As expected, The Dark Knight Rises is one of the biggest movies of the year, closing in on a billion dollars worldwide with critcial support.  Bob Kane and Bill Finger created Batman for comic books in 1939, and the character has been with us in theaters and on TV in both live action and animation practically ever since.  The Cape Crusader’s popularity hasn’t waned, even after Joel Schumacher attempted to kill the series.

How much do you know about Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego on the silver screen?  Click the following button and take the Batman Movie Quiz.

After taking the quiz, scroll down to see more information about the questions (or cheat and skip the quiz altogether):

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Last warning for spoilers!

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

1

Batman made his first big-screen appearance in 1943’s 15-part serial Batman starring Lewis Wilson as the titular character.  The cast included Douglas Croft as Robin, William Austen as Alfred, Shirley Patterson as Bruce Wayne’s love interest Linda Page, and J. Carrol Naish as the villain, Dr. Daka.

2

In addition to 1943’s Batman, there was second serial in 1949 called Batman and Robin.  Robert Lowrey starred as Batman and Johnny Duncan as Robin.  Also featured: Jane Adams as Vicki Vale, Lyle Talbot as Commissioner Gordon, an uncredited Eric Walton as Alfred, and Leonard Penn as the villain The Wizard.

3

Catwoman made four live action appearances in feature films:  Julie Newmar in 1966’s Batman; Michelle Pfeiffer in 1992’s Batman Returns; Halle Berry in 2004’s Catwoman; and Anne Hathaway in 2012’s The Dark Knight Rises.  Of course, it’s debatable as to whether or not Catwoman is truly a villain.

The Joker comes in second with three live action roles: Cesar Romero in 1966’s Batman; Jack Nicholson in 1989’s Batman; and Heath Ledger in 2008’s The Dark Knight.  Additionally, Mark Hamill provided the character’s voice in 1993’s Batman: Mask of the Phantasm.

4

Just one animated film was released theatrically, the aforementioned Batman: Mask of the Phantasm in 1993.

5

The first theatrical film (not counting the two movie serials) featuring Batman, Batman in 1966, was one of the first times that a TV series made the jump to the big screen.  The movie was intended to be released before the series premiered in order to promote the show, but instead was held off until the summer between the first and second season (the show only lasted two seasons).  In Europe, however, the film came out first due to a lag of when the TV show made it overseas.

6

Robin Williams was considered for the role of the Joker before Jack Nicholson took on the psychotic clown role.  Williams was again approached to play the Riddler for Batman Forever, but was turned down in favor of up-and-coming manic comedic actor Jim Carrey.

7

Tim Burton’s Batman made a total of $411,348,924 worldwide ($251,188,924 domestically).  It was the highest grossing movie as of 1989, though it was later topped by The Dark Knight at $1,001,921,825 and The Dark Knight Rises at $897,716,000

8

The Batman feature films have had four directors:

• Leslie H. Martinson — Batman (1966)
• Tim Burton — Batman (1989) & Batman Returns (1992)
• Joel Schumacher — Batman Forever (1995) & Batman & Robin (1997)
• Christopher Nolan — Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008) & The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

9

1997’s Batman & Robin was the 12th highest grossing film for that year, making $107,325,195 domestically and a total worldwide gross of $238,207,122.

10

14 actors who played Batman villains had been nominated for Oscars (and several had won).  Of course, all but one was for movies other than the Batman films.  “Villain” means any character that could be considered to be an antagonist in  at any point in the film (spoiler alert!).  They are as follows (in alphabetical order):

1. Marion Cotillard (won)
2. Danny DeVito (for Best Picture)
3. Anne Hathaway
4. Tommy Lee Jones (won)
5. Heath Ledger (won posthumously for The Dark Knight)
6. Burgess Meredith
7. Liam Neeson
8. Jack Nicholson (won 3)
9. Michelle Pfeiffer
10. Eric Roberts
11. Uma Thurman
12. Ken Watanabe
13. Christopher Walken (won)
14. Tom Wilkinson

* Information about the questions and answers taken from IMDb, Wikipedia, and Box Office Mojo.

copyright © 2012 FilmVerse

Related articles

• Movie Series Director Quiz (FilmVerse)
• Tim Burton Quiz (FilmVerse)
• Poll: Spider-man Reboot or Sequel? (FilmVerse)
• Batman by the Numbers – From BATMAN: THE MOVIE to THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (collider.com)
• 15 things to know before ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ (ibnlive.in.com)
• Which of These Nine Men Played Batman Best? (mancave.cbslocal.com)
• The Dark Knight Rises Review (brettsiegelblog.wordpress.com)
• Batman in Film (burkpkrohe.wordpress.com)