12 Classic Batman Comics To Read Before You See The Batman

Matt Reeves' upcoming superhero flick "The Batman" might just become the Dark Knight's finest on-screen adventure. Ever since that first teaser trailer was released at 2020's DC FanDome event, fans have been eagerly awaiting the chance to explore Gotham City and meet the latest iteration of its watchful protector — and from the movie's stellar cast to its grim and gothic vibe, as well as the intriguing prospect of a whole shared universe springing from its story, there's clearly a lot to love about this latest Bat-movie.

Of course, a Batman movie is nothing without its comic book influences. For example, Zack Snyder told CBR in 2015 that "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" drew heavily from Frank Miller's iconic 1986 arc "The Dark Knight Returns," while Christopher Nolan told a Q&A audience in 2008 that the portrayal of the Joker in "The Dark Knight" was influenced by Alan Moore's equally groundbreaking 1988 comic "The Killing Joke." Nolan has also cited (via Polygon) such comics as "The Long Halloween" as inspiration for the second movie in his Batman trilogy.

So, which comic books have been plundered by Matt Reeves and company for the latest installment in Batman's cinematic canon? And which classic storylines are must-reads for any fan who wants to prepare themselves for Reeves' film? Straight from the grisly streets of Gotham City, here are 12 classic Batman comics to read before you see "The Batman."

The second comic book included in "The Batman Box Set" is "Batman: Ego and Other Tails." While this compilation contains a handful of stories, it's "Ego" that you'll want to read to gear yourself up for "The Batman." At 2020's DC FanDome event (via Animated Times), Matt Reeves elaborated on the comic books that had helped him prepare for "The Batman." In an interview with Aisha Tyler, he said, "For me I think one of the cool deep dive ones was Darwyn Cooke's 'Ego.' He's confronting the beast that is Batman and there's a kind of duality ... The degree to which you have self-knowledge, you're able to understand your motivations, but ... he's broken, Batman."

Published in 2000, "Ego" begins with Batman chasing down one of the Joker's thugs, who has recently given up information to the Caped Crusader. When the henchman takes his own life in order to escape Joker's wrath, a traumatized Batman is forced to reckon with his own guilt and rage. To reveal more would spoil an excellent story, but "Ego" yields an enthralling and surprisingly literal deep-dive into Batman's psyche.

In November 2021, Warner Bros. released a synopsis for "The Batman" that described Robert Pattinson's version of the character as "a disillusioned, desperate vigilante awakened by the realization that the anger consuming him makes him no better than the ruthless serial killer he's hunting." Evidently, this movie will also attempt to explore the darkest corners of Bruce Wayne's mind — and if it manages this even half as successfully as "Ego," we're sure to be in for a treat.

Back in 2018, a Twitter fan asked Matt Reeves to name his favorite Batman comic. His reply featured a handful of titles, most of which you'll recognize, including "Year One," "The Long Halloween," and "Ego." But he also mentioned another comic: "Batman: Dark Victory."

Debuting in 1999 and created by the dynamic duo of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale, "Dark Victory" is a direct sequel to "The Long Halloween." The story begins with a mass breakout from Arkham Asylum, setting a mysterious killer known as the Hangman loose on Gotham. As he investigates this new threat, Batman is forced to tackle the Holiday Killer's legacy, deal with more mob politics, and train a new partner-in-vigilantism: Dick Grayson. As IGN's 2005 review puts it, "['Dark Victory'] uses the events of the original to further explore the psychological makeup of the Dark Knight ... [adding] new context to the Batman we all know and love."

Along with "The Long Halloween," "Dark Victory" was once named in an interview with UGO as Christian Bale's favorite Batman comic, and it appears that Matt Reeves is just as much a fan of Loeb and Sale's follow-up. How this might translate to "The Batman," however, remains to be seen — while it doesn't seem likely that Reeves' movie will feature Robin's introduction or Two-Face's brutal rampage across Gotham, you never know what a sequel might bring.

"Batman: The Imposter" is a limited series published from early 2021 to the beginning of 2022. "The Imposter" finds Bruce Wayne in his second year as the Caped Crusader and dealing with an unexpected threat: a copycat vigilante who has begun murdering Gotham's criminals. As the city begins to turn on him, Batman must find and defeat the monster that is defiling his name. In its glowing review of "The Imposter," DC Comics News reported that the series takes place in "a wholly new version of Gotham City, informed by grim reality, where every punch leaves a broken bone and every action has consequences far, far beyond Batman's imagination!"

