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Originally published June 19, 1992

A better title for "Batman Returns" might be "Batman Finally Arrives."

 The sequel - even with its crazy comic-book atmosphere - is a more substantial, more intimate picture than "Batman," and one that takes a closer and more revealing look at its singular superhero.

 The first picture was a studio-driven concept movie, complete with rock music interludes and script changes to accommodate marquee stars. Almost lost in the spectacle was Batman, a spear-carrier for Jack Nicholson's Joker and a comparatively obscure character.

 As director Tim Burton has assumed control over the series, so has he taken control of Batman. As a consequence, Batman has begun to exhibit more of the qualities Burton finds so interesting.

 Like the title character in Burton's "Edward Scissorhands," Batman has become a lonely and pathetic figure, separated from society by his special talents, quirks and relentlessly dark perspective. (These traits were also evident in the Winona Ryder character in "Beetlejuice," which Burton also made. )

 As in the original "Batman," Burton highlights the hero's isolation by showing his halting, uncomfortable attempts at romance - both as Bruce Wayne and as Batman. Bruce Wayne finds himself drawn to clutzy secretary Selina Kyle, Batman to the startling and provocative presence of another masked figure, Catwoman (a very spirited Michelle Pfeiffer).

 Catwoman is born out of the tragedy suffered by Selina, who endures repeated humiliation at the hands of her condescending employer (he is nefarious magnate Max Shreck, played by the creepy Christopher Walken). When he tries to kill her, she is rescued by alley cats, inspiring the motiff for her persona.

 After the transformation, she is seen tearing up her apartment, destroying her Barbie-like furniture and accessories just as she tosses aside her subservient personality.

 The leather-coated S&M minx who emerges, whip in hand, becomes a vigilante feminist, a portrait of assertiveness gone mad. She prowls the streets looking to protect victimized women, plotting to avenge Selina's injustice at the hands of Shreck.

 If Catwoman is the cartoon revenge of Anita Hill, the Penguin has his real- life counterpart in H. Ross Perot. "Batman Returns" finds the Penguin (Danny DeVito) launching an independent bid for mayor after becoming an unlikely folk hero. Unlikely because he is not the best-looking man, a fact which he uses as a clever device to separate him from the blow-dried, mainstream politicians. (There is even a scene of Penguin showing disdain for his professional political handlers. )

 The plot - so slight it almost isn't there - involves Shreck's scheme to ram an unneeded power plant down the throats of Gothamites. To do so, he needs a mayor in his pocket and backs the Penguin, who wins popular sympathy when the story emerges of how he was abandoned as a child for his deformities. Shreck is unaware that the Penguin has a secret diabolical plan in store for Gotham.

 The real propulsion to "Batman Returns" is not this sketchy and sometimes sophomoric story, but the way the movie develops the characters of Catwoman, Penguin and Batman through their repeated confrontations.

 We see that Batman's automatic mistrust of Penguin reflects his interest in justice, but it also hints that he is a paranoid, jealous guardian of his status as Gotham's most popular freak.

 More titillating is the kinky relationship between (or is it among? ) Batman and Catwoman, Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. While in battle gear - what we might call their business garb - they seem to enjoy competing, beating the tar out of each other, acting out a fairly obvious pantomime of sex and power. Unmasked, as Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle, they are vulnerable, lonely figures, unable to find common ground.

 If you are not sure how you might warm up to this murky, sometimes slow- moving character study, rest assured that the spectacular production design evident in "Batman" is also on display here.

 The Bat gadgets are also here, including a new Bat missile and a Bat ski boat. Most are saved for the final scenes depicting the cataclysmic struggle involving Batman, Catwoman, Penguin, Shreck, many circus people and about 200 penguins armed with rockets.

 The sequence is flat and overlong, revealing Burton's weakness as an action director. More imporantly, "Batman Returns" shows the director's talent in imagining the most visually striking and psychologically interesting characters in contemporary movies - summer or otherwise.