Summer of the Bat

This is going to sound kind of random, but I have to face the fact that 2008 is the Summer of the Bat. Despite worthy competition from Indiana Jones, Mulder and Scully and Anakin and Obi-Wan, "The Dark Knight" - which recently passed the one bazillion dollar mark at the box office - is clearly the movie that everyone wanted to see this season. I would say "beware of spoilers," but I know you've all seen it by now.

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The latest "Batman" film wasn't at the top of my must-see list. I alternated between two contradictory complaints: 1, that it was too soon for a re-telling of the Joker story, and 2, that Heath Ledger wasn't being true to the Joker's personality.

But writer-director Christopher Nolan has converted me by making a very good movie that achieves a delicate balance between two seemingly opposite goals.

Heath Ledger stars as The Joker and Christian Bale stars as Batman in the Warner Bros. movie "The Dark Knight." Associated Press

On one hand, his Bat-verse is different from what's come before. Unlike in the Tim Burton/Joel Schumacher franchise of 1989-97, we now have a good grasp of who Bruce Wayne/Batman is. Christian Bale obviously studied the gruff vocalizations from "Batman: The Animated Series," then multiplied the brood-meter tenfold. Nolan's films give us Wayne's first love, Rachel Dawes, rather than throwing a random babe at Bruce in every movie.

The bad guys are also (mostly) different. "Batman Begins" (2005) introduces Ra's al Ghul as Wayne's anarchist mentor and also makes good use of the Scarecrow and crime boss Carmine Falcone. Ledger puts a completely unhinged spin on the Joker in "Dark Knight," and at the screening I attended, everyone loved it: Fans

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chuckled with delight every time he creepily sucked in his cheeks and wavered the pitch of his voice while delivering bon mots like "I should cut you up and feed you to the pooches."

On the other hand, Nolan stays true to the essence of "Batman." Nowhere in the decades-high piles of comic books, hours of cartoon episodes and mostly campy movies exists a "definitive" Caped Crusader for adult fans. That's what Nolan is providing on a blockbuster canvas: The "Batman" to end all "Batmans."

But like I say, it's a delicate balance. "Dark Knight's" good-politician-gone-bad Harvey Dent is played pitch-perfect by Aaron Eckhart, but I felt like I was watching a rerun for that very reason. Even casual Bat-philes have seen the Two-Face story about 47 times.

So I'm hoping Nolan explores new ground in Part 3, jumping off from the "Batman as pariah" concept set up at the end of "Dark Knight." With the death of Rachel, we'll need a new female lead, so I think the screenwriters should bring in Talia al Ghul, the daughter of Ra's al Ghul, and set up a conflicted romance between her and Bruce. (Also keep in mind that we didn't actually see Ra's al Ghul's corpse after the train crash in "Batman Begins.")

Catwoman - who is usually portrayed as a solo crimefighter like Batman - is the more obvious choice, but an actress would have to pull off a Ledger-like feat of blowing away Michelle Pfeiffer's and Halle Berry's recent turns while staying true to the conflicted cat burglar's spirit.

As for the main baddie, Nolan has lots of options. If he wants to take on corrupt capitalists, I can see Ken Davitian (the actor who wrestled Borat naked) as an even slimier Penguin than Danny DeVito's. Both Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze could be tools to explore climate change - for the latter, it would be interesting to see Patrick Stewart play a villain after his noble "Star Trek" and "X-Men" roles.

I see Nolan's Riddler as a Zodiac-killer terrorist type, although he'll likely stay away from that character because Jim Carrey played a spot-on Riddler not long ago. I give even longer odds on the Mad Hatter, Bizarro-Batman and Louie the Lilac.

At any rate, the fact that I'm thinking of obscure "Batman" villains must mean Nolan has me hooked. Part 3 will certainly go on my must-see list.

JOHN HANSEN, entertainment editor, may be reached at john.hansen@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5863.