With the recent announcement of Ben Affleck making his return to the DCEU, signing on to appear in future DC films and possibly even appear in his own HBO Max series. There are countless stories from comic books and media that we would love to see adapted into a Ben Affleck Batman series. Certain steps and beats that his iteration of the Dark Knight follows that would work so well for an HBO series. That being said, we will be taking a look at some of the best Batman stories that be adapted for this series. Stories that would fit the tone of this DC Universe films. With a dark and brutal version of Batman, we have some clever ideas for stories we would like to see in this upcoming series.
The Court of Owls
This story has been one of the most prolific Batman arc in recent memory. Telling the story of an underground organization known as the Court of Owls and how they have been playing a game of chess with Gotham and its wealthy to determine the future of the city. The original story was the kick start to Batman’s new comic run with the relaunch of the New 52 in 2011. Written by Scott Snyder, this has since become part of Batman’s definitive stories in his large collection of groundbreaking tales. While it has been briefly adapted in the animated film Batman vs. Robin, no other reincarnation has been explored. The Court of Owls are set to be the main antagonist in the upcoming game Gotham Knights, but other than that we would love to see a solid iteration of Scott Snyder’s beloved story for an HBO Max series. And considering there are two volumes beginning with Court of Owls and concluding with Night of the Owls, there is plenty of opportunity to make at least two seasons of an HBO Max series.
Batman and the Monster Men
Although this is the second part of a series called Dark Moon Rising, this is the story we would love to see adapted even if we have to wait till season two. Picking up after the storyline Batman: Year One, this arc was an introduction to the villainous psychiatrist Hugo Strange and Bruce Wayne love interest Julie Madison. In this story, Strange is turning humans into monster men. Of course there is more to the story, but that is basically the jist of it. However, while this might work out as much as a story driven crime thriller. But rather a psychological body horror series, something that fans have been craving a bit more out of the Caped Crusader, Horror and Batman. Watching Batman take on an unusual threat like Hugo Strange, as he transforms people into giant monsters could make for intriguing storytelling and could work the already established DCEU. Perhaps even give some kind of connecting with Batman’s first encounter with Killer Croc who appeared in Suicide Squad.
Arkham Asylum
Even though the video game is loosely based on the graphic novel, an Arkham Asylum like story would make for one of the best on screen adaptations. Preferably we would love to see the game unfold similar to the video game, we only hope they will keep the same dark esthetic as both the comic and game. And with Jared Leto returning to film scenes for Zack Snyder’s Justice League, we would welcome him back to return once more for this series and take over the Asylum. This would also make for a great way to introduce Batman’s various rouges gallery, even if they didn’t want to use some of the more supernatural baddies, they could still bring in some of the more realistic crazies. Victor Zsasz, Mad Hatter and even Harley Quinn would all make for interesting villains for Affleck’s Batman to face off against. But of course, we would love to see those supernatural villains as well. Except we hope to see some of the characters that perhaps need proper reiterations, or some that have never been adapted yet. Give us proper versions of Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze and the Riddler.
Return of the Joker/Death in the Family
This one might be a little bit of stretch, especially since the idea of recreating this story comes from a theory but would also set up answers for what happened to this versions Robin. Since the jokerized Robin suit is shown in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, we have yet to see anything else done with it. However, an online rumor has speculated that perhaps Jared Leto’s Joker could be a Robin. Dick Grayson, Jason Todd or Tim Drake, he could be any of these sidekicks. But there are plenty of evidence to show that this Joker could be a Robin, and perhaps he killed the original Joker. One piece of evidence is the age, since Affleck’s Batman is supposed to appear older and Leto’s Joker is younger, shouldn’t the Joker resemble about the same age as Batman? Regardless, any direction you take whether it is Jason Todd’s death from Death in the Family or Tim Drakes transformation in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. Adapting either of those stories could provide so much resolution and fulfillment to Batman’s world in the DCEU.
Batman vs. Deathstroke
Recently there was a story arc that took place in Deathstroke comics titled Batman vs. Deathstroke, where there was speculation around that Damian might actually be the son of Slade Wilson and not Bruce Wayne. As much as we would love to see that story play out, we most likely won’t be seeing that since there is so much to cover before getting into that. But what we would love to see is Joe Manganiello reprise his role as Deathstoke and face off against Ben Affleck’s Batman. We have seen what sheer brutality this Batman has, if you don’t know then you should check out the warehouse scene in Batman v. Superman. But the chance to see a Batman driven story as he unravels the origins behind this assassin would be one of the most entertaining new shows on HBO Max. Deathstroke is already such a popular character among fans with his appearances in other shows like Titans, let’s take a shot at seeing the World’s Greatest Assassin vs the World’s Greatest Detective.
