DC Batman Comics. The least and most successful film adaptations of Batman stories

In this article you will learn:

Bruce Wayne- philanthropist, billionaire, superhero without superpowers. DC Comics character from Prime Earth-1. Bruce is known as the hero named Batman - the man-bat.

Characteristic:

Bruce was the only one of the heroes who did not have any superpower at all; he was an ordinary earthling, without delusions of grandeur, but with great self and purpose. Although Wayne did not have super powers, he had much more impressive skills: in his heroism, he more than once broke chains and handcuffs, broke through walls, could catch the Green Arrow’s arrow, reached a running speed of 56 km/h, was an expert in weapons, and finally was a genius with an IQ of 192, was an excellent tactician and strategist, an excellent acrobat and had a photographic memory.

Story:

Bruce was born in Gotham and was the son of Thomas and Martha Wayne, whom he saw killed by a robber when he was 8 years old. Since then, the boy lived in a huge estate with his uncle Philip and the butler Alfred Pennyworth.

Little Wayne even then vowed to eradicate crime in hometown Gotham, so with early years I began to prepare myself both physically and intellectually. After the death of his parents, he became withdrawn and lonely.

Over the years, Bruce traveled extensively around the world, mastering martial arts, having mastered 127 combat disciplines. Experienced fighters and monks taught him the skills of stealth, hunting, the rules of shadow warfare, and the art of healing.

At the age of 20, Wayne wanted to join the FBI, but he was unable to fight the dirt of the streets in this way.

When Bruce returned to Gotham, he began to fight crime on his own using the skills he acquired over the years of wandering. He couldn’t act openly, so when a bat flew into his office, he took it as a sign. His costume became a suit resembling a bat. This was Bruce's childhood trauma when, at the age of 8, he fell into a cave with bats and was terrified. He wanted the criminals to experience the same horror that he once experienced.

He soon becomes a Gotham legend. In the morning, a billionaire and playboy, and at night, a mysterious, gloomy, guardian of order, Batman.

Bruce Wayne or Batman was one of those who assembled a team of superheroes, the Justice League, consisting of such heroes as: , Wonder Woman, .

Batman's first henchman was Dick Grayson, a boy from a family of circus performers (later he became the hero Nightwing), the second was Jason Todd, the son of a criminal (later the boy allegedly died at the hands of the Joker, but was soon resurrected into a hero under the name Red Hood), the third Robin became Tim Drake, the last one was Damien Wayne (son of Bruce).

After the death of Wayne (who actually went on a journey to parallel worlds), the mantle of Batman went to Nightwing (Dick Grayson, the first Robin).

Returning from a trip to parallel worlds With the help of the Green Lantern Corps, Bruce left the mantle of Batman to Grayson. His big plans were to make his own “Batman” in each country.

Are you looking for compassion? Are you asking for mercy? I only have justice.

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When we think of Batman, we tend to think of Batman himself. Which is quite logical. He has a cool suit, tons of gadgets, the best fictional car (not counting ECTO-1), and he's also great at dealing with bad guys, over and over again coming up with more and more inventive ways. Bruce Wayne? He just flashes on screen in boring scenes, right? Not really. Despite the fact that it is rarely really shown interesting character(since in practice this is more difficult than it seems), in theory Bruce Wayne is an important part of the Batman image.

And to portray him correctly, you need to make Bruce's character convincingly combine many facets before trying to connect him to Batman. Firstly, we are talking about a calibrated mixture of intelligence, arrogance and talent, as well as carefully hidden self-doubt and feelings of guilt.

This also includes defiant and sometimes impudent behavior, human, who realizes that he is much smarter than those with whom he communicates, as well as the associated feeling of loneliness. And rage. And uncompromising adherence to one’s own moral code. So, we've already seen more than one Bruce Wayne (the last of whom was Ben Affleck in Justice League), and therefore it's time to determine who was best able to portray the Dark Knight in his human form.

Let's start with the image that showed us...

