5 Above picks five great things within a specific category. Look out below--these are five that rise above.
I've been a Batman fan since 1966. I was six years old, and the twice-weekly televised adventures of the Caped Crusader (played by Adam West, alongside Burt Ward as Robin the Boy Wonder) had me fully captivated faster'n you could say "To the Batmobile!" It was the start of my nearly six decades of fascination with comic books in general, superheroes in particular, and Batman always first and foremost. You can read a little more about my 1960s pop culture journey here, my love of comic books here and here, and the specifics of my Batman fandom here and here.
The fact that the Batman TV series was really a comedy--a comedy that gleefully poked fun at our heroes and their milieu--sailed over my li'l head like the Batsignal shining over Gotham City. As I aged into the presumed maturity (HA!) of adolescence and teendom, I moved away from the campy aspects of the Batman TV series, and embraced the more serious image of Batman as the Dark Knight: The Batman, as depicted in early '70s comics written by Dennis O'Neil, Frank Robbins, Archie Goodwin, even the much-maligned Bob Haney, illustrated by Neal Adams, Irv Novick, Jim Aparo, Dick Giordano, et al. At the age of 13, I decided I wanted to be a writer; Batman comics in the early '70s provided the specific impetus for that decision. (My teen efforts to write Batman were abysmal, but I became a better writer over time. Although it was fanfic, I'm stubbornly proud of my latter-day attempt to write Batman.)
I have read a lot of Batman comics over the decades, going back to the character's first appearances in the '30s and early '40s through all subsequent decades. I am still an active comics reader, and the current runs of Batman, Detective Comics, Batman And Robin: Year One, and Batman Superman World's Finest are among my must-reads. I buy titles from several different publishers, but I've always had a particular affinity for DC. I haven't read anywhere near 100% of Batman's 86-year history, but I've certainly experienced way more than a mere representative sample. Along the way, I've reconciled my childhood adoration of the 1966 TV show and my enthusiasm for the Darknight Detective. Batman is large. He contains multitudes.
And I have some favorite Batman stories.
Without going back to do any actual research, these are the five single-issue Batman comic book stories that my gut insists were my all-time favorites. It's basically a ranked list, from # 5 to # 1, though there ain't much daylight between the individual rankings.
The list does not include stories that were chapters in a longer serial. That means it excludes writer Steve Englehart's amazing run on Detective Comics, penciled for its first two issues by Walt Simonson and then through its conclusion by Marshall Rogers, with Terry Austin inking throughout. That is far and away my favorite Batman run, and probably my all-time favorite run of any comics character.
To the Bat-list!
5. THE ORIGIN OF THE BATMAN! (Batman # 47, June-July 1948)
Written by Bill Finger, art by Bob Kane (?) and Charles Paris
I am well aware of the fact that pundits overuse the word "iconic." Nonetheless, the original two-page spread of the Batman's origin story--who he is and how he came to be--is one of the most iconic sequences in the history of superhero comic books. Written by Batman's co-creator Bill Finger, the story first appeared in Detective Comics # 33 in 1939, attached to a story written by Gardner Fox. It was reprinted with a new splash image in Batman # 1, and the latter version has been reprinted again and again. I first saw it in the 1966 Batman Signet paperback, and many times thereafter.
You know the story by heart: A young Bruce Wayne is eyewitness to the murder of his parents at the hands of a street thug, and the boy vows to dedicate his life to warring on crime, training himself to physical and mental excellence, and ultimately donning the image of a bat to strike fear into the hearts of the superstitious and cowardly lot known as criminals. The events of the origin story have been revisited countless times in comics and film, and three of my top five single-issue Batman stories draw directly from that source.
I believe 1948's "The Origin Of The Batman!" was the first attempt to re-tell that story and expand upon it. Also written by Finger, "The Origin Of The Batman!" finds the Dark Knight nearly a decade into his mission, the grim nature of his original crusade brightened by the 1940 adoption of his de facto son Dick Grayson, aka Robin. Throughout that time, the unidentified gunman who killed Bruce Wayne's parents remained anonymous, and presumably still at large.
