• Hey Guest. Check out your NeoGAF Wrapped 2025 results here!

Who did Batman better? Nolanverse or Rocksteady/WB?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Nolan I guess. His characters are uniformly better IMHO.

It's not a great comparison though. RS did a great job given it had to be a game and the graphics would better suit a comic book vibe.

Nolan had to create something that could support actors and character arcs and withstand more pressure to seem believable.

Both did terrific jobs in my view.
 
Opto said:
Granted I haven't played all of the Batman games, but I assume he doesn't kill anyone/let them die.

Nolan Batman didn't give a fuck about Catwoman killing Bane or himself killing Talia.
Click to expand...

Batman breaking his rule was part of the story, not something Nolan just ignored. Batman was forced to kill when his unstoppable force met an immovable object. The two times he killed people (Dent and Talia) he gave up being Batman, the second time permanently, it's not like he just carried on as normal. He realised he couldn't maintain the rule without letting Gotham be destroyed.
 
I like Nolan's Batman for a particular reason: it's a spin on the character not typically seen. In Nolanverse, Batman really is just a character for Bruce Wayne; a theatrical creation. It seems clear Wayne is the real man, working through his problems.

As such, he can't continue being Batman forever, and his story comes to a logical close after he's done everything he can with the character, leaving it for someone else to take on after himself.

I do feel that Rocksteady has taken a lot of inspiration from the Nolanverse in terms of visually grounding costumed super heroes and villains with a realistic texture. But their games obviously forgo trying to justify Batman as something too plausible. Rocksteadyverse has mutants and super powers and whatnot. Batman is impossibly tough, unlike Nolan's human Bruce Wayne.

The Nolan approach does invite deeper and more natural characterization, since it is shooting for an almost plausible reality. Rocksteady keeps things more or less stock comic book in terms of characters, just with a slight flavoring of realistic human beings under the superhero and supervillain masks.
 
Nolanverse. The Dark Knight is right up there as one of the greatest Batman stories ever.

The stories in Rocksteady's games are fucking garbage. Arkham Origins was a lil bit better, but still not that great.

Haven't played Arkham Knight yet (I'll start today) but I'm not expecting much.

I'm also not a fan of Rocksteady's idea of Batman as a silverback gorilla in a batsuit. His proportions looked ridiculously bad in those first 2 games.
 
Not really a fair comparison... Movies and games are completely different.

I'd pick Nolan but Rocksteady did an amazing job aswell for a video game. I don't think any will be beating in their respective areas for a long time.
 
I...gotta go with Nolan. I'm not a huge fan of the Nolan films but at least they have ideas and interesting takes on the material. The WB games are fanservice wankery, wrapped up in the most violent parts of the Batman fantasy
 
Ushojax said:
Batman breaking his rule was part of the story, not something Nolan just ignored. Batman was forced to kill when his unstoppable force met an immovable object. The two times he killed people (Dent and Talia) he gave up being Batman, the second time permanently, it's not like he just carried on as normal. He realised he couldn't maintain the rule without letting Gotham be destroyed.
Click to expand...

Well that's dumb and not Batman
 
Kai Dracon said:
I like Nolan's Batman for a particular reason: it's a spin on the character not typically seen. In Nolanverse, Batman really is just a character for Bruce Wayne; a theatrical creation. It seems clear Wayne is the real man, working through his problems.

As such, he can't continue being Batman forever, and his story comes to a logical close after he's done everything he can with the character, leaving it for someone else to take on after himself.

I do feel that Rocksteady has taken a lot of inspiration from the Nolanverse in terms of visually grounding costumed super heroes and villains with a realistic texture. But their games obviously forgo trying to justify Batman as something too plausible. Rocksteadyverse has mutants and super powers and whatnot. Batman is impossibly tough, unlike Nolan's human Bruce Wayne.

The Nolan approach does invite deeper and more natural characterization, since it is shooting for an almost plausible reality. Rocksteady keeps things more or less stock comic book in terms of characters, just with a slight flavoring of realistic human beings under the superhero and supervillain masks.
Click to expand...

Get out of here with your sense-making! I agree, btw...
 
Zack Snyder. We'll see.

Seriously though, I don't like either Nolan's or Rocksteady's take on Batman. I mean Nolan's Batman in Begins was good, but it's more of the Bruce Wayne character in the film rather than the actual Batman. In later movies he's kinda meh. Rocksteady's Batman has always been an asshole, and I don't see him changes much in Arkham Knight (I'm don't remember if he is that much of an asshole in Asylum like he was in City, cuz I haven't play it in years). WB Montreal's Batman is a bit better than Rocksteady's imo but that doesn't say much.

I like Timm's Batman best.
 
Nolan did a bunch of movies about an obnoxious dude with a funky voice, Rocksteady made a love letter to Batman. Not even close.
 
Rocksteady by a fucking mile and then some

I still love Begins and love Nolans other work, Memento in particular. But Rocksteady nailed the atmosphere of Gotham, perhaps not the most important "character" but certainly the one that is the very soul of "Batman"
 
Burton > Arkham/Rocksteady > TAS >>>>>>>> Nolan.
For an extra kick in the teeth, I'd also take Batman and Robin over every single Nolan film.
not joking
 
SuperInuit said:
Burton > Arkham/Rocksteady > TAS >>>>>>>> Nolan.
For an extra kick in the teeth, I'd also take Batman and Robin over every single Nolan film.
not joking
Click to expand...

You'd take a shit big budget pale imitation of the 60s TV series over Begins?

You must really hate Batman.
 
