THE BATMAN PART III: 8 Comics Which Could Inspire The Threequel And Rumored THE JOKER TV Series

THE BATMAN PART III: 8 Comics Which Could Inspire The Threequel And Rumored THE JOKER TV Series

With rumours swirling that Warner Bros. is planning a Joker TV series leading directly into The Batman Part III, we're exploring the comic book storylines which could inspire both rumoured projects...

Feature Opinion
By JoshWilding - Nov 08, 2024 11:11 AM EST
Filed Under: The Batman

In case you've been living under a rock for the past 24 hours, the internet is abuzz with the news that The Batman star Barry Keoghan is expected to return as The Joker in his own TV series.

Made in the same vein as The Penguin, it will bridge the gap between The Batman Part II and The Batman Part III. The latter movie will reportedly feature the Clown Prince of Crime taking centre stage for a rematch with the Caped Crusader after it was established they crossed paths during the vigilante's first year operating in Gotham City.

There are many comic books Matt Reeves can pull inspiration from. In this feature, we're taking a deep dive into the stories we'd like to see the filmmaker pull inspiration from, both in the rumoured TV series and The Batman threequel.

Even if it's just the odd idea or character, there's a lot here which would be a good fit for the "Bat-verse."

To find out which stories we want to see factor into The Joker and The Batman Part III, click on the "Next"/"View List" buttons below. 
 

8. Five-Way Revenge

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"Five Way Revenge" came at a time when Batman comics desperately needed to move away from the campy tone established by the 1960s TV series.

The story revolved around The Joker’s attempt to take out five henchmen who had displeased him in various ways, leaving the Dark Knight with no choice but to protect those he normally wouldn't think twice about beating up and putting behind bars.

As well as showing The Joker’s disregard for those in his employ, the story examined the complexity of Batman and The Joker’s relationship. After ambushing a tired and weakened Batman, the villain decided that his victory was a case of luck rather than being the better man, so he chose to leave his foe alive. 

Seeing as this world's Batman and Joker have a history, this feels like a great basis for a potential "reunion."
 

7. Death Of The Family

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In this story, when The Joker once again escaped captivity, he left something behind; his face! Months later, the villain resurfaced and stole it back from the GCPD, spending this arc with the decomposing skin strapped to his face with a belt and fishing hooks.

Things got even more twisted than that when he started targeting each of Batman’s closest allies, and this is a storyline that's begging for a big screen adaptation.

It’s revealed that Bruce has always suspected that The Joker knows his secret identity after he found a playing card left for him in the Batcave, while he also admits to visiting The Joker in Arkham Asylum (out of costume) to see if the villain would acknowledge him.

Given how horribly scarred Barry Keoghan's Joker already is, this may be the logical next step for his monstrous serial killer. 
 

6. The Man Who Laughs

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Ed Brubaker and Doug Mahnke's "The Man Who Laughs" was  a modern retelling of the Clown Prince of Crime's origin story and a loose sequel to "Batman: Year One."

In case it wasn't obvious, this would be a good place for the Joker TV series to begin, delving into the villain's past before he crossed paths with the Dark Knight in flashbacks. 

Reeves has said this Joker, who has yet to take on that moniker, was a killer captured by Batman during his first year in Gotham, but there's no reason the original Red Hood and ACE Chemicals couldn't be introduced in an exciting new way.

"The Man Who Laughs" offered an in-depth, layered take on The Joker, and there are lots of ideas here that could help differentiate this version from the many we've seen on screen before.
 

5. The Killing Joke

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Arguably the most well-known and iconic Batman/Joker story of all time, The Killing Joke is just begging to be adapted.

While The Joker’s treatment of Barbara Gordon/Batgirl has always been mired in controversy (he shoots her, then proceeds to take nude photos of the young hero to taunt her father with), there are ways to approach that in a far more tasteful manner. 