In "The Origin Of The Batman!," Commissioner Gordon shows the Dynamic Duo a photo of the suspected head of a unique smuggling ring: Joe Chill. Batman immediately recognizes Chill's face as that of the man who murdered Bruce Wayne's parents.
In the pages that follow, readers again experience the tragedy that formed the Batman, and watch as the adult hero seeks to fulfill the vow of justice he made as a child. The story is tense and exciting, and made even larger as the Batman reveals his secret identity to the rat that murdered his parents. Chill flees in terror, and blurts out to his underlings that he was responsible for inspiring Batman's war on crime.
The superstitious and cowardly criminals, maddened by their rage at this frightened thug whose actions had created the masked nemesis that had dogged their own criminal careers, murder Chill on the spot. A fitting end for his kind. No honor among thieves! The swine who put Chill on ice then realize that he could have told them who the Batman really was. Too late, bad guys! The Batman brings them all to justice.
One of the many great things about this story is a part that's left unsaid, just understood. As Batman finally marks the Wayne murder case closed, there isn't even an inkling that securing justice against his parents' killer means the end of the Batman. There are other innocents to protect, other people to save, and other villains to face and overcome. The Batman's mission was always, and should always remain, about more than vengeance, and more than just one boy's tragedy. The Batman knew, without needing to say it, that he had to be more than a mere avenger.
He needed to be a hero. That mission doesn't end.
4. THE JOKER'S FIVE-WAY REVENGE! (Batman # 251, August-September 1973)
Written by Dennis O'Neil, art by Neal Adams and Dick Giordano
The success of the 1966-68 Batman TV series led to an enormous boost in the character's comic book sales. Sales fell precipitously when the Batfad ended, and by the end of the '60s/beginning of the '70s there was a conscious effort to move Batman away from camp elements. Specifically, the intention was to return the Caped Crusader to his pulpish roots as the Dark Knight. Good ol' Batman had to once again become a creature of the night: THE Batman.
Yeah, you better run, you superstitious and cowardly criminals!
The transition began in 1968 issues of the Batman team-up book The Brave And The Bold. This was strictly a visual update, as artist Neal Adams took it upon himself to render the Batman as he envisioned the Batman: In shadows, long cape flowing, the ears of his mask more pronounced and demonic, his posture suggesting a deadly nightstalker. In 1969, main Bat-editor Julius Schwartz began following this blueprint, initially in a story by writer Frank Robbins and artists Irv Novick and Dick Giordano that found Dick Grayson heading off to college, Bruce Wayne shuttering stately Wayne Manor and its subterranean Batcave, and moving to a penthouse in the heart of Gotham City. Schwartz paired Adams with writer Denny O'Neil to join Robbins, Novick, Giordano, and others in chronicling the new old look Batman.
Part of the plan was to eschew the familiar adversaries seen on the TV show. No Catwoman, for damned sure no Penguin or Riddler, and even the Joker was off-limits. Two-Face (a classic villain whom O'Neil described as untainted by the TV show) was brought back for his first real appearance since the '50s. New opponents were created, most notably Ra's al Ghul, less notably Colonel Sulphur.
The Joker finally returned in 1973's "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge!," crafted by O'Neil, Adams, and Giordano. This was the first shift away from the Clown Prince of Crime seen in comics for decades (and portrayed on TV by Caesar Romero) back to the murderous monster introduced in 1940's Batman # 1.
This was seismic. "The Joker's Five-Way Revenge!" redefined the Joker, establishing a model for how the character would be depicted in comics and film. It draws on what Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson, and (I guess) Bob Kane created before decisions were made to deemphasize the Joker's role as a killer, reestablishes the menace, and leads to Steve Englehart perfecting that approach a few years later.
I bought this comic book brand new off the spinner rack, one of the best twenty-cent purchases I ever made. The Joker's return had been teased in the letters column of a previous issue, and I could not wait for it to be in my hands. It did not disappoint, and thirteen-year-old me read it over and over and over.
