Superheroes have been one of the biggest things to happen to pop culture since their rise in popularity during (roughly) the 1930s. Since then, the concept of the superhero and the characters themselves have gone through gradual but ultimately tremendous change. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before superheroes adapted and branched out into the medium of film as well.
There has been one character and one movie, in particular, that has been placed high over the rest, even still today. The Dark Knight revolutionized not just the superhero genre, but also influenced a wide body of films that followed. The whole trilogy is great, but here are 15 reasons why The Dark Knight specifically is still the best superhero movie ever.
Updated on December 7th, 2020 by Derek Draven: We've updated this list to include 5 more reasons why The Dark Knight took the crown as the best superhero movie ever made. It's hard to top a legacy as incredible as the one this movie managed to achieve, and this list goes into detail as to why from the casting and direction to the tension and storytelling.
15 Tension Beyond Compare
Superhero films almost always portray some kind of battle that spills out into the city streets with stunned onlookers watching as the character battles a cool supervillain. The destruction is chaotic and over-the-top but feels completely without penalty or repercussion.
The Dark Knight portrayed destruction in a way that made audiences feel both uncomfortable, and unsafe. The carnage was not only realistic but plausible. Watching a hospital being razed to the ground with bombs is just one example of the real-world tension provided by the film, and that made audiences invest more attention and devotion to what was happening on screen.
14 Supporting Characters Who Actually Support
Many superhero movies centering around one person tend to have an array of supporting characters to decorate the scenery, provide some exposition or act as gateways for the audience to understand the hero better. Few of them actually showcase these characters doing much besides acting as convenient plot devices.
The Dark Knight put its supporting characters front and center, and they were integral to the story. Gordon and Harvey Dent played active roles in taking down the Joker, while Rachel, Lucius, and Alfred each did their part as full-fledged sidekicks capable of holding their own. This made it a story about a collective group, as opposed to one man.
13 Real-World Hiccups
The iconic first origin story in Nolan's trilogy established Batman far differently than the comics or previous films did. He faced all of the challenges and technical hiccups that came with creating his suit and gadgets, from a bad run of face masks to imperfect body armor that left him susceptible to damage.
The Dark Knight continued that theme by bleeding Bruce Wayne into the mix in a way he never expected. An employee of the company even found out that Bruce Wayne was Batman and intended to blackmail him. Lucius Fox ended up plugging that particular hole, but it was one of many that a plausible superhero would have to contend with. It also addressed a glaring plot hole about the character.
12 No Happy Ending
The Dark Knight is not one's typical superhero movie, nor does it play out like one. The middle act of the film shows Rachel Dawes being murdered by the Joker and Wayne's newfound ally Harvey Dent suffering horrific facial and psychological wounds that derail him as a person.
This act comes back to haunt Batman in the final moments of the film, ending off a triumphant but bittersweet night with a mouthful of pure ash. There is no happy ending, which is a direct slap in the face of most superhero movies that came before, and that's the perfect way to shake things up.
11 A Powerful Message
Many superhero movies play up the excitement and good feelings that come with saving the world and rescuing the kitten from the tree, all on the same day. The Dark Knight took a far different approach with several story arcs and thematic elements woven into one overreaching message.
It showed that when faced with a crisis situation, mankind's best and worst traits would emerge in their extremes. This was demonstrated during the nail-biting boat scene where an ultimatum was given to the passengers on both vessels, and also in the final act when Batman is branded a villain and made a scapegoat for the anger of Gotham's populace. Christopher Nolan dug deep into the fabric of humanity, and our behavior in times of great peril.
10 The Best Take On What A Real-Life Superhero Would Look Like
One of the reasons why The Dark Knight holds up today as the best superhero movie ever made, even in the face of Marvel behemoths like Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, is because it is the most grounded and brilliant take on a real-life interpretation of, not just Batman, but a superhero. Of course, this entry could also apply to the films in the trilogy that preceded and succeeded it, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises.
This sophomore entry in the trilogy stripped its plot, world, and characters of any supernatural elements to deliver the most possible realistic representation of a superhero. The only things given to the character of Bruce Wayne were immense wealth, intellect, physical prowess, and determination.