Regardless, after attempting to mentally break Commissioner Jim Gordon, an epic showdown with Batman ensues, but ends in a surprising way. The two share a laugh as they wait for the police to arrive, but there are those who speculate that the sudden end of The Joker’s laughter is because Batman kills him.

We don't need a completely faithful adaptation but there are ideas and moments here we're sure Reeves could put an exciting new spin on.
 

4. Endgame

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A follow-up of sorts to "Death of the Family," this story saw The Joker return to Gotham City more powerful than ever, poisoning the entire city with a formula which drives them insane.

The only way to cure them is for Batman to extract a mysterious chemical from The Joker’s spine, and there are hints along the way that the villain is actually hundreds of years old and possibly some sort of immortal who has been causing chaos in the city for centuries.

It's later debunked when it’s revealed that he found a chemical which healed his face and gave him enhanced strength, and after a battle which sees both Batman and The Joker left bloodied and maimed, they’re buried underground.

This has all the makings of an epic movie, and could be a great way to reinvent Keoghan's Clown Prince of Crime for a new story which explores Gotham City's past...and perhaps the Court of Owls too?
 

3. The Dark Knight Returns

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Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice paid homage to The Dark Knight Returns in a lot of ways, but The Joker was nowhere to be seen. As a result, the iconic villain's role in that famed Frank Miller story could very easily be used to influence The Batman Part III

Faking a recovery after years of being institutionalised, The Joker ends up poisoning an entire TV studio during an interview and soon finds himself on a collision course with Batman as a result.

However, the aged Batman in this story is in no mood to play games with his old foe, blinding him with a Batarang to the eye and breaking his neck after a vicious beating in a fairground's Tunnel of Love.

Unable to kill his paralysed enemy, The Joker laughs as he finishes the job, framing Batman for his murder in the process. The Joker's supposed recovery could be documented in his series, with that mass murder - which we'd change to avoid comparisons to Joker - leading directly into the threequel.
 

2. Death In The Family

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This iconic tale saw readers vote to kill off Robin, and the youngster died after a brutal beating from The Joker with a crowbar. The image of Batman cradling his sidekick is iconic, and a moment that both changed the Caped Crusader forever.

Robert Pattinson would like to introduce Robin, and there's something to be said about a story exploring why Batman would take a child into battle.

The DC Extended Universe hinted at Robin's fate in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and Zack Snyder later revealed that the defaced costume belonged to Dick Grayson. We'd rather this franchise not head the same route, but the rise, fall, and resurrection of Robin is a story worth telling.

If Reeves doesn't want to go down the Robin route, perhaps Jason can be someone who Batman befriends, only for the kid to be killed by the Clown Prince of Crime (minus him suiting up, of course).
 

1. Under The Hood

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"Under the Hood" told the story of Jason Todd’s return to Gotham City as a murderous vigilante. He had been believed dead after being murdered by The Joker, but took on the identity originally held by the Clown Prince of Crime to get revenge on both the unhinged killer and his former mentor.

This story revolved mostly around the relationship between Batman and his former Robin, with The Joker more on the periphery, but that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. Fans have been crying out for this for years, and Warner Bros. and Reeves would be smart to make it happen.

The filmmaker has already taken some liberties with the source material. As we mentioned above, Jason could be named as one of The Joker's early victims during Batman's first year in Gotham who the Dark Knight failed to save.

In the threequel, we'd learn that he did survive, returning as a self-styled vigilante who may not have been Robin but still has a good reason to take aim at both Batman and The Joker.
 

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TheJok3r
TheJok3r - 11/8/2024, 11:13 AM
Reeves and his team are proving to be one of the best things to ever happen to the Batman IP. This is what other DC characters should be getting: Shared universes revolving around them and their supporting cast. Instead, we're getting another DCEU 2.0. Good job Gunn, how original.

