Batman: 80 Greatest Ever Moments

2. The Interrogation - The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight The Joker Heath Ledger
Warner Bros.

Heath Ledger's Joker would be beloved even if it wasn't the best performance in comic book movies because of the background to the performance. Here was an actor whose casting was roundly lambasted by a community that didn't have the imagination to see range in his ability and labelled him a "romantic lead."

Thank God Warner Bros gave him the same sort of chance they gave Michael Keaton - despite similar criticisms of his casting - because the pay-off was a stunning performance in a transformative role that came with a tragic full-stop. But even without the added piquancy of that harrowing tale, Ledger's performance is mesmerising, darkly charming and perversely likeable.

The crowning gem on this towering achievement is the interrogation scene between Ledger's Joker and Christian Bale's Batman as the Dark Knight struggles for control over an agent of pure chaos. Here, we see everything that defines Batman's previous successes crumbling in the face of a rule-breaker (or a rule-ignorer) and it's just about the most irresistible scene in comic book movie history.

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Resident movie guy at WhatCulture who used to be Comics Editor. Thinks John Carpenter is the best. Likes Hellboy a lot. Can usually be found talking about Dad Movies on his Twitter at @EwanRuinsThings.

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I like my comics like I like my coffee - in huge, unquestionably unhealthy doses.