Question for fans of Batman films

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I know I'm probably opening up a can of worms by creating this topic, since I know how passionate Batman fans can be. But this question occurred to me the other day and I'm really curious to see how people will respond:

Do people watch Batman movies because they like Batman himself, or does the appeal mostly lie in the portrayals of the villains? From my experience I tend to see more discussions, fanart and general fan love for Batman's enemies rather than Batman himself and I wonder if it's just my perception or if there really is some truth to it. I admit that the biggest reason why I bought "Batman Returns" (other than the fact that it's a Tim Burton movie) is the fact that I think that Danny Devito's Penguin is awesome.

I wouldn't call myself a Batman fan but if I had to choose a superhero story, I'd pick Batman.
And that's mainly because of its villains but also because of the relationship between Batman and the villains and because of the overall bleak (and maybe realistic) depiction of society.
Unlike other superhero-stories, Batman's villains are all mentally damaged and somehow you can sympathize with them, feel sorry for them at times. They are not all 100% bad and they may have never been completely evil. And even if you look at Batman himself, he kind of resembles the villains. He isn't just the opposite, he isn't just light and they're all darkness (metaphorically speaking). The city of Gotham itself, is not a happy thriving city and it's not all gloom, it's a grey area where you can't judge either heroes or villains just like that. They are all part of this ambiguos greyness.

But since I'm not a Batman fan and actually don't know that much about Batman, that's just my superficial perception of the Batman universe.

Batman has a lot of qualities that set him apart and make him interesting. Being a well trained fighter, adept at science, and perhaps above all a shrewd detective. Yes his arsenal of gadgets and vehicles is impressive to, but in the end after confronting and interrogating criminals, it's time to return to the BatCave lab and review the information and evidence.

Batman is probably the best all around superhero forensics man and detective. I think this quality is sometimes contrasted against powerful characters like Superman. Superman is all about doing the right thing and noble motives, but he is sometimes shown to lack something Bruce Wayne has.

Otherwise, in the recent films my favorite villain was actually Two Face. Perhaps because he's a fallen character who crossed the line Bruce Wayne and sworn not to. In a way I see Two Face representing the potential dark path Batman could easily take by becoming a killer and eventually a villain only fighting other villains as rivals.

Frankly, I do seem more interested in the villains, particularly in the Burton/Schumacher films. Jack Nicholson's Joker, Danny Devito's Penguin, Arnold Schwarzenegger's Mr. Freeze, but mostly Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face and Jim Carrey's Riddler. I found those guys were more fun than Batman in those movies.

I guess for me it's kinda both. Batman is awesome, but his villains are just as great. In the 90's animated series most of the best episodes revolve around the villains such as Almost Got Im and Birds of a Feather and in the movies the villains are usually the ones that are the scene stealers such as Jack Nicholson as The Joker in Batman (89) and Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. I guess it's the Joker who the one Batman Villain who outshines him.

I think what is interesting about a movie is driven by character developement. In the Super Hero genre sometimes the Super Hero character becomes a static know quality. It's at that point that the other characters tend to become more interesting. Usually this means that the Villains become the driving force behind the stories. I think this is why you see so many "reboots" in the Super Hero genre. You just reach the point where it's hard to tell a compelling story without redefining the main character.

When a superhero movie is coming out people usually wanna know who the villain is gonna be, especially when it's a sequel. For example when Batman Begins was in development people were probably interested in knowing who was gonna play Batman before the villain was announced. When The Dark Knight was coming out people were definately interested in the villain because we all know who is gonna play Batman. Of course we wern't guessing because we knew it was gonna be The Joker due to the Joker card at the end of Batman Begins. Then of course The Dark Knight Rises was really the one that had us all wondering who the villain was gonna be and alot of people assumed it could have been The Riddler due to some hints from The Dark Knight, but to everyones suprise (me included) it was Bane.

Think about it, the untitled sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man comes out in 2014 and right now people are wondering who the villain is gonna be and the obvious choice due to the hints would be The Green Goblin.