agreed, but its all downhill from Kevin Conroy.

I don't know but I'm sure you'll get a 50 page dissertation about it if you pose this question on the right forums.

It's weird, but live-action Batman looks pretty ridiculous, whereas animated Batman (not the Brave and the Bold one, but the previous one) is pretty bad-ass, even without other DCU heroes showing up.

well Kleenex, not the one before it, since that would be "The Batman" and that wasn't very good. But Batman: The Animated Series is probably as responsible for this movie series as Batman: Year One was. By which I mean: The nostalgia of that show for folks in their late 20's/early 30's made them want a Batman that didn't have nipples on his suit, so when Batman Begins came out we latched onto it with crazy fanboy fervor.

I forgot about "The Batman," which also wasn't terribly good. I'm referring to the Timm/Dini era and most, if not all (there are a few I've yet to see) that include Kevin Conroy. I was rather hoping that rumors of a live-action "Batman Beyond" were true, with Clint Eastwood as a crusty, decrepit Bruce Wayne.

This is a very interesting conversation, but you still haven't answered my question.

Does it really merit a response?

Maybe, maybe not. But if you want to discuss rumors and/or jerk off all over yourselves about how awesome Batman is, you can do it elsewhere in your own conversation thread.

That is true! This thread should be exclusively reserved for making the same old and boring observations that have been made about every 'serious' comic book movie.

Spoiler: Bane sounds like he's talking into a plastic Solo cup. He and Batman fight. Leave theater. Prepare for yet another franchise reboot, probably starring a teenage Bruce Wayne paired with a big-tittied ninja in place of Alfred.

So, I'm curious...what SHOULD a guy with a mask over his face sound like when he talks?

I'm no expert either, but even though he won't kill, he sure likes to blow up inanimate objects. It seems that in each movie there is invariably a scene where he uses some sort of gun or missile launcher on his vehicle to neatly blow up an obstacle in his path.

Also, nothing in this trailer looks interesting.

The 'no-guns' thing is actually pretty wishy-washy depending on which version you look at. Frank Miller had him use a rifle in The Dark Knight Returns; he actually used a gun in one of his original comic book appearances. Tim Burton had him blow up a factory full of criminals (and kill multiple times). Even in the modern comics, he finally breaks down and shoots Darkseid with a radion bullet.

The 'no guns' thing isn't a hard rule of the Batman mythos; neither is the 'no killing'. It's more of a general guideline that's highly dependent on the person currently steering the story. Some Batman stories portray him as against guns because they're easy; others portray him as having a phobia, or a mental block against them because one killed his parents. Others have him not using guns because he's a ninja and he doesn't need one to fuck up your shit. So the basic answer is 'it depends'.

(Stroking my Bat-beard now)

He usually doesn't want to kill because that will reduce him to the level of the criminals he fights. In the early comics at the beginning he would use a gun, and i think it was the gun left by the killer of his parents. He might have to kill if he has no other choice, but he's no Punisher.

The only thing that satisfies Batman's bloodlust is busting open hell of gangster faces.

you know what i'm actually going to reneg on that last statement because batman returns was the perfect treatment of Penguin and Catwoman, at least in regard to the inherent respect their characters deserve.

let's just have a sexy party and talk about bruce west in the morning

Suck my dick.

I like the Batman Nolan movies, and a good part of Begins is probably the best Batman related thing ever, is just that these movies feel a bit flat and cold many times. They either stuff to many characters and sub-plots (The Dark Knight) or they seem to be lacking a better pacing, both with the direction and dialogues. Also, the beardo in me laments how none of these movies (Burton and Shumascherwhatever you spell it included) ever remember that Batman is a detective, so he should be doing some, you know, detective work.