There are few superheroes who have changed as dramatically as Batman. From the early comedy days of Adam West up to fan-favourite Christian Bale and the sadly unforgettable George Clooney of Batman and Robin, the caped crusader has developed almost as quickly as his reliable Bat Mobile.

And in what will be a new era for Batman when Ben Affleck takes over for the Man of Steel sequel, it is likely we will see an even newer side to Bruce Wayne, something which is already being questioned by Gotham’s most loyal fans.

However the Argo star plays it though, it will be extremely difficult for the new movie to top the Dark Knight Franchise which ultimately made Batman cool and saw Christian Bale and Heath Ledger put in stunning performances, which saw the comic book pick up its first Oscar for Ledger’s supporting actor role.

Much darker than its predecessors The Dark Knight and follow up Dark Knight Rises have rightly been touted as the best Batman movies of all time. Seeing Bale return to Gotham for his second movie, Christopher Nolan’s narrative for the first time gives Bruce Wayne a conscience. A nature that every single one of us can relate to. Nolan made Batman real, and the Joker played that and in turn the audience’s sympathy at the same time.

You only have to look at the merchandise on offer to see its popularity. With everything from clothing to video games to even online casino games, the Gotham City billionaire has never been more popular, a far cry from Batman and Robin which bombed prior to the Nolan series.

Ranked amongst one of the worst superhero films of all time, the Dynamic Duo of George Clooney and Chris O’Donnell crash, splat, pow back down to earth with performances that are beyond cringe-worthy.

Perhaps a nod to the camp West and Ward days of the 60’s, the film goes beyond stupidity and collectively seems to include all of the actors’ worst performance in what is Empire magazine’s worst movie ever made.

The damage lasted almost ten years before Nolan rescued Bob Kane’s creation, and with the 43-year-old Brit involved with the Man of Steel story, the talent of him, Zack Snyder and Ben Affleck has the potential to be another blockbuster.

But whilst we sit in anticipation for where the new movie will head, or indeed the future of Batman, one thing is certain, the Dark Knight franchise, will take an awful lot to be surpassed.