Clooney-Wayne, we haven't really met. And this is very disappointing, because George Clooney himself is just the spitting image of Bruce Wayne. He is smart, charismatic, doesn't mince words and exudes the right amount of charm. Given a decent script, Clooney could easily portray the perfect Bruce Wayne. Unfortunately, the script was written, apparently, in two days, trying to come up with as many puns with the word “ice” as possible.

It's no surprise that Batman & Robin is an incoherent mess. What we have here is a completely mediocre movie that naively believes that an absurdly depicted Gotham can distract our attention from the problems with the narrative, visual design, the integrity of the plot, the motivation of the characters and the overall tone of the story. Because comedy makes everything better, right? Eh, Joel...

But in short, George did everything that was asked of him; he even had a couple of scenes that showed his potential, which would have been fully realized if this was a serious Batman film. But all of this was overshadowed by the terrible moments with the Bat-Credit, aerial snowboarding and the fact that Arnold “Terrible Miscast” Schwarzenegger received a fee for his role that exceeded the salary of the actor who played Batman.

Over time, Clooney has come to terms with how disastrous the film turned out to be, and is now noticeably wary of superhero films.

Thought Adam West was the very first Bruce Wayne shown on screen? Nothing of the kind, he was ahead of him by as much as 20 years. It is quite possible that you have not even heard of Lewis Wilson, but he is one of the most important people in the history of the development of the hero. Wilson was the first actor to play Batman in the 1943 TV series that essentially launched a 70-year marathon of attempts to bring the comic book character to the big screen.

Moreover, it was in this version of Batman (and not in the comics, as we mistakenly previously believed) that a number of familiar clichés appeared. Thin Alfred with a mustache, for example, is just a find for the series, and later comic book authors copied the character from actor William Austin. The same goes for the Batcave. Before the series, in the comics there was only a secret tunnel connecting Wayne Manor and the barn where the Batmobile was hidden.

But enough historical facts. How does Wilson's Bruce compare to everyone else's portrayal? In fact, it's quite good if you take into account the date of the film adaptation. You remember how pompous Christian Bale's character had to be in Nolan's trilogy to keep everyone at arm's length?

So, Wilson took a completely different path - his Bruce turned out to be more good-natured and less pretentious. Of course, it is worth admitting that the character desperately lacked depth, but given the general mood of the series, one could turn a blind eye to this.

However, this Bruce Wayne had other disadvantages. Despite the fact that the 1943 series introduced us to a lot of details that are now considered canonical, there were some things that absolutely could not be forgiven. Bat-racism and Japanese villains. In 1943. Let's move on...

Okay, Batman v Superman sucks. This isn't just the worst Batman movie (at least Batman & Robin was fun), it's one of the most unsuccessful, overly pretentious and just plain stupid summer blockbusters in recent memory.

Among its problems are excessive posturing, inappropriate darkness, a complete lack of irony, like a story pieced together with a lot of illogical twists and unnecessary characters, as well as a lack of character development. And, of course, Jesse Eisenberg's dubious performance. But guess what? All this did not affect the excellent performance of Ben Affleck. Before us shining example the beautiful Bruce Wayne in the hands of a bad director.

Affleck, who took full responsibility for the image of the gloomy 40-year-old Wayne, thoroughly battered by life (we, by the way, have never seen anything like this on big screen), has become hostage to a terrible script, resulting in the impression that this image was torn from some really good film adaptation, which, alas, we will never see. This image combined everything necessary: ​​intelligence and intelligence, rage and despair, a mask of charm that felt exactly like a mask, and all the versatility of the hero in all its glory.

If Affleck got a movie with a script that didn't fall apart, his Wayne would easily be high on our list. But, alas, Justice League is not that movie at all.

The LEGO Batman Movie version, while a kaleidoscopic compilation of all of Bruce Wayne's major character traits, despite all its exaggerations, looks surprisingly good (as does the 1966 version, but more on that later). On the contrary, exaggeration is only beneficial here. Because this is the secret of competent work with abstract humor.

You need to take the most bright features character or feature of a particular situation, and then blow it out of proportion to create a comical cartoon version that concentrates all the recognizable elements. Adam West understood this, Joel Schumacher did not, and Will Arnett, unlike the latter, is well aware of this, which allowed him to create a great image.

