The quality of Batman's live-action adventures has been erratic, to say the least. Fans have had to endure a lot over the years, from Tommy Lee Jones' baffling pantomime-style Two-Face to the disappointment of Marion Cotillard's Talia al Ghul. While Tim Burton's Batman gave the Joker a detailed backstory and had the hero kill bad guys, it was faithful to the comics in other respects and featured the dark edge fans had lapped up. Schumacher's films, of course, have been critiqued far and wide, while Christopher Nolan's films took the character into darker territory than even Burton's had, bringing a more 'realistic' tone to the Dark Knight. However, Nolan's films swerved many elements from the comic books. For example, the costume was black again, with none of the colour seen on the page, and the villains were re-imagined to suit a more 'real-world' setting (best exemplified by R'as al Ghul's immortality reduced to smoke and mirrors). Zack Snyder may not be to every film-fan's taste, but nobody can deny his guts in choosing a costume taken right from the comics and giving audiences the oldest Batman so far. Further standalone Batman films have already been confirmed, and there is understandably a huge amount of pressure on them. With Batman Begins, Nolan had a clean slate following the failure of Batman & Robin, but Snyder has no such luxury: he's being forced to follow some of the most successful comic-book adaptations ever. Now, Affleck and Warner Bros. have a priceless opportunity to redefine what Batman films can be, but to do that, they must tackle several important issues along the way.
Kyle McManus is a freelance writer with a love of Star Wars, comics, books, 2000 AD, and scribbling his own bizarre brand of fiction. He hopes you enjoy reading the words he writes.
