The Batman is now on HBO Max, adding to a highly impressive offering of movies and shows from the Warner Bros. Discovery streaming service. To honor the film’s streaming release, this week’s Top Ten Tuesday picks ten of the best Batman comics. The order is relatively rough, so they aren’t numbered, and the influence on Batman movies plays a part in the rankings. Please note that there are minor spoilers for the storylines from the movies and past films (aside from The Batman, which just came out).
Ego and Other Tails
Three of these comics listed had a heavy impact on The Batman (available in a box set), including Ego. These are among the best stories following Batman and his frenemy Catwoman.
Knightfall
Knightfall obviously had a notable influence on Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, the conclusion to his epic trilogy. In this comic, the brutish Bane breaks Batman’s back, dealing the Caped Crusader one of his biggest defeats.
A Death in the Family
It’s unclear whether the Robin in the backstory of Zack Snyder’s DC films was Dick Grayson or Jason Todd, but his death at the hands of the Joker was taken from A Death in the Family. Fans voted on Jason Todd dying in this comic, and—like Bane breaking Batman’s back—it’s right on the cover, so no big spoilers here.
Hush
We heard a lot about the rogue gallery of villains in the lead up to The Batman, and a ton of Batman’s greatest villains came out to play in Hush. We might see connections from this story in the final two films of Matt Reeves’ presumed trilogy.
Dark Victory
We’ll get to the original entry for the sequel Dark Victory, but the follow up from Jeph Loeb is also excellent. It includes a gang war between the Falcone crime family and Two-Face, so perhaps this is something else we’ll see—with a twist—from Reeves’ take.
The New 52
This is cheating to some extent considering Batman: The New 52 included 14 different graphic novels, but a bunch of them could make the top ten. Robert Pattinson read and enjoyed Vol. 1, The Court of Owls.
The Killing Joke
The art from The Killing Joke is fantastic, and Alan Moore dives deep into arguably the most iconic villain in history: The Joker. Some find The Killing Joke overrated, but it’s one of the best Batman versus Joker stories. The more recent Three Jokers also deserves a mention here.
The Dark Knight Returns
The biggest influence on Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller features the most memorable showdown between Batman—in an awesome high-tech suit to help even the odds—and Superman. Zack Snyder took some stunning moments and an older, grittier Batman (Ben Affleck) almost right from the page and put them on screen.
Year One
Also by Frank Miller, Batman: Year One follows Batman and Bruce Wayne during his first year of fighting crime in Gotham City. In some ways, Year One can be seen as a bit of a prequel to The Batman, which follows the controversial hero in his second year as a vigilante.
The Long Halloween
With an influence on both The Dark Knight (and called an “epic tragedy by Christopher Nolan) and The Batman, The Long Halloween by Joseph Loeb tells a memorable story that might make for the best Batman comic ever. Not unlike the Joker and the Riddler being hunted by Batman in The Dark Knight and The Batman, Batman and Jim Gordon try to put the pieces together and catch the mysterious serial killer Holiday in The Long Halloween.