Of course, his Bruce is a kind of parody of all the previous ones (there is no smell of a deeply thought-out character here), however this image captivates with its ironic view of the character. And for all the longtime Batman fans, it also represents a brilliant deconstruction of the hero.

Lego Wayne, which is shown through the prism of all the obviously negative facets, for some reason ignored in other stories about Batman (a self-confident rich loner decides to take the fate of the city into his own hands, completely forgetting about the law enforcement system, simply because he is strong, wealthy and smart) , is presented to us as a arrogant and arrogant upstart who considers himself an involuntary victim (but denies this), which prevents him from being happy.

Therefore, it is a wonderful parody of the character, while elegantly raising topics for discussion that are long overdue. And, by the way, a local story that shows that redemption can be achieved through humanity does a much better job of reimagining classic Batman stories than the writers of Batman & Robin attempted.

5. Christian Bale – The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005 – 2012)

Bale is quite difficult to judge. On the one hand, his Wayne appeared on the big screen more often than others, and also received the most interesting and, most importantly, complete story arc. And, of course, the trilogy itself is undoubtedly best movies about Batman. However, I'm not convinced that Bale is that good as Bruce Wayne. Moreover, it always seemed to me that the genius of Nolan's trilogy lies in the thoughtful world and living minor characters, and not in the main character himself.

That's not to say Bale doesn't have great scenes. His portrayal of Young Bruce adds just the right amount of emotional weight to the superhero's development in Batman Begins, and he portrays melancholy quite convincingly in the other two films. He was also the only Wayne who deliberately created a reputation for himself as a pompous boor in order to keep people at a distance, and for this we cannot but praise the actor. But the problem is that Bale's Wayne is not 100% convincing.

Of course, Nolan's trilogy does not claim to be a faithful adaptation of the comics, but rather a more realistic reimagining. However, local Bruce is very difficult to love, and therefore all his shortcomings are more striking. Yes, behind the mask is hidden good man(no matter how you feel about his voice), but if you take Batman out of the equation, Bruce's personality is not as interesting as we would like.

Perhaps the most charismatic of all Bruce Waynes. Although the 1960s series was not at all shy about its absurd style (after all, it was intended as a parody of the 1943 series, which was re-aired in 1965), it would not have been half as good if not for the jokes in the execution West, who served them with a straight face. West did not try to show Bruce Wayne as a dramatic character, but rather happily parodied the hero who was already well-known at that time.

At the same time, as in Arnett’s version, Wayne’s key character traits were present in this image (he is a strong, smart, witty and more than self-confident hero), but they were all moderately exaggerated, which reflected the mood of the series. And, oddly enough, West's character suited his era perfectly. There was no noticeable emphasis on psychological trauma and its consequences, but it perfectly showed the same genius, billionaire and playboy familiar from the comics.

Another example of "potentially good Bruce Wayne ending up in a terrible movie because, oh my god, there's that Joel Schumacher again." Of all the Waynes who fall into this category, Val Kilmer's character is perhaps the most interesting. And not only because the film with its Batman has some really good and funny moments, unlike the abyss of terrible jokes in which Batman and Robin drowned.

First, Kilmer leads the list of actors who can play either Batman or Bruce, but not both. The fact is that when you are looking for an actor to play Batman, you are actually looking for a person who can play two roles at once, connected to each other with the help of a competent script. That is why casting for this role is quite difficult. And speaking of Val, he gave us a great and greatly underrated Bruce Wayne, as well as a very lackluster Batman. And since this article is about Wayne, we'll focus on him.

Despite all the riot of colors in Batman Forever, Kilmer's Wayne remains a fairly down-to-earth hero. He's thoughtful and moody, but not too dark. He is reserved, but not insensitive. He is charming, but doesn't go overboard with his charm.

He's a focused, no-nonsense Bruce Wayne who acts completely human about it. And he's so good that Batman co-creator Bob Kane declared him his favorite film version of Wayne of all time. If Kilmer didn't have to don the superhero costume yet, he would probably be at the top of our list.

But, alas, he failed to surpass the image that he showed us...

