No, not why the soon-to-be-completed Batman trilogy is better than the superman movies. And I would never try to argue that the old Batman movies/TV show were better than… just about anything, really. This is about why the character Batman is better than the character Superman.
If you asked me to rank my favorite superheroes, you'd probably be surprised to find Superman pretty low on the list. Even I can't justify putting him below the assorted random superheroes that no one but avid comic readers have even heard of, but other than perhaps Spiderman, he's about as low as you can get. Why? Face it guys, Superman isn't superhuman… he's superhumanoid.
Dudes, seriously, he's an alien. Worse, he's an alien who can do things that your average superhero would take one look at before swooning into a swamp of self-pity and shame. He's simply not believable. How in the world does he find time for Lois Lane? By rights, he should be flying around the earth "faster than a speeding bullet" 24/7/365 (366 on leaps years) instead of wasting his time at a day job. Sure he's a massive cultural icon, sure he's the most recognizable superhero, sure everybody knows that "S" symbol without a moment's hesitation. But he's just not real.
Batman, on the other hand, is about as real as you can get… at least recently. I'm not a comic book reader or a superhero aficionado by any stretch of the imagination,
but I know a great character when I see one. Especially in Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale's masterpieces Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne is a complex character torn between revenge and justice, love and duty, fear and courage, being a vigilante and being a hero, being human and being superhuman.
He is the Dark Knight, the man who battles the scum of Gotham City on their own turf. He's the man who can take Gotham's darkest secrets, even its hate, because he is a shadow. He cares more about the city than about his image. Bruce doesn't always want to be Batman, but he must be, and so he is.
In short, Batman is a better character because he's human (who doesn't fear swarms of shrieking bats?). He's understandable, and he's far from invincible. You don't need a green shard of exploded planet to take him down, just a few bullets will do. But when Superman leaves earth, Batman stays until he is no longer needed.
That's why if another Superman movie gets made, I'll shrug and wait for a cheap DVD rental if it gets good reviews. But when the last of the Batman movies comes out this year… oh boy, this will be good.
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