to paraphrase something the Joker says to Batman, “The Dark Knight” has rules, and they are the conventions that no movie of this kind can escape. The climax must be a fight with the villain, during which the symbiosis of good guy and bad guy, implicit throughout, must be articulated. The end must point forward to a sequel, and an aura of moral consequence must be sustained even as the killings, explosions and chases multiply. The allegorical stakes in a superhero are raised — it’s not just good guys fighting bad guys, but Righteousness against Evil, Order against Chaos — precisely to authorize a more intense level of violence.

Actually, I think the true media heir to comic books is series television/video. With 22 episodes, you have time for far more character development, and the requirements of form, like the scene necessaire, take up much less resource, and have more impact, because you have been anticipating it so long.

That isn’t my idea, it’s Joss Whedons. I expect him to develop that idea further in his work, which I eagerly anticipate.

By the way, re: The Hulk and Superman Returns. I find these both to be exceptional films. Exceptionally good. No, really. I know I’m in the minority with that opinion, but box office success is not identical to filmmaking success.

Superman Returns was a great piece of work in that it made Superman more interesting than I ever thought he could be.

The Hulk was everything a Hulk movie ought to be, from character to effects, to the three-panel “comic book” visual format.