- "Yeah, go ahead. Hit me."
- ―Tattooed Strongman to Batman[src]
The Tattooed Strongman was a thug who worked for the Penguin, as a member of the Red Triangle Circus Gang.
Biography
Lighting of the Tree Ceremony
The Tattooed Strongman was present during the circus gang's terrorist attack on the initial Lighting of the Tree Ceremony. After emerging from the oversized gift prop with the rest of the gang, he grabbed a sled and began beating the salvation army Santa in front of Shreck's with it. When Commissioner Gordon arrived in a GCPD cruiser, the Strogman hurled the sled at his windshield. This prompted Gordon to remain in the vehicle and radio headquarters to turn on the Batsignal.
Later that evening the Tattooed Strongman dined at table with the rest of the gang in the Arctic World exhibit in the abandoned Old Zoo. He listened as Penguin blackmailed Max Shreck, who been kidnapped by the gang after the attack.
Battle in the Streets of Gotham
After hurling a scrawny clown from the steps of the cathedral with one arm, Batman was confronted by Tattooed Strongman. The gangmember greeted him with a sucker punch to the ab-plates of his armor, completely unfazed Batman responded with blank stare. The Strongman dared Batman to strike him, after decking him in face the Strongman also barely fazed, quickly turning his back towards him. Unbeknownst to him, Batman had slipped Thin Clown's bomb into the Strongman's sash. Before a brawl could begin, the Strongman noticed the sound of the time bomb. While in shock, Batman quickly jumped upward putting his weight into a tremendous forearm blow that struck the Strongman's neck and face, knocking him down into a large sewer opening. Batman calmly walked away from the partial emerging explosion behind him, unflinchingly. The man perished in the underground explosion.
Behind the Scenes
The scene with the time bomb and the Strongman was the first Michael Keaton shot in-costume for the movie, the stunts were choreographed by Dave Lea.
In Other Media
Tattooed Strongman in the Konami game for the Super Nintendo.
- The Tattooed Strongman was the second boss in the Super Nintendo video game adaptation of Batman Returns. Near the end of the second level, he was seen in the sidewalk, reading a newspaper and tapping his foot. After Batman defeated all of the enemies in the level, the strongman ripped the paper and fought Batman.
- In the comic adaptation penciled by Steve Erwin, the Strongman is one of the thugs struck by the Super-Batarang.
Trivia
- The Tattooed Strongman was seemingly one of the most physically large and imposing street fighters Batman has gone up against in this continuity. But unlike the Belltower Joker Goon, who was a highly competent brawler and physically stronger than Batman, the full force of the Strongman's sucker punch had no effect on him. The belltower goon also had the advantage of fighting Batman after surviving a plane crash.
- In the aftermath of the Tattooed Strongman's explosion, fire and smoke were seen and confirmed how deadly the bomb was. This was one of the few times that Batman deliberately executed a criminal in the Burtonverse.
- In the script, the circus strongman was supposed to use a Batman merchandise sled to assault innocents. Aside from the fact that strongman was using a Batman sled to attack people, Batman also saw him chasing Alfred and a young girl with it hand, before being knocked out by a Bat-Disc from the Batmobile. The sled prop was actually built as was the Batman themed gift shop the Firebreather was to destroy. But shortly before shooting they were changed to an ordinary gift shop and sled. In the final film these two thugs appear to be singled out for unusual brutality from Batman for no particular reason, leaving some audiences confused. The Daniel Waters script had a heavy sub-theme of Gotham's reaction to Batman as symbol and icon that could be worshiped, exploited and defamed. Batman was particularly angered by a separate gang that dressed as Batman, also dropped from the shooting script.
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