When I talk of 'our' Dark Knight I talk of Todd McFarlane's, Alan Moore's and Tim Burton's Dark Knight. Not the bubblegum, candy pop, Batman of Adam West or Joel Schumacher, but the morally ambiguous Batman; the Dark Knight not the Caped Crusader with his 'thwocs' and 'whammys'.
This is the Batman which Christopher Nolan, David S. Goyer and Jonathan Nolan gave back to us. For years we'd suffered at the hands of Joel Schumacher and his ridiculous caricatures, Schwarzenegger's Mr Freeze, Jim Carey's Riddler and a pitiful attempt at Bane. Once more Batman had depth, grit, determination and conscience. A truly Dark Knight. But it wasn't just that, the reboot once again concentrated on Bruce Wayne as a central character rather than simply a sideshow biding time until the circus act came jumping into scene. They focused on Bruce Wayne's troubled past and mental scars, of which he must have quite a few after over 70 years of vigilante justice. In this regard Christian Bale was perfect at his brooding best, constantly portraying a man battling his own past and facing his own demons. Seen through Nolan's grimy looking glass, the director took us into the shadows and re-introduced us to the figures that dwell there, revealing their dark motivations and natures. This is where my problem with the casting decision of Affleck really lies. Granted Zack Snyder did a more than capable job of rebooting the Man of Steel, giving us a portrayal of a man truly conflicted in his acceptance of the responsibilities of heroism. Goyer's back on board to write and Nolan's in the wings as executive producer, but is all that enough to secure a legacy threatened by what I see as a hammy actor. I guess what I'm saying is, we have 'our' Dark Knight and we want to keep him.
I don't think I'm the only one holding this opinion. Yes, the legions of hardcore fans took to the internet the moment the decision was announced to excoriate Affleck and the dubious decision; but there's more than that. Just look at the multitude of products, inspired by the franchise reboot, aimed at adults and children alike. Warner Brother's series of Arkham video games for Playstation and Xbox. Lucky Nugget, an online gaming provider with a wide range of games, have a new online game Dark Knight; or Hot Toys incredibly detailed series of action figures, or for that matter Lego's Dark Knight Tumbler set. All of which although having cross demographic appeal, let's face it, are aimed at an adult market (or as I like to think, the overgrown children of our generation). So again, at risk of repeating myself, Zack, Mr. Snyder, please don't ruin 'our' Batman; we only just got him back and we really are attached to him.