I'll probably go ahead and say right away that Michael Keaton is the most underrated Bruce Wayne of them all. After the wave of fan outrage over Tim Burton's casting of a comedian as Batman, many of us were amazed at how seamlessly he fit into the role. And Keaton's Wayne is wonderful. His detachment, emphasizing that the hero is constantly thinking about something more important than the current situation, creates the impression that he can at any moment lash out at someone who will knock him out of his thoughts, and this works perfectly.

Let's not forget that scene from the 1989 film in which Wayne practically reveals his identity to the Joker in their verbal duel, something that has never been shown on screen before. As we remember, Bruce has already tracked down the clown, knows about his past and can deal with him. But the only problem is that he's not in his superhero costume, so he has to keep a low profile.

And at this moment there is an internal struggle between Bruce and Batman, which ends in an outburst of rage on Bruce's part - partly due to the confusion of the situation, partly in order to distract the Joker from Vicki Vale, thus protecting her. It's a stunning portrayal of the hero's dualism that even Burton himself couldn't replicate in a similar scene from the sequel, Batman Returns.

The best of the best. The king of all screen Bruce Waynes and Batmans. The one and only. I apologize for all this pathos, but I simply cannot imagine Kevin any other way. The fact is that Conroy easily captured all the versatility of Bruce and conveyed it in the animated series “Batman”, while remaining behind the scenes.

Gloominess, restraint and concentration? They're there. Sharp feeling humor, underlined by the aforementioned restraint? Present. When Conroy's Bruce experiences weakness and uncertainty, his voice always sounds like the voice of someone who controls that weakness. And most importantly, he manages to highlight a fundamental aspect of Bruce Wayne's character that many performers forget. His nobility.

Forget the evil, psychopathic, hot-tempered version of Batman from the 80s comics. This is not Batman. This, as Grant Morrison points out in the Arkham Asylum graphic novel additions, is what he could have become if he hadn't stuck to his guns. moral code and would not have learned to control my anger. Conroy shows us the canonical Batman, whose words and actions are always noble, no matter what difficulties he faces.

Source: kinopoisk.ru

Some may think that after the engineer Garin, the characters Belyaev and Efremov, talking about the heroes of commercial fiction and comics would be something blasphemous, but on our part, it was unfounded snobbery. Snobbery would consist in ignoring a whole layer of culture, as well as attempts to comprehend many aspects of science fiction.

And we’ll talk about the most “realistic” and darkest of the characters in entertainment fiction – Batman.

This character has long outgrown his status as a comic book hero, as many films and animated versions, in which a variety of acute social topics are raised.

Batman combines gloom and some kind of doom, and from this he becomes a kind of embodiment of a knight of a sad image. And it all started in the distant 30s, namely in May 1939, when in the 27th issue of Detective Comics, along with the familiar and popular Superman, dark detective stories appeared about a hero devoid of any miraculous abilities, acting in unlike Superman, with the help of his cunning, ingenuity, as well as the techniques of Japanese jujutsu wrestling, then wildly popular in Europe and America.

"Birth" of Batman

Not everything is clear from the genesis of Batman. According to some sources, his “father” was Bob Kane, but after a series of lawsuits and investigations, the palm in this matter was given to Bill Finger, who was considered his co-author. According to some sources, the forerunner of all superheroes in circus tights was the character “Phantom”, in some ways very similar to Batman, since he also did not have any superpowers and had the same gloomy type.

The first issue of Detective Comics featuring Batman was called “The Case of the Chemical Syndicate,” but this character received his own independent plot line in the 40s.

It all started with the fact that the publishers of the company National Publications, now known as DC Comics decided to start working on releasing magazines with a new character. Bob Kane and Bill Finger responded to this. Kane suggested the name itself - “Batman”, and also made a drawing of a new hero, very similar to Superman, only in a red tights, also without gloves, in a small mask, with wings sticking out behind him, like a bat.

Yes, if Batman looked the same now, he would hardly have become so unique.

