Batman has been on the silver screen more than many other, equally popular superheroes. Is it his dark mystique? His ambiguous morality? His rubber fetish suit? Whatever the reason, with Batman Begins, the dark knight was introduced to a whole new generation of fans.

When it comes to live action, Batman is a tough nut to crack. The mixture of the ridiculous (giant man-bat vs. a guy who dresses like Matthew Lesko), and the upsetting (parents gunned down in an alley), doesn’t always translate. Batman Begins is about as dark and gritty as a superhero movie can be, choosing to forgo the inherent silliness of adaptations like Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever, or, God forbid, the reviled Batman & Robin. Sure, he’s a guy dressed like a bat. Sure, one of his arch-enemies wears a question-mark suit, and the other is a permanent clown. But that doesn’t mean he can’t kick some serious butt.

If anything, Batman Begins was too dark. Good clean fun takes a backseat to realism, fear, and a penetrating anti-revenge message. More than a hero, Batman seems like the kind of guy you wouldn’t want on your bad side. Maybe this is what the creator intended - maybe all the silliness was just there to soften the blow of Batman’s iron fist.

Christian Bale will return as Batman, of course. The Dark Knight, slated for a July 2008 release, co-stars Heath Leger as the legendary Joker. Various origin stories for the Joker exist, and no one is sure what direction the film will take. Early material seems to indicate that the Joker will be given a similar treatment to the Scarecrow in Batman Begins - he’ll be meaner, more real, and more frightening. While it’s refreshing to know they won’t re-hash Tim Burton’s Joker, here’s hoping they don’t take the gritty realism too far. The Joker may be a raging psychopath, but he’s also a man with a permanent grin who just loves to laugh.

Riddle me this, Batman: prepare early for The Dark Knight with some Batman Begins movie trivia!

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