This 2008 Trivial Pursuit Question About Batman Didn't Age Well

May 2024 · 3 minute read

This Trivial Pursuit question from a 2008 version of the game has people on the internet in tatters.

Writer S.E. Sinkhorn posted a pic to Twitter of an old Trivial Pursuit card from 2008. Less than ten years ago in time, perhaps a million years in feelings. There's so much we know now that we didn't know then, and most of it is bad.

It's perhaps understandable then, why Sinkhorn took the question, "Who has never been Batman?" pretty personally.

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In 2008, the makers of Trivial Pursuit thought we'd live in a world where Ben Affleck would never be Batman. Little did they know that not only would he one day don the utility belt and sit in the Batmobile but that he would bring forth the worst iteration of Batman ever, and that's saying a lot. If you haven't recently seen the Val Kilmer and George Clooney versions, they were pretty bad, but they look like Citizen Kane after seeing Zak Snyder's vision of the Caped Crusader.

But could it be some evil movie exec saw this clue in 2008 and started getting ideas? Evil, evil ideas? That seems to be where a bunch of people on Twitter are taking things.

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This obviously their fault. They gave some shmuck the idea and now Batman sucks.

— Prerna Pickett (@prernapickett) December 4, 2017

People didn't hold their punches, pointing out that Ben Affleck didn't even have a good track record with comic book heroes before putting on the batsuit.

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The correct answer is Ben Affleck as he should never have been cast as Batman after Daredevil bombed so badly.

— Joe Lefoe (@JoeLefoe) December 4, 2017

Others laid off Ben Affleck and took their blows elsewhere, trying to rewrite another painful moment in the history of Batman movies. I sometimes do this when people try to claim there was a Ghostbusters 2 when everybody knows there was that one in 1984 and the NO OTHER MOVIES and then the one with lady Ghostbusters but definitely not a third in the middle.

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"George Clooney."

"But George Cl-"

"There's never been a Batman movie with George Clooney."

"Yes, there was, it was Ba-"

"NEVER BEEN BATMAN, GEORGE CLOONEY."

— Johnny Von Rotten (@JohnnyVonRotten) December 4, 2017

Sure, predicts the future, blahblah, but the real question here is... Where is Michael Keaton?

— seriologa (@seriologa) December 4, 2017

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Poor Ben Affleck.

it says "been" and not "played."
so the only answer is "everyone who is not Adam West"

— the.effing.librarian (@effinglibrarian) December 4, 2017

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It's acceptable to disavow Clooney over the bat nipples issue.

— Jerry Bianco (@JerryBianco) December 4, 2017

I think it's safe to say Clooney and Affleck were never batman...

— Toby Tremayne (@magicindustries) December 4, 2017

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I'll tell you who isn't Batman - billionaire wastrel playboy Bruce Wayne. I read it in a Daily Planet editorial by that nice Ms Lane.

— Doubtful Guest (@theletterzed) December 4, 2017

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How deep does this anti-Affleck conspiracy go? Is it just board games, or has it infiltrated TV too? DEAR GOD WHAT ABOUT JEOPARDY?

— Elizabeth Skipper (@eclareskipper) December 5, 2017

Oh great. Now you've done gone and made Tobey Maguire the next Batman. Thanks.

— 🚨Der🚔Identitäts👮Polizist🚓 (@NuclearBants) December 5, 2017

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Also, someone pointed out this was a similar question in an edition of Cranium, though they don't specify the year this edition was printed. But if it preceded Affleck's casting as the dark knight, that's scary:

Conspiracy, anyone???

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