Opto said:
Nolan made Batman start out as an asshole, then in the Dark Knight it seemed like he was finally Batman, but then he went back to being a total asshole.

But a ton of Arkham game footage I see makes Batman like a torturing sociopath
Click to expand...

Finally? Begins was probably the best Batman movie ever outside of first Burton one. Captured Gotham, Batman, and Bruce Wayne is perfect light, IMO.

The only thing Dark Knight had over Begins was the Joker. I found TDK to be pretty lackluster in terms of capturing how Batman operates and how Gotham really is.
 
I like both. The stories in the Rocksteady games are ridiculously dumb (even for superherp comic books), but they actually make you feel like Batman with the combat and the detective mechanics. And the Nolan films are kind of at their worst when Batman is on screen (exaggerated) and the action sequences are mostly pretty forgettable.
 
Rocksteady. It was like playing the Bruce Timm univers, but more mature and dark in a way they couldn't do on the show.

Arkham nailed the characters and atmosphere IMO; and they made some characters "realistic" without resorting to boring design like Nolan films.

Plus the relationship between Batman and the family, and Batman and his Rogues is superb.
 
The story is obviously shit, but I appreciate the Arkham games for making Gotham actually feel like Gotham, instead of 'generic modern city' like Nolan did. Also, batman wasn't really a detective in the Nolan movies. He had a few detective scenes but its just not anywhere near enough. Also, what the fuck with Batman's voice in his movies. So terrible. And the way he fights is just super bland. Gimme a bunch of cool stealth shit and shadowy stuff.
 
I was just thinking about this last night actually. I originally liked Nolan's the most, but after playing all the Arkham games and now being about 75% through Knight, I can safely say Rocksteady blows Nolan out of the water. Rocksteady's just so much more interesting and Gotham feels like a distinct place. Also, the story is just so much better.
 
Rocksteady is terrible they have no idea how write Batman. Arkham Knight is worse which I didn't think possible.

Closest we got was WB showing the young brash Batman before the rise of his Super villain era.
 
I like Burton's version. Especially Returns. I thought it's the closest to how Batman and Gotham has been portrayed in the comic.

The next in line after that is Rocksteady's version.

As for Nolan's version, I'm not fond of it. Gotham looks like...some random city in the US.
 
Rocksteady/wb of course. We actually got characters representing who they were.

With Nolan's world those like Ivy, clay face, etc wouldn't even exist and those that are in both for instance like ra's al ghul and talia the rocksteady versions again are the superior. Nolan ones are so neutered and removed from what the characters are.
 
Even for all the issues you can point to with the plot in Nolan's films, the plots still feel like more than the thinnest of threads to string a bunch of villains together. Rocksteady, on the other hand...
 
Oni Actual said:
Even for all the issues you can point to with the plot in Nolan's films, the plots still feel like more than the thinnest of threads to string a bunch of villains together. Rocksteady, on the other hand...
Click to expand...

You know what that really reminds me of? Jeph Loeb's stories.

Talk about long, drawn out nonsense sticking in villains every issue just for the hell of it.
 
This is a rough comparison, because Nolan really did his own thing (and for that reason I have to give Nolanverse the nod, even if long term I prefer to enjoy the world of Rocksteady's Batman).

And that's because Rocksteady's Batman is a patchwork/pastiche effort that basically takes the best of all the Batman incarnations and folds them into one - Burton, the Animated Series, Nolanverse - hell, some of the more bombastic icons even feel evocative of the 60's series.

I mean, I think that was their goal. The games are the perfect place to blend everything together. The games really borrow heavily from TAS (down to the voice actors), and the soundtrack is obviously leaning heavily on all previous Batman incarnations.

So yes, Nolanverse gets the nod from me for carving out a new iteration of Batman that was ideal for film.
 
Nolan Batman has the characterization of a rock; Christian Bale was a bad choice, but at least the movies were competently made, for the most part.

Rocksteady Batman is at least voiced by the proper man, Kevin Conroy, so that comes across despite the gorillaman look to him.

I mean, i guess the question is interesting because both choices leave a lot to be desired.
 
Rocksteady, if only for handling characters like Talia and Scarecrow way, way better than the Nolan films. Both had fantastic Jokers, though. (I'd even say the Nolanverse version is the more interesting take, actually)

That said, Timm's take on the universe is still the definitive one in my eyes.

True Savior said:
Nolanverse is the single greatest incursion in the history of Batman (and by several country miles). The order is the following :

Nolan bros > Dennis O'Neil > Grant Morrison > Steve Englehart > Whoever wrote the 2 Burton movies > Scott Snyder >Greg Rucka > Billy Finger > Ed Brubaker

Rocksteady games are narrative aberrations. They are in the bottom of the barrel in Batman's legacy

I dont like anything Timm did with Batman. TAS is a lousy show and his runs are trite.
Click to expand...

Man, this is one of the worst opinions I've ever read.
 
Yeah this is a poll thread if I ever saw one. Split right down the middle. I prefer Nolan slightly because I thought the Rocksteady art style was a little too over the top.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

  • Poll
Who is the better actor, Will Smith or Maggie Smith?
12
570
Avid Reading Horse replied
  • Poll
Who's the better filmmaker: Christopher Nolan or Martin Scorsese?
2
90
2K
Sonik replied
How did you get better at handling conflict?
2
60
2K
kpopSuperstar replied
  • Poll
Which rapper is better: Will Smith or 2Pac
44
1K
Chuck Berry replied
  • Poll
Superman (1978) vs Batman (1989) vs Spider-Man (2002)
2
81
822
MrCunningham replied
Top Bottom