10 Batman Comics That Feel Like Action-Adventure Movies

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In the 80-plus years’ worth of Batman comics published by DC, the Caped Crusader has been more than capable of fitting into various genres. It’s one of the character’s greatest assets when it comes to storytelling. The DC Comics icon can work seamlessly into sci-fi, horror, neo-noir, and everything in between, and plenty of his stories feel like they could easily be a blockbuster action-adventure movie.

Even with Batman being a street-level superhero at his core, there’s plenty of jaw-dropping action in Gotham City. It also helps that several solo Batman comics take the hero well beyond the city limits, sometimes even in alternate dimensions and off-planet. The Dark Knight’s catalog has plenty of cinematic potential with modern classics like Hush or his international capers in Batman Incorporated.

10

The Joker War is an Explosive Storyline

The Clown Prince of Crime Uproots Both Sides of Batman’s Life

Joker’s presence in mainline comics could have ended in the New 52’s Endgame arc, but James Tynion IV and Jorge Jiménez’s The Joker War​​​​​​is still entertaining. Bruce Wayne is still reeling from the loss of his surrogate father, Alfred Pennyworth, but has little time for respite. The Clown Prince of Crime is drastically changing his approach to his cyclical feud with Batman, using Bruce’s assets against him to control Gotham with his own army.

Between Joker’s militarized forces on Gotham City’s streets and a vulnerable Dark Knight needing his allies—from Nightwing to now even Harley Quinn—more than ever, The Joker War​​​​​​has all the stakes of an action thriller. It’s difficult to pull off for readers worn on the concept of another Batman vs. Joker showdown, but the nature of this fight and the mental wounds Bruce is forced to deal with simultaneously keep this engaging. Learning to go on as a hero and a person without Alfred, all while being plunged into explosive action against Joker’s forces, balances theatrical action with character drama.

9

Batman Incorporated Has Elements of Spy Thrillers

Grant Morrison’s Run Sees Batman Tackle Global Conspiracies

Legendary writer Grant Morrison’s ambitious 7-year-long run with the Caped Crusader concluded with his run on Batman Incorporated. Set after Bruce’s apparent death and return to Gotham and his mantle following the R.I.P. and Final Crisis arcs, the hero takes his heroics to a grander stage. Bruce funds the Batman persona as a global crime-fighting brand, recruiting heroes to combat evil and the shadowy Leviathan syndicate.

Alongside artist Chris Burnham, Morrison weaves a larger-than-life saga with Batman Incorporated that bakes the action and spy-thriller genres into its overarching plot. With seedy, international crime organizations, an expansive Bat-Family in constant action, and unraveling mysteries at almost every step, this series adopts elements of Mission: Impossible and James Bond​​​​​​for its premise. Incorporated has a distinctive globetrotting tone that would slot effortlessly into an action movie format.

Multiple Batman Villains Pull Off a Shocking Heist With the DC Hero in Tow

Amid the sweeping storylines of DC’s core Batman titles, limited series have been exploring side stories of different scales. These help keep things fresh narratively, and Tom King, David Marquez, and Alejandro Sánchez’s Killing Time offers high-octane action. An assortment of Batman antagonists, from Riddler and Catwoman to Killer Croc and Penguin, pull off an absurd heist worth $1.5 million. These rogues steal something of immense and curious value, and the Dark Knight takes off on a wild chase to thwart their plans.

The beauty of Killing Time is the slick visuals and unapologetic level of action it shows off. It’s a worthwhile excuse to dive once again into the early years of Batman’s career, presenting a heist-thriller plot that’s comfortably standalone by nature. The chaos that ensues is pure, wall-to-wall action with set pieces that would feel perfectly at home in a theater setting, but it’s also anchored by a clever mystery. It’s a fun twist that makes use of its unconventional group of villains.

7

Universe is a Campier, Sci-Fi Adventure

Silver Age Vibes Return in This Colorful Batman Comic

Batman’s crime dramas have certainly become the character’s most recognizable. The darker tone has defined the Dark Knight’s modern age in comics, but the sillier takes still have their place today. That’s on full display in writer Brian Bendis and artist Nick Derington’s Universe. When Batman catches the Riddler in his attempts to steal a valuable jeweled egg, the bizarre powers it holds spiral into a quest spanning space and time—and plenty of DC guest stars.

Universe is a refreshing change of pace for Batman comics, with its campy Silver Age feel showing its potential as a sci-fi adventure movie. The story doesn’t take itself too seriously, but it celebrates the vibrancy of the DC multiverse and throws in colorful crossovers with heroes like Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Jonah Hex, and more. While there’s evergreen appeal in the street-level grit of Batman’s comics, it’s hard not to smile imagining a lighter movie with the hero going from Dinosaur Island to the American Old West.

6

Hush is the Comic Equivalent of a Blockbuster Movie

Batman’s Iconic ’00s Storyline Features a Revolving Cast of DC Characters

Hush is easily one of the most notable Batman comics from the early ’00s. Written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by Jim Lee and Scott Williams, this arc from the flagship Batman title follows an elusive killer trying to orchestrate the Dark Detective’s downfall—and Bruce Wayne’s—through the hero’s greatest enemies. The figure at the top of this elaborate scheme won’t rest until the brooding detective’s life is destroyed from the inside out.

