Alongside Superman and Spider-Man, Batman is one of the best known superheroes of all time - some might even say that he is the most well-known. He first appeared in the comics in 1939, whereas Spider-Man appeared in 1962, whereas Superman in 1938.

And the Dark Knight, unlike the other two, has appeared in no less than 12 movies until now (yup, we are anxious to see at least a teaser for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) - and he has also appeared in some direct-to-video films and animations.

So what is this history of his? How did he develop over the course of time?

The Dark Knight's history on screen

Amateur filmmaker Jacob T. Swinney has taken this task - to compile the most cinematic moments of the Dark Knight's screen appearances. For this he used clips from the following big screen movies: Batman (1943), Batman and Robin (1949), Batman: The Movie (1966), Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993), Batman Forever (1995), Batman & Robin (1997), Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and, of course, The Lego Movie (2014).

Check out the awesome clip below:

72 years in the making

So in 1939 the first issue with the Dark Knight appeared, only to be followed in 1943 by the first appearance on the big screens. Since 1943 until now, there have been 12 appearances of him in big screen movies, including in here The Mask of the Phantasm (this was supposed to be only a video release, but the success of the animation prompted the studio to release it theatrically) and The Lego Movie (be honest, he was the best character in the entire film).

And there are at least 4 more films on the pipe, with Batman v Superman, 2 Justice League films and at least a solo film already confirmed.

So yeah, come to think about it, he is the most popular and the most well-known superhero.