I may be in trouble after this...then again, I think not.

1001 makes room on the list for Batman. Being that my edition was published in 2004, they're talking Michael Keaton's version. Yes this one:



No, not this one:



Now, are they both great movies? Sure. Is there room for both of them on the list.

No.

Would I replace the old with the new?

No.

I know, I know.

Breathe in, breathe out. I promise, I love superhero movies.

But this is the deal. Look at that first trailer again. In Tim Burton's Batman, you're seeing the best of the special effects. Yes, they're rivaling the wizardry of Team America, but in 1989, that was something great. In The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan's trailer barely has to show up in order to smack the original Batman into the corner, steal his milk money and sully his sister's reputation.

At the same time, our Dark Knight could stand to turn around and shake Batman's hand. Sure, before Tim Burton, there had been plenty of Superhero movies and television shows - before that, radio had brought on more than enough action. Many an actor got their start in the business as a hero and made a fine living making movies for kids.

Tim Burton promised to take it a step further for the 80s shiny, super-synthed, computer-obsessed, greed-addled, materialistic, overly active brains. It had to be more than just a Super Hero movie back in the day - it had to be an event. And worse yet, it had to overcome the campyness of a television show that was better known for gargantuan KA-POW!! shots, bat-shark repellent, a crime fighting duo that always buckled up and practiced good grammar. Tim Burton also fought to take Michael Keaton and turn him into the brooding, conflicted Batman who was playboy by day and crime-fighting badass by night.

This was a tall order for anyone. Especially when CGI wasn't even a gleam in anyone's eye. And then you announce your caped crusader is going to be played by the star of Mr. Mom and Beatlejuice. Yes, that guy. Have I mentioned that you're putting him up against Jack Nicholson as the Joker?

Tim Burton was doing the first reboot before we even knew to call them reboots.

Yes, the effects are laughable and yes, the Batmobile looked a little too much like the campy car of old, but there was a roadmap being drawn that would become everything we know about our flawed Superheroes of today. No more mere flashes of doubt or an easily glossed over brush with mortality; Burton was ushering in the era of the flawed hero.

This is where Mr. Mom became sheer genius for the role - who better than someone who had previously been known for comedy to portray a boy struck by tragedy driven to protect a city from itself? Why would the guy previously undead seen trying to marry Wynona Ryder in a formal prison tux suddenly be a conflicted playboy trying to do good anonymously? It makes no sense.

Neither does Batman.

Any other director that's supposedly taken a casting risk on a hero is just pretending compared to what Burton did before him. And this is where Tim gets all the credit. Sure, there's been awesomeness since, but you have to give credit where credit's due.