Slumdog versus the Bat, developing....

AP News: "The Dark Knight" is the box-office behemoth with the deceased acting front-runner whose name everyone knows. "Slumdog Millionaire" is the out-of-nowhere surprise with a cast no one ever heard of before.

Thursday's Academy Awards nominations could set up a duel between those two rarities: One a superhero saga so esteemed that it has lifted the comic-book genre into best-picture territory, the other a tiny tale whose rags-to-riches theme mirrors the film's rise to success.