15 emo anthems that would suit Robert Pattinson’s Batman
R-Battz is finally here. We’ve waited a long time to visualize Robert Pattinson’s interpretation of the Dark Knight, and the first official trailer for next year’s The Batman gave us more emo vibes than we could handle. This is the first incarnation of the caped crusader to show the black eyeliner every Batman wears beneath his mask. The new era makes us want to dig out our darkest makeup and relive our emo phase. That is, if we’d ever left it.
Inspired by viral memes linking the new Batman with classic emo throwbacks, and our way of distracting ourselves after shooting stalled (then resumed) due to reports of Pattinson testing positive for coronavirus, we’ll guide you through the songs we can totally imagine rotating on his playlist for all those signature moments Batman will no doubt face when the movie hits our screens.
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AFI – “The Leaving Song Pt. II”
R-Pattz’s new interpretation of Batman gives us slick, gloomy and gothic vibes. It also marks the first time we see the black eyeliner every incarnation has worn beneath his mask. The perfect anthem for applying your eyeliner as black as your soul, “The Leaving Song Pt. II” would suit this new Batman’s angsty phase perfectly. Part of us hopes Davey Havok could one day play the Dark Knight himself. But we’ll have to settle for imagining Bruce Wayne blasting some AFI on full volume when he returns to the Batcave after a tough day delivering vengeance on the streets of Gotham.
My Chemical Romance – “Welcome To The Black Parade”
Batman fans (and MCR fans, for that matter), cast your minds back to this popular clip of the Batman: Arkham VR game where a player sits at Wayne’s piano to play the opening tones of “Welcome To The Black Parade.” The G note alone was enough to give us chills, but this foresight of a truly emo Batman in the near future is a little spooky. Of course, Batman is the only superhero most likely to be a closet emo. His portrayal in both classic comics and past movies as a dark, brooding character should’ve warned us about the arrival of R-Battz, the new savior of the broken, the beaten and the damned.
The All-American Rejects – “Dirty Little Secret”
Contagious throwback singalong alert—the most tragically emo Batman deserves a catchy, condescending soundtrack when his love life reaches its most dramatic point. Whether it suits a meeting with Zoë Kravitz’s Catwoman or, if the movie continues the canon of the Batman: Year Two comics, a meeting with The Reaper’s daughter Rachel Caspian (spoiler: it doesn’t), we’d love to see this timeless the All-American Rejects anthem hitting the less self-deprecating side of R-Battz’s golden-age emo playlist.
Thursday – “Understanding In A Car Crash”
Could R-Battz get any more emo than “Understanding In A Car Crash”? We can’t let this new era of Batman pass us by without relating him right back to this ageless Thursday number. It doesn’t matter if it’s a scene of Pattinson donning his caped uniform or smudging his eyeliner (we could all teach him a thing or two about blending) in the Batcave mirror ahead of a deadly meeting with any of his nemeses. This desperate classic should soundtrack his own preparation to head out on the streets of Gotham, including struggling to fit into his skin-tight jeans, er, costume.
Mayday Parade – “Miserable At Best”
Whether we like it or not, Batman’s love interests are inevitably doomed. If there’s a lady in Wayne’s life at the stage when The Batman is set, she’s bound to be a tragic damsel in distress, and that heart-wrenching occasion calls for an angst-ridden emo anthem. Consider the most tear-jerking track we could think of, Mayday Parade’s “Miserable At Best,” which still gets our emotions worked up 13 years after the release of A Lesson In Romantics. Imagine Batman standing on a rooftop in the pouring rain with this playing in the background.
Paramore – “Born For This”
Paramore’s Riot! era as a whole encapsulates all the anxiety our new emo Batman exudes, both in and out of his trademark black suit, but none more so than the scream-along anthem “Born For This.” We’re pretty sure Hayley Williams’ distinctive notes boom through R-Battz’s mind when he’s got a particularly nefarious henchman by the throat, making his obligatory monologue declaring his purpose as Batman—delivering his own brand of vengeance via masked emo airmail.
Hawthorne Heights – “This Is Who We Are”
What do you get when you cross Batman with The Riddler? The mind-bending opening lyrics of this Hawthorne Heights classic that soon descend into devastating levels of angst. Judging by the new trailer, The Batman could finally show us a version of supervillain The Riddler that breaks free of the acidic fluorescence of the comic book version we know so well. Not that we want to forget Jim Carrey’s incarnation from Batman Forever in a hurry, but it seems fitting that this new menacing interpretation fits more with the emo undertones of R-Battz’s era, soundtracked neatly by “This Is Who We Are.” After all, “Ohio Is For Lovers” would’ve been too obvious.
