Apart from Year One, which is the best Batman origin story?

[bat39]

Not including Year One in this one, because I feel its almost universally loved in the Batman fandom and is bound to win any poll (feel free to express your appreciation in the thread though!). But which of the other Batman origin stories would you regard as being the best, or among the best?

I'm trying to be as a broad-based as possible on this and include a wide range of options.

[Bad Witch]

Not including Year One in this one, because I feel its almost universally loved in the Batman fandom and is bound to win any poll (feel free to express your appreciation in the thread though!). But which of the other Batman origin stories would you regard as being the best, or among the best?

I'm trying to be as a broad-based as possible on this and include a wide range of options.

Zero year

Thread/

[Robanker]

Mask of the Phantasm's flashback arc if we're embracing all media.

[charliehustle415]

Mask of the Phantasm's flashback arc if we're embracing all media.

Yes, this is the correct answer.

But since it is not, I chose Batman Begins since it takes the best parts of all of it.


Earth One does not feel like the "real" Batman and Zero Year is a fever dream that falls apart under its own silliness and bombassity.

[Vakanai]

Zero Year for me. Namely the Red Hood arc. Everything after not so much, but that Red Hood arc is gold.

[bat39]

Zero Year for me. Namely the Red Hood arc. Everything after not so much, but that Red Hood arc is gold.

Agreed.

I mean, I like the other stuff too, but those first four issues are simply brilliant!

[jb681131]

Gotham the TV show.
It's really detailed and all the risings of the super-vilains are well explained.

[bat39]

Mask of the Phantasm's flashback arc if we're embracing all media.

Hmm...I thought of including that. But its not really a full 'origin story'. More like a glimpse of the time just before he becomes Batman.

Likewise, I haven't included the many MANY times we see the Wayne murders.

I'm sticking more to stories that sort of comprehensively cover Bruce's journey from the murders to putting on the cowl and his first adventures. Admittedly, Gotham's inclusion here is a bit tricky, but it does get us up to him putting on the cowl, and also shows us a pre-Batman vigilante stint (or so I've heard...I haven't actually watched the show beyond Season 1 )

The post-Zero Year 'zero issues' collectively do a good job charting Bruce's pre-Batman history and filling in a lot of the gaps left by Year One. They also together serve as a complete origin, hence I included them.

But one of my personal favorite origins has to be the retelling of the Golden Age/Earth Two Batman origin in Secret Origins # 6. It sort of recontextualizes the old pre-Crisis Batman mythos and spins its own narrative around them. So, in this version, Bruce hangs out with Commissioner Gordon at the start of "The Case of the Chemical Syndicate" because Gordon is his Uncle Phillip's friend, and he's hoping to get a desk job in the GCPD (having already been out on one mission as Batman, which didn't go entirely according to plan). Solving the chemical syndicate case is what motivates him to continue to operate as Batman.

[bob.schoonover]

Likewise, I haven't included the many MANY times we see the Wayne murders.

The "which is your favorite Wayne murder?" poll will be incredibly divisive!

I echo the Mask of the Phantasm option because I generally think most origin stories are over-told or over-engineered (All Star Superman knocking it out in a page is perhaps a little on the short side, but better than the 47th re-telling of Clark not getting to play football). Of the poll options, I went with Batman Begins because, while it is a long origin, it also has the origin tie into the story in a smart way that adds to the mythology*. I also like that, in both Begins and Dark Knight, it's super clear that Alfred used to serve in the military and knows his stuff w/o having flashbacks or huge exposition dumps like Bruce saying, "Alfred, you fought in the wars, please tell me about it so I can fight my own war," and then having story time. Or having half the origin be Alfred being a near-superhuman badass.

*It'd be impossible to retcon Bruce training with Ra's in the comics without a full blown reboot, but it's more economical than, say, the multiple trainers idea of The Many Deaths of Batman

[Gaius]

Earth One followed by Batman Begins.

Year One wouldn't even get my vote if it was an option.

[thwhtGuardian]

I like the Red Hood part of Zero Year but the Riddler part was garbage.

[bat39]

Earth One followed by Batman Begins.

Year One wouldn't even get my vote if it was an option.

Intersting.

I'd love to hear more about your reasons for that!

[Matt Parker]

The post-Zero Year 'zero issues' collectively do a good job charting Bruce's pre-Batman history and filling in a lot of the gaps left by Year One. They also together serve as a complete origin, hence I included them.

What issues are you referring to here? I am curious.

For my money, if we are talking multi-media, Batman Begins is the next best thing after Year One because it covers Bruce's complete journey from his parents dying to putting on the cowl. If we are strictly looking at the funny books, then Zero Year, which was an awesome update of early golden age batman stories (Dr. Death, the purple gloves). It is also my second favorite Batman story of all time after Year One.

[bat39]

What issues are you referring to here? I am curious.

For my money, if we are talking multi-media, Batman Begins is the next best thing after Year One because it covers Bruce's complete journey from his parents dying to putting on the cowl. If we are strictly looking at the funny books, then Zero Year, which was an awesome update of early golden age batman stories (Dr. Death, the purple gloves). It is also my second favorite Batman story of all time after Year One.

Sorry, I meant Zero Hour.

We're talking Batman #0, Shadow of the Bat #0, Detective Comics #0 and LOTDK #0...all published in the wake of Zero Hour.

And I agree with you - Batman Begins is probably one of the single most comprehensive origin stories for Batman. Perhaps the most comprehensive at that time. I remember Nolan saying in an interview that he felt that Batman's complete origin had never been brought together in one place before, and that's what he set out to do.

[exile001]

I have to go for Zero Year. The Red Hood and Riddler sections are ridiculously fun. I am a massive Riddler fan so it was great to see him as an actual threat (even if it was very ott and silly).

Batman Begins is a great movie and I have a massive soft spot for Gotham. It's my favourite Batman TV show after TAS.