SPOILERS!
5. Hush
When casting Batman, Zack Snyder went for an older type of Batman, one vaguely based on the “Dark Knight Returns” version. That means Batman must have had years of activity, already facing a number of his crazy rogues. In one fell swoop, we could cover the history of Batman’s adventures with this story that seems steeped in it. Killer Croc. Joker. Harley Quinn. Catwoman. Poison Ivy. Ra’s al Ghul. Superman! They are all here, and the mystery dates back all the way to Bruce Wayne’s childhood.
4. A Lonely Place of Dying
This story introduces the third Robin, Tim Drake, my personal favorite Robin. With Dick Grayson at one time rumored to be appearing in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Jason Todd’s costume on memorial display in the trailer, it might work out nicely to introduce the third Robin. The Batman and Robin duo relationship is one of the most recognizable traits of Batman in general. It is also an aspect that was purposefully ignored by former director, Christopher Nolan; a mistake I’d like to see rectified with this origin story that seeks to clarify the importance of Robin in the first place.
3. Night of Owls/Court of Owls
When Scott Snyder took over writing duties on the Batman books in the new 52, he wasted no time getting to some really good stuff. The Court of Owls was his brainchild. It involved an illuminati-like group of Gotham elites with long running legacies dating back to the formation of the city. They have been secretly pulling the strings with the help of their superhuman guardians, known as Talons. Batman, who thought of himself as the guardian of Gotham, now has to contend with this group of false, selfish saviors.
2. Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth
“Arkham Asylum” is the trippy mind-bend by writer, Grant Morrison. When a riot breaks out in Arkham Asylum and hospital staff are taking hostage, the inmates said they wouldn’t let anyone in but Batman. Batman is then subjected to a who’s who of his rogues gallery, twisted into metaphorical and anecdotal avatars, arranged in a creepy Alice in Wonderland like adventure. It was inspiration for the first installment of the current video game series. What I like about it as a movie idea for Batman is how opposite it is from Nolan’s Batman movies. Rather than being epic in scope, it is a much more claustrophobic movie, one that informs a gothic interpretation of Batman.
1. Under the Red Hood
This one is a soft ball now that a charred, graffitti-ed Robin costume is on display in the Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice trailer. In “Under the Red Hood,” Batman and company must contend with a new gunslinging vigilante targetting Gotham’s underworld. It is eventually revealed to be former Robin, Jason Todd, thought to be killed at the hands of the Joker and considered Batman’s greatest failure. It is hard to have Batman without the Joker, but the Joker has kind of been done between Jack Nicholson, Heath Ledger, and Mark Hamil (yea, I’m including him). With this story, you can kind of tell a Joker story without it being a Joker story (if the makes sense).