Finger did not like this appearance of the new character. It is thanks to him that Batman gets a completely closed mask, a cape instead of wings, and, fortunately, the red tights disappear. But just inventing a character is not enough; you need to give him a real name and biography, to make him truly unique. Then Finger takes as a basis a completely historical character, the Scottish nobleman Robert the Bruce. He was a real socialite and a favorite of women. The biography of the future hero was compiled from the events of popular culture of the 30s, as well as the life of Kane himself. While Finger was inspired by the Phantom and Shadow comics, as well as Sherlock Holmes stories, Kane took inspiration from the films The Mark of Zorro and The Bat Whisper.

"Family" dispute between Batman's "fathers"

Finger was credited as the writer of Batman stories until the mid-60s. In 1965, however, the artist’s name appears on the pages of magazines, but only as the creator of the Riddler. Later, after Finger's death, Jerry Robinson, who worked with the creators of Batman, criticized Kane's sole appropriation of the rights to the character.

DC's policy also played a role here, which considered it appropriate to indicate the names of the artists, but not the writers who created the stories. They referred to the fact that the dominant person in this case should be the one who attracted the attention of readers, and the most noticeable thing in this matter is the artists.

Batman's "New Life"

The realism of Batman stories began to disappear during World War II, when the comic book industry was already not rich in semantics. storylines, began to give preference to lighter stories, following general trend in US popular culture. Readers enjoyed simple stories, and the entertainment industry did everything to enrich popular culture something relaxing, distracting from the sensitive topics of war.

Batman was then presented as a respectable citizen in an ordinary city. In addition, new characters are introduced to help him, such as Robin, an acrobat boy from the circus, then Batgirl and Batwoman. Fantastic stories with aliens and robots appear, but this became fatal for Batman. The popularity of comics with his participation begins to decline.

In such cases, many comic book authors resorted to Conan Doyle's method, they "killed" their characters. But the “death” of Batman could not happen, since Julius Schwartz became a screenwriter at DC. He remembered the dark times detective stories about Batman without the dominance of aliens and fantasy characters. New artist– Carmine Infantino redesigned Batman's costume and Batmobile. Batwoman and cosmic characters were removed from the project, and Alfred, Bruce’s permanent butler, was “killed.” But, as in the case of Sherlock Holmes, the comic book creators had to “resurrect” Alfred due to public pressure.

Batman's popularity was also increased by the television series that aired on American television in the 60s. But the ratings of stories about the Dark Knight began to fall again, and then writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams made a number of attempts to return Batman to a neo-noir look, like early stories about him. This slowed the fall in Batman's popularity a little, but it continued to fluctuate until the 80s.

The real rebirth of Batman was the mini-series by Frank Miller. It was a real “bomb” that returned Batman to his former success. It was this series that set the very popular aesthetics of Batman's hopelessness and joylessness. Later it formed the basis of a two-part series full-length film"Return Dark Knight"and the Hollywood trilogy of the 2000s.

The comic book “The Killing Joke”, which later became the basis for the animated film of the same name, became no less successful and tough. In it, the Joker wounds Barbara, the daughter of Commissioner Gordon, depriving her of the ability to walk, and then tortures the Commissioner himself, trying to break his psyche. The denouement of the story is also extraordinary, in which Batman tries to convey to the Joker that he does not want to kill him, that he needs help.

Later, Batman is teamed up with other DC characters, but this gives him a kind of doll-like appearance, although he retains an isolated and dark appearance in this team. In the early 80s, comic book creators created story version, according to which Batman leaves the Justice League, creating his own team - the Outsiders. These stories continued until the mid-80s, but were then canceled.

Batman's Distinctive Feature

I think I should retell Batman's "achievements" in the field physical exercise and abilities, as is done on comic book fan sites, is stupid. It's still not real character, and our site is not a DC fan club, but it is worth noting its distinctive features.

Let's repeat, Batman is not the owner of superpowers, it's ordinary person, but this is precisely what adds charm to his image. In the famous film trilogy "The Dark Knight", another character takes Wayne's place, donning the "Bat" costume.

Another distinctive feature is his gloominess and ability to calculate everything in advance. In particular, in one of the issues of Justice League, one of evil characters steals Batman's secret files, which contain information about weaknesses and the possibilities of defeating the members of the “League”, including Batman. When asked why he collected such information, Batman replied that each of the superheroes is not only the protection of the planet, but also its threat, and if his comrades do not understand this, then he has nothing to do in the League.

