When Tim Burton took over the Batman franchise for his live-action film in 1989, people were still used to the live-action Cape Crusader they knew from the 60s. After Burton turned him into a more serious and dramatic superhero, audiences were quick to forget all about the Batusi. Batman Returns (RT: 82%) continued the effort to make the Dark Knight darker and edgier. That all changed when Joel Schumacher took over in Batman Forever (RT: 41%).
Forever wasn’t afraid to introduce some comedy; you knew that as soon as you saw Jim Carrey as the Riddler. However, things took a turn for the absolute worst with the next (and almost final) live-action Batman flick, 1997’s Batman & Robin (RT: 11%). Featuring an overbloated cast of villains and some very questionable production decisions, Batman & Robin was DC’s most disastrous comedy of errors to date.
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What Is the Bat-Credit Card Scene in Batman & Robin?
While the movie is all around terrible (there’s just no other way to describe it), there’s one scene that stands out as the lowest of the low. I’m talking, of course, of the infamous Bat-Credit Card. Those words are enough to give any Batman fan war flashbacks – and for good reason.
The scene plays like this: seduced by Poison Ivy’s hypnotic powers, Batman and Robin engage in a bidding war for a night out with the intoxicating villain. Unfortunately for Robin, Batman is rich, and there’s no better way to show it than by displaying his “Bat-Credit Card,” complete with a “cha-ching!” sound effect. Truly the zenith of cinema right there.
You would think that such a weird and out-of-place scene like that would be the result of some ill-advised product placement. Surprisingly, neither Visa nor Mastercard sponsored the Bat-Credit Card. It’s just a prop, with the made-up brand “GothCard” and a “Good thru Forever” expiration date. Sure, the scene is a homage to the American Express ad campaign “Never leave home without it” from the 80s and 90s, but it feels completely alien to the Batman franchise.
How the Bat-Credit Card Became Batman & Robin’s Most Infamous Moment
Though it was one of the film’s most disastrous “jokes,” the Bat-Card scene also lives on as the most memorable moment from Batman & Robin. Years after fans had time to accept the fact that the movie never took itself seriously, things like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s constant ice puns and the Bat-Credit Card are almost… charming, in a way.
Doug Walker, better known as the Nostalgia Critic, famously took issue with the scene, turning a seemingly forgotten 90s gag into an internet icon. George Clooney, Joel Schumacher, and Akiva Goldsman (the movie’s screenwriter) have all apologized for Batman & Robin and its weird attempts at humor.
But that hasn’t stopped the film from being considered a classic. In fact, singer Ed Sheeran recently revealed on The New York Times’ Popcast that Batman & Robin is his favorite Batman movie of all time. And so, he has actually purchased three of the film’s screen-worn “nipple suit” costumes. Perhaps he owns a Bat-Credit Card too?
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Why Batman & Robin Nearly Killed the Franchise
As easy as it would be to put all the blame on Goldsman or Schumacher, the truth is they were just following Warner Bros.’ demands. After Batman Returns, Warner wanted a more “toyetic” design for their movies – that is, they wanted to sell more action figures and abandon Burton’s dark direction. That said, they never made a Bat-Credit Card toy – not in the 90s, at least.
Using Mr. Freeze’s terminology, the disastrous failure of Batman & Robin put the live-action Batman franchise on ice for years. Not even Batman’s bottomless credit card could save Batman Unchained, the film’s potential sequel. The next time we would see Batman in the flesh would be in 2005’s Batman Begins (RT: 85%), courtesy of Christopher Nolan. Sadly, he didn’t have a credit card in that one. A wasted opportunity, if you ask me.
Where Batman & Robin Ranks Among Batman’s Most Embarrassing Movie Moments
The Bat-Credit Card isn’t just Batman & Robin‘s most embarrassing scene. When you look back at it now, it’s probably the most embarrassing moment in the entire live-action Batman film catalog. Here’s what it’s up against:
| Rank | Moment | Film | Year |
| 1 | The Bat-Credit Card | Batman & Robin | 1997 |
| 2 | The “bat-nipple” batsuit | Batman Forever (introduced) / Batman & Robin (sharpened) | 1995 / 1997 |
| 3 | Mr. Freeze’s nonstop ice-pun dialogue | Batman & Robin | 1997 |
| 4 | The “Martha!” reconciliation | Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (RT: 28%) | 2016 |
| 5 | Bane’s end in The Dark Knight Rises | The Dark Knight Rises (RT: 87%) | 2012 |
Watch the Bat-Credit Card scene from Batman & Robin again below.
Batman & Robin is currently streaming on Max, with digital rental and purchase available on Apple TV and Amazon Video.
Batman & Robin |
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Batman and Robin try to keep their relationship together even as they must stop Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy from freezing Gotham City. |
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| Studio: Warner Bros. |
| Running Time: 2h 5m |
| Release Date: June 12, 1997 (Los Angeles); June 20, 1997 (United States) |
| Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle, Elle Macpherson |
| Director: Joel Schumacher |
| Writers: Akiva Goldsman |
| Genre: Action, Superhero |
| Box Office: $238 million |
