As one of the most legendary and notorious sports empires today, Nike’s famed ‘Jordan Brand’ is estimated to be worth roughly $10 billion by experts.
As a fan favorite, Jordans have been at the top of the sneaker game since the 80s, when MJ himself helped to popularize his brand amid unprecedented success on the court.
By 1992, Jordan Brand had exploded in popularity and the famous kicks were being displayed all over the country — apparently even including on the set of 1992’s ‘Batman Returns’ film starring Michael Keaton.
By itself, the Air Jordan 6s are already popular enough and run for at least a couple of hundred dollars online. For Keaton, though, special pairs of Jordans were made to fit the Batman persona and there is obviously not a whole lot of them in existence. In 2015, a single shoe sold on eBay for $8,100.
Tim Burton kick-started the era in 1989 with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, before returning in 1992 with a sequel stacked with big names. Danny DeVito, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Christopher Walken showed up in Gotham City for Batman Returns, but they weren nowhere near the biggest name to make an appearance — that belongs to Michael Jordan. Of course, we’re not talking about the man himself, but his shoes, whom Nike delivered a special set of Jordan 6s for Bruce Wayne to kick butt in during the filming sessions of 1991.
Designed by Tinker Hatfield and debuted the same year filming commenced, it was the sneaker that Mike was wearing during his crusade to his first elusive NBA Championship. At the same time, the Caped Crusader was kicking ass in Gotham, leaving Jumpman sole prints on the chest of Max Shreck’s goons. For filming, Nike did up the basketball shoes in a murdered-out colorway for Michael Keaton, and added some Batman-level armor north of the tongue for wen you had to fight crime at 5, but had a pickup game at six.
Keaton’s Batman movies were hugely popular in the 90s and it’s fair to say that the films helped set the stage for the superhero genre moving forward.
Of course, it all came with a little assistance from MJ, who continues to lead the fashion/sneaker scene with his iconic footwear.