The least and most successful film adaptations of Batman stories

Best Animated Versions:

• Of course, the most successful were Miller's duology: "The Dark Knight Returns", in which acute social issues were raised, such as the indifference of the authorities to the problems of ordinary citizens, covering up their imperial goals, supposedly, with concern for their people. It features a textbook fight between Superman and Batman.

• "Batman: Assault on Arkham." This story became the forerunner of Suicide Squad, but with a more dynamic plot. This is an excellent drawing and, in my opinion, the best appearance Batman. The picture is replete with black humor, it contains erotic scenes, and in general, the dark depiction and frank scenes of violence make it completely unchildish.

• "Batman: The Mystery of the Batwoman." Despite the children's animation, the plot of the film is very dynamic, detective and action-packed. There are no overt scenes of violence, no fantastic characters, except for one, even Penguin Man is shown as a normal character, without the habit of eating raw fish.

Another plus is the adequate image of Robin, who always looked somehow unnatural next to the brutal characters. He either was an outspoken child, or a problematic teenager, and even Wayne’s illegitimate son. Here it is a teenage acrobat quite familiar to us, and with good feeling humorous, able to notice important points and smooth out many problematic things with appropriate irony. And most importantly, this story features the mysterious character of Batwoman.

• "Batman Begins." In general, the picture cannot be called very successful; in some ways there is a lot of naivety in it, but it is interesting, and it also has an acute social subtext.
• "Batman: Gotham Knight." This is an anime version of stories about Batman and, like any anime, the picture is drawn out, replete with tough fight scenes, but at the same time it is designed in the same neo-noir style inherent in general aesthetics stories about the Dark Knight.
• "Batman and Superman: Public Enemies." This is one of the few Justice League stories that doesn't feel overly naive and tedious due to the abundance of heroes with incredible semi-divine powers. In the story, Luther, Superman's main enemy, is elected President of the United States. American society is in a state of crisis, plus an asteroid approaching the Earth is added to this, which plays into the hands of the famous intriguer. Superman and Batman refuse to help Luther, believing that all his humane statements are just a screen. Because of this position, both superheroes find themselves in a "persona non grata" position. There is a huge bounty on their head and now every villain and hero is trying to find the two rebels.
• "The Killing Joke" A very tough cartoon that cannot be classified as children's video. In it, the Joker wounds Batgirl, who acts against Batman's advice. She is the daughter of Commissioner Gordon and, in order to break the will of the policeman, the Joker arranges a photo shoot of a seriously wounded and naked Batgirl, specifically to provoke the commissioner to rash actions. Gordon goes to save his daughter, but falls into a trap in which the Joker decides to psychologically torture the commissioner in order to turn him into a madman, thereby justifying his own madness.
  Batman finds the Commissioner, trying to convey to the Joker that his violence was not successful, and the villain himself needs help. The end of the story is also unusual, in which the Joker, realizing that he has fallen into the hands of Batman, asks him if he is going to beat him up, since he has finally caught him. But Wayne refuses, saying that he doesn’t want an ending in which one of the two dies, he wants to help him. And at this moment a completely different grimace flashes across the Joker’s face, a shadow of change.

• "Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox." This brutal story tells how Flash finds himself in an alternative reality in which his mother remains alive, but everything else looks completely unusual, including Batman himself, who... kills. This makes him even more afraid, but as it turns out later, Batman is not Bruce, but his father, since Wayne Jr. and his mother die at the hands of a criminal.

Worst animated versions:

• "Batman: Bad Blood" In this film, Batman is constantly tortured, held captive, plus it turns out that he has a son who is being raised as a sadistic fanatic. Throughout the film, Batman tries to cope with him when he is not being held captive. Plus, Batwoman appears, who is a lesbian, and in the end she drags Batgirl... her mistress into Batman's team.
  There is a lot of negativity in the picture, namely negativity, not gloom.

• "Justice League vs. Teen Titans." It’s not that the picture is completely bad, but there is a lot of magic, witches, demons, and the fight against Satan, which turns it into some version of the game “Warcraft”. Robin appears again - the son of Batman, with a terrible character, constantly quarreling with his father.