Taking Back Sunday – “Liar (It Takes One To Know One)”
Facing the extent of corruption seeping through Gotham City and the impending threat of both The Riddler and a rising form of the Penguin, R-Battz is bound to spend a lot of time holed up in his Batcave taking stock of all the drama surrounding him. A vigilante relying on his fists to serve up vengeance, Batman could use a furious anthem to balance out his anxiety, which is exactly where “Liar (It Takes One To Know One)” comes into play—followed swiftly by Taking Back Sunday’s other timeless number “MakeDamnSure,” of course.
The Used – “Take It Away”
Judging by the teaser trailer for The Batman, Wayne is at his most angsty, fueled with rage and despondence, which leads him toward his career as his vigilante alter ego. Any old-school emo knows the best way to handle their pent-up fury is to turn to the classic vocal-shredding anthem from the Used, “Take It Away.” The quick-fire classic from In Love And Death would make a fitting soundtrack to Batman’s crisis of belonging as he realizes the city of Gotham is being preyed upon by forces darker than it has seen before.
Black Veil Brides – “The Outsider”
As Wayne grapples with his purpose in the early stages of his bad guy-busting career, Gotham feels less like his home and more like a prison where he finds himself surrounded by villains, some of which are far more mysterious and deadly than others. In this crucial phase of his complex storyline, Black Veil Brides’ “The Outsider” would accurately explain his mixed feelings. BVB vocalist Andy Biersack is a lifelong Batman fan, and it seems almost inevitable to mention them in this roundup of emo anthems. Plus, we like to believe Batman listens to BVB in this reboot of the DC universe.
Fall Out Boy – “The Last Of The Real Ones”
We couldn’t let this soundtrack go by without an upbeat number in our ranks, the kind of jam R-Battz pulls out when he successfully culls a group of pesky henchmen without breaking a sweat. When our emo Batman walks away from an explosion (let’s face it, which Batman doesn’t?) and needs an accomplished soundtrack to play out the slow-mo billowing of his cape, he can rely on the energized sass of Fall Out Boy’s “The Last Of The Real Ones.”
Nirvana – “Something In The Way”
The gripping trailer for The Batman has already provided us with the haunting tones of Nirvana’s “Something In The Way” as a perfect reflective soundtrack for R-Battz. Without grunge paving the way forward with solemn and dark songs such as this, it’s likely we wouldn’t have had an emo genre in the first place. It won’t come as a surprise if the finished movie includes a contemplative scene where the caped crusader stares despondently down at a rain-drenched Gotham from the balcony of a skyscraper, accompanied by this Nevermind-era classic.
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus – “Face Down”
Wayne’s aforementioned cursed love interest usually ends up in peril at the hands of the bad guy of the moment, becoming bait for Batman to come out of his cave and confront the villain. With that dramatic turn of events in mind, we can picture R-Battz crashing around his shadowy headquarters while unleashing his pent-up rage on inanimate objects to the sound of “Face Down.” We’re hoping our tooled-up superhero hasn’t realized that this angsty classic from the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus is 16 years old already…
Evanescence – “Going Under”
Evanescence’s debut album, Fallen, was a vital part of our emo upbringing all the way back in 2003. Two tracks from this hit era cropped up in the soundtrack for the Daredevil movie, so it seems fitting for Evanescence to return to the DC universe. While Wayne battles with his place in the world and Gotham itself in his second year of vigilante crime-fighting, we can hear the familiar notes of “Going Under” echoing through the Batcave. Maybe he even has a copy of Fallen in the Batmobile glove compartment…if it even has one.
You Me At Six – “The Swarm”
Every Batman movie is a roller coaster in itself, dragging viewers through so many emotions that you’re often left numb by the time the end credits roll (The Dark Knight anyone?). British emo stalwarts You Me At Six wrote the despairing anthem “The Swarm” as a soundtrack for an apocalyptic theme park ride of the same name at Thorpe Park, England, and it sounds like it has The Batman written all over it. A montage of carnage befalling the bleak streets of Gotham could really use this playing in the background.
