Ranking The Best Movie In Every Major Comic Book Franchise
5. Batman
It seems incredible to think that in just eight years Warner Bros. had managed to hit the self-destruct button on the entire Batman franchise, and it seems just as hard to believe that Tim Burton's movies take place in the same continuity as Joel Schumacher's given how wildly different the first frame of the first instalment is to the last one of the fourth.
No matter who your favorite big screen incarnation of the Dark Knight may be, there's very few people that could argue against the fact that Burton's original is one of the two best movies to ever feature Batman. About as serious and grounded as the story of a billionaire that dresses up like a bat to fight crime can hope to be, the movie's success also marked a seismic shift in how Hollywood approached the entire blockbuster industry.
Full of Burton's trademark stylistic flourishes and sensibilities without alienating those that aren't big fans of his work, 1989's Batman is a deft blend of darkness and comic absurdity that somehow gets away with having Danny Elfman's Gothic-inspired score sit comfortably alongside the music of Prince.
The thousands of fans that protested Michael Keaton's casting were forced to eat their words by the end of the very first scene.