Hush remains one of the most exciting and accessible Batman comics, even with the cabal of villains and supporting heroes rotating in the story. That’s largely thanks to the plot’s atmosphere taking on an unmistakable “Hollywood blockbuster” approach to its presentation. Even before considering the titanic fistfight between Batman and a brainwashed Superman, Hush is packed with action, mystery, an all-star cast, and a deeply involved romance subplot between Bruce and Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Their development broke new ground for the time, but it all culminates in an action thriller fit for the screen.

Batman Squares Off Against Two-Face to Prevent Gotham Descending Into Anarchy

New 52 writer Scott Snyder returned to Gotham City for the DC Rebirth era’s All-Star Batman series. A revolving cast of talented artists joins him for the series’ story arcs, and Marvel artist John Romita Jr. helms My Own Worst Enemy​​​​​​alongside him. In Batman’s attempts to rescue the fallen district attorney Harvey Dent/Two-Face, a target is painted on the hero’s back along the way.

It feels like the entire Gotham criminal element and beyond are after the Dark Knight’s head, and should it succeed in time, secrets will be revealed that could plunge Gotham’s population into chaos. My Own Worst Enemy is a high-stakes action story from the start. Having Batman tethered to Two-Face the entire time while time ticks away makes this story relentlessly tense, and the set pieces are brutal and over-the-top.

4

Rise and Fall of the Batmen is an Action-Packed Team-Up

Batman & Batwoman Lead a Unique Lineup of Gotham City’s Heroes

Team-up stories in superhero media are a tried-and-true formula. Writer James Tynion IV’s The Rise and Fall of the Batmen is one of the stronger crossovers in recent Batman comics, putting the wider Bat-Family under the spotlight. To better handle the city’s widespread threats, Bruce and his cousin, Kate Kane (Batwoman), lead a band of heroes dubbed the Gotham Knights.

Tynion IV’s Rise and Fall of the Batmen​​​​​​is an ideal template should there ever be an action-focused Batman movie revolving around a Gotham-based team-up. Together, the Gotham Knights take on paramilitary forces, timeline-altering threats, and vengeful criminal outfits out for Batman’s blood. The Detective Comics run gives this unique Bat-Family the limelight to shine beyond the Dark Detective, and it even throws in a tragic and redemptive Clayface to prove himself. It’s an overall thrilling mix of action and inter-family drama.

3

One Dark Knight is a Gritty Story of Survival

A Criminal Transfer Leads Batman on an Increasingly Tense Mission

Having lent his artistic talents to Batman comics like Scott Snyder’s The Black Mirror storyline, Jock takes on writing illustrating duties in his One Dark Knight​​​​​​miniseries. The DC Black Label comic sees the Caped Crusader attempt to transport a metahuman criminal to Blackgate Prison. However, the mission quickly goes haywire, with a Gotham-wide blackout forcing Batman to take him on foot through a city that seems to want them both dead.

One Dark Knight depicts the hero in a grueling one-night mission where the tension feels increasingly palpable. The premise and plot are quite straightforward, but it’s a solid foundation for a gritty, street-level thriller where fans can see the night take its toll physically on the character as the story progresses. Jock’s gloomy, evocative art and use of lighting matches the experience masterfully, making One Dark Knight‘s survival elements feel much more intense.

2

The Detective Takes the Dark Knight Abroad

This Grizzled Take on Batman Takes Him Out of His Sandbox

Writer Tom Taylor is currently leading an impressive run on the mainline Detective Comics​​. But he and artist Andy Kubert got to play in their own corner of the DC multiverse canon with The Detective. The limited series follows a middle-aged Bruce Wayne as he dons the cape and cowl again to get to the bottom of a criminal group known as Equilibrium. This outfit is leaving death in its wake across Europe, and its connections to Batman’s past are gradually unveiled.

The comparisons to Frank Miller, Klaus Janson, and Lynn Varley’s The Dark Knight Returns Elseworlds comicare apparent. Even so, The Detective takes those parallels in stride. Its plot has a similar sense of adventurousness as something like Batman Incorporated and even has the hero team-up with the U.K.’s Robin equivalent, Squire. The Detective includes action sequences not unlike a blockbuster feature, and even Bruce begrudgingly getting help from his morally dubious ex-mentor, Henri Ducard, feels like an action movie dynamic.

1

Off-World is a Wild Sci-Fi Thrill Ride

A Younger Batman Takes on Galactic Foes

Limited series continue to show how Batman excels in DC’s stranger territories. Jason Aaron—who’s written an epic Thor saga and an excellent run on Star Wars for Marvel—pairs with artist Doug Mahnke to inject sci-fi into Batman stories with Off-World. As a Dark Knight early in his crimefighting career, he’s suddenly pitted against alien enemies beyond his experience. In classic Batman fashion, he decides to take to the stars to learn how to defeat a threat that deals in murder and oppression wherever it goes.

While it’s hard to imagine a live-action movie ever using such a concept for a Batman movie, Off-World is a brilliant example of the fun creators can have with the hero’s mythos. It’s a good story to connect the dots between an early-career Batman’s ground-level heroics and having the experience to tackle otherworldly threats alongside cosmic DC heroes. Regardless, Off-World is also simply a good time, as if Aaron meshed the Dark Knight’s world with a pulpy sci-fi action movie.

“}]] Batman is usually known for his Gothic or Noir stylings, but quite a few of the Dark Knight’s best comics would also appeal to action/adventure fans.  Read More