Summary

• The Dark Knight Rises may not live up to its predecessors, but it remains a very good film with a solid cast and compelling story.
• Batman Begins introduced a new, more grounded take on the superhero genre and crafted a definitive origin story for Batman.
• The Dark Knight is widely regarded as the greatest superhero film ever made, with Heath Ledger's iconic performance as the Joker being a standout element.

Director Christopher Nolan crafted one of the best superhero series of all time with The Dark Knight trilogy, and here's how its entries stack up. Considering the diversity of the Marvel and DC fandoms, there will never be a consensus pick for greatest superhero character ever. When that conversation does take place though, there are certain heroes that always place near the top of the list, and there's no doubt that Batman, Gotham City's resident defender, is one of them.

Batman is one of the oldest superheroes to be born in the pages of DC Comics, and was also one of the first superheroes to become widely adapted for the screen. He starred in theatrical serials in the 1940s, a beloved TV show led by Adam West in the 1960s, and a blockbuster hit directed by Tim Burton in 1989 that helped establish superhero movies as a potentially formidable box office force. However, perhaps the most famous iteration out of every live-action Batman to this day remains Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy, which stands as a huge success story, making the series' internal ranking an even more interesting prospect.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan's conclusion to his epic Batman trilogy, is a movie that's oddly seen its reputation take a hit in the years since release, despite drawing good reviews and big box office at the time it hit theaters. To be sure, it's several steps down in quality from The Dark Knight, and still doesn't quite match Batman Begins, but The Dark Knight Rises is still a very good film overall.

It makes some narrative missteps, such as trying to cram in too many major characters into what would have been better suited to being a pure Batman vs. Bane story, but the cast is uniformly solid, and the story remains mostly compelling. As meme-worthy as Bane's voice is, Tom Hardy also does well in the role, even if making him take a backseat to Talia al Ghul as the main villain in the end wasn't a great move.

The movie features some quite thrilling action set pieces too, even if they don't quite stun as much as the celebrated Batman and The Joker chase in The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight Rises ending is also only somewhat satisfying, as while it's nice to see Bruce Wayne fake Batman's death and get his happy ending with Selina Kyle, it's entirely unrealistic that people don't recognize such a famous person when they are just hanging out in public with zero attempts to disguise their identity. The Dark Knight Rises, while not even close to as flawed as some believe, is definitely a tale of unrealized potential. It's a worthwhile superhero film that had the misfortune of following two better ones.

Batman Begins (2005)

With Batman Begins, Nolan graduated from simply being a critical favorite with films like Memento and Insomnia, into a full-on blockbuster powerhouse. Nolan's more grounded, realistic take on Batman was a far cry from the films of Joel Schumacher, or even Tim Burton, and set the stage for The Dark Knight even further blurring the lines between superhero movie and crime drama. It also crafted arguably the definitive screen interpretation of Batman's origin story, and the events that cause Bruce Wayne to take on his crime-fighting alter ego. It's telling that Batman's origin has only briefly been revisited in subsequent DC films.

Nolan's ever-present gift for casting the right actors in the right roles is on full display in Batman Begins, with Christian Bale still standing as the best Batman for many fans, even with his growling Batman voice that some find to be unintentionally silly. Michael Caine makes a terrific Alfred Pennyworth, Gary Oldman is an excellent Jim Gordon, and despite her being recast with Maggie Gyllenhaal for the sequel, Katie Holmes does a fine job as Rachel Dawes. Liam Neeson and Cillian Murphy also shine as villains Ra's al Ghul and Scarecrow, respectively.

However, that's not to say that Batman Begins is flawless. At two hours and 20 minutes, it at times feels its length, and the period before Bruce actually becomes Batman is probably a tad too long. Batman letting Ra's die also feels out of character, as does his odd rationalization of why it's okay to do so. Even with its issues, though, Batman Begins is a truly great effort.

The Dark Knight (2008)

There was no other option to top this ranking, as The Dark Knight is deservedly considered one of - if not the - greatest superhero film ever made. Its 2008 release drew critical raves and one of the biggest box office takes ever at the time, and in hindsight, was probably too much for any threequel to ever have lived up to. Everything about The Dark Knight just clicks, from the cast, to the action scenes, to the dark and gritty tone, to the sometimes peculiar but always memorable score. The Dark Knight is a masterpiece, and the fact that it has maintained this reputation over a decadeon is testament to that assessment.

Of course, discussing The Dark Knight and its positive qualities is never complete without mention of Heath Ledger's sadly final performance as The Joker. While Ledger dying young will forever be tragic, the attention surrounding his death in no way invalidates the merit of his Oscar win.

Ledger's Joker is truly unlike any other version, alternately psychotic and cunning, disheveled but always mentally in control, and yet, through it all oddly kind of likable, especially since he's an enemy of Gotham City's detestable organized crime lords, and some of the politicians he targets are far from saints as well. His wit doesn't hurt either, even if he does clearly need to be stopped by Batman, especially after facilitating the death of Rachel. Also worth mentioning is the arc between Batman and Two-Face, which while arguably a bit rushed, is very dramatically satisfying, and fleshes out The Dark Knight trilogy's strongest movie even further.