Bale was equal parts Batman and Bruce Wayne, playing the part of the billionaire playboy to perfection and keeping up his public image and the reputation of his parents' company.

The biggest difference between Pattinson and Bale's Batmen is perhaps less the suit, and more when they're out of it. Of course, Bale has three completed movies to fully showcase his growth as Batman, something Pattinson will hopefully achieve too, but the early signs are great: Pattinson is a superb Batman, arguably already better than Bale was in his first movie, and certainly with the potential to grow further (Bale's best performance was in The Dark Knight Rises). Robert Pattinson is the third live-action Batman actor of the 21st Century, but he quickly establishes himself as a very different presence to Christian Bale. Much like any new Batman movie will be compared to what's been before, so too will any new Batman actor. Beyond this being a very dark, grounded take on the character much like that movie was, there's also a new sociopolitical context that bears comparison: like how The Dark Knight was very much made in a post-9/11, War on Terror world, and those influences impacted the plot, The Batman, especially with The Riddler's villain plan, can't help but echo news headlines (the attack on Gotham in the end certainly has shades of the Januattack on the Capitol) and general behaviors and controversies from pockets of the far-right online, such as touching on the incel subculture. Certainly, some aspects of The Batman feel similar to The Dark Knight.

There will invariably be overlap, but even beyond the shared elements that are intrinsic to the character - from his supporting cast to Gotham itself - there's a chance to put new spins on familiar concepts, something The Batman does well even while reminding viewers of those previous instalments. Any Batman movie is going to share some similarities to those that have come before, such is the nature of the character and the world he exists within.

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