Batman stories where he's the most interesting part?

[Lizuka #BLM]

Batman's very much a character defined a lot by his villains and a lot of the most iconic stories are more directly centered around them, but hey, that's ntohing to take away from Bruce as a character.

For an easy one I think a good answer is Dark Knight Returns. Truthfully I'm not that big on it to begin with but the stuff about him feeling the need to step up once more and figuring out how to keep going in a new age and past his prime is a lot more interesting than all of the rather disjointed politics of the book.

[dirtyoldman]

There was a Batman story called Venom were Batman gets addictited to some new type of pill. Not quite as ridiculous as it sounds as the story starts with him failing to save the daughter of the scientist who developed the pill.
The pill increases the strength (which would have helped him save her) but it nearly drives him mad.
Spoiler****
He does beat the addiction by putting himself through cold turkey and getting Alfred to lock him in the Batcave. I remember he emerges with a full beard.

[Starshine]

The comic where he gets brainwashed by Deacon Blackfire and joins his Cult.

[BorneAgain]

I'd say Mask of the Phantasm works really well because it's such an effective exploration of his psyche and how he compares/contrasts with the likes of Andrea Beaumont.

[The Ichi]

Maybe unpopular opinion but I thought he was the best part of Batman Begins, though maybe more because Scarecrow annoyed me and you don't see enough of Liam Neeson.

[Starshine]

I'll also add that he was probably the most interesting thing in Batman R.I.P. just because the notion that he'd programmed a backup personality to take over control on the chance of him being mentally compromised which also also involved him suddenly seeing a vision of Bat-mite was arguably the most grounded and relatable thing in that batshit insane story (for an example of said batshit insanity see: 'weapons grade crystal meth').

[nickcave]

I know Bane usually gets the glory for it but the destruction and rehabilitation of Batman during Knightfall I think is equally as interesting.

[Deleted]

Feb 7, 2022 21:12:12 GMT -5 nickcave said:

I know Bane usually gets the glory for it but the destruction and rehabilitation of Batman during Knightfall I think is equally as interesting.

Veering off topic but it doesn't b warrant its own thread, the characterizations of Azrael and Robin (Tim Drake) were pretty great too. And Alfred.

[Mighty Attack Tribble]

Feb 7, 2022 20:49:28 GMT -5 The Ichi said:

Maybe unpopular opinion but I thought he was the best part of Batman Begins, though maybe more because Scarecrow annoyed me and you don't see enough of Liam Neeson.

Begins is a genuinely good Batman-centric story, and probably the reason why I like it more than its sequels, which fall into the trap of making Batman a passenger in his own movies.

[crashmatsbazz]

i liked Bruce Wayne Murderer? but Fugitive was a bit disappointing.