The Batman is already 2022’s highest-grossing film. In some ways, it’s yet another comic-book adaptation to dominate theaters. In others, it’s a return to a pre-MCU cinema experience free of the weight of universe-building. Robert Pattinson stars in the first standalone Batman movie in a decade, bringing a grim detective story with the caped crusader that seems to draw more from David Fincher than DC Comics. 

While superhero films still top box office charts, the types of stories they’re capable of telling seems broader each year. Should The Batman make us optimistic for the future of comic-book movies—or cynical that any big-budget film has to include capes?

David Sims, Sophie Gilbert, and Spencer Kornhaber discuss Robert Pattinson, their favorite Batman, and the state of our superhero monoculture.

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