• "Dark Universe". This is some kind of mixture of The Wizard of Oz and The Lord of the Rings. Some wizards, devils, demons, flying magic house, no intrigue, a primitive plot and the very figure of Batman in the film is completely inappropriate and practically useless.

The best film versions:

• Of course, in first place is The Dark Knight trilogy, although of all the parts I like only the second, the third seems rather weak to me, it is too drawn out and terribly pretentious, with strong coating anti-communist ideas.

• "Batman v Superman." I can't say it's very good picture, but it features the most successful portrayal of Batman and the actor playing him. He is gloomy, devoid of lyricism and pathos, he is haunted by the familiar doom and uncompromisingness. Actually, this is the only thing that “pulls out” the film.
• The first two Batman films of the late 80s, early 90s. In fact, it’s difficult to call them “strong”, it’s just that compared to the others they are still somehow intriguing, they have a neo-noir aesthetics of “Batmaniana”, so, with a stretch, against the background of subsequent versions, as already mentioned, we can classify her to more or less successful.

Worst film versions:

• Batman has had the least luck with cinema and is among the worst; I would classify all film adaptations after the late 80s and before the famous trilogy about the Dark Knight. These are some kind of doll versions with absolutely stupid characters. And all this is reminiscent of the very crisis of the stories about Batman, when he turned into a bright superhero fighting alien invaders.

Batman is one of the oldest superheroes: he turns 77 this year. How does he manage to remain popular at such a respectable age? Thanks to successful films and games, you will say, and you will be right.

But behind the adaptations is the source material - hundreds and hundreds of comics. Anyone who wants to approach them will immediately run away from the number of volumes, restarts and branches. What is the best place to start, what will be clear to an outsider and will immediately hook him? We offer our version.

Year One (1987)

Everyone knows the origin story of Batman. It has been presented dozens of times already with one or another discrepancy. But the version from this comic is the closest to the generally accepted canon, the most logical and rational.

“Year One” brings all stories about the appearance of a hero to a common denominator. How did wealthy orphan Bruce Wayne come up with the idea to dress up as a bat? How did he present himself to the public? How was his relationship with the only non-corrupt cop, James Gordon? All this is told in Batman: Year One, a graphic novel by Frank Miller that heavily influenced the film Batman Begins.

The Killing Joke (1988)

Batman and Joker are inseparable opposites, they are like black and white, Holmes and Moriarty, cola and mentos. Antipodes born from tragedy. Anyone interested in the Joker should start with The Killing Joke - this is where this villain is revealed best. In this deluxe graphic novel, he and Batman must fight not only for Gotham, but also for the sanity of Commissioner Gordon.

"The Killing Joke" helps to look at Batman from a new perspective. Alan Moore, like no one else, knows how to get into the brain of his characters. In his cynical way, he predicts how the endless confrontation between Batman and the Joker will end, and describes the Dark Knight as, in essence, another madman.

The Long Halloween (1996–1997)

This Halloween, Batman, Commissioner Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent join forces to save the city from a mob war and a mysterious killer. Seasoned weaver spider Jeff Loeb maintains tension and intrigue until the very end - it’s impossible to tear yourself away.

“The Long Halloween,” like “The Dark Knight,” which it inspired, shows the true tragedy of the figure of Harvey Dent, his duality, which not every author was able to grasp. Those who are interested in the origins of one of the brightest villains of the DC universe, and fans of mysteries with a triple bottom, should not pass by.

Knightfall (1993–1994)

A sort of answer to The Death of Superman. Supervillain Bane decides to break Batman, both physically and psychologically. He opens the doors of Arkham Asylum, and the Caped Crusader, at the limit of his strength, has to catch the patients one by one. This time the hero finds himself among villains of all stripes and calibers at the least suitable moment. Mad Hatter, Two-Face, Firefly, Scarecrow, Joker - in this series we will see many of Batman's enemies.

And for dessert - Bane himself. He will inflict such trauma on the hero from which he, it would seem, will never recover. Did you think Batman always wins?

