It’s 2008 and in the cinematic world we’ve had five different men play Batman.  Everyone has their favorite, from the all time classic antics of Adam West to the newest Dark Knight Christian Bale.  And between them we’ve seen Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney don the batsuit.  Of these five, only Bale and Keaton have been able to bring Batman’s raw, hard edged, half insanity to the screen and kept him dark, foreboding and down right creepy.  Narrowing it down even further, Bale seems to have taken the lead for the favorite under the mask.

We have certainly seen the best and the worst of the Caped Crusader.  Directors Tim Burton and Christopher Nolen have done best by the franchise while I’m of the opinion Joel Schumacher should have been drawn and quartered for what he did to the films in the 90’s.  Still it was Leslie H. Martinson who delivered Batman to the big screen in 1966 with pure comic campiness.

But what makes Batman so popular in the end that after having the series destroyed by Schumacher people flocked to Batman Begins and then helped The Dark Knight shatter box office records?  I like to think its accessibility.  Let me explain…

Bruce Wayne is human.  He’s not from another planet, he doesn’t have godly or alien blood, and he has no super powers.  He doesn’t have any powers at all.  He is simply a flawed human being.

All be it, a very rich one, where in lies some of his strength.  He can afford anything, from high tech costumes with sonar detection to an awesome utility belt.  What was it Nicholson’s Joker said “Where does he get those wonderful toys?”  Which does remind me that the only better than Batman’s gear is his villains.

Let’s take Joker for instance; he is the chaotic opposite of Batman.  He has money, else he wouldn’t have some of the stuff he has, but it’s the choices he made that make him Batman’s arch-nemesis.  Where Batman would do anything to prevent death, destruction and evil, Joker throws it around like confetti.  Bruce Wayne became Batman as a result of the tragic hand life dealt him and chose to ensure that what happened to him never happened to anyone else.  Joker decided to take what he was given in life and make everyone pay for any single wrong that was done to him.  The pure psychology behind Batman and his foes is mind boggling and insanely fascinating, no pun intended.

Cesar Romero embodied the more playful and less harmless Joker in the original series and film.  Jack Nicholson gave him more bite and venom in Tim Burton’s revival of Batman in 1989.  I have yet to see Dark Knight, but my understanding is that the late (and very much missed) Heath Ledger epitomized the role.  That he brought the true spirit of Joker’s mayhem to life and perfected it.

I could go on and on about Joker and he wasn’t even my favorite villain.  That would be Harley Quinn, whom I’m hoping to see eventually.  And still there’s so many villains left to choose from, including Catwoman, whom its been reported that Julie Newmar (the original Catwoman) would like to see Angelina Jolie in the roll should Christopher Nolen decide to bring in that villainess.

But, I digress and we’re discussing Batman here…

Batman endures through the ages because he’s normal.  He can be looked up to because he’s human, because he took a tragedy and did something good with it.  He’s a hero to be admired because he’s obtainable, not that I’m saying you should go disperse vigilante justice.  You don’t have to go through a personal tragedy to do good in your life, you only have to choose to do it.  He’s a role model if you will, even if he is a bit of an odd one.

He’s also in very good hands.  So let’s hope that the Batman franchise can continue to flourish under Nolen and Bale, because as thrilling as they have made the series, it’s certainly time well wasted.  And it’s one of my personal favorite ways to waste it.

Share your favorite things about the franchise with us in the comments.  Let’s hear it for Batman, long may he freak us all the hell out.

Update (1:15 pm)  It has been pointed out to me by Tony Mast of The Backseat Producers that I missed a pair of big screen Batmans.  In 1943 there was a 15 chapter serial with Lewis Wilson under the mask and in 1949 there was a Batman and Robin 15 chapter serial where we had Robert Lowery as the Caped Crusader.  These I would love to see.   Thanks Tony for letting us know.