Last night I saw Batman Begins, and it was awesome! It resurrects the Batman franchise that Joel Schumacher destroyed with corny plots, neon colors, and the most idiotic Batmobile ever.

However, the thing that struck me the most about the movie was how handsome Christian Bale is. I've seen him in several other movies, and I've never thought of him as especially good looking. On the drive home from the theater, it occurred to me that it's the fact that he played a hero that makes him attractive. The hero he portrays appeals to my basic instinct of needing a male protector, like women did back in the cave man days. I realized that this was true of many other actors who have played superheros or just any character that defends people. Here's a list.

1) Christian Bale - He was okay in Little Women, but really, how cute can a guy be when his character's name is Laurie? However, put him in latex and give him bat ears and cape and ooh lah lah!

2) Hayden Christensen - When I first saw him in Life As a House, I didn't think he was very cute. For one thing his character wears more make-up than Michael Jackson. But give him a lightsaber, a fake tan, and a six pack in Star Wars, and I'm willing to forgive him of anything, even killing a few hundred Jedi.

3) Tobey Maguire - He was just plain ugly in Seabiscuit, but in Spider-Man he was the perfect blend of nerd and cute. I've always preferred the computer lab geek to the weight room jock, but Tobey's Peter Parker gave me an excellent mix of both.

4) Viggo Mortensen - In A Perfect Murder I struggled with the attraction Gwyneth Paltrow's character had to his brooding artist. However, when I saw him in The Lord of the Rings, not only did I understand Arwen's love of Aragorn, I wanted to stretch out my ears and grow out my hair to steal him for myself.

5) Hugh Jackman - He is an example of the reverse of my theory. I was first introduced to him as Wolverine in X-Men. Now, though, he's in Broadway play that requires him to wear animal print pants and hosts the Tony Awards. He was really, really hot before, but now, not so much.

I'm not too picky about what men look like because truthfully, humor and intelligence are more attractive to me than anything else. However, give any man superior butt-kicking powers, and chances are good I'll fall for him like a stone, no matter what he looks like.