Burton biographer Ken Hanke wrote that Bruce Wayne,
struggling with his alter-ego as Batman, is depicted as an antihero.
Hanke further addressed the notions of Batman being a period piece,
in that"The citizens, cops, people and the black-and-white television looks like it takes place in 1939"; but later said:"Had the filmmakers made Vicki Vale a femme fatale rather than a damsel in distress, this could have made Batman as a homage and tribute to classic film noir.