6 Ways Tim Burton's Batman Changed Everything

Compelling both visually and psychologically, Batman seems tailor-made for motion pictures. In fact, he first debuted in matinee serials five years before his comic book predecessor Superman. Influenced by Douglas Fairbanks' cinematic portrayal of Zorro almost a century ago, the hero has a long and storied history on big and small screens. However, no live-action appearance has had quite the same lasting effect as Tim Burton's Batman movie in 1989.

While the sixties television show and feature film spin-off helped boost sales of Batman's comics, Burton's feature drew upon newer groundbreaking works like Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns and Alan Moore's The Killing Joke to inspire a serious interpretation which would pave the way not just for more Batman films, but for many superhero movies to come. Over 25 years later, the movie likely seems dated and flawed to younger audiences while many older ones have trouble seeing it outside of the context of the series it started, which includes Joel Schumacher's campier continuations. Nevertheless, 1989's Batman helped audiences see the character and comics in a whole new light, setting the example for many elements of the modern superhero movie that we take for granted today.

Richard Donner's 1978 Superman movie is a beautifully reverent and iconic translation of its character, yet Tim Burton's Batman is filled with vision and depth. Here are six ways this movie still resonates today.

Visual effects prevented Christopher Reeve's Superman costume from being totally blue, but it is undeniably the Superman of the comics. Batman would be a different story. In comics, his costume had changed wildly from time to time, yet even that failed to prepare audiences for the all-black bat suit insisted upon by Tim Burton, designed by Bob Ringwood and worn by Michael Keaton.

With its inflexible cowl, Nike boots, and a cape designed after a cafeteria table, Batman's duds were as sculpted as they were sewn. Besides Keaton, it took two stuntmen and a ballet dancer to make it look good on film. This began a trend towards latex and leather based superhero costumes rendered mostly in black or muted colours.

Despite criticism, the suit is just one of the film's more obvious and lasting innovations, with Tim Burton's directives having been as much about function as aesthetics. The black gives Batman obvious stealth at night while its hardness protects the human hero from many blows. For Batman Begins in 2005, director Christopher Nolan did a lot of new things, but chose to keep the suit black throughout The Dark Knight Trilogy; Burton's reasoning held.

Next year's Batman V Superman shows a Batman suit which more resembles those in most comics, but that shouldn't halt the ongoing influence of Keaton's suit.