According to DC Comics, it’s Batman Day today. So let’s talk about your favourite stories featuring the Dark Knight.
For me, like loads of other fans, it’s really hard to pin it down from just one Batman story. I’m already on the record as a big fan of Venom, the 1991 story from the Legends of the Dark Knight anthology series. Also, this scene from Batman: Year One is a great example of just how much the Dark Knight’s appearance upends the corrupt nature of Gotham City so that’s up there in my personal favourites list.
But the Robin’s Reckoning episode from the mid-1990s Batman: The Animated Series also make my best Batman list too. It’s a good illustration of how adding Robin to the mythos makes Batman better, by giving him someone to help and a way to connect back with emotional ties that were deadened after his own parents died.
Batman’s celebrating his 75th anniversary this year. That’s a lot of stories. Surely you have some that you think other people should know about. The Dark Knight Returns? The Laughing Fish? Return of the Joker? Damien Wayne’s first appearance? A random issue from the old Brave and Bold comics? What are your favourite stories featuring the Dark Knight?
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44 responses to “Show Us Your Favourite Batman Story”
Under the Red Hood.
It treats Bruce as a character instead of merely treating him as “Batman” (it’s like a trope now). It’s an interesting look into his reactions to something that he knows but tries to deny. They don’t insult your intelligence, they flat out reveal the identity of the Red Hood early (because Bruce is the worlds greatest detective) but since it affects him personally he denies the truth until it’s staring at him in his face.
Also ends with the realization of why Batman will never kill someone, even the Joker.
If you like that try The Dark Knight Returns (Frank Miller). The 2 part animated adaptation is seriously worth watching too.
I can’t get over the Joker breaking his own neck! It seems so out of character and I originally though him breaking his neck was all in Bruces mind.
IDK if it’s out of character. I mean, surely it would haunt Batman that Joker did that right? He would blame himself for Jokers death and Joker gets the last laugh… Seems perfectly in character IMHO.
Then why wouldn’t the Joker have done it years before if that’s all he wanted?
He’d finally made Batman lose control which was what he’d been trying to do all along, with his neck already broken he was just finishing the job and branding batman a criminal and a murderer.
I know that but I prefer what I originally saw where the Joker was already dead and he was just imagining him taunting.
Which is reinforced moments later when he tells his corpse to stop laughing, he was still hearing him.
The last laugh was definitely poetic.
Well… The real question is, why didn’t Batman break his neck years ago, isn’t it? It’s the Jokers way of getting the last word in if you know what I mean.
But it’s fine if that’s how you want to see it, it works too and I’m not going to take that away from you. Just, you know, not everyone will see it that way, which is fine too.
I just personally don’t think it’s out of character seeing as he also says to Batman before he does it that everyone will think it was Bats who did it and no one, but himself, will know he didn’t have the stomach. The Jokers last act was to defy and ruin Batmans plan of immobilising him by turning it back on Batman. That’s what the Joker does after all, he defies Batmans logic by doing things that no one else would do, and so making him unpredictable.
And IMO, that’s what the poetic laugh was for. Even after his death, the Joker haunts Bruce. In a way, the Joker won, and had the last laugh.
But like I say, it kinda works your way too.
Batman didn’t break his neck because he didn’t have to (also the Red Hood movie explains he can never go down a path he knows he can’t return from). But now he’s really old and was getting violently stabbed by the Joker. It was probably the final moment he realised his mortality and fought to survive, by losing control and breaking the Jokers neck.
That’s why I originally thought the Joker died instantly at that snap and the resulting conversation was Bruces imagination explaining to himself what he had just done and how he lost. Then his own neck breaking was reality slowly sinking in front of Bruce.
That’s fine if that’s how you see it, and it is a very interesting take on it, but that doesn’t make it fact. I’m not saying you’re wrong either BTW.
Also, the Red hood movie was made long after this book was written. Batman was darker here. But still didn’t kill, mostly, that’s why he ONLY broke Jokers neck. Joker did the rest to spite Batman. At least that’s how it is on the page.
If you want to read into it that’s fine too, but as I am accepting of your opinions, there is no need to act like yours is the only way it could be viewed.
@outatime I didn’t say mine was right, I admitted at the start of what I originally thought.
Hell yes, but mostly because Jason is my favourite DC character.
