By Chris Snellgrove | Published
Comic lovers enjoy arguing about crazy things, like whether Batman can beat Goku or what a Kryptonite condom can do to Superman's other “man of steel.” One thing older fans can agree on, though, is that the '90s were perfect even worse a decade of comic books. That's when the market was flooded with foil covers full of stories from writers all trying to be the coolest little edgelord ever. Heck, this was the decade when DC used a rock-faced monster to kill Superman, but not before giving our high-flying hero the weirdest, most dangerous mullet this side of Alabama.
However, another DC hero flourished during this time. Totally Batman to be ruled in the 90s. Not only did we get three different films featuring the Dark Knight, but his comic writers decided to take some big risks. This was inclusive Knightfall a story arc where Batman was defeated by Bane and replaced by a psychopath who wasn't afraid to hurt or even kill his enemies. While The Dark Knight Rises brought Bane to the big screen, we haven't had a proper cinematic adaptation of this '90s legend until now. Good news, Bat fiends: DC Studios has confirmed that they're adapting Knightfall in many animated movies.
The Biggest Bane of Batman's Life
What was the original Knightfall comic about? Bane destroys all of Batman's greatest enemies in Arkham Asylum so the Caped Crusader can deal with endless chaos. Later, Bane sneaks into the Bat-Cave and does the unthinkable by breaking Batman's back. In the following Knightquest In the story, the unstable Jean-Paul Valley (aka Azrael) takes over as the Dark Knight while Bruce Wayne focuses on recovery. The new Batman becomes a deadly villain, too Knightsend arc, Wayne confronts his embattled follower, regaining the belt for good.
So far, we know very little about DC Studio's plans to adapt this '90s fan-favorite story. In accordance with The Hollywood ReporterWarner Bros. Animation and DC Studios just confirmed that they are working on a multi-part adaptation Knightfall and that more details about this and other animation works will be revealed at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June. If the studio wants to be completely true to the original comics, it would be better to release this as three films covering the three arcs mentioned above: Knightfall, Knightquestagain KnightsEnd. However, if needed, it would be easy enough to combine the whole thing into two films to save time and money.
Bat On Bat Violence
Like big fan of the original Knightfall and a regular fan of DC practice (minus The Killing Joke), I am very excited to see these upcoming films. Well, I can't help but wonder if it's too late to bring this old story to life. The movie will appeal to older, die-hard Bat fans like myself, but it may not be a hit with younger fans who were born long after Bane broke Batman's back. Plus, those fans already have plenty of big-screen projects to look forward to (including Matt Reeves'. Batman II and James Gunn The Brave and the Bold), so a straight-to-video adaptation of the '90s may be dead on arrival.
The studio won't know until they try. In the opinion of this veteran fan, there's no time like the present to bring this iconic story to life, and after years of subpar DCEU storytelling, it's nice to have a few more options for Batman movies. If nothing else, Knightfall original comic book history that gave us the legend of the Caped Crusader that will never be forgotten and cemented Bane as one of his worst villains. Every Batman fan worth their belt should read this comic at least once. But since the Zoomers aren't reading anymore, we're getting the next best thing: a multi-film adaptation of the biggest '90s Batman story that fans can stream on demand.
