The 10 Greatest Film and TV Superheroes

As played by Christian Bale in 2008's The Dark Knight, the Caped Crusader is what he was meant to be in Bob Kane's original and Frank Miller's bleak rethink — the most haunted and haunting superhero ever. Bale is electrifying as the fallibly human crimefighter at war with his own conscience and the Joker, the supervillain immortally embodied by Oscar winner Heath Ledger. So what if Batman, living as playboy Bruce Wayne, has no superpowers? He has a mind on hyperdrive and all those wonderful toys, starting with the Batmobile. Bale chillingly renders his Dark Knight as a lost warrior, evoking Al Pacino in The Godfather II in his delusion and desolation. The best of the twisted best.

The 10 Best Movies of 2010