3. TO KILL A LEGEND (Detective Comics # 500, March 1981)
Written by Alan Brennert, art by Dick Giordano
We jump ahead a few years for my # 3 and # 2 favorites, both of which were written by Alan Brennert. Brennert is best known for his work in television (as writer and producer) and as a novelist; to say he's dabbled in writing for comics does a disservice to the impact of what he accomplished with a relatively small volume of stories. He did a little bit of work for Marvel, and a little more for DC. The 2016 hardcover Tales Of The Batman: Alan Brennert collects eleven Brennert stories, including two that don't feature Batman, and including the graphic novel Batman: Holy Terror. Other than two stories Brennert plotted (but did not script) for Wonder Woman in the late '70s, this book contains the entirety of his DC work.
And it's glorious. Brennert infuses his writing with an emotional element that feels real, a sense of verisimilitude that adds essential punch to his superhero storytelling. That is especially true of the two Brennert Batman stories on my list.
"To Kill A Legend" appeared in Detective Comics # 500, and it lives up to the honor. The mystic traveler known only as the Phantom Stranger offers Batman an opportunity to visit a parallel world, where a young Bruce Wayne is about to undergo the same trauma that forged the Batman. Throughout his life, Batman has felt survivor's guilt over his inability to save his parents. The Phantom Stranger's offer gives Batman a chance to save the Thomas and Martha Wayne of this alternate universe. Batman accepts this shot at redemption, and so the Phantom Stranger transports Batman and Robin to this other Earth, charged with the mission of preventing the Waynes' murder.
But is it that simple? The young Bruce on this parallel Earth is a spoiled brat, headed for an adult life as the useless playboy Batman only pretends to be. Robin wonders if saving the Waynes is worth the cost of depriving this other world of its Batman. But the Batman replies:
"I can appreciate your concerns, Robin...but I can't share them. Lives are at stake here...
"...Including a little boy's life...
"...A boy who'll see his family die before his eyes.
"He'll never forget that...never lose the anger or the anguish.
"No one should be angry all his life, Dick. No one."
Navigating a parallel world that is similar but not identical to the familiar world provides twists and turns that further complicate the Batman's efforts to save the Waynes. But he arrives just in time, in what may be my favorite visual sequence in the history of superhero comics.
I don't care that I'm supposed to be an adult, and a theoretically mature adult at that. This sequence brings me chills to this day.
But it is the story's epilogue that elevates even further. As the Batman and Robin we know return to their own reality, they don't realize the extent of the difference they made in this alternate world. That young, spoiled Bruce Wayne has seen how quickly a life could be taken away, without apology, without any sense of fairness. No innocent child should ever have to face that horror, a horror that almost befell Bruce. He begins to train himself, to study criminology and detection, to pursue a goal of seeking justice and protecting others. As Brennert writes, the path this young Bruce Wayne chooses "will not be a decision born of grief, or guilt, or vengeance...but of awe...and mystery...and gratitude."
A Batman born of determination and joy? Yes. Yes. Yes.
2. THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BRUCE WAYNE! (The Brave And The Bold # 197, April 1983)
Written by Alan Brennert, art by Joe Staton and George Freeman
"To Kill A Legend!" was far, far from Batman's first foray into the idea of parallel Earths. In the early 1960s, DC Comics canon established that there were multiple Earths, with DC's then-current main continuity of the Justice League of America occurring on Earth-One. Earth-Two was the home of the Justice Society of America, the JLA's counterparts (and forebears) from the 1940s. Earth-Two had its own Batman, about twenty years older than the Earth-One Batman. The Earth-Two Batman had retired long ago, and he'd married the love of his life, his former adversary the Catwoman. Both characters had perished in the comics before 1983.
But Alan Brennert wanted to go back and reveal the untold story of how Batman and Catwoman got together all those years ago.
