Though Batman is seeing a large big-screen revitalization come 2022 in the form of Matt Reeves' Robert Pattinson-led The Batman, early reports suggest this is the first in a planned trilogy and is also intending to launch a Batman cinematic universe. This became evident once it was spontaneously announced that Matt Reeves would be producing a live-action HBO police procedural/crime drama focusing on the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD) for HBO Max.

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Little is known about the finer details on the plot, and Terence Winter left as showrunner due to creative differences, but it's supposed to be the prequel to The Batman with GCPD having to deal with the fresh emergence of a mysterious nocturnal vigilante threatening their corrupt way of life. With any comic adaptation, there should be comic source materials to adapt/draw influence from, but not necessarily adapt one-to-one. Here are five great comics to inspire the series and five more great ones that may not fit.

Should: Gotham Central

Cover art for Gotham Central by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka

Undoubtedly the most obvious choice for influence is Gotham Central. This is naturally due to the premise of the comic book series centering on the GCPD rather than Batman himself. It was already an inspiration--on paper at least--for Fox's Gotham, but HBO presents a more exciting opportunity with (likely greater) creative liberties and larger overall investment into the show's scope tied into Reeves' movie(s).

Gotham Central gave a refreshing and exciting change of pace by giving fans a POV of Gotham City and Batman through the lens of the officers around him. If executed well, this would be a great chance to see The Wire, Batman/Gotham style.

Avoid: The Court Of Owls

Talon ambushing Batman during Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Batman run.

Having a murderous Illuminati-like cult of owl-themed corrupt rich and assassins sounds mouth-watering for a Batman-related TV series, but because the show is not directly about Batman and the Court is a very Batman-rooted supervillain organization, Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's excellent The Court of Owls arc shouldn't be a premise for the GCPD show.

Rather, it should be saved for The Batman's sequel. The Court became a fan-favorite modern supervillain group, but given their ties to Gotham's elite, this arc should be reserved for the next big-screen outing.

Should: Year One

David Mazzucchelli's art for Year One, written by Frank Miller

The next most obvious comic to do an homage to is Frank Miller's definitive Year One. Particularly since Matt Reeves said himself that the series in meant to be during Batman's "year one" while the upcoming movie would be set in "year two." Though, the series should take influence primarily from Jim Gordon's role in the plot. While being a Batman origin story, it also serves as  a parallel story for Gordon.

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The part of the story detailing Jim Gordon and his trials and tribulations of being the one good cop in a nest of vipers, while dealing with this new mythical terror of the night, would be a brilliant basis for the particular unnamed officer meant to undergo deep moral dilemmas in the show. Bonus points if Jeffrey Wright reprises his role as Gordon for the series.

Avoid: Zero Year

Riddler and Batman, and Red Hood and Bruce Wayne in the Zero Year arc of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's New 52 run of Batman

While great, Zero Year may not fit thematically or with the timing of this budding Batman cinematic universe. On paper, there are some great things that could work for a Zero Year influence, such as the early emergence of Riddler and the (maybe/maybe not) origin of Joker through Red Hood.

It might not work, even from GCPD's perspective, because having Riddler be used in major capacities in a "year one" setting could undermine his presence/role in The Batman and the impact of his master plan in the movie. If anything, Riddler should just be alluded to off-screen or in a cameo towards the end of the series/season.

Should: Dark Victory

Panels from Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's sequel to The Long Halloween, Dark Victory

While outshined by its big brother The Long Halloween, Dark Victory served as a worthy, compelling sequel. Plus, many want a major Bat-related production influenced by the former, and while both emphasize mystery and detective work, the latter would perhaps be of better influence for a GCPD series specifically.

This is due to the premise being a series of "Hangman" murders picking off GCPD officers. Presenting a Dark Victory-inspired plot primarily from the POV of Gordon and co. with Batman being a background/supporting role could be incredibly captivating and thematically fitting.

Avoid: No Man's Land

Art from Cataclysm, a Batman story arc that served as a catalyst for the No Man's Land arc

Both No Man's Land and Zero Year have similar structures in their premise. Both involve disasters marooning Gotham City to some extent--Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises also took inspiration from this--though there's reasons unique to each that may not make them good contenders for a GCPD-focused show.

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No Man's Land may not be a good starting point canonically/chronologically since the scope of the natural disaster plummeting Gotham into a new pit of turmoil is something maybe too great for an "origin-Batman," (Zero Year would be a better fit for this) and because the scope would also be too grand for a plot centered on corruption and GCPD. The show would likely do better staying on more tightly-focused, small-scale levels akin to The Wire.

Should: The Black Mirror

Art for Detective Comics' The Black Mirror arc written by Scott Snyder and illustrated by Jock and Francesco Francavilla

A more under-the-radar comic book arc is the final Batman story arc in DC Comics before their New 52 reboot also written by Scott Snyder: The Black Mirror. It ran in Detective Comics and centered around three stories where they all come together to varying extents in the final stretch.

Given the GCPD series will be an HBO police crime-drama, the showrunner and writers will be able to get HBO levels of gritty and The Black Mirror has some of the grisliest cases given to Batman and Gordon to solve. Involving Gordon's psychopathic son isn't likely, but the plot structure of telling a few individual and brutal cases and culminating them into one major, personal one would be thrilling.

Avoid: Superheavy

Cover art by Greg Capullo for the Superheavy arc in the New 52 Batman run, written by Scott Snyder

Definitely, the wackiest of the bunch, Superheavy from New 52 is naturally the comic that fits the least with what Reeves will surely be going for. The premise is that Bruce Wayne is currently out of commission after the events of Joker's Endgame, and Gotham funds an official stand-in Batman. Hilariously, Gordon ends up becoming Batman and is given his own Batsuit and mech-Batsuit to compensate for his lack of the original's muscular physique and extensive martial-arts training.

For what it is--comic-book shenanigans/camp--it's a good, fun romp, though it's evident why this would never fit in with Reeves' vision for a grounded universe that makes social commentary on real-world systematic corruption.

Should: Earth One

Cover art for Batman: Earth One Vol. 2, written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Gary Frank

This is the second--with Zero Year seen as the first--main Batman comic work that serves essentially as an alternative to Year One in its own canonical universe. Both the latter and Earth One provide their own distinct flavors of realism in their origin-set arcs, but this one offers its own assets. It's the most "cinematic" in a modern sense, given its 2012 publication.

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This comic takes notes from Nolan's grounded realism and applies it to comics, which tend to stray further away from the realistic and, in a way, is more "real" than Batman Begins since it takes a smaller, more intimate story of local corruption with Mayor Cobblepot and gives an interesting new angle by having Gordon be a veteran who was pressured into corruption to protect what's left of his family.

Avoid: The Killing Joke

An iconic panel of Joker in Alan Moore's The Killing Joke

Another landmark comic is Alan Moore's legendary The Killing Joke. It feels like every Joker-centric, on-screen work at least tries to borrow from it. Aside from the fact that Joker hasn't been introduced, the type of story it is for Jim Gordon specifically isn't functional with the canonical timing.

The plot centers around his daughter, Barbara, being crippled by Joker and Jim being subsequently tortured, making this a deeply personal story for Batman, and even more for Jim and Barbara, and the latter most of all. "Year One" is too soon to tell a story like this for him and would need Batman more involved.

NEXT: The Batman: 5 Reasons An R-Rating Can Work (& 5 It Should Stick To PG-13)