10 Superhero Movies That Defined Other Superhero Movies

To say that The Dark Knight changed the face of superhero movies would be a major understatement. Following on from Christopher Nolan's beloved Batman Begins, the 2008 sequel was released to universal acclaim, with critics citing its grounded and realistic approach as one of its standout attributes.

It was those very attributes that ensured it was a superhero movie in name alone and, for a time, it started a trend, influencing the way that Hollywood approached superhero movies in general - as a lot of studios attempted to remake their own heroes in this gritty realist style. More often than not, however, it failed.

Warner Bros.' own Man of Steel is a pure example of why recreating the magic of The Dark Knight couldn't work for just any old hero. While an admirably strong movie, its more grounded approach worked against it simply because Superman didn't feed off darkness the way in which Batman did and, as a result, it was complete mismatch of styles.

That said, The Dark Knight's influence continues to be felt today, with other successful films like Logan, and even TV shows like Arrow and Daredevil, following in its footsteps, proving that sometimes comic books and realism can go hand-in-hand.

On another note, Heath Ledger's Academy Award-winning turn as The Joker has become the yardstick for which all great villains are measured against and, while it's highly unlikely that we'll ever see anything quite like that again, you can't deny that it's an admirable goal for other movie antagonists to aspire to.