Watch: The Evolution Of Batman Rises In 10-Minute Retrospective Video

Batman’s On Screen EvolutionThe Caped Crusader is getting ready to once again come out of his cave for this Friday’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” And with early reports suggesting a multitude of things, it’s undoubtedly another chapter in The Bat’s storied, occasionally bumpy history in film. From his on-screen debut in 1943, Batman has been around almost as long as the movie-making business has itself, and his evolution has certainly ranged from grim to goofy, and somewhere in-between. This is brought to light about The Dark Knight himself in this new historical retrospect video, “The Evolution of Batman in Television and Film,” from Vimeo user Burger Fiction.

Though the video focuses more on the character’s transformation from the late ‘80s onward, it makes a strong case for how the vigilante superhero has jumped tones, styles and even genres throughout the past couple decades or so. And there’s a more-than-respectable amount of attention given to the DC legend’s counterpart animated appearances, from 1977’s “The New Adventures of Batman” to 2016’s “Batman: Bad Blood.” In fact, his animated appearances get the greater deal of attention than the live-action ones do here — which is only appropriate given, you know, his comic book origins and all. Plus, even Lego Batman from “The Lego Movie” gets some love.

Though limited in terms of giving any context on the different interpretations, Burger Fiction nevertheless gives a diverse, well-rounded examination of the character, and serves a good reminder of how much the character has shaken things up on-screen in both personality and appearance, not simply in the past few years through the decades. And whether or not that change will be for the better or worse this weekend, check out the ever-evolving history behind Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego below.