By Brian Lowry

Few people have done more to lead comic books from cinematic punchline to box-office dominance than Michael E. Uslan, who spent a decade trying to sell Hollywood on a dark, serious version of Batman. For the producer and Warner Bros., the eventual reward was Tim Burton’s 1989 hit “Batman,” followed by producing credits on dozens of Dark Knight projects over the last 35 years.

Uslan’s perspective thus seems particularly relevant at a pivotal moment for the superhero movie, which is seeking a resurgence behind “Superman” and “Fantastic Four: First Steps,” with the promising opening for the former suggesting the process might be at least partway there. The longtime producer, after all, has seen his fair share of boom and bust periods for the genre.