The most recent trailer of The Batman, “The Bat and the Cat,” has been updated with screens that advertise some of the Batman comics that inspired the film. Included alongside the three Batman comics is the message, “Get DC Comics and Graphic Novels at Comic Book Stores.”
Although the comic book inspiration behind the vigilante that inspired The Batman wasn’t originally included in “The Bat and the Cat” trailer, DC Comics and WarnerMedia only recently decided to add the buy-it-now message – but after the video had already racked up 24 million views – but hey, better late than never? Or so the killer joke goes. The three comics featured in the trailer were quoted by The Batman director Matt Reeves as key inspirations for the upcoming film, which stars Robert Pattinson (Lighthouse) as Bruce Wayne, aka Batman, and Zoë Kravitz (big little lies) as Salina Kyle, aka Catwoman.
The comics that inspired Matt Reeves
There are three DC Comics that Reeves says inspired the Pattinson-led Dark Knight movie. The first is Batman: The Long Halloween from Jeph Loeb, Tim Sale and Gregory Wright, which sees Batman fulfill the role of “the world’s greatest detective” as he tries to solve a mystery that lasts from one fall in Gotham to the next.
The second comic featured in the trailer is Batman: Ego and Other Tails by Darwyn Cooke, Bill Wray, Sale, Paul Grist and Matthew Hollingsworth. This volume collects Cooke’s Dark Knight stories into one volume, with Catwoman: Selina’s big score, Batman: Gotham Knights #23 and #33, and Solo #1 and #5.
Finally, the third comic included is Batman: Year One by Frank Miller, David Mazzucchelli, Richmond Lewis and Todd Klein. Written shortly after Return of the Dark Knightthis story reimagines Batman’s origin in a dark style that fits well with Miller’s previous bestselling comic about an aging Wayne at the end of his career.
If you’re looking to add the three spotlighted comics to your collection, DC Comics will be releasing a very nice box set edition that includes all of the books, which will be available at your local comic book store starting March 22, 2022. As noted by Heidi MacDonald on Comics Beat, this isn’t the first time Warner Bros. plugged comic book stores into their publicity material. Back in June 2021, The Suicide Squad The trailer included a line at the bottom that read, “Get DC Comics at comic book stores”. Like The Batman The updated trailer also included an additional advertisement for DC Digital Comics, which can be viewed on DC Universe Infinite, the publisher’s online subscription service.
Batman hits theaters March 4
The Batman will also star Andy Serkis (Venom 2) as Alfred Pennyworth, Colin Farrell (Gentlemen) as Oswald Cobblepot, John Turturro (The great Lebowski) as Carmine Falcone, Paul Dano (12 years of slavery) as Edward Nashton and Jeffrey Wright (What if…?) as GCPD’s James Gordon. The film was written by Reeves and Peter Craig and will feature an orchestral score by Academy Award-winning composer Michael Giacchino (LOST), and Batman himself was created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger. Despite the current global COVID-19 pandemic, The Batman will be released exclusively in theaters on March 4, 2022.
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