8. The death of the Dark Knight

Photo Credit: Warner Bros.

Director Christopher Nolan has always said he would only make three Batman films. But before The Dark Knight Rises was released, speculation was rampant that Christian Bale’s Batman would be killed off. The trailer for the film only added fuel to the fire, as Bane was throwing Batman’s broken mask on the ground. But Batman did not kick the bucket onscreen…yet.

So, will he or won’t he? And what’s in store for the Caped Crusader in future films. I have to admit that this franchise puzzles me a bit. I loved the Adam West TV show version of Batman as a kid, and of course, Tim Burton’s 1989 movie version reintroduced the hero into our lives after a hiatus. The sequels to the ’89 film were pretty bad (let’s be honest), but then Nolan’s revamped versions beginning in 2005 made many of us love Batman again. My confusion lies with the animated films. There have been a bunch of them in the past several years (including the LEGO one), and now I’m totally lost. Are they good? Worthy of watching? And when are we getting a new live-action version? Help me out, people, I’m in the dark here!