Justice League of America: Tower of Babel (2000)

Batman is not only the protector of Gotham. He is also a member of the Justice League, in which he has to interact with the strongest (and most dangerous!) creatures in the DC universe. "The Tower of Babel" tells how Batman's caution is complemented by paranoia and mistrust even of his fellow man.

Those who are familiar with the members of the Justice League will be interested to see the Dark Knight in an unusual setting, but newcomers will be captivated by the cunning of Ra’s al Ghul, who opposes the heroes.

Quiet! (2002–2003)

Batman's opponents rarely teamed up, but this is exactly the case. A conspiracy has been organized against Batman involving almost all of his old enemies. Who is behind this? The one who passionately hates the hero of Gotham and knows more about him than anyone else.

Screenwriter Jeph Loeb has created another magnificent, vibrant mystery. A tangle of secrets unwinds, lifting the veil over both Bruce Wayne's childhood and his relationships with Selina Kyle and Talia al Ghul.

Mad Love (1994)

The Joker's girlfriend Harley Quinn is perhaps the most popular anti-heroine of the Batman universe (at least among cosplayers, for sure). Not everyone remembers that she first appeared in the animated series Batman: The Animated Series and only then in this comic. Harley has changed a lot these days, and seeing her portrayed by her actual father, screenwriter Paul Dini, is priceless.

The comical, exciting and touching story of Harley Quinn's mad love for the Joker won an Eisner Award. It makes sense to read it before the release of Suicide Squad, in which Harley makes her big screen debut.

The Man Who Laughs (2005)

The Joker appeared in comics almost simultaneously with Batman himself and is too important to be limited to just one volume about him on this list. Unfortunately, the comics of the 1940s, in which this character debuted, can no longer impress today's demanding readers. But Ed Brubaker managed to modernize the first story about the Clown Prince of Crime. The comic not only explains how the Joker immediately managed to become the number one enemy for Batman, Gotham and the entire society, but also shows ordinary person, Commissioner Gordon, in the face of this disaster.

Batman and Son (2006)

Batman has a son, and he will have to babysit! And everything would be fine, but the shket is a trained killer!

This may sound like the premise of yet another kitschy Joel Schumacher film, but fortunately Grant Morrison didn't slip up. This comic of his became the basis for stories about the Dark Knight for years to come, and at the same time provided answers to all questions about Damian Wayne and his wild nature.

Court of Owls (2011–2012)

The first Batman story since the DC Universe relaunch helps readers figure out what's going on with the Dark Knight right now.

In the story, Gotham has been controlled for centuries by the Court of Owls, a mysterious organization that Batman himself was unaware of until it decided to strike at him. And in the sequel “Night of the Owls,” the entire extended Bat-family fights with the Court’s henchmen. So the comic presents a new look at Bruce Wayne's entourage: Barbara Gordon, Dick Grayson, Alfred and others.

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Of course, not everyone is included in this list. best stories about the Dark Knight. It doesn't have the complex, newbie graphic novels like Arkham Asylum, Gothic, and Batman, R.I.P. Grant Morrison, cynical crime drama"Joker" by Brian Azzarello, "Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?" Neil Gaiman and Frank Miller's masterpiece The Dark Knight Returns...

All of these things will work better for a reader already familiar with the basics. These are the stories on our list that will help you understand the motives and character of Batman and those around him. Happy reading and welcome to Gotham!

There are a number of characters that Marvel stole from DC, but we will only list the most important and famous ones. By the way, DC is also not blameless in this matter, but this is a topic for another article.

DC Comics | Marvel Comics

Green Arrow/Hawkeye

2

DC Comics | Marvel Comics

Brainiac/Ultron

3

DC Comics | Marvel Comics

Deathstroke/Deadpool

4

DC Comics | Marvel Comics

Solomon Grundy/Hulk

5

DC Comics | Marvel Comics

Flash/Quicksilver

6

DC Comics | Marvel Comics

Darkseid / Thanos

7

DC Comics | Marvel Comics

Atom/Ant-Man

8

DC Comics | Marvel Comics

Clayface/Sandman

DC Comics | Marvel Comics

Batman/Iron Man