Okay, there are a lot of super hero movies, like… a lot a lot. However, of these countless, action-packed adventures, a frankly staggering amount are about one caped crusader in particular: Batman. Now seeing as he does have a few dozen handfuls of movies about him, Bruce Wayne doesn’t need much introduction and you probably don’t need to hear about Thomas and Martha Wayne getting murdered again. However, there are some stories about the “dark knight” we haven’t heard enough about, and with all the recent announcements regarding up both upcoming live-action and animated Batman films, we’re getting antsy to see them._ Here are just a few of the stories that are great enough to grace the big screen — and fingers crossed one day they do.
1. The Black Mirror
The Black Mirror — much like quite a few Batman stories, honestly — isn’t a perfect story. I mean, for starters the way it portrays mental health leaves much to be desired. However, it’s a really interesting story about the power of empathy and has a lot of compelling beats throughout. The story takes place after Bruce Wayne hangs up the cowl and decides to focus on training the next generation of crime fighters. In his place, he leaves Dick Grayson, who is struggling with some major imposter syndrome in his new role as the Batman. The story kicks off when Detective Jim Gordon’s son, Jim Gordan Jr., returns to Gotham after being sent away from his home due to his psychotic tendencies. The overarching story focuses on these two men — the “son” of Wayne and the son of Gordon — and their drastically different views on humanity and compassion. It’s a pretty dark story, but it’s a pretty good one as well.
2. The Court of Owls
The Court of Owl storyline proves once and for all that the most terrifying villains are the ones that are ageless and engrained in a society — the ones that have always lived among us and are just out of reach of the law. In Gotham City, the Court of Owls exists as an absurd legend, accompanying nursery rhyme and all, and Bruce Wayne never put much stock into it. However, in these comics, Wayne comes to discover the secret society exists, and is comprised of many of Gotham’s rich and powerful families. Using their combined influence, these individuals have been terrorizing and pulling the strings of the city for centuries, and make for an army that is subtle, vast, and suffocating. In addition to containing all this political intrigue and a strong message regarding the abuse of power and wealth, the story is also visceral, high-stakes, and captivating.
While we definitely saw elements of Knightfall in The Dark Knight Rises, we’ve yet to get a proper adaptation of its iconic storyline. Perhaps some of this oversight comes from the fact that this slow burn of a story takes place over the course of six months, as Batman overcomes not only a pretty major physical injury (see above image), but nurses a few mental ones as well. Now you might be asking just who watched over Gotham during Batman’s forced timeout, and the answer to that is none other than the “hero” Azrael, which leads to even bigger troubles for Bruce Wayne. You see Azrael believes that extreme circumstances call for extreme measures, and his heroism turns into brutal terror while Wayne is away, causing Gotham City to lose its trust in its vigilantes. It is because of the lessons learned in Knightfall the “bat family” (Robin, Batgirl, etc…) is created, and the Batman story was forever altered.
