2022 gave us not one but two epic superhero movies. The Batman was DC’s lovechild of violence and darkness. Spider-Man: No Way Home was a fitting conclusion to one of the greatest MCU superhero trilogies ever made. But which superhero movie was better of the two? Was The Batman able to usurp the throne of being the best superhero movie of this year? Or does Spider-Man; No Way Home still reign supreme? Let’s hear both their cases.
The Batman – A True Comic Book Movie
In more ways than one, The Batman sticks to the comic book source material in ways Spider-Man: No Way Home never could. It takes inspirations from multiple award winning DC comics arcs like Batman: Earth Two, Batman: Ego, and Batman: The Long Halloween. These are the major inspirations while other comic book arcs like Batman: The Golden Age Vol. 1 and The Scottish Connection had influenced Reeves’ movie as well. The Batman manages to capture the essence of any good Batman comic book – the dark tone followed by the noir theme and Batman doing what he does best – being the “World’s Greatest Detective”.
Spider-Man: No Way Home – The Nostalgia Factor
The Batman has no grounds to counter No Way Home when it comes to the latter’s play on audience Nostalgia. No Way Home saw the return of some iconic characters from past Sony Spider-Man movies. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield return as Spider-Man. Even popular Sony supervillains like Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin and Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus make a splash. Electro, Sandman, and the Lizard also make an appearance. And every scene involving the three Spider-Men is also legendary, to say the least.
The Batman – A Truly Terrifying Villain
While No Way Home chimes in five villains into a single cauldron, The Batman goes for quality over quantity. The last time we felt our skins crawl when we saw a supervillain in a movie was Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight. It was probably the script and the screenplay that complemented Paul Dano’s Riddler. But boy did he do a good job. Every time he played his move in his little game of chess on the chessboard that was Gotham, we knew something big was going to happen.
Spider-Man: No Way Home – End Of An Era
Spider-Man: No Way Home was the end of an era in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sony has taken back the rights to Spider-Man and Tom Holland will now work for Marvel Studios’ rivals, if things go according to plan that is. That means Tom Holland’s reign of fame in the MCU has come to an end. The movie was a really good farewell to an actor who had one of the best runs in the MCU so far.
The Batman – Pushing The PG-13 Rating To Its Extreme
Okay we know that No Way Home also tried to explore mature themes. But they were too far out there and too little to care. That is not to say the movie was bad. It’s just that a certain sect of audiences have grown out of this formulaic approach to the superhero genre that MCU pioneered. The Batman was full of violence and darkness, down to near epic proportions. It almost felt like we were watching an R-Rated masterpiece. No Way Home could not give that to us.
Spider-Man: No Way Home – The Emotional Conclusion
The Batman’s conclusion was poetic but it left the room for more sequels. The Spider-Man: No Way Home conclusion by far was one of the best superhero movie endings in Hollywood history. Peter returns to MJ and Ned, thinking that he could be their friend once again after Doctor Strange used the memory wipe spell. He realizes that he cannot hold on to that promise because his friends are better off not being a part of his life. Peter realizes to walk the path of a hero, he must walk alone because with great power, comes great responsibility….
