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. 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 June 6th, 2022 by Guillermo Kurten: Matt Reeves' The Batman is now available and has ushered in a long-awaited, thrilling crime-noir rendition of the character in live-action. However, Nolan's sophomore effort is still a high bar to clear, as evidenced by these incredible aspects of the film.
Two-Face As The Heart Of The Dark Knight's Conflict
Joker takes the lion's share of the spotlight, but one of the greatest things about the writing in The Dark Knight is how it made Two-Face -- not the Clown Prince of Crime -- the heart and soul of Gotham's resilience or demise. Harvey Dent as Gotham City's "White Knight" is what was holding the city and its citizens together, as it showed that the system could work if its public heroes were incorruptible.
It turned the movie into an enthralling game of chess between Batman, Gordon, and Dent (for a time) against the Joker. This made Harvey's fall from grace that much more soul-crushing, with Joker -- literally -- making good on his promise of merely being an "agent of chaos" and the D.A.'s fate the true keys to the kingdom. Likewise, it made Batman as Gotham's Dark Knight a different kind of incorruptible, but nonetheless necessary and tragic hero.
A Perfect Villainous Duo
As justifiably revered as the Joker was as a villain, Two-Face proved to be the perfect complement to the Clown Prince of Crime. For the sake of the plot, it takes time to orchestrate the fall of Harvey Dent to achieve a maximum emotional impact, but they were both electric even when not directly interacting with each other.
Perhaps the acclaimed Daredevil's third season took a page from this, as they both work as excellent examples of thrilling comic book supervillains sharing a screen without taking away from each others' purposes. Two-Face was excitingly erratic but didn't take the spotlight off The Dark Knight's central antagonist.
Outside Influences
Comic book influences like the acclaimed The Long Halloween and The Killing Joke were pivotal to The Dark Knight's story, but Nolan incorporated some tasteful influences from non-genre movies as well. Most notably is Michael Mann's crime-drama thriller Heat, starring Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro.
Mann's epic was a thrilling, grounded chase movie where Lieutenant Hanna (Pacino) is on the trail of a group of thieves led by the elusive Neil McCauley (DeNiro). While wildly different characters, Nolan managed to use that template by putting Batman and Gordon in the role of Hanna, while Joker takes that of the unpredictable and ingenious McCauley. More importantly, Nolan took the foundation of Heat and seamlessly reworked it into a superhero-themed saga without feeling silly or derivative.
Delivering On "Escalation"
Batman Begins was a great origin story for a Caped Crusader of a new cinematic age, and the ending expertly sowed the seeds for The Dark Knight's payoff. The former was an immersive story that can stand on its own two feet, but then-Sergeant James Gordon's concerns over "escalation" in Begins' closing scene proved foreboding.
The Dark Knight makes good on that theme without undoing the good that Begins accomplished. The Joker, on top of being an anxiety-inducing and exciting villain, served as the perfect embodiment of the ramifications of escalation.
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.
ing Characters Who Actually
Many superhero movies centering around one person tend to have an array of ing 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 ing 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.
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.
No (Conventional) 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, making it one of the darkest superhero movies ever made. There is no happy ending, at least not in the conventional sense, 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.
The Silver Lining
Expanding beyond the bittersweet and unconventional ending, The Dark Knight does ultimately have a silver lining in its punishing ending. Batman falling on his sword at the finale and atone for Two-Face's crimes is a grim way to close the curtains, but the open-ended nature and ambiguity of the ending has a shred of optimism in it.
What humanity showed at its best and at its worst throughout the movie shows that the psychology of people and their alignments aren't black and white. Therefore, as bleak as the answer to stopping Joker's carnage was, deeply flawed people (including the titular brooding superhero) can ultimately overcome and do what's necessary to allow the greater good to persevere.
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 engers 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.
