7 Must-Reads For Kean Students Before Watching Matt Reeves’ “The Batman”
By Andrey Nalbantov | Published February 15, 2022
Are you just entering the beautiful worlds of comics or looking for some reading material prior to watching Warner Bros. and DC’s next big movie “The Batman”? Then you are in the right spot! Here are seven classic storylines that will feed fan hunger for the caped crusader or, for those newcomers, provide an entrance to the world of DC Comics’ most beloved character.
- Batman: Year One.
“Batman: Year One” written by Frank Miller is considered without a doubt as one of the greatest superhero origin stories ever to grace the pages of a comic book. This novel, in particular, also serves as one of the three books that Matt Reeves draws inspiration from for his upcoming movie. As you can tell by the title, “Batman: Year One” is a story about Bruce Wayne/Batman’s… first year as a crimefighter. Plus, we get our first look at Catwoman. Also, what better way for new fans to understand the lore of Batman is there than to read this masterpiece.
- Batman: The Long Halloween.
The second of Matt Reeves’ trinity of inspirational books. This story tells a dark, gritty noir-type of narrative that based on the trailers so far, we shall see in “The Batman” as well – with some changes, of course. In this book, we see Batman enter the role of a detective, which is a dominant narrative in Reeves’ movie as well. The Riddler replaces the persona of the mysterious murderer Holiday (and I am saying mysterious because I am trying my best to not spoil anything of this amazing story). So far we have no news in the upcoming movie about whether we shall see Harvey Dent, who was such an important character for the original novel.
- Batman: Ego And Other Tales
“Batman: Ego And Other Tales” is the third book Matt Reeves used as inspiration for his upcoming movie. While this story is not as famous as the other two, it is important in defining the tension between the Bruce Wayne/Batman persona. The book shows the struggles Bruce Wayne faces in order to keep his alter ego in check and his difficulties in defining the borderline between Wayne and Batman. This idea will be presented in the movie, and so far we have seen some examples of it during the second trailer of “The Batman” in an interaction between Alfred and Bruce.
- Batman: Year Two
The 1987 storyline “Batman: Year Two” goes into the second year of the caped crusader as a crimefighter. It explains the “work” relationship established between Bats and the Gotham PD. This story while not being the main inspiration for the movie itself will serve as a basic concept for the relationships between Batman and the coppers.
- Batman: Hush
This novel here serves as a great example of Riddler’s superior mastermind. In this story, Batman goes through a series of hardships, one of which is even fighting Superman, all orchestrated by the Riddler himself. Also, we get an interesting take on the rather dangerous love relationship between Batman and Catwoman, which will be explored in the new movie as well.
- Joker’s Asylum: Penguin
This is The only story on this entire list that does not feature Batman. Instead, it focuses on our favorite bird mobster, Oswald Cobblepot aka The Penguin, and his origin story. Granted, we will get to witness The Penguin in only about six scenes in the entire movie, according to, Colin Farrell, the actor portraying the menacing pescatarian. That should not be a reason for anyone to not read this story and get some insight into the character.
- Batman: The Court Of Owls
This story is one that has absolutely nothing to do with the core of “The Batman” movie. Rather it simply connects rumors and hints; “The Court Of Owls” storyline tells about a hidden society created by rich Gothamites. They have run Gotham for years under the shadows, and once they see that Bruce Wayne wants to take the initiative to change Gotham for the future, they see a new enemy in him. Also, props to Scott Snyder making Batman look like a madman in some of the pages of this novel. What does it have to do with the movie? Well, in the two trailers fans have noticed some signs that lead to theories involving the Court in a potential movie.
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