9 The Dark & Gritty Tone
Not every superhero movie needs to be overly dark, gritty, or serious, but The Dark Knight uses these elements in the best possible way. For an example of this not fully working, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice serves as a prime case of "dark" and "gritty" tones going too far.
Before this trilogy, and The Dark Knight especially, the most notable superhero films were not particularly dark or gritty, especially in the preceding decade. The Dark Knight doesn't take things too far like Batman v Superman but far enough to be believable and enthralling.
8 The Best Portrayal Of The Best Supervillain
This entry, unlike the previous ones, can only apply to The Dark Knight. This is by no means a knock on the other two films in the trilogy as they had strong portrayals of other iconic supervillains in Batman's Rogues Gallery. One could argue that Joaquin Phoenix put up an even better performance in last year's Joker, but Heath Ledger's portrayal is legendary.
Ledger's performance in the 2008 film set a new and extremely high standard for how the character could be shown in a realistic world and setting.
7 Directed By One Of The Best Modern Directors
While there are a number of highly critical roles behind film-making, there is a reason why the reveal of the director is big news. Thankfully, The Dark Knight Trilogy had one of the most talented directors of modern film-making in Christopher Nolan.
Not one of his past projects, or movies that came after this trilogy, has been received poorly. Nolan has an incredible track record and will most likely continue the positive trend going forward with Tenet.
6 Christian Bale Played The Best Live-Action Batman
There has been a solid handful of actors who have played the live-action role of Batman. Some of them have definitely been good representations while there have been plenty of duds, to say the least. Michael Keaton was a good, solid Batman, but his interpretation probably wouldn't hold up in modern-day. Ben Affleck also put up a good performance as The Caped Crusader, even if the character had his problems.
Christian Bale, meanwhile, properly encapsulates what a modern-day Batman would look like. Even before Batman Begins, people knew that Bale had the acting chops necessary to bring a certain gravitas to the role. While he is great as Batman, Bale also properly sells Bruce Wayne's character as a broken person.
5 Realistic Problems
A lot of the problems and/or crises faced by superheroes span massive levels. They aren't just problems that would be big for the average person, they're often so big that they are literally incomprehensible. These problems are placed on such gargantuan levels that they threaten planets and universes. Granted, these can still work very well if the story is told well, but The Dark Knight functions on a comparatively smaller scale.
Despite this, the story told and the villains involved manage to make the stakes feel even more daunting than most other superhero films. The fact the protagonist facing these issues doesn't have superhuman capabilities also helps.
4 Inspired By Some Of The Greatest Batman Stories
With The Dark Knight being about comic books, one of the best strategies in creating a captivating superhero story for the live-action film is to take inspiration from some of the best stories ever told about the character. Naturally, that would mean looking to the Batman comics and the lore they established.
The Dark Knight was inspired by two of the most important storylines for the character: The Long Halloween and The Killing Joke. The former was an excellent mystery thriller that showcased the superhero's detective skills and explored the origins of Harvey Dent/Two-Face. The latter served as one of the most chilling stories about Joker.
3 Imperfect Heroes
Technically every superhero is imperfect, but the nature of the Batman character makes those imperfections feel even more important than with other superhero characters. Again, this draws back to this character's propensity for realism, and especially so in The Dark Knight.
The Dark Knight exposes Batman as a hero who can fail, with his failure to save both Harvey and Rachel being a prime example. Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Dent are also examples of imperfect characters.
2 A Brilliant Villain Origin
While Heath Ledger's Joker steals the spotlight, The Dark Knight does a fantastic job of providing a proper origin story for another iconic villain. Harvey Dent and his eventual fall and rebirth as Two-Face is done in a way that emphasizes the character's tragic nature.
Harvey Dent was initially presented as Gotham's "White Knight" who citizens looked towards to help solve the Joker's reign of chaos. This made Dent's eventual mental breakdown, after losing the love of his life and being physically scarred by the Joker, that much more of a tragedy and loss.
1 Among The Best Acting In Superhero Movies
As with any film, TV series, and a lot of modern video games, getting the right actors is crucial. Of course, plenty of other superhero/comic book films have gotten excellent actors, but The Dark Knight has among the best well-rounded cast of top-notch actors.
Of course, Bale as Batman and Ledger as Joker are the most obvious, but Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and the criminally underused Maggie Gyllenhaal put their best foot forward as well.
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