Affleck’s Batman: 5 Comic Stories for the New Movie

Whatever your thoughts on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, we can all agree that Affleck did a great job as Batman and Bruce Wayne, even if you didn’t entirely agree with his new ‘methods’. So, with the announcement of Affleck becoming the director and co-writer with new DC movie godfather Geoff Johns on new Batman films, I thought it would fun to discuss which possible storylines they could explore.

Now some of the choices on this list have been done in other mediums, but would still be amazing to see done in live-action nonetheless. So let’s get it right into it and see where our new caped crusader could go next.

 

1. Death In The Family/Under The Red Hood

Ok, I’m kind of cheating with two stories on this one, but can you blame me? With the revelation that Jason Todd has indeed been killed by the Joker in this universe, it would only make sense for the solo films to explore this story. This would of course be told in some kind of flashback sequence to show the gruesome event at the hands of The Joker.

This would lead perfectly into the Under The Red storyline whilst also showing the possible origins of the original Red Hood and the revelation of who is hiding under the new Red Hood -not so spoiler alert!- It’s Jason Todd.

Considering all the hints of where the Batman franchise could go next, this seems like a pretty odds-on choice. The only problem may be the inclusion of some of the more violent elements from the story into the new film. However, considering DC seem to be pushing the envelope on what type of comic book films they are making, I’m sure they could get around the censors.

This would also give them the option of introducing the more fantastical elements of Batman’s villains, namely the re-introduction of Ra’s Al Ghul and the Lazarus Pit. This new DCEU have already shown they are willing to bring in people like Darkseid, so resurrection pits should be no problem right?

 

2. The Court of Owls

Moving away from more familiar or predictable stories, we have Scott Snyder and Grep Capullo’s debut on the Batman line. The story is quite simply a masterpiece in storytelling and artwork that in my opinion is the pinnacle of their work together. If the movies are able to capture the terrifying images of the Owls, the near brink of insanity Bruce goes through in the Labyrinth and a stunning revelation in the finale, it could create an amazing story to tell. Having Bruce face an entire secret society of enemies would provide a welcome change of pace that we have rarely seen in the Batman movies. The closest we have been is probably Nolan’s interpretation of the League of Assassins, League of Shadows, in Batman Begins.

Introducing a group like this would add weight and intimidation for our new Batman. The finale of the story could of course be changed to fit the necessary direction the writers would want to take this new caped crusader. Or even introducing what happens at the end of the comic would again provide something we have never seen before.

A possible problem with this could be with Affleck being an older Batman, would he really have only just encountered a group like this so far into his bat career? On the other side of the coin, it could also emphasise how deceptive and mysterious the Court are, having kept themselves secret from the world’s greatest detective all this time.

 

3. Tower Of Babel

A Batman story or a Justice League story? This one could go either way really. However, considering the stance Batman has on Superman in Dawn Of Justice, it would provide an interesting juxtaposition with Bruce being the one who cannot be trusted.

If you don’t know the story, it involves Bruce developing contingency plans on every member of the Justice League should they ever go rogue. Even though Bruce emphasises his plans were always intended to immobilise not kill, when Ra’s Al Ghul is able to steal the plans, he is able to alter them and turn them fatal.

With the Justice League coming before the new Batman franchise, Bruce will have already encountered all the members of the JL, and, of course, Bruce being Bruce, he will have immediately thought of ways to disable his teammates if the situation ever called for it.

The villain of the comic is of course Ra’s, but to fit into the universe more coherently this could easily be changed to someone like Lex Luthor. Or if they don’t want to overuse him there are plenty of other villains to choose from and explore.

 

4. Arkham Asylum

This one is purely a Batman story of the highest order. When Batman receives a call from The Joker, he is informed that the madhouse has been taken over. He, of course, goes straight to the Asylum and begins to delve into the insanity and chaos it has become.

With resources of countless villains being able to pop up in this story, seeing this on the big screen would be a tour de force for, not only Batman, but also the audience to witness. It would also serve as the perfect reason for all of Batman’s villains to be in one place and not have them conveniently show up just for the sake of it.

While it would be amazing to see this story told on the big-screen, it would also require a superb script. While you have the logical story reason for the villains being there, you would still need to know how to use them correctly. It could easily be plunged into fan service and when that happens, you’re walking a fine line between good and cheesy.

Or, if you want to take the easy route, just copy the Arkham Asylum video game – they did a pretty good job on it, right?

 

5. The Killing Joke

As brilliant as the upcoming animated movie sure will be, I still can’t shake the idea of this being one of the great live action Batman films. Since the comic isn’t one of the longer stories, it would need to be fleshed out a bit, as they are doing with the animated one.

If you have never read this book and you call yourself a Batman fan, stop calling yourself that right now, please. The Joker has kidnapped Jim Gordon and taken him to an abandoned amusement park as only The Joker could. The whole theme of this story is how one bad day can drive even the sanest man alive to lunacy. It delves into what could have possibly made the The Joker the way he is, why does Batman do the things he does and what could drive Jim Gordon to insanity?

Well, The Joker decides the best way to do this is strip Gordon naked and send him through a tunnel of love full of pictures of his daughter Barbara stripped naked. Oh, and this is after Joker showed up at Barbara’s place to shoot her in the spine, crippling her. Needless to say this story would be a tough one to get on the big screen; the studios would either have to go full-blooded and show every gruesome detail or try and edit down some of the imagery shown. Would this take away the power and shock value of of the story though? Maybe, maybe not.

Whichever way, this would be an incredible story to show general audiences of why Joker and Batman are two sides of the same coin. They both had that one bad day Joker refers to and transformed the both of them into something many would call insane.

So, that’s my list on some possible storyline for the new franchise to follow. I know there are loads more and I’m sure you guys and going to comment at finger-breaking speed to tell me. These are just five of my personal favourites I would love to see.