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With Batman Begins, director Christopher Nolan rescued the Caped Crusader from the cinematic nightmare of nippled batsuits and vaude-villains, reimagining the character in a real, flesh-and-blood Gotham City. In doing so, Nolan accomplished what Tim Burton (Batman, Batman Returns) and Joel Schumacher (Batman Forever, Batman & Robin) could not — he made a Batman movie that was about Batman.

Nolan now faces the challenge of introducing a figure almost as iconic as Batman himself (no, not Robin, thank goodness): the Joker, a homicidal nutcase with a penchant for makeup. Will Nolan and company be able to keep things grounded with a newer, more flamboyant villain? And will the clown prince of crime overshadow the hero as Jack Nicholson's Joker did to Michael Keaton's Batman in Burton's 1989 film? Time will tell but, for now, the movie is looking very, very promising…