From THE LONG HALLOWEEN To DEATH OF THE FAMILY: The 6 BATMAN Storylines Fans Want To See Made Into A Trilogy

Matt Reeves has previously indicated that while he has ideas for a Batman trilogy, he simply wants to focus on one film at a time. 'Luckily for Matt', we're doing a bit of research for him.

By MarkJulian - Aug 06, 2017 02:08 PM EST

Filed Under: Batman

Last month, during the promotional tour for War for the Planet of the Apes, Matt Reeves simply couldn't escape questions about The Batman. A lot of them were centered on Ben Affleck's involvement and enthusiasm to remain in the DCEU but there was lone subject that sparked our interest- whether Reeves has planned out a trilogy or if he's taking things one film at a time.

Reeves responded, "I have ideas about an arc, but really, the important thing is just to start… you have to start with one. You know, you have to start with a story that begins something."

Well since Reeves is being cautious about a new Batman trilogy, we asked our followers on Twitter and Facebook to pick a storyline from the comics that they would like to see Reeves and Affleck tackle. Of the nearly 3,000 votes, here are the top 6 stories picked.

6. The Rise of Damian Wayne

Coming in last place was the 2006 Batman and Son story arc from Grant Morrison and Andy Kubert's run on the title. The series introduced the Caped Crusader's biological son Damian Wayne, the byproduct of an ill-conceived tryst with Talia al Ghul. Raised by his grandfather, Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins, Damian was trained to be a lethal killer from the moment he could walk. His Punisher-esque ideology often clashes with the "no-kill" rule of Batman.

Merciless and unrelenting, Damian Wayne would actually make a perfect sidekick for the cinematic version of Ben Affleck's Batman (unless he's changed his murderous ways in the aftermath of Batman v Superman). It's plausible the DCEU could skip Tim Drake and jump straight to Damian but based on the poll results, Damian isn't the Robin fans want to see.

Batman: The Long Halloween is a 13-issue limited series from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, which was published in 1996. There were actually elements of The Long Halloween in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight as Loeb's limited series begins with Batman, Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Dent entering into a pact to take down the Falcone Crime Family by bending the rules if necessary but never crossing the line into actual criminality.

However, there was not much else lifted and the larger developments around the Holiday killer, Calendar Man and Two-Face were largely left untouched. In this setting, Gotham is firmly in control of the crime families and it's the various villains of Batman's rogues gallery who are in their employ (and unlike The Dark Knight, they never upset this balance). With Reeves previously stating that he wants to depict a noir, detective-driven version of the Caped Crusader there's no better example of this than The Long Halloween.

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4. The Joker Loves Batman And Can No Longer Tolerate His Infidelity

The most recent Batman storyline in our list, Death of the Family is a 23-issue comic book arc from Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo that was first began in 2012. It's a pseudo-continuation of 1988's A Death in the Family, which saw the Joker murder Jason Todd (more on that later). In the new arc, the Joker has decided to kill ALL of Batman's numerous sidekicks, family and friends as he believes they've made the Dark Knight grow soft and weak in comparison to his solo days.

The Joker ultimately fails to carry out the exact intent of his plan but ultimately drives an irreparable wedge between Batman and his allies, symbolically "killing the family." With the DCEU establishing that Batman has had a falling out with any potential allies, a prequel that tackles Death of the Family would be one entertaining way to depict such a split.

And if you think that story's crazy the follow-up arc, Batman: Endgame gets much weirder as Snyder introduces the notion that the Joker is immortal and has been playing a game of cat-and-mouse with Batman for decades out of boredom.

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3. The Batman Story That Blindsided The Industry

Jeph Loeb returns to the list, with his 2002 Batman story arc Hush, which saw Jim Lee providing art. In DC Comics' storied history, there have been several criminal masterminds manipulating Batman's usual cast of rogues from behind the scenes but none were ever quite on the level of Hush. The wild plot sees Batman led on a globe-spanning goose chase to determine Hush's identity- with the Capes Cruaser first believing it to be Ra's al Ghul pulling the strings and then a resurrected Jason Todd before ultimately discovering it to be Thomas Elliot, his old childhood friend.

On paper, the plot of Hush reads as if it drew inspiration from One Life To Live but it has endured in the 15 years since its debut as one of the most cerebral Batman stories ever written. Comic book fans have been fantasizing about seeing Ben Affleck's real-life bestie Matt Damon play Thomas Elliot ever since Affleck was first announced to be playing the role of the Caped Crusader. While Affleck has ceded creative control to Reeves, perhaps he still has enough vested interest to put Damon in the role if that's where Reeves is headed?.

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2.They Watch You At Your Hearth, They Watch You In Your Bed

Not to be outdone by Loeb, Scott Snyder also makes a second return to the list with the Batman story arc that made him a household name (within comic book reading households),The Court of the Owls. Coming in second with 29% of the vote, Snyder and Greg Capullo's first arc in the New 52 saw the Gotham City secret society introduced and revealed that they've been influencing and manipulating events in Batman's city long before the Dark Knight ever donned the cap and cowl. Adding to their menace are the immortal Talon assassins who embark on covert missions at the behest of the Court and prove deadly adversaries for Batman, Nightwing and the rest of the Bat-family.

In the final issue, Snyder puts a bow on his epic tale with the reveal that Thomas and Martha Wayne secretly had another son and that he was the mastermind behind much of the attack on Bruce and the rest of Gotham. If time reveals that Ben Affleck does indeed want out of the role of Batman, it's not hard to imagine a scenario where the roles have been switched and Affleck is the Court of Owls member and the real Bruce Wayne has been locked away somewhere.

