When conceiving The Batman, Matt Reeves and Peter Craig were inspired by a diverse group of Batman comics such as Hush, The Long Halloween, Ego, and Year One. However, no comic had as clear of an influence as Geoff Johns and Gary Frank’s Batman: Earth One, which Reeves directly lifts from multiple times throughout the film.
Debuting in 2012 as part of DC’s Earth One imprint, the series reimagines Bruce Wayne’s early days as a flawed and inexperienced vigilante. With a modern, grounded sensibility and a cast of just-different-enough characters, the series received significant acclaim and spawned three successful volumes. Reeves is clearly a fan, and his refocusing of the Batman origin story has a lot in common with Batman: Earth One.
10 A Corrupt Gotham
Gotham is never depicted as a place someone would dream of moving to, but Earth One went above and beyond in highlighting the level of moral decay in the city. As imagined by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank, seemingly every cop, lawyer, and politician has been compromised, including an unusually troubled Jim Gordon.
The Batman takes this idea and runs with it. While the film’s version of Gordon may be clean, no one else on the force can be trusted, and much of the plot revolves around Gotham’s systemic corruption being methodically uncovered. Everyone has skeletons in the closet, from the D.A and the mayor to even the Waynes.
9 A Batman Who Makes Mistakes
One of Earth One‘s more controversial changes was Batman’s tendency to make errors. The story presents readers with a young, brash man who struggles to use his Bat Grapple, falls from buildings, and has no history with detective work. While the hero grows more competent as the series progresses, his fallibility means that each triumph feels earned, even if some readers were frustrated by his tendency to mess up.
The Batman‘s Bruce Wayne is far more capable, effortlessly instilling fear into the hearts of criminals and civilians alike. Despite his genius detective skills and combat prowess, however, Robert Pattinson’s Batman is far from invincible, and he takes some pretty hard hits in his fight scenes. Plus, he’s completely inexperienced when it comes to leaping from buildings, and the less said about his Spanish skills, the better.
8 A Gritty, Believable Penguin
Colin Farrell’s turn as the Penguin has received rave reviews, and the film’s interpretation of Oswald Cobblepot as an insecure mafia underboss is a stroke of genius. Earth One‘s Penguin is a nastier villain who works as a politician as opposed to a mobster, but he has the same gritty edge as The Batman‘s interpretation. Both characters are obviously human with no deformities or supervillain motivations, and they each possess a brutality that is sometimes missing from more traditional takes on the Penguin. Plus, neither enjoys being compared to a penguin, and they make no effort to cultivate their bird-themed personas.
7 More To The Murder Of The Waynes
The standard Batman origin story has the Waynes being senselessly gunned down by common criminal Joe Chill during a random mugging, but both Earth One and The Batman suggest that there could have been more to the tragedy. In Earth One, Bruce is convinced that the Penguin is behind the killings, and his first mission is to uncover the truth. The Batman is more ambiguous regarding the demise of the Waynes, but the film has Bruce re-open his investigation into his childhood trauma after hearing incendiary claims from Carmine Falcone. Neither story offers a definitive answer, leaving the truth up to interpretation.
6 A Hardened, Middle-Aged Alfred
Alfred Pennyworth has an impressive resume, and plenty of Batman stories have reminded audiences that there’s more to Bruce Wayne’s mentor than being a butler (take the Pennyworth television series, for example). However, Earth One gave Alfred an especially hardened makeover, turning him into a security specialist and war veteran who personally trains Bruce and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.
The Batman‘s Andy Serkis is the youngest actor to fill the butler shoes in a major film, and his Alfred is also a security expert with substantial combat experience. Like Earth One‘s Alfred, he is skeptical of Bruce’s mission and the two have an occasionally tense relationship.
5 A Reclusive Bruce Wayne
Most Batman stories show Bruce Wayne as a charming, public figure who uses philanthropy to further help Gotham, but Earth One‘s Bruce starts out as a reclusive billionaire who is mostly uninterested in putting his money or time into anything other than his vigilante career. The Batman also depicts Bruce as someone who doesn’t make many public appearances. In both stories, Gotham residents are surprised when they do manage to catch a glimpse of their city’s prince. However, both versions of Bruce eventually learn that a public billionaire image can be useful in a crusade against crime.
4 A Complicated Family History
Both Earth One and The Batman complicate the image of the Waynes as paragons of benevolence and purity. In each narrative, Thomas Wayne campaigned to become Gotham’s mayor before his death, and The Batman especially touches on the idea that Thomas could have been an opportunistic politician. Both stories also go into the history of Martha Wayne, and Matt Reeves lifted her characterization and status as an Arkham from Earth One. The story of Martha’s parents in The Batman, involving a history of mental illness and suicide, was also taken from Earth One.
3 A Murderous Riddler
Throughout comics history, the Riddler has been depicted as a trickster whose crimes amount to little more than pranks on Batman and Gotham. However, Earth One reimagined the Riddler as a terrorist who presents his victims, often members of Gotham’s elite, with riddles before killing them. Paul Dano’s portrayal of the villain in The Batman takes a similar approach, as his Riddler’s modus operandi is killing prominent city figures and leaving riddles at the scene of the crime. The main difference between the two interpretations is that Dano’s Riddler has more explicitly political motivations for his killings.
2 I’m Vengeance
In one of the most exciting moments The Batman, which was shown in early trailers, the Dark Knight responds to the question “Who are you?” by pummeling a goon and saying “I’m vengeance.” It became an instantly iconic line, and it ends up having great significance in the film as Batman learns the difference between vengeance and justice.
Earth One had Batman calling himself “vengeance” close to a decade before The Batman‘s release, although he receives a different response. Upon hearing the line, the Penguin cackles and says “How dramatic.”
1 Learning To Become A Hero
Not only are the Bruce Waynes of Earth One and The Batman flawed when it comes to fighting and uncovering mysteries, but they each have a lot to learn when it comes to the nature of heroism. Both stories begin with Batman viewing his crusade as entirely punitive. Earth One‘s Batman is consumed by revenge, whereas Pattinson’s version of the character only sees himself as a symbol of fear. However, this simplistic view of justice can only persist for so long. Earth One has Bruce learn to embrace the relationships he develops with his allies while becoming a more measured, responsible hero. In The Batman, Bruce eventually sees the flaws of vengeance and decides to become a symbol of hope.