4. Bruce Wayne
As Seen In... The
Dark Knight Movies (2005-2012) This is sure to be something of a polarising choice, given that Bruce Wayne is probably one of the most beloved movie characters of recent times, though I'm not really sure why: I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that a people presume that if a movie is really good, the main character is automatically awesome. Not so, in fact. I'm not talking about all incarnations of Bruce Wayne, by the way, but specifically the version we see in Christopher Nolan's trilogy, as played by Christian Bale. Fact is, do you like these movies because of Bruce Wayne's character, or do you like them for other reasons? The set-pieces, the supporting cast...
the villains. You like the villains, huh? Now think about
Iron Man. What's the number one reason why you like those movies? For something like 90% of us, it comes down to Tony Stark. We go to watch Robert Downey Jr. inhabit that character, because he's awesome. I (partially) rest my case. It's not that there's no depth or quality to be associated with Bruce, but he seems lacking in the personality department. No quirks or interesting character reveals. And I don't mean things like, "his parents got murdered and that haunts him," but stuff that allows us to relate to him as a human being. You know, everyday things, like he uses a nightlight, or he watches
Home Improvement everyday without fail. Bruce Wayne also spends much of his time just waiting for stuff to happen. When a crime occurs, he reacts to it - that's great, but other than that, what's he doing? Compared to a wacky criminal who's actively pursuing a goal, Batman just seems a little on the bland side. You know when I found Bruce Wayne to be at his most interesting? When he was acting like a billionaire playboy, buying restaurants at a whim and hanging out with supermodels. There's a bit of personality on show there, at least, even if it's an act. The rest of the time he's just so darn serious (no Joker reference intended) all the time. What I'm saying is: I wouldn't want to go for a beer with Bruce Wayne, and that's unfortunate. Because I like beer.