McMurdo
McMurdo - 11/8/2024, 11:58 AM
@TheJok3r - Lauren Lefranc and her team more than Reeves IMO. At least creatively. I know Reeves exec produced which means not a whole lot and came up with the basic penguin kills a Falcone and fights his way to the top but LeFranc is the real mind behind Penguin being so great a success. It's so much better written than Reeves the Batman. Far better characterization across the board. He should had her cowrite Bat 2.
WakandanQueen
WakandanQueen - 11/8/2024, 11:30 AM
Welp, if we don't get this until 2030, maybe some Joker fatigue will be gone by then?
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 11/8/2024, 12:27 PM
@WakandanQueen - Joker fatigue will be back as soon as we see Barry Keoghan as Joker.
SATW42
SATW42 - 11/8/2024, 11:34 AM
we... we don't even know the plot for Batman 2 yet...
SonOfAGif
SonOfAGif - 11/8/2024, 11:35 AM
Why would they go full "Death of the Family" in Batman's third year when he doesn't even have Dick Grayson as an apprentice yet?
BruceWayng
BruceWayng - 11/8/2024, 11:40 AM
I think I might be the only person on here who feels this ways, but I have absolutely no interest in seeing the Coirt of Owls in live action, especially in the Reeves’ Batverse. Same thing with Hush

I just feel like we already got the whole secret group of powerful people who are the ones that run Gotham in the shadows.

In terms of Hush, I like the real story from the comics but I order for that to work you need to have Tommy Elliot be Bruce’s childhood friend and Reeve already set up(or at least alluded to) Elliot being a reporter and not part of the Gotham elite. Plus it kinda feels like the design for Riddler in The Batman was at to similar to Hush’s look.

I know I’m in the minority with all of that but I also don’t want to see any fantastical villains like ManBat, Clayface, Poison Ivy, etc in the Reeves movies-unless it’s a very unique and grounded take on them like having Clayface be more inline with his early look/abilities/appearances,

I feel like the fantastical characters and villains will be better suited for Gunn’s DCU
SATW42
SATW42 - 11/8/2024, 11:58 AM
@BruceWayng - yes as far as the fantastical villains. I do think we are getting poison ivy though as simply a botanist and it's going to tie to bliss and the mushrooms. We never find out exactly where these shrooms came from and how Arkham came to start using it. I do think he or she will be a smaller character though. I actually think Penguin and Sofia, against all odds, are going to form an unlikely truce and alliance, after Penguin proves he can be loyal to her, by killing Vic. Penguin and sofia will likely be the main protagonists (with Rush being a figment of Sofias imagination and this is how we get a grounded scarecrow, it's that part of her brain who realizes the potential of Bliss and the city goes mad". Someone else is pulling all the strings as batman digs deeper and deeper into rush, and it's probably the council of owls, but you never actually see them, they are just a shadow entity that runs gotham. Maybe Bruce ends up exposing them by the end, probably finds out his dad was one of them before he died.
Forthas
Forthas - 11/8/2024, 11:57 AM
They should do something original!
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 11/8/2024, 12:29 PM
Yep, those are certainly 8 classic and fan-favorite Joker stories.
MahN166A
MahN166A - 11/8/2024, 12:59 PM
I'm sorry but the only thing on this list that would truly make sense would be Five Way Revenge of the Man Who Laughs.
Everything else is goofy as hell to try and adapt.
SATW42
SATW42 - 11/8/2024, 1:13 PM
Why would they adapt a story for the third movie, when Reeves has clearly taken these characters and done his own thing with them?

The Batman hardly drew from any story I remember, and penguin is pretty much getting his own origin story thats not directly taking from any of the books.

I could see the Joker series MAYBE following a Brian Azarello's Joker take, but only in it being a grounded story of Joker being released from Arkham and then getting revenge on past foes, which also has a power struggle story like Penguin.

That's also a Batman-less story until the very end.
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 11/8/2024, 3:34 PM
I rather not see Joker show up in a major role at all. Think Court of Owls would fit into the Reeverse, especially in a third movie, but I won't mind seeing them in the DCU either (especially if BatB is based on Batman vs. Robin). That or Freeze or Hush.

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