To start, let’s revisit some comic book history. In 1939’s Detective Comics #27, “The Bat-Man” was so named before he was ever simply “Batman.” The very first Batman story is a mystery in the truest sense, where the very case is the identity of the criminal-haunting, urban cryptid-like figure of “The Bat-Man” itself—revealed only at the end of the story to be millionaire playboy Bruce Wayne. The inclusion of the “the” may not seem like a big difference, but it’s one which sets a completely different tone for the “Bat-Man” entity. “Batman,” isolated, suggests a mere colorful figure who inhabits the eclectic Gotham City. But “The Batman” suggests something entirely singular. An entirely unique factor in its own right, which must be singled out.

“The” Batman is not one of you. It has no comparison or equal. Batman is somewhere between bat and man. “The” Batman cannot be comprehended, and therefore cannot be stopped. Like the pulp heroes of “The Shadow” or “The Phantom” before him, The Bat-Man was designed to be a figure of unknowable terror to those who would terrify as much as he was an exciting adventure hero. So too in The Batman film does our hero embody the stated purpose of the Bat-signal itself. It’s not just a signal—it’s a warning.

But there’s a reason that comparison is at the very beginning of the film. The Batman, that terrifyingly inhuman embodiment of terror meant to frighten criminals into complacency at the mere idea of it, is only how we’re meant to think of the title at the start. One of the most fascinating facets of the film is that as the haunted Bruce Wayne’s conception of himself and his mission must evolve, so must our own.