One Batman Cartoon Had A Theme Song Composed By A Famous Rock Star

If there's one superhero who's had many memorable themes, it's Batman. Each iteration on the Dark Knight has usually come with an earworm, all the way back to Neal Hefti's "Na-na-na-na-na, Batman!" opening in the 1960s "Batman" show. Danny Elfman's theme for the Tim Burton "Batman" movies, echoed by composer Shirley Walker on "Batman: The Animated Series," was classically operatic and became the Batman theme.

Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard's "Dark Knight" trilogy scores may not have received an Oscar, but it wasn't for lack of deserving one. Their primary theme, "Molossus," is intense and unrelenting but does not sacrifice creepiness. It's perfect for Christopher Nolan's dark and action-fueled Batman. Michael Giacchino's simple but effective theme for 2022's "The Batman" is the most ominous. It consistently rises in power, like fear sliding up a criminal's spine when they look into the shadows and see Batman. But by the end, the score sounds triumphant, like how Batman (Robert Pattinson) spends the movie slowly rising out of his own darkness to become a hero. 

Batman movies have sometimes come with more than orchestral songs, too. Joel Schumacher's 1995 "Batman Forever" featured an original from world-famous Irish rock band U2 called "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me." It's a song about rapturous romance, reflecting Batman's (Val Kilmer) connection with Dr. Chase Meridian (Nicole Kidman), who is drawn to the man in the mask. But would you believe that wasn't the end of U2's involvement with Batman? 

2004's "The Batman" is a fine show with plenty of great episodes and more for Bat-Fans to enjoy, and its theme song is one of those highlights. "The Batman" theme song was composed by a U2 member: David Howell Evans, better known as the Edge. He's the band's lead guitarist, keyboardist, and one of its four enduring members next to Bono (Paul David Hewson), Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. 

In an interview back in 2004, Sam Register of Cartoon Network (and current president of Warner Bros. Animation) explained the Edge is a Batman fan. When the show's team "put feelers out" to him to compose the theme song, he was instantly on board.

How is the Edge's "Batman" theme? It's emblematic of "The Batman" at large: very cool, but (or even because) it's purposefully different from "Batman: The Animated Series." Elfman/Walker's "Batman" theme is all horns, whereas the Edge's theme naturally relies on strings. It's a cool, smooth guitar riff, not quite Gothic, but plenty moody.

2004's "The Batman" was more about flash and action; there's a touch of anime to the character designs and fight scenes. The title sequence opens on a shot tilting down from Gotham City's red sky to the city skyline, not dissimilar from how the "Batman: The Animated Series" title sequence begins (minus the blimp and its spotlights). From there, though, the sequence switches to mostly insert shots of Batman fighting major villains or using his gadgets. Compare how the "Animated Series" opening tells a short, consistent story of Batman fighting two robbers (while keeping all the characters in silhouette). Neither approach is wrong, but "Batman: The Animated Series" was about atmosphere first, while "The Batman" put action first. The different musical compositions reflect that.

After season 2, "The Batman" did away with the Edge's theme for a new one composed by Andy Sturmer (producer of the J-Rock duo Puffy AmiYumi, who sang the "Teen Titans" theme song). Sturmer's theme was like a sped-up, action-packed version of Hefti's "Batman" theme. It still fits the show, but all in all, I prefer the original.

Last year, U2 uploaded the Edge's theme for "The Batman" to their YouTube channel (minus the whispery ending vocals: "The Batman..."). The song doesn't quite rival "Sunday Bloody Sunday" or "One" for U2's finest musical achievement, but the Edge seems proud of it, and deservedly so.