For now, we may have Robert Pattinson as our newest iteration of Bruce Wayne aka Batman, but it wasn’t the first time the character has been given a dark, gritty reboot. That honor is held by Christopher Nolan’s 2005 film Batman Begins, which singlehandedly saved the franchise from its rubber-nipple-induced isolation brought on by Batman & Robin. Then in 2008, superhero movies were radically changed forever with the gargantuan release of The Dark Knight, which took the goodwill earned by Begins and pushed the envelope in every conceivable way.

After delivering one of the best films of all time featuring an Academy Award-winning portrayal of the Joker by Heath Ledger, Nolan was faced with the truly impossible challenge to top The Dark Knight and complete the journey of Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne. This brings us to the release of The Dark Knight Rises in 2012, a hugely ambitious and satisfying wrap-up...