Criminals are a superstitious and cowardly lot. So my disguise must be able to strike terror into their hearts. I must be a creature of the night, black, terrible..a..a..a bat!

It's Batman weekend around here, as the latest (and maybe the greatest) movie about the Caped Crusader opens.

Batman has always fascinated me. When I was little, the Adam West TV series rivaled Lost in Space as my favorite show. My brother even had a pedal car Batmobile that was the envy of all the neighborhood kids.

When I turned into a comics crack addict later in life, I shied away from Bats, as I saw him as just another campy addition to the dreadful lineup of DC Comics. (I was a Marvel fan.) Yet, sometimes, I would pick up a copy of Detective Comics that hinted at the shadowy, angst-ridden figure Batman ought to have been. When Frank Miller produced The Dark Knight Returns, it was one of the happiest moments in a geek boy's life.

I had high hopes for the first real Batman movie, in spite of my doubts about its director and star. Today, you say "Tim Burton's directing" and most everyone goes woohoo!. Back then, I only knew him for directing Pee Wee's Big Adventure and Beetle Juice. Not exactly Dark Knight material. And Michael Keaton as Batman???

Well, the movie was fun. Of course, Jack Nicholson stole the show, but Keaton was a pretty cool Batman. At the very least, from the TV commercials he had my 3-year-old running around getting up real close to your face and whispering, "I'm Batman!" which was highly amusing. But it still wasn't Batman: Year One.

I have high hopes for Batman Begins, now. Christian Bale has been a favorite around here since Newsies (which my daughter used to watch over and over and over and...), so that's a plus. The early reviews are positive, except for the one from the Sentinel critic, which I always view as a good sign. So, we'll be off our dollar movie kick this weekend and dipping into the trust fund to go see it. I'll let you know how it turns out.