Being Batman has had to deal with many criminal cases across his sprawling comic book history. One of the superhero's strongest assets is in how he applies his genius-level intellect to sleuthing, but it seems to be an underappreciated part of his character. The live-action movies -- at least until Matt Reeves' The Batman releases in a few weeks -- tend to gloss over this aspect of the Dark Knight, but some of his greatest stories come from noir mystery-thrillers.
The revered classics like The Long Halloween made this narrative style a key component, as well as the modern fan-favorites like the acclaimed The Court of Owls story arc. Each of these cases tested Batman's mettle in different ways, resulting in memorable stories celebrated among fans today.
The Holiday Killer (The Long Halloween)
In what's commonly regarded as the best Batman comic book, The Long Halloween forces the Dark Knight Detective to tackle a grisly murder case that drags on for an agonizing year. A mysterious killer dubbed by the Gotham City Police Department as the "Holiday Killer" is targeting various of the city's criminal underworld, forcing a gang war to break out among the Falcone family and his rivals.
The killer carries out his assassinations on holidays, with this case perfectly encapsulating an old-school crime-noir atmosphere. Like Robert Pattinson's iteration to come in The Batman, The Long Halloween presents a Dark Knight in his second year on the job. Though ittedly with some plot holes, the violent case ends ambiguously. Either Alberto Falcone, Harvey Dent, or Gilda Dent may have been the killer -- or killers.
The Hangman (Dark Victory)
While somewhat of an underrated Batman comic compared to its predecessor, Dark Victory still stands as a thrilling and worthy follow-up to The Long Halloween. Several months after apprehending Alberto Falcone as the Holiday Killer, a copycat of sorts has emerged and is referred to as the "Hangman." This serial killer is specifically targeting of the GD, and the order and background of the victims bear a connection to the gruesome events of the last year's case.
Continuing the period of Batman squashing organized crime as Gotham City's greatest plague before the "rise of the freaks," the backdrop of this plot is another territory war. This time, it's between Two-Face's rising prominence and the skeleton crew Falcone mob led by the late Carmine's daughter, Sofia. Now with a once-great friend turned into one of Batman's greatest villains, all of the moving pieces of the plot intertwine for an engrossing crime drama.
James Gordon Jr.'s Return (The Black Mirror)
Just before DC launched their New 52 initiative, Scott Snyder also wrote the final Batman story arc in Detective Comics. It's more easily overlooked compared to other stories, but The Black Mirror put Dick Grayson in the cape and cowl for an excellent modern Batman story. The former Robin -- and Nightwing -- temporarily takes over for Bruce and is faced with a relentless barrage of grim cases.
Gotham City seems to be taking a turn for the worse before the new Batman and Commissioner Gordon's eyes, with a strange macabre auctioneer leading an underground cult, a mysterious child serial killer, and more. But what makes things more unsettling is the Commissioner's mentally disturbed son and Barbara's brother return to Gotham seemingly trying to make amends, but appearing to be involved with some of the city's bleak degradation.
The Court Of Owls Conspiracy (The Court Of Owls)
The New 52 gave comic book fans one of the most consistently well-written Batman runs in the last two decades, and creative duo Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo introduced the hero's best new villains of the 21st century. This rebooted continuity presents Bruce Wayne and Gotham City with an old piece of urban legend and conspiracy that a sadistic Illuminati-like organization has been running the city from the shadows since colonial times.
Of course, as the World's Greatest Detective who's known the city inside and out, Batman refuses to believe it. That is until the Court of Owls makes themselves violently evident to the Dark Knight. The Court merely allowed Batman to exist, but once Bruce Wayne starts to get too ambitious in philanthropic efforts to cure Gotham's systematic disease, it forces their hand. It was a brilliant premise and story, as it flipped lore conventions completely on their head: the Batman doesn't know his city as well as he thinks he does.
Hush's Identity (Hush)
Loeb returned for another mystery thriller in 2002, this time teaming up with artist (and current CCO of DC Comics) Jim Lee. Hush doesn't measure up to the aforementioned series, but it easily became one of Batman's best comic arcs from the 2000s and a modern classic. This story takes the brooding hero on a wild goose chase as a shadowy villain appears to be pulling the strings behind a slew of heinous events for the Caped Crusader.
Old traumas are dug up, seemingly to prod at Batman's psyche while gloating that Hush knows who the vigilante is. The case turns into a globetrotting mystery featuring an all-star cast of Bat-family and DC characters. And the more the story unravels, the more paranoid Bruce Wayne becomes of nearly everyone around him.
Gotham's "Jack The Ripper" (Gotham By Gaslight)
DC's Elseworlds imprint in the '80s and '90s gave comic book fans some of the most beloved alternate-canon stories. Gotham by Gaslight, as the name suggests, provides a 19th-century take on Batman set around the Victorian era in England. After Bruce Wayne returns from a tour of Europe, Batman and Inspector Gordon find themselves in the middle of a harrowing case ominously similar to England's "Jack the Ripper."
A string of murders against women takes Gotham by storm, eventually leading to Bruce being framed as the killer. This rendition of the Dark Knight was a refreshingly inventive one, as writers were getting more experimental in showing fans a new perspective to view these legacy characters.
