The Batman is set to be a gritty, realistic mystery story about the Caped Crusader hunting an enigmatic serial killer. Among the pantheon of beloved Batman stories, one great source of inspiration for a dark Batman mystery could be the hit 1996 series The Long Halloween.
The Long Halloween was written by Jeph Loeb, former head of Marvel Television and writer for TV shows like Smallville, films like Commando, and author of many classic comic series. The art was done by Tim Sale, who frequently collaborated with Loeb on a wide variety of projects. The 13 issue series won an Eisner Award for Best Limited Series.
Batman is a character who works in a wide variety of stories, from comedy to gritty crime drama to supernatural horror. That being the case, every story surrounding the character is a new opportunity for experimentation. Matt Reeves’s take on the Batman mythos is on a similar wavelength to The Long Halloween. The Caped Crusader has tangled with gods, aliens, bank robbers, unethical megacorporations, and much more, but in both the upcoming film and The Long Halloween he tangles with a semi-realistic serial killer.
Fans of The Long Halloween who have been paying attention to the trailers for The Batman may have noticed some already confirmed details both works share. Both focus on Bruce Wayne fairly early into his career as a crime fighter, both see Batman forging a working relationship with Commissioner James Gordon, both feature Gotham City’s mob underworld, both feature numerous figures of the rogues gallery and both see Batman hunting serial killers. Director Matt Reeves has stated that the plot of the film will not be directly based on a particular comic book storyline, but there are clearly several elements of comparisons between the two works. Jeffery Wright, who will be portraying James Gordon, has even stated publically that he read The Long Halloween as research for the role.
The Long Halloween has actually been a source of inspiration for multiple other on-screen Batman adaptations. Most obviously, a two-part animated adaptation of the series was released in June and July of this year. The animated film version of the story was the 42nd release of the DC Animated universe, which has rarely seen theatrical release. The film was well-received, a direct adaptation of the beloved series was hotly anticipated and this take did not disappoint. Though this is the only direct adaptation of The Long Halloween, there are multiple other works inspired by the series.
The fourth season of the TV drama Gotham is the first in which the young Bruce Wayne lays claim to his Batman persona. The season takes place after a hostile takeover by the Penguin but takes a horror-themed direction early on. The season is heavily inspired by The Long Halloween but intermixed with Frank Miller’s Batman: Year One series. Much is changed in the adaptation, but at least the first half of the season is heavily inspired by the mob interplay and serial murder aspects of The Long Halloween, with the added element of the early-career Batman.
Perhaps the most beloved on-screen Batman story is Christopher Nolan’s 2006 opus The Dark Knight. That classic film, too, was inspired by The Long Halloween. Its influence can be seen most in the less-discussed aspect of the film, Harvey Dent’s fall from grace. Though Heath Ledger’s Joker certainly stole the spotlight of the film, Dent’s grim descent from moral paragon to violent murderer feels lifted directly from the B-plot of The Long Halloween. In both works, the grim turn from Dent to Two-Face occurs while Batman is entangled with the film’s main threat. The film also sees Batman refuse to acknowledge Dent’s involvement until the last moment, much like the comic series.
The Long Halloween has already been the basis for multiple great adaptations, so why should it be a source of inspiration for the upcoming film? Because Matt Reeves has boldly stated that The Batman will bring back an element of the character that is too often underused. The Batman will be a mystery story, allowing Batman to use his skills as a detective on the big screen again. Modern tales about Bruce Wayne tend to spend more time on his fists than his brain, latching onto martial arts and gadgets rather than creating suspense or doing investigations. These aspects of the character are important, but The World’s Greatest Detective is rarely displayed using those skills.
The Long Halloween is a great dark mystery series for the Caped Crusader, and while The Batman will obviously not directly adapt its narrative, it can learn much from its example. The chance to see Batman solve an unsolvable case will be a fun horror direction for the character not seen on the big screen for several iterations. The Long Halloween is clearly a great source for Batman stories and the plotline of the detective against a gritty serial killer as multiple criminals turn the city upside down will delight fans.
