10 Comics To Read Before Watching The Batman

Year One has been cited as a major influence on basically every recent big-screen Bat, and it's clear to see why. Frank Miller's seminal 1987 comic chronicles the Dark Knight's inaugural year on the job, while also telling the story of Detective Jim Gordon returning to Gotham and rising through the ranks. Its focus on police corruption as well as the adventures of a younger, more inexperienced Batman are both elements that will be present in Matt Reeves' film, though he's described The Batman as technically more a 'Year Two' story. Artist David Mazzucchelli described his and Miller's Batman as being "grounded in a world we recognise", which is very much what Reeves is going for. The animated film of the same name also draws heavily from this source material, and is worth watching for Bryan Cranston's excellent voice performance as Jim Gordon alone.

Prepare for Colin Farrell's take on Oswald Cobblepot, aka The Penguin, with this 2012 comic by Gregg Hurwitz, giving us a dark origin story for one of Batman's oldest enemies. Taking us all the way from Oz's abusive childhood to his ascent to Gotham crimelord, this tale gets us to feel a bit of empathy for the 'Gentleman of Crime' – fitting, as Farrell told Empire his take on the character is inspired by Fredo in The Godfather. Since he's also set to reprise his role in a spin-off series post-The Batman, this is a valuable read for Bat-fans.

Matt Reeves has cited this comic as a major inspiration for his take on the Dark Knight, and it's easy to see why – the late great Darwyn Cooke's first DC project is a belter. Batman: Ego – subtitled 'A Psychotic Slide Into The Heart Of Darkness' – takes readers on a deep-dive into Batman's psyche as he reckons with his rage and guilt. The Batman trailers make it clear that Battinson will be trying  – and possibly failing – to keep his anger in check. At one point in Cooke's one-shot, Bruce tells his Batman persona: "There is a line we may never cross. No killing. It is the only difference between us and them." With any luck, Reeves' Batman follows suit.

'The World's Greatest Detective' is one of Batman's most famous nicknames, but that element of Bruce Wayne's skillset has been limited in his big screen adventures. Thankfully The Batman looks set to rectify that in a big way – and in the meantime, The Long Halloween offers some serious sleuthing. Written by Jeph Loeb with art by Tim Sale, it sees a still-early-in-his-career Batman trying to piece together the mystery of who's killing organised crime figureheads on holidays, starting with Halloween. Not only does Carmine Falcone – who will be played by John Turturro in The Batman – loom large in this famous tale, but Riddler also makes an appearance to guess suspects, while Catwoman teams up with Batman for a spell. The recently-released two-part animated film of the same name is worth a look too.

The comics community loves itself a reset. One such continuity reboot led to Batman: Zero Year, a 2013 tale that reimagined Batman's origin. Written by Scott Snyder and James Tynion, the story sees a young Bruce Wayne return to Gotham and battle many of the city's supervillains, including a dark version of the Riddler. Bats' armoured suit (sans cape) and motorcycle getup we've seen in The Batman trailers looks to have taken its cue from this book. Zero Year also saw the Riddler flood Gotham, and early footage from Matt Reeves' film indicates that Batman might have to deal with a similar crisis on the big screen.

One of the best and most well-known Bat-stories, Hush has a little something for everyone. Written by Jeph Loeb with art by Jim Lee, at its core it's a great detective story as the villainous Hush shows up in Gotham and starts manipulating everything in Batman's life. Everyone from Superman and Nightwing to Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, Scarecrow and more get drawn into the tale as Batman puts the pieces together. Two of its most important guest stars are Catwoman and the Riddler. Batman has always had a thing for the former, but here, he and Selina Kyle take their relationships to new levels of intimacy as the story progresses. As for the Riddler, he ends this saga having proven his criminal mastermind credentials in a big way – and the animated film of the same name reworks the story to give Riddler even more of the spotlight too. If the trailers for The Batman are anything to go by, a reveal that Edward Nygma has deduced the man behind the cowl wouldn't be all that surprising.

Colin Farrell made headlines in July 2020 when he purchased a copy of Francis Manapul & Brian Buccellato's Batman run. It sees a street-level Dark Knight team up with Detective Harvey Bullock to take down a trafficking ring, while Bruce Wayne tries to solve Gotham's gentrification crisis. Reeves' team would be wise to take a few pointers from the beautiful art in this comic, and its allusions to a crime family war between The Penguin and Carmine Falcone may explain Farrell's interest in it too.

Robert Pattinson has listed The Court Of Owls among the villains he'd love to see his Batman go up against in a potential sequel, and for good reason. They quickly became fan-favourites when Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo introduced them in the New 52 Batman comic line: not only could their deadly Talons give Batman and his allies a run for their money, but it effectively challenged the notion that the Wayne Foundation built Gotham. It might be a bit too soon to include The Court in this film, but it would be wise for Reeves and co. to start dropping in hints and easter eggs that could pay off down the line.

The Batman will once again see the infamous vigilante team up with Gotham's top cop Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), a partnership that has yielded great results time and time again on the page and on screen. As written by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka in this five issue run, Turning Points documents their relationship at five separate stages as they go from reluctant allies to trusted friends. Given that the Dark Knight is still in his early years in Matt Reeves' film, the Batman/Gordon alliance may not be rock solid yet. But this comic gives us a pretty good idea of what it could grow into.

What we've seen so far of Paul Dano's Riddler indicates that he's a far cry from Jim Carrey's over-the-top trickster in Batman Forever, and instead something more akin to the Zodiac killer. One of the first times a darker variant of Edward Nygma manifested itself on the page was in Peter Milligan and Kieron Dwyer's 1990 Dark Knight, Dark City arc, which saw the puzzle-master do everything from executing security guards to kidnapping babies from hospitals. Exactly how far Riddler will go to enact his evil plans in The Batman remains to be seen, but it's clear that Battinson will be dealing with a monster instead of a joke-machine.