Content Warning: Major SPOILERS For DC Films' The Batman Are Discussed In This Article.

Robert Pattinson and director/co-writer Matt Reeves have finally ushered in their highly-anticipated The Batman, with this new incarnation aiming to launch an interconnected universe. It's on a separate timeline from the mainline DC Extended Universe, looking to focus on being a "Bat-verse" of sorts.

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Not long after the movie's premiere, it's been confirmed that an Arkham Asylum horror-inspired TV series is in the works for HBO Max. Venturing into horror is something many Batman fans have been hoping for in live-action, and the nightmarish asylum is an excellent setting for such a premise. Given the vast catalog of comics and comic book-based media making up the Dark Knight's mythos, there are several potential influences for a show like this.

Arkham Asylum: A Serious House On Serious Earth

An image of Batman standing in a doorway in Batman Arkham Asylum Serious House Art

Legendary comic book writer Grant Morrison and artist Dave McKean teamed up in the '80s for a radically different Batman story than what was typical of the superhero. That decade was characterized by talents like Morrison, Alan Moore, and Frank Miller that took Denny O'Neil's Dark Knight's '70s reinvention to the next step. For this duo, Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth brought a haunting horror trip to Batman in the pages of DC's comics.

It's undoubtedly what Matt Reeves and co. will look to first for a horror/haunted house-influenced TV series, with the comic centering around an Arkham riot dripping with psychological horror. More of the chaos that's loose within the asylum's walls are uncovered with each passing villian in Batman's rogue gallery member. However, the story wouldn't have the same ominous effect if it weren't for McKean's terror-inducing artwork that blends painting, photorealism, and grotesquely-stylized body horror.

Knightfall

Bane breaking Batman's back in Knightfall

While Knightfall is an iconic story arc that shows one of Batman's greatest comeback stories in the comics, it would take a special degree of creativity to make it work within the context of an Arkham Asylum series. But what this comic could offer such a show is in its early premise. The arc kicks off with Bane having staged a mass Arkham breakout, knowing that the Dark Knight wouldn't rest until all of his rogues were rounded back up again.

A spin-off TV series for The Batman could ideally keep the titular hero's presence to a minimum and use Barry Keoghan's mysterious take on the Joker in Bane's place. Since the Gotham PD prequel has been put on ice, perhaps Jeffrey Wright's Lieutenant Gordon could be worked in as one of the officers called in to quell the breakouts. Keoghan's Joker could be doing this in an attempt to draw Batman out, with the show culminating in the superhero having a supporting role in an episode or two.

The Man Who Laughs

Batman: The Man Who Laughs cover art with Joker holding playing cards

Honing in more on Keoghan's take on the Joker, Ed Brubaker and Doug Mahnke's The Man Who Laughs could give an idea on how to put the infamous supervillain in the forefront of an Arkham Asylum story. This brief one-shot comic is essentially a remake of the Joker's first DC Comics appearance in Batman #1 back in 1940, this time for a modern audience. It chronicles Batman's first encounter with the Clown Prince of Crime, and it could inspire his first major escapade in Reeves' universe through the lens of Arkham.

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After all, per Variety, the director's idea for this Joker was to lean the character's influence heavier on his initial inspiration: the 1928 silent film of the same name. In the same interview, Reeves says that his Joker was born with a congenital disease that gives him a perpetually menacing smile. This could be an ideal way to work in the iconic Batman villain without taking up too much of the spotlight in a theatrical sequel to The Batman.

Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady's Video Game)

Batman standing in front of the moonlight in Arkham Asylum cover art

Although there are differences between the Arkham Asylum Batman comic and the game, Rocksteady's influences become clear for veteran fans upon playing it. Arkham Asylum is a tasteful amalgamation of A Serious House on Serious Earth given the premise and story, but with a tone and atmosphere more akin to the timeless Batman: The Animated Series rather than the psychological-horror comic book.

A live-action Arkham TV series on HBO Max would do well to take cues from both these works as, aside from the game homaging the source material, they're solid templates for what tone to strike for this cinematic universe. The way Rocksteady's game is played and takes fans through the ghostly corridors of the asylum are excellent reference points for visualizing what a "house of horrors" rendition for a show would look like in motion.

Arkham Asylum: Living Hell

An image of Batman grimacing in Arkham Asylum Living Hell

Another example almost as much of a given as A Serious House on Serious Earth, Dan Slott and Ryan Sook's Arkham Asylum: Living Hell would serve as great inspiration for bringing to life the horror show that is the asylum. This would be particularly unique source material, as the miniseries features a revolving cast of characters' POVs. It could fit a TV series nicely should the premise focus on a handful of characters, especially the villains.

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Living Hell also functions as an origin story for the Batman villain Great White Shark; a white-collar criminal who thinks he can escape jail time by pleading he is mentally ill. The plan clearly backfires, as he's sent through a grueling and nightmarish stay at Arkham where he's brutalized by the likes of Mr. Freeze, Killer Croc, and more. Since Reeves likes having a universe that's already partly fleshed out with characters -- on or offscreen -- Living Hell would be a fantastic blueprint for showing some of the villains he wants to use in The Batman's universe.

The Killing Joke

The Joker in the moment he loses his sanity in The Killing Joke

As far as stories that do have the Clown Prince of Crime front and center, Alan Moore and Brian Bolland's The Killing Joke is arguably the best Joker story ever written. Unlike The Man Who Laughs, this one-shot comic book takes place further along Batman's career, as it details the infamous attack on Barbara Gordon by the sadistic villain. Whether it's Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight or Todd Phillips' Joker, this comic is used in some capacity when trying to carve out a new live-action iteration of the character.

Using Brubaker's comic in a balance with The Killing Joke could be interesting for a new take, and the latter could serve better in terms of the context of Reeves' timeline. Reeves expressed in the same Variety interview that his Joker has already been established opposite Pattinson's Batman in this universe. Therefore, this one-shot -- should he feature in HBO's Arkham series -- could help shape what the Joker's dynamic with the Dark Knight looks like here. It would also be a great excuse for Reeves to rework Keoghan's deleted scene with Pattinson.

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