The final couple of books from the Knightfall trilogy (KnightSaga is the other name), which deals with the aftermath of Batman, Bane and Jean-Paul Valley. Especially right at the end, where Batman returns.
This one.
Justice League Unlimited Batman meets Batman Beyond Terry and Bruce. It’s only a short part of a longer arc that isn’t Batcentric, but Kevin Conroy having a conversation with Kevin Conroy? Amazing!
Also, pretty much all of Batman Beyond.
http://youtu.be/DVdTbiLku48
Comics – The Killing Joke. It only takes one bad day…
TV – Almost Got Him. Batman The Animated Series.
Hush!
Death in the Family, Court of Owls (people hated it but I LOVED it), Nightfall….so much Batman!! I watched The Dark Knight Returns (both parts) last night and will watch the Tim Burton original Batman and probably Under The Red Hood tonight.
Batman obsessed since I was a kid and now as an adult (only by age not by maturity) I can really enjoy him! I even had a 30th Batman themed birthday!
Hush, Long Halloween and Dark Victory are my favorites.
Arkham Asylum is my favourite piece of Bat-media.
Comics wise it’s probably Dark Knight Returns, although I desperately wish that I had a more interesting answer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman:_The_Widening_Gyre#Reception An excellent look into Batman’s past.
There’s so many great ones. Long Halloween comes to mind first, as does Dark Knight Returns.
Knightfall, The Dark Knight Returns, Year One, Death Of the Family, Hush, The Court of Owls. Man, I could go on.
Long Halloween, Court of Owls and The Killing Joke are almost endlessly re-readable to me. Zero Year is shaping up to be a classic as well, the finale comes out today!
Hush and the batman from the flashpoint paradox is a pretty awesome take on it
If anyone is a long standing fan of Batman, they would know one of the best stories were in the Detective series, the story of when Batman got bitten and turned into a Vampire (Bat) and a priest (who seemed a lot like Father Brown sterotype) helped Robin to cure Batman. There were natives that tried Vodoo… those were the times 😉
DKR, The Killing Joke, RIP and HUSH. In that order.
Edit: And the DCAU stuff like Beyond, TAS and Justice League, in that order again.
Hush, The killing joke, death of the family Court of the owls, and even Requiem was pretty good IMO.
The Killing Joke.
A Death in the family will always be my favorite story arc. If your interested you can get trade paperbacks of this all over the place
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman:_A_Death_in_the_Family
Long Halloween for me. Had such a big influence on the Nolan DK movies.
The Dark Knight Returns. I’ve only watched the 2 part animated film but the story is amazing and I highly recommend it. The Frank Miller comic it’s based on is widely regarded as one of the best batman stories ever written. I’m seriously hoping that this is the story they use for the Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice film.
If you can you should check out the comic. It’s so much deeper than the movies character wise.
Although the movies do a great job, they can’t get the entire thought process off the page into the movie because it’s not narrated. Although several times, if you have read the book, you know what Bruce is thinking because of his actions. I guess what I’m saying is that the comic compliments the movies and, for me, was very enjoyable because of how faithful they were to the book and I could fill in the gaps my self.
Although you may not like the slower pacing and TV cut in’s. Personally I don’t mind at all, but some people do.
I’ll definitely have to read it now, how accurate was the encounter with the Joker? I’m seriously hoping that gets written into Zack Snyders Batman somehow (he has mentioned being a huge fan of Dark Knight Returns), I’d even heard a rumour that Joaquin Phoenix might play Joker in the future.
Very similar, maybe a little darker. Does Batman throw a Batarang in Jokers eye first in the movie, I cant remember ATM.
http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/battle61.jpg
Yeah he does. Looks pretty damn close to the animation as well.
Put it too you this way, DKR is my fav comic. If they had changed much I would have been very upset. As it stands I loved the animations. Part one was a little better though IMHO.
The Killing Joke was the first TPB I ever owned, holds a special mention whenever I think of Batman. Apart from that, I’ve really enjoyed the work from Jeph Loeb (Long Halloween, Dark Victory, Hush), Frank Miller (The Dark Knight Returns and Year One), and Scott Snyder’s current contributions (The Dark Mirror, Court of Owls).
The Batman Black and White anthologies from the mid-90s were amazing for their stark perspectives on Batman as a character.
Contagion. Because it was followed up with Detective Comics #700 which was AWESOME
Batman eats a hotdog. It’s 19 seconds long of your life that you won’t regret.
‘Nuff said