Director Matt Reeves is bringing the latest adaptation of The Batman to the big screen with Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano and Colin Farrell as Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle/Catwoman, The Riddler and The Penguin, respectively. While each character has been seen in live-action before, the first trailer for The Batman revealed a new take that excited fans.
The excitement came from the apparent dark and violent take on the source material which appears to have taken inspiration from a number of interesting comic stories. Given that not much is known about the upcoming adaptation, we've put together a few comic storylines for fans to read to help prepare them for the upcoming reboot of The Batman.
10 Matt Reeves Revealed He Was Inspired By Batman: Ego
While a lot of these comic suggestions have been made due to speculation, set photos, and the trailer, Matt Reeves revealed to fans that the themes of The Batman were directly influenced by the late Darwyn Cooke's Batman: Ego.
The story was reprinted under the title of "Ego: A Psychotic Slide into the Heart of Darkness," which was fitting as it explored Bruce Wayne's struggles with the darkness he had taken on to become Batman, and the guilt he faced when others perished because of his actions.
9 Both Batman And Catwoman Starred In The Long Halloween
Selina Kyle is set to play a central role in The Batman as she begins her transformation into the vigilante known as Catwoman, which was also partially explored in Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's Batman: The Long Halloween.
The mini-series explored Batman's year-long investigation into the Holiday murders while the majority of his classic rogues' gallery appeared, though the series also explored Catwoman's connection to the Falcone crime family that could play a part in the upcoming live-action reboot.
8 Gotham City's Police Department Was Explored In Gotham Central
Jeffrey Wright will portray Commissioner Gordon in The Batman which is said to focus on the relationship between the GCPD and the Dark Knight, which will be further explored by the connected HBO Max series in development.
Greg Rucka, Ed Brubaker, and Michael Lark's Gotham Central explored the day and night shifts of the GCPD as they dealt with crime, corruption, and the dangerous supervillains that called Gotham City home in the Eisner and Harvey award-winning series.
7 Batman: Year One Is Another Take On Catwoman's Origin
Fans have already seen versions of Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli's Batman: Year One on the big screen in films like 2005's Batman Begins from director Christopher Nolan, which explored Bruce Wayne's formation of his vigilante identity and his relationship with the future Commissioner Jim Gordon.
However, the storyline also featured Selina Kyle's origins and first encounters with Bruce Wayne that would ultimately inspire her to create her own costumed identity that was only briefly touched on in 2012's The Dark Knight Rises.
6 The Batman Is Rumored To Take Place During Batman: Year Two
While The Batman is still set early on in Bruce Wayne's career, it has been teased that it actually takes place in his second year as the Dark Knight, which gives fans another comic series to explore called Batman: Year Two by Mike W. Barr and Alan Davis.
The comic series introduced the villain known as the Reaper who likely won't make an appearance in The Batman, though the villain did make Batman question his rule against using firearms that could be explored. Year Two also focused on the criminal underworld of Gotham City that could play a role in the upcoming movie.
5 The Movie Might Be Based On The Multiversal Batman: Earth One
Geoff Johns and Gary Frank's Batman: Earth One reimagined Bruce Wayne's origin and beggings as Batman in a grounded alternate reality tale that also featured Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin as the Mayor of Gotham City.
Not much is known about Oswald Cobblepot's role in The Batman beyond his brief appearances in the trailer, but rumors of The Batman taking place in the Earth-One continuity have risen given the multiversal nature of the developing DCEU and multiple live-action Batman projects currently in development.
4 Dark Knight, Dark City Featured A Brutal Riddler And Gotham's Dark History
"Dark Knight, Dark City" was a storyline from Peter Milligan and Kieron Dwyer from the Batman ongoing that introduced a darker version of Edward Nigma/The Riddler than had been seen before in the comics.
The Riddler launches an attack that leaves people dead in his plans to sacrifice Batman due to a dark connection to an ancient demon named Barbatos who would come to play a large role in the DC universe. The dark portrayal of Riddler that was teased in The Batman trailer might make "Dark Knight, Dark City" essential reading for fans.
3 Batman: The Court Of Owls Introduced A Corrupt Society That Ruled Gotham City
While comic fans haven't seen confirmation that the secret society known as the Court of Owls will appear in The Batman, rumors began to develop following the sighting of what appeared to be an owl mask seen on set.
The Court of Owls was introduced by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo during the New 52 era of Batman, which revealed the elite secret society's long political hold on Gotham City and connection to Bruce Wayne's parents that also tied into the ancient mythology introduced with Barbatos and his connection to Batman.
2 Riddle Was Revealed To Have A Large Hand In The Events Of Batman: Hush
Another deadly villain who hasn't been announced for The Batman is Hush, a bandaged mystery with a connection to Bruce Wayne who manages to figure out Bruce's secret identity as Batman. Hush's manipulations were revealed to have been possible only because of Riddler's uncovering of Batman's secret.
The first trailer for The Batman teased a new look for The Riddler that seemed to take inspiration from Hush, which could potentially see the characters blended together like in the poorly-received 2019 animated adaptation.
1 Francis Manapul And Brian Buccellato's Batman Was Read By Cast Members
Fans began discussing the possibility that Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato's run on Detective Comics would be used as inspiration for the upcoming reboot following photos that captured Colin Farrell with a copy of the trade paperback collecting their run.
While the Penguin doesn't actually appear in the comic run, it did feature Batman and GCPD Detective Harvey Bullock working together to uncover corruption in city hall that could be explored in The Batman. Of course, Farell could have also just been reading a wide selection for research purposes, but it's still a great run for fans to check out.