and Batman to be the same person. It is explained in the montage at the start, aswell as the newspaper "Wayne fails to change congress." I get what you mean about it seeming like one day he just decides to become Batman again, but the idea was he's been in Washington this entire time/reinventing himself at his parent's grave. Besides, Bruce just decides to become Batman again in TDKR, and nobody has a bad word about that. t:

 

[jsf]

sounds pretty good actually

 

[jsf]

would make for a great set of graphic novels... or even a film of this wouldn't be to bad

 

[Buttman]

or even a film of this wouldn't be to bad

It's already in production. I just wanted to get a few reviews to iron out the dialogue and things before we shoot them.

 

[jsf]

oh true, good luck buddy

 

[MaskedManJRK]

Not bad, but I do agree with JJJ's critiques. It would be best to at least show Bruce Wayne deciding to come back to Gotham, and you could also make the graveyard scene...make more sense. Seriously, like, it's an important phrase for Batman, but why say it then? There aren't even any bats around or anything.

Still, not too shabby.

 

[Buttman]

make the graveyard scene...make more sense. Seriously, like, it's an important phrase for Batman, but why say it then?

Uhh.. what?