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1. You Want To Stop Me? You're Going TO Have To Kill Me.

With 44% of the vote, the overwhelming favorite comic book storyline that fans want to see Reeves tackle is Batman: Under the Red Hood. A Batman story arc that began during Judd Winick and Doug Mahnke's run on the title in 2005, 'Under the Hood' sees Batman's greatest mistake return to haunt him and with deadly consequences. As previously mentioned in our Death of the Family slot, 1988 would see the Joker kill the second Robin Jason Todd in brutal fashion and that tragedy is a moment that haunts and defines Batman for the 17 years that follow.

However, Todd eventually returns in 2005, thanks to Ra's al Ghul's Lazarus Pit (lets just ignore Superboy Prime punching the fabric of reality) and he's hellbent on getting revenge against the Joker and working through his disappointment that Batman didn't immediately avenge his death by killing the Clown Prince of Crime himself. The series also has ties to our #3 entry, 2002's Batman: Hush where seeds are first planted that Todd may still be alive.

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice strongly hints that there's already been a Robin who's paid the ultimate price protecting Gotham and it doesn't appear to be Dick Grayson as there's a Nightwing movie currently in development. That logically leaves Jason Todd as the likely identity of the fallen Boy Wonder. Such a film adaptation could easily redeem Jared Leto's Joker and expand upon one of the many (seemingly random) allusions to events that have occured prior to what's been shown on film thus far.

Do you agree with the list that our social media followers have ranked? Let us know in the usual spot below.

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92 Comments

1 2 3

Unites - 8/6/2017, 3:09 PM

Isn't that 'Next-button' an exclusive Josh Wilding thing anymore?

ELAYEM - 8/6/2017, 3:12 PM

1. Court of Owls
2. Under the Hood
3. Hush

ELAYEM - 8/6/2017, 3:14 PM

Then Batman Beyond after the trilogy

RancidBane - 8/6/2017, 3:12 PM

1. Mask of the Phantasm
2. Hush
3. Long Halloween

RancidBane - 8/6/2017, 3:12 PM

Court of Owls would be great too

NinnesMBC - 8/6/2017, 3:13 PM

Hush is my fave of them all. Hush has never been done on live-action either.

Not too enthusiastic about Joker being immortal or the Court having a 2nd Wayne son. I think those stories can do just fine without those.

ELAYEM - 8/6/2017, 3:16 PM

@NinnesMBC - Immortal Joker and a 2nd Wayne son were both ambiguous, could be true or false, and both were leaning toward lies told by the villain.

CaptainMexico - 8/6/2017, 3:25 PM

@NinnesMBC - ya hush is great, so many good cameos and rogues...good layer cake story. Good artwork too. Those are comics that I have never let get permanently borrowed haha.

Asturgis - 8/6/2017, 3:30 PM

@NinnesMBC - I loved Hush as well (he could be the true villain in The Batman, and have contracted Deathstroke as a decoy), but as a story, I think Heart of Hush worked even better. Have you read it? When Hush literally steals Catwoman's heart and Batman has to find it before she dies? Extraordinary.

LEVITIKUZ - 8/6/2017, 3:38 PM

@Asturgis - yes!!!! Finally someone who thinks Heart of Hush is superior to Hush

I love Hush but it is in a way too big & in the end nothing big happens besides Jason's body gone.

But in Heart of Hush, having Tommy become what he hates most in Bruce to destroy his name & family legacy while at the same time stealing Selina's heart forcing Batman to not waste a second because she's the one he cares for most.

God I love Heart of Hush soooooooo much. One of my favorite Batman stories ever

Asturgis - 8/6/2017, 3:49 PM

@LEVITIKUZ - Jesus Christ you nearly gave me a heart attack lol Yeah, it's an amazing story, plus what I love about it is how it's completely surreal, and yet completely possible, at least medically, if I'm making any sense. It could make for a great detective movie, and focus heavily on Tommy's incredible surgical skills, but we would have to already Know Hush and have a Catwoman, so not gonna happen.

BloodyBed - 8/6/2017, 3:53 PM

@NinnesMBC - personally i greatly enjoy Scott Snyder's batman, and didn't really like hush. I'd love court of the owls, or an r rated "death of the family".

I really dig the idea of joker being a horror movie villain. My favorite kind of joker.

LEVITIKUZ - 8/6/2017, 8:26 PM

@Asturgis - I honestly think Heart of Hush could work as a first adaption story of Hush. You could even use Hush changing his face into Bruce's and try to destroy Bruce on 2 fronts. On the Bruce Wayne front and on the Batman front.

Hush trying to defame Bruce Wayne. Perhaps Hush commits crimes as Bruce Wayne and Bruce is under investigation for the crimes Hush committed.

Meanwhile Hush having Selina's heart which is a ticking time bomb because Bruce can not wait a second finding out who Hush is, why he's doing this, and where is Selina's heart.

It could be a very tense and dramatic Batman story especially if told through Bruce's POV and being blindsided by such events.

We would've needed to establish Catwoman though so it can't happen anytime soon.

BurningBeard - 8/6/2017, 3:20 PM

I can dig any of these as the inspiration for a movie plot!

harley2011 - 8/6/2017, 3:25 PM

Court of Owls, and Talon as the villain.

bcom - 8/6/2017, 3:26 PM

The Long Halloween is probably my favourite Batman story. I would love to see a Batman movie based on this storyline!

1 2 3

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From THE LONG HALLOWEEN To DEATH OF THE FAMILY: The 6 BATMAN Storylines Fans Want To See Made Into A Trilogy

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