There’s a very strong and utterly convincing argument to be made that Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins is the single most influential reboot in history, and it’s not just because the comic book classic will in all probability be the benchmark by which all future reinventions of the Caped Crusader are measured.
Not only did no less of an authority than Kevin Feige call it “the greatest thing to happen” to superhero cinema, but the list of talents on either side of the camera to have name-dropped it as a direct influence is nothing short of staggering.
That includes, but is in absolutely no way limited to, the teams behind Terminator Salvation and Genisys, the Star Trek Kelvin trilogy, Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock Homes, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, both Casino Royale and Skyfall, RoboCop, Power Rangers, Blade Runner 2049, and X-Men: First Class, among plenty of others.
However, the recent release of Matt Reeves’ The Batman on HBO Max and other digital platforms appears to have stirred up a debate that’s pitted the character’s fandom at war with each other. As you can see from some of the reactions below, Twitter is currently besieged by arguments over which reboot for the World’s Greatest Detective can be deemed superior.
There are clearly some stylistic and thematic similarities, which was always going to be the case when Reeves was hardly going to draw his inspirations from Adam West or Joel Schumacher, but there’s no reason why Batman enthusiasts can’t appreciate both blockbusters for the acclaimed movies they are in their own right.