Random Ways Tim Burton's Batman Is Better Than Dark Knight (14 items)

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  (#6) The Heady Days of Hype

  For better or worse, there was certainly a lot of hype surrounding Nolan's The Dark Knight. However, it didn't match the fever pitch going into Batman. Fans were shaving the Batman logo into their freakin' hair! Since these were pre-Internet days, there was more excitement undiluted by online tribalism and criticism. The 1989 film is also notable for being the first time that fandom of this level leaked into the mainstream and impacted pop culture to this degree. 
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  (#11) Batplane

  Sure, the Bat from Dark Knight Rises is cool, but when compared to the Batplane from Batman, there is a clear winner. Once again, the design is simply more striking. Also, that scene where Batman flies it above the clouds and hangs over the moon for just one perfect moment? Soooooo good. 
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  (#2) Gotham Is Actually Gothic

  There is little debate that Christopher Nolan's take on Caped Crusader was intended to be a more realistic and grounded take than previous outings. When it comes to the setting, however, there is something lost in translation. Burton's Gotham is a character all on its own and practically drips with the influences of German Expressionism.

  Production designer Anton Furst said, "It’s like Hell had burst through the pavement and kept on growing." No wonder he won an Academy Award for his work creating the city. 
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  (#3) The Man Behind the Mask

  Arguably (and people do like to argue about this), there hasn't been a Bruce Wayne as compelling and as the one Michael Keaton played over the course of two films. Even though others may have looked the part, none have matched the complexity of the character and the deranged determination in those eyes like Keaton did. Christian Bale's performance definitely depicts elements of the character that had never been realized before onscreen, but come on, was he ever having fun with the role at all?

  While Nolan's films build a complex psychological profile to explain why Bruce Wayne would ever dress up as a bat, Burton's somehow conveys it in one moment, when Wayne confronts the Joker, shouting, "You wanna get nuts?! Come on, let's get nuts!"
  
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  (#7) Where Does He Get Those Toys?

  It's no secret that the Toy Biz figures released in promotion of the Batman film kind of sucked in comparison (remember, this was a time when He-Man, G.I. Joe, and TMNT ruled the toy shelves). However, they are light-years ahead of the utter garbage that was released for Nolan's films. Sure, the Movie Masters figures have their charm but it stops there. 
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  (#10) It Led to Batman: The Animated Series

  After the massive success of 1989's Batman and leading into Batman Returns, Warner Bros. wanted a Saturday morning cartoon that fit into the world established by the movies. Enter the now legendary Batman: The Animated Series. The show deserves a list of it's own for all its contributions to the Batman lore but odds are that if you are reading this list, the show's merits require no repetition.
  

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