"The Imposter" was written by Mattson Tomlin, a screenwriter who, back in 2019, was hired to co-write "The Batman" with Matt Reeves and fellow screenwriter Peter Craig. In a 2020 interview with Insider, Tomlin revealed more about working with Reeves in particular, telling the publication, "We were in the same room at a desk together for many months and just going through the process — I'd never written with anyone before — and co-writing it with him, I really do think he's one of our great filmmakers." Since "The Batman" was written first, "The Imposter" can't really have been an influence per se, but it will no doubt be fascinating to find out how much of the comic book exists in the movie — and vice versa.

If times have changed for the Riddler, "Batman: Dark Knight, Dark City" is the comic that changed them. Created by Peter Milligan and Kieron Dwyer, this 1990 arc ran through "Batman" Vol. 1 #452-454.

"Dark Knight, Dark City" finds the Riddler stumbling across evidence of an ancient demonic ritual and deciding to recreate it by using Batman as a sacrifice. In order to enact the ritual, however, the intended victim is supposed to kiss the lips of a hanged man, bathe in human blood, dance with the dead, kill a wild dog, cut the throat of an unbaptized child, and dance the sabbath before the devil. Undeterred, the Riddler sets out to trick the Bat into performing these tasks.

The Riddler of "Dark Knight, Dark City" is a far cry from the mischievous scamp of the early "Batman" comics. These two issues remade the character in a grittier mold, setting the stage for the darker, scarier villain with whom many comic book fans are so familiar. Once a relative lightweight among the hyper-violent miscreants in Batman's rogues gallery, the Riddler suddenly becomes a man who executes security guards with glee, kidnaps babies from hospitals, and creates armies of zombie robots garbed in the rotting flesh of the dead. "Detective Comics" #140 might have introduced the world to the Riddler, but "Dark Knight, Dark City" turned him into the kind of monster you'll meet in "The Batman."

The "Joker's Asylum" event ran from 2008 to 2010 and consisted of a series of one-shot comics, each one following a different Gotham villain — as told by the Joker. One of the earliest of these issues was 2008's "Joker's Asylum: Penguin."

This comic book recounts the Penguin's origin, from his tormented youth to his rise to power, anchored by a grotesque "love" story between Cobblepot and a woman named Violet who he has recently rescued from slavery. Unfortunately, their budding relationship sours when Violet discovers that Cobblepot has been tracking down and destroying everybody who ever laughed at him. Same old Penguin, basically.

"Joker's Asylum" is arguably one of the stories that best captures the Penguin's character. Here, he's shown to be a damaged, pathetic man, twisted by his insecurities and the laughter of the world around him, but more than happy to fight back with death and destruction. "The Batman" probably won't have time to delve so deeply into Cobblepot's inner workings, of course, although the HBO Max series certainly will provide ample opportunity to do so. For now, we can only hope that the movie and the show portray him in as effective and disturbing a manner as "Joker's Asylum."

If "Year One" is the definitive origin for Batman, "Her Sister's Keeper" is the definitive origin for Catwoman. Released in 1989 as a companion piece to "Year One," this arc, which is told across "Catwoman" Vol. 1 #1-4, follows Selina Kyle during roughly the same time period in which the former comic book takes place.

"Her Sister's Keeper" finds Selina Kyle, a destitute and abused sex worker, attempting to make her way in Gotham City. One day, she witnesses a bedraggled Bruce Wayne fighting her pimp in the street and later sees Batman taking down a corrupt cop (as seen in "Year One"). An inspired Kyle subsequently dons her own costume and fights back against her tormentor. The arc ends with Kyle becoming fully engulfed in the Catwoman persona, seducing Batman, and then beating the living hell out of him for good measure.

If "Year One" has any kind of influence on Matt Reeves' "The Batman," then the same can almost certainly be said for "Her Sister's Keeper." Even the final encounter between Batman and Catwoman, in which Kyle claims that they are on opposite sides "of the same coin," seems to be mirrored in a similar meeting in "The Batman," in which she suggests that she and the Bat are "not so different." Want to get a handle on Batman and Catwoman's relationship before "The Batman" hits theaters? "Her Sister's Keeper" will give you everything you need.