How many porn directors have had the opportunity to mount big-budget extravaganzas tackling two completely different incarnations of the same beloved comic book character? Probably none, we’d guess, but if there’s anyone for the job, it’s Axel Braun, who handles the gloomy seriousness of Christopher Nolan’s Batman universe every bit as deftly here as he did the Technicolor campiness of the ‘60s TV show in 2011 AVN Best Parody – Comedy winner Batman XXX: A Porn Parody.

Actually, Braun’s Dark Knight, as he explains in disc two’s behind the scenes featurette, is based more on the Arkham City video game than Nolan’s trilogy—which may actually appeal more to hardcore Batgeeks, given their decidedly lackluster reception especially of this summer’s The Dark Knight Rises. Still, many of the same characters from those films appear, including a far less grating—and by extension more genuinely menacing—Bane (Derrick Pierce).

Giovanni Francesco delivers a star-making turn as Batman/Bruce Wayne, lured out of seclusion at a lodge in the wintery wilderness by Catwoman (Braun’s contract girl, Aiden Ashley) to save Gotham from Bane’s terrorism. Francesco, as we also learn in the BTS, happens to be a trained martial artist, as does Pierce, so their climactic fight scene packs a serious punch (pardon the pun)—far more convincing than most of what we’ve seen before on the XXX screen.

But let’s be honest—fight scenes aren’t at the top of the list of what people look for in their smut. And the biggest selling point of this baby is almost certainly Ashley’s debut dipping of her toes into the boy/girl pool (her contract with Braun stipulates that she’ll only perform b/g in his movies, and this marks the first time he’s invoked that clause, so to speak). In fact, she does it twice: first in a one-on-one with Francesco (when she drops in on his hideout), and later in a three-way with Pierce and Andy San Dimas … for whom, ironically, the scene now represents one of her very last times taking a penis on camera. Both scenes are absolutely top-notch—you’d think Ashley was a seasoned pro at shellacking schlongs, and she seems to relish every second of it. San Dimas, of course, never disappoints, so adding her into the mix makes for a doubly explosive showdown.

They’re far from the only ones who deliver the goods here, though; Penny Pax does a breakout job in the part of Batgirl, including performing a very acrobatic anal scene opposite a terrific Brendon Miller as the Joker. An equally terrific Brian Street Team as Nightwing has a steamy session in a factory basement with a scintillating-looking Dani Jensen as Poison Ivy (who’s sure to drive redophiles wild with the ginger bush she sports to match the mane). And brand-spanking newcomer Christy Mack, donning the magical top hat of Zatanna, gives John Constantine (Clarke Kent) a private demonstration in her dressing room of her astounding dick-down-the-throat routine.

For those disappointed by Dark Knight Rises—and there are many—this may serve as a refreshing antidote. For others just seeking some red-hot Bat-action, they’ll be downright enthralled. Either way, the ending leaves things wide open for a sequel, so expect more Dark Knight dirtiness to come.