The result was "The Autobiography Of Bruce Wayne!," a flashback related in the first person by the retired Caped Crusader himself. It's an amazing story of action informed by emotion, a story of love and dedication, sacrifices, fear, bravery, commitment, mortality, and love's potential power to transcend for whatever time this finite world allows us.
It is difficult for me to write this, even now. In 2008, my niece was killed in a stupid accident that angers and saddens me still, as I'm sure it always will. Some wounds don't heal. Maybe some wounds shouldn't heal.
She was living in New York at the time. Yes, Gotham City. The funeral would be in Syracuse. Her parents, my sister and brother-in-law, live in England, and it made sense for me to make as many of the local arrangements as I could. My pain was, frankly, nothing compared to the pain they were going through.
Part of the arrangements was writing my niece's obituary. God, it still pains me to say those words. It had to be done. And it had to be worthy of what a great person she was.
My pop culture inspirations are never far from my mind. I remembered the closing passage from "The Autobiography Of Bruce Wayne!," as the Batman looked back on the death of his beloved Selina, and I offered that in my niece's memory as well:
"Her death was pointless, tragic...but I have long since given up trying to find meaning in death. The meaning is in life, not death. And [her] life was as full of meaning as it was of love, and spirit, and courage. And when my time comes to join her...I would only hope the same could be said for me."
1. NIGHT OF THE STALKER! (Detective Comics # 439, February-March 1974)
Written by Steve Englehart, Vin Amendola, and Sal Amendola, art by Sal Amenola, Vin Amendola, and Dick Giordano
The definitive single-issue Batman story. And I can say that even though it doesn't include Robin, Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, nor a single one of the Batman's familiar gallery of rogues, nor any other character from among his supporting cast. And the Batman has no dialogue, not a word of it.
And it's perfect.
Like "The Origin Of The Batman!" and "To Kill A Legend," "Night Of The Stalker!" flashes back to the night Bruce Wayne witnessed the murder of his parents. But here, the adult who grew from that grieving, traumatized child sees the same thing happen to someone else, as another young boy loses his mother and father to the gun. This time, it's not a lone gunman like Joe Chill, but a quartet of bank robbers fleeing from their crime. The Batman sees it all, but is too far away to prevent the tragedy.
He can only seek vengeance.
One of the gunmen is captured at the scene, pounded into submission by the fists of this furious Dark Knight. The other three criminals drive away, not yet realizing they are now hunted, mere prey, damned to be stalked with cold efficiency by a bat out of Hell.
The Batman traces them. The Batman tracks them. In a tense and exciting narrative, the silent Batman faces the killers, spooks them, provokes them, taunts them, haunts them, and goads them into overconfident actions. He takes each one of them down. Two succumb to the Batman's physical force. The fourth and final killer, a young man, crumples under the weight of his own remorse, weeping with regret and guilt. The Batman leaves them all for the police to apprehend, and he returns to his home as night becomes light.
Dawn is stealing into Gotham City as the Batman slips into the penthouse atop the Wayne Foundation Building...
...Where, with the frosty birth of day, this hunter of darkness "dies," leaving only a weary Bruce Wayne...
As he lifts the cowl from his drawn face, his eyes automatically rise...
...And suddenly, sorrow explodes within him.
Time heals all wounds, they say...
...And, in truth, Bruce Wayne long ago learned to live with the agonizing fact of his parents' demise.
But when he thinks of the boy crime left sobbing on the street at dusk--and the other boy crime left sobbing before the Batman's vengeance hours later...
...He remembers a third boy crime left sobbing so many years ago. And in this gray-lit, lonely tower, for this single moment in infinity...
...He is that boy again.
HONORABLE MENTIONS (listed in order of publication):
"The Crazy Crime Clown!" (Batman # 74, November-December 1952)
"Web Of Doom!" (Batman # 90, March 1955)
"Death Knocks Three Times!" (Batman # 180, April-May 1966)
"Night Of The Reaper!" (Batman # 237, December 1971)
"There Is No Hope In Crime Alley!" (Detective Comics # 457, March 1976)
"Be Better" (Batman [Volume 3] # 150, September 2024)
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