Batman In Five Seasons, Season 2: Caped Crusader

Batman as a TV show with defined modern seasons is a cool conceit that somehow hasn't translated well to TV. Batman The Animated Series, a series that freely bounced around the timeline was way more fun than Gotham, or really any of the live action DC shows so far.

What I've tried to do here is present whole season arcs that can either be watched from season one to ten, or you can just read a single season and get a satisfying story without needing to move on to the next one. Also, I'm not doing these chronologically by when they were published. I find more modern comics tend to be either much better or much worse reads. Sometimes an old story doesn't age well, so it's nice to see it in updated language and themes. Sometimes, the updates don't work, as they tack on weird continuity retcons that just seem forced. Hopefully, you'll enjoy the way I've set this season out.

Season Two:
Caped Crusader
showrunners: Chuck Dixon, Devin Grayson, Darwyn Cooke, Alan Moore, and Grant Morrison

Episode 1: New Frontier
(collected in DC: The New Frontier)
by Darwyn Cooke

We're not going to spend too much time with The Justice League, but we will see them a few times in continuity, and this is one of the best versions of a Justice League Origin Story. You'll have to exercise a little suspension of disbelief as this takes place in the 1960s when the rest of the chronology is set in a muddled late 20th/early 21st century. It's still a blast to see how Batman fits into the superpowered community as they tean up to take on an otherworldly enemy.

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If it's ever available again for around cover price, I would put Nightwing: Year One here, as it's a fun look at Grayson's transition from Robin to Nightwing, and it gives a much briefer introduction to Jason Todd, who we should meet this season, even if he's not sticking around for long. Alas, it is currently out of print.

In it's place I offer:

Episode 2: Nightwing
(collected in Nightwing: A Knight In Blüdhaven)
by Chuck Dixon and Scott McDaniel

Having been fired by Batman, Dick Grayson takes off for Blüdhaven to restart his life as a new hero in a new city with a mostly new pantheon of villains.

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Episode 3: A Death In The Family
(collected in Batman: A Death In The Family)
by Jim Starlin, Marv Wolfman, Jim Aporo, and George Perez

I'm trying to avoid putting historically important comic storylines that, in hindsight, kinda suck, on this list. But here we are. The actual buildup to and death of a semi-important character is a decent 1980s comic title. The aftermath, involving the Joker in the UN is absolutely bonkers in a truly terrible way. Were I able to edit this chronology to just the parts of the story I wanted, this volume would be ripped in half, and you wouldn't have to encounter the very stupid aftermath.

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Episode 4: The Killing Joke
(collected in Batman: The Killing Joke)
by Alan Moore & Brian Bolland

​The Joker is on an absolute tear through Batman's life during this season, as he sets off to kill Jim Gordon, only to gravely wound Batgirl instead. This is a very short but intense book that rocked the Batman universe much harder than the death that preceded it.

There's also a really good J Michael Straczynski take on this episode in Team Ups Of The Brave & The Bold that's worth a readthrough, if not a purchase. 

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Episode 5: Arkham Asylum
(collected in Arkham Asylum: A Serious House On Serious Earth)
by Grant Morrison & Dave McKean

I like to imagine this book takes place just after The Joker's wave of destruction, as Batman goes to visit him in Arkham to try and prevent a mass escape. We see a ton of members of Batman's rogues' gallery, and we learn the history of Arkham Asylum. It's a cool mid- season episode that first pushes the boundaries of what the Batfamily is, and then ends up with The Joker tearing it apart.

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Episode 6: Venom
(Only available on Kindle/Comixology because DC hasn't had a single competent employee in their graphic novel editorial department in over a decade. I'd be shocked if anyone in the department read comics but not surprised to learn that nobody in the department could read, period.)
by Dennis O'Neil, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, Russ Braun

This backdoor pilot for Knightfall gives us the introduction of Bane, and well-aged look at batman's relationship with drugs. It's a story that oddly echoes the professional wrestling steroid controversy of the late 1980s/early 1990s, as Batman takes a new drug to combat pain from his constant fighting, only to grow dependent on it. 

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​Episode 7: Knightfall
(collected in Knightfall Vol 1)
by Chuck Dixon and Doug Moench

The first of many breakouts at Arkham Asylum means a ton of supervillains are on the loose, and Batman is stretched thin. While refusing help from Alfred, Batman does get some assitance from the latest and most detectivy Robin, Tim Drake. But the real story here is that, after running through a gauntlet of classic villain, Bane takes the spotlight and destroys Batman.

(If you really like this story, the other volumes of Knightfall follow the ascenscion of Azrael as the new Batman, and also follow Bane's takeover of Gotham. It's not a bad story but it's more a satire of Marvel's Liefeld-era superhero comics than it is an intriguing Batman story. So it doesn't make my continuity. Knightfall is followed by two more massive crossover events: Contagion, and Cataclysm, which don't make my list. But if you want complex, continuity-mired, repetitive storylines to fill in the gap between this season and the next, those are the two titles to go looking for.)

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Serial 1: No Man's Land
(collected in Batman No Man's Land Vol 1 and No Man's Land Vol 4, 2 and 3 are skippable)
by Bob Gale, Greg Rucka, Kelley Puckett, Dennis O'Neil, Devin Grayson, Scott Beatty, Ian Edginton, Alex Maleev, Damion Scott, Phil Winslade, Roger Robinson, and Dale Eaglesham

Since the end of the last episode, Azrael took over as Batman and it didn't go well so Bruce Wayne healed up and took the cowl back. Then a plague hit Gotham. Then there was a massive earthquake. Now the US government has given up on the city and walled it off. The remains of the city are fought over by several gangs, including the Gotham City Police Department.

This is a massive, continuity heavy event featuring an enormous cast of Batman characters. It's also one of the better Gotham As A Dystopia storylines.

​2 episodes

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Episode 10: Nite-Wing
(collected in Nightwing: Hunt For Oracle)
by Chuck Dixon, Scott McDaniel, Greg Land, Karl Story, Drew Guraci, Butch Guice

Starting off as a No Man's Land side quest, Nightwing goes to Blackgate Prison to quell a riot and escape. Then the Birds Of Prey show up when Blockbuster takes on Oracle. And, finally we get to see what it's like when Dick Grayson decides to take on a sidekick.