Where would superhero movies be without Tim Burton's "Batman?" Well, for one thing, we wouldn't have the memory of witnessing Michael Keaton's Batman being shoehorned into the superheroic bomb that was 2022's "The Flash." More seriously, Burton's 1989 mega-hit not only directly influenced the trajectory of superhero movie evolution, it changed the way studios marketed their blockbusters and re-established Batman in the public consciousness as the dark avenger first introduced in 1939's "Detective Comics" #27.

The fact the movie exists in the first place is nothing short of miraculous. "Batman" was a major risk in 1989. Aside from the fact the Christopher Reeve-led "Superman" films had gone out with a whimper in 1987 with "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace," the Dark Knight just wasn't a reliable blockbuster IP at that stage. Still very much seen by the public as the clownish figure from